Mariner Review March 29th

[LDR]

Miscellaneous: I thought that the crew was great. Very friendly, always a good morning or good evening. Those we encountered were wonderful. Anne was our stateroom attendant and she was great, especially putting up with my messy teens. Our waiter and assistant were Remy and Jane, both from India. They were fantastic! Always anticipating our needs and going above and beyond. We also enjoyed talking with Vanessa at the Wig and Gavel, and the gentlemen bartending at the pool bar. The captain was very visable and personable, as was the cruise director and his staff. Ken Rush was the CD, he will be taking over on Oasis when she sails later this year. He announced it at one of the C&A functions and it is in the Compass. The Loyalty Ambassador was Melissa and her appointment book filled up quick, but she still found some time for us;)

 

I did not use the gym or spa, but it did look very nice. I am more of a runner/walker so I used the track. Surprisingly it got crowded earlier. There were yoga and pilates classes for $12 held at several times, plus the usual beauty seminars.

 

There was organized basketball, mini-golf, roller skating and the rockwall. There was always a line for the rockwall. On Saturday the crew vs passenger dodgeball games were held. This is always fun to watch. Plenty of activities to keep you moving!

 

My daughter did not grab any of the compasses for her age group, but I do remember them

somewhat. They are on a square shaped paper and it lists the activities they have. Lots of dancing parties and music for the 15-17 year old crowd. One night they let this group dance in Dragon's Lair for a couple of hours then they had another session for the 18-20 group. The little ones looked like they had fun. One day there was a parade down the Promenade for them, they were dressed like they were in the circus. A few kids got to be in the ice show, also a circus theme. They rode around in a clown train and you should have seen the smiles on their faces!

[Let'sGo!]

Excellent review... mostly because it sounds like ours will be an exact replica in May - LOL!

 

We had planned on doing a King David tour to Stone Island, but I've been toying with trying it on our own. We also have couple's massages booked at Krystal in PV. So I was interested in what you had to say about both of those.

 

Did you try Chops or Portofino? If not, was there any night in the MDR that you wish you had?

 

How was disembarkation... we're flying home out of LAX as opposed to SNA, but I'm curious if its chaos (I'm thinking back to our last cruise out of San Juan - yuck!).

 

Welcome home!

[LDR]

Food: One thing is for sure, a person will never go hungry on this ship! Let me start with the Windjammer. We ate most breakfasts/lunches here. The food we ate was very good.

Pasta stands out as my favorite, and the burgers and fries were also good, except I wish they would get better buns, mine kept falling apart. Salads were very fresh and desserts were abundant. Lots of mousse and creamy type things. Breakfast was just as good. It was hot, fresh and plentiful. I ate my grits everyday and was happy;) Service was well done, the crew was always quick to bring drinks and clear the table.

I persuaded my DH to have breakfast in the Dining Room one morning. (I would eat here every day if it were just me) The breakfast special this day was eggs, ham and cheese in a puff pastry. Very nice! My husband had an omelet that was really good. Breakfast is served on the 3rd level of the Dining Room, Rhapsody in Blue. We also had some delightful breakfast partners, a couple from England and a couple from Colorado. This was an enjoyable start to our day.

We ate lunch with the kids at Johnny Rockets one day. Really good stuff! Don't forget to look in you C&A coupon book for the coupon to use here.

DH and I ate dinner in Chops Wednesday night. This was the best meal of the week in our opinion. He had the T-Bone and I had the Petite Filet, and both were cooked perfectly. Dessert was Mud Pie. Awesome service and a great atmosphere made this a very nice evening. We were sorry we didn't book Portofinos this trip.

We had the late seating for the main dining room. Our table was 552 in The Sound of Music. As I stated previously, our waiter and his assistant did a really nice job. However, we all felt that the food itself was hit or miss. There were some very good items, such as the Fisherman's Plate on the 2nd formal night. My DH and DD said it was very good. The chilled soups were terrific, and the New York Strip they served on the last night was very flavorful. Desserts were pretty good, everyone found something to enjoy. There is the option to purchase a Chops steak for $14.95, but we didn't. The hit or miss on the DR food was our only disappointment. We have had really good food on past RCI cruises, so this was a bit of a letdown. Also, our kids didn't like the late seating as well as we did. When we cruise with them again we will most likely try MTD if it is available. This should keep everyone happy;)

[LDR]

There was some sort of buffet by the pool on Wednesday, but we didn't go since we went to Love & Marriage. It started at 11:15pm.

