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Review of Mariner 3 day cruise (8/3-8/6)

Dizneydreamer_PA
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Dizneydreamer_PA

Dizneydreamer_PA

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We just got off a short 3 day cruise on Mariner of the Seas of out Miami. The first day we stopped in CocoCay and the second port day was Nassau. I'll do a quick (or maybe not so quick) review of what our thoughts were on the trip.

 

Some quick background- I traveled with my husband and our 14 year old son. This was a quick getaway before my son starts high school water polo preseason. We have done a total of 5 cruises, 2 on DCL way in the past, and an Alaskan cruise on NCL last July and 7 nights on Oasis last Thanksgiving. We have 4 other RCCL cruises booked over the next 15 months.

 

We arrived in Miami on Thursday and stayed at the JW Marriott on Brickell. I've stayed at nicer JW Marriott's- this was much more along the lines of a Residence Inn, honestly.

 

We caught an Uber from the hotel (FYI- we discovered Uber is much better to use in Miami than Lyft...) at 10:00 and arrived at the port about 10:10. We gave our bags to a very enthusiastic porter and proceeded into the building. We were checked in and sitting in the lounge (we had a GS for this trip) by 10:20. This was our first time sailing out of Miami and it was definitely easy and quick.

 

We boarded right about 11. The ship was gorgeous! We wandered down the Promenade section and then over to Guest service. We had booked Chops lunch for 12:30, but I had seen rumblings on here that Chops really wasn't open for lunch. We checked the Cruise Compass and noticed that only Jaime's was listed as open for lunch. We asked and were told that no, Chops doesn't do lunch on the Mariner and we were given an option of a refund or switching to Chops dinner that night (for no additional charge). We opted to do Chops for dinner and then add on Jaime's for lunch embarkation day.

 

We then wandered a little bit all over the ship until our 1:00 lunch. My hubby and I had the deluxe drink package and my son ha the soda package. I kept asking my son if he wanted the refreshment package instead every time it was on sale in the cruise planner before the cruise, but he kept saying no. Well, we got on board, stopped for a drink at the pool bar, and he then decided he wanted the refreshment package. So... down we went to upgrade his package (as I cringed at not getting the sale price). We had to do this at the center of the promenade- we asked about getting a credit for the soda package and were told it would be done automatically. Well... it wasn't (more on this later).

 

We wandered up to lunch at Jaime's about 12:45. The new Windjammer/Chops/Jaime's area is fantastic! I love that there are sinks to washy washy rather than the icky gel. There is a great bar after you washy washy and Chops off to the right and Jaime's to the left, with the Windjammer wrapping around the sides. WJ was busy, but didn't look insane, although about 2:00 we did hear the dreaded "please don't linger" announcement as we sat in Jaime's. I enjoyed lunch at Jaime's, but hubby thought the lasagna was just meh.

 

After lunch we went down to our room on deck 10. We were in a GS (1282). The room was nice and had a ton of storage space. I liked that there were two sinks in the bathroom, but I didn't like there wasn't an outlet in there- I couldn't use my blowdryer in the bathroom. Also, climbing into the shower was like climbing a mountain- holy high bathtub walls! Also, the shower was missing some caulk in the corner, so every time someone showered we had Lake Mariner in the bathroom. Our stateroom attendant was fine, but not overly helpful or enthusiastic. My son slept on the pull out (which he said was quite comfy, FYI) and it never got made back into a couch after Friday night. It would have been nice to have a couch to sit on rather than the beds, and the coffee table was then in an awkward place every day. However, we never felt cramped in the GS.

 

My son went and tried out the water slides and loved them. We did notice the Cruise Compass didn't always list the correct times though. In particular, on Sunday the time was listed as 12-7, but they didn't open until 2. The flowrider was busy all the time and split it's time between stand up and boogie boarding. My son did the Sky Pad once and said it was fun, but wouldn't be worth a huge wait. He also did the Laser Tag on Saturday and said it was a lot of fun- it's in Studio B where the ice skating is, so the venue alternates skating and Laser Tag.

 

We ate at Chops on Friday night and were glad we didn't pay the full price. It was just ok. My son ordered his steak medium and it came out rare (like seriously bloody) the first time. He sent it back and then dealt with a medium rare steak. Hubby ordered his steak medium rare and his was more medium. I got the salmon and it had no seasoning or anything on it.

