flossie009

Well we made it off the ship for the Salsa & Salsa excursion ………. olé! It was very enjoyable. We made 4 salsas, guacamole and a dessert; plus plenty of drink & dancing. The location used for the “class” was a beach resort not far from the harbour The ingredients for our first two concoctions

Yes, we are looking forward to it. But will we get there?? Tendering has been suspended, just as we were about to board, due to very high swells. They are setting up to tender from the other side of the ship, but not sure if that will be successful. Maybe a day by the pool ……………… not a hardship 😎

Early arrival in Cabo San Lucas - tender port We are off to enjoy Salsa & Salsa this morning Fortified by an almond croissant with our coffee this morning - delicious

Cocktail developed for the 30th anniversary It had to be sampled …………………… but maybe only once 😉

Requirements for individual voyages in the coming month may be found here The specific protocols & country requirements are also emailed to each booked guest in advance of their cruise.

Yes, Cedric is taking over and Donald is leaving the ship part way through this cruise. I will check. Pleased to report that escargot returned to the menu this week 👍 👍 A dinner date maybe if you have time in your social calendar

For those with excess OBC there is a Connoisseur Wine Lunch scheduled for October 9th in Chartreuse. $169 pp @SusieQft, Karen, is that still the day you celebrate being released from quarantine?

Just docking in Mazatlan It is forecast to be a sunny day with a high of 89F/32C. 😎

We do like the Mariner. It has excellent public areas including a well designed theatre and the aft Horizon lounge. There are quite a few familiar faces among the crew; easier to see their friendly smiles now that masks have become optional. There are two lecturers on board: Dr Barrett Rock - botanist & geologist Dr James Kus - archaeologist & geographer, specialising in South America In addition there are seminars with the Artful Travellers presenters who are on board for “Spotlight on Hollywood” Scott Henderson - professional ice skater turned talent agent William Mann - author of books on Hollywood & its stars David Lee - writer, director & producer of TV comedy sitcoms Steven Boggs - hotelier

Unfortunately it can be a less than luxury or seamless experience 🤨 Nor can Regent’s ground operators in our experience ☹️ Yes, it is probably more likely to be in London rather than Southampton Take a credit for the pre & post hotels and make your own arrangements for accommodation & transfers. It will be more expensive than the credits but you will enjoy a more relaxed experience. Plus post cruise you could choose to stay in a more interesting location between Southampton & Heathrow, such as the New Forest or Windsor. JMO. Other experiences & advice may vary.

My hairdryer is working fine, so try asking for a replacement.

Our Meet & Greet was simply DIY, excellently coordinated by Holly @FengShui@Sea through the CC roll call

We thoroughly enjoyed our weekend in “La La Land” and the pre-cruise allowed us to overcome our jet lag before joining the ship. On Monday morning we checked out of the Fairmont and took a private transfer to the cruise port. Check in was disorganised with various senior citizens, employed by the port authority, wandering around aimlessly but amiably with health questionnaires etc. There appeared to be no flow or process. Fortunately we were near the front of the queue when check-in opened so got onto the ship for a welcome drink around 12:45. We escaped the nightmare that others suffered later when the LA Port computer systems failed causing total confusion. After an excellent lunch in La Veranda we went to our suite, retrieved our luggage (always a sigh of relief), unpacked and met our steward & butler. So good to be cruising again after a break of 9 months 😀

The three night stay in Santa Monica was one of the promotions offered to U.K. guests associated with this cruise. The hotel was very nice but we had to change rooms after the first night due the extremely noisy nightclub on the South side of the hotel. These are the views from our north facing room balcony: There has been some discussion about breakfast arrangements in pre-cruise hotels. In our case we were given an allowance against breakfast in the Fig restaurant within the hotel. Very good breakfast offerings but extremely expensive. The Regent rep, when he saw the menu, realised that the allowance needed to be increased from $35 pp per day to $50. How can any establishment justify charging $5 for a single slice of toast ……………. and then increase that to $6 on the weekend 🤔 Makes Regent cruise prices look very reasonable.

Just to backtrack a little, we flew from LHR to LAX last Friday, 30th September. A very comfortable trip on a BA 777 equipped with the new Club Suites - a great improvement on BA’s previous business class arrangements. We then took a Regent bus transfer to the Fairmont Miramar hotel in Santa Monica. The bus transfer was not very well organised and how the bus driver manoeuvred his way under the tree to the hotel main entrance we will never know. All the bell-hops stood watching …………… but then disappeared when bags were being unloaded 🤨

We had a Mickey Mouse cruise line moored next to us today 🤣

Thought it might be time to start a blog from Mariner as we head towards our first port of call, Puerta Vallerta. This is a 12 day round trip from Los Angeles to Los Angeles. It is one of Regent’s 30th Anniversary cruises and also has some specialist speakers & events for “Spotlight on Hollywood” In the next few posts we will catch up on the last few days. Hopefully other CC members will join in with their observations. Yesterday we had a Meet & Greet with a good turnout of about 15 guests, excellently coordinated by @FengShui@Sea

Four ways that I am aware of (others may chime in with more options): 1. Simply ask for availability in a higher grade suite. If something is to your liking, book it. You will pay the higher price pertaining at the time that you upgrade. 2. Book a Guarantee in the lowest grade available that you would be happy with. You will be allocated a suite in that grade or higher. No certainty that you will get a higher grade than you paid for; no choice of suite location; and suite allocation maybe as late as check-in at the port. 3. If a cruise is over-sold in the lower grades you may be approached with an upgrade offer at a reduced price. You then have a short window of opportunity to decide whether the offer is acceptable. 4. If you are aware of a higher grade suite being available when you board the ship, ask if an upgrade “offer” is available.

Personally I would opt for the later flight and avoid some stress. The later option would allow for the possibility of the ship docking late, mean a more leisurely disembarkation and your transfer could avoid the worst of the rush hour traffic when leaving Southampton.

https://bluemountaincoffeehouses.com/

Although Regent cruise fares quoted in the U.K. only include economy class air, Regent will provide premium, business or first class air on request. Additional cost, obviously, but often a good deal compared to pricing the flights independently. You pays your money ………………….. 😉

If Voyager is tendering into Newhaven, you may find this previous thread to be of use:

If using a car service, aim for a pick up from the cruise terminal no later than 08:30 A local car company will be able to find out which berth you are arriving at, but the Southampton port website will give the information nearer to your cruise date

Yes, received the same email today. Intrigued by the line: "We are currently working on creating some exciting new offerings" I wonder what was the issue with the old offerings? 🤔 .................... and why is it taking a month to finalise the new offerings? 🤔