Observations of a Mariner Newbe (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly)

Who we are: A family of 4, very active/athletic, well traveled, gourmet food lovers. Have never been on a cruise.

Where and When: Alaska, August 3-10

The Good:

Now, I think the suites were TINY, but I understand that these are much bigger than the bigger cruise lines. They were very functional and while the furniture was most definitely tired, the beds and linens were comfortable and the rooms surprisingly quiet. I had some concerns given our location (we were in 2 Concierge suites below what I believe was the entrance to La Veranda) there were intermittent rumblings overhead but not very late or very early). The closet was great - loved having a walk-in like that! The balcony was also nice, but would have liked a lounge chair.

Our room attendant was very nice, but I only really saw her the first 2 days. Not much to report on and based on what I had read, I thought I would see her more.

Compass Rose was good. I was pleasantly surprised. The food service was SLOW, but I liked the variety and the servers were helpful. In general, I liked not being tied to a set seating and being able to eat when we wanted. I do wish that the dining times were flexed with the port schedules.

My older teen took advantage of room service.

The kids also liked the ice cream bar at the pool - they just wished it was open longer.

Liked the Coffee Connection and liked being able to get a latte whenever I wanted one!

The kids club for my younger early teen son was good. He was engaged and liked the club. We gave him check in/out privileges and he kept going back. Every time we would pass the Stars Lounge we would peek in and he seemed to be having a grand ole time.

Hugh Neighbor - the Smithsonian Lecturer. He blew threw a lot of his slides, but my husband and I really enjoyed his lectures. So much that so my husband spent much time speaking with him throughout the trip.

Trivia - we won, so of course we liked this!

The piano player was very good. Enjoyed him (when we could catch him - we always seemed to make it to a lounge when the musicians were taking a break).

We met some very nice people. I ran on the deck (after having to wait to use a treadmill, but also being considerate and wanting to limit my time to 30 minutes, I thought it was better to run on the deck) and met a woman who ended up walking with multiple days. It was great chatting with her and others we met.

Ping pong! We played a lot. Wish there were more tables because the table was a hot commodity. Also really liked the paddle tennis - wish we had taken advantage of it earlier in the week. We played a long match on our last night.

The Bad (or really not so great):

On 2 separate days at the Pool Grill, I ordered drinks from a server that never came. I then ordered them from another server and again they never came. For a "service oriented" ship, this was not ok.

On the first night of the teen's club mariner event, the counselor never showed up. So the teens kind of hung out. On the "Casino night," there was not a single person present (not even a counselor). Needless to say, my teen never participated in the club mariner events and was "bored." I was told that they did not have enough staff to handle the different groups. It was a shame to advertise the events, have the kids come to sign up the first day and then not follow through with it!!

The Specialty restaurants were really not very special. The food was fine, but it was not what we were expecting. We dine in NYC, so perhaps we had unrealistic expectations. In Prime 7, I had actually ordered something quite ordinary - a filet mignon. It was overcooked and dry. Very disappointing. It had taken so long for the meal to come, that even though my husband encouraged me to send it back, I declined.

The gym was small - only 4 treadmills and there was a mother and daughter who ignored the sign that asked that people limit their sessions to 30 minutes to allow others to use the equipment. They were always on the treadmills in the morning. The exercise class instructor was not available on this cruise and they had a staff member fill in, but basically there ended up being very classes available.

The information on the excursions could have been better. (a few of the people we met had the same feedback). We did not really get the appropriate clarity from the destination services desk either. Unfortunately a few of us felt that we did not really get what we had expected from a few of the excursions.

The Ugly:

On the last day of our cruise was a salmon bake. We are lovers of sushi and my son in particular favors salmon sushi. He was thrilled they had salmon sushi. Fortunately (or unfortunately), he has eagle eyes and saw a white worm making it's way through his sushi. I immediately brought the plate to a server. But I did not get much reaction. We then we went to a manager and that brought the food and beverage manager over who assured us that they always look over the fish and this was an oversight and they would remove the sushi immediately. But we had lost our appetites.

