Live From The Mariner, Villages of the Amazon, 26 Nov - 21 Dec

Well, we're not exactly ON the Mariner at the moment, but I wanted to start this thread while I still have good internet. Mike and I are currently sitting in our Ft Lauderdale hotel room, waiting to Lyft it down to the port of Miami. I am hoping to post here often with updates about the ship, the itinerary and ports, etc. and hope that others on the cruise will chime in as well. So far, our roll call has been joined by: Ka Honu; taxjam (Ted and Bela); rlevin47 (Robert) and his wife milosmom59 (Diana); ThereIsNoPaul (Peter and Mary); fdnycruiser (Bob and Linda); SC Retired Cruiser (Bob and Maria), colorado bronco (Mike and Gennie); and david9999 (David and Natalie, who have set up a meet and greet at the Observation Lounge today at sail away). Any and all input from these cruisers as well as any others on this sailing would be appreciated!

Time is going sooooooo slow right now for me!!!

Thank you in advance for you reports. I am looking at this cruise for next year and will be anxious to read all your reports.

Great, we will be looking forward to your reports. We will board the Mariner on the Dec.21 so let us know the latest (:

So glad to read another live report. Thanks for sharing the fun!

Yes, looking forward to reading about this ship and cruise. Have lots of fun and a safe trip. Thanks for taking the time.

Rick

Thanks for having us along! Looking forward to hearing your reports on the ship especially. And on your experiences on the Amazon.

We are excited that you will be posting from your cruise as we will be doing the same itinerary in 2017.

Wishing you calm seas and a wonderful adventure!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Excited to hear about the cruise, and from some of my favorite posters. It is a trip we want to do, but will have to wait for a bit as it is too many days for us just now. Tell us all about it.

Have a wonderful cruise and look forward to your posts. Thanks for sharing, enjoy, Jean.

So we've been on board for about 24 hours now, and I have to say, Regent does not fail to impress. From the minute we got on the ship, we were greeted warmly by everyone we met, and they all genuinely seemed to care about us. I felt like I was "home" as soon as I stepped foot on the Mariner.

We are in a Horizon View suite, which I believe has recently been refurbished, and it is beautiful. I kind of wish we'd sprung for one of the corner suites (one category up, I believe), only because the bedroom in the Horizon View is pretty cramped. In fact, I don't know how the poor stewardess manages to make the bed, there is so little room on either side! But of course, she does. Regardless, I am loving life sitting out here on my massive balcony as I type this. The fumes from the smokestack occasionally make it down here, which would be the one drawback of the cabin...but it doesn't happen enough to make me move inside!

The ship itself seems to be in great shape. I obviously cannot comment on the condition of other staterooms, but I haven't heard anyone complaining.

The staff is, as usual, exceptional. There are a lot of new, fresh faces on board, and they all seem so very excited to be working for Regent. In fact, one of the bar servers told us she'd been waiting for 7 years just to get on with Regent! She refused to work for any other line, and was willing to wait that long for a contract with them.

Our butler, Charlie, is fantastic. I cannot say enough good things about him and how attentive he is.

The other passengers are a really fun group. We were at the Horizon Lounge until midnight last night, dancing and having a great time with Lorraine, the CD, and the show entertainers. Lorraine is a doll, and so much fun. We have met some really lovely people so far...and we're only one day into it!

We actually have only met one couple from the roll call so far (Ka Honu)...we went to the Observation Lounge at sail away to see if anyone else was there, but the place was pretty empty. Not surprising, as Miami is absolutely gorgeous to sail out of at sunset, and the deck was where everyone was.

Because the cruise is fairly long, a lot of supplies had to be loaded, and therefore a lot of items such as caffeine free diet soda and my favorite riesling wine were not available last night (they had not been unpacked yet). We have been assured that everything will be available starting today.

Dinner last night was good, but food is so subjective that I really don't even like commenting on it. I had pork medallions, and one of them was way over cooked. The other was great though, so I think it was just an oversight. The service was amazing, and we had no wait whatsoever for a table, even though we were there at 6:30. If anyone is expecting me to post pictures of the food, I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint, because we don't carry a camera (or cell phone) to dinner with us.

All in all, a fantastic start to our cruise. Tomorrow is another sea day before we hit St. Bart's on Tuesday, but I'll try to report back with any updates as I can.

