Just off Mariner of the seas Eastern Caribbean

[Hombre59]

Just got home about an hour or two ago, unpacked and started to check the emails and ventured forth here. If you have any questions about how this was I will try to answer them for you. Some things we didn't do, some we did. The highlight of our cruise though was kayaking in cococay and renting a car from Hertz in St Maarten, we drove around the whole island and it was fantastic, even went to the Juliana airport and watched a 747 or one of the really big planes fly over our heads as we sat on the beach right outside.

[Fun@C]

I saw that the Mariner was late leaving PC. Was it due to a truck carrying provisions? Can you purchase the giant slide when you get to Cocoa Cay? Thanks!!

[Jan_In_Maine]

We will be on the Mariner next Sunday (along with Fun @C) ... How was the entertainment? We are parasailing at Coco-Cay, but would like to know more about the Kayaking, perhaps we could do that too. Would love to hear what you thought of the cruise! Jan

[Hombre59]

I saw that the Mariner was late leaving PC. Was it due to a truck carrying provisions? Can you purchase the giant slide when you get to Cocoa Cay? Thanks!!

 

We were late because of provisions, the captain said they were essential so we had to wait. We were also late leaving most ports lol. We left Cococay about 2 hours late because someone had a medical emergency and they had to get the coast guard to fly in a helicopter. (don't know what happened, hopefully they are safe). I believe you can purchase the water park tickets in Cococay.

[Hombre59]

We will be on the Mariner next Sunday (along with Fun @C) ... How was the entertainment? We are parasailing at Coco-Cay, but would like to know more about the Kayaking, perhaps we could do that too. Would love to hear what you thought of the cruise! Jan

 

The entertainment was pretty good, the juggler guy was amazingly funny to me. Also, they had another comedian, I forgot his name (I will look at the cruise compass later). I didnt think the musicals were that great, they played music that no one knew basically.

 

Kayaking was so fun, we had a great time. A bunch of 20 year olds we are, and one of us didn't paddle so I did all the work. It can get tiring, but is well worth it, you go pretty far out.

[FLASHINGLIGHTS83]

who was your capt?? capt johnny?? if so, did you get a chance to talk to him? iknow this is a stretch, but did he say when his rotation ends?? were going on her at the end of sept, and were hoping to have capt johnny as our capt. also who was the cd??

 

thanx

greg

[collegecruiser346]

I'd glad you had a good time. I'm sailing on her next sunday the 17th. I just have a few questions though.

1. Was it chaotic getting off at every port? It seems like every cruise I've been on were like the passengers are herded cow trying to get out of a single door.

 

2. How do we board the tenders for CoCo Cay? Do we wait in a theater and get called by row?

 

3. Last but not least, when was your stateroom ready on the first day?

 

thanks! :-)

[SherriZ366]

who was your capt?? capt johnny?? if so, did you get a chance to talk to him? iknow this is a stretch, but did he say when his rotation ends?? were going on her at the end of sept, and were hoping to have capt johnny as our capt. also who was the cd??

 

thanx

greg

There is thread on Current Captains started by Wolfcathorse that has a chart on ships and captain rotations.

[DCdoc]

Hombre59, glad you had a great trip. Do you remember how much the car rental was on St. Maarten? Do they drive on the same side of the road?

[pmfan]

Sounds like you had a great time. I'm sailing on her again in 5 weeks and I am so excited.:D

[FLASHINGLIGHTS83]

There is thread on Current Captains started by Wolfcathorse that has a chart on ships and captain rotations.

 

thanks. ive checked out the thread before. it is a greatg way to check for the approximate capt change. the standard roatation is 10 weeks long, thats the dates she uses. per RCCL contracts, the captains can agree to extend there rotation as long as 14 weeks. unfortunately the only people who will know this will be the capts themselves. but you are 100% correct about that thread. i always check their 1st. thanx

 

greg

[time4agetaway]

Can't wait to read your full review. We will be sailing on her next Sunday!! :D

[ToddinVA]

We'll be on her next Sunday too!

[uksimonusa]

Sounds like you had a GREAT time! I will be on Mariner four weeks from today - Western, even though my personal preference is Eastern.

 

Did you by chance check out the pub entertainment at night in Wig & Gavel? Just curious to see who's onboard in W&G this year. Last year, it was Mark B. (currently on Liberty I believe), and he was phenomenal - many of my guests returning along with me on next month's cruise have asked, as he made a huge hit with all of us. I hope whomever is there has a similar entertainment "platform"!

