Thread: Information about the Mariner

I borrowed most of this info from Mary (MilliesMom), who will be sailing with Reggie the week before us.


Passengers and crew on the Royal Caribbean International ship Mariner of the Seas consume 20,000 pounds (over 9,000kg's / nine tonnes) of beef, 28,000 eggs, 8,000 gallons (over 30,000 litres) of ice cream, and 18,000 slices of pizza in a week.

More about the ship:

Ship Facts
Maiden Voyage: November 16, 2003
Passenger Capacity: 3,114
Godmother: Jean Driscoll
Gross Tonnage: 138,000
Length: 1020'
Max Beam: 157.5'
Draft: 29'
Cruising Speed: 22 knots

Ship Highlights

Ice-skating rink
Rock-climbing wal
lIn-line skating
Royal Promenade (open 24 hours)
Johnny Rockets® '50s-style restaurant
Portofino Italian Restaurant
Café Promenade
Ben & Jerry's® ice cream
Vintages wine bar
Boleros Latin-theme lounge
Themed bars and lounges
Casino RoyaleSM
Golf simulators
9-hole miniature golf course
Adventure Ocean® youth facilities, including teen-only areas, Fuel and Living Room
ShipShape® Day Spa and Fitness Center
Full-size basketball court

Welcome to Voyager-Class.com!
Great site with photos, definitely worth checking out

All Things Mariner Of The Seas - Cruise Critic Message Boards
Lots of links to photos, reviews etc on this one.

All Marinier lovers...calling to share... - Cruise Critic Message Boards
Another one with photos, etc.

A good thread on "All Things Mariner OTS".


All Things Mariner Of The Seas - Cruise Critic Message Boards

I know that it is WAY too early to notify RCCL, but thought I would post it here for future reference if any one needs it:

From the RCCL website:

Food & Beverage

Q: What type of special meals does Royal Caribbean offer?

A: We make every effort to accommodate our guests' dietary requirements whenever possible. We can accommodate special needs such as:
Food allergies
Gluten-free
Vegetarian (except for vegan/macrobiotic)
Low-fat
Low-sodium

Lactose-free/soy milk, Ensure, and kosher meals are no extra charge. All you have to do is notify us at least 45 days prior to sailing. Just send an e-mail that includes the guests' names, reservation ID number, ship's name and voyage date to the relevant address below:

Food allergies - foodallergies@rccl.com

Kosher meals - kosher@rccl.com
(Kosher for Passover meal requests MUST be received 60 days in advance in order to be accommodated.)

Indian-style vegetarian meals - Indianvegetarian@rccl.com

Gluten-free/celiac meals - glutenfree@rccl.com

Fax requests may be sent to 305-539-6018 Attn: Special Meals Request

E-mails will receive an automated response. Faxed requests will also receive a response provided the guest provides an email address. We kindly ask that guests do not call Royal Caribbean International suppliers with specific questions.

Special meal requests that are faxed or e-mailed less than 45 days of sailing are dependent on the ship's product availability. We will try to accommodate to the best of our ability.

Please note: Baby food and infant formula are not provided on board.
Guests may not bring on board any food items other than baby food and/or dry, nonperishable snack items (cookies, crackers, chips, energy bars, etc).

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/custom...36&faqType=faq

Specialty Restaurants:

Portofino's, Chops, and Jade are all on Deck 11.




Portofino
Location : deck 11, aft
Purpose : upscale "Euro-Italian restaurant". It is larger and neighbor to Chops Grille on the second-generation ships.
Capacity : 88 seats (VY, EX, AD); ? (NV, MA)
Decoration : paintings, Louis XVI furniture... a very "upscale" atmosphere on Voyager, Explorer and Adventure. Much more contemporary on Navigator and Mariner.
Particular notes : Portofino is charged ($20 per person) and it requires reservation. It has become one of Royal Caribbean's traditional features after being first introduced on Voyager.
Voyager-Class.com - Portofino

Chops Grille
Location : deck 11, aft
Purpose : gourmet steackhouse. First introduced on RCI's Radiance-class vessels, Chops Grille was so popular that the company decided to install it on Navigator and Mariner of the Seas.
Capacity : ?
Decoration : very elegant, smart, classy atmosphere, using dark woods... evocative of the Radiance-class ships.
Particular notes : dining at Chops requires reservation - and it's charged ($20 per person).
Voyager-Class.com - Chops Grille

JADE (doesn't appear to be extra charge for this)
Location : deck 11, aft
Purpose : Jade is an Asian fusion restaurant. It provides Idonesian, Thai, Chinese and Japanese food in a casual atmosphere.
Capacity : ?
Decoration : Asian theme.
Voyager-Class.com - Jade

Deck plan M/S Mariner of the Seas

Great site for seeing deck plans on the same page.
You can also locate where the ship is right now.