Tami

Charlie truly is a darling. He was our butler on Voyager in 2010 and we have seen him on every cruise we have been on since but not as our butler and he never fails to remember our names and always comes to speak to us.

Glad you are settled in and having a great star to your cruise. Look forward to more posts from you. Jean.

So we've been on board for about 24 hours now, and I have to say, Regent does not fail to impress. From the minute we got on the ship, we were greeted warmly by everyone we met, and they all genuinely seemed to care about us. I felt like I was "home" as soon as I stepped foot on the Mariner.

 

We are in a Horizon View suite, which I believe has recently been refurbished, and it is beautiful. I kind of wish we'd sprung for one of the corner suites (one category up, I believe), only because the bedroom in the Horizon View is pretty cramped. In fact, I don't know how the poor stewardess manages to make the bed, there is so little room on either side! But of course, she does. Regardless, I am loving life sitting out here on my massive balcony as I type this. The fumes from the smokestack occasionally make it down here, which would be the one drawback of the cabin...but it doesn't happen enough to make me move inside!

 

The ship itself seems to be in great shape. I obviously cannot comment on the condition of other staterooms, but I haven't heard anyone complaining.

 

The staff is, as usual, exceptional. There are a lot of new, fresh faces on board, and they all seem so very excited to be working for Regent. In fact, one of the bar servers told us she'd been waiting for 7 years just to get on with Regent! She refused to work for any other line, and was willing to wait that long for a contract with them.

 

Our butler, Charlie, is fantastic. I cannot say enough good things about him and how attentive he is.

 

The other passengers are a really fun group. We were at the Horizon Lounge until midnight last night, dancing and having a great time with Lorraine, the CD, and the show entertainers. Lorraine is a doll, and so much fun. We have met some really lovely people so far...and we're only one day into it!

 

We actually have only met one couple from the roll call so far (Ka Honu)...we went to the Observation Lounge at sail away to see if anyone else was there, but the place was pretty empty. Not surprising, as Miami is absolutely gorgeous to sail out of at sunset, and the deck was where everyone was.

 

Because the cruise is fairly long, a lot of supplies had to be loaded, and therefore a lot of items such as caffeine free diet soda and my favorite riesling wine were not available last night (they had not been unpacked yet). We have been assured that everything will be available starting today.

 

Dinner last night was good, but food is so subjective that I really don't even like commenting on it. I had pork medallions, and one of them was way over cooked. The other was great though, so I think it was just an oversight. The service was amazing, and we had no wait whatsoever for a table, even though we were there at 6:30. If anyone is expecting me to post pictures of the food, I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint, because we don't carry a camera (or cell phone) to dinner with us.

 

All in all, a fantastic start to our cruise. Tomorrow is another sea day before we hit St. Bart's on Tuesday, but I'll try to report back with any updates as I can.

 

Tami

Hope they have the Beatles night for you in Horizon. We went to that in Sep/Oct and it was a lot of fun.

Gee, if you think of it perhaps you could ask Lorraine how long she's on for? We're on January 17th, which is the start of the S.A. circumnavigation cruise.

Wendy,

I believe that Paul Reynolds will be CD for South America.

Bill

Charlie truly is a darling. He was our butler on Voyager in 2010 and we have seen him on every cruise we have been on since but not as our butler and he never fails to remember our names and always comes to speak to us.

Glad you are settled in and having a great star to your cruise. Look forward to more posts from you. Jean.

We agree; Charlie is one of the best Butlers on Regent

We agree; Charlie is one of the best Butlers on Regent

 

Flossie loved it hehe. Thanks, Jean.:D

Wendy,

I believe that Paul Reynolds will be CD for South America.

Bill

That's good new I think, right? Don't think we've ever had him.

The adventure continues. We have been having pretty good weather, although we have hit occasional patches of rain. To be expected in the Caribbean, I'm sure. The seas are not too bad, although exercising with the rolling we do have has been...interesting.

Last night was the Block Party, and our end of the hall turned out to be the popular spot. We had met a lovely couple from Britain earlier in the day, and had spent quite a bit of time talking to them; imagine our surprise when they popped out of the cabin next to ours for the Block Party! As I've said before, there are some really fun folks on this cruise, and everyone seems to be having a great time.

We found two other couples to team up with for trivia yesterday...and all three men are named Mike. So we've taken to calling our team "The 3 M's." We came in 3rd yesterday...there is a team that actually got 16 out of a possible 17, so I think we can be pretty sure we'll never do better than 2nd or 3rd on this cruise.

