Jump to content

3. 2. 1……Does a Mariner Wonder the Allure of Cruising 1/15/24-2/2/24


Ampurp85

Recommended Posts

The theater was packed. People removed the star class banners on deck 4 to sit. I don't know if shenanigans occurred. We moved to deck 5 because it was too much.

Imho voices was not good. It's definitely a show I wouldn't recommend or return to. It's about 6 singers and as many dancers. No bands or instruments are used, only voices. I can't deny the talent. But it wasn't a well put together show. The song choices were wrong. You have to sing Ozzy right, not as a slow ballad. I thought the "voices of the world" segment was the best. They ruined Kansas, journey,  the list goes on. It was hard to even sing along and enjoy because all the keys were wrong. This had nothing to do with using the voices as instruments either. Just how they had the singers perform.

I think the show is maybe 35min......and that's too long.

There was an ice show scheduled for 7:45 and it made for the worse backlog. We were trying to get to the casino to get drinks for dinner. A lady in a rascal, those motorized scooters, was upset because they wouldn't honor her reservation. She has it for day 1, an assumed she could go anytime,  she tried to hit the crew member with her rascal. It was quite slow in the casino. I got the pineapple guava sangria.

We made it Giovanni's at 7:50. Sat down outside within 3 min. It was heavily populated, in fact all the specialty restaurants were. Our server was slow. Like really slow. Six tables came in after us and they all got drinks and apps before us......including two in our servers section.

20240123_195643.jpg

20240123_202040.jpg

20240123_203105.jpg

20240123_203411.jpg

20240123_205824.jpg

20240123_210220.jpg

20240123_210225.jpg

20240123_184522.jpg

20240123_192526.jpg

20240123_192948.jpg

20240123_184605.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i believe the popcorn is $4 (with tax etc) 

and i didn’t care, i paid the $4, because the popcorn smell was taunting me. 

(note to self: get popcorn at publix before sailing next sunday 🫡)

 

3 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

A lady in a rascal, those motorized scooters, was upset because they wouldn't honor her reservation. She has it for day 1, an assumed she could go anytime,  she tried to hit the crew member with her rascal

omg. 

motoring collision AT SEA!!!!!! 😱

good grief. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So after three nights of specialty dining, my opinion is that other than Mason Jar, they aren't up to snuff.

I can see why Mariner is top rated, the staff in all the dining venues were amazing. Had our server let us know all the large groups were causing food delays we would have been a little less displeased with the service. At 8:40 we didn't have apps. They came 5min later and at 9:14 we got our entrees. By which the place cleared and our server finally informed us of the issue.

The food was hot but disappointing. It was either lacking in flavor or just salty. The only thing that was remotely good was the canolis. I ordered the chicken fettuccine and a pepperoni pizza. My brother had three pastas and the 7 cheese pizza. We took the pizza to go. Somehow I got the meat lover's pizza, which was going to be breakfast before we got off for st.maarten. But it's salty garbage.

It rained and children were playing in the rain and looking for ducks. I needed to use the bathroom and on deck 8 it was filthy. For some reason there was a lot of blood on the floor and in one of the sinks. The ship is rocking, so many people are falling. 

I am hoping I can switch my last sea day specialty to Mason Jar, I don't want to eat at the places I can go on most ships.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, asquared17 said:

i believe the popcorn is $4 (with tax etc) 

and i didn’t care, i paid the $4, because the popcorn smell was taunting me. 

(note to self: get popcorn at publix before sailing next sunday 🫡)

 

omg. 

motoring collision AT SEA!!!!!! 😱

good grief. 

Yes it was $4. I saw several people carrying them and saying how they dont want to waste because they paid for it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Ampurp85 I completely agree with you about “Voices “.  I thought it was garbage.  All I could think of was they were trying to save money by having a show with no live music at all.  Probably the worst show ever on an Oasis class ship.  
 

Is there even an orchestra on Wonder ?  I don’t think we went to any other production show so I can’t recall if there was live music or not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

@Ampurp85 I completely agree with you about “Voices “.   Probably the worst show ever on an Oasis class ship.  
 

 

That's strong considering the reviews of Cats I see!! lol.

@Ampurp85Hope you feel better and have good weather for your ports..looks like St Maarten today!  I might have missed it, but do you have plans for the port stops? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

I am hoping I can switch my last sea day specialty to Mason Jar,

#teammasonjar 👍 Hope you’re able to switch. We’ll still likely try Kitchen but that’s why our frugal selves are waiting to use a bogo.

