I don't think a full review of this cruise is necessary since there have been so many ongoing reports, but I thought I'd comment on just a few things I noticed for those who have not been aboard the Mariner.

First, of course, we really enjoyed meeting our newly-MINTED friends. What a congenial, fun-loving group! Thanks to everyone for a wonderful vacation. We were delighted to learn that Jean and Clyde will be aboard the Navigator next year when we are.

This ship is really shipshape. I thought that there was a lot more obvious wear than when I was aboard two years ago (the upholstery was really showing its age in our cabin, for example) but the place is immaculate and everything sparkles. I find this entirely acceptable. With all the hard wear a ship endures, I think they do a great job keeping up with it all. Our cabin attendants, Isabel and Arturio, took flawless care of our room. The foam pillows we requested on our guest information form were actually on the bed when we arrived.

It did seem to me that the waiters were a bit pressured in Compass Rose and I wondered if they might be a little short-handed. The service was pleasant and showed the usual deft Radisson touch, but I sensed that the servers were having to move at warp speed to make it so. In La Verandah, we generally took our own plates to our tables. In the past, one was not allowed to carry so much as half a muffin, but that is not the case now. This is not something that bothers me, but it was a difference I noticed. Again, the service was cheerful and prompt and I enjoyed the luxury of having a decaf cappuccino with breakfast. I thought the food was excellent and those free-flowing wines at dinner were good as ever.

I had a facial in the spa and it was very enjoyable. The esthetician, Caroline, made it a very pleasant experience and she seemed to like her job.

The internet connection was slow as molasses and more expensive than it used to be. The cost is still quite reasonable but it ran a dollar or two per session for me to check my email rather than 25 cents or less.

We really enjoyed Kenny Smiles, the comedian. We had not seen him before and I thought he was one of the funniest people I'd ever seen. His humor is definitely over the top.

It is fun to travel with Ngaire and Ken! This was our first time to meet them and we enjoyed it ever so much. Not only are they lovely people but Radisson really rolls out the red carpet for them and we rode their coattails to some fun events.

The pre-cruise arrangements in LA were excellent!! We were met before we collected our luggage by a Radisson representative, who saw us to the hotel shuttle. Once there, there was yet another rep who gave us all the information we would need to make our transfer the next morning. It's never been this well-organized before, and this time they took care of every detail AND communicated this information to us. Though we followed instructions, our luggage was not brought down the the shuttle to the ship. When it was clear we were without our luggage, the rep went into high gear and tracked it down. I think it was because of her that we did not sail without our baggage. Embarkation was a breeze. Debarkation was similarly seamless. Once the ship was cleared after we arrived in LA, we were off and on our way to the airport in no time flat.

We booked a couple of cruises for next year and I'm already eager to go.

MarnaLou

MarnaLou, very thorough/keen comments, thanks for sharing...r/wes

I thought the Captain had the most personality. Always smiling, friendly and a good sense of humor.

Cheers! Ray

Agree 100% with MarnaLou (who as usual posts with great insight and clarity). As Ray had mentioned, Captain Guillou is a delightfully charming, witty person and a warm host. All in all, he is an excellent host, and it's easy to see the similarities in style between Captain Guillou and Captain Dag. We (Olivia, Joanna 1, Tony, Joanna 2, Tom, Marcie, Jean, Clyde and yours truly) had a great dinner with him. Incidentally, his hat on the bridge is a little Viking hat with horns and a blonde pony tail.

I'll add a few rambling thoughts:

I really like how the public spaces are arranged on the Mariner. The staircase that connects the casino to the Stars Nightclub is really convenient. Also, I liked how the cigar lounge is right next to the Horizon Lounge. Finally, the Mariner's Observation Lounge is in a class of its own (much better than Voyager's). The Mariner's Observation Lounge has 270 degree glass for a really great viewing experience. In contrast, Voyager's Observation Lounge is kind of dark and dingy (but it does have the Ngaire Sofa). There was very little vibration on the Mariner, a testament to its spine-based construction.

Penthouse C really is the best deal in the RSSC fleet. What a GREAT room.

The one disappointment for me was Signatures. This appears to have been highly variable because others reported being very happy with Signatures. I guess we didn't go on a good night. We had to send back the lamb and the filet. Appetizers that Tony and I had ordered never showed up. The other dishes were COLD when they arrived. My soup was room temperature! In addition, our waiter had a horrible attitude problem that really turned us off. Tom and I have both vowed never to eat in Signatures again on either Voyager or Mariner. In stark contrast, the food in Compass Rose was EXCEPTIONAL each night, thanks to the incredible Chef Tobias. I probably had the best lamb and dover sole ever.