For those of you familiar with The Captain who normally lives on the Navigator, he is actually on the Mariner at the moment. Apparently when the Navigator went into dry dock, he moved onto the Mariner for a temporary stay...or so he thought. I guess there was some mix up, and he won't be joining the Navigator again until January. He's such a nice man, and we enjoyed talking to him last night (although we were surprised to see him on this ship).

The entertainment last night was a guy who did Frank Sinatra songs. We went in for a few minutes, but I just got creeped out by the way he was schmoozing up to the all the women, like some cheesy second rate Vegas performer. I heard the same thing from a lot of other people afterwards. There is a duo from Poland who also perform in the smaller venues, as well as run the karaoke, and they are quite friendly and fun. We also have a guitarist and a pianist performing at the lounges nightly. I'm not sure when we'll see our first show by the Jean Ann Ryan cast...I believe we are waiting for the male lead singer to get on board in a few days.

We ate at Setti Mari last night because there was nothing on the Compass Rose menu that appealed to me. Apparently a lot of folks prefer Setti Mari, because the place was packed. The food there was excellent, and our server was from Italy, so was able to give us some really great suggestions. Tonight is the Captain's Welcome and (optional) formal night, so I'm hoping the food in Compass Rose will be a bit more "special." It will be interesting to see how many people actually dress formally...we forgot Mike's dinner jacket, so we are hoping he won't be out of place in his shirt and tie.

We have been wanting to do this itinerary for years, but waited until it was the Mariner sailing it, smply because we couldn't see 26 days on the Navigator. Well, joke's on us...Mike and I have both decided we actually prefer the smaller Navigator. I know there are a lot of folks who completely disagree with us and won't even sail on the Navigator, but we really do like her better. Don't get me wrong...the Mariner is lovely and her Coffee Connection is a hidden gem. But we just seem to be more Navigator people. We are meeting with the Future Cruise Consultant in less than an hour, and are hoping to tap onto a segment or two of the Navigator's world cruise in 2018. Our new friends (our neighbors) have told us of a fantastic itinerary out of LA to Hawaii and then on to New Zealand, so we will see what's available with that.

Tomorrow is St. Barts, and we have scheduled a private tour because Regent didn't offer anything that interested us. Hopefully I'll finally have some photos to post then.

Gee, if you think of it perhaps you could ask Lorraine how long she's on for? We're on January 17th, which is the start of the S.A. circumnavigation cruise.

I will ask her when I see her again, and let you know.

The adventure continues. We have been having pretty good weather, although we have hit occasional patches of rain. To be expected in the Caribbean, I'm sure. The seas are not too bad, although exercising with the rolling we do have has been...interesting.

 

Last night was the Block Party, and our end of the hall turned out to be the popular spot. We had met a lovely couple from Britain earlier in the day, and had spent quite a bit of time talking to them; imagine our surprise when they popped out of the cabin next to ours for the Block Party! As I've said before, there are some really fun folks on this cruise, and everyone seems to be having a great time.

 

We found two other couples to team up with for trivia yesterday...and all three men are named Mike. So we've taken to calling our team "The 3 M's." We came in 3rd yesterday...there is a team that actually got 16 out of a possible 17, so I think we can be pretty sure we'll never do better than 2nd or 3rd on this cruise.

 

For those of you familiar with The Captain who normally lives on the Navigator, he is actually on the Mariner at the moment. Apparently when the Navigator went into dry dock, he moved onto the Mariner for a temporary stay...or so he thought. I guess there was some mix up, and he won't be joining the Navigator again until January. He's such a nice man, and we enjoyed talking to him last night (although we were surprised to see him on this ship).

 

The entertainment last night was a guy who did Frank Sinatra songs. We went in for a few minutes, but I just got creeped out by the way he was schmoozing up to the all the women, like some cheesy second rate Vegas performer. I heard the same thing from a lot of other people afterwards. There is a duo from Poland who also perform in the smaller venues, as well as run the karaoke, and they are quite friendly and fun. We also have a guitarist and a pianist performing at the lounges nightly. I'm not sure when we'll see our first show by the Jean Ann Ryan cast...I believe we are waiting for the male lead singer to get on board in a few days.