5 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

voices was not good

Agreed. I’ve mentioned I’m not a stage show guy anyway but that was definitely not for me. You didn’t get the chance to see Tap Factory as it recently ended its run on Wonder but I didn’t like that one either. I did love the  ice show though. We plan to see that one again but the others were one & done unless my wife feels like seeing the aqua show again. I don’t mind watching an aqua show if the weather is nice. Something to do while having a drink outdoors.

Random comment: My wife would order the chicken fettuccine & it looked kinda odd with the big breast off to the side.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Is there even an orchestra on Wonder ?  I don’t think we went to any other production show so I can’t recall if there was live music or not.

We don't listen to a ton of live music but yes. Pretty sure I saw the orchestra listed in the app at some point. We went to Music Hall and saw the house band play for a little while (not good).

The one act that everyone seems to love is the country trio that plays at Mason Jar and also around the ship occasionally (like under the big hat on the Promenade). I'm not even a country music fan but they were very good when we had brunch at MJ. They even take requests and took one from my 9-year-old nice (who knows infinitely more country music than I do, lol. Their set was done before we were and they came by our table to say hi to her after. Nice guys.

I went to the MJ bar just to grab a drink at night while they were playing and it was packed!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Day 4 St.Maarten

I don't make plans for Caribbean ports. Something about paying to do beaches or cooking/ drinking classes rub me the wrong way. I usually just get off and do my own thing, if something calls to me, good.

I like the views you get with the virtual balcony. 😍🤩👌

I forgot to post dessert photos. One note it says complementary limoncello but we weren't offered any at dessert. I was offered on Odyssey and freedom.

I realized that day six is Mason Jar dinner, so if we change it to brunch it would be double Mason Jar 🤔😱......my brother said he's okay with that.

 

20240124_075703.jpg

20240123_213305.jpg

20240123_213258.jpg

20240123_213010.jpg

20240123_213012.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

I don't make plans for Caribbean ports. Something about paying to do beaches or cooking/ drinking classes rub me the wrong way. I usually just get off and do my own thing, if something calls to me, good.

 

I hear that... I think that's our plan going forward. For Bermuda I've been studying ferries and city busses that we just plan on taking around the island with no real plans. 

What is that dessert your brother is holding? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Ampurp85 said:

my brother said he's okay with that.

As if anyone doubted that? 🤣

I'd do it if I had the UDP b/c nothing lost if I didn't eat as much as usual at dinner but that would be an awful lot of food, lol. I'd likely have to avoid snacking at all in between meals.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

So after three nights of specialty dining, my opinion is that other than Mason Jar, they aren't up to snuff.

I can see why Mariner is top rated, the staff in all the dining venues were amazing. Had our server let us know all the large groups were causing food delays we would have been a little less displeased with the service. At 8:40 we didn't have apps. They came 5min later and at 9:14 we got our entrees. By which the place cleared and our server finally informed us of the issue.

The food was hot but disappointing. It was either lacking in flavor or just salty. The only thing that was remotely good was the canolis. I ordered the chicken fettuccine and a pepperoni pizza. My brother had three pastas and the 7 cheese pizza. We took the pizza to go. Somehow I got the meat lover's pizza, which was going to be breakfast before we got off for st.maarten. But it's salty garbage.

It rained and children were playing in the rain and looking for ducks. I needed to use the bathroom and on deck 8 it was filthy. For some reason there was a lot of blood on the floor and in one of the sinks. The ship is rocking, so many people are falling. 

I am hoping I can switch my last sea day specialty to Mason Jar, I don't want to eat at the places I can go on most ships.

Had almost the same experience with lack of cleanliness in public toilets, bland not so special specialty dining, etc. Definitely room for improvement. Make sure your review with Royal reflects your experience. We can always do better tomorrow than we did today. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

59 minutes ago, ScottD said:

I hear that... I think that's our plan going forward. For Bermuda I've been studying ferries and city busses that we just plan on taking around the island with no real plans. 

I do not pay for excursions either…however…when we were in Bermuda we did choose a tour of the Crystal Caves and it was 100% worth it!  The tour brought us from the dock (in a small shuttle bus with a driver native to Bermuda…he offered us so much interesting information!) to the Caves.  Our tour of the caves was amazing and very insightful.  Gorgeous pictures can be taken!  After that we were back on the shuttle and our guide took us to the very end of the island…to a beautiful beach that had a bar (we indulged in super delicious rum swizzles!) and we were able to take a hike up into the forest where again just amazing sights and pictures to take!

