Greetings from the Mariner

I am posting from the lovely Mariner, cruising in the steamy Mediterranean. We left Barcelona for Ibiza on Thursday, and are currently celebrating the 4th of July in Mallorca, where the high is expected to be 96! We are on our balcony, looking out at the NCL Epic with its 4000 passengers (shudder).

This is our first Mariner cruise, and our second on Regent, as we toured the Baltic last summer on Voyager. We find the public areas to be especially beautiful on this ship. They seem to be a little smaller, but nothing is close to being crowded (and we're sailing at 97% capacity). For example, I remember that the Observation Lounge was much larger on Voyager, but that room was always under-utilized anyway.

This is the kickoff cruise for the Smithsonian Collection. There is a speaker on board from the Smithsonian, and she gave a presentation on art that was good, but not nearly as interesting as what Sandra Bowern was doing on Voyager last year. The Smithsonian lady is leading our tour in Sardinia, and maybe she’ll shine there.

We are in a Penthouse suite on deck 9. It's lovely, and has the best shower of any room we've been in. I'm 6' 2" and 2xx pounds and wasn't cramped at all. We've used our butler for a couple of things, and he has delivered. The bed is as comfortable as you could possibly hope for.

We’ve eaten in Compass Rose both nights, and the food and service has been outstanding. The restaurant has a more intimate feel than Voyager’s, and that’s to our liking. Last night’s show featured a singer from England that has appeared on the London stage, headlining several Andrew Lloyd Webber shows. She was great, several cuts above the typical cruise performer.

Lastly, this is the happiest ship I’ve ever been on. Everyone, from the officers down to the busboy, is constantly smiling. Even Destination Services is staffed by happy people, something rarely found in my experience. We asked our bartender in Club Mariner about it last night, and she said that everyone loves working for Regent, and that they all get along famously with each other.

This cruise features unlimited internet, so I’ll be able to answer questions.

We hope you have a wonderful cruise and don't get too hot. Love to hear more about the Smithsonian presentations and your impressions of them. Is the Mariner bartender from Chile? If so, she makes an awesome amaretto sour and margarita. Enjoy!

Z and TB

Would it be possible to let us know who some of the officers and staff are? It is just wonderful that you are having a good time, keep being happy. Angie

I can't remember the names of too many of the officers. I know that Frank Galzy is the GM, and the cruise director is Margaret.

I DO remember that the bartender's name was Olga, so you know what my priorities are.

Would also like to hear more about the Smithsonian Collection as the trip continues. This is one of the reasons why we booked our cruise on the Navigator next April.

Wishing you sunny skies.

I found the list of officers, and here are some of the more important:

Captain: Felice Patruno

General Manager: Franck Galzy

F&B Director: Donald Curbelo

Cruise Director: Margaret Lynn

Destinations Manager: Luke Bergado, one of the nicest people I've ever met

Executive Chef: Michael Meyepa

Restaurant Manager: David Dos Santos

Cruise Consultant: Brian O'Brien (hah!)

The guest singer was named Jacqui Scott. Perhaps some of the British CC'ers know her due to her extensive resume. She was excellent.

Happy cruise !

You have a great leadership team onboard. I have sailed with most of them before, and they are among my favorites.

What a lovely opening post! I trust that you'll enjoy the rest of your trip as much as these early days. So nice to hear.

If you would be so kind, I would enjoy hearing about the excursions. E.g. I've never been to Ibiza or Sardinia; it'd be great to get some in-put about those places. I've been to Mallorca-- many decades ago. I think we mainly did caves on that island-- and a stop at an absolutely stunning little cove. I remember the island as being very hilly-- beautiful.

Btw, we're among the minority (I suppose) who have much enjoyed the Regent excursions.

Happy sailing!

How lucky you are - the Officers and Staff are wonderful - good at their jobs and terrific people!

Keep having fun.

Peggy

I also enjoyed your post. It has been said that whenever Franck Galzy is the G.M. the crew are happy. He started at the bottom (at Regent) and is now the most senior G.M. He goes out of his way to assist the crew and they really appreciate his style of management.

The wonderful shower you have in your suite are the ones that replaced about 50% of the bathtubs that passengers complained about since the ship was launched (it was the bathtubs that had not only a low ceiling but were difficult to get out of).