 

We ate at Setti Mari last night because there was nothing on the Compass Rose menu that appealed to me. Apparently a lot of folks prefer Setti Mari, because the place was packed. The food there was excellent, and our server was from Italy, so was able to give us some really great suggestions. Tonight is the Captain's Welcome and (optional) formal night, so I'm hoping the food in Compass Rose will be a bit more "special." It will be interesting to see how many people actually dress formally...we forgot Mike's dinner jacket, so we are hoping he won't be out of place in his shirt and tie.

 

We have been wanting to do this itinerary for years, but waited until it was the Mariner sailing it, smply because we couldn't see 26 days on the Navigator. Well, joke's on us...Mike and I have both decided we actually prefer the smaller Navigator. I know there are a lot of folks who completely disagree with us and won't even sail on the Navigator, but we really do like her better. Don't get me wrong...the Mariner is lovely and her Coffee Connection is a hidden gem. But we just seem to be more Navigator people. We are meeting with the Future Cruise Consultant in less than an hour, and are hoping to tap onto a segment or two of the Navigator's world cruise in 2018. Our new friends (our neighbors) have told us of a fantastic itinerary out of LA to Hawaii and then on to New Zealand, so we will see what's available with that.

 

Tomorrow is St. Barts, and we have scheduled a private tour because Regent didn't offer anything that interested us. Hopefully I'll finally have some photos to post then.

I'm not at all surprised that your end of the hallway, Tami, was the most vocal and having the best of times. I've been with you on these sea capers and you bring good times to everyone within reach. Our last gig with you on a Regent ship you guys were acoss the hall from us. What a blast. Back then you sported a yellow bikini. I was amazed at the number of men on the pool deck with twisted necks and sucked in bellies when you arrived, arranged your chair, and settled back with drink in hand. Mike, at the time, was in your suite reading his hard cover of Homer's Odyssey.

We, too, enjoyed Setti Mari. Freda likes to hear Italian spoken and our waiter (name not remembered) gave her answers in his beautiful language.

I have to ask what the Internet speed is on Mariner? Jack

I'm not at all surprised that your end of the hallway, Tami, was the most vocal and having the best of times. I've been with you on these sea capers and you bring good times to everyone within reach. Our last gig with you on a Regent ship you guys were acoss the hall from us. What a blast. Back then you sported a yellow bikini. I was amazed at the number of men on the pool deck with twisted necks and sucked in bellies when you arrived, arranged your chair, and settled back with drink in hand. Mike, at the time, was in your suite reading his hard cover of Homer's Odyssey.

 

We, too, enjoyed Setti Mari. Freda likes to hear Italian spoken and our waiter (name not remembered) gave her answers in his beautiful language.

 

I have to ask what the Internet speed is on Mariner? Jack

The internet is obviously not the highest speed Jack, but it actually serves our needs quite well. We cannot complain!

Just had to post this, as we just got back from the show tonight. Jeri Sager was the performer. Apparently she has performed on Broadway in Cats, Les Miserables, and Evita. And by performed I mean in the main roles. Wow...just wow. Mike never stays for the shows and he was mesmerized. I was in tears when she sang "Memory." All I can say is, that was one of the best shows I have ever seen...on Broadway or on any cruise ship. What a great night of entertainment. She is on board as a friend of our "social director" Marla...I get the feeling that Lorraine, our CD, is about to leave the ship and is grooming Marla to be the next Regent CD. Marla is really great, and will be a wonderful CD. But it is strange to not see Lorraine out and about, or really see her anywhere. Either way, this was a great night on board the Mariner, and we are so happy to be here.

Just had to post this, as we just got back from the show tonight. Jeri Sager was the performer. Apparently she has performed on Broadway in Cats, Les Miserables, and Evita. And by performed I mean in the main roles. Wow...just wow. Mike never stays for the shows and he was mesmerized. I was in tears when she sang "Memory." All I can say is, that was one of the best shows I have ever seen...on Broadway or on any cruise ship. What a great night of entertainment. She is on board as a friend of our "social director" Marla...I get the feeling that Lorraine, our CD, is about to leave the ship and is grooming Marla to be the next Regent CD. Marla is really great, and will be a wonderful CD. But it is strange to not see Lorraine out and about, or really see her anywhere. Either way, this was a great night on board the Mariner, and we are so happy to be here.

Enjoying your posts but have a couple of questions. First, are the JAR entertainers still on the ship or has it changed to the new NCL Production Company (not sure of the correct name)?

Also, did you get the feeling that Lorraine is leaving Regent or just going on vacation? Hoping that she will still be with Regent.