Well worth the money which I believe was about $70/pp.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The dessert was the Go Bananas, he said it was good.

The Playmakers nachos came like that. I thought it was weird too but there was actual nacho cheese under there.

When we got off I heard a couple of people complaining about the Mullet Bay experience. Which is why I won't pay for Caribbean ports excursions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We got off around 11. Wait before we got off, my brother went to the gym and I went to the Crown Lounge to have my UDP reservations changed. There was a chatty Charles, the concierge kept telling him she had people to help and he kept extending the conversation. The hours were only 8-9:30, and I got in just under the wire.

I played in the casino until my brother was ready to get off. I had a good run. I earned a casino comp, which I'm going to combine with one of the online offers to make a B2B. I find I have good luck in the morning, when there are less people in there. But I'm a primer, I played two machines off and on, I couldn't get the bonuses to explode but as soon as I switched to one, someone would hit. It happened three times in a row.

But on to shenanigans. When we departed the ship, there was a couple behind us, trying to cut in front of everyone. There was two women in rascals, trying to leave. They had to be assisted off and it slowed things down about 2min. The couple behind us were saying people like that shouldn't be allowed to board or disembark with regular people.  Then almost knocked me over going down the ramp.

Then port staff had to physically get a couple who were trying to do something in the "do not go" area of the pier. I believe they almost fell overboard, considering the wind and swells, it wouldn't have been good.

Its nice and warm but clouds are dropping pockets of rain. So people are taking cover wherever they can. In a shop a lady wanted to buy a wooden bowl, they were marked $20. But every one she wanted the salesperson kept upping the price. When she picked up the first bowl again the lady said it was special and $40. The lady said when I first asked it was $27, now it's $40. The salesperson laughed and said it was a joke, to see if she was paying attention. The lady was mad, so she didn't buy anything despite the salesperson agreeing to $20. We brought key chains, postcards and magnets from another vendor.

It got sunny and so I walked around about an hour, then came back onboard. It is a port day so no specialty dining until JR and Playmakers open at 3pm. I had to go to the WJ,  I got nothing and came back to my room, to get chips and the last of my SmartPop. Dinner is at Hooked, I should be fine until then.

I am probably going to play until laser tag at 5pm. My brother is going to walk the ship, it's still raining.

 

20240124_114845.jpg

20240124_114852.jpg

20240124_114930.jpg

20240124_115646.jpg

20240124_120200.jpg

20240124_120202.jpg

20240124_140822.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

I had to go to the WJ,  I got nothing

I wasn't aware that was an option. 🤣

Glad there's more Mason Jar coming. We've debated trying dinner but brunch makes more sense for us between price (especially with the Black Friday deal) and menu. Maybe we'll try it with a bogo if we don't like Kitchen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I forgot about the "Karen's " in the WJ. Basically some diamond members were yelling at staff about a clean table. They said as diamond members tables should always be clean and available for them. Not D+, just basic diamond entitled folks 🙄.

Anyhow we had laser tag at 5. It lasted all of 8min. The tiny humans were cheating and running despite being told not to. Of course one fell and staff were at their limits. My brother and I ended up om separate teams. He was purple and I was green, his team won. It was a large rude Italian family playing, all but one was green and she thought I was going to take my vest off and give it to her, when the game was starting in 5 sec. I would have but you don't learn your teams until 10sec before the game starts.

After I went to the Crown Lounge for hot chocolate because it was cold in there....duh it's Studio B.

I went back to the room and then it was time for Intense. Well it was intense. The whole area was wet, so they handed put warm towels. I mean these towels were the best and felt like a blanket on a cold day. Maybe 5min into the show it poured, like big fat drops. I woke up with a sore throat, and I wasn't trying to get sick so I left. I caught the last 15min of the next show. My thoughts are the women are talented but it's boring. The song choices make it seem intense but it's the weakest show of the bunch.

We had to return to st.maarten about 5min after we left for a medical emergency. I hope whomever is okay. Which means we are speeding and it's rocky as hell. I mean I'm pretty sure I got my sea legs because the nausea is gone but I am still swaying as I walk.

But ooh let me tell you Hooked gets negative 5 stars, below zero.....go straight to jail and do not pass go.

