In all we really did have a great time. We made the best out of it. We had waited 3 years for this cruise after all. We are not huge complainers at all. We smiled and went on with our trip. We also realize that the cruise industry like so many others are trying to get back up to speed. This is why we didn't make a huge deal out of any of the missteps that happened. We have faith that Royal will get it all back together and bring us all the great cruises we are all familiar with.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Slow embarkation because the previous chartered cruise had not cleared the ship in time.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Drinks were good when they had the ingredients. For instance, early on in the cruise they ran out of bourbon. Some specialty drinks couldn't be served because they were missing ingredients. The windjammer was great! Not an issue at all here. The main dining room struggled. We had a fantabulous waiter but our assistant waiter was def on the struggle bus. Food was slow. Food was odd at times. Example-One night I ordered beef stroganoff (a creamy beef dish). What I got was more like pepper steak. The taste was ok just not what I ordered. My husband ordered medium rare prime rib and it was very tough. He said it was hard to chew. His lobster tail was also over cooked. At playmakers for lunch, the wait staff were slow and unattentive until folks started getting up and leaving. Not trying to be picky but these are things we never encountered before.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
So loved that the ship had some of the newer activities but this was an 8 day cruise and frankly on sea days, we ran out of things to do. We played bingo, so many trivia, sat at schooner bar for hours, relaxed on deck by pool, napkin folding, jewelry making was somewhat of a joke, just all the usual ship stuff. It just wasn't enough to keep everyone busy for 4 days at sea.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Wonderful juggler on board but his routine wasn't long enough to make it a show in itself. The ice show was wonderful, no issues there. Other musicians/DJs were great. Especially the girl that sang and played guitar at the English Pub. What a treat!
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
As always the staff they have, went out of their way to make our experience with them the best! The bartenders were professional.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
So the ship needs TLC. It's getting worn down. Common area furniture also needs to be updated. Pools looked green on a few days.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
And why were the rooms not updated? They really need it bad. The bathroom cabinet walls were peeling. The couch is faded and worn. The beds are hard. I don't get it.
Ship tip
Remember this is a fairly older ship and it's smaller than the mega ships. If you have issues with ship movement, you might want to seek something stronger than bonnine. This ship rocked and rolled the entire cruise. It brought back memories of past cruises for me before I got the patches. The cruise director is great!
I fell in love with Aruba. It's beautiful and I will return for sure. We did the Kukoo Kunuku tour of the island and beach break. Carlos was our guide and he was fantastic. We got a really nice view of the island and a great perspective from Carlos.
I also fell hard for Bonaire. What a great little island for history nuts like myself. I loved the salt mines and learning from our guide how they came to be and how the process of getting salt works. The slave huts gave a real hard look at a time in history that is difficult to look at. The most beautiful beach water I've ever seen in at sorobon beach. Wow is all I can say.
What a treat. While Curacao is more metropolitan than Aruba and Bonaire it was a great tour. We did the Fascinating Curacao tour so no beaches on this one. We learned a lot about the island, it's people and highlights from our tour guide. One of the best stops on this tour was to the herb garden. What a delight that was. The tour guide at the garden was so special.
First of all the blue shirts pushed us down the line while we kept telling them we did not have all our luggage. They told us to just keep moving. I know I should have pushed back and made sure someone heard us but I did not this time. My bad. So we did only to find ourselves through customs and outside the building without our luggage. We were joined by other families as time went on. If not for a Royal Caribbean representative that came to get us all to take us back through customs, we would have had to wait until the ship cleared before getting our luggage. After that, they didn't have a bus to the airport for us and had to call another. So much disorganization by all.
I'm sure things will get better. Experiences with meat being tough has always been an issue and wiil not likely go away... Some of the dishes are very different than we might expect so I never assume my American idea of what another country's dish, like Stroganoff, is what will be served. I like learning how different things can be.
I found that to be a great review. Not many take the time. I have to agree on many points and the Mariner is a ship I won’t book again. It’s refreshing to see other people like us who attempt to make the most of the cruise even when not everything is up to par. Glad you had an overall good cruise!
My mom ordered the beef stroganoff on Symphony last week, and she said the same thing. It was steak with bell peppers and pickles served over linguini! That is NOT beef stroganoff! The head waiter told us it was the "Chef's interpretation," but that was more than an interpretation - it was just wrong.
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