Just off Mariiner-things you might like to know

[DayCruisers]

We sailed the Mariner of the Seas March 16 - 23. Overall it was a good trip. I loved the ship and the staff was great. The seas were rocky and the weather effected both of our excursions in St. Maarten and St. Thomas. We had a great tour with Bernards Tours in St. Maarten. Many of the places we wanted to stop at were closed due to sea swell, but we made the best of it. Our driver was Leon and he treated us like royalty.

 

Here are a few tips:

1. The best night for a speciality restaurant is Wednesday. It was the BLAH night in the diningroom.

 

2. Tips are no longer automatically added to your sign and sail. You have to fill out paperwork on the ship or do it ahead of time.

 

3. If you plan to buy several pictures, buy a package. You can buy any package Sun-Tues and then upgrade or downgrade when you are ready to pick out your pictures.

 

4. Eat breakfast in the diningroom. The food is much better quality.

 

5. If you are traveling without young children, late seating gives you more time to enjoy your day.

 

6. The ice show tickets go fast so make sure you are there to get them early.

 

We enjoyed the parades, 70's dance party, the shows were good. The music was good in the disco (the behavior of some of the college age women was disturbing). The pools and hot tubs were nice and clean. The ship was beautiful and the drinks were good.

 

The diningroom food was not as bad as many have reported. We had lobster on the second formal night. The Windjammer food could use some improvement.

 

As a side note -The first day on the ship, I went down to the infirmary to get some sea sick meds and there I found many people people claiming their luggage from security as they had found liquor in their bags.

 

If you are going on the Mariner. Have a great time.

[Cruising89143]

Just an FYI. RCI has never added the gratuities to your Sea Pass card automatically for your steward or dining staff.

[cb at sea]

You're right on on the dining room thing--breakfast IS better there!

[pmfan]

Thanks for posting about your trip. I sail on her in September.

[daniels5759]

I am going on Mariner 5-11-2008. Can't wait. thanks for your info.

[Loves_Dogs]

Where do you go to get the ice show tickets? Are they free?

[Hans Solo]

Yes the ice show tickets are free. You need to to check your cruise compass for the day and time when RCCL hands out the free tickets. If memory serves me well, they hand out the tickets at 9am on your 1st sea day.

[Bellatrix]

Thanks for the tips - I wonder if the weather will have settled down by the time I go on the Western itinerary in May??

 

Gosh, I hope so.

 

Thanks for the notice about the ppl picking up their luggage becasue of alcohol smuggling!!

[nccruiser24]

thanks for the mini-review!

[Loves_Dogs]

Yes the ice show tickets are free. You need to to check your cruise compass for the day and time when RCCL hands out the free tickets. If memory serves me well, they hand out the tickets at 9am on your 1st sea day.

 

Thanks for the info, I can't wait!

[critterchick]

The diningroom food was not as bad as many have reported. We had lobster on the second formal night. The Windjammer food could use some improvement.

 

Funny, I thought the food in both venues was very good earlier this month - much better than we've seen on RCI lately. We never did get to the Windjammer for breakfast, though - we mainly ate there for lunch. I was less impressed with lunch in the dining room - the service was a bit of a mess (I think the waitstaff was exhausted) and the orders often came out wrong.

 

Thanks for update!

[FLASHINGLIGHTS83]

Thanks for posting about your trip. I sail on her in September.

 

pmfan, i see you chatting over in the genesis inag forum, and now i see you are sailing the mariner in sept. when in sept?? me and shanon are going on her on the 28th for our honeymoon trip.

 

let me know...

 

greg

[Alexis]

pmfan, i see you chatting over in the genesis inag forum, and now i see you are sailing the mariner in sept. when in sept?? me and shanon are going on her on the 28th for our honeymoon trip.

 

let me know...

 

greg

 

 

pmfan, I am on the 21st cruise and the 28th cruise with Greg and Shanon. Let me know too. ;)

Greg, If she is, point her to our roll call when you are on the other chat place.. ;)

[TomCat32174]

I beleive that it was eastern that just returned? What are the formal nights? I think it will be Monday and Friday?

[wantacruise]

Going in June--thanks for your info.

[kittymom65]

I beleive that it was eastern that just returned? What are the formal nights? I think it will be Monday and Friday?