 

Don't miss the Cafe Promenade food. The sandwiches are incredible and so is the pizza. The sweets on display were mouthwatering, but I only ate a couple of cookies with my coffee. There is water available from a cooler here as well.

 

As far as choosing one night to go to Chops or Portofinos, I would recommend one of the nights after being in port, and go later. This will give you a chance to rest and get cleaned up. I reserved online a few weeks before we sailed and just randomly chose the middle of the week. I did hear from reading prior Mariner reviews that Tuesday is a good night to "miss" the DR.

 

We were brought a small plate of hors d'oeuvres in Vintages and in the Champagne Bar.

Tiny sandwiches with spreads.

[tinkerme1]

Great review!

 

Have a couple of questions:

 

1) What days did they have the Martini classes? What time were they? Where did they hold them?

 

2) What night was there a buffet at the Pool Area?

[jules815]

I second Prime Time, very reasonable.

 

Jules-we parked at the hotel you'll be staying at. Very nice:)

 

I love looking at your pictures! I see you ate at Chops...that's my favorite dessert. :) I'm enjoying hearing about Mariner so much!

 

Oh that's so good to hear about the hotel! We're excited about our first ever trip to CA. When we sail our girls will be 15 and 19, and everything they were interested in seeing is right in that area. (me too!) We plan on using the car on Saturday for driving around and doing touristy stuff; Santa Monica Pier, etc. The hotel is in a nice location and we figured Friday evening we can just go out and walk around, lots of places to eat with that big complex right next door too.

 

Currently I have a car booked through Avis to pick up when we fly into LAX. I have the return for Sunday morning at Long Beach, but read here they have no shuttle service to the port, and my husband will take a cab. Not a big deal, but sounds farther and not nearly as convenient as it all was at Port Canaveral.

 

Now I've learned there's a Hertz located right in our hotel, and was thinking about changing the rental to Hertz, returning the car on Saturday evening right at our hotel, and then taking a shuttle over to the port on Sunday morning.

 

I'll give Prime Time a call in the morning when everyone's gone to work/school. I'm obsessing about this whole thing, but I like to have everything booked and organized early.

[LDR]

tinkerme1-as far as I know there was no Martini class, unless I missed it somehow, which would irritate me. I love martinis! The only buffet was Wednesday night.

[LDR]

Dinner's going to be late again, so I'll try and finish this up.

[LDR]

Mazatlan and Stone Island

[LDR]

Puerto Vallerta; Krystal Resort; Downtown

[4ever]

We will similar on shore days as you wrote about, enjoyed your info and pictures!

Question-We too may end up arriving at the port early due to transportation issues. Do you recall what time it was when you were able to actually board the ship? I am just wondering how long we may have to sit around and wait.

[LDR]

Every cruise has a good chair hog story and this one is no exception. In fact, there are a couple that I'd like to tell you about.

First of all, this was my 10th cruise and in all that time I have seen the deck patrol removing chair hog items from deck chairs maybe once or twice. On Mariner the deck patrol was very visible and did not hesitate to remove items after these chairs had been saved for more than 30-45 minutes. It seemed that each crew member on patrol had a certain section of the deck they were responsible for.

On the first sea day, Monday, I got up about 7:30am to run and there were only a few chairs saved. It was a little cool that first day out, so it really wasn't a problem to find seating. (Pack your sweatshirts if you go on this cruise in the early part of the year!)

My DH and I didn't lay out in our bathing suits like we normally do, but we did get some chairs to watch the Hogs group Belly Flop Contest in the afternoon.

Friday, the second sea day, was perfect lay on the deck weather. It was crowded and there were a serious amount of chairs saved, especially around the pool and on the stadium-type seats on each side of the pool bar. We got lucky and snagged 2 seats there around 9am after breakfast. It was a little windy on the upper deck, so close to the pool was the place to be. About half an hour after settling in, the first "ruckus" was raised right under our noses. A couple came up to the people sitting in the first row of seats in front of us. They wanted to know where their "stuff" was and why were these people in their seats. The gentleman sitting replied that Deck Patrol took it because the chairs were saved too long. The woman got really snippy at this point, and I couldn't clearly hear what was said. Something along the lines of "Well, I don't believe you!" The gentleman sitting was polite but firm with her, and the angry, seatless couple stormed off to find Deck Patrol. They got their stuff back, but kept complaining that there were no seats, and it was too windy on the top deck! Would you like some whine with your deck chair? They were soon joined in their quest for a chair by another couple. My husband recognized the

man, he had played craps with him the night before. His name was Henry, and my husband said he was playing with about $10,000 worth of chips. Every dealer in the casino knew Henry! These two couple kept circling the area with the Deck Patrol looking for chairs.

