Mariner v Navigator

As 3 time Mariner cruiser, but new to the Navigator would love to hear pros and cons of each ship. We sail on the Navigator this year B2B from Jerusalem to Barcelona on 25/07. We are in 1003 a PH B cabin.

Have really enjoyed Regent before, what do we look out for to get the most from this trip?

IMO, the biggest difference is the size of the standard and Penthouse suites. The Navigator's standard suites are considerably larger than on the Mariner. The Mariner's PH suites are MUCH larger than on the Navigator (which are the same size as standard suites).

The Mariner has very spacious public spaces. The Navigator had small public spaces that may have been enlarged during the recent dry dock.

The Navigator, as you know, does not have a forward Observation Lounge and did not have much of a Coffee Connection (but I realize that this area was recently made larger.

Signatures (soon to be changed to Chartreuse) is not on the Navigator but Prime 7 is. La Veranda was quite cramped on the Navigator, but, once again, this was suppose to have changed during the last dry dock.

There really isn't a bad suite on the Mariner but there are a few areas to avoid on the Navigator (far aft or far forward -- also "window" suites where crew members could walk by your window).

The Mariner's stability is the best of any Regent ship - it takes the waves very well.

That is all that quickly comes to mind. Hope it helps.

Agree with all of the above. I actually like Navigator better, but it is because of the size of the standard suites. Happy to cruise on either.

I like the Navigator better. The size is just wonderful.

Also prefer Navigator. Most of our cruises have been on Mariner but much prefer Navigator for size of ship and friendliness. Jean.

The Navigator has had some significant vibration problems in some areas, unless this has been corrected in recent years. These problems were worse low and toward the stern of the ship. In the auditorium, the vibration was really bad, but in our suites on the starboard on deck six it could not bt felt.

We have cruised on both ships in "standard sized" suites. While we like the larger standard size suites on the Navigstor, we prefer the public areas in the Mariner, and the fact that the Mariner has been free of vibration in all parts of the ship.

We like Navigator but prefer Mariner, which is significantly more stable in rough seas and is the perfect size for us. We also enjoy having the extra French specialty restaurant that is missing on Navigator. The slightly smaller basic suites still have walk-in closets and are large for basic staterooms, and do not bother us at all. But given the right itinerary we have no problem cruising on Navigator.

Although looking forward to our Navigator cruise, I think that we will miss the Observation lounge on the Mariner which was our watering hole with piano music late on and name that tune. Galileo's seems to be dancing and multi purpose. Any thoughts on this?

Nav PH-B is just the same size as any standard cabin. Unless you really love having a butler save you money and get a Cat E or F.

Cabins below the pool or veranda restaurant deck 9 and any above the theater deck 8 rear can sometime be problematic. Also avoid #855.

Having been on the Nav across both the North and South Atlantic and length of the Indian ocean, I think the ship sail fine in any seas.

j

Also avoid #855.

Okay, I have to ask... :confused:

The number one reason I prefer Navigator, is due to 250 fewer people. In fact I wish they would not keep increasing the size. What brought me to Regent in the first place was Celebrity selling off their smaller ships to build mega ships. I would have preferred Explorer to be 500 or less. Just one person's opinion.

Standard cabins are bigger on Nav, but Penthouse Suites on Mariner are better. Would never pay for a Penthouse on Navigator, but I always take the Penthouse on Mariner (next one is this September). The Observation Lounge in front or back is not important to me, but some people prefer it. Interestingly, I have been up there at night on Mariner, when the bridge has called down to tell them to turn down their lights or close the curtains as the glow impacts their forward vision, especially in Alaska where they have to watch for whales so closely.

I am one of the people that does not feel any difference in motion from the three Regent ships, but if you are sensitive, I would agree that Mariner has fewer complaints.

As for the extra dining choice, I think since Compass Rose on all vessels now offers some options every night from Prime 7 and Signatures, I often do not bother fighting the people that try to get in every night and usually stick with CR.

Really I think you can't go wrong and should try them all.

Okay, I have to ask... :confused:

Bill, Don't you trust me??

There is a large air exhaust fan ventilator port next to this cabin. With the balcony door open the noise can is very disturbing.

(There is also a bad cabin on deck 5 for the same reason. But that is a window cabin)

J

37/535

Bill, Don't you trust me??

 

There is a large air exhaust fan ventilator port next to this cabin. With the balcony door open the noise can is very disturbing.

 

(There is also a bad cabin on deck 5 for the same reason. But that is a window cabin)

 

J

37/535

 

Very impressed with what you have done there. Now could you please do the rest of the ship like that..thankyouverymuch! Joking about the rest but thanks for that.

It is helpful to know where the grey areas are on any ship.

Pam.

Bill, Don't you trust me??

 

There is a large air exhaust fan ventilator port next to this cabin. With the balcony door open the noise can is very disturbing.

 

(There is also a bad cabin on deck 5 for the same reason. But that is a window cabin)

 

J

37/535

J - not a matter of trust, I just hadn't heard about that vent. That's why I love this site (when it's not incessant quibbling/sniping/nitpicking, that is) - I didn't know if it was interior crew corridor noise, if it was haunted, if there was a hole in the ceiling, or what. :p

Thanks for posting the pic - really shows what you're talking about, and it's a definite concern for me, as I LOVE being out on my balcony.