Overall, we had a good trip. We saw such amazing scenery. Was it worth the high cost? I don't think so. Feel free to ask questions about Alaska and the ports.

Yikes! A worm in the Sushi? That would finish my appetite off for sure.:eek:

Next time consider a spacious Penthouse Suite on the 1200-passenger but much larger Oceania Riviera or Marina. You will enjoy their Asian Fusion, French, Italian, Steak/Lobster, and (for an extra charge) La Reserve Wine Spectator restaurants. Far larger and very well-equipped gym, wonderful spa, 18-hole landscaped putting course, art instruction room, and couples cooking classes.

On Regent, we are anticipating a similar experience on the new Explorer, with a Superior Suite that is also significantly larger than Mariner's basic suite and nearly the size of the PHs on Riviera and Marina.

One other item that I had forgotten. We did not go into Tracy Arm. This was not unexpected as I had been hearing that ships had not been able to make it in all summer but most were going into Endicott Arm to view Dawes Glacier. On our itinerary it had showed Tracy Arm, but on the day of, the daily Passages did not mention it. There was no announcement (or perhaps none of us had heard it) that we would not be going into Tracy Arm. Nor did we go into Endicott Arm. I was up on the running deck watching as we passed Tracy Arm by. The excursion boat did go (interestingly when we booked our excursions the Tracy Arm boat was not showing. When I checked the online excursions right before we left for Alaska it was showing up, but I was not able to book it because we had another excursion booked in Juneau and it did not allow for enough time between the 2. This was another example of not being clear regarding excursions) It was an absolutely gorgeous day and perfectly clear and we watched as the small boats were making their way. I felt that this was a miss. We ended up docking in Juneau hours early. I recognize the captain needs to keep the ship safe and I was already prepared for missing Tracy Arm, but the communication could have been better and perhaps an attempt at something else?

Very interesting review and I definitely would have been put off by the worm in the sushi. Have never seen this before - on land or on Regent. Those of us who are salmon sushi lovers know that salmon sushi must be frozen to kill those little critters. The sushi that was put out was obviously not frozen long enough (or at all?)

As most people know, the Mariner has the smallest regular suites of the current fleet with the exception of the Explorer. For larger suites, we recommend the Voyager or the Navigator. My DH will not stay in a "regular" suite on the Mariner due to the size.

IMO, Alaska cruises are not representative of other Regent cruises. I suspect that the majority of people on July and August cruises in Alaska have the least amount of "regular" Regent passengers (due to children and crowds in Alaska). When we last sailed in Alaska, I felt like I was on another cruise line. The service, food - just about everything was less than we have come to expect on Regent. While not making an excuse for Regent, when you add children and families - many of whom share suites, the ship is filled beyond "normal" capacity (not above what is legally permitted on the ship). For these reasons, we will only sail Alaska in May - before school lets out.

Also IMO, the issue with the Tracy Arm excursion was due to lack of communication on Regent's part (or lack of communication on the part of your TA because Regent generally communicates with TA's that are suppose to contact their clients).

Wish that your overall experience had been more positive. Perhaps you will give Regent another try....... not in the summer and without children. Most importantly, with a good TA - they make all the difference in the world!

I didn't know that about sush-grade salmon. I'm afraid that incident would have put me off my food for the entire cruise.

Hope Mariner does well by us next January.

Sorry, Travelcat2, but we wanted families with children, then we would have had more people in our demographic. I understand that there were only 42 kids onboard. With 700 passengers, that represents only 6% of all passengers. I hardly doubt it could have made that significant a difference. (I was told the week prior there were 95 kids).

In terms of sushi, the US FDA actually requires all sushi (not just salmon) to be frozen. A deep freeze is required to kill parasites. Not sure why the perception this is only true of salmon. I shouldn't speculate but perhaps Regent doesn't legally need to comply with the US FDA?

We were on the Voyager with 20 children onboard and it dramatically affected the "Regent Experience". In terms of your cruise, assuming it was full, there were potentially 742 passengers which is a lot. The main thing that a crowded ship affects is service.