 

I seem to remember being told Jimmy Blakemore is back on the Mariner, but I could be wrong

[Jan_In_Maine]

ToddinVA ... come on over to the Meet & Mingle (Roll Call) thread! Jan

[B-52]

CoCo Cay is smaller than labadee. Been to both, Coco cay on Enchantment, labadee on Mariner.

I'm wondering how crowded Coco Cay is with the Mariner there? Any trouble getting lunch, beaches, etc?

We will be on the Mariner in a few weeks, stopping at Coco Cay.

[izzypooch]

Hi Everyone,

 

Thought I'd answer a few questions posted here so far and give a few of my personal likes and dislikes of the cruise.

 

Regarding the tender to Coca Cay, tenders leave the ship about every 10 or 15 minutes. You just go to deck 1 or wherever they tell you to go, and if you're lucky there's no waiting. If not so lucky, you might have to stand in line for a few minutes. Ditto the return trip from the island to the ship.

 

This cruise was the best of 10 I've been on so far (not all RC). The Mariner is beautiful, clean, and full of fun activities and the staff is the greatest. My husband and I both thought the food was very good, especially in the Windjammer. We also loved the Cafe Prommonade. Our cabin was 6526 and it was just a short jaunt away which was great for a free glass of water (rather than buying bottled water from the minibar), morning coffee and late night snacks.

 

In our opinion, the entertainment was very good, especially juggle boy, as someone already mentioned. We thought the production numbers were good and loved the Beatles show. The Temptations sucked. The old dude who was an original Temptation didn't even sing, he just mumbled in between songs. The other singers were good but the songs were so outdated that with the lack of chemistry between audience and performers, the show was pretty dull. So unless you really love Motown music, my suggestion is skip it. (remember, just my opinion).

 

As mentioned we were late leaving PC and CC which meant we had to boogie those first few days to get back on schedule. That meant is was pretty windy on deck. Other than that slight inconvenience, the weather was beautiful. No rain.

 

I don't think Coca Cay is too crowded with Mariner is there -- plenty of chairs available. but I will agree that the "picnic" wasn't the greatest. It's probably pretty hard to cater off of the ship for so many. The sea gulls are pests too. We just ate a quick hot dog and then went back to the ship and ate at the Windjammer that afternoon. Sometimes it's fun to "rough it." The island is relaxing and scenic. You can do as much or little as you want.

 

Abe was the cruise director. Neat guy.

 

That's all I can think of right now. I'll be happy to answer any other questions if I can. I envy those who are getting ready to cruise the Mariner. You will have a blast.

[SherriZ366]

Hi Everyone,

 

Thought I'd answer a few questions posted here so far and give a few of my personal likes and dislikes of the cruise.

 

Regarding the tender to Coca Cay, tenders leave the ship about every 10 or 15 minutes. You just go to deck 1 or wherever they tell you to go, and if you're lucky there's no waiting. If not so lucky, you might have to stand in line for a few minutes. Ditto the return trip from the island to the ship.

 

This cruise was the best of 10 I've been on so far (not all RC). The Mariner is beautiful, clean, and full of fun activities and the staff is the greatest. My husband and I both thought the food was very good, especially in the Windjammer. We also loved the Cafe Prommonade. Our cabin was 6526 and it was just a short jaunt away which was great for a free glass of water (rather than buying bottled water from the minibar), morning coffee and late night snacks.

 

In our opinion, the entertainment was very good, especially juggle boy, as someone already mentioned. We thought the production numbers were good and loved the Beatles show. The Temptations sucked. The old dude who was an original Temptation didn't even sing, he just mumbled in between songs. The other singers were good but the songs were so outdated that with the lack of chemistry between audience and performers, the show was pretty dull. So unless you really love Motown music, my suggestion is skip it. (remember, just my opinion).

 

As mentioned we were late leaving PC and CC which meant we had to boogie those first few days to get back on schedule. That meant is was pretty windy on deck. Other than that slight inconvenience, the weather was beautiful. No rain.

 

I don't think Coca Cay is too crowded with Mariner is there -- plenty of chairs available. but I will agree that the "picnic" wasn't the greatest. It's probably pretty hard to cater off of the ship for so many. The sea gulls are pests too. We just ate a quick hot dog and then went back to the ship and ate at the Windjammer that afternoon. Sometimes it's fun to "rough it." The island is relaxing and scenic. You can do as much or little as you want.

