Unlimited Dining Package on the Mariner- Review

[discru]

I wanted to share my recent experience of the UDP on the Mariner of the Seas last weekend, in hopes of helping others know what to expect.  From all the posts I have read regarding the UDP across the fleet, I had so many questions going into our cruise, and had no idea what to expect, as people seem to have different experiences depending on which ship they are on.  This was the first time I have ever booked the UDP, and it was for a 3 night/weekend cruise.  I purchased the package ahead of time, and as soon as I boarded I went in search of someone who could explain it to me.  I found a stand in the Promenade for "Specialty Dining", and after a brief wait, I started to book the restaurants of my choosing for the cruise.  Here are some observations:

 

LUNCH: 

The server on the Promenade told me Chops was open for lunch at 11:30am.  Upon arriving at Chops promptly at 11:30 am (we were hungry), we were told that lunch did not begin until noon.  I was told that 11:30 am was for "The Key" people, and that was to be on Deck 5.  Bummer... so we returned a little after noon.

FYI...On both port days, Nassau and Coco Cay, both Jamies and Chops were open!   This was a pleasant surprise!!  The lunch menu was very similar to the dinner menu, of course, the dinner menu was more extensive. The lunch at Chops on embarkation day was VERY long.  We waited for over 20 min to have our order taken. Another 5-10 for bread.   The entire lunch was about 2 hours (we ordered shrimp cocktail, a salad for me, filet for DH, and a slice of pie).  Chops was not busy at all...lots of empty tables, but I'm thinking the delay was that the chefs in Chops were also busy making the lunches for all "The Key" people as well.  I enjoy a relaxing lunch as much as the next person, but to me, it was quite slow. I'm not sure I would choose Chops on embarkation day again, just my personal preference.

Playmakers was open as well.  I did not check to see if Johnny Rockets was open, although we did check Izumi's and they were NOT open for lunch on any day.

 

DINNER:

We thought we would try out each of the 3 specialty restaurants (Chops, Izumi and Jamie's).  We were most pleased with Izumis.  We had the traditional hibachi dinner and was told we could have TWO proteins, for no additional charge.  We had read conflicting stories on this, but our experience was TWO proteins (I had tenderloin and lobster, DH had tenderloin and chicken).  It was DELICIOUS!!  The best tenderloin on the ship!  Other protein options were NY Strip (I believe), shrimp, scallops... that's all I remember.  We started with edamame, then a salad, the rice, veggies, proteins and choice of 2 desserts, and a wonderfully entertaining show.  We skipped the 2 dessert options, and cannot even tell you what they were. 

We were told if we chose to go the sushi route, we would have $35 credit to spend.

Chops and Jamies were very nice, great food, excellent service.

 

SNACKS:

Ben and Jerrys is not included in the UDP, but Johnny Rockets and Playmakers is included, with a $35 credit to use.  I did not check to see if the food in the Bamboo Room was included, so I cannot answer to that. 

We tried the potato skins at Playmakers, which were awful.  The potato was "mealy", for lack of a better word.... almost like they had been frozen for a very long time.  We took a few bites, and left the rest.  We did return the next day for a "sweet treat"... this is where this review becomes noteworthy. The ice cream sundae!  (Remember, Ben and Jerrys was not included in the UDP, from what we were told.)   When you order the ice cream sundae from Playmakers, someone from Playmakers takes your order then walks with you over to Ben and Jerrys, right across the promenade.  You then get to choose FIVE flavors (scoops) of ice cream!  They then top it off with caramel, chocolate syrup, whipped cream and sugar sprinkles.  They then walk you back to Playmakers to eat your gigantic sundae.  Sundae cost was $12... but totally worth it if you want your ice cream fix. Large enough to feed a family.  We were told we had a $35 credit for Playmakers, but I am not clear if this is per day...or per cruise, although it IS per person.  We only had the icecream and potato skins, so we were no where close to $35. 

 

Sorry I do not have much more info than this.... but wanted to relay our experience in case it can help someone else.

[BeagleAgility]

Thank you.  I have the UDP for the Navigator at the end of December - I am assuming it will be very similar.

[molly361]

Were you allowed to have lunch on the port days?  I thought it was just for sea days

[discru]

9 minutes ago, BeagleAgility said:

Thank you.  I have the UDP for the Navigator at the end of December - I am assuming it will be very similar.

 

I would think/hope so. But, who knows.  lol   We were impressed with the UDP on the Mariner, and hope it's the same on our Indy cruise next month! 

[discru]

9 minutes ago, molly361 said:

Were you allowed to have lunch on the port days?  I thought it was just for sea days

Yes... we were able to eat at Chops, Jamies, Playmakers, and I presume Johnny Rockets on port days!  Our cruise was just a 3 night cruise, so every day was a port day.  We did not have any sea days.  Now.... maybe things are different when a ship DOES have seas days... but our experience with this 3 day cruise, where we did not have ANY sea days was we could eat lunch at Chops/Jamies/Playmakers each day.  Hope this helps.

[Cel_cruise]

Thank you for your review!   We have UDP for DH and I on a 4 night navigator cruise in april and this is super helpful.   We didn’t get it for our kids (9 yo can join for $10 and 13yo doesn’t want to commit to long dinners).   Playmakers desserts are a big selling feature for us!  Super excited about that part of your report!!!

[discru]

You are very welcome. I’m curious to hear how/if the 4 night differs. 

[nolimits]

Doing a 4  nt on Mariner in Feb , only 1 seaday is that the only lunch included in UDP . OP made  it seem as though specialty lunches where included sailaway and at cococay ?

Discription says lunch at specialty restaurant on  seadays ? 

Edited November 27, 2019 by nolimits

[molly361]

3 hours ago, nolimits said:

Doing a 4  nt on Mariner in Feb , only 1 seaday is that the only lunch included in UDP . OP made  it seem as though specialty lunches where included sailaway and at cococay ?

Discription says lunch at specialty restaurant on  seadays ? 

It is supposed to be only sea days which seems to include boarding day lunch but OP got it everyday on her 3 day trip

[discru]

We DID get it every day... we had no sea days, and ate specialty dining lunch at embarkation, Nassau day and CocoCay day!!  We were SHOCKED, but VERY happy!  

For the person who was wondering abt the Navigator... It looks like their Izumi is not a hibachi, like we experienced on the Mariner. This is a big deal for us, so we cancelled our UDP for our upcoming Navigator.  Sounds like things can differ greatly from one ship to another— even between sister ships, so there is no telling if our experience with the UDP will be the same for other ships/sailings. This is unfortunate, as I like knowing what I’m getting for my money. 

[SNJCruisers]

4 hours ago, discru said:

  Sounds like things can differ greatly from one ship to another— even between sister ships, so there is no telling if our experience with the UDP will be the same for other ships/sailings. This is unfortunate, as I like knowing what I’m getting for my money. 

As usual, it seems like what is included varies from ship to ship and sailing to sailing.  The fine print on the UDP for our August Oasis sailing states that the deluxe items such as Chef's table and Izumi Hibachi are NOT included in the UDP.  Currently at 199 pp, unless it drops a bit, we'll probably go for the 3 night dinner package at 99.