berryhillmom Posted January 12, 2012 #1 Share Posted January 12, 2012 My Review of the Mariner of the Seas! Jan. 2-8 Sailing. Intro: We were five families taking our 9 Seniors on their Senior Trip. With adults, our seniors, and their siblings we totaled 25 people ranging from age 10 to 55. Of our group there were about 13 who were first time cruisers. Embarkation: After hearing about the recent problems related to the NoroVirus I tried to prepare our group of 25, that embarkation could be a nightmare. I heard about how they sent our previous cruisers to the convention center to wait while they did intense cleaning. We arrived at the port at around 11:00 and there wasn't even a line yet!! We checked in immediately and went to sit and wait for boarding. It was 1:00 before they called the 1st group to board which was little later than we've seen on past cruises. Upon boarding we immediately went to the Windjammer for lunch. We were not allowed to enter our cabins until 3:00pm which in the past we were in our rooms by 1:00 to 1:30. I'm sure they are spending extra time cleaning because it has been 3 or 4 sailings of NoroVirus outbreaks on the Mariner. Our cabin: We always book interior cabins because it is less expensive and we really don't spend that much time in our cabin. We had a quad cabin. The room had a chair and coffee table (which just gets in the way), a safe, a small fridge, lots of closet space, plenty of shelves in the bathroom and by day 3 I finally noticed the hidden shelves by the vanity in the main cabin. You will have plenty of room under the bed for your empty suitcases. The bathroom is pretty small. The shower is also much smaller than we've had on our Carnival cruises. No problem though, it gets the job done. The Ship: You will love the Grand Promenade. It is beautiful! It is a nice place to sit and relax and people watch! You will find the RCCL logo shop, a pub, the Cafe Promenade where you get 24 hour pizza, sandwiches, and cookies. Deck 11 is the pool deck. This ship has 2 main pools and the Adult only pool. There were several hot tubs. After 10 cruises, this was the easiest we've ever been able to find lounge chairs on the deck. I don't know if the chair hogs weren't onboard this ship or if they just have so many chairs. We always took the spot on deck 12 where you are looking down on the pool games. Ship Activities: Our teens loved the rock climbing wall, the ice skating, and the miniture golf. Other things available were inline skating, ping pong, shuffleboard. Oh and how could I forget the basketball court. Our teenage boys spent a lot of time shooting hoops. The Casino: We would spend our late nights after the shows in the casino. We played Craps and Blackjack. I know that on past cruises we would have trouble getting on the craps table or blackjack table but this time it was no problem. I guess their weren't very many gamblers on our ship! (smart people) Our teenage boys took advantage of being able to gamble at age 18 on a cruise ship. Back in Oklahoma you have to be 21 years old at the Indian Casinos. Entertainment: The 1st night was a group of 3 Motown singers. They did a good job. The RCCL singers and dancers performed the 2nd night and I personally enjoyed the production. The 2 comedians this week were just okay. Don't miss the ice show. It is a must see!!! It is free and you have to pick up tickets at a certain time. I forgot to get our groups tickets but we stood in the standby line and got in without any trouble. It still amazes what they can do on the small rink. Other things we found to be lots of fun: The Love and Marriage Show, The Battle of the Sexes, and do not miss The Quest!! (It is much more fun if you can get a couple from your group involved!) We went to karaoke a couple of times and had a blast. The guy from the entertainment staff was hilarious. He really made it a lot of fun! The only problem with Karaoke is you get the same people signing up over and over and they don't want to give others a chance. People...don't be rude and just sign up once. Give everyone a chance!!!! Ports of Call: This was a special intinerary because of the holidays. We went to Costa Maya, Belize, and Cozumel. We took a taxi the Tropicante in Costa Maya. It is a beautiful beach. Steve at the Tropicante will reserve you lounge chairs for free. His prices for food and drinks are very reasonable and he is a very friendly guy. I had a massage on the beach for 25.00 for a whole hour!!! It was awesome. Steve's workers will run a tab for you and you just pay before you leave. They even set up the massage and our kids did a banana boat ride. In Belize we set up an excursion for our group of 25 through Cave-tubing.com. We booked a combo tour of ATV/Cavetubing for a price of 75.00 a person. This is a very reasonable price compared to the ship excursion. You should book some sort of excursion in Belize because this is not a port that you just get off the ship and hang out. Even if you want a beach day you have to take a water taxi to the beaches. The ships Beach Break Excursion sold out by day 2 so I would suggest you book that excursion early. In Cozumel, we took a taxi to Chankanaab State Park where our teens did the Swim with the Dolphins. After the dolphins we just stayed there and hung out on the beach. This is more of a snorkeling place. Upon entering the water it is very rocky and you must wear a life jacket. If you want to snorkel and see some pretty fish this is the place for you. If you want to swim and play in the water it would be better to go to