Mariner review with photos

[drneal]

We were on the Dec 24 4 day Mariner of the seas.

Mom 50, Dad 49, Son 16, Daughter 13.

It's been 10 years since we were on a Royal Caribbean cruise.

We have been on Disney, NCL, Princess and Holland America.

I like trying other brands but when we booked a trip to Miami and didn't want to go on a 7 day cruise.

I found the 15 year old Mariner.

I wasn't sure what to think as we have been going on the biggest, newest ships but there was an upgrade this summer.

The ship looks great and is a great size.  There is a LOT to do.

 

We stayed in Key Biscayne for a few days before the cruise.

We dropped the rental car off on SE 2nd street and took the shuttle for a 10 min ride to the new RCI terminal.

We arrived about noon.

Checkin was a breeze and we were on the ship in 15 min.

 

We went to the shore excursion to pick our bungalow and were in our cabin by 1 PM.

We had adjoining balcony cabins on deck 8 midship.

The cabins were a decent size with a lot of storage and a large balcony, 8' X 4.5'.

As it is an older ship there were not a lot of USB ports.  Just one in the phone next to the bed.

I was glad that I brought my own power cord. (Surge suppressors are not allowed on cruise ships).

Cabine 8290

 

 

The balcony is a nice size with a reclining chair.

We asked the steward to open the divider, which was done no problem, unlike NCL.

 

more to follow.....
 

 

 

[generalchadwick]

Nice start.  Looking forward to more.

 

We will be on MoS in Dec 2019.  It will be our first time bringing our daughters on a cruise.

[drneal]

So far I was impressed with the Mariner.

 

There were a lot of younger people/large family groups on board.

I'm not sure if this was due to the winter break, shorter cruise, lower price point or a combination of factors.

 

Let's take a tour of the ship.

Outside first....

 

Leaving the Port of Miami with a coast guard escort

 

 

Port of Miami

 

Sail-away

 

I'll start at the back of the ship Deck 13

 

Flowrider

 

 

This was the line before sail away

 

 

 

Thats me, it's fun and easy.

This was on day 3 at 11:30 AM.

They cancelled our Coco stop.

 

 

They have separate sessions for Boogie board and stand-up.

Everyone has to sign a waiver and wear a wrist band.

You can also get a 1 hour private lessons for up to a group of 8 for $69/person.

 

 

A kids climbing area with swings and hammocks.

To the right are the stairs for the sky pad .

 

 

The sky Pad 

You can use with or without the virtual reality goggles.

You can make a reservation for the sky pad or just wait in line.

 

 

Rock climbing wall and sports court.

 

Let's move on

 

Deck 13 forward

had the Mariner Dunes and quiet deck seatings with clamshells.

 

 

 

Lot's of sun and quiet up here.

No problem getting a lounge chair.

 

Moving down to Deck 11 forward

 

 

The gym.

They have free weights and a lot of cardio equipment including a stair mill.

There is a spin room as well.

I never found it over crowded.

 

Moving on aft

Deck 11

 

 

The solarium

An adults (16+) only area with a pool and 2 hot tubs.

 

 

Lounge chairs were usually available here as they have a policy where they remove anything left on the chair for more than 30 min.

 

There is a bar to the right.

 

 

This is the pool deck on Deck 11 looking forward.

We had an extra day in Nassau so we were still in port.

Disney Dream port side and Anthem of the Seas starboard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A view from the bar area on Deck 12 looking aft to the Viking Crown Lounge on Deck 14.

They show movies on the screen.

 

 

Above the Viking Crown Lounge they now have an Escape room where the chapel used to be.

It's $20/person and you need reservations.  They allow 10 people at a time.

On-line it said you had to be at least 14 but on the ship the age was 12.

I went with my son and daughter.  Everyone had a great time.

 

In the past I looked forward to going to the Viking Crown lounge (VCL) for a drink before dinner.

It was an amazing space at the top of the ship with 280+ degree views.

Now the new ships don't have the VCL.... and the Mariner has it chopped it up into sections.

Starboard side is a private lounge for diamond members, port side is a suite lounge, for passengers staying in suite level cabins 

which leaves a small viewing area for the rest of the passengers overlooking the pool deck.

 

 

This a shot of the ship in Nassau port.

 

Next up the inside public areas, menus and dailies.....

 

[drneal]

I'm not used to the new CC pictures

There are some extra pictures that I apparently uploaded but didn't intend on using.

Consider it a bonus.

[drneal]

IN the bonus pictures there is a photo of the Soft serve Ice cream Dec 11 aft of the pool and before the Windjammer.

Also is a photo of the Tessan power strip its 3 USB ports that I recommend taking with you.

[JohnnyThinwallet]

Thanks, Doc!  I'm headed to the Mariner in about a week.  Any pros/cons of your trip you'd like to share?

