On Board Mariner

We are luxuriating in lovely Caribbean sunshine.

The kudos first..

-Regent offers a lovely sail away party w upscale hot & cold hors and live music..very festive.

-There was first night lounge show with singing and music for dancing. Very energetic w. Lots of pax dancing.

-Staff is wonderful.

-The new menu is so 'always available' that is challenging to avert ones eyes to the daily specials.

-The pool bar beckons and is popular.

On the distaff side, there are some problems in dinner service attention &a flow. Management seems alert to this. It may be a staffing issue as our waiter appeared to covering a large number of tables.

You're on our favorite ship, Paula. Thanks for posting and have a most wonderful time.

Looking forward to hear more, we'll be on the Mariner later.........Have a great trip and enjoy.

Have a great cruise and look forward to your posts. Jean.

Hi Paula, wishing you Fair Winds & Following seas for your Mariner cruise. Look forward to reading more about your voyage.

Thanks for the good wishes. The cruise continues well. Today, St Lucia, is sizzling hot at 8 am. We have been very, very lazy..just enjoying the veranda..watching the wake melt into the horizon.

There have been 2 most enjoyable shows by this talented JAR troupe. One seems to need to enter Compass Rose close to 7pm to clear for the show. One 'hole' in the scheduling is if you don't wish to attend the show there is no contemporaneous entertainment in any lounge.

Despite some excellent tutoring I am not able to upload any photos for you. Comcast is not very compatible w our internet, so that may be the problem.

For those sailing soon and wondering about the condition of Mariner, everything is very attractive, well maintained and shines clean.

There is a new ( to us anyway) gala galley lunch. Many seemed to love it. The line into the galley was very long and very slow, magnified by the first station being the salad bar. The entrees were simply out in metal pans w little attention to display. I gave up on it all pre-dessert.

Seabourn used to do a gala galley lunch. The raw bar and cold salad table was set up in the dining room as was the dessert table. The chefs in the gallery were serving the patrons, interacting about their jobs,etc. It was jolly....so as you can tell, I think that the Regent offering could be modified...but I appreciate their offering something new.

Off to pool deck..a day made for a rum punch!

Doesn't sound so great, maybe pass on this one.

Hi Paula,

I was curious as to whether they have said what they will be doing with the Mariner from April 8-11 since they delayed the refurbishment. Will any updates be made, normal maintenance etc? Thanks

I'm not Paula, obviously, but I think I read somewhere (maybe speculation, I'm not sure anyone here knows for sure) that the April 8-11 gap in the Mariner's schedule is a charter or a VIP trip or something...

Must have missed that, didn't they will be delaying the refurbishment - I was thinking it was April 2018. Or are you talking about April 2017?

Your recollection is correct Rick, it is April 2018. It was originally due for this month but got delayed by one year due to the shipyard damage from the hurricanes in the Carolinas, which is why they added the two one week carribean trips and subsequently added Cuba. We will be on the April 18 sailing and I was curious whether they would use the four day gap to do some type of soft goods upgrade. Bill, if you aren't on the trip it can't be VIP!

Thanks for the information. If your on the April 18, 2018 we're on that on also..........We have one for 2017 and 2019 booked besides.

Rick

Paula,

Who is the "crew"?

Specifically who is the ExChef?

Thanks.

J

Lorraine is CD

Chef is Kelly. Today we had the Am Ex galley tour. It has always been nice but today it was super. Began w champagne and head sommelier .Arturo.....then Chef Kelly did the tour...for a cooking demonstration.... fabulous sea bass fillet on porcini mushroom risotto. We were then able to order this for lunch. A fabulous dish!

GM is (?sp) Amani

3 day dry dock (Bahamas) post this cruise is for 'engine' w no spoken plans to do more than polish the interior.

Which Chef Kelly? The Woman? or the Man (Cochran).

Also, Do you know who is running Prime 7, Perhaps Stan?

We board on the 11th.

Thanks again.

J

Cochran

Not certain re P7

Chef Kelly?!! Love him - can't wait to board on Tuesday!!

Lorraine is CD

Chef is Kelly. Today we had the Am Ex galley tour. It has always been nice but today it was super. Began w champagne and head sommelier .Arturo.....then Chef Kelly did the tour...for a cooking demonstration.... fabulous sea bass fillet on porcini mushroom risotto. We were then able to order this for lunch. A fabulous dish!

 

GM is (?sp) Amani

 

3 day dry dock (Bahamas) post this cruise is for 'engine' w no spoken plans to do more than polish the interior.

AMEX Galley Lunch???

Frank

JMARINER: I believe that the female Chef Kelly is only on Explorer and Oceania ships with a Culinary Center (she is the head of Regent and Oceania's Culinary Center Program).

Good to read reports on the Mariner. We look forward to being back onboard in about 7 months!

If she is the same Chef Kelly we had on "O" she is really good and lots of fun.

Rick

If she is the same Chef Kelly we had on "O" she is really good and lots of fun. Rick

If she is the same Chef Kelly we had on "O" she is really good and lots of fun. Rick

We also enjoy Chef Kelly and did see her on the christening cruise of Explorer. The last three cruises on Explorer, Chef Noelle has been in the Culinary Kitchen (she is very nice as well). Unless or until the other ships build a culinary kitchen, I'm not sure if Chef Kelly will be on other Regent ships.

BTW, an escorted culinary excursion we took with Chef Kelly on Oceania was three times the cost of the same excursion on Regent (identical). There is a lot to be said for "Regent Choice" excursions (vs. Regent "included" excursions). However, as I've mentioned, all excursions on this cruise have been included and have been done quite well.

Don't want to get the Mariner thread off track - just wanted to explain how I knew that Chef Kelly (the female one) would not be onboard Mariner. The other Chef Kelly (Executive Chef) is also very good!

JMARINER: I believe that the female Chef Kelly is only on Explorer and Oceania ships with a Culinary Center (she is the head of Regent and Oceania's Culinary Center Program)......

I never know who they are going to move around to what ship, particularly between Regen and Oceania.

But extremely happy that it will be Kelly Cochran on the Mariner. He started out slow when he cam over form Oceania several years ago, but blossomed into a great asset for the Company.

I am going to be interested on how they handle a 7 day cruise. I Have never done one this short.

J

40/595

Sorry to be late seeing your note.

Yes, the Am Ex galley lunch was led by the Ex Chef and was a special treat w. his cooking demo at the end of the tour.

The gala galley lunch that I described was a newish event for all of the passengers. It was not a tour [in the traditional sense ] but a buffet through the galley which certainly permitted a look at the galley.