RCCL Cruise - Mariner of the Seas July 12 - 19 2009

We just returned from our summer vacation - this was a "replacement" cruise - Jamie and I got sick over spring break so we weren't able to go on our originally planned Disney Cruise in the Caribbean. We opted to do something closer to home, so drove up to LA and sailed down to the Mexican Riviera. We had a good time, but inevitably found ourselves comparing the RCCL cruise to our previous Disney ones. There are great things about each cruise and cruise line, but in my humble opinion, Disney has a superior product (and a premium price to go with it!). RCCL was definitely a better value. The two biggest differences were the quality of the food, and the quality of the entertainment (shows in the main theatre). Disney really wins in these categories. Both ships had lots to offer (RCCL has slight edge in activities) and service was comparable.

Our itinerary was 1 day at sea, then stops at Cabo, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta, then two more sea days and back to LA.

Our cabin and balcony:

Shore Excursions:

We took a snorkel catamaran trip in Cabo to Chileno Bay, the snorkeling was only so-so, but the margaritas and the sailing were quite fun.
Notice the second ship in the background below - it's the Carnival Ship that had a murder on board, they sailed out of San Diego and were in Cabo the same day as we were!

Jamie got to drive the Tender Boat when we returned from Cabo to the ship!

We went to Stone Island for a beach day at Mazatlan. We took a water taxi then a tractor/trailer ride to the beach.

It was open bar (whoo whoo!), we had a traditional Mexican lunch and there were optional activites - we did horseback riding, Jamie did a banana boat ride, boogie boarding and tried to break the pinata. We met a fun dad/son (Chad and Adam from Washington) and spent the day with them and then spent a lot of time with them on the ship after that.

In Puerto Vallarta, we had a GREAT excursion to swim with the dolphins. It was through Vallarta Adventures, called Dolphin Signature Swim. We were in the water for almost an hour with the dolphins, with the highlight a ride on the dolphin's belly across the pool (by holding onto its flippers). Excellent, excellent excursion, I would highly recommend. After the excursion, we did some power shopping in Old Town and had margaritas at Senor Frogs.

Nighttime shows/ entertainment on the ship:

Sunday - welcome aboard show with a so-so juggler (Chuck Gunter) and funny comedian Dan Wilson

Monday - RCCL Singers and Dancers - good talent and production, but lacked cohesiveness, had no plot, so was only so-so

Tuesday - Tribute, a salute to the Temptations - it was OK, but not that memorable (might have been the champagne that made me forget, though)

Wednesday - Ice Show - very unique for a cruise, well done with good costumes

Then also Wednesday was a late night "Love and Marriage Game Show" that was hysterical! It was like the Newlywed Game but with 3 couples - one newlywed, one wed the longest, then one in between. The elderly couple had been married 47 years, they were Wayne and Betty. Wayne stole the show when he admitted that Betty had two pairs of crotchless underwear. Abe (the Cruise Director who served as MC) had tears in his eyes and the audience gave Wayne a standing ovation. While the adults were at the adults-only-recommended show, we gave the kids money to hit the arcade. So it was a special treat for both young and old... Ann below with Abe the Cruise Director:

Thursday - LaRaf "Magic" show - La = Larry, Raf = Rafael; they did mostly classic illusions like with a box and levitation... best trick was at the end, in the audience was a large wooden box, they handcuffed Rafael's nephew, put him in a bag in the box; then Rafael stood on top of the box, lifted a red "curtain" around the box for no more than about 4-5 seconds - when the curtain dropped, it was the nephew on top of the box and Rafael in the box. That one was amazing.

Friday - RCCL Singers and Dancers in "Pure Energy" this show slightly better than Monday's, the theme was all about the 80s...

Saturday - Skipped the show in the main theatre, spent some time packing then went to see Matt Yee singalong instead. He is HILARIOUS! Would definitely recommend him. See picture below of Jim and Chad singing "My Ding-a-ling."