 

 

[drneal]

The highlight for me was the live entertainment at night.

They had a band in the promenade, a guitar player in the Barnacle and Barrel

and a piano man in the Schooner bar on deck 4.

They allow 2 bottles of wine per cabin.

They did not enforce the $15 corkage fee in the dining room.

The only con I would say was due to the cancelled Coco Cay.  It will be better when they have a dock in place in the next few months.

Also you need to bring your own USB charges for your camera and phone.

There was too much to do.

I never made it ice skating.

The food in the Windjammer was better than I expected.  

They serve fresh crepes at dinner in the Windjammer.

 

[blueridgemama]

Our family of 4 including 2 adult children are going on the Christmas Cruise this year. Was the ship decorated for the holidays? Did they have any special holiday events? Are Christmas decorations (small tree etc) allowed in rooms?

[drneal]

Yes.  Lots of specials for the holiday.

They have a special dinner/menu on the 24th.  (Turkey, ham )

I'll post the menu later.

On Christmas eve there was caroling in the main dining room.

There are lots of holiday songs and most of the staff dresses up.

They have a parade for several hours on boxing day (dec 26, after 11 PM) as is the custom in Nassau as well.

They have clergy and services.

They have some songs added to the nightclub show.

There is a Santa giving the children presents in studio B but I went ashore and missed that.

I would imagine you can decorate your room however you like as people decorate their doors and put up birthday decorations.

I wouldn't think that you can leave anything on the balcony.

I feel the ship did a good job and many of the passengers were dressed up.  Some nicely but many in elf hats and fun t-shirts.

I doubt your kids will feel like they missed out on Christmas.

[drneal]

Tour of the inside public spaces

 

Hallway by forward elevator.

 

Glass elevators at the front of the ship

 

 

They have these lucite ship maps throughout the ship.

 

The promenade on Deck 5 with shops, bars and food.

 

 

 

Late night pizza line

 

 

Pizza...they also have desserts, sandwiches, coffee, tea and hot chocolate.

 

You can fill your unlimited soda cups throughout the ship.

 

 

I enjoyed listening to these guys.

 

The sports bar

 

 

 

The pub

 

 

Nate Goodlet

 

Before the cruise I was looking forward to trying the Bamboo Room, however, once I was on the ship I usually went where they had the live music.

 

 

 

 

Moving all the way forward on deck 5

 

The Star lounge

 

...it gets busy at Bingo so go early.

The bar in the star lounge
 

 

The library is just outside of the Star Lounge
 

 

moving down one deck to Deck 4

 

Forward 

 

 

the theater

 

Moving slightly aft but still forward....

 

 The Schooner bar with nightly live piano music

 

The casino separates the Schooner bar from Boleros.

 

Boleros, a latin themed bar with rum drinks and live latin music and salsa dancing.

 

Across from Boleros the ever present Starbucks.

 

Moving down to deck 3

 

The main dining room

 

The MDR spans decks 3,4,5

with 4 and 5 being for regular dining and deck 3 for My Time Dining.

 

Menus and dailies to follow.

 

[eric12345]

Great review so far!

[AUPilot14]

Great pictures. We're debating a short 4 night cruise this summer on the Mariner. I love the Voyager Class ships. 

[Jimbo]

13 minutes ago, AUPilot14 said:

Great pictures. We're debating a short 4 night cruise this summer on the Mariner. I love the Voyager Class ships. 

 

 

4 night cruise is way to short..............

[LuCruise]

9 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

 

 

4 night cruise is way to short..............

 

We did 4 night Mariner last summer and loved it.  DH even commented it is his favorite cruise so far (and my younger one for the Sky Pad and waterslides).  Sure 7 nights would have been great, but it was an amazing 4 days filled with activities. Not everyone can take 7 nights at a time and 4  day cruise can still be very much enjoyed.

 

OP, love your pictures.  Looks like you had a great time.  Is that a regular balcony?  It seems wider than usual (i.e. the space between the end of the bed and the drawers)

Edited January 4, 2019 by LuCruise

[nikki79]

Great review so far. I had a choice of doing a 4 day on this boat or a 3 day on Harmony of the Seas. I wish I would have waited to see your review, I may have chosen differently.

Really enjoying the pictures.

[drneal]

59 minutes ago, AUPilot14 said:

Great pictures. We're debating a short 4 night cruise this summer on the Mariner. I love the Voyager Class ships. 

The Ship is a great looking ship and a really good size.  There is a lot to do on it.

4 nights was fine.  What I really liked was not running to the airport from the ship.  I was able to stay in Florida for a couple of nights.

 

45 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

4 night cruise is way to short..............

I was able to do all I wanted to do. I usually go for 7 nights but I was happy with the 4 nights.