 

Saturday we arrived at CocoCay. Hubby and son were booked on the 8 am scuba excursion, so we were on the first tender to the island. They enjoyed the diving, but the construction of the pier has made the water murky where the diving is done. The instructor said she has asked about changing the location of the diving due to all the silt that is being stirred up. We rented a deluxe ocean-view cabana and loved the location and the shade. Overall, we enjoyed CocoCay much more than Labadee- felt that it had nicer beaches and facilities.

 

When we got back on board I stopped at Guest Services to make sure the refreshment package had been credited back. It wasn't. We waited about 20 min to be told it was being taken care of and would be refunded in about 20 minutes and to come back. Well, we gave them 24 hours and went back about 2pm on Sunday to check the bill. Still hadn't been refunded and had to wait another 20 minutes until we had actual proof of the refund.

 

Dinner Saturday night was at Izumi Hibachi. It was fantastic! The food was your typical hibachi fare, but the chef and the atmosphere was the best of any hibachi we have done.

 

That night we sat by the pool and watched part of Tomb Raider. It was a gorgeous night and we enjoyed just sitting there enjoying the surroundings. The movies by the pool included Sherlock Gnomes, Tomb Raider, and Ready Player One.

 

Sunday we docked in Nassau. We have been there before and are going back 3 more times in the next year, so we didn't book an excursion. We just wandered around for a few hours and then went back on the ship for lunch at WJ. Lunch was fine- best part was the cold glass of wine I got from the bar. After lunch my son spent some time on the slides and in the pool.

 

Sunday night dinner was at Jaime's. Again, it was good, but not great. We prefer Giovanni's on the Oasis, to be honest. After dinner we went to see the ice show. It was entertaining and enjoyable.

 

Monday we had a quick breakfast in Chops (open for suite/Pinnacles) and then walked off with our bags. We were a little disappointed we did not get escorted off the ship by the concierge as we thought that was a suite perk, He walked us only to the sea pass card scanner on the ship and then we were on our own.

 

Couple of other thoughts-

  • Suite lounge was never very busy- I think the busiest we saw it was 4 other couples.
  • Tao, the concierge, was very personable and energetic. My son adored him.
  • We did the escape room the first night- as a group of 3, they added us to another group of 3 and a group 2. We had a really good time and enjoyed it. There were definitely some tricky clues.
  • There is a ton to do on the ship- the biggest downside was with only 3 days, you always felt you had to be doing something in order to try it all in the short time
  • I wish there was some consistency between the bars- I found a wine I liked at one bar, but then another bar wouldn't have the same drinks available.

Hope this helps!

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LuCruise

LuCruise

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Thanks for your review. We'll be on her in 2.5 weeks. Really excited.

Read someone else's review and they also commented on the long lines for SkyPad. Our kids are so excited for that one so hope they can find times where its shorter (such as opening).

Did you see any shows? Sounds like you stuck to specialty vs MDR. Sorry you were disappointed with Chops. We have that booked but excited as we always stick to MDR. Can see what you mean about the short cruises that you always are doing something to get the activities in.

Looking forward to CoCo Cay. Is it noisy? Hope there are some areas not affected by the construction in terms of nice water.

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Dizneydreamer_PA

Dizneydreamer_PA

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Thanks for your review. We'll be on her in 2.5 weeks. Really excited.

Read someone else's review and they also commented on the long lines for SkyPad. Our kids are so excited for that one so hope they can find times where its shorter (such as opening).

Did you see any shows? Sounds like you stuck to specialty vs MDR. Sorry you were disappointed with Chops. We have that booked but excited as we always stick to MDR. Can see what you mean about the short cruises that you always are doing something to get the activities in.

Looking forward to CoCo Cay. Is it noisy? Hope there are some areas not affected by the construction in terms of nice water.

 

If the kids go about 15-20 minutes before the scheduled SkyPad opening time, they should have a fairly short wait.

 

We saw the ice show on the last night- it was very enjoyable and time well spent.

 

CocoCay was not noisy at all. Other than the pier construction, the other areas where they are doing the work is blocked off and doesn't seem to be close to where people spend their time. I never once heard any construction noise at all. The water close to the beach was crystal clear- apparently where they scuba dive is in the current where the silt from pier construction drifts, which is why the visibility there wasn't as good.

