ROLL CALL: RCI Mariner of the Seas - Eastern Caribbean 09/16/07

[OGCFreddie]

Hey, all. Great prices for this 7 nighter from Port Canaveral. Anyone else going?

[OGCFreddie]

Come on, all. There are still great prices and plenty of availability for this cruise. Anyone else going???

[theOSU1]

Hi Bud,

Greg and I will be onboard for this cruise. We are both 45 and look forward to some sun. We are in Sarasota, so should be fun to go back to St Martin for the beach. I will be looking for u on AIM, maybe I will find you on there sometime.

We were on Costa Victoria, nice ship and a great time too. We were on with a "family" group and it was good. Real milk for hot chocolate and the BEST chocolate cake for dessert too. (it usually looks good but isn't)

Been on Mariner before and it was a good ship. Pool decor is a bit loud for my taste but I did like the entertainment staff. I hope for a good relaxed vacation.

I have to book cruise connection's bus before rates go up.

Brett and Greg

[OGCFreddie]

Good to have the two of you along. You'll have to be sure to point out some of the things about Mariner that I just can't miss. Now if I can only male it another 7 1/2 months!

 

Take care!

[brightonguys]

My partner and I are going to be on this cruise, as well. Our second time on RCI and we're really looking forward to it. We've been on Freedom and really loved it and hear that Mariner is very similar. We didn't actually have many people show up to the FOD gatherings on Freedom, however, so hopefully that will improve this time around!

[OGCFreddie]

Welcome, guys! Glad to have you along. So where do the two of you come from? I'm in Winter Park right outside Orlando. I'm hoping that they will have a FOD meeting since, on my past cruises, they didn't have one. Greg and Brett (theOSU1) are a couple that will also be on the ship as well as my roommate (just a roommate) and myself. I'm 46 and Michael is 36.

 

Be sure to sign up for the Meet & Mingle. So far on our thread we have 73 people signed up and the people seem like a good bunch. Be sure to visit the thread and introduce yourself ( http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=416000 ) !

 

Again, welcome to you both. Looking forward to meeting you. Take care and have a great day!!!!

 

Freddie

[brightonguys]

Hey, thanks for the welcome. We (Rich and Ed) are coming down from Boston. When we were on Freedom of the Seas last year, we had to schedule the FOD meetings and put an announcement on the community board down by the Promenade Cafe, so I expect we'll have to do the same thing on Mariner. That's one of RCI's only drawbacks -- they are not nearly as welcoming to G & L passengers. Definitely looking forward to this cruise, though. :)

[OGCFreddie]

Are you two planning on signing up for the Meet & Mingle? I would have loved to sail the Freedom but I have heard that, with the exception of the flowrider, aqua park and boxing ring the Mariner had pretty much the same amenities. What was your itenerary on Freedom?

 

Freddie

[brightonguys]

Never had signed up for a meet and mingle before -- not really ever sure what it entails. On Freedom, we did the Western route -- Labadee, Cozumel, Jamaica. It was a fantastic ship. One thing we enjoyed a lot were the hot tubs that hung out over the sides of the ship -- very cool.

[OGCFreddie]

When I used to work for Costa, we would stop at Jamaica, Cozumel and Grand Cayman every other week. Loved the islands but the people in Jamaica and GC were very anti-gay. As a matter of fact, Grand Cayman will not allow the gay or lesbian chartered ships to dock. Cozumel was one of our favorite stops (well, actually, it was Carlos and Charleys).

 

The Meet & Mingle is just a way to meet some of the people who you've been talking to on the Roll Call thread. There seem to be some really great people on the thread so you and your partner should really sign up. To register, just follow this link:

https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/ccEntry.do

 

Hope to get to meet the two of you onboard. My rommate and I are in cabin 1288 on deck ten and have late seating for dinner.

 

Later, my friend...

 

Freddie

[flspeedo]

Hi there Freddie from Apopka, right around the corner from you. My partner and I have sailed Mariner 3 times so we are very familiar with it. I am a cruise agent as well, so if you have questions, let me know. In fact I was just on board the ship on Sunday for a seminar and she is just as beautiful as ever! Would love to join you guys!

[OGCFreddie]

Hi there Freddie from Apopka, right around the corner from you. My partner and I have sailed Mariner 3 times so we are very familiar with it. I am a cruise agent as well, so if you have questions, let me know. In fact I was just on board the ship on Sunday for a seminar and she is just as beautiful as ever! Would love to join you guys!

 

Then go for it, flspeedo!! The more, the merrier!

[brightonguys]

Thanks for the link! We just signed up for the meet and mingle. Once I have some time, I'll go to the general Roll Call, as well. Glad to hear you've been chatting with some nice people over there.

[OGCFreddie]

Well, my friends. The day is getting closer. Down to 93 days! Anybody else going to be joining us in September???

[OGCFreddie]

FYI, the Meet & Mingle information has disappeared for our cruise. If anyone on this thread signed up, you probably need to go back and re-register. Hope ya'll are doing great!!!

[brightonguys]

Hey Freddie, how's it going? We're closing in on 60 days now -- you getting ready? :)

[OGCFreddie]

That I am, my friend. So how was your recent cruise? I'll bet the sights were beautiful. All I've ever done, even when I worked on the ship. were Caribbean and Europe. I've always wanted to try Alaska or Canada. Still plenty of time for that!

 

Really looking forward to meeting the two of you soon. If you get the chance, there are a few cool people on the Roll Call thread for the Mariner. You ought to drop off a quick hello. There are about 90 people who are enrolled. Seeing that I have no life except for work, it's fun to talk to them. Granted, there's only one other "family" couple, but they know all about me and they all seem pretty cool with it.

 

Anyway, have fun and drop a line soon. Until later...

[brightonguys]

That's good to hear about the folks you've chatted with on the roll call. I'll have to head over there soon to introduce myself. It's gonna be a great cruise, I'm sure. We're really looking forward to getting back on to RCI, and esp. the Mariner. Our Canada/New England cruise was a lot of fun - very easy and very relaxing. And we were more impressed with HAL and the Maasdam than we expected to be. I would definitely do it again next summer.