Just off the Mariner (4/12-19)

[emen822]

It works for me! Thank you very much for posting. I can't wait to see the rest. How would you say the food was overall in the MDR and in WJ? We thought the food was good when we cruised in December 08 but I am reading lots of poor reviews lately. I didn't think it could have changed that much since then. I am bringing my friend on his first cruise in a few weeks and I would hate for him to get a bad first impression.

 

Personally, I thought the food was good. Nothing "wow'ed" me though. I did notice a few new options. If your friend has never been on a cruise before, I would think they will be happy overall with the ship and the service as well.

As far as the WJ, I enjoyed the freshly made omelettes in the morning. And for lunch, I usually would have a salad and maybe chicken or a pork chop. My daughter loved the pasta at the WJ every day.

Have fun! :D

[msett1]

Thanks thats good to hear. I also think he will love the Mariner a lot! I am excited to bring him along. For the Comedy Live, did the comedians do the same routine each night or was it a new routine at their different shows?

[kerrydee]

for the compasses. they are perfect.

i think the people who complain about the food are people who have taken cruises 5 years ago and before when the quality was better.

on a cruise for $599 you cannot expect prime beef.

:rolleyes:

[emen822]

Two more days.

Day 7.pdf

Day 4.pdf

[Kurbanfan]

I have a question regarding the comedy shows. Do you have to reserve tickets on the first day to attend the night of your choice......or do you reserve the tickets on the night of each show?

[emen822]

for the compasses. they are perfect.

i think the people who complain about the food are people who have taken cruises 5 years ago and before when the quality was better.

on a cruise for $599 you cannot expect prime beef.

:rolleyes:

 

You're welcome.

I know that food is subjective. I'm not THAT picky but also won't eat anything just because it's put in front of me. :p Funny thing about your comment is that the prime rib and steak were both very good in the dining room! :D

 

Here is another attachment with a few miscellaneous fliers.

Misc..pdf

[azdmelani]

Thank you so much for posting these!! Makes me uber excited for my cruise that is 164 days away

[wwwmarge]

emen822 - how nice of you to take the time to post these.

[WhiteSoxFan]

Thanks for the Compasses, keep them coming.

[emen822]

You are all very welcome. :D

I will post days 5 and 6 tomorrow. I think you have enough reading material until then (at least I hope so!!) ;)

[debway]

We (adults) went to the comedy show on Saturday night at 9pm. The 1st guy was just ok and the 2nd guy was funny. They said that this was a trial as on the Oasis they are thinking of having a comedy club where they do shows. I thought it was a fun option - and at only 1 hour, easy to fit in the busy schedule. We went to get tickets on Monday and that show was the first one we could get - all the others were sold out. So if you can, I would advise getting your comedy show tickets (if they are still doing it) the 1st day.

 

I personally wish they still had done the ticket distribution the first day for the ice show. It was kind of stressful to make sure we got in to see the last show. I enjoyed it a lot and so did the kids.

 

All our kids (four 8 year olds and two 11 year olds) were not happy with Adventure Ocean. They went Monday morning, Monday evening (while we had a great meal at Chops (didn't notice the noise at all from AO), and again Wednesday night when we went to Portofino. That was it. They were stuck in a small room and the activities were not interesting to them, and they didn't feel that the counselors were all that much fun. I was bummed as I had hoped to have more alone adult time, but it was still a good time. They are getting old enough to enjoy a little free time. We couldn't convince them to go back to AO for Saturday night so we stuck them in a room with a movie to watch. Worked out fine, but not for the over-protective parents.

 

I was a bit disappointed with the food, but then again I haven't cruised in 4 years! I was happy to see that the portions served were not large (I get grossed out when I see people stuffing their faces!), and it was all decent. Guess I just wanted more exciting options. I'm allergic to shellfish and did get sick one night - must have had some cross-contamination. My husband got totally undercooked chicken one night & refused to go back for dinner the next night (the last night). We went to Johnny Rockets instead and had great burgers. But like Mary & I have said, any time I don't have to plan, shop, prepare & cook, it's all good. :) I really was disappointed by the desserts - where were the souffles, creme brulees, chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate? I actually only ate dessert one night - the night we ate in Chops. They had a delicious chocolate cake.

 

The service was pretty good (except when our assistant waiter did not remove the dirty wine glass with lipstick even after we pointed it out to her, and the waitstaff was so great with our kids. They even asked us to bring our kids to dinner there with them when we were scheduled to eat at Portofino. When we came back from cocktails to collect them to drop them in AO before our 7:00 meal, they were disappointed. They thought we were going to leave them there the whole time! They were great. Especially the My Time Dining Maitre'd on the 5th floor whose name was something like Majievc (pronounced Magic). He was awesome to us all!

