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Very good cruise by
A Traveler from Edcouch, TX Sailing date: Mar 2013Pros: On board entertainment and dining Cons: boarding in Galvaston was disorganized and confusing Overall a very nice cruise, ship needs some updating (which I understand it is getting). Stateroom attendent was fabulous, as were all of the staff. Dining was excellent in dining room and buffet. We did not eat at the steak house or Italian restaurant because the additional cost was way too much. Ship Quality
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   Mariner of the seas by
Laurie D from Ft Worth Tx Sailing date: Feb 2013Pros: Cleanness, great service, great food. Lots of fun activities going on all the time. Cons: Pools to small for the amount of people on bored. Overall it was great. The first impression was how clean everything is and it is kept that way through out the cruise. Ship Quality
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Stateroom QualityBeds are hard. Ship Staff QualityCrew was fabulous Entertainment & ActivitiesShows were very early or late. Hard to eat and go to them or eat and stay awake. 0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
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a so-so cruise by
A Traveler from Houston,TX Sailing date: Dec 2012Pros: pretty ship Cons: food, entertainment, activities A very nice ship. Decor was over the top and pools were clean and uncrowded. Entertainment was very limited due to not scheduling shows around meal times. Other cruises remedy this by having two shows so everyone can eat and attend but not Mariner of the Seas. The food was disappointing compared to other cruise lines in that most of the entrees and desserts served in formal dining were also available and frequently better at the buffet. I have never seen a buffet close at 9:00 before. The room stewards cleaned our room 4 of the 7 days we were out though we were gone from the room most of the time. Ship Quality
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Great Cruise, But Not Perfect by
A Traveler from Dallas, Texas Sailing date: Dec 2012Pros: Very neat, great staff, decent variety of activities, great ports Cons: The food was surprisingly not that exciting. The ship is about 10 years old and it shows its age. That being said, Royal Caribbean has done a fantastic job keeping it clean; however, the age does show. The sports deck had a great variety, the layout of the ship was very good and decently efficient, and the cruise never seemed over-crowded, which can be a major problem with many cruise lines. Ship QualityThe size of the ship is probably where it needs to be: not too big, not too small. Again, my only complaint is the fact that the Mariner has some years on it...and it shows in some areas. Dining/FoodThe quality of the food was not impressive, I struggled at times to find something that looked appealing when presented with the menus, and the courses took a lot of time in between to arrive at the table. The Windjammer Cafe seemed to have the same food everyday; there may have been a total of 10 things that change on a daily basis. On top, my wife is an Indian Vegetarian. We really appreciated that they included an Indian course in the Windjammer and one on the dinner menu daily, but the food has a similar gravy everyday. My wife is pretty flexible with vegetarian foods, but we had a really difficult time finding food for her throughout the cruise. The crew was quite accommodating and tried various things to help (standing order for a vegetarian pizza, tried a special meal for her for dinner), but the food is not outstanding. Stateroom QualityGreat room comparatively. The room is long and narrow, but still plenty of space and convenient enough for the cruise. The room did get warm really quickly when the balcony door (or even curtain) is left open, but that is expected in a cruise to the caribbean. Also, the shower is a space tube (totally random, but efficient). Ship Staff QualityStaff was great. The were constantly working to please the people on the cruise and were very helpful throughout. Cannot say enough about the staff. Entertainment & ActivitiesThe production shows were not that impressive (minimal dancing, average singing performances, etc.). However, the Ice Show was very impressive and a must watch for anyone that boards the Mariner. The sports deck had a lot of activities and the ship definitely kept us entertained for the 7 days. 0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
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enjoyable cruise by
Thomas R. from Woodlands, TX Sailing date: Dec 2012Pros: shows Cons: bingo Enjoyed everything except the Bingo experience for which we had a discount voucher. They kept teelling us it was usable the next day...which never came. Ship Quality
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Not what I expected by