Another great site for information and photos is:

Welcome to Voyager-Class.com!

Maggie sent this to me in an email and it's a really cool site.

Researching our Voyager cruise lead me to this site and it has lots of good pictures of cabins.

Welcome to Voyager-Class.com!

The Mariner is the last & newest of the Voyager class ships.

Here's a review from Tina on the DS, who was on the Pre-Inaugural Mariner Cruise with Ziggy and Reggie!


Mariner of the Seas – Pre-Inaugural West Coast Premier Event – Feb. 19, 2009

Pete & I were invited to sail aboard the Mariner of the Seas for a special one-night West Coast Premier sailing. Mariner arrived from her ‘Round the Horn sailing on the morning of 2/19/09. We would be boarding the very same day for our special one-night event.

We had some vouchers to use up with United, so we decided to fly down. Knowing that we probably wouldn’t get much sleep during our voyage, we felt this was a better option than attempting to drive home on little sleep!

We arrived at LAX in the evening and took SuperShuttle (pre-booked) to our hotel. If you are going to use an airport shuttle, it’s a good idea to Google them for discount codes. It took a while to get to the hotel because he had to circle the airport to pick up people and we were the last to be dropped off. But I was going for economy, not speed. I had secured a room at the Crowne Plaza in San Pedro on Priceline with a $65 bid. The hotel has gone thru a renovation since our last visit in December 2005, so it was a nice change from our previous visit. Staff was nice, room was clean & comfortable. We would have no problem staying here again when sailing out of San Pedro.

On the morning of our sailing, we walked to Grinders and had a quick breakfast and then returned to the hotel to take the shuttle to the ship. The shuttle driver was trying to put too many people in this shuttle so we opted to walk. It was actually a pleasant walk because the weather was perfect and we only had one rolling bag each. Had we had more luggage, we would not have attempted this.

We arrived at the port and were greeting so warmly by ALL of the Royal Caribbean shoreside staff. There certainly was a buzz in the air and you could tell this port was excited to have this ship here! We were checked in quickly and were given our SeaPass cards. These were merely door keys as no onboard accounts would be needed. Because this was a special event, the only charges we would incur would be spa visits, souvenirs or casino charges. There was no charge for bar service, Ben & Jerry’s, specialty coffees, etc.

We waited probably about ½ hour to board and then we were on the ship. While waiting to board, we could tell that MANY MANY MANY of the passengers today were going to be travel agents that had never sailed on a ship before. It just proves that these are great events to ask travel agents to sail on. I mean, how can you be enthusiastic about selling a product, if you don’t even know what it is? Unfortunately, we heard several conversations among travel agents that were full of misinformation about the cruising experience. Hopefully, these types of voyages will educate travel agents about what they are selling… so kudos to RCCL for that.

Upon board, we learned that our staterooms would not be ready until 1:00 so we just tooled around the ship taking pictures. We weren’t quite hungry yet. So our first stop was Bolero’s for a margarita. No blended drinks on this cruise. The reason for this, I have not yet learned. And no fruit to be used, even for garnish until the inspector was done… so no mojitos. Paolo in Bolero’s quickly became one of our favorite bartenders. Wonderful!!

We learned there would be NO muster drill! Woo Hoo! We spent the afternoon exploring the ship, trying things out. I actually played basketball with my husband. As many times as we have cruise, I don’t think we have ever done this! About 1:00, we headed to our stateroom to drop our bags and make it a little easier to explore. We were in cabin 7518, which is a forward balcony cabin. We were nearly underneath the bridge. We wouldn’t be cruising much on this trip, so I can’t tell you much about the motion. But we did sleep soundly for the very small amount of time that we could. The bed was extremely comfortable.

After enjoying more drinks, more exploring, & more photos… we headed up to the Viking Crown Lounge for our Cruise Critic get together. What a treat to meet so many people and see others again!! Special thanks to Rancher Dave for arranging to have Bennie the Bear AND Adam Goldstein visit us during our meeting. Adam was nice enough to visit and chat with all of us during his very busy day. He was only onboard for the one day, so for him to take time out for us was very nice of him to do. He didn’t pull any punches. He told us personally that RCCL would NOT be bringing another ship to fill the 3/4 night slots that Monarch vacated. He would state this again later at Common Ground, I am told. But this was the first definite indication that I had heard from Adam himself. I came right out and asked him why, since it was rumored that Monarch was a “cash cow”. Others mentioned that each time they sailed on her, she was sold out. His answer, was at what price? Monarch was in no uncertain terms, not making raking in the money that others claimed that she was. His exact words, “If she was, she would still be here.” End of discussion.

