Our First Experience w/ the Mariner

[tezb]

I posted months ago that I would let some of you who are interested know my comparison of DCL/Mariner after our 6/20 cruise. We have only cruised Disney...3 times.

Well we absolutely loved the Mariner ship! It is beautiful and huge! I felt overwhelmed once we first arrived.

Overall we liked the Mariner better for our family..(3 sons 12,16,18). There was much more for them to do and there was also plenty of night life for us adults. The clubs/dancing go on til 3am or later so that was a big difference than DCL. I also liked having the Casino on board...not a big gambler but it was a fun source of entertainment.

The pics RCCL takes are more creative w/ the background they put on the pics, such as cute dates of the cruise, icons of various things like wine glasses, roses, etc. Very nice touch. They also had many more photo ops throughout the evenings and even a black and white options for one. They also had a photo opwhere you could dress up like from the Titanic era w/ the background. They had a cruise in review video you could purchase anytime during the week which you could get on the last day of the cruise. They basically film during your cruise of random people/activities and you get it as a souvenir later. I was a little disappointed in this DVD as I expected much more random clips since they seemed to be filming all the time. I know they edit stuff, but the film wasn't that long that they couldn't have added more. This DVD was 30.00.

Our room was nice and new but I did miss the split bathrooms on DCL. Also DCL had a little bigger rooms but not by much. My older sons room were inside staterooms but they overlooked the Promenade which was very cool to see everyone down below shopping, etc. You could even see the parades from the room. They had sidewalk sales often too on the PR deck.

I felt the food on DCL was slightly better. DCL had a better selection for dinner and the desserts were better w/ more variety. RCCL buffet Windjammer was bigger and more selection than DCL's buffet but the food was okay most of the time. Some things were better than others.

DCL CM's are consistently friendlier than RCCL's. Most were fine but we did run a cross a few who were abrupt or rude. Not enough to cause a problem but enough to take notice.

I know some may not agree on this comment but we thought RCCL's entertainment/shows were better than DCL. We are not Disney fanatics so that may be the reason. RCCL had great comediennes, ice show, games shows, etc. We just enjoyed it much more than the Disney shows.

All in all, we enjoyed it and would do it again in a heartbeat!! We probably will not cruise DCL again (price and lack of things to do) but will always think fondly of DCL because they were our first cruise experience and got us addicted. They kept us coming back total of 3 times but now it's time to venture out...Thanks DCL for the great start! Will continue to recommend your cruise ship to others interested in cruising Disney.

Feel free if you have any specific questions...(we also stayed at Ron Jons for 2 nights).

 

[CB4U]

Wow, this is strange. I just sent you a PM yesterday inquiring about your cruise.

Thanks..

 

[tezb]

I just emailed you back also. Your question actually reminded me that I hadn't posted about my trip yet.

 

[Mjasp]

Tezb...Thanks for the report. We will probably do RCCL next year, since DCL is going West it kind of makes us try something else which I am glad about.

How were the promenade inside rooms, I would like to get 2 adjoining promenade rooms?

Which itinerary were you on?

Did you dock or tender?

How many selections were on the dinner menu, that made you say DCL has a better selection?

OK you asked for questions and I gave them LOL

TIA
Joanna

 

[cindy21494]

tezb, thanks for the report. We are planning to do RCCL when our children are a bit older. I have one question, did your children go to the kids clubs at all? If they did how did they feel they were compared to DCL. This is the only area I am concerned about. Please let me know.

Thanks

Cindy

 

[Disneycrazymom]

Thanks for the report, I think RCCL is in our future too. Were there times when the passengers could get on the ice rink? DD skates and DS plays hockey, so a week off the ice could seem long to them. Not Mama though! Anyway that would be a bonus for them. Also did there seem to be any young kids (5)? Thanks

 

[dis4me]

Great comparison Thanks for sharing. We too are looking into the Mariner after 5 DCL cruises.
Glad you had a great trip. What ports did you call on?

 

[cindy21494]

tezb, thanks for the report. We are planning to do RCCL when our children are a bit older. I have one question, did your children go to the kids clubs at all? If they did how did they feel they were compared to DCL. This is the only area I am concerned about. Please let me know.

Thanks

Cindy

 

[CB4U]

tezb,

Thank you so much for posting. We are seriously considering RCCL as well. We too have older kids (17, 14, 10). We have cruised DCL twice now and have cherished every moment. College is approaching fast and RCCL looks better financially for us. We have found we can book two rooms and still cruise for much less so the size of the room isn't an issue to us. Overall, it looks like this might be the way for us to go.

 

[tezb]

Okay, I will try to answer what I can....here goes..

I only went to the kids club to look not to use. My youngest is 12 and he was w/ the 12-14 yr olds. Teens mostly hung out in a place called The Living Room or the Teen Disco which is called FUEL. Very cool places and the FUEL even has computers there. From what I could see, the kids clubs were very nice and cute looking. There were a total of 3500 people on board and many kids...although it didn't feel like it most of the time..just like on DCL. To get greater detail on the younger kids club, you should check out www.cruisecritic.com to ask first hand. The younger groups did look like they were having fun though and I have read that others liked RCcL club better but to each is own.

We went on the Western again only because RCCL only goes to their Island in Haiti (Labadee) on the Western. We did the Western last year w/ Disney but wanted to go for Labadee and Jamaica which are different. Also went to GC and Cozumel. The only tendered in Labadee and GC. This cruise goes from Sunday to Sunday. Labadee was nice but different from Castaway in that the people from Haiti are on this island, selling their stuff and dancing w/ fire, etc. The place is nice and quiet like Castaway but a different feel...sort of like being w/ the natives while there. They have a BBQ, beach, water sports, etc.