 

Abe was the cruise director. Neat guy.

 

That's all I can think of right now. I'll be happy to answer any other questions if I can. I envy those who are getting ready to cruise the Mariner. You will have a blast.

Thanks for the update -- we are on her on Sunday!!!!

[4everafter]

I saw that the Mariner was late leaving PC. Was it due to a truck carrying provisions? Can you purchase the giant slide when you get to Cocoa Cay? Thanks!!

 

I don't know if this was answered for sure, but yes you can unless there are too many people but I think they are sold in hour slots, you can ride it as much as you want during a certain time frame. We were on Sov 3 weeks ago, we ate on ship and waited until almost 2pm and I took my boys over to ride the slide, I think the last sign up is at 2:30 so everyone can finish and start going back to the ship.

[Tabbymom]

Ian Miller was in the W&G on our July 6 Mariner cruise, but we spent our time listening to Dan Davies in the Schooner bar.

[Hombre59]

I'd glad you had a good time. I'm sailing on her next sunday the 17th. I just have a few questions though.

1. Was it chaotic getting off at every port? It seems like every cruise I've been on were like the passengers are herded cow trying to get out of a single door.

 

2. How do we board the tenders for CoCo Cay? Do we wait in a theater and get called by row?

 

3. Last but not least, when was your stateroom ready on the first day?

 

thanks! :-)

 

All the ports that I got off were quick and fast, absolutely no line (maybe like 4 people ahead of us). We got off and went to Cococay at around 9 am and St Thomas around 11 am and St Maarten 10 or 11 am.

 

You board the tenders by going to deck 1 and just waiting for a tender to arrive that you can board, there was no line again when we went for the tender.

 

I can't really answer the last question, we arrived on the ship at 3:30 (we were a tad bit late lol). So the stateroom was ready by then.

 

If you guys have any questions regarding the compass', I can go look em up and see, I can try to scan them (no promises).

[Hombre59]

Hombre59, glad you had a great trip. Do you remember how much the car rental was on St. Maarten? Do they drive on the same side of the road?

 

The car rental was only 30$! And 14$ to replace the gas so it ended up about 50$ I think. Very cheap for 6 people, and yes they do drive on the same side of the road as we do in the States. I would suggest this, we went everywhere on the island and had a blast, great views, went to a fantastic beach where it was calm water up front and crashing waves about a football fields length behind it.

[Hombre59]

CoCo Cay is smaller than labadee. Been to both, Coco cay on Enchantment, labadee on Mariner.

I'm wondering how crowded Coco Cay is with the Mariner there? Any trouble getting lunch, beaches, etc?

We will be on the Mariner in a few weeks, stopping at Coco Cay.

 

Not at all! Plenty of chairs were available everywhere, and there was no trouble getting lunch. You will have a blast.

[Hombre59]

who was your capt?? capt johnny?? if so, did you get a chance to talk to him? iknow this is a stretch, but did he say when his rotation ends?? were going on her at the end of sept, and were hoping to have capt johnny as our capt. also who was the cd??

 

thanx

greg

 

Yup, capt johnny was the captain for our cruise. He told us he works 10 weeks on and 10 weeks off (great schedule). But, I don't know when he started, so you will have to find that out :(. The cruise Director was Abe Hughs, I thought he was hilarious and a great CD, he said he is a temporary CD though only filling in for those that are on their vacations. But, I think he should be full time the way he was going, great CD.

 

You can talk to the captain at his book signing, he did book signings on Day 7 on the royal promenade and we asked him if he was staying on the mariner when it goes to CA and he said yes. And some other questions. Hope that answered for you.

 

If you guys need info on the cruise compass' I will try to give you some.

[suamom]

DAN DAVIES ROCKS!!

 

My DH and I went to the Schooner Bar every night to listen to him.

We had seen him in February on the Navigator and were very much pleased and surprised to see him on the Mariner in July.

 

If you get a chance to listen to him play and sing, go for it. He is terrific!

 

He told my husband that he has some gigs coming up in Europe soon so he will not be on the ships much longer. His gigs are sadly not through RCCI.

We were hoping maybe he would surprise us on the Jewel in October...we shall see.

 

~Trish