CruiseMates' Readers Cruise Reviews

We sailed 11 days on the Radisson Seven Seas Mariner's repositioning cruise from Vancouver through Alaska and disembarked in San Francisco. Previously we have had many different sailings, from the best-rated luxury cruise (Crystal) to the most basic in China. Our dining experience is heavily flavored with west coast fine dining in the San Francisco area. This was our first cruise with Radisson. At the time of this sailing, we were both seniors in age, young at heart, retired, and have traveled extensively.

As the Seven Seas Mariner considers itself a top-rated cruise ship, we compared this cruise with a typical Crystal Harmony cruise. Both ships are the same tonnage but have some very different features.

There are two aspects of the Mariner that we believe are significantly better than the Harmony.

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In the main dining room the menu selections, quality of the food, plate presentations, and taste were better on the Mariner. However, the menu accents French preparations and was not appreciated by all guests. (As one guest at an adjoining table put it to the waiter, "Bring me two of those chicken breasts without the gravy.") We mostly enjoyed the main courses that used typical base meats used in France. The use of fish and veal was much more to our liking than beef, and the poorest entree was turkey. The food is not what we call "comfort food." Cruisers are not likely to find a steak, baked potato with all the fixings, and a salad with thousand islands dressing on the Mariner. However, for comfort food, the pool grill does serve excellent cheeseburgers and French fries at lunch.

The Mariner's balcony suite, with 252 sq. ft. plus a 49 sq. ft. balcony, is superior to the balcony suite on the Harmony (246 square feet total). The larger size of the Mariner suites results in an outstanding stateroom. The daily price for suites as determined from cruise discounters is close to the same for the two ships ($473 per day on the Harmony and $477 per day on the Mariner). Not only is the larger size on the Mariner significant but the layout is exceptional. The walk-in closet includes a safe, shoe rack, a series of small drawers, and several rods for hanging clothes. The bathroom is large and includes a tub/shower, large sink area, shelves, and commode. (There is a problem with the tub/shower arrangement for people with restricted mobility. To enter the tub/shower requires stepping over the high tub rim.)

In all other aspects of comparison, the Harmony far exceeds the Mariner. In the following observations we ask you to recognize that this is just one cruiser's experience. Also, what we may consider a less-than-luxury cruise feature may be thought of by others as just what they are looking for in a cruise.

On any cruise, we believe that ones cruising companions can make or break the total experience. On this Mariner cruise, the average age appeared to be close to 70 or above. We did meet and exchanged e-mail addresses with several interesting compatible couples. However, after dinner the ship seems deserted. Very few guests attended the evening show, and the very large disco was mostly vacant.

Most evenings the Compass Rose restaurant was only about 20 to 30 percent occupied. Eating in your suite is an elegant experience compared to the Compass Rose. The negative aspects of the Compass Rose start with the maitre d' and open seating. Several evenings we requested a table for two, and were placed next to an inner wall near the serving stations, even though there were several tables in the dining area near the windows. The wait staff varied from very good to very bad. The bad aspect was having a wait staff that pushed diners through a five- or six-course dinner in less than 30 minutes. We ate in Latitudes one evening and finished all courses in 20 minutes. My wife was finishing her salad when the entree arrived. When I protested that they should give us a chance to finish one course before bringing the next, the waiter suggested we should just push the salad aside. Also, if you appreciate good Asian fusion cuisine, avoid Latitudes. The Kyoto specialty restaurant on the Harmony offers a varied menu selection and typically high-level, considerate service. The Signatures restaurant on the Mariner is excellent in all aspects of a dining experience.

We will not comment much on the entertainment. Compared to most of our other cruises (except China), the evening shows and other venues place the Mariner at the bottom of our list. The staff tries very hard, but the only venues that brought out a significant number of guests involved food. The gentleman that ran the art auction was very knowledgeable and interesting but couldn't attract many guests. There is a large computer area that had several guests making use of the Internet at all hours of the day. The computer training classes consisted of a half-hour lecture (poorly attended) and no organized, hands-on training. The Harmony offers detailed, hands-on computer training and the classes were always full. One final general comment we attribute to a young lady who brought their three-year-old son on the cruise. She had so looked forward to a luxury cruise but soon found out there was no entertainment for a young child and she was bitterly disappointed. The Mariner is not a cruise ship for children.

We enjoy cruises where there is a balance between quality of food, service, accommodations, compatible cruisers, entertainment, and ports. The Mariner is a luxury cruise line whose appeal is based mainly on quality of food and accommodations. The drawback to the Mariner is the lack of things to do while on the ship. As the suites are larger than on the Harmony and the large Stars disco is basically unused space in the middle of the ship, we believe this leads to a very poorly laid out ship. The public rooms are small and/or narrow but that is no reason that they should be furnished with lackluster decor. Being an all-suite/balcony ship also means there is no promenade around the middle of the ship. The elevator from the suites on the stern to Deck 5 requires walking through the Compass Rose restaurant to get to the maitre d' station or the facilities toward the bow of the ship.

Minor Notes

The concept of a complementary two bottles of liquor in the suite sounds good. However, we believe most people will have a hard time making a dent in two fifths of liquor in a week. We recommend selecting some beverage more likely to go well with in-suite dining, e.g. champagne or wine to go with the complementary bottle of champagne placed in the suite before boarding. A suggested en-suite lunch is one order of smoked salmon, two shrimp cocktails, a single sandwich of your choice, and champagne.

When we lived in France we noticed that the French are not big on supplying information; we had to ask questions until we found out what was available for purchase or how to do some task. The same is true on the Mariner when it comes to information about available services and/or other choices. Typical examples include bar menus with only drink prices listed; small print at the bottom of one menu that caviar was available for $24; how the Internet connection charges calculated; the number of the pier where we will be docking (so we can tell friends where to meet us); why our shore times were shorter than listed on the itinerary; spa services; etc.

The price of most drinks was $4.50. The complementary wine at dinner (You can also ask for complementary wine with lunch, I believe) is very acceptable but it is not French table wine as served in France.

To get a cup of coffee during the day (when you are not ordering from room service), find a bar that is open and ask the waiter for coffee.

Breakfast in the Veranda restaurant is very basic but good. We found it to be boring after a couple times. The Compass Rose serves outstanding breakfast selections of very high quality.

Other cruise lines advertise that tipping is not required and then hand out envelopes with suggested tipping guidelines at the end of the cruise. The tipping-not-required on the Mariner is refreshing, and really happens from embarkation to debarkation.