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Fabulous first-time cruise! by
Nicole D. from Sacramento, CA Sailing date: Jun 2010Pros: Friendliness and care from staff, food/drink, staterooms Cons: Not much! I just returned from a magnificent week aboard Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas, where my best friend and I travelled to the Mexican Riviera. Neither of us had been on a cruise before and we were instantly smitten with the ship, the service, and everything about our vacation! Our stateroom was spacious and well-accommodating, the staff instantly memorized your name which made for a very personal experience and there was always something for everyone in which to participate (we loved that you could really do as much or as little as we wanted while on board). The selection of excursions was plentiful, professional and they were totally fun! Ship QualityFor a ship that is 7 years old, I was very impressed by its cleanliness and the fact that it was in such pristine condition. We really loved the idea of the central promenade on deck 5 - it made for some good people watching :-) Dining/FoodIn booking our cruise, we opted to pre-pay our gratuities which enabled us to participate in Royal Caribbean's My Time Dining (which is essentially like just going to a restaurant back home). We had a fantastic wait staff (waiter = Francis, who was WONDERFUL) and the food was excellent. Only two gripes: on filet mignon night we had the option of medium-rare or medium-well. Let's just say that medium-well = absolutely no pink. It was like the steak had been sliced and then heated individually. A little bit of a gripe. The same thing happened when my BFF ordered prime rib another night. (BTW: be forewarned that if you ask for horseradish, it is PURE horseradish, not creamed horseradish...HOT STUFF!!!!) Stateroom QualityWe were on deck 9, room 9262, and LOVED having a balcony. Every night, we left the door wide open and were lulled to sleep by the rocking of the ship and crashing of the waves as the ship cut through the ocean. The stateroom itself was immaculate, great layout and the bed was SUPER comfortable! Ship Staff QualityOur stateroom steward, Clemente, would always smile and greet us by name when we passed him in the hall, our waiter knew us by name and always made sure we were happy and hey, if you tell the bartender "MAKE IT STRONG", he will. :-) What can I say, they want good tips. ;-) Entertainment & ActivitiesWe were lucky to see a Beatles tribute band, Revolution, when we were there. They was really the only entertainment we experienced, but they were OUTSTANDING! Only gripe? I wish the show could've been twice as long :-) As far as activities are concerned, there was ALWAYS something happening. I was a little bummed that the 70s Dance Party started so late because after 3 days in a row of excursions and VERY hot weather, we were too worn out for dancing. :-( We took part in the California Wine Tasting at Vintages but being from California, we were a little disappointed that Beringer was one of their selections. Seriously, Beringer???  
Collapse List of Ports
Mazatlan, MexicoIn Mazatlan, we took our excursion to Las Moras ranch where were got to horseback ride, swim and have a delicious lunch. Sadly, because it was incredibly hot and the ride was through very a exposed, arid "desert" my friend nearly passed out on her horse. She had to dismount and be brought water from the hacienda by someone in a car who then transported her back so she could get in the pool to cool off. Other than that, it was a great excursion. Our tour guide was named Maria and she was EXTREMELY knowledgeable and told us a lot of information you just wouldn't find in a tour book!
Don't Miss: Tour guide Maria!! Puerto Vallarta, MexicoWe opted out of an excursion in PV and we're glad we did. We took a taxi to the Malecon (downtown) and simply walked and walked, window shopping. We had a phenomenal meal and cocktails at Mi Querencia on the recommendation of our neighbors on the ship. This was the cleanest and most beautiful port-of-call: little to no graffiti and lush, green landscape.
Don't Miss: Check out the Malecon and marvel at the beautiful scenery! Cabo San Lucas, MexicoOur excursion in Cabo was the Premier Beach Escape where we were shuttled (in a VERY nice, VERY air-conditioned bus) to the Melia resort. The resort was beautiful and had platformed beds on the beach for us to relax. We were served complimentary water/iced tea/lemonade as well as a delicious lunch and had to pay for any other drinks. We got accosted by the local people selling their wares up and down the beach, but we were expecting it so it was pretty humorous at times. You'll get very good at saying "cuantos?" and "no, gracias".
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  Adult theme park by
Dorothy M from New York/Florida Sailing date: Feb 2007Pros: Ship-eye candy Cons: the food- worst ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The ship is lovely. Its like and adult theme park. Plenty of room at the pools. But it seems that this cruise was the Wal Mart of cruising. Plenty of everything but nothing in particular to make you feel a little pampered. It was clean, and pretty easy to navigate the different areas.
