Thread: A few problems on my Mariner cruise 4-19-2009

Although there were many things I liked about this cruise there were also several problems that I endured. First and foremost was that the bathtub in my cabin kept backing up. Some of the backup in the tub was very nasty. This happened on Tuesday the first time and I found a housekeeping superviser in the hall and drew his attention to the situation. It was cleaned up and I was told the problem had been fixed. That wasn't the case and the problem persisted every day until it appearred it was finally fixed on Saturday.
I called guest relations, maintenance and the concierge about the problem on a daily basis and I feel that it just took way too long to resolve. I was told there were no other cabins that I could move to except for a few insides. I was also offered the use of one of these cabins so that I coulkd take a shower without worrying about what would be coming out of the drain. Being in an aft Junior Suite and having to go a considerable distance to shower was in my opinion not a good option. I showered and would keep a wary eye on the drain hoping that it would not back up again. It actually never did while I was in the shower.

Another disapointment was the whole Concierge thing, the lounge was very small and was inside the ship with no ocean views, the lounge used for overflow was in the bowels of the ship and also with no ocean view. On my Serenade cruise both of these venues had wonderful views of the ocean. The Concierge was also of little help with anything and appeared to be in a daze most of the time. My Concierge on Serenade was very helpful in many requests that I had made.

Last, but not least, I was rather disappointed in the food in the main dining room. The beef dishes were especially bad and the $14.95 filet mignon was on the menu. It was very good from what I heard but I don't feel you should have to spend that kind of money to get a decent steak. The service in the dining room and in fact through the entire ship was excellent, I have never had any serious problems with that.

Although I am Diamond Plus with RCCL, I will definitely be giving preference to several other cruise lines, Celebrity, Princess and yes, even Carnival.

Reggie

Good review, Reggie. I am wondering if all the lines are currently cutting corners to weather the economic downturn?

Originally Posted by nealberk

Good review, Reggie. I am wondering if all the lines are currently cutting corners to weather the economic downturn?

I've sailed Carnival 5 times in the last 18 months and didn't see much of any cutting corners.
I thought the food in the MDR was much better on Carnival although service just a tad under RCCL.
I'll be on Infinity in a few days and will report about that as soon as I return.
I'd be willing to bet I can get a decent steak without paying $14.95.

Reggie

Reggie,
What room did they use for the overflow?
When I was on the Mariner last September they used both the Cloud Nine and Seven Hearts up on deck 14.

Originally Posted by Blizzard

Reggie,
What room did they use for the overflow?
When I was on the Mariner last September they used both the Cloud Nine and Seven Hearts up on deck 14.

Dragon's Lair on deck 3 forward.

I am starting to get a little concerned about how far RCL may be going with their cost cutting.

I will be taking a closer look at things on the Serenade in a few weeks.

Originally Posted by reggierail

Dragon's Lair on deck 3 forward.

I sure don't care much for that location.

I was down there one time just to look around and did not care for the room.

Hey Reggie

They used the Dargon's Lair on our Nov/Dec Mariner cruise. No views, but the bartender was pouring heavy.

I think Royal Caribbean made a mistake when they built the CL on the Voyager class ships.....maybe it was to deter frequent use!

All the other satellite lounges on the Voyager class ships have been upstairs in the Viking Crown and were very well attended. On our Mariner cruise there were only a few tables occupied at the early hour before first dinner seating.....

The overflow lounge on our 46 day around the horn in January/February started out in the Drqagon's Lair until the hotel manager was convinced that was not a good idea and moved it to the Lotus Lounge for the rest of the cruise.
With 400+ D and D+, the Viking Crown was not an option.

A lady that was on the 46 day cruise was back on the Mariner a couple weeks ago and was vey disappointed that the food quality in the MDR was not nearly as good as on the 46 day.

I hate bathroom problems. I can handle bad food and service, now and then, but a bad bathroom can really ruin my vacation. I really hate it when customer services responds so slowly. I have been considering an upgrade to a suite so that I would have a bathtub and use of the concierge lounge. This report has caused me to change my mind. I'll stick with my outside with balcony and pay for drinks with a view. I am a seafood fan and I believe RC now charges for shrimp cocktail and may have eliminated the lobster from the menu in the MDR.

It sounds like the ship was pretty full, even with all the bad economic news.