trvlrs

I was too! I was given the impression on this board that the ship was refurbished. The lounges were and I believe most common areas as well as the name suites. We had a category C on the 10th floor and those were old as well as the hallway. Sorry....

WOW!

 

 

I am impressed with what I saw on the website that apparently RSSC is allergic to inside staterooms and even the bottom class state room has a large portrait window and not just a hole in the wall to look out and even that room has a large bathroom with a tub.

All suites have a balcony

It is all included, including your economy airfare and your transfer to the ship if you arrive the day of the cruise and leave the same day or book hotels through them. You can actually pay one price and spend on nothing else.

As someone mentioned they upgraded to business for $600. Our upgrade was $2000 each. It all depends on what they are offering.

There are no formal nights. Some choose to dress in gowns and tuxedos but it is rare. Usually, women have dresses or pants and tops. Men, slacks with buttoned down shirts or polo shirts.

From the videos I've seen looks like they have "old school" cruise shows in the evening.

It does seem you are not stuck having dinner in the "main dining room" every night so you can move around and change restaurants each night. How does this work with gratuities then?

Gratuity is included. You don't have to worry about it. It is an all inclusive cruise.

They have the main dining room and a more casual dining where you need no reservations. You show up and you are seated. They also have two specialty restaurants. You are allowed to book each once before sailing and after that as many times as you want if available. It's usually not a problem.

Again, you don't pay for anything, it's all included.....

IT will be a very different experience and it sounds like it will suit you. RSSC is very tamed compared to the large ships.

First you will love their suites. If you don't like crowds, Regent is for you. with seven hundred passengers on board you'll get to know most of them by the third day.

The food is not in your face and not much in the entertainment areas. The crowd is older although it's getting a little younger. They have 4 or 5 lounges and you'll find at the most 20 in a lounge, so never crowded. We like it that way....

Hope this helps....

We sailed with Regent on the Voyager and thought everything was perfect.

We had a very different experience on Regent Mariner the past 10 days. Service was good, suites and hallways in need of update and the officers quite arrogant.

What I mean by this, it is easy when everything is running smoothly to give a great review but a company is really judged by how well they handle a glitch or a problem and Mariner unfortunately did not come to par. It is very poorly managed.

A 3 hour check in for us (4 hours for others) and no Regent representative in sight to assist. We put the episode behind us and had a great cruise only to experience similar chaos at check out. Absolutely not acceptable!!

I am sure your cruise will go well and you will have a lovely time....

A great trip which left a bad taste in the mouth of the last 50 or so passengers. Shame on you Regent!!

Let me back track one day to explain the chaos which started on Friday, the day we docked in Venice. It would probably have been forgotten but we had a lot of time to sit around at checkout and ruminate about it.

It all started when Regent was not allowed to dock closer to town and had to dock at the cruise port because of the " Redentore feast". Totally understanble...These are reasons beyond Regent control but not to offer a shuttle back and forth to town is unacceptable!!!! Two years ago, we docked at the same port when we sailed Celebrity equinox and they had a shuttle that went back and forth from the port to San Marco (10 minutes). It was very easy to get back to the ship for a rest if needed. After all, we are paying for the night in Venice and it should feel as comfortable as a hotel if not better. Otherwise, what is the point?

Instead Regent was in a hurry to get rid of us which really turned a 10 day trip into an 8 day trip. The walk from the ship to the people mover (train) took us 20mn (at a good pace). I hate to think how long it took the elderly or if they were able to walk. We then had to pay to get on the train or walk another 15 or 20 minutes before getting to the edge of Venice (piazzale di Roma). From there to San Marco square was a little over an hour walk or hop on a vaporetto which were ridiculously crowded because of the holiday. Anyway, it took us about an hour and a half before we were able to join our relatives who were in town and we arrived exhausted. By then, it was 11:30am and the ship was a long long long way away for any kind of rest. Spent a lovely day in town but were pressured to get back to the ship to put our suitcases out before 9:00pm. We were told the night before and in print that we would not be able to stay in town because the ship had to move at 10:30pm further out, to a port with no transportation. Basically, we were robbed of an evening in Venice.

