Mariner of The Sea Vs. Carnival Magic

[dliteu]

How big a differnce is there between these two ships?

Pro's

Con's

[Tucker in Texas]

How big a differnce is there between these two ships?

Pro's

Con's

 

I've been on both and it is six of one and half a dozen of another. All depends on what you like/dislike in a cruise. I actually prepared a list comparing the two. There were more pros on the Magic side but a lot of them were personal pros for me and not necessarily you. Demographics are definitely different between the two with Royal's being older overall and more "refined" vs. Carnival's younger more boisterous. However, I did not see a bunch of "rednecks" and "party hearty" types. We are in our late 60's and the younger passengers did not "offend" us at all. There were more kids on Carnival but their children's programs kept them out of my hair. They were no more obvious than those on the Mariner.

 

Some of the pros for Royal Caribbean (and probably what tilts the field towards them for us ) are tied to the Diamond+ loyalty level. Even Carnival's top tier loyalty program does not compare to Royal's.

 

Royal's lunch in the main dining room was better with the wonderful salad/pasta choices plus menu. Carnival had a limited menu that never changed. I liked the theater design better (felt there were too many obstructed views on the Magic), balcony door was easier to manipulate, the promenade for shopping and people watching, an enclosed shower vs. a curtain, and penny slots with no minimum--Magic had a 30 cent minimum, ice show. The decor was more to my liking but the decor on the Magic was more subdued than on other Carnival ships I have been on. Not nearly so much "in your face" as in the other Carnival ships I have been on.

 

Carnival seemed to have better food for my liking. However, Royal is upgrading their menus. They will be on the Mariner in February of 2013 if all goes according to schedule. Felt the service better in the dining room--which is just the luck of the draw. More elevators so there weren't long waits for one, wonderful made to order deli sandwiches which they would grill, no pre-paying of tips for my time dining or whatever they call it, empty shelves in the mini-bar, magnifying mirror in the bathroom, little amenity basket in the bathroom, stool that fit under the vanity so you could get it out of the way when not in use, able to carry two bottles of wine on the ship, art auction contained and not scattered all over taking up public spaces with lounges being closed down for the auction, trivia hosted by English speaking crew members easy to understand, better cookies, butter not in foil packs (not sure some would agree with this but I hate picking off the foil), pizza served hot out of the oven and not sitting out under heat lamps, canned soda, no guns, shower water heat easier to work. Greater variety of shops.

 

If it weren't for the Diamond+ benefits, I'd think the Magic is a better experience with all things being equal in price/itinerary unless things like the ice skating rink, flow-rider, rock climbing wall, an older more sedate passenger load is preferred. Carnival has their share of things like this (sliding board comes to mind) but we didn't care about them so we didn't avail ourselves of them.

 

Hint: If you do decide on the Magic, take an old credit card or any other card you don't care about with a magnetic strip on the back to operate your lights. You have to put your S&S card in a slot to operate the lights. If you take a card, you can leave it in the slot and operate the lights as you have done in the past. DH locked himself out of the cabin within the first hour because he forgot to take the card with him when he left the cabin and I wasn't there to let him in. If one is staying in the cabin, the that person has to go dig out their S&S card to keep the lights on. Most of the European hotels do this but we would always be going out together so it wasn't an issue.

 

Hope this helps. If you have any specific questions, you can e-mail me at whitlock at alumni dot utexas dot net.

 

Tucker in Texas

[dliteu]

Thank you. You have be very informatve.

[packedandready]

We LOVE shady loungers like the ones in the solarium. Does the Magic have any area like this? Sure. we could use a balcony, but like to people watch sometimes.

[Tucker in Texas]

We LOVE shady loungers like the ones in the solarium. Does the Magic have any area like this? Sure. we could use a balcony, but like to people watch sometimes.

 

I'm afraid I can't remember since that is not something important to me. Maybe someone else can.

 

Tucker in Texas

[cambio]

We LOVE shady loungers like the ones in the solarium. Does the Magic have any area like this? Sure. we could use a balcony, but like to people watch sometimes.

 

The Serenity area on the Magic is set up like many upper end Land resorts with Cabanas and loungers.

 

To the previous post, I don't believe that Mariner has flow rider.

 

We loved both ships. For us, Magic was more to our taste.

[Tucker in Texas]

 

To the previous post, I don't believe that Mariner has flow rider.

 

You could be entirely correct. I know I was on a ship that had one but it quite likely could have been another one.

 

Tucker in Texas

[4bythebeach]

Have not been on Magic, have been on Dream and Mariner. I will say the Mariner to this day is my favorite ship! I have been on Carnival Dream and Legend and Royal Caibbean's Freedom, but the Mariner is by far the best of them, The Freedom comes in a close 2nd! The Promenade puts Royal Caribbean over the edge!

[Cindy]

I haven't been on the Magic, but I've been on both the Dream and the Mariner, and I much prefer Mariner.

To me, the Dream was just too crowded, with few quiet places to relax. Even the Serenity area was noisy because of the proximity to the water works. The main pool area on Lido is very crowded and loud due to the big screen, and the aft pool area on the Dream class isn't an adults-only area, so it is also not a quiet, relaxing place.

The other thing that really tips me towards Mariner is suite perks. Suites on both ships are approximately the same price, but only Royal Caribbean has perks for those sailing in a GS or above.

[mo&fran]

We were on the Dream, and one thing I really did not liked was the hinged balconey door. I was always worried that i might get a finger in the way when closing the door, plus it always wanted to slam closed, DW would yell at to to not slam the door. Also, the design of the buffet area I thought was bad, especially the relationship of the drink area relative to the food area.

[dchillis]

How big a differnce is there between these two ships?

Pro's

Con's

As far as I'm concerned you could say any Carnival ship vs. Mariner OS

I find Carnival ships are pretty much all the same.

(insert intelligent sounding phrase)---> "With that said" I find that Mariner would win based merely on the fact of the awesome Royal Promenade.