[wwwmarge]

I thought the Cruise Compass stated you don't need tickets for the ice show.

 

Someone please help.

[LisaT91403]

I thought the Cruise Compass stated you don't need tickets for the ice show.

 

Someone please help.

 

That is correct -- you do not need tickets for the ice show. You do, however, need tickets for late night comedy.

[embradley]

Of the four comedians I liked the last one. He reminded me of Sean Penn (in looks). He had great facial expressions.

 

 

I agree! He was very funny! :D

[embradley]

I have a question regarding the comedy shows. Do you have to reserve tickets on the first day to attend the night of your choice......or do you reserve the tickets on the night of each show?

 

 

You need to get the comedy tickets all at one time for the whole week (I believe it was the 1st sea day). We wanted tickets for the first comedy show, but they were all gone about the time we got up to the front of the line. So we opted for Tuesday night and Thursday night.

 

If you wait later in the week, you can get them at the Guest Relations Desk but you probably won't have the best selection to pick from. :)

[4ever]

Thank you for posting the Compasses!! Big help

[Kurbanfan]

You need to get the comedy tickets all at one time for the whole week (I believe it was the 1st sea day). We wanted tickets for the first comedy show, but they were all gone about the time we got up to the front of the line. So we opted for Tuesday night and Thursday night.

 

If you wait later in the week, you can get them at the Guest Relations Desk but you probably won't have the best selection to pick from. :)

 

Thanks!!!

[emen822]

As promised, here are the last 2 compasses:

Day 5.pdf

Day 6.pdf

[jules815]

Thanks for posting the Compasses. It's the first time I've ever noticed that they have an icon next to the bars showing which are non-smoking. Has the Schooner Bar always been non-smoking? I seem to remember it smelling smokey, or was that coming from the casino?

[emen822]

Thanks for posting the Compasses. It's the first time I've ever noticed that they have an icon next to the bars showing which are non-smoking. Has the Schooner Bar always been non-smoking? I seem to remember it smelling smokey, or was that coming from the casino?

 

That is the first time I noticed that too. :confused:

I have spent a lot of time at the Schooner Bar playing trivia during many of my cruises and don't ever remember it being smokey. :o

Other random things I forgot to add.

I believe one night they had a few hours of smoke free in the casino. :D

We received platinum pins in our room on the 2nd or 3rd day. Nice surprise since I wasn't expecting them.

Also, when I booked my cruise for next year, I was given 4 certificates that I could share with family/friends which would give them $100 OBC if they booked the same cruise within 30 days of the certificate date.

 

Mary

[mamaza]

Love having the Compasses. Add my "Thanks" along with the others.

 

It is good to see that RCCL is doing some changes to entertainment venues. It may or may not work but it shows they are trying. Unfortunately, I'm sure the stage shows are the same. Enjoyable, but the same.;)

[Mollypuss]

Any concern w/safety? The state dept has issued traveled warnings to Mexico and it does make me a little nervous. We are looking at the 6/28 sailing on the Mariner and we have never cruised the Mexican Riviera. Our original pick was the Freedom of the Seas, but we can save about $700 by switching to Mariner. Would you do this cruise again?

[emen822]

Any concern w/safety? The state dept has issued traveled warnings to Mexico and it does make me a little nervous. We are looking at the 6/28 sailing on the Mariner and we have never cruised the Mexican Riviera. Our original pick was the Freedom of the Seas, but we can save about $700 by switching to Mariner. Would you do this cruise again?

 

I was not concerned about our safety. Cabo seemed very "Americanized" (minus the little children begging you to buy stuff at the pier). We really liked it there. In Mazatlan, we only got off to shop and did see officers with machine guns near the shipping pier as we were leaving. In PV we had an excursion planned so we didn't wander off too much. With every port, you need to be aware. Would I do this again? Not so sure. But only because I really love the caribbean. I'm glad we did it once though. :D

[wwwmarge]

Did anyone goes on Wed (Mazatlan) to the Bond Night Martini Madness. What did you get for $14.95?

[wwwmarge]

I was not concerned about our safety. Cabo seemed very "Americanized" (minus the little children begging you to buy stuff at the pier). We really liked it there. In Mazatlan, we only got off to shop and did see officers with machine guns near the shipping pier as we were leaving. In PV we had an excursion planned so we didn't wander off too much. With every port, you need to be aware. Would I do this again? Not so sure. But only because I really love the caribbean. I'm glad we did it once though. :D

 

 

In Mazatlan, the officers could also have something to do with the Navy base next door. Just a thought.