Needless to say, we rushed back, packed quickly, put our suitcases out when the cruise director announced on the loud speaker that suitcases needed to be out by 10pm. Once again, total miscommunication on the part of Regent....Ok, up until now we were taking the entire thing as just part of a travel adventure.

Fast forward to Saturday morning....We were given disembarkation time the day before starting at 4:00am and up until 8:00am. We chose 8:00am because we had made independent arrangements. They changed our time to 8:30am "color pink group 3" but we needed to vacate the cabin by 8:00am. No problem so far....

We sat in La veranda for a while and at 8:20am we headed to the meeting point at the constellation theatre. Only one person from the destination desk was there trying to process everyone. So far everything was going according to plan....color tags were being called but not "pink group 3". Some had prepaid for taxis and were starting to worry the taxi would not wait. Bare in mind, the Regent shuttle was a 30 minute ride back to where we were docked the day before at stazione maritimi. So if you were given a disembarkation time of 8:30am + a 30 minute ride would bring you to the port at 9:00 am. Give yourself a few extra minutes and most had taxis booked for 9:15 and 9:30am.

By 9:00am we were still sitting in the constellation theatre with NO explanation whatsoever. The destination desk person when questioned would answer and I quote: " not everyone in your group has checked in, and you should be next". Then she would announce a different group. There were no apologies and no sign of any person in charge. I walked up to the gangway which was next door to the Reception desk and found "Michelle" not sure what her position is. She was always standing there to greet you in and out but could never answer a question. She always shrugged her shoulder and referred you to the reception or destination desk. Why does she stand there? I never understood.

Ok....so I come out of the constellation theatre and of course Michelle is standing there as usual. I asked her if there was anyone in charge who can let us know what was going on but as usual, she shrugged her shoulder because it is not her job. This is where I lost it. I asked her to get busy and get someone in charge who would get into the constellation theatre to let us know what was happening and offer an apology. Any well run company would communicate with their customers or would at least utter the words: "we are sorry for the delay". NOT Regent. "I am sorry" is too good for them. The destination manager was out by the buses and he was called. He asked me what was the problem (as if he didn't know). I asked him to come in and let us know what was happening and to at least apologize for the delay. He said he would but he never did. He radioed the person sitting in the constellation theatre and asked her to apologize. She uttered the word "sorry" once. Fifteen minutes later we were still there and her explanation when asked again was: "not all the guests have checked in".

Now someone please tell me, how is this our problem????? If 50 or so passengers are waiting in the theatre for 45 minutes why is it our problem that 2 or so passengers have not checked in!!!!! I went out to use the restroom and Michelle was standing there with two officers. I am going to assume the GM and Ben (he is usually behind the reception desk). Michelle points at me, in a subtle way, but enough to make me furious. I turned around and said it's been 15 minutes since our last conversation and no one from your management team has apologized to your guests. The GM stepped in and said: " if you have a problem talk to me not Michelle". I said: "Fine... I want to know when I am leaving the ship and I expect some form of apology for the delay. I was given an 8:30am disembarkation time. It is 9:20am and we are still sitting with No explanation." I added: "it would be nice if you would come in to the theatre and you would apologize for the inconvenience. It does not take much to say I am sorry. Needless to say, the words "we apologize" or "we are sorry" are too good for any of the officers. We finally left the ship at 9:25am with arrival at the port at 9:50am.

I can promise you, that everyone on that bus was livid.

In my opinion and others, Mariner at the moment is very poorly managed. It lacks good communication with its guests.

When things are good, they are good but when something goes wrong Regent doesn't know how to handle it.

We were the lucky or rather the unlucky ones. We had a lousy check-in which we were about to forget followed by an even worse check out. Shame on you Regent for treating your guests that way!!! Why are your officers so arrogant? Why is the sentence "we are sorry for the inconvenience" so difficult to utter? It would have calmed all us down. Instead, you had everyone sitting down reflecting on everything bad that happened rather than remember the good times.

What a waste of $3600.00 (the last two nights)!!! A floating hotel in Venice, it wasn't. In a hotel, we could go and come as we please, and we would pay a fraction of that price. Never again will I sail with Regent with a two nights final destination. Celebrity wins that round hands down.

I agree with NYFEDS. We sailed both Celebrity and Regent and just got home yesterday from Regent.

They are very different ships and very different class of service and it also depends if you are interested in Ports or just cruising and how much you drink etc....