Food on the cruise was also only so-so. We had the first seating for dinner, 6pm. The first night, we were seated at a table with 6 elderly adults, 4 of whom did not speak English. I requested a new table and we got a good one, with 3 other families (all single moms with their child(ren)). Our dinner buddies were Michelle (Shelly), Nikki (11) and Sean (15) - pictures of them and one of us below. Jamie spent most of the remaining cruise hanging out with Nikki. They're from Temecula, so we'll hopefully see them again!


All the specialty restaurants were really good (Johnny Rockets, Chops and Portofino's). Windjammer's for breakfast was basic buffet, with one station to cook eggs and omelettes to order. Lunch there was also only so-so. Salad bar decent, but the hot food was fairly bland. The most memorable meal was the wine paired dinner our last night at Portofino's. The scallop appetizer was good and the tenderloin was GREAT! The most memorable dessert was the chocolate cake/pie thing at Chops. Decadent! And stick with the steaks at Chops, the shrimp dish was disappointing.

Johnny Rockets:

Dinner at Chops:

Scallop and Lobster appetizer at Portofino's:

On board, the activities were good. We had access to the Concierge Lounge so we had free drinks from 5 - 8:30 each night - they really took care of us and even filled our to-go cups!

We loved the rock climbing wall, did it both of the last two sea days. Talk about hard, though. Wow! That required muscles that I never knew I had...

Also went ice skating on the last day - Jamie really got into it and then was sad that we hadn't gone before, so she could go again.

We played miniature golf a couple of times at the course up on the top deck. The last couple of days sailing back were WINDY up there, combination of headwind and ship speed!

We hung out at the pool periodically - they had a men's legs contest contest (warning men, there’s a twist!), then a women's bicep contest (Jamie and I entered but did not win). They did line dancing lessons at the pool, and a belly flop contest (77-year old Wayne, from the Love and Marriage show won). The only "gripe" I have about the pool is that it was salt water. Just not that refreshing :( But Jamie's favorite was the soft serve frozen yogurt machine that was pool side. I think the most she had in one day was 4...

The ship had an indoor promenade, with shopping and specialty bars. We did a wine tasting at Vintages, and it became one of our favorite meeting spots for a glass of wine. There were a couple of dance parties on the promenade and parades... a good central gathering place...

Ann, Chad and Adam at Vintages:

Jim and I hit the casino several late nights, this might have been our downfall in terms of lack of sleep... We had a group "slot pull" with friends we made on-line on the cruise critic boards...

We broke even on blackjack, made about $40 on Let it Ride, but then Ann lost $100 on Texas Hold 'Em in one hand!!! It was an electronic table, that was interesting, I've never seen one before. I was dealt on my first hand, pocket aces. I was chatting with Larry (from the magic show) so wasn't paying enough attention, there was nothing that interesting on the flop and the remaining cards (no possible straights or flushes or visible pairs). So I kept calling the bets till it was down to me and one guy; he had two pairs! I felt pretty stupid - sat down and stood up after one hand (there was $100 buy in, I didn't want to risk more). Live and learn! Here's the entrance to the casino:

One of the highlights for Jim... we were invited to a private party with the Captain and ship's officers. While chatting with the Captain, I mentioned that Jim had missed the Bridge Tour on our cruise that wasn't (the Spring Break cruise). He invited us to a bridge tour on Saturday but made us promise not to tell anyone. There were three families on the tour, it was very cool. Jim asked questions about the engines and propulsion and engineering stuff. I asked about where they put the trash (it's recycled or incenerated). Jamie got to sit in the captain's chair!

On Saturday morning, the last day at sea, we had multiple whale sightings while at breakfast, around 9am or so, lasting maybe 30 minutes. I ran as fast as I could back to the room for the cameras, I missed the really close-up ones (in terms of getting photos) but did get a few shots of them in the distance, spouting water from their blow holes. Such an amazing sight!