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Doc2725

Doc2725

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We just got off a short 3 day cruise on Mariner of the Seas of out Miami. The first day we stopped in CocoCay and the second port day was Nassau. I'll do a quick (or maybe not so quick) review of what our thoughts were on the trip.

 

Some quick background- I traveled with my husband and our 14 year old son. This was a quick getaway before my son starts high school water polo preseason. We have done a total of 5 cruises, 2 on DCL way in the past, and an Alaskan cruise on NCL last July and 7 nights on Oasis last Thanksgiving. We have 4 other RCCL cruises booked over the next 15 months.

 

We arrived in Miami on Thursday and stayed at the JW Marriott on Brickell. I've stayed at nicer JW Marriott's- this was much more along the lines of a Residence Inn, honestly.

 

We caught an Uber from the hotel (FYI- we discovered Uber is much better to use in Miami than Lyft...) at 10:00 and arrived at the port about 10:10. We gave our bags to a very enthusiastic porter and proceeded into the building. We were checked in and sitting in the lounge (we had a GS for this trip) by 10:20. This was our first time sailing out of Miami and it was definitely easy and quick.

 

We boarded right about 11. The ship was gorgeous! We wandered down the Promenade section and then over to Guest service. We had booked Chops lunch for 12:30, but I had seen rumblings on here that Chops really wasn't open for lunch. We checked the Cruise Compass and noticed that only Jaime's was listed as open for lunch. We asked and were told that no, Chops doesn't do lunch on the Mariner and we were given an option of a refund or switching to Chops dinner that night (for no additional charge). We opted to do Chops for dinner and then add on Jaime's for lunch embarkation day.

 

We then wandered a little bit all over the ship until our 1:00 lunch. My hubby and I had the deluxe drink package and my son ha the soda package. I kept asking my son if he wanted the refreshment package instead every time it was on sale in the cruise planner before the cruise, but he kept saying no. Well, we got on board, stopped for a drink at the pool bar, and he then decided he wanted the refreshment package. So... down we went to upgrade his package (as I cringed at not getting the sale price). We had to do this at the center of the promenade- we asked about getting a credit for the soda package and were told it would be done automatically. Well... it wasn't (more on this later).

 

We wandered up to lunch at Jaime's about 12:45. The new Windjammer/Chops/Jaime's area is fantastic! I love that there are sinks to washy washy rather than the icky gel. There is a great bar after you washy washy and Chops off to the right and Jaime's to the left, with the Windjammer wrapping around the sides. WJ was busy, but didn't look insane, although about 2:00 we did hear the dreaded "please don't linger" announcement as we sat in Jaime's. I enjoyed lunch at Jaime's, but hubby thought the lasagna was just meh.

 

After lunch we went down to our room on deck 10. We were in a GS (1282). The room was nice and had a ton of storage space. I liked that there were two sinks in the bathroom, but I didn't like there wasn't an outlet in there- I couldn't use my blowdryer in the bathroom. Also, climbing into the shower was like climbing a mountain- holy high bathtub walls! Also, the shower was missing some caulk in the corner, so every time someone showered we had Lake Mariner in the bathroom. Our stateroom attendant was fine, but not overly helpful or enthusiastic. My son slept on the pull out (which he said was quite comfy, FYI) and it never got made back into a couch after Friday night. It would have been nice to have a couch to sit on rather than the beds, and the coffee table was then in an awkward place every day. However, we never felt cramped in the GS.

 

My son went and tried out the water slides and loved them. We did notice the Cruise Compass didn't always list the correct times though. In particular, on Sunday the time was listed as 12-7, but they didn't open until 2. The flowrider was busy all the time and split it's time between stand up and boogie boarding. My son did the Sky Pad once and said it was fun, but wouldn't be worth a huge wait. He also did the Laser Tag on Saturday and said it was a lot of fun- it's in Studio B where the ice skating is, so the venue alternates skating and Laser Tag.

 

We ate at Chops on Friday night and were glad we didn't pay the full price. It was just ok. My son ordered his steak medium and it came out rare (like seriously bloody) the first time. He sent it back and then dealt with a medium rare steak. Hubby ordered his steak medium rare and his was more medium. I got the salmon and it had no seasoning or anything on it.