The menu didn't list the turf &turf, but I assumed I could get it. My brother ordered the oyster shooters and loved them despite not being a fan of gin or vodka. It one of two items he enjoyed. He got the mussels and he said they lacked any flavor but salt. He loved the Rockefeller oysters, but the raw and baked were not great in his opinion. I got the shrimp cocktail as my app, they were okay. The server offered me two steaks because that's what he thought the turf&turf was. I will say he was fast and efficient but on edge because the food wasn't getting rave reviews.

My brother ordered the catch of the day, and the captain platter with lobster mac. I got fries and corn. My food came out cold, the corn was sitting on sweet milk 😱🤮🤬🤯......who serves grill corn on a platter of sweeten milk????? I asked for medium and it was well done and salty as hell.....the fries too. So salty it was inedible. I knew it was a prayer I would like the food. But my brother is a chill garbage disposal, he rarely says something is bad. He said all his food was salty as well, he finished it but he did tell the head waiter, improvements could be made.

The head waiter and our server tried to bring me more food, but I was turned off. I told him when the food arrived,  I was just going to get nachos from Playmakers. Which is how I saw the last of Intense. We have gotten food at night twice and had the same server. Tonight when we came in she told the other girl, I will take care of these two and you take the rest. My brother heard this as he was at the bar while I watched the show. We had the other girl for lunch yesterday and she looked visibly mad. I came back when it was over and asked who made her mad because she was so nice and smiley yesterday. It's because we tipped.

I know some people like to tip at the end. But I notice our service is always above and beyond because we do it each time. The filthy bathrooms are really off-putting especially on deck 8 and 4.

Lastly I don't understand why a mouse is considered a towel animal 🤔 😕

20240124_191904.jpg

20240124_195651.jpg

20240124_200117.jpg

20240124_200629.jpg

20240124_201200.jpg

20240124_201809.jpg

20240124_201813.jpg

20240124_202207.jpg

20240124_202609.jpg

20240124_203702.jpg

20240124_203704.jpg

20240124_203723.jpg

20240124_211558.jpg

20240124_222655.jpg

20240124_223412.jpg

20240124_223415.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree on tipping... we always tip as we go and tip big at the start if it's someone we know we will see all week.  Your server at PM sounds exactly like ours both times last year, we tipped our guy well a few times in February and he never let us wait for a thing, brought us free extra food and everything. Flip to the 2nd time in October... HE came right over to us and told us he remembered us from months before, and flat out told the other server "they're mine all week" lol... it was pretty neat and probably the closest to feeling like a D+\Pin I'll have in a long time, lol. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Drinking my tea, almost spitting it out as I got to " chill garbage disposal" OMG that to me was hysterical.

I felt the same about the Intense Show. I felt the production did the ladies wrong, like our thing is all ladies so they gave up on the actual show. Intense yes, but I also did not enjoy the crazy loud sound track if you can call it that.

I hope you see and enjoy Effectors 2. That was something I enjoyed a great deal on that ship. I hope your throat feels better!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

I know some people like to tip at the end. But I notice our service is always above and beyond because we do it each time.

Hang on - maybe I'm clueless. How does this work then? Do you order and immediately tip? Tip first, then order? I'm usually of the tip-at-the-end crowd but I'm intrigued if tipping earlier can improve experience...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

I forgot about the "Karen's " in the WJ. Basically some diamond members were yelling at staff about a clean table. They said as diamond members tables should always be clean and available for them. Not D+, just basic diamond entitled folks 🙄.

Anyhow we had laser tag at 5. It lasted all of 8min. The tiny humans were cheating and running despite being told not to. Of course one fell and staff were at their limits. My brother and I ended up om separate teams. He was purple and I was green, his team won. It was a large rude Italian family playing, all but one was green and she thought I was going to take my vest off and give it to her, when the game was starting in 5 sec. I would have but you don't learn your teams until 10sec before the game starts.

After I went to the Crown Lounge for hot chocolate because it was cold in there....duh it's Studio B.

I went back to the room and then it was time for Intense. Well it was intense. The whole area was wet, so they handed put warm towels. I mean these towels were the best and felt like a blanket on a cold day. Maybe 5min into the show it poured, like big fat drops. I woke up with a sore throat, and I wasn't trying to get sick so I left. I caught the last 15min of the next show. My thoughts are the women are talented but it's boring. The song choices make it seem intense but it's the weakest show of the bunch.

We had to return to st.maarten about 5min after we left for a medical emergency. I hope whomever is okay. Which means we are speeding and it's rocky as hell. I mean I'm pretty sure I got my sea legs because the nausea is gone but I am still swaying as I walk.