Amazing! I heard the second couple say as they passed,"It's too windy to sit up where the suite guests sit!" (Small deck on top of the Sky Bar-there is a sign) Finally couple number 1 found seats, we didn't see them again, and we thought couple number 2 did too.

But wait! A deck patrol man is carrying in one of the seats from the Solarium, AND he brought an extra pad and little table. He set it down next to the recycle bins to the side of the pool bar. Guess who this was for? If you guessed Henry you are correct!!! His wife disappeared, but he sat there and talked on his Blackberry and SMOKED on the wrong side of the deck. No one complained about it, so it must not have bothered anyone. I took a picture of Henry's chair, I couldn't resist. He wasn't in it at the time! A little later a couple of ladies started in on the people next to us. Same story, same ending!

Lastly, on Saturday near lunchtime, my DH and I were sitting at the pool bar when we heard another "ruckus" above us in the same stadium-seat area we had sat in. There was some shouting going on this time, and the magician who was performing on board ran down and asked the bartenders to call security because these guys were about to start throwing punches, I kid you not! The deck patrol came, then someone from security came, then another. It took a while to sort out and a lot of other people were jumping in on the sorting out. We couldn't hear anything, but I didn't want to go up there and gawk or take pictures of this incident. This eventually ended with the man who started everything being hauled off by two security guys, not in cuffs or anything, but escorted. Another security person came back and asked for a witness to help with the documentation of the incident and a lady got up and left with him. We never heard anything else, so we don't know what happened to the guy.

[LDR]

4ever-I'd say we got there around 1030-1040am. From bag drop off to boarding it was probably an hour tops.

[Cruiserccl]

Background: Myself, my husband, daughter 17, and son 15 traveled to California for our annual spring break cruise. It was very exciting for me and the kids, as we had never been to California before.

 

Pre-Cruise, March 27-29th: We flew out of the Akron/Canton airport, which is conveniently located 5 minutes from our house. It's a smaller airport and very easy to get around and get where you're going. We were on United and had a connection at O'Hare to

SNA, John Wayne Airport. We left on time and landed early at O'Hare, but there was a fuel truck blocking our gate,so we sat there until someone decided to move it. Then we had to wait for the carryons, since it was a smaller 30 seat plane. Because of this we had to run for it, and of course, the new gate was far, far away. Good workout for us, but I wouldn't want to do it again. My husband and son lost sight of me at the new terminal and turned the wrong way, but thanks to my big mouth and my daughter running after them, they found us. We were the last ones on the plane, but we were on our way!

We landed at SNA about 10pm California time, which was 1 am for us. Because of this I decided to book a hotel near the airport instead of trying to drive to Long Beach. Good decision, because we were wrecked! We stayed at the Holiday Inn just off Dyer Road, which was about 2 or 3 miles from SNA. They had a shuttle pick us up just outside baggage claim and soon we were checked in and going to our room. The hotel was very clean and comfortable,as was the room. We had 2 Queen beds and plenty of space. The rate was $99 a night, and for an extra $20 each day we received 4 vouchers for the breakfast buffet. It was pretty decent as far as breakfasts go. Eggs, bacon, fried potatoes, breads/pastries, fresh fruit, coffee, juice. The hotel also had a bar but we didn't go there, and they were only open till 10pm anyway.

The next morning my husband went back to SNA and picked up our rental car, a silver convertible Mustang! We set off around 9am with the help of Serena(the voice of our GPS)

and a map. We started in Hollywood then Beverly Hills, where we walked Rodeo Drive. One

celebrity sighting-Larry King. There were people up in his face taking pictures, which I thought was a little rude. After hobnobbing with the rich and famous we drove down Santa Monica Blvd. for mine and the kid's first view of the Pacific. We parked at a meter

in downtown Santa Monica and walked on the beach and then to the pier. After lunch at

Mariasol, we headed back to the car and drove down towards Marina del Rey. My son wanted to see the campus of USC, so we turned inland and drove around the campus area.