 

Saturday we arrived at CocoCay. Hubby and son were booked on the 8 am scuba excursion, so we were on the first tender to the island. They enjoyed the diving, but the construction of the pier has made the water murky where the diving is done. The instructor said she has asked about changing the location of the diving due to all the silt that is being stirred up. We rented a deluxe ocean-view cabana and loved the location and the shade. Overall, we enjoyed CocoCay much more than Labadee- felt that it had nicer beaches and facilities.

 

When we got back on board I stopped at Guest Services to make sure the refreshment package had been credited back. It wasn't. We waited about 20 min to be told it was being taken care of and would be refunded in about 20 minutes and to come back. Well, we gave them 24 hours and went back about 2pm on Sunday to check the bill. Still hadn't been refunded and had to wait another 20 minutes until we had actual proof of the refund.

 

Dinner Saturday night was at Izumi Hibachi. It was fantastic! The food was your typical hibachi fare, but the chef and the atmosphere was the best of any hibachi we have done.

 

That night we sat by the pool and watched part of Tomb Raider. It was a gorgeous night and we enjoyed just sitting there enjoying the surroundings. The movies by the pool included Sherlock Gnomes, Tomb Raider, and Ready Player One.

 

Sunday we docked in Nassau. We have been there before and are going back 3 more times in the next year, so we didn't book an excursion. We just wandered around for a few hours and then went back on the ship for lunch at WJ. Lunch was fine- best part was the cold glass of wine I got from the bar. After lunch my son spent some time on the slides and in the pool.

 

Sunday night dinner was at Jaime's. Again, it was good, but not great. We prefer Giovanni's on the Oasis, to be honest. After dinner we went to see the ice show. It was entertaining and enjoyable.

 

Monday we had a quick breakfast in Chops (open for suite/Pinnacles) and then walked off with our bags. We were a little disappointed we did not get escorted off the ship by the concierge as we thought that was a suite perk, He walked us only to the sea pass card scanner on the ship and then we were on our own.

 

Couple of other thoughts-

  • Suite lounge was never very busy- I think the busiest we saw it was 4 other couples.
  • Tao, the concierge, was very personable and energetic. My son adored him.
  • We did the escape room the first night- as a group of 3, they added us to another group of 3 and a group 2. We had a really good time and enjoyed it. There were definitely some tricky clues.
  • There is a ton to do on the ship- the biggest downside was with only 3 days, you always felt you had to be doing something in order to try it all in the short time
  • I wish there was some consistency between the bars- I found a wine I liked at one bar, but then another bar wouldn't have the same drinks available.

Hope this helps!

 

Thank you for your review! Do you have any photos you can share? And how were the new bars they added, mainly the Bamboo Room?

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Dizneydreamer_PA

Dizneydreamer_PA

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Thank you for your review! Do you have any photos you can share? And how were the new bars they added, mainly the Bamboo Room?

 

I didn't take many photos- we didn't have the WiFi package so I made a point to not carry my phone with me everywhere.

 

The Bamboo Room was nice- I had the Saturn and it was quite yummy. The only downside to the Bamboo Room was they were not able to do any nonalcoholic drinks for my teen.

 

My favorite bar was the one as you enter the WJ area- it seemed to have the best selection and was bright and airy and not busy if you hit at a time other than the lunch rush.

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Dizneydreamer_PA

Dizneydreamer_PA

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Thank you for your review. My son is the same age. Were the wait times on the skypad long? Will he be able to game in the teen area?

 

How long were you docked in Nassau?

 

TIA:)

 

The sky pad had some pretty good waits- but if your son lines up about 15 minutes before it opens, the wait isn’t too bad.

 

My son didn’t ever go to the teen club. He preferred to just wander the ship on his own when he had free time

 

We were in Nassau from 8:30-4:00 ish.

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karena1

karena1

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Thanks for the review. We are so stoked to have a ship the size of Mariner for our 3/4 night cruises. will go on her for the first time in 2 weeks and totally excited. We have been on the Voyager class - Adventure/Voyager/Explorer, but will be the first time on Mariner. Looking forward to all it has to offer!

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