Mariner of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

The ship is magnificent. The ship was nicely decorated for the Christmas season as we were hopeful to experience.

We've been on it many times. The promenade is great & has a good cafe that's open 24 hours a day.

It was our 35th wedding anniversary and my husband and I and some friends decided to take a sure bet for our celebration because we had been on Mariner four times previously and loved everything about our previous experiences.. We took a back to back cruise (both eastern and western) for an extended celebration. What we found was a ship in transition trying to fix something that wasn't broken. It seems the Mariner has been selected as an innovation ship to try new things. I'm all for new, but that doesn't make it better. One of the first things is a change in the dining service which in the past has been exceptional and one of our favorite things. With a concern for safety they are trying the use of food carts to carry food rather than trays above the head. Makes perfect sense to avoid back injury but they were very intrusive into the diners space. At lunch one afternoon I had a cart at the back of my chair and the waiter right on top of me. When I called it to the attention of the head waiter he went on and on about the satety issue (which I am all for) but he should have noticed the intrusion and fixed it before I mentioned. By the way, he never did have the waiter move it, the waiter finally finished and moved it himself. This contined throughout the cruises. They need to cut out sections of the serv ice areas to accommodate the carts if this is the future correction. We also noticed a less managed wait staff. There didn't seem to be much direction from the head wait teams. Most of the time they were almost invisible. We also noticed that there was a lack of respect shown by the waiters in some of the comments and actions. Breakfast and lunch needed more management, there were never enough tables prepared to handle the diners and there most always was a wait while tables were readied. Food was average at best, a decline in past experiences. New menus with little creativity. We actually looked forward to dinner in the Windjammer several nights as there was nothing appealing on the dining room menu. They have eliminated the fun presentation of desserts. I am not a dessert person but was often tempted by the presentation. One delightful experience were the four visits to the Chops Dining Room. The food is fabulous and the service over the top. We had the same wait team each time and by the second week we didn't even have to order! This is a splurge worth $20. We had a junior suite on deck nine which is spacious and very comfortable. One area of service that has not changed is the terrific service of the cabin attendants. We had Hazel both weeks and she was a doll. She was efficient and met every need. Congrats to the hotel manager for not innovating anything into an already great experience. Having been on Mariner many times the only entertainment we reviewed was the Ice Under the Big Top show. We attended both weeks and enjoyed it each time. We sat center front one week and up higher the next and each week seemed like a different show. This is not to be missed. We found that the shows later in the week are less crowded. Ports are pretty much the standard Caribbean experience. Although we had not gotten off in Labadee lately and were very pleasantly surprised at how wonderful they have made the day experience in this port. A great thing about RCCL is the Concierge Lounge provided to Diamond and Diamond Plus members. Each evening cocktails and snacks are available prior to dinner. The staff in the lounge are wonderful and can help with a variety of activities while you are on the boat. This in one really great idea RCCL has and we hope they continue this trend. Embarkation and disembarkation are very smooth and they have made some great improvements in their efficiency . Overall we were disappointed because our expectations from previous visits had been so high. I hope that they will return Mariner to it's former status and experiment somewhere else in the fleet.

The ship is beautiful. the crew is experienced and very friendly, and the atmosphere is wonderful. The on board shops and spas are the finest of quality. The cuisine was great--in or out of the formal dining room. I loved the coffee shop on the Promenade deck. I would recommend this ship and cruise to anyone wanting a relaxing or active vacation--you can get it all here. The ship also practiced an extremely high level of cleanliness--all railings, elevator keys, and door openings wiped down with cleaner all of the time. Everyone has to wash their hands to go into the dining areas--the staff stand at the door with hand santizer and make sure. I really enjoyed the over all experience.

We have been on this ship many times. We love the ship and only wish the dining service and food could be more organized and palatable