Regarding sashimi, our sushi chef at home made a big point about freezing salmon. Although he did not mention other fish, since the Mariner was in U.S. waters most of the time, they likely must abide by U.S. laws regarding food handling. As a matter of interest, tuna is exempt from that law (just looked it up).

Please do not ever eat any fresh water fish unless it has been cured in some fashion. Fresh water fish is prone to parasites and salmon spawn in fresh water, hence your little white worm. Since there is no way of personally verifying if the fish has been flash-frozen properly, I avoid all fresh water sashimi and sushi unless it is cooked or smoked. Just my friendly advice...

Bechi

Please do not ever eat any fresh water fish unless it has been cured in some fashion. Fresh water fish is prone to parasites and salmon spawn in fresh water, hence your little white worm. Since there is no way of personally verifying if the fish has been flash-frozen properly, I avoid all fresh water sashimi and sushi unless it is cooked or smoked. Just my friendly advice...

 

Bechi

I take the food safety one step further and avoid all sashimi and sushi, period.

:D

We were on the Voyager with 20 children onboard and it dramatically affected the "Regent Experience". In terms of your cruise, assuming it was full, there were potentially 742 passengers which is a lot. The main thing that a crowded ship affects is service.

 

Regarding sashimi, our sushi chef at home made a big point about freezing salmon. Although he did not mention other fish, since the Mariner was in U.S. waters most of the time, they likely must abide by U.S. laws regarding food handling. As a matter of interest, tuna is exempt from that law (just looked it up).

It seems like we can continue to debate this. The children might have ruined YOUR experience on a cruise, but we really enjoy families. Many of them did not have their families all in a single suite. Like us - we had 2 suites for the 4 of us. We met at least 4 families who had had multiple suites, so I am not buying that it was over capacity. (eg, the lack of fitness class instructor had nothing to do with the kids on board. The preparation of the sushi had nothing to do with kids on board).

I get that you love Regent and that is great for you. There are many, many ways to travel in the world and this just may not be the one for me. I provided my perspective in case it might help someone else who is deciding on this cruise to go in with eyes wide open.

Lynn,

Thanks for your detailed and informative review. We leave for our Alaska cruise next week on Mariner. This will be our third Alaska cruise, but the other 2 were with Celebrity in 2003 and 2009. We have had a few Regent cruises now and never felt that families or children were ever a problem or an issue as its been indicated in above posts!

Alaska is a place for all to enjoy of all ages and it's what you make of it yourself as to how much you enjoy the cruise. We go with an open mind and really enjoy meeting people and enjoy our cruise.

How did you find the weather? Thanks for posting your review and glad you enjoyed the family time together. Jean.

Lynn,

Thank you for posting YOUR experience and opinions, as it is YOUR review! The sushi incident would have most likely ruined my cruise. I'm so sorry this happened to you! Yuck!

The Mariner in Alaska was my first Regent Cruise and that ship is my favorite of all.

Travelcat's comment about children seems to by the opinion of many Regent Cruisers and more so of Oceania - which is not a child friendly experience. The ships have a program but it's not the most utilized

As far as instructors, all of them are regular ship employees in the gym. Crystal brings on Pilates and other instructors routinely for classes. My own Pilates instructor teaches Mat on Crystal at least once a year.

As a sushi lover, I would never have it onboard a ship as a part of a buffet. Again, Crystal wins - they have Silk Road which has Nobu's trained sushi masters on board

I am sorry your experience was less than.

I don't have a problem with kids on Regent.

I do, however, have a problem with out-of-control kids on Regent - or anywhere else, for that matter.

Kids hooting it up in Club Mariner? Fine by me.

Kids getting loud playing Ping-Pong? Fine by me.

Kids running up and down the corridors late at night? Not fine by me.

Kids running amok in Compass Rose? Not fine by me.

Sad thing is, I don't blame the kids, I blame the parents who feel it's their right to annoy others. Courtesy is dying out.

I don't have a problem with kids on Regent.

 

I do, however, have a problem with out-of-control kids on Regent - or anywhere else, for that matter.

