Back From the 9/2 Mariner, And I Am Fuming!!!

[cruzeluver]

My partner and I just returned from the 9/2 sailing of the Mariner. I am furious with both RCCL and the members of this board. I was told over and over again that we would have a great time on this cruise, and that is not true. We had an excellent time!!! Virtualy every aspect of the trip exceeded our expectations. Thanks for all the false advertising! Here is how it went down.

 

Embarkation- The folks at Port Canaveral and the Mariner employees were incredibly efficient. We arrived at 11:15 and were parked, processed and on the ship by noon. Way too fast! I expected to be put in a holding pen indefinetly.

 

Our stateroom- We were in Promenade room 8275. It was far too comfortable and spacious. The loveseat and window seat were too much of a convience. We had a terrific view of the goings on below and the Wig and Gavle pub in particular. Our stateroom attendant James introduced himself shortly after we entered the room and took excellent care of us all week, keeping the ice bucket full and even made room in the fridge for the botteled water we had brought with us.

 

The ship- Pictures do not do the Mariner justice. It is simply stunning! Do yourself a favor and make a point of admiring the artwork throughout and read the cards next to many of the pieces. The ship looked fresh as a daisy from her recent drydock and the crew was forever vaccuuming and polishing her up. Again, I expected a nice ship, not a great one. Another area in which I was mislead.

 

Food- Seems to be the area that gets the most mixed reviews. We found the ship to be on par and in some instances better than the food we have have on other lines. We had breakfast most mornings in th Windjammer. I am not much of a buffet person, but overall it was quite good and quick if you had other things to do in the mornings. We had lunch in the main dining room a couple of times and it was great. This ship has the best ceasar salads I have had, in fact, I had one four times! :p We had second seating in the Sound of Music dining room (third level). We got very lucky with table mates. We dined with a lovely couple from Cleveland and three ladies traveling together. They were great company every evening. Our wait team, Allan and Juan went above and beyond to make each dining experience memorable. Wednesday was my birthday, so we had 7:30 reservations at Portofino's. Esaily worth the $20 sur charge. Jim had the lobster and fish skewer and I had the halibut. Both were outstanding! We had a table by the window, and it was lovely to have the lights from St. Thomas to watch as we sailed out of port. We had lunch the last sea day at Johnny Rockets. Best onion rings bar none. But be forwarned, you leave full as a tick!

 

Activities- Jim climbed the rock wall and deemed it "awesome". We played three rounds of minature golf (nice little course). We did some shopping on board (got a very nice Bulova watch for an excellent price) and purchased one small piece at the second of the three art auctions. We also spent some time at the Solarium hot tubs. What a nice peaceful way to part of an afternoon. Far too many other options for activities. How dare RCCL give me so many choices!

 

Shows- The only area where I have mixed feelings. Juggler Kristoff was very good, as were singers Tony Tillman and Glenn Smith. The comic on the last night was hopelessly mediocre, while the other comics were much better. The production company had just boarded the ship along with the rest of us, and so had a lot of rehearsing still to do. As a result, they only did one show (Front Row). It was pretty good, but you could tell they were still working out some of the kinks. Ice Under The Big Top is not to be missed! Be sure and arrive a few minutes early for tickets and seats, as they go quickly! It was spectacular! Amazing what they could accomplish on such a small rink.

 

Quest- Feelings a little mixed on this one. Probably would not go again.Started out fun, but got progressively more stupid as it went.

 

Ports- Coco Cay was fun. We walked around to the far side of the island and found an area with few people and relaxed on the beach for awhile. Did the aqua park which was a lot more tiring than it looked. The barbeque was very good, and more than plentiful. Did a private tour in St. Thomas with Sunny Liston. His tour is great and I highly recommed him. He is very entertaining and informative. The views from Mountain Top are not to be believed. We did another tour in S. Martin with Bernard from SXM tours. He was great as well, and a great counterpart to Sunny, because where Sunny is very high energy with music blasting throughout, Bernard was much more low key. But we enjoyed them equally.

 

Disembarkation- Again, could not have run smoother. I think a lot of the problems are a result of passengers either not reading through the procedures, or thinking that the procedures do not apply to them. Our tag color was called at around 8:30 and we were in the car and on the road by 9:30.

 

Some other thoughts- Cruise director Dennis Sciortino was great. Very visible and always stopped to chat with passengers as he made his way around. The guy works his butt off!! The rest of his team were equally dedicated and social. Captain Per was a delight. Several times we saw him just walking around and talking with the passengers. The only issue we had was our safe never worked. Maintenance came to the room twice, but never got it working. Not a huge deal. A suggestion I made was that if you are going to offer pre-paid gratuities, then why do we still have to distribute envelopes with vouchers? Seemed kind of silly, and missed the point of pre-paying, but this was also a minor point. Service throughout the ship was way above average. The crew and staff were very accomodating and interested in ensuring everyone had a great time.