This was our first cruise with Royal Caribbean and loved it. Family of four 2 kids ages 11yrs and 9 yrs. fun was had by all. The ship is huge with lots of people. They say it was full, sure didnt seem crowded. The Windjammer Buffet was overly crowded, I would advise you find a place to sit before you get your food. The food was good for a buffet the same items over and over. The dining room experience was excellent. Our waiter and assistant waiter took very good care of us and were good with the children. Food excellent and great selections. Cafe promanade very nice and open 24hrs We did room service one morning and our order got messed up. In the dining room for lunch didnt have a good selection for kids. We had to leave because there was nothing on the menu our son liked and back to the crowded buffet. We didnt see the room steward very often. He did his best to keep the room picked up and clean. The kids looded forward to the different animal made out of towels each night. Plenty of storage in the room. The entertainment was good. We enjoyed all the shows we went to except the Broadway musical. One of the singers voice was way to loud and annoying. If you couldnt make a show they aired it on the TV which was nice. Cruise Director was very fun and knowledgable. Becky was her name. The only con was there was to much going on and couldnt get to everything we wanted to. Do not miss the Ice show , excellent entertainment. This was the only show youd have to get to early to find a decent seat. The ports were fine. I expected the private island of Labadee to be nicer than it was. Jamacia we didnt feel very safe after we left our tour guide and went on our own. Would not go back , very pushy and annoying vendors. Grand Cayman great snorkeling and safe. Didnt do much shopping with the kids with. Cozemel was very nice maybe because we did the Royal Dolphin Swim we booked on our own through Chanakaab Park. Excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The last day onboard was very windy and rocky and cloudy. Pools closed .Spent alot of time inside. Never made it to the Rock climbing wall. It was closed when we had time. The adventure club was okay our son 9yrs old liked it and our daughter 11 yrs old hated it. You had to walk through the arcade to get to the area. We felt safe letting the kids run the ship without us. We would cruise again on this ship so much to do and a variety to choose from. I would like to say the people we cruised with were very nice a honest. Our son lost his goggles and I lost my sunglasses and whoever found them turned them in. Also my nephew lost his wallet which was turned and nothing was missing. Thanks for all the wonderful honest people.

This is my 4th cruise in the last 15 years. I count this as the best one. The food was plentiful and very tasty. The passengers were congenial. The dining room with only 8 to a table was just right. We were on 7th deck inside but next time we will get a port side cabin on a lower deck, preferably deck 2. We were told this is more stable (midship).

We were impressed by all the precautions taken to keep down any possible outbreaks of sickness that has been in the news lately. All of the staff is friendly and helpful. The food is wonderful, the chefs out do themselves. We can only say if you have cruised before this is a wonderful ship to do your maiden voyage on.

Most shows were great. On the tv previews in our room, it showed Ricky Nelsons sons, performing, so thought they would be performing on our cruise. so that was a disappointment when they didn't. Also, bought a Citizen watch on the ship as they said they were higher on the Islands. We found the same watch for $45.00 cheaper at a jewelers in St. Thomas. So, we are now leary of buying anything on the ship. I felt the teeth whitening was a rip off. Came home and saw my dentist the very next day and she laughed that I had gotten scammed . There was no obvious change in the color of my teeth, and that infuriated me. Especially after finding out the jewelers were no deals either.

Was enjoying every waking moment on the ship. the total scene was shock and awe. The impressive art-scenery settled you in for an enjoyable time to relax.

The ship was seriously overcrowded causing long lines and dangerously overloaded elevators, standing room only at shows. The ships food was a huge disappointment, we cruised this ship before and it was great this time the food was very poor in some cases inedible. It seems they are trying to force you to go to the extra cost eateries to increase profits. The emphasis on clean hands and sanitizing stations was commendable but the lack of supervision of the buffet lines resulted in lines going in all directions and children using their hands to dig in the food, it is amazing the Norovirus did not run rampant due to the unsanitary overcrowding and lack of supervision in the buffet lines. Half the time only half of the buffet was open again resulting in long lines and overcrowding. Not only was this inconvienient it was dangerous. We will not return.

First RC cruise. Many things to do on the ship. Friendly staff and outstanding shows. We had a great family time on the ship.

The ship, service and their people made this a super cruise. Both relaxing and enjoyable.

the food was bad and the buffet only half open causing crowded conditions, lack of supervision of buffet lines resulted in confusion and lines going in all directions causing some passengers to become rude when informed they were going the wrong way children seemed to have no supervision and were constantly cutting lines and using their hands to serve themselves.The elevators were ridiculously overcrowded and unsafe and the buttons were nearly always dirty and sticky, a good way to spread disease. With few exceptions the entertainment was good but overcrowded.

The ship was excellent especially since we had rough seas. Great activivites and the kids loved Adventure Ocean

Nice cruise, good service but not high quality

This was our second time sailing on the Mariner of the Seas. We had a wonderful, relaxing and safe cruise. We have been on 7 prior cruise and Becky the activities director was superior. She was funny and full of energy! Becky was the best!

This was our 5th Cruise and by far the Best. The staff and the accomidations made it a very pleasant experience. The size of the room and the maintenance of it were great. The only disapointment was the lack of a nightly midnight buffet.

The Mariner of the Seas is an awesome ship with tons of things to do. It is very big, so they can offer many things to do, which will satisfy anyone's desires (relax in a library, climb a rock wall, go swimming, go ice-skating, relax on the promenade deck, etc.). After we got back and reviewed all the things to do, we realized there were still many things that we could have done (and would do on a subsequent cruise). Everything looks beautiful and brand new.

Very clean, friendly beautiful ship, but lacked activities for families throughout the daytime hours.