We just love Mariner! I thought maybe it was because Mariner was our first RSSC ship, but this trip confirmed our preference. Lawrence, we were totally underwhelmed with Signatures AND Lattitudes this time, and overwhelmed with Compass Rose. The Weinershnitzel (I'm sure I mangled the spelling of that one) was to die for!

But now we are looking forward to being on Voyager with friends.

Our only dinner at Signatures was formal night, last Saturday. Everything was good, except that they did botch my order. I did not order an entree, just a series of the appetizers...well, they brought me the same appetizer twice and gave one that I had ordered to Elizabeth, my sister in law. Other than that, it was great...but I did hear the horror story that Lawrence related and was stunned! That sort of inconsistency needs to be addressed, fast!

I must say that I thought Latitudes improved greatly, 100% since last March. I was most pleased and very satisfied this time around.

That being said, the Compass Rose is peerless, and I laud both Laurens Hazelebach (the Dining Room Manager) and Tobias Schreiber (the head chef). These two gents are a tremendous asset to the Mariner.

Aahh...dreaming about Pecan Waffles, Crab Eggs Benedict, Grand Marnier Souffles and Weiner Schnitzel already!!!

Agree with previous posters regarding Signatures. Although still good, unless it is improved I would view Signatures as an alternate dining venue, nothing more, and maybe a bit less. I prefer my beef "blue", i.e. rare with a cool center. I received medium, one of our tablemates asked for medium and got hers "blue". Clearly, they mixed up the plates which was not discovered until late in the entre course. With the beef, I also ordered the sea bass, which was unimpressive to say the least. My conclusion is that Signatures has fallen quite a bit both in service (they shouldn't screw up orders) and quality (the sea bass was, at best, mediocre.

The good news was that Compass Rose was outstanding.

And yes, I did notice more "wear and tear" than I expected on the furniture, particularly in our cabin, but also on exposed wood services in the public rooms. They also might also consider replacing the pillows in the staterooms, which fluff up nice but turn into pancakes by the morning. However, this may be a personal preference ...

The Internet connection was as slow as ever ... I felt lucky to get home to get 56kb dialup as opposed to 1/8th of a T1 (1.544MBPS) for ALL ship data comm shared by all passengers and the line itself.

These are really nits (other than the Signatures comment) as we really enjoyed Mariner on Mint.

Bill

I, on the other hand, loved every single thing I had in Signatures. I did not get the lamb though, and that was the entree I heard the most negatives about.

I also loved our dinner in Signatures - my appetizer with the crabmeat and asparagus was excellent as well as was my duck. But I did hear about Lawrence's experience second hand ...

Maybe Sheri, it was the company at your table in Signatures that made the difference? :D

Thanks MarnaLou for posting the "not-review" ... as always, thoughtful insights and I agree even with our limited experience with RSSC.

Masaki

See here is the differing of opinions. Same cruise, same restaurant, same staff, same cook.

Perhaps on the night of the problems something was going on that particular night that caused all the issues. No excuse for that it is just amazing how peoples experiences can be so different.

I did not get to eat in Signatures so I cannot add any comments to this discussion.

My only comment to this was that I'm not sure anyone at our table had the lamb, and all appeared to love their meals...I loved the escargot too...the waiter (who had a very dry, but very funny wit), kept correcting me and saying, "no ma'am, they are snails!" :D

Oh, Masaki, I just scrolled back and read your post...I think good news of the caliber we received, makes EVERYTHING taste better!!!!! :app:

The company wasn't too bad either...although it's possible the singing at our neighboring table might have better...or should I just speak for myself????? :D

Was somebody "SINGING" at a neighboring table??? Hmmm - that's what they call it? <img border="0" alt="[rofl]" title="" src="graemlins/rofl.gif" />

MarnaLou - How are you feeling? Hope better by now.

I thought our singing was just wonderful <img border="0" alt="[Hammer]" title="" src="graemlins/hammer.gif" /> It would have been even better if we could have come up with just ONE song that we actually knew all the verses! My filet was great at Signatures. I agree with Sheri...most of the problems I heard about had to do with the lamb chops. In Lawrence's case his steak was over cooked & not prepared how he had requested it. What I did notice was OUR waiters (one in particular) had a real attitude and I mentioned this on my "comment card".

I had the lamb that night and mine was overcooked to medium to medium well rather than medium rare. But by that time, I was so full, it didn't matter. The lamb at Compass Rose, on the other hand, was perfect!