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We have been on the Mariner now for a full week. Normally, we would be saying “Wow! It seems like we just got on and we’ve got less than 7 days left before we have to go home”. But, this time, we said, “Wow! We’ve been here 7 days already and we’ve got 8 ½ weeks to go!”. In this post we will give you a quick overview of the dining options on-board the Mariner.
At home Margaret makes a wine paired dinner for us every night when we’re home. OK, I’m pretty spoiled but why not. She’s a great chef and I know how to open a bottle of wine! The dining options are numerous only from one “restaurant”. On the Mariner, I miss Margaret’s cooking and the convenience of in-home dining every night but the don’t feel too sorry for us. The dining options for our 65 day trip have multiplied many times!
First, there are seven official restaurant options:
– In-room dining – from a menu 24/7
– Compass Rose – large, formal dining room with breakfast/lunch/dinner menus. Dinner menu also available for in-room dining. You can go to Compass Rose any night and it is open seating.
– La Veranda – buffet style dining along with menu selections for breakfast and lunch, buffet salad bar and menu dining for dinner, Italian flavor. Open seating and or restrictions.
– Pool Deck Dining – buffet style as well as some basic menu options. Seating by the pool. Adjacent to pool bar. On sea days they have some type of extravaganza like Seafood, German specialties. Also has an ice cream bar!
– Signatures – Le Cordon Bleu french cuisine. Technically you can book it once every two weeks and there are two seatings per night.
– Prime7 – Steakhouse, ala Morton’s or Flemings. They have the best onion rings we have ever had! Technically you can book it once every two weeks and there are two seatings per night. This seems to be the most popular restaurant on the ship.
– There is also a Starbuck’s style coffee bar called Coffee Connection right next to the computer room that is open all day until 6 pm. It has espresso-style drinks and also has selection of food items that vary by the time of day. I like to go there every morning for my low fat latte and a light, healthy breakfast.
All of the restaurants are free and all the fine dining restaurants and pool decks have bar items available at no charge including red and white wine, martinis, margaritas, beers, soft drinks, etc.
Over the past week we have used all dining options and also managed to sneak in two seatings at Prime7. Last night, we got in Prime7 at 8:45 pm and had a fantastic dinner. Margaret had Surf/Turf while I had an aged 16 oz. Ribeye. Both of us had oysters Rockefeller and we had a few sides as well. We tried the “house” wines which were decent but also had the rest of our 2003 Super Tuscan magnum from the night before. We also started another magnum of 1988 BV Reserve and put the rest aside for tonight.
The free wine provided with meals is pretty decent wine. However, they offer reserve wines that you have to pay for as well. We like to do that periodically. However, it is clear that not many people are buying these wines as it sometimes like pulling teeth to find one in stock. One of the nice things is the wine prices are VERY good, sometimes cheaper than I could buy them at discount prices. We talked to the Asst. Food & Beverage manager about this. He said that, because of their volume purchases, they get great prices and pass on the savings, plus they just add a small, maybe 20% markup to their prices rather than the 100% in restaurants. He said that the large cruise lines like Carnival can buy a bottle of Bacardi for $1.50, then sell drinks for more than $5 which has a shot. Highly profitable to say the least. We’ve finally sorted out the problem with the wine by meeting the right people. They are going to buy 325 cases of wine in Chile and about the same in Argentina so we are excited to try out some great wines from those regions.
In addition to the optinos above, there are several bars on the ship:
– Observation Lounge – On Deck 12 at the front of the ship it gives a panoramic view of where we are pointed to, has a piano that is manned in the evening hours and a full-service bar. In the morning they have some breakfast items and coffee.
– Horizon Lounge – Located on Deck 6 aft this area has a dance floor and stage for bands to perform, an outdoor seating area and a full bar.
– Mariner Lounge – Located on Deck 5 right next to Compass Rose and Prime 7, this is where many people congregate and socialize before having dinner. There is a piano where entertainers work from during the cocktail hour. This area also has a full bar and usually serves finger food during “happy hour”.
– Pool Deck Bar – Located on, of all thing, the Pool Deck (11) this is the classic outdoor bar that is adjacent to the Pool Deck Dining area.
So, as you can see, you can eat and drink yourself silly if you don’t pace yourself and get exercise while you are on the ship. Bon Appetit!
Wine Dining on the Mariner Picture Gallery: http://travelwithdm.smugmug.com/Travel/South-America/Wine-on-Mariner-Feb-15-2010/25177813_RGVsw8#!i=2065106442&k=p6LvgFZ