Alaska June 15-23..our experiences

Just returned from a wonderful cruise on the Mariner. We've sailed Radisson/Regent many times. This was our first back on Regent after many years of land trips to Asia and Europe and one Silverseas cruise.

Overnight in Vancouver at the Four Seasons was quick and comfortable. Fortunately we've spent time in Vancouver previously and loved it...but our schedule this time was limited. Embarkation was far easier than earlier in the season. We arrived at the port at about 11 am and at 11:30 cruise check in began. We were on board drinking our first (of many, many!) champagnes before noon!

We booked the Penthouse suite (same one as three of our previous cruises!). It is as comfortable as we remembered. The shower, for us, was an added improvement. Our suite, and the entire ship, continues to be impeccable. Sure there are a few very minor wears and tears....but very minor.

The staff was 99% wonderful! Our butler, Brian, was 120% wonderful!! The perfect combination of professionalism and friendliness. He always offered suggestions of what and where to be certain to visit. The first night he hosted a wonderful cocktail party for our traveling companions, my sister, brother in law, nephew and niece in law.

We really lucked out on the weather! Last port of Sitka had some sprinkles of rain..and some days were partly overcast...but mostly we had at least some sun and blue skies. Last day at Hubbard Glacier was a magnificent sunny day!

More details to follow, but now have to get a bit more caught up on the usual laundry, mail and real life.........

Really good to read that you enjoyed your cruise and that the weather is a bit better than the previous week. Looking forward to reading more.

Just a few more thoughts before I crash for the night. The time difference (only 4 hours!) really got to me this time. Reinforces my belief that we should do more challenging trips while we are young! Seriously, Shanghai was easier than Anchorage! Go figure!

Some random thoughts.....Children on the ship, maybe 20-30 were remarkably and thankfully well behaved. Absolutely no issues with them....and trust me, I have little tolerance with badly behaved children. Or adults! We were a family of 6 traveling together so we really didn't interact significantly with others. But everyone we encountered was pleasant and happy.

Breakfast. We ate mostly in suite and it was always perfect. We did the Sunday brunch at La Veranda. Someone in another thread had asked about the brunch times. Sorry, I don't remember, but it worked for us. I was underwhelmed with the caviar....just didn't have that special taste I adore. But it was fine...and plentiful. So was the champagne!

Lunch. We had a few lunches off ship. Annabelles in Ketchikan, the something Brewery in Skagway and the Red something in Juneau. Sorry for my vagueness, but they were all excellent. Lots of salmon dip, halibut, chowder and Alaskan White Beer (served with a slice of orange).

Ok....running out of steam...more later.

So glad you had a great cruise. And that children and adults were well behaved with good weather!

Glad you had a good time, some of the reports not so good---but as I red more they are getting better. We cruised "O" alot (for us 8 times), but want to try out regent. We've booked one cruise already and will be booking another in the morning. Our TA is getting us all the information now.

But look forward to hearing more of your trip.

Rick

So, more about lunches....on the ship we only ate at La Veranda. Selection was fine and food was good. The grilled salmon pool barbecue was excellent. Sushi and salmon sashimi were also excellent. That lunch could have been repeated each day and I would have been happy.

Dinner. Compass Rose was very good. Our service was always very good as well. Cheese selections for dessert were not special at all, but fine. Signatures was excellent. The steak tartare was one of the best I've ever had! Prime 7 was also excellent. We all preferred Prime 7 and Signatures to CR....but our meals were all good to excellent. Only disappointment was Sette Mare. Mostly i, but we all were underwhelmed. The buffet just didn't look that appealing and the menu selections were, to me, uninspiring. Service one night was not good. Clear that our server was new and not adequately trained. Not a big deal, just sharing my experiences.

Excursions. This was our second cruise to Alaska. This trip we only did the Mendenhall River Float and the Whales and Sea Otter Quest. Both were very good....and the River Float was so much fun! We all thought the services on these excursions were outstanding. I really didn't know what to expect on the river float (my husband has done several white water rafting trips....me, none!) He probably thought that this, in comparison was like sitting in a bathtub. I, on the other hand was feeling like I was on a very wet roller coaster. I loved it! Even bigger challenge was getting into the wet suits (overalls) and boots. What a hoot! Wish I had more photos of that experience!! But as I said, people (all kids!) handling the excursion were so patient, kind and fun!