 

Formal Nights:

Eastern: Monday and Friday

Western: Monday and Thursday

[jakenashleysmom]

Although you may have tickets in hand for the ice show, which is spectacular by the way, make sure you arrive early enough to get a seat! We arrived aprox 5 minutes to show time, and had to sit on bar stools at the top of the room. It was very hard for our children to see the show, and many of the seats at the top are obstructed view. Not a complaint, mind you, completely our own fault, just an fyi! Enjoy your cruise.

[captjaneway]

We sailed the Mariner of the Seas March 16 - 23. Overall it was a good trip. I loved the ship and the staff was great. The seas were rocky and the weather effected both of our excursions in St. Maarten and St. Thomas. We had a great tour with Bernards Tours in St. Maarten. Many of the places we wanted to stop at were closed due to sea swell, but we made the best of it. Our driver was Leon and he treated us like royalty.

 

Here are a few tips:

1. The best night for a speciality restaurant is Wednesday. It was the BLAH night in the diningroom.

 

2. Tips are no longer automatically added to your sign and sail. You have to fill out paperwork on the ship or do it ahead of time.

 

3. If you plan to buy several pictures, buy a package. You can buy any package Sun-Tues and then upgrade or downgrade when you are ready to pick out your pictures.

 

4. Eat breakfast in the diningroom. The food is much better quality.

 

5. If you are traveling without young children, late seating gives you more time to enjoy your day.

 

6. The ice show tickets go fast so make sure you are there to get them early.

 

We enjoyed the parades, 70's dance party, the shows were good. The music was good in the disco (the behavior of some of the college age women was disturbing). The pools and hot tubs were nice and clean. The ship was beautiful and the drinks were good.

 

The diningroom food was not as bad as many have reported. We had lobster on the second formal night. The Windjammer food could use some improvement.

 

As a side note -The first day on the ship, I went down to the infirmary to get some sea sick meds and there I found many people people claiming their luggage from security as they had found liquor in their bags.

 

If you are going on the Mariner. Have a great time.

 

Thanks for the info DayCruisers; Can you tell me who your Captain and the CD were? Also is it true that there is no longer a grand galla buffet?

[Ocalacruzer]

:D Love the Mariner, even though I think the food is not as good as it used to be,

We have sailed this ship 3 times and going again on Dec. 7th. to say goodbye, as it is leaving Florida:) and going to California, still don't know what ship will replace it

:p

[cruisnpat]

Thanks for the review.

[jenni belle]

Thanks for the info DayCruisers; Can you tell me who your Captain and the CD were? Also is it true that there is no longer a grand galla buffet?

 

I too was on the same cruise. Unfortunately, I totally spaced the Meet & Mingle and did not get to meet you Lin! :(

 

Anyway, the captain of the Mariner at the time was Capt Johnny Faevelen. He was quite entertaining and very visible. I've never seen a captain around the ship as much as we saw Capt. Johnny.

 

The crew director was Drew Devine. He was great, and come to find out, quite the drummer! While watching the farewell show, we all said, that drummer looks a lot like the CD. Well....there was a reason!!

 

And sadly, yes, there is no more grand gala buffet. However, they do still have the midnight BBQ by the pool.

[cruzeluver]

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh.........another satisfied Mariner customer!

 

To add for the poster asking about the ice shows- get there 30 minutes early for a good seat, and get there 30 minutes earlier than the posted time to pick up tickets. We got there five minutes early, and the line to get tickets was already crazy, but we still managed to score a pair.

[joand452]

Have they changed over to the new mattresses? Mariner was our second cruise in 2005, and I thought the bed was terrible. My hip was killing me (I'm a side sleeper), and I could barely walk by the end of the week. I was very concerned towards our cruise on Brilliance last week, but was happy with the mattress.

 

We're sailing Mariner in 2009 and are looking forward to it (except maybe the bed?? :o ).

 

Thanks for the heads up on the ice show seating. We never made it the first time, as by the time we got around to getting tickets, they were gone! Don't they have enough for each passenger?

 

BTW, one of our pieces of luggage was held, too, on Brilliance for possible alcohol smuggling. I had sealed bottles of mouthwash and flouride rinse just out in the open!

[mrsaknar]

I LOVE this thread........ We are leaving on the Mariner next weekend and are SOOOO excited ~ our first cruise! The boards, and now this thread, has been quite helpful in planning and in being prepared as well as getting us even more excited!! Keep the tips a coming!! :)

[linswi]

DayCruisers-

Have they replaced the tvs on Mariner with the flat screens that pull out and swivel? Or are they still the old ones that sit on the counter?

If they are the old ones, can you see them from the beds?

Thanks