 

Kids hooting it up in Club Mariner? Fine by me.

Kids getting loud playing Ping-Pong? Fine by me.

Kids running up and down the corridors late at night? Not fine by me.

Kids running amok in Compass Rose? Not fine by me.

 

Sad thing is, I don't blame the kids, I blame the parents who feel it's their right to annoy others. Courtesy is dying out.

You're a more tolerant person than I. Kids hooting it up and getting loud anywhere is not fine by me.

Lynn,

Thanks for your detailed and informative review. We leave for our Alaska cruise next week on Mariner. This will be our third Alaska cruise, but the other 2 were with Celebrity in 2003 and 2009. We have had a few Regent cruises now and never felt that families or children were ever a problem or an issue as its been indicated in above posts!

Alaska is a place for all to enjoy of all ages and it's what you make of it yourself as to how much you enjoy the cruise. We go with an open mind and really enjoy meeting people and enjoy our cruise.

How did you find the weather? Thanks for posting your review and glad you enjoyed the family time together. Jean.

We had great weather for our entire 2 weeks - very lucky given the very rainy summer it has been in Alaska. Right before we had arrived in Denali, there was a mudslide due to all of the rain they had. The poor weather reduced the chance of seeing Denali mountain this summer from 1 in 3 to only 1 in 10. We had such good weather we had a perfect view! The only poor weather we had was in Ketchikan with rain. I know that is not at all unusual for Ketchikan but the day before we were there, my girlfriend was there on Celebrity and they had a perfectly sunny, 75 degree day. Go figure!

I am glad that we had sunny weather in Juneau, we did a 5.5 mile hike and the views were awesome. We would not have those views with bad weather. The hike we did in Skagway did not have viewpoints, so the weather would not have been a factor.

We spent a few days in Vancouver and it was sunny every day - perhaps a bit too warm. On the day we hiked up Grouse Mountain it was downright Hot. We ended having to buy shirts at the top because we were completely soaked.

Have a great trip regardless of the weather. Even though it poured in Ketchikan we all had a fun day. I always carried a backpack with our rain jackets if needed. If you are prepared, the weather will not be an issue.

Soak up that scenery!

I

Sad thing is, I don't blame the kids, I blame the parents who feel it's their right to annoy others. Courtesy is dying out.

Definitely blame the parents that do not teach their children courtesy or think everyone else should enjoy their little ones running around, sticking their fingers in the buffet food and being loud. We have seen some perfectly behaved children and have complimented the parents. It is our choice not to sail in the summer or during school holidays and are happy that most Regent cruisers do not sail with children during other times. It is also our choice to not to take the younger members of our family on adult oriented luxury cruises. IMO, Disney cruise lines was not only fun for kids but for adults as well.

In terms of the review - of course her review and experiences are her experiences. Actually, it is important that people considering summer cruises understand just how many children can be onboard Regent's ships. I remember a couple celebrating their 50th anniversary on an Alaska cruise and were so disappointed that they couldn't even have an anniversary dance as the dance floor was full of kids rolling around (and this was approximately 11:00 p.m.). Wish they knew in advance what to expect.

You're a more tolerant person than I. Kids hooting it up and getting loud anywhere is not fine by me.

I have two (grown) stepdaughters. When they were younger, I expected noise and was seldom disappointed. But at a young age, they learned where it was appropriate to be a kid and where to be a young adult. If I took them to Chuck E. Cheese (God have mercy) they could get as loud as they wanted. When I took them to the Penrose Room at the Broadmoor, they knew how to behave.

On the rare occasions they couldn't figure out which mode to be in, all it took was one glance from me or mom and they got the idea real quick. I called it 'active parenting'.

I remember a couple celebrating their 50th anniversary on an Alaska cruise and were so disappointed that they couldn't even have an anniversary dance as the dance floor was full of kids rolling around (and this was approximately 11:00 p.m.). Wish they knew in advance what to expect.

And that's where a good TA can come in handy.

I don't have a problem with kids on Regent.

 

I do, however, have a problem with out-of-control kids on Regent - or anywhere else, for that matter.