 

I am happy to answer any questions anyone may have. But let me warn you, you are being mislead about the Mariner. It is far nicer, a lot more fun and a much better value than others have stated. Don't say you haven't been warned!!!

[reallyitsmema]

I am so sorry you had such an excellent time. I hope you weren't compelled to book another cruise on that gorgeous ship like we were:eek: :p :D ;)

[skyking]

HOW DARE you speak SOOOO highly of my favorite ship...I cant wait to board her again on Sunday:) THANKS for the chuckle.

[CruiseCrAzieS]

How clever was your review....a breath of fresh air...I LOVED IT!!! :D I am very happy that you and your partner enjoyed your cruise, it is so refreshing to hear from people with your WONDERFUL cruise attitude!! :)

[crusinmama06]

You had me - for a minute. :D

 

Well stay away from those darn awful cruises. So sorry you had a fabulous time.

[wrp96]

I sure hope you wrote all your "complaints" down on the post cruise survey.

[petel]

Yep - that about covers it - - that's the RCL WoW!

 

I feel compelled to help you understand one small detail that you mentioned. The envelope is a ceremony so you can announce how much you appreciated your service. The actual $$ will be posted to the proper accounts whether you give them the envelope or not. Some people actually add to the pre-paid for extra good service.

 

Glad you posted your impressions, thanks :)

[bambam2972]

hahaha, so glad to hear you had a great time! I love the Mariner and can't wait to be on her again! Why did I book for December of next year and not sooner??? :eek: :p

[nlcentralchmps03]

Great review.

 

I am sorry if I was one of the ones that mislead you.

[shirleygr]

Now that I've cleaned the iced tea off my monitor, thanks for the laugh and the review. Well done. With your attitude, I know your next cruise will be just as annoyingly excellent. :)

[Bakincakes]

RCI has alot of nerve.

 

Write a letter...you need to be compensated for this outrage.:p

[RetireeWannabee]

From the thread title, I thought I would be rolling my eyes. What a wonderful surprise!!!

 

Glad you enjoyed, and Happy Birthday!!

[astrogirl19]

Just wanted you to know that we'll be on the Mariner next week and Wednesday is also my birthday, we are also doing the tour with Sunny Liston that day and we're also eating at Portofinos that night. Looks like I'm going to have the same birthday you had! :)

 

Did you do the ice show on Wednesday or Friday? If Wednesday, were you out of Portofinos in time to get good seats? You said your reservation was for 7:30, I was thinking of booking earlier than that due to the ice show.

 

Thanks again for the great review!

[Mickeylee]

We are going on the Mariner in December (though the Western) and will be outraged if we have to put up with the same type of cruise that you did. I hope that you were both able to recover from this horrible experience ;).

 

 

Seriously, thanks for the great review; glad you had fun.

[Cruzin2paradise09]

Bahhhhahahahahaha!!! Great review -- reminds me of those cell phone commercials where the teenager and parent are arguing but it's all positive stuff! Thanks for the smile!!

[cruzeluver]

Astrogirl19- We did the ice show on Friday at 7:00. This worked out well as it was over by 7:50 so we had time to get back to the room and change for the second formal night. To get good seats fo the ice show, get there 30 minutes early, that is when they open the doors and you should be fine.

[nlcentralchmps03]

Bahhhhahahahahaha!!! Great review -- reminds me of those cell phone commercials where the teenager and parent are arguing but it's all positive stuff! Thanks for the smile!!

I thought the same thing as I was reading it.

 

LOL :D

[dutchess43]

What a shame that you both had an excellent cruise. Now you have perked my curiosity so I will have to look into booking her in the near future.

[cruisinisforme]

Great post! Glad to hear you loved the mariner too, she is my favorite ship also. Going to try and book her at least one more time before she leaves for the west coast.

[kittymom65]

That darn Mariner;)

She seems to have that effect on most people!

[lv2crooz2]

It's people like you who make cruising harder for the rest of us! There you go...enjoying the ship, telling all your friends.....they tell all THEIR friends...and, before you know it, the industry has to build bigger and better ships for us to try! Welcome to the club----the MARINER club;) :D

[cruisinfanatic]

Sorry about that. We all make mistakes.

[cruisinmamma]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!!!!!

I board this Sunday and you've really got me goin' now!!

Can't wait:D

[StormGoddess]

Jim and Ryan, I was on that same sailing, read your title and was thinking...what, where you on the same ship???

 

But you did it good. Glad you two enjoyed your vacation, I know we did.

She is a beauty and I can't wait to go back next year!

[EmpressofPurple]

(My LMAO smiley won't show up!)