Anxious to follow your cruise.

So nice to hear you're having a good time! I loved my last Mariner cruise in May and am looking forward to my next one in October. The entertainment staff are some of the most wonderful I have ever met. Enjoy the shows (if you go)!

Looking forward to your reports. We will be on Mariner exactly one year from now in Alaska and are booked in a PH Suite on deck 10, also with a shower. Would love to hear about any details on the furnishings, balcony, etc. especially since the refresh. Have been in a standard suite on Mariner and Voyager for our previous Regent cruises.

I'm a little hesitant to mention that our two kids (11, 13) will be sharing our suite this time around so I hope we won't be too crowded. Our suite has a sofa bed and they can also bring in a rollaway, although we may bring a twin inflatable mattress since that might take up less space than a rollaway. (Hopefully this mention won't take the thread off topic -- I know some folks would say that Regent is best left to adults. Our kids are fairly well traveled and know how to act in environments that are mostly inhabited by adults.)

mborchgardt (interesting screen name) - Your kids will be fine. Alaska is a wonderful place for them to see. The cruise will include almost daily port visits and excursions so they certainly won't be bored, at all. Regards.

Mborchgardt - there is plenty of room in a Mariner Penthouse suite for a roll away bed. There's a lot of empty space at the end of the bed for it.

We had sailed on the Voyager Cape Town to Singapore this last Dec./Jan., and we absolutely loved her. My next trip is on the Mariner then end of October, so I was pleased to see that you, too, had experienced the Voyager before the mariner.

Will look forward to your future comments, and thank you for taking the time. have a great trip.

We just got off the Mariner on June 21 and agree with everything you said. Things could not have been any better. It is indeed a happy crew and a very well run ship! Everyone went out of their way to make every experience as good as it could possibly be.We hope our Voyager cruise in the fall is as good.

Enjoy the rest of the cruise.

Having Felice Patruno as Captain and Franck Galzy as GM, I know why the crew and passengers are so happy. They are truly special.

We disembarked Mariner 2nd July in Barcelona. It was a wonderful cruise, food and service excellent. It was our third time on Mariner and we felt the new refurbishment was very tasteful. Suites very comfortable, and public areas well appointed. Food top notch in all venues and the deck party superb. All in all perfect cruise. On board crew most attentive and professional at all times.

It doesn't get any better than that. Jean.

Mborchgardt - there is plenty of room in a Mariner Penthouse suite for a roll away bed. There's a lot of empty space at the end of the bed for it.

mborchgardt (interesting screen name) - Your kids will be fine. Alaska is a wonderful place for them to see. The cruise will include almost daily port visits and excursions so they certainly won't be bored, at all. Regards.

Thanks so much for the information. Glad to know there should be room in the suite and for the reassurances about the kids.

cAPS lOCK oN, hope you enjoy the rest of your cruise. Look forward to hearing more about your experiences.

This is good news indeed. My wife and I are sailing on Mariner the end of this month and it's great to hear that the crew is on their game. Looking forward to sailing in less than a month!!! (Can you tell we're overdue for a vacation?)

I agree with everyone, such a great post and you do have a great crew. We love Mariner and have loved those PH suites on a couple of occassions, they are so spacious.

Have a great cruise.

I'm taking my first Mariner cruise at the end of August and have a question regarding the shows. Do you have to book seats? If so, what is the procedure?

Terry

Seating is first come first serve. You get to pick your seats. And the theatre is not usually crowded. On Mariner, there really are very few "bad" seats. I usually sit in the balcony and show up right before the show starts.

Tjeffery - The Mariner has a really large theater for a ship her size. And like Rachel says, they're really aren't too many bad seats. I've never had a problem getting a seat, and we're usually arrive late.

Tonight was Prime 7, and we once again had fabulous meals. I hear a lot of complaints about the place, and I don't get it. We each had the bone-in rib eye, and agreed that the steaks were as good as any we've had, anywhere.

And we had a nice thing happen. My wife was wavering between the steak and the dover sole. The waiter suggested the steak, and the maitre d' arranged to have a dover sole ready for her in Compass Rose tomorrow. Pretty good service!