DV from FPO, AP Sailing date: Jun 2012Pros: Stateroom Cons: Activities offered The ship was built in 2003 and has no evident upgrades. Overall, the ship was clean and well kept. The Windjammer restaurant is located on the 11th deck with glass windows which give you a breath taking view of the cities at port. Ship Quality
Dining/FoodThe dining room food was "average" but the service was supurb. The quality of meals are not what I would consider 5 star and if you want a 5 star meal the option is to go to one of their restaurants for an additional charge. Stateroom Quality
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Entertainment & ActivitiesBesides the ice show which was spectacular, the entertainment was poor. Not much going on during the days of port so the family felt bored most of the time. Children's ProgramsWe traveled with our 2 1/2 year old and they did not offer any activities for him beside two hours of open play a day. Otherwise, they offered babysitting. Not much interaction with the children. Would have liked some arts and crafts and games appropiate for this age group. 1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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great cruise by
Jim R from tyler,tx Sailing date: Apr 2012Pros: food selection and pesentatation Cons: TV CH selection not much This was our 10th cruise but the first with RCL, and I am ex-Navy so cabin choice was easy for us. The ship deck layout was great everything was easy to find and remember. The food was good and though we had over 3500 psgrs there were hardly ever any long food lines. the deli had the best pizza I've ever tasted on a ship.Our Balcony cabin was nice and the ship was clean and kept in very good condition. DIs-embark could have had better instructions other than just "deck 4". I would def cruise this line again if the port selection were to my liking seems like all the cruise lines out gaveston just have to go to cozumel, tired of that place. but oeverall it was a great cruise and we had a lot of kids on board but the ship crew had things for them to do and one pool was for adults only so they were'nt always "under Foot" we have 8 children ( now grown ) so we're not "anti-kids". On some ships the parents just let them run wild. Ship Quality
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Stateroom QualityI think RCL could afford to add at least 3 more tv channels such as TNT , DISC and a chl for the kids when they are sailing state side. some times relaxing is part of the cruise, we dont always have to be buying diamonds Ship Staff Quality
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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A great trip by
A Traveler from Oregon Sailing date: Mar 2012Pros: The weather was perfect. Food was outstanding. Cons: Tips are expected at the end of the cruise for everyone and their brother. They should just raise the rate of the cruise. We had a great time. Plenty to don on board for the kids. They did want to know why there was no slide at the pool. Shows were wonderful. Ship Quality
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Ship Staff QualityPrompt,clean and well mannered, however, I've had friendlier. Entertainment & Activities
Children's ProgramsThe teen program wasn't really organized. My kids decided to not attend and hung with mom and dad. I guess we should be greatful.... 2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Not a good cruise by
Sherry from TX Sailing date: Mar 2012Pros: getting away Cons: room and food food quality bland
not much variety of food
shows only average
not a lot to do on board
room above promenade deck very loud from loud music below till 1:00am Ship Quality
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4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Fantastic - totally spoiled us! But.... by
Molly M. from Austin, TX Sailing date: Feb 2012Pros: Food, activities, shows, casino, ports of call, sports court, pools and hot tubs Cons: beds were very hard and the check-in process is extremely long! The ship was fantastic! Nothing really bad to say there. My husband and I went by ourselves and had a very wonderful time. No matter how much you spend to be on the ship - whether you have an inside stateroom, like we did, or the best suite - you were spoiled and treated like royalty!
The only thing that put me off, which was remedied, were the beds. Prepare yourself, because they are HARD! Finally, after waking up with my back on fire on the 5th day, I asked our stateroom attendant if I could get a pad for it or something. When we got back to our room not 2 hours later it was there, all made up for me. I was so happy and slept so well!
Another BIG turn-off for me was the check-in process. They had TWO security machines that were x-raying peoples' take-on luggage. TWO for 3200 people! After that they had 30 booths to check-in at, and only half were open. Honestly, if 3200 people are trying to get onto the ship at once, make better plans for them. It took us 2.5 hours to check-in! Ship Quality
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4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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