Mariner, Miami-Lima, Jan.17, 2017

Onboard Mariner for the first time, having a blast. Ship is in good shape. Will report briefly from time to time, but just have my phone. Chugging through the Caribbean, bound for St. Bart's.

Have a great cruise. Look forward to your posts . Jean.

Looking forward to your observations and comparisons of the Mariner and the Voyager.

Ah, I'd meant to post and wish you Bon Voyage, but I lost track of the date you embarked. Mariner is my favorite, in large part because of the showers, but we've liked everything about the ship. I have approximately zero interest in the Explorer.

Enjoy the whole experience!

Happy to hear your on the ship having a good time. I read your post on CC and enjoy you comments/information. Looking forward to hearing what you say about Mariner as we'll be on that ship much later. Rick

Bon voyage! My parents are on your cruise; it's their second time on the Mariner & they tell me it's their favourite ship.

Bon voyage! We really like Mariner and have done a similar itinerary. Passing through the Panama Canal is a highlight.

Terry Breen onboard--awesome as usual. First night Prime 7, great, Dover sole and filet, very good. Last night Settle Mare--good company, food just so-so, service not great. They were very busy and just not enough staff! Some not trained. On the second night of the cruise, with some cruisers new to Regent, you'd think a waiter would come and explain the concept, but no. Man asked for a side salad and he was simply told to go serve himself. We understood but table mates did not. Bad sommelier communications with other staff. Table mates had her wine glass whisked away with wine in it towards end of meal, had to ask for another glass. As for food, we are spoiled having spent ten days in Florence and Rome last fall. Salad bar completely inadequate--dressings heavy, greens not fresh.

Just so anybody thinks all is lost, had a great second seaday today culminating in a wonderful meal in CR. Captain's welcome night, lobster etc., lots of tuxes. Settled into a team for trivia, great fun. Love the public spaces on this ship. Tomorrow Bonaire.

Just so anybody thinks all is lost, had a great second seaday today culminating in a wonderful meal in CR. Captain's welcome night, lobster etc., lots of tuxes. Settled into a team for trivia, great fun. Love the public spaces on this ship. Tomorrow St. Bart's.

Just so anybody thinks all is lost, had a great second seaday today culminating in a wonderful meal in CR. Captain's welcome night, lobster etc., lots of tuxes. Settled into a team for trivia, great fun. Love the public spaces on this ship. Tomorrow St. Bart's.

Interesting about the tuxes. As you have noticed, people are dressing up a bit more on Regent cruises than they used to. IMO, it is great that people can dress "Elegant Casual", wear a tux or anything in between. This really works IMO.

We have about 60 days with Regent on Navigator and Voyager, but this is our first on Mariner. I now understand why for many it is their favourite of the three. And despite the fact that the ship is full, except for the one experience which Wendy mentioned, the food and service have been excellent.

Also, the first two days were sea days, and the CD did an excellent job of having a lot of interesting things going on all over the ship. In fact, it was often difficult to schedule a nap.

It has been a while since we've been on a Regent ship, and in many ways it feels like coming home.

Interesting about the tuxes. As you have noticed, people are dressing up a bit more on Regent cruises than they used to. IMO, it is great that people can dress "Elegant Casual", wear a tux or anything in between. This really works IMO.

I think it's a confluence of factors. Significant numbers of new cruisers, Scots and British, and the length of the cruise.

Great night at Signatures, one of the best. Nice room. Everybody is working hard on this cruise to call us by name!

Wendy it sounds as though you and David are having a great cruise. Mariner always seems a really happy ship, service for us last year was excellent. It seems to feel quite welcoming and relaxing. Glad to hear all is going well. Jean.

Hi Wendy and David:

We're so glad you are having a grand time but not surprised at all. We are in the process of booking a Mariner cruise in 2019 at this moment. Not surprised that you had a weak moment in the cafeteria a few nights ago. We've experienced same. But our recent cruise on Voyager suggests things are getting better on Regent and your posts so far reinforce

Pat that.

Great night at Signatures, one of the best. Nice room. Everybody is working hard on this cruise to call us by name!

Good to hear that you are enjoying the Mariner. However, for the future, nothing (iMO) can possibly touch the experience on the Explorer (even after refurbishments of the other ships). We are sailing on the Mariner only because of the itinerary and would much prefer any itinerary on the Explorer (note: we are booking a 2018 sailing on the Explorer).

Yes - there i8s a lot of hype regarding this ship but from what we've seen, it is no more expensive than other ships and the experience is at least one notch higher.

Man asked for a side salad and he was simply told to go serve himself. We understood but table mates did not.

Don't understand myself. If you ask for something you shouldn't be told to serve yourself. The waiter should have gotten him a salad.

But glad your having a great time, look forward to seeing more.

 

Yes - there is a lot of hype regarding this ship but from what we've seen, it is no more expensive than other ships and the experience is at least one notch higher.

Sorry to challenge your post, but from my perspective Explorer is more expensive per day than Regent's other ships for an equivalent sized suite on a similar itinerary

However, Explorer may well offer better value..........but this is for individuals to determine for themselves

Sorry to challenge your post, but from my perspective Explorer is more expensive per day than Regent's other ships for an equivalent sized suite on a similar itinerary

 

However, Explorer may well offer better value..........but this is for individuals to determine for themselves

We had dinner with two women last night, one of whom dates back to the Song and is no doubt Titanium. They have done the math and for some itineraries Explorer is much pricier. They did love the ship, but also love Mariner.

We spent last evening doing the math. I like the Mariner also but that is the one ship where we cannot stay in a regular suite as it is too small. So, on some itineraries we looked at F1/F2 and concierge suites vs. the price of similar suites on the Voyager and Mariner - the deciding factor seemed to be where in the world the ship was sailing rather than which ship it was.

Continue enjoying your cruise. BTW, I meant to ask your thoughts on the Coffee Connection on the Mariner. We enjoy it.

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Continue enjoying your cruise. BTW, I meant to ask your thoughts on the Coffee Connection on the Mariner. We enjoy it.

It's lovely, much nicer than Voyager.

Standard F I think, but accessible. Which means no walk-in but more spacious. Lots of storage, just smaller closet space. Squarer I think. Great location near forward elevators. Bed near window, sitting area near door, which is on the side instead of the end. Except for the daily shower floods, we like it.

Please elaborate on the daily shower floods:eek:

Wendy,

Since you are on the Mariner now, can you tell me if Prime 7 is open at lunch as it is some days on Explorer? Also, have you gone to the Champagne and Caviar breakfast?

Thx, Crispy46