Paradise Beach or Mr. Sanchos beach. These are places we've visited in the past. There is plenty of shopping for you right when you get off of the ship. The Dining Room: We were satisified with the food selection and quality of the food, however the dining room experience was a little disappointing. On our past cruises the waiters would sing and dance for the guests. The first two nights there was nothing:( We had several new cruisers in our group and I wanted them to experience the fun we've had in the MDR on our past cruises. Finally, one night the waiters sang The Heart of Texas song. It is just my opinion, but I think Carnival has RCCL beat when it comes to the MDR experience. The Windjammer: Always a good selection of food. Upon entering you do not have to stop at the first line. There is another section at the back with the same items. Also you will find a station for carved meats and another station full of desserts. We were always able to find a spot to sit. On the last day, during our fog delay....everyone was offered lunch in the Windjammer. It was very crowded that day, but we just went out on the deck to eat. Debarkation: It is always so sad for a cruise to end:( We chose to check our luggage instead of doing self debarkation. On the last day we woke up to an announcement that due to dense fog they Port of Galveston was closed. The Captain said that once the port was opened it would be 2 hours before we docked. Because there were so many people needing off the ship ASAP it made the debarkation a nightmare!!! We arrived back at 1:15 and it was 4:15 by the time we were in our car headed back to Tulsa. There was nothing RCCL could do about the fog, but they need some sort of a plan on getting people off the ship in a more orderly way. They call luggage tag numbers, but they don't check anything when getting off the ship. I feel bad for the people who missed flights and had to find different flights. I hope people had purchased the insurance. We always purchase insurance because I missed a cruise once because of severe flooding at Houston airport and because of the insurance I was able to fly to Mexico and meet the ship. Anyway that is my plug for purchasing some sort of trip insurance...you just never know!!! Summary: The Mariner is an amazing ship and the crew was very nice. I have read some reviews that bashed the Mariner, but I think she is still in great shape. We never heard of anyone on our cruise being quarantined for the Norovirus, so hopefully they have gotten that under control. They were squirting our hands with sanitizer every time we entered the dining room or Windjammer. By the last morning I think they had ran out of sanitizer because the little sanitizer machines were empty and the crew member told me they were out. I just encouraged my kids to wash their hands like crazy and to keep their hands away from their mouths. We had a group of 25 and nobody became ill. Like any vacation...It is what you make it!!! We had so much fun because someone from our group tried to be involved in the games. What great memories we made with our teens!!!! Just go with a good attitude and you will have a blast!!! Wishing you a great cruise on The Mariner of the Seas!!! P.S. I just previewed my review and I'm not sure why it set it up the way it did with some short sentences and some long...I apologize but I'm not taking the time to try and fix it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARCruisinNana Posted January 12, 2012 #2 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Thanks for your review. I'm looking forward to being on Mariner in March. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimnbigd Posted January 12, 2012 #3 Share Posted January 12, 2012 MDR waiters on RCI are definitely more subdued than on Carnival. On Carnival, waiters even get passengers dancing in Conga lines. Still, I prefer RCI over Carnival for the overall experience. I was on the Dec. 4 Mariner and sailing again March 25. I enjoy live music, and RCI has Carnival beat by a mile here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39august Posted January 12, 2012 #4 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I also appreciate the live music in the dining room. And I hate having the waiters made to sing for the passengers one night. I think it is demeaning to them. To each his own on this. Glad the OP enjoyed her cruise. We will be back on MOS in Feb. after having sailed her on Dec. 4. Only this time, we will not self-assist. We are going to wait until the madness is over, and plan to be some of the last pax off the ship! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trainnut Posted January 13, 2012 #5 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Thanks for the great review! We're also sailing in March, and really looking forward to it. I have to agree with 39august, though - the "singing waiters" thing could go away. It just adds additional time to our dining. Glad you and your group had fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshrich Posted January 13, 2012 #6 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Great review, we are sailing on her TA in November from Rome to Galveston, I've got a 1400 flight booked so always get a little nervous when I read about debarkation issues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gelo7 Posted January 13, 2012 #7 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Nice review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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