Ive been on a number of cruises, and this was the most bare bones when it came to food. The big midnight buffet was quiet a show, but the beautiful cakes were never seen the entire cruise, even at dinner. As a matter of fact, I can hardly recall any of the prepared items from this buffert EVER BEING SERVED during the cruise. Quite dissapointed. Probably would not sail this line again. Ship QualityEven though this is a very large ship, it was quite easy to navigate. Boarding and leaving the ship was first rate. With so many passengers, there was no delay time. Dining/FoodMy husband and myself found the food to be awful. Even the other table mates from dinner agreed. I am a vegaterian, and never have had a problem finding alternative meals on any other ship. Most meals were on the level of diner food. When the head waiter offerd to prepare something for me other than the regular menu, I was served tasteless, unseasoned vegtables and bland fish(Salmon, to be precise) How can Salmon have NO flavor. On one evening, my husband chose the lamb. I could tell by the look on his face it was a wrong choice.
Neither of us are big eaters, so quality ranks first. I happen to be an excellent cook (once owned my own restaurant), and really enjoy fine prepared foods. This definetly was not so on this line. Stateroom QualityBeds are OK. Have had better Ship Staff QualityWhen you did find a staff member, they were quite helpful. But most of the time they were out of sight.
I did not like haveing to provide our own towels at the pools. No tote was offered to carry the towels from the rooms to the pool AND THEN BACK to the room, or be charger $20.00 for a missing towel! And not ONCE was water or and iced tea offerd at pool side. The restaurant that served any refresments was quite a hike from the pool itself. Entertainment & Activities
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Extraordinary First Time Cruise Experien by
Elissa h. from Northern Va Sailing date: Nov 2006Pros: Staff was super friendly and helpful, the activities, the children's program Cons: The snack selection at the 24 hour promenade cafe, too much shopping hype This was my family's first cruise and it was incredible. There were 5 of us--two adults and three children (12, 9 and 5) and we had 2 balcony rooms. The Mariner's balconies are spacious and well worth the money. Our room attendant was extremely capable and the service in the dining room was outstanding. The food was pretty good considering how many people they were preparing for. The activities aboard the ship were quite dynamic--from the family disco night to the very adult game shows--we were thoroughly entertained. The ship's gym was stocked with excellent cardio and weight room equipment. It was fun to take aerobics class aboard the moving ship. The putt putt golf, rock climbing wall, adult dodgeball, and ice skating were a few ways we excercised aboard the ship. We cruised to the Eastern Caribbean and loved Coco Cay and all of the ports of call--especially worth it is the scuba excursion to St. John. Becky the cruise director and her staff were so much fun--try to go to all of their activities that you can--you will definitely leave laughing. I would definitely book 2 rooms if you are traveling with a family. One cabin would have been tight with more than 2 or 3 people. I did see some of the suites as I walked down the hall--this is a good alternative if you have 4 or more. The bars were phenomenal, their bartenders make nice strong drinks. We had children in three different sections of the Adventure Ocean kids program. The staff exceeded our expectations. The activities, crafts and overall atmosphere of the program were phenomenal. They also offer late night programs at a very reasonable price ($5 per hour per kid) so adults can hang out without worrying about the kids until 1am. Lastly, there were a lot of older people with wheel chairs and scooters. I thought there would have been more families, but this was probably because of the time of the year we went (week after Thanksgiving). Ship QualityThe Mariner is a beautiful ship and from what I have read, the only voyager class ship to have balconies that extend beyond the ships structure. It made our small stateroom feel so much bigger and brighter.
The public areas were beautifully appointed. The restrooms were always clean--no matter what time of the day. The ship never seemed crowded even though we were at full capacity. Dining/FoodThe casual dining room, the Windjammer, always had an amazing variety of foods. On the 1st day they will promote the soda special--buy a pass for the week. If you or your kids drink juice, tea or lemonade, don't bother as they serve these items for free. We didn't use one of the passes we bought. Stateroom QualityThe only problem with our stateroom was that other balcony guests smoked. There is nothing like going to bed in the darkness of the Caribbean ocean and waking up with a beautiful island right outside your window--I would definitely recommend you pay for a balcony room. Ship Staff QualityThey were a fun and friendly bunch. I would liked to have seen the captain. Entertainment & ActivitiesThe lounge bands, nightly lounge performer (Matt Yee on our ship) were excellent. The circus show on ice was great. The special star performers were D-list entertainers and the staff singers/dancers were okay, but if you miss their shows--you wouldn't miss much. Children's ProgramsPerfect schedule allowed for family time and kid time. Activities that we brought home and will keep for a lifetime. Kids parades, kids only special dinner, kids activities at Coco Cay--we can't say enough about the features of this program. 109 out of 118 people found this review helpful.
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