Then, we headed for Downtown Disney, specifically the ESPN Zone, to watch basketball and have our brackets trashed by the winners;) After dinner we returned the car and headed back to the hotel to get a good night's sleep.

At 9:45am exactly, Prime Time Shuttle arrived to pick us up and we were on our way to San Pedro and Mariner!

Thanks for the review! See you on the Oasis! :D

[stunned]

Did you see anyone taking their own sodas onboard? Did they allow this?

Your review is very good, we will be boarding on Sunday, thanks.

[leighbee22]

My hubby and i were also on this sailing and I just wanted to throw a little pointer out there. After not benig able to find seats by the pool (where it was warm enough to enjoy it) on Friday and Saturday, we headed to the back of the ship. They have chairs back there and it was wonderful. We were able to lay comfortably in our suits and not freeze or be blown away. Granted you are not by the pool and there is no bar service but if you are looking to enjoy your time in the sun this is a great place!!

[jules815]

I have a question about the Krystal Resort. :) It looks lovely!

 

Did you have to make reservations in advance; was it an excursion through RC?

 

If you did this on your own, how far was it from the ship?

 

Thank you so much for the review and pictures.

[Sweet Carolina Girl]

How long did it take you to walk the marina to get to the beach? This sounds like a better option instead of the water taxi. Can you walk right onto the beach from the marina? How far is it to the restaraunt you were at?:)

[MilliesMom]

Great review, appreciate all the details.

[Ziggy7]

Great review with much needed information!!! Thanks sooo much for taking the time to answer all our questions!!!! Your awesome!!! :)

[kaseyoz]

I loved reading your review as we too travelled with teens. Hope they had as much fun as mine did. Being the only 4 aussie kids on boards they were well "looked" after by the other kids who wanted to hear their accents all the time and life in Australia.

 

No we do not all live like the movie "Australia"

[cruiselover214]

Thank you for the wonderfully helpful review. My husband and I will be on the Mariner soon!

[LDR]

stunned-I did not see anyone bringing any soda on, but I'm sure people did. There were a lot of irons confiscated though, we saw a table full of them as we left to go home.

 

jules815-I found out about the Krystal over on the Mexican Riviera boards. I made the appointment for the massages online through Millenium Massage. It took us maybe 15 minutes to walk there from the ship. I can give you more detailed directions if you need them.

 

Sweet Carolina Girl-It took us about an hour to walk to Medano Beach from where we were dropped off at the tender. It could be done quicker, but we were taking pictures and looking at some of the items vendors had along the way. Just keep going around, past the Puerto Paraiso Mall and you will see signs that say beach access. We had to walk on the road for a few yards before hitting the sand.

[LDR]

Debarkation: Not too bad actually. I think this one was pretty smooth. It seemed that everyone had an area to wait. The Hogs group were in a lounge, Families could go to the Explorer Room on Deck 12 where there were cartoons, etc., Diamond & Platinum C&A waited in the Dining Room on Deck 5 (they served a continental breakfast) and express departures were in a couple of lounges. It was better than being crammed in the theatre with everyone else! We went to the DR around 845am and we were called at 930am.

The luggage was all together for once, and customs took our form and we were out the door.

I did not reserve transportion in advance to the airport, but taxis were available and so were shuttles. They are not very visible, and they are located near the top of the center

islands when you come out of the terminal. We only waited about 15 minutes and were on our way to SNA on Prime Time, sharing with one other family.

We had time for some lunch since our flight wasn't until 2pm. Landed at O'Hare 3 hours and 15 minutes later to snow. There was no running to catch a plane, as we had an hour layover, but we boarded half an hour late at 9:30pm. Then we sat over an hour waiting to be de-iced. The pilot tried to make up some time, but it took 50 minutes, and we touched down at 1am. Home with the lights off at 145am. Monday was brutal for staying awake!

 

We really enjoyed this cruise. Our kids loved LA and Cabo and they had a great time with the kids they met on board. It was definitely different than the Caribbean, but still wonderful. What a great way to see new places and make more memories! My husband and I booked the December 1 sailing of Oasis of the Seas and cannot wait to see what

adventures that will bring.

 

Thank you for reading my mini-novel, I hope you enjoyed it and found it helpful. Please let me know if you have any other questions and I will do my best to answer them. Happy Cruising!

[fpcruiser]

LDR- What group were you in to leave the ship? We have an 11:30am flight and I would rather not have to carry my luggage for the express departure.