Suites:

The suites on Regent do not compare to Celebrity. The suites are larger, plenty of storage room, walking closets etc...

Celebrity is a tight fit with storage almost non existent

Service:

Pretty much the same on both

Atmosphere:

Because Regent is a smaller ship, by the 3rd day you tend to know a lot of your fellow cruisers which makes it very nice

We sailed Celebrity Equinox in the Aqua class and enjoyed it very much. We picked Celebrity for the choice of Ports and we booked private tours at some ports and did some on our own. Bottled water was included in the Aqua class and wine at dinner is included. We spent no time at the pool (we were always enjoying the ports) so we never ordered drinks at the pool and after dinner we were too full to order anything at the bar. Would we do it again? Absolutely...It's about half the price but I would miss Regent suites

We just got off the Mariner Seven Seas and our experience was not very good. Loved our suite but not as much as the voyager. Suites need update. Service was good but officers quite arrogant. Has a lousy check in and an even lousier check out. So, at the moment not very happy with Regent. We were on a 10 day cruise but in reality an 8 day cruise. The two days in venice at $1800@night, we could have done without and instead spent it in a nice hotel in Venice. They offered no shuttle to town and made the entire experience in venice a bad one. Compare that to Celebrity two days in Venice and Celebrity wins, hands down

Tours:

Regent free tours are ok, but nothing special. They don't crowd them. The ones we were on no more than 20. Most of the time we opt for private tours.

Hope this helps

Our cruise is coming to an end boo hoo hoo....all good things must come to an end. Got up at the crack of dawn to watch our grand entrance into Venice :) almost there!!!

Tvlrs - thank you so much - I will be sure to pack mine. 2 weeks today and we will be on board - the count down is on......

 

 

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You are very welcome!!! Enjoy your cruise.... Sadly, ours will end in a few days.

Bring a warm jacket or wrap. the hallways and lounges are quite cold in the evenings.

Hi - for those actually on Mariner at the moment, are the hair dyers in the suites any good - I use a fairly powerful one at home for my long locks, but don't really want to bring it with me. Also what plug sockets are suite - are they all US 2 pin, as I will need to bring an adapter. (I am from the UK where 3 pin are standard)

 

Thanks

 

 

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Hello - I looked at the sockets closely. It is 2 and 3 prongs american and 2 prongs European. You will need an adapter for the UK electronics. There is a 3 prong European (round holes) but it is three in a row not a triangle so I am not sure what country this would be for.

The blow dryer is good but basic. I have shoulder length fine hair and it is blowing softly. It would do if I didn't have mine.

For your long hair, you probably would want to bring yours. Hope this helps ....

Contrary to what I had heard, the laundry room was a breeze never a wait and always empty until today. Durres is a port where most guests decided to stay on board, at the pool or in the laundry room.

We took a walk in town for about an hour and it is now off the bucket list. Not sure why this is a stop for Regent and a long one!!

Sitting at the pool and sipping piña colada. Life is good...ciao

Hi - for those actually on Mariner at the moment, are the hair dyers in the suites any good - I use a fairly powerful one at home for my long locks, but don't really want to bring it with me. Also what plug sockets are suite - are they all US 2 pin, as I will need to bring an adapter. (I am from the UK where 3 pin are standard)

 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

 

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They have European and American electric outlets so no need to worry about an adapter. I brought my own blow dryer because we were traveling before the cruise. I will try the ship blow dryer tonight and I will let you know if it is powerful enough, no problem

Had the World Cup speed-diners only known that they could have taken another leisurely hour and a half or so for a pleasant dinner and still been in time for the only play in the final game that mattered...

Indeed what a great game!!!! The game was broadcasted in the constellation theatre on the big screen and a food buffet was set up. There was Plenty of food, drinks and a popcorn station. It was, I must say a very nice venue well decorated with the German and Argentina colors. We joined in a little after 9:30pm

On another good note, the veranda chairs in the suites, I believe are new. They are very comfortable and they do recline.

I'll attach pictures later....Internet is too slow for uploading pictures

From what I read, the brusqueness of the waiter at Compass Rose was primarily caused by an influx of guests with totally unreasonable demands. In and out in one hour??!!

That's exactly right which made made it very unpleasant to the rest of us...