After enjoying our meeting, we originally headed to the 4:00 ice show. However, it was quite crowded and I wanted to try the rock wall before it closed. YES, I know I am afraid of heights. But I guess an open bar gets you to try things you don’t normally want to do. (I would mention that I am deathly afraid of snakes and one visit in Mexico ALMOST had me wanting to pet one! But what happens in Mexico, stays in Mexico…)

Anyway – I signed my life away at the Rock Wall. I figured, if I have ziplined with the best in Mexico not once, but three times (really not scary at all) and if I could ride the Flowrider, then certainly I can climb a silly wall, right? SURE! Got my card punched, just in case I was crazy enough to want to subject myself to this terror TWICE! Ummm, that would be a no. You see, I was very brave standing there in my harness. I even cheered with glee when he told me to just follow “the pink ones.” I love pink!!! Then I headed up the wall. It was tough going, but I was doing it. Until I got to an impasse! Where was I supposed to go next? I kept thinking…. pink, pink, pink. But which pink? I looked up. The bell was just out of my reach. I could feel my liquid courage draining from me. Which pink? Then I made a mistake… I turned around to look at the guy and my husband. That probably was not the best thing to do. You see, I was nearly at the top of a rock wall, on a ship that is about 14 decks high and I am afraid of heights. My husband later told me that at that point, he told the guy that I was probably done. Once I stopped and looked down, he figured that was it. But I turned around and just looked up at the pinks… which one? I can do this! Deep breath…. then the guy tells me which one to grab and I feel him helping me lift with the harness and I DID IT!! I RANG THE BELL! It was cool… but I was cool with just doing it once. Now I can cross that off my list and move on to the next challenge.

The Mariner is a beautiful ship. Ken Rush & his staff did their best to cram as much in as they possibly could!! Ice shows, production shows, dance parties and even a parade. It was fantastic!! I wasn’t sure what they would be able to do to show what this shop had to offer in less than 24 hours, but Ken & his staff did a GREAT job!

Chops & Portofino were both open for samplings. You could stand in line and get little mini tastings of the menu items that they serve in these two restaurants. The food in the Windjammer was delicious. Honey Stung Chicken was as good as ever and I couldn’t get enough of the TINY little pickles.

We had beautiful weather! I live in California, so I know storms had been hitting us left & right with a lot of rain. So it was nice to have a nice sunny day to explore the ship. You will see in some of my pictures that there was recent snow activity in the mountains. We got the luck of the draw between rainstorms. On a side note… I would love to be a tug boat operator!! I am fascinated watching them and want to BE them!


CONTINUED:

Mariner of the Seas – Pre-Inaugural West Coast Premier Event – Feb. 19, 2009

CONTINUED:
The rest of our day was stellar. The ice show was wonderful. Very talented to do what they do on such a small ice surface on a moving ship. This one was Ice Under the Big Top and we really enjoyed it. I especially enjoyed the humor of the clown segment and clowns scare me. So, it was definitely a fun show. We also saw a production show much later that was after dinner. One of the better production shows we have seen on a ship, in regards to singing talent. They were quite good! The parade wasn’t until 12:30 am and was just all around great fun! All of the performers must have been very tired after this long day of entertainment.

Dinner in the dining room was a real treat. Even though late dining got off to a rocky start, we had a great time. The late seating got delayed because the first seating took so long. I am not sure if it was because so many people were new and didn’t know they were supposed to be there on time for a reason, or what. But when we were let into the dining room at nearly 9:00, many tables were still not finished. Those of us that were on Deck 4 were let in to go to Deck 3 and find tables. Since we came in that way, they really couldn’t seat us properly. Pete & I found a table for 2, asked of we could sit there and we were in for a great evening of service & food. Rock (from India) and his assistant, Werner were on the ball! I was QUITE surprised to find that we were going to be offered an extra special menu that included both escargot AND surf & turf! The food was PERFECT. Pete started off with the shrimp cocktail and I had both the escargot and the shrimp cocktail. The shrimp were quite large compared to what we are used to receiving on cruises. Delish!! The surf & turf was excellent and the dessert was wonderful. But, best of all was the service we got from the staff. You would expect that they would be a bit tired from the long 46-nighter that they did which was out of the ordinary for them. Well, they were full of energy and ready to make us smile! No matter how many lines we try to sail on, the crew on Royal Caribbean is what makes it our favorite! They are always top notch and we love them!

After getting a few hours of sleep, we were up for breakfast and off the ship by 8:30am. Royal Caribbean has transfer busses waiting for those of us flying out of LAX, which were complimentary. Those that drove had free parking for the event.

What a special treat to be invited on this sailing!! We had a wonderful time! I will have NO problems recommending this ship to anyone that wants to learn more about cruising and Royal Caribbean. Heartfelt thanks to Royal Caribbean!!!

Photos: http://travel.webshots.com/myphotos?...ecurity=NZmmVE