 

Kids hooting it up in Club Mariner? Fine by me.

Kids getting loud playing Ping-Pong? Fine by me.

Kids running up and down the corridors late at night? Not fine by me.

Kids running amok in Compass Rose? Not fine by me.

 

Sad thing is, I don't blame the kids, I blame the parents who feel it's their right to annoy others. Courtesy is dying out.

I may be immune to it because we have kids of our own, but I would say there was no "running amok" on board. There were games of gaga in Club Mariner and definitely games of ping pong and paddle tennis going on and also lots of families playing board games and doing puzzles on sea days. But really, I would say that it was pretty subdued.

Quite frankly, I think the families with kids were so nice and really kept with their families (a lot of grandparents taking the extended family). I think there were just a number of people (without kids) that it appeared to me that felt very entitled to be the first or to have the best or what have you. And of course, I really think they were in the minority. But my point is: I think if you are self centered and only focus on your enjoyment and not how that may impact your fellow travelers, then that might sour others persepective of the cruise whether you have kids or not.

Let me give you an example. As I mentioned, we are very athletic. We like to be active. We chose a hike for an excursion where the description mentioned that you need to be able to handle the hike. While on the hike there were a number of ascents and descents that were challenging for a few people. One woman in particular struggled. Now I could say," boy, some people really should never go on a hike. It is not appropriate for them." That is not what we said. What happened was my husband explained to her the best way to handle the ascent by positioning her body at a 45% angle to the trail toward the incline and side stepping. He also held her arm during the particularly tricky portions. You know what, she was happy because she was able to maneuver the trail and we were happy because she was able to keep moving. ANd in fact the next day we were on an excursion with them again and we got to know them even better and really enjoyed their company and their sense of humor.

So if you always focus on the why someone should not able to do what you do, you may never fully be happy, you won't allow the other person to be happy and you may miss out on a positive experience.

and UUNetBill - this last explanation was not directed at you per se but the greater conversation on whether kids should be on a Regent Cruise. (and my take is if Regent is marketing the cruise for families and a Club Mariner for kids, then yes, kids should be on a Regent Cruise. How well they deliver on it was part of my review)

Definitely blame the parents that do not teach their children courtesy or think everyone else should enjoy their little ones running around, sticking their fingers in the buffet food and being loud. We have seen some perfectly behaved children and have complimented the parents. It is our choice not to sail in the summer or during school holidays and are happy that most Regent cruisers do not sail with children during other times. It is also our choice to not to take the younger members of our family on adult oriented luxury cruises. IMO, Disney cruise lines was not only fun for kids but for adults as well.

 

In terms of the review - of course her review and experiences are her experiences. Actually, it is important that people considering summer cruises understand just how many children can be onboard Regent's ships. I remember a couple celebrating their 50th anniversary on an Alaska cruise and were so disappointed that they couldn't even have an anniversary dance as the dance floor was full of kids rolling around (and this was approximately 11:00 p.m.). Wish they knew in advance what to expect.

I can attest that last week there were actually not that many people dancing and not a single kid. There was one very drunk woman dancing one night. Not sure which is worse.

Screaming kids or drunks dancing - hmmm, I can say they're equally bad. :D

I've seen both sides of the fence - I've seen old and young people being equally polite and obnoxious. I've seen people who seriously had NO business being on particular excursions. I firmly believe that if a tour says it's not appropriate for people with mobility concerns and someone shows up with a wheelchair, they shouldn't be allowed to go. I have helped older people numerous times on stairs and uneven streets - it's just common courtesy, and there's nothing wrong with that. But if you negatively affect everyone else on the tour, well, that's a problem. It's selfish and it's wrong.

Having said that, I've found that probably 98% or more of the people who sail Regent are fantastic people. Just like in normal life, it's the 1-2% that spread the suck wherever they go. THOSE are the people I try and avoid, regardless of where I am.

I realize that I'm getting older, too. I don't necessarily want, or need to do the more active excursions I did years ago. I only hope for two things - one, when I'm quite a bit older, I hope that others can help me with the occasional mobility problem, and two, I hope that I'm cool enough to know my limitations and act accordingly.