But ooh let me tell you Hooked gets negative 5 stars, below zero.....go straight to jail and do not pass go.

The menu didn't list the turf &turf, but I assumed I could get it. My brother ordered the oyster shooters and loved them despite not being a fan of gin or vodka. It one of two items he enjoyed. He got the mussels and he said they lacked any flavor but salt. He loved the Rockefeller oysters, but the raw and baked were not great in his opinion. I got the shrimp cocktail as my app, they were okay. The server offered me two steaks because that's what he thought the turf&turf was. I will say he was fast and efficient but on edge because the food wasn't getting rave reviews.

My brother ordered the catch of the day, and the captain platter with lobster mac. I got fries and corn. My food came out cold, the corn was sitting on sweet milk 😱🤮🤬🤯......who serves grill corn on a platter of sweeten milk????? I asked for medium and it was well done and salty as hell.....the fries too. So salty it was inedible. I knew it was a prayer I would like the food. But my brother is a chill garbage disposal, he rarely says something is bad. He said all his food was salty as well, he finished it but he did tell the head waiter, improvements could be made.

The head waiter and our server tried to bring me more food, but I was turned off. I told him when the food arrived,  I was just going to get nachos from Playmakers. Which is how I saw the last of Intense. We have gotten food at night twice and had the same server. Tonight when we came in she told the other girl, I will take care of these two and you take the rest. My brother heard this as he was at the bar while I watched the show. We had the other girl for lunch yesterday and she looked visibly mad. I came back when it was over and asked who made her mad because she was so nice and smiley yesterday. It's because we tipped.

I know some people like to tip at the end. But I notice our service is always above and beyond because we do it each time. The filthy bathrooms are really off-putting especially on deck 8 and 4.

Lastly I don't understand why a mouse is considered a towel animal 🤔😕

20240124_191904.jpg

20240124_195651.jpg

20240124_200117.jpg

20240124_200629.jpg

20240124_201200.jpg

20240124_201809.jpg

20240124_201813.jpg

20240124_202207.jpg

20240124_202609.jpg

20240124_203702.jpg

20240124_203704.jpg

20240124_203723.jpg

20240124_211558.jpg

20240124_222655.jpg

20240124_223412.jpg

20240124_223415.jpg

I love the marriage of food and your brother smile. He can advertise for the restaurants.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

45 minutes ago, Cactus527 said:

Hang on - maybe I'm clueless. How does this work then? Do you order and immediately tip? Tip first, then order? I'm usually of the tip-at-the-end crowd but I'm intrigued if tipping earlier can improve experience...

So even though we know we will probably go to Playmakers each evening, we tip after each service instead of a larger tip at the end. I give a nice tip to the casino bartenders and then still tip on each drink. If I dine in the MDR, I tip each evening. I also give the person refilling drinks and cleaning the tables in WJ a couple of bucks. On occasions if I am at sprinkle's a lot I will give the person a dollar or two.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Day 5 San Juan

It is a beautiful morning but I woke up congested. I'm going to take an Emergen C and get myself together. We haven't been to this port, so we will walk around and get some food. It's a pretty short port day as all aboard is around 3ish.

My brother is eating breakfast, he is hoping it is shorts weather to show off his chicken legs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

I have a couple of questions. What is the process for D+ laundry?

Also does anyone know if NextCruise works with the mailing offers you get from club Royale?

I used the D+ laundry for the first time in December. Give the bag to your cabin steward. He will do the rest. The clothes came back fresh and folded.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The wifi is amazing on Wonder. The access point in each room must be why. You can control the TV with the app on your phone. I don't know if I mentioned it but there are tons of outlets. A USB and 2 plugs in the lamp. Plus 3 in the vanity/sitting area. I love the hooks under the TV, we hang bags, hats and our lanyards. Storage is great too. Our cooler is actually cooling. However you have to remove the shelves to get any actual use. The Evian bottles will fit, if you do.

My brother brought me breakfast 😋 and I am grateful because I hadn't eaten much yesterday and I was actually more hungry than I realized.

We are heading off the ship and the weather seems amazing. Let's pray that it holds.

 

20240125_094804.jpg

20240125_102931.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

The wifi is amazing on Wonder. The access point in each room must be why.

Yep, makes a huge difference. Told ya you would like it when you were complaining about the reception in your cabin on Mariner.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...