 

37 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

OP, love your pictures.  Looks like you had a great time.  Is that a regular balcony?  It seems wider than usual (i.e. the space between the end of the bed and the drawers)

Thank you.

It was a nice size balcony.  I estimated 8' long X 4.5' wide.  I was able to recline the chair and lay flat.  The room itself was a decent size and was a standard 2 D balcony.

 

[AUPilot14]

1 hour ago, Jimbo said:

 

 

4 night cruise is way to short..............

 

We have a 7 planned for November on Celebrity, and stay a few nights in the area with family on shorter voyages. I will agree the value is better for longer cruises, but my work obligations in the summer can be quite a challenge for longer vacations. My crew schedulers keep me quite busy in the summer months being so close to ATL. Unfortunately, my wife is an elementary teacher and off all summer, so we have to get away at off times for her calendar. 

[drneal]

2 hours ago, nikki79 said:

Great review so far. I had a choice of doing a 4 day on this boat or a 3 day on Harmony of the Seas. I wish I would have waited to see your review, I may have chosen differently.

Really enjoying the pictures.

The ship was in much better condition than I initially thought for a 15 yo ship.

I liked the smaller size than the mega ships.

I had read that the shorter cruises had more of a party feel but I had no problems with lines or not being able to see a show. Maybe I had lower expectations but I was very happy on the 4 day cruise and would do it again.

 

[SAmome]

Thanks for the review, very nice!

[drneal]

 

Here is the back of the dailies

 

 

Food Pictures

The Windjammer buffet

 

 

 

 

 

They had a crepe station in the buffet at dinner.

 

They had lots of bacon

 

 

They had a special holiday menu on Christmas eve

 

 

This was the basic main dining room menu.

The main courses changed daily while the classics remained the same.

You also had the option of getting steak and lobster for an additional fee.

My wife and daughter got the onion soup every night.

 

Bar Menus

Barnacle & Barrel

 

 

Bamboo Room

 

Schooner Bar

I liked this menu.

It had pictures of the old ships and the bar menus from them with the old prices.

 

 

 

 

 

Boleros

 

 

Mixed drinks were around $12-13.

Wine $15

Beer $8

+18% gratuity.

 

 

 

 

[blueridgemama]

Thank you for your review and pictures. So many of my questions answered. Do you have to make online reservations for the shows prior to the cruise? Can you reserve laser tag, escape room etc prior to cruise or do you do it once onboard?  Did you do my time dining? If so, did you have to wait long to get seated and were there tables for 4 available?

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for the info and all the great pictures.

[drneal]

56 minutes ago, blueridgemama said:

Thank you for your review and pictures. So many of my questions answered. Do you have to make online reservations for the shows prior to the cruise? Can you reserve laser tag, escape room etc prior to cruise or do you do it once onboard?  Did you do my time dining? If so, did you have to wait long to get seated and were there tables for 4 available?

You should book the Escape room BEFORE you go.  When we did it you could not sign up as they were full.

My son did the laser tag without reservations.  He did it with the other teens and I'm not sure if it was through the teen camp or by themselves but he didn't have reservations.  It may have been like the Skypad that those with reservations had priority and didn't have to wait but everyone got a chance to go.

The flow rider private lessons were booked on-line and I couldn't do it but once on the ship we were able to book the private lessons.  I would imagine this is the case with most things....except the Escape room.

We did My time dining which we booked for 6 PM and one night at 8:45 (the times weren't exactly when I wanted to ea) but there was no problem whenever you showed up.  We would wait on a short line for 5 min, sometimes the line for no reservations was shorter and I would go to that maitre d'. We changed one of the 6 PM times without a problem. 

I found the Windjammer buffet to be fairly empty at dinner.  My son liked to go there as there were more vegetarian options and he wanted to do activities with the other teens.

I did not reserve the show and I only went to the show on the first night. There was plenty of good seating and no wait.  It's not like it was when we were on the Allure with 6,000 passengers(or Norwegian) and we needed reservations for everything.

Hope this helps.

[blueridgemama]

I have made reservations for 6:45 for all 4 nights. I f we decide to eat at a different time should I notify the maitre d'?  Is there any difficulty getting a table for 4? By the way, thank you for your gracious replies. You are very helpful☺

[The Sunset Glow]

Thanks for the great review!

 

We are going on the Mariner 5 night on January 30th. I went to start the check-in process and it said we had been selected for Expedited Arrival using the app on a smartphone. Did you use the app for anything - check-in prior to, expedited arrival at the terminal, or while on board? If so, I have some questions.

1) Do you need data or wifi to use the app at the terminal or on board? We are from Canada and turn our phones to airplane mode while out of the country. We don't plan on buying internet package and will just use our free days from C&A.

2) Can you message each other through the app while on board without an internet package?

 

Thanks!