Anyhow, 'nuff said from my point - I even had to go back and re-read the title of this thread because I strayed so far off topic. Sorry!! I'll shut up now.

We were on Mariner the 3rd week of July Seward to Vancouver and had horrible weather. The sun was out in Seward and then we did not see it again until Vancouver. Temperature never got above the high 50's, very windy and rainy. Most days were light rain or mist, but day in Juneau was driving rain coming sideways due to wind. Most excursions were cancelled, only option we were offered was bus to Mendenhall Glacier visitors center then on our own to walk the 1 mile into glacier with no guide. Then we had a propulsion pod problem that caused us to totally miss Ketchikan while repairs were made that took so long we were additionally very late arriving in Vancouver. Got off ship at 3:30pm totally messing up our time in Vancouver.

On the positive side, the food, included wines, and service were very good. Prime 7 was the only exception to that. (Previously Prime had been our favorite). The crew was excellent. Senior staff seemed to be in hiding most of cruise.

Probably less than 50 children and all were well behaved.

This was our 5th Regent cruise. We have cancelled an already booked Regent cruise for 2017. Just did not think this cruise was up to our expectations of what Regent has delivered in past. Sad, because we were "Regent cheerleaders".

We were on Mariner the 3rd week of July Seward to Vancouver and had horrible weather. The sun was out in Seward and then we did not see it again until Vancouver. Temperature never got above the high 50's, very windy and rainy. Most days were light rain or mist, but day in Juneau was driving rain coming sideways due to wind. Most excursions were cancelled, only option we were offered was bus to Mendenhall Glacier visitors center then on our own to walk the 1 mile into glacier with no guide. Then we had a propulsion pod problem that caused us to totally miss Ketchikan while repairs were made that took so long we were additionally very late arriving in Vancouver. Got off ship at 3:30pm totally messing up our time in Vancouver.

On the positive side, the food, included wines, and service were very good. Prime 7 was the only exception to that. (Previously Prime had been our favorite). The crew was excellent. Senior staff seemed to be in hiding most of cruise.

Probably less than 50 children and all were well behaved.

This was our 5th Regent cruise. We have cancelled an already booked Regent cruise for 2017. Just did not think this cruise was up to our expectations of what Regent has delivered in past. Sad, because we were "Regent cheerleaders".

Not quite sure I understand the rationale for cancelling the upcoming cruise - seems like most of the issues with the last cruise were weather-related. Unless the next cruise was also to Alaska it seems odd to me to cancel...or did I miss something?

Screaming kids or drunks dancing - hmmm, I can say they're equally bad. :D

 

I've seen both sides of the fence - I've seen old and young people being equally polite and obnoxious. I've seen people who seriously had NO business being on particular excursions. I firmly believe that if a tour says it's not appropriate for people with mobility concerns and someone shows up with a wheelchair, they shouldn't be allowed to go. I have helped older people numerous times on stairs and uneven streets - it's just common courtesy, and there's nothing wrong with that. But if you negatively affect everyone else on the tour, well, that's a problem. It's selfish and it's wrong.

 

Having said that, I've found that probably 98% or more of the people who sail Regent are fantastic people. Just like in normal life, it's the 1-2% that spread the suck wherever they go. THOSE are the people I try and avoid, regardless of where I am.

 

I realize that I'm getting older, too. I don't necessarily want, or need to do the more active excursions I did years ago. I only hope for two things - one, when I'm quite a bit older, I hope that others can help me with the occasional mobility problem, and two, I hope that I'm cool enough to know my limitations and act accordingly.

 

Anyhow, 'nuff said from my point - I even had to go back and re-read the title of this thread because I strayed so far off topic. Sorry!! I'll shut up now.

It sounds like we are on the same page. We could have been annoyed, but really people are mostly good. And for the most part we enjoyed everyone we met. The small sample we did noT, we just avoided.

I think though it is most important to be open to what people with differences can bring too increase your own experience.