Departure. Always a downer....and this was also tedious and long for us. Just a fact of the schedule but we had the bus ride from Seward to Anchorage and then about a 6 hour wait to go to the airport. Obviously we could have squeezed in a tour, or stayed overnight, but our time frame was limited and we were tired! Regent certainly did what they could to make us comfortable. Bus/motorcoach to Anchorage was reasonable and we had a 'hospitality room' at the Hilton. We also had a terrific lunch around the corner from the Hilton at (I think it's called) F Street Station. Flights out of Anchorage to the east coast are not great. We all did first class (American outbound and Delta return), but domestic first class is, in my opinion, only slightly better than a bus. Our TA and the Regent Air Department did a great job of securing our 6 first class tix together and on the best flight times and options available.

The scenery of Alaska is beyond magnificent....in misty rain or gorgeous sunshine....it's always breathtaking. So a few long flights are absolutely worth it!

The Mariner was, once again, a wonderful experience! Our penthouse suite, and the ship in general were comfortable and immaculate. The service, as I've said was close to perfection.I tried to convince our butler, Brian, to come home with us...no luck! The security guy checking us off and back on the ship (I wish I remembered his name....he sure knew ours!) was positively delightful! Hugs all around when we debarked!

That's it for now. The above are just my general thoughts...nothing too specific. But would be happy to answer any questions. You all have been so helpful (and entertaining!) to me as we planned this cruise. Thanks! Bonnie

Great to hear you enjoyed your cruise and thanks for your report. We are off to Alaska in August and so looking forward to it. Did you have Terry Breen lecturer on board?

Like you we have a long journey with 2 flights to arrive in Vancouver and then 2 flights on return journey, but well worth the wonders of Alaksa. Thanks again, Jean.

Yes, Jean, Terry Breen was on board and fantastic!! And yup....we did Ft. Lauderdale-DFW-Vancouver. Return was Anchorage-Atlanta-Ft Lauderdale. Oh Well....as you said, it's well worth the wonders and beauty of Alaska! Hope your August trip is terrific!

Thanks for your prompt reply. I have heard great reports about her on board lectures. This will be our third Alaksa cruise. We are having a few days pre cruise in Vancouver and sail on our 31st wedding anniversary, so it will be a special cruise for us. Looking forward to this very much. Thanks again, Jean.

Hate the flights home from Anchorage. That was one of the main reasons we did the B to B beginning and and ending in Vancouver.

bebop: Great to hear that you had a wonderful cruise. Thanks for posting!

liptastic: Not sure what kinds of activities you especially like, but if you happen to enjoy hiking and woodsy scenery, I want to suggest (which I may already have done in one of my own posts) Lynn Canyon (north Vancouver: short sea bus ride over). Not as spectacular as Capilano Suspension Bridge, but some very good walks, with fine scenery. Could spend most of a day there; could also enjoy in 2-3 hours.

About flights: One of the reasons I'd booked the Vancouver-Vancouver cruise (main one was that we loved our last Alaska cruise) was that I figured it'd be easy-peasy compared to flying across the Pond or to Anchorage. Turned out that the trip was just as long and in fact more cumbersome than transAtlantic flight would have been. Flew from Ft Myers (we live in Bonita Springs) to Chicago and on to Vancouver on way out: long layover, etc. On return had to overnight in DFW to avoid getting home past midnight. Worth it? Are you kidding?

Flights from Miami are non stop to Rome on Delta/Alitalia. 8 hours max. Frankly easier than the skips and jumps you do to get from South Florida to Vancouver or worse Anchorage. But Alaska and most travel destinations that we've had the pleasure to enjoy are worth it! So lucky that we can gripe about long flights to sensational places! I've always said that jet lag is the best 'disease' that I can ever have!

Poss followed your posts daily. You are an inspiration to us all regarding your stamina and enthusiasm on land in port.

We have booked our excursions and so looking forward to the ports.

For Vancouver we have a "kind of wish list" of places to see. We have been fortunate to have been there twice before but not enough to appreciate the beauty and diversity of Vancouver.

Regarding flights we are up at "silly 'o'clock for an early flight from Aberdeen to LHR then a long flight to YVR. We have upgraded all our flights and return from San Fransisco, again to LHR , then to Aberdeen.

It's been good to get all the heads up re the recent Alaka cruises. Jean.

Jean, I love your 'silly o'clock' comment. We've done that more times than we'd like....and I (crazily) research travel options. Sometimes you just can't get there from here to there. And I just noticed that your location is UK.... so your 'there' is a tad longer than ours to east coast USA!

Just want to add that, as tallship said, internet was non existent at most ports. And for me, tedious and slow throughout most of the cruise. I also found it interesting that CNN was not on the tv. Don't think I've ever been anywhere in the world where CNN wasn't available. A break from most news programs was just fine for us...but thought that was interesting.