Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas Review
Mariner of the Seas
October 2008
Eastern Caribbean
Having sailed Mariner of the Seas 4 times, I guess you could say I am an expert on Royal Caribbean’s Voyager class of ships, and especially Mariner of the Seas. Once you step on board Mariner, you realize this is not your typical cruise ship. Upon boarding, you enter on Deck 5 and the Royal Promenade which stretches from one end of the ship to another. The Royal Promenade makes for a great gathering spot with its shops, the 24 hour Cafe Promenade, and the Pig and Whistle English Pub.
During the course of the cruise, the Captain’s Cocktail Party as well as Parades are held here. And if your lucky enough to secure one of the unique Promenade cabins overlooking the Royal Promenade, you will have a birds eye view of all the activities taking place in the Royal Promenade. Just remember to keep those curtains drawn though!
As part of Royal Caribbean’s Voyager class of ships, Mariner of the Seas was the last one of this class built, yet still has a unique vibe from the other 4 ships in this class. As with the others, there is rock climbing, miniature golf, Portofinos Italian Restaurant, Chops Grille, Johnny Rockets 50’s Diner, Windjammer Cafe, Savoy Theatre, Solarium Spa, plus two pools including one for Adults only.
Mariner of the Seas has recently moved to the West Coast and is currently doing 7 day Mexican Riviera cruises from Los Angeles. My October, 2008 cruise departed from Port Canaveral in Florida though to the Eastern Caribbean with stops at Royal Caribbean’s private island, Coco Cay, as well as St Thomas, USVI and St Maarten. I would recommend this itinerary for anyone looking for a great Caribbean cruise and especially with 3 days at sea, there is plenty of time to explore this amazing ship. Florida’s loss of Mariner is now California’s gain!
Steve Zellers
America’s Vacation Center
800-391-2531
www.avctravel.com/stevezellers
steve.zellers@americasvacationcenter.com
April 8th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
From Jaunted (Conde Nast):
http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/3/16/12635/4598/travel/Royal+Caribbean+Cruises+Has+Web+2.0+Viral+Infection
Royal Caribbean Cruises Has Web 2.0 Viral Infection
No surprise here: Royal Caribbean Cruise Line has a viral infection. For once, however, it’s not the Norovirus but that new-fangled byproduct of Web 2.0, the viral marketing infiltration. According to Consumerist, a group of fifty “Royal Champions” was outed by their own creator, the Customer Insight Group, as being a successful project whereby frequent positive cruise commenting on sites such as CruiseCritic was rewarded with free cruises and other perks.
So what’s the big deal? Well, it seems that the “Royal Champions” weren’t always up front about their status as compensated reviewers, effectively misleading readers of CruiseCritic forums with their positive comments. Add to this the fact that CruiseCritic admins assisted Royal Caribbean in choosing the fifty, with one of the stipulations being quantity of posts, “with many having over 10,000 message board posts on various Royal Caribbean topics.” From here, the hole just gets deeper.
Now that many RC fans feel slighted at not having made the ranks and most everyone else is disgusted at the covert trade of cruising for happy juicing, the trustworthiness of such forums is under fire.
Due to CruiseCritic’s ownership by TripAdvisor, which is in turn under the Expedia blanket of travel sites, a viral marketing stunt gone awry could possibly continue to negatively ripple. Does news like this affect your ability to trust good reviews on travel sites, or do you already consider yourself an excellent shill-spotter enough to weed out the solicited from the unsolicited? While this whole ordeal is mired in serious muckety-muck, let’s hope it serves as a lesson for future viral marketers and as an argument for transparency.
April 9th, 2009 at 5:09 am
Hi Stuart,
Excellent article. What makes it even more interesting is Cruise Critic won’t let you acknowledge your site in any of your posts if you have a travel blog. I guess I should have bought advertising before posting. I have followed the policy for years of ending all my posts with who I am, and where I work, so there is no confusion, and the latest three reviews on the blog are from co-workers who have sailed the product, and I thought gave pretty good reviews with both pluses and minuses. They also have identified themselves, and where they work, and all have travel backgrounds. The FTC says the key is disclosure, thus the signatures, but if you read between the lines, these folks also have a true love of cruising. I think travelers want to talk with people who have been there, whether they are travel agents or not. The company we affiliate with, America’s Vacation Center, insists first and foremost, that we operate with integrity and professionalism. We all stand by the motto.