Perhaps not everybody remembers the history of the Navigator build, and it answers a lot of questions about it. It was acquired by Regent (then Radisson) as a partially built ship originally intended to be a Russian ice breaker (or spy ship?) and was completed as a cruise ship. Still, there is something "military" about it in its performance and lay-out. It just didn't 100% convert to a lux cruise ship. Haven't been on it for a while, but if this hasn't changed, the stern vibration can turn into a roar in areas like the auditorium, which is low and toward the stern. There are the vent fans that foul up balconies as mentioned above. There are things like the suites on the port side of deck 6 toward the bow. They are neither ocean view nor balcony -- they overlook a crew walkway on the outside. And for some strange reason they have full view windows on the hall side. For these and similar reasons, I would not book a guarantee on the Navigator.

On the other hand, the Mariner is a smooth rider, well designed, and I don't think there is a bad suite on it. The first bunch of suite categories are all the same except for location (and none are bad). So if you don't need or want one of the super suites, the best thing to do is book a category H guarantee.

Though it is off topic, I have a comment or two about the other two Regent ships. Avoid the stern on the Voyager, too. It's stern vibration is a different kind than on the Navigator, and some would say worse. It is more of a "shaking" We once booked a guarantee on it, and were moved up to a category C horizon suite right on the stern. We were very happy until the shaking began. Then there is the Explorer, where you need to do some upgrading from the lowest category not to get a small 219 square foot "suite (?)" with an additional balcony, which is just too cramped for us.

Bottom line, if we are going Regent, we are booking the Mariner.

Why should 855 be avoided?

Why should 855 be avoided?

Answer is in post #12.

I wonder if it's the same on the Port side . . . .

Though it is off topic, I have a comment or two about the other two Regent ships. Avoid the stern on the Voyager, too. It's stern vibration is a different kind than on the Navigator, and some would say worse. It is more of a "shaking" We once booked a guarantee on it, and were moved up to a category C horizon suite right on the stern. We were very happy until the shaking began. Then there is the Explorer, where you need to do some upgrading from the lowest category not to get a small 219 square foot "suite (?)" with an additional balcony, which is just too cramped for us.

 

Bottom line, if we are going Regent, we are booking the Mariner.

Although we like the Mariner, I disagree with your take on the 'shaking' on the Voyager - we were in a Horizon View suite on deck 8 in the Baltics and didn't have any issues with the vibration/shaking, although we did have a problem with soot from the exhaust getting all over our deck furniture. Maybe we never steamed that hard since we had shorter distances between ports, but I'd book stern on the Voyager again. Different strokes and all that.

I do agree that the Cat H suites on the Explorer are a bit too small, fortunately the upgrade fee to get a larger cabin isn't too expensive. About $300-500 will get you into a Deluxe or Superior on a 10-night cruise. Not that bad in the grand scheme of things.

I wonder if it's the same on the Port side . . . .

Took me a while to find a usable photo of the port side of the Navigator, but I did NOT see the vents on the port side.

UUNetBill,

Thanks!

UUNetBill,

Regarding the vibration or "shaking" in the stern suites of the Voyager, This was a real weird situation. On some cruises it happens and on some other cruises it doesn't. So you and I are telling the truth about our experiences. On our Voyager cruise, the "shaking only happened when the ship was cruising at 20 knots or above. And on some cruises, the ship never cruises that fast. I strongly suspect that accounts for when the shaking happens, and when it doesn't.

Of course, our cruise was some time ago and hopefully a fix has been found for this problem, so the stern never shakes. If this is not the case, you pay your money and take your chances.

Most of our cruises have been on the Voyager and, to my knowledge, the aft vibration is not fixable. Agree that sometimes it is less noticeable than other times. We were in an aft Seven Seas Suite and the bathroom had quite a vibration. We expected it and were not bothered too much by it. On the other hand, some people experience engine noise (assuming deck 7) as well as the vibration and find it intolerable.

Almost everyone says that the Mariner has no vibration. This is pretty much true but the sounds on deck 7 aft at lower speeds was very annoying to my DH (I did not notice it as much). It is no longer surprising to me that the last Seven Seas Aft suite to sell is usually 781 I suspect it is because of the sound.

We would not book an aft suite on the Navigator and prefer mid-ship and around deck 8. Avoiding vibration on any ship is pretty much guaranteed if you avoid aft (and sometimes forward) suites. Since the majority of the suites have no issues at all, they are easy suites to avoid.

I'm quite interested in learning about the Explorer's aft and forward suites. We are booked in both forward and aft suites on our upcoming Explorer cruises. Fingers crossed that the Explorer will have a minimal vibration throughout the ship. I do understand that it is a ship - it is on the sea and no ship is perfect.

UUNetBill,

 

Regarding the vibration or "shaking" in the stern suites of the Voyager, This was a real weird situation. On some cruises it happens and on some other cruises it doesn't. So you and I are telling the truth about our experiences. On our Voyager cruise, the "shaking only happened when the ship was cruising at 20 knots or above. And on some cruises, the ship never cruises that fast. I strongly suspect that accounts for when the shaking happens, and when it doesn't.

 

Of course, our cruise was some time ago and hopefully a fix has been found for this problem, so the stern never shakes. If this is not the case, you pay your money and take your chances.

That's why I mentioned that this was a Baltic cruise; most of our ports were close enough that I'm pretty sure we weren't going 'full boogie' too often. I'm sure that if they're making time, the vibrations will be more noticeable.

And I agree with the other post that said the vibration probably isn't fixable, on ANY of the ships. We're booked pretty far forward on Explorer next year (705) so it'll be interesting to see how smooth she is up front.

Went on the Navigator once. Will not go again.

The vibration problems was more than we could handle.

Our cabin was mid ship with a balcony and not to bad

but going aft where everything happens was not good.

We have been on the Mariner, Voyager, Diamond, and soon Explorer.

Also the Paul Gauguin when it was with Regent.

Diamond was also so so. Mariner is our favorite until we try the Explorer

then will see.