Yes passengers can use the ice skating rink on certain days/times. My 12 yr old skated one day w/ some kids he met. He only needed us to sign a permission slip each time he skated. Same goes for the rock climbing and the rollerblading.

The menu selection for dinner was okay but I guess they just didn't appeal to me sometimes. They had about 4 dinner selections along w/ 4 other common items you could order, like just chicken or steak, pasta. There was maybe only one that I was interested in each night or I just ordered from the common items menu. Their prime rib/lobster was excellent though. The prime rib was a very generous piece. The desserts and pastries weren't the greatest selection. I just remember more yummy desserts that I looked for on Disney. RCCL had more evening buffets than DCL. They had one night where they had a huge Gala Buffet at midnight and their late night Beach Party up on deck had a buffet too. We were the late seating so I couldn't see going to the buffet so soon after dinner.

The promenade rooms were very nice and cozy. They only sleep 2. It is so cool to be able to look out and see down on the Promenade Deck, esp since there is no window. We had a balcony but sometimes I thought I wouldn't mind having their room either. We would definitely book the PR room again. We were deck 7 midship.

RCCL is definitely cheaper than DCL. We saved about 2000. on this cruise...but we did spend more on our seapass this time...they had such good sales on the ship...everyone bought new watches...and of course I bought too many pictures!

Hope I covered everything....for now.

 

[Carol36]

I am going on the Sept. 26, 2004 Mariner and cannot wait. My family were on the May 23rd Wonder and we had a blast, which was everyone's first cruise, except mine. We have a cruise booked on the "Magic" for next year. 4 days just wasn't enough time for us.
This time I am cruising with the "girls", which consists of my mom, aunt, sister, and cousin. This will definitely be different that our Disney Cruise. I shall see which I would prefer, although I think that I could be happy on any.

THANKS FOR YOUR WONDERFUL POST!

CAROL

 

[Mjasp]

Tezb...Thanks for the response. One other question, How were the pools? How many? Salt water? Slides?

TIA

 

[WDWLVR]

Thanks for the great report! We are die-hard DCL fans but I wouldn't mind trying RCCL. Thanks for sharing.

 

[MO64RN]

Thanks for your report.

We go on the 3 night Wonder today but are booked October for the Mariner. I guess we will see it in port Sunday morning.

 

[Linda1]

Tezb,
Thanks for your review. After cruising with DCL 3 times, we have decided to try RCCL's Mariner. We are booked for Easter break 2005. I have been reading the cruisecritic boards, but it was nice to get the opinion of someone who has only cruised with Disney. My kids will be 12 and 14, but our neighbors are going with us and the their kids will be 7 and 9. If anyone else with younger kids has been on the Mariner, I would love to hear your opinion on the kids club.
Linda

 

[HookedonMagic]

MJASP,

We had connecting Promenade staterooms for our March cruise on Mariner and liked them. It is nice to have a "view" with your inside stateroom. My daughter just mentioned the other day that she wished DCL offered a similar stateroom (and she's sailed in Cat 6, 7 and 8 on DCL!)

 

[tezb]

Originally posted by Mjasp
Tezb...Thanks for the response. One other question, How were the pools? How many? Salt water? Slides?

TIA

There are more pools on the Mariner and a little bigger in size. There were 4 pools I believe and also jacuzzis. There is an area called the Solarium which is for 16 and older. Very nice tiled area and elegant w/ pool, jacuzzi and bed type lounge chairs. The main pool area has 2 pools and a couple jacuzzis. Also quick showers. There are no slides on this ship but I think others ships do have them.

Unfortunately, the pool is filtered but the salt water is still there. My son didn't like it because it stung his eyes too much so I ended up buying him goggles. I wish they could filter out the salt like Disney. Another plus for DCL.

 

[IrishCowboy]

$2000? I had no idea that RCCL Mariner was that much cheaper than DCL Magic.

Thanks for the report.

 

[jeanie]

Hi Tezb,



Thanks you for sharing your experiences on RCCL... We have done two disney cruises and because of the price we are going on the NOS for next year.

I was wondering if you could tell me about the activities that they have for the 12-14 kids? My DD will be 13 when we sail and I was wondering if they have organized activities for this age group or do they just "hang out"?

 

[tezb]

Originally posted by jeanie
Hi Tezb,



Thanks you for sharing your experiences on RCCL... We have done two disney cruises and because of the price we are going on the NOS for next year.

I was wondering if you could tell me about the activities that they have for the 12-14 kids? My DD will be 13 when we sail and I was wondering if they have organized activities for this age group or do they just "hang out"?

They do have organized activities for this age group except for the Port days. On those, days the kids who stay on the ship, can just hang out in the Living Room, Arcade or wherever they choose. Sometimes the activity can be cancelled due to lack of interest too. My son said they had scheduled dances for this age group only (15-17 dances are separate), they play cranium and Dog Eat Dog, a game called mixed drinks where the drinks are free and the counselors let them experiement w/ various virgin drinks and mix them, etc., Johnny rockets for meals and something called Hotty Hunt where you look for anyone on the ship who you think is HOT and take a pic w/ them..they give you the pic later also. My son took a pic w/ a girl in a bikini who was much older...probably college age!! There is also the sports deck that the kids can play basketball, ping pong, pee wee golf, volleyball, rock climbing or roller blading...also the ice skating when it is allowed. There is so much to do that I didn't see as many kids just wandering the ship as on Disney. If they hang out, they tend to do so on the decks 12 and 13 or 5, where the Promenade is located...