Thread: Information about the Mariner

Originally Posted by MilliesMom

Debbie, we really appreciate all your information.

Is smoking allowed in Ellington's? Was smoking an issue on the ship?

Everywhere we went was no-smoking except the casino and it was awful in there. But I'm allergic to cigarette smoke so I'm very sensitive. One night, I believe it was Friday was non-smoking in the casino after 6:00 pm. That was much better. I was only in Ellington's during the day and there was no smoking at that time. I really liked that area up there but didn't get to enjoy it much. Late dining was just draining.

I'm very excited for all of you. Getting home from a cruise is such a downer fro me. I just hate that last morning on board.... Then I go back to work and back to the 14 hours per day. But there is hope. I have a job which is a blessing and that job allows me to have paid vacations and money for these great cruises. Thank goodness we have another booking so I can start planning. All of you are going to have a great time and I'll be thinking about you. Have fun and Ziggy and friends for your cruise stay out of trouble!! Someone asked me about Captain Johnny and yes he is one his annual leave. Ken, the Cruise Director is very good as is his staff and he is going to be the Cruise Director for the Oasis. He has only six months left on the Mariner and then he is going to Miami to get everything lined up for the Oasis! He's going t have a staff of many hundreds!! Quite the promotion.

I thought of one more question for you. The day you boarded I know you could go to the Windjammer for lunch, but was the Promenade Cafe, Johnny Rockets, rooms service or anything else available?

Thank you so much for all of the information. It has been so nice to hear all of it. I don't envy you 14 hour days, but it is a true blessing to have a job.

Yes the Windjammer is open. The Promenade Cafe as well. But not Johnny Rockets until later in the evening. The Promenade Cafe is so handy and even though the offerings are limited their food is great. At the bar right there you can get fresh squeezed OJ. You have a charge for that but yummy. The self-serve coffee 24/7 is very good. Seattle's Best not that liquid coffee you find on so many ships. Also Windjammer and Cafe Promenade staff is great. I do have to say that the staff on this ship goes out of their way for every guest. I don't remember passing one staff person on the ship that didn't greet in one way or another.

Another comment. The fire doors are left shut with no access to your rooms until 1:00 pm. I don't know if you are aft or forward but we were aft. On each floor after there is either a small lobby or the Library, Internet area, Future Cruise Area, etc. We had carry-on and didn't want to visit the Windjammer with it so we sat in one of these areas and meet a great couple from Texas.

Debbie, appreciate all the information. It is really helpful.

Yes, we had been told the cabins wouldn't be open till 1 for us. What cabin did you have, what type of cabin?

We had a D1 Balcony 9336. Aft the room adjacent to the end of the hump. Perfect location

Originally Posted by cruiserlovr

We had a D1 Balcony 9336. Aft the room adjacent to the end of the hump. Perfect location

You are right, that is a great location. Nice to be close to the center of the ship. A balcony cabin is so nice to have too.

I'm repeating the information here .... so it is also with the Info about the Mariner thread:

The ship was amazing!!! We didn't get off the ship at all this cruise, spent our time onboard exploring. Took many, many photos that we will post soon. Hal always wants to tweak them first. The first 3 days we wandered the ship and I still don't think we have seen it all.

The ice show was fantastic. We also really enjoyed the Nelson Brothers' show, and it was fun to meet them after the show and have our photo taken with them. We tease that we (Hal, Me, Vicky, Jackie & John) all had dinner with them at Chops because Mathew and Gunnar set about 3 feet from us at another table.

Food was good, we think Carnival has better tasting food and choices, but none of us starved. We looked forward to the huge cookies (white chocolate chip chocolate cookies and chocolate chip cookies) in the Cafe Promenade. The little sandwiches were really good too. So A+ on the cookies. We even got a few to bring for our trip home. YUMMMM.

It was my first time to use the pool and jacuzzi on the ship. We used them in the solarium area. The pool there has two sets of steps/stairs into the pool. The other pools have ladders. The solarium is an adult only area which was nice. Pool water was heated to 73 degrees ... a bit cold getting in, but OK once I was in and moving around. Jacuzzis were HOT. Hal loved them. The jacuzzi in the spa/gym area is not as hot, but also has no seats. The jets are in the center so I think it may be a workout pool as it was deeper also. It had hand bars on 1/2 of the side of the jacuzzi.

We were in Cabin 9390 - corner aft. We did really like the cabin/balcony. The one thing that we both commented about was that when you walked into the cabin (and the drapes/sheers were open) you could immediately see out to the wake. We had a fantastic view from the sofa (a loveseat) and from the bed if the the drapes/sheers were open. The cabin was always full of light during the day.

Balcony had 2 loungers, one regular outdoor chair, and a small round table. There is a beam that runs from above the door to the rail on the balcony. We moved the chair so that it was not under the beam, because even tho I am short I took a chance of hitting it when I got up from the chair.

We could NOT see into other balconies from our cabin UNLESS we went over between the beam and the balcony divider, so the balcony felt very private. We didn't have any of the ship structure/beams in our view from the balcony.

The balcony itself is kind of pie shaped. The cabin has a HUGE round porthold window and a regular door out to the balcony --- no sliding door. The window has a deep sill (?) that you could actually sit in/on if you wanted.

In the mornings the balcony was always wet. Felt they might wash the windjammer windows down (it was 2 decks up from us). There was a bit of ash (wrong word) on the balcony in the mornings too, but was easy to brush off --- this was minor.

One day Jackie, Vicky, and John came to see us in the cabin. We left the balcony door open and had the cabin door open too. What a great cross flow of air/ocean breeze.

We only had one neighbor - a balcony cabin to our right. Crew stairs to our left, a supply closet across the hall. The cabin was very quite and we NEVER heard anyone on the stairs or working in the closet even in the mornings.

Would we take this cabin again --- absolutely. Will post photos soon.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/cruis...terstitialskip

The Mariner of the Seas' itinerary switch from Mexico to the Pacific Northwest has been such a big hit, Royal Caribbean might put it on the books in 2010.

Royal Caribbean changed the ship’s itinerary earlier this month, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a Mexico travel warning due to the H1N1 flu outbreak.

The ship’s new route goes north from its Los Angeles base, visiting Seattle and Victoria, B.C., and either San Francisco or Astoria, Ore.

Royal Caribbean said it is considering alternating the Pacific Northwest itinerary with its traditional three-port Mexican Riviera cruise next summer.

"The response we are receiving is terrific," Vicki Freed, Royal Caribbean's senior vice president of sales and marketing, said in a letter to travel agents about the new itinerary.

"In fact, many of our guest comment cards have suggested we consider adding this itinerary to Mariner's schedule throughout the peak summer months -- alternating between the Mexican Riviera and these Pacific coastal ports."