Ick and ewwww is right and I agree that the terry covers should also be replaced. It is definitely a question of training. Lots of novices on this trip.

On a brighter note, our dinner tonight in compass rose was impeccable. Our waiter (same as yesterday) couldn't do enough to please us. It's hard not to feel sorry for most of them who leave their families for eight months at a time. Can't be easy...

Entertainment was good and the late night entertainment in the horizon lounge very funny.

Durres, Albania tomorrow....still wondering about the port. Good night all...

I am getting a little concerned reading these reports of poor service on the Mariner. We board in October and final pay is coming up in 2days.

 

Who is the GM? The check in sounds like it was sorely lacking. This is very different from when we were last on the Mariner. Everything was perfect . One could not ask for anything better.

 

I hope things improve.

Yes this was unfortunate and probably a one time thing. My issue was that we were left in the dark and no one apologized. Unacceptable.....

Had a great day in Corfu!! Shuttle ran smoothly, no problems.

This was very different than the Monte Carlo stop, when upon return from the tours, the elevators were out of order. We always walk up so not a problem but felt very sorry for the elderly. All elevators were non operational for at least 3 hours....

Pool area: I never sat at the pool when on the voyager but did so this time on the Mariner. Here are my observations so beware because it came as a shock to me.

The lounge chairs are set up very nicely every morning. The cushions are covered with fitted towel fabric. A rolled out beach towel and a bottle of water is on every lounger. All is wonderful up until here. BUT, when a guest leaves, the towel they were using is rolled up again and set up nicely on the chair. I was shocked!!! I watched them do it over and over again. In the evening, all towels were taken away, I believe to be laundered because they weren't being folded again.

Maybe, it's normal practice on all ships but this was my first time witnessing such a thing and I was not happy

Off for pre dinner drinks and I'll try and capture some pictures of the ship 😊

Hello again everyone

I am sorry I alarmed some of you but I wanted to give a true description. We have a regular concierge suite. We do not have a penthouse which I understand were redone. If it is your first time on Mariner, you probably would enjoy it very much. If you are a repeat guest, it is definitely not up to par with the previous cruises.

Again, hallways and suites are old but once you get over the shock it will do. I'll take pictures and post them when I get a chance.

Dinner last night at Compass Rose again miserable service. Waiters going and coming barely letting you finish your sentence, borderline rude. We finally said something around dessert time and the waiter came back and apologized for his rudeness. He must have apologized over 10 times. He saw us this morning in La veranda and apologized again. Turns out, because of the football finale that evening, most guests were coming in to compass rose around 8:00pm and expecting to be out of there by 9:00pm. It put pressure on the waiters and made a miserable experience for the rest of us. Once again, let's hope tonight will be a better experience.

I can't say much about tours since we only used the provided shuttles to towns back and forth. A bit chaotic but overall ok. We joined the bicycle tour in Lucca and that was well organized. Five tours went out and they kept each at under 20 guests.

We were wait listed for quite a few tours before getting on board and we were cleared for all of them once on board. We had to return most of the tickets since we had made our own arrangements. So, if you are wait listed do not worry about it, you will most likely clear the list.

Off to Corfu today......

I do think the carpet in the hallways needs some update, but sorry to hear about your suite as well. Ours (on deck 7 so in a less expensive area) was perfect. We were offered an upgrade to deck 10, so I'm glad I didn't take it. Though the reason I didn't take it was because I was worried about noise from above.

We were also offered an upgrade from deck 7 to deck 10. I do like the fact that we are close to the pool and the breakfast area in the morning but those cabins definitely need an overhaul.

Indeed Rachel, my point exactly. Someone should have said something to us. We were the lucky ones as far as dropping our suitcases before getting on board. We heard from fellow passengers who arrived earlier and had to drag their suitcases past security and up the gangway while regent staff stood their watching and did not offer assistance.

I must say the nonchalance of some of the staff member is coming as a big surprise to me. Our past Regents experience was amazing and absolutely perfect. I remember how in the coffee connection, the minute they saw my husband approaching his espresso would be ready and he would be greeted by his name and with a smile. It was such a personal touch that we could not help but tip the gentlemen at the end of our trip.

On this trip, we are just a number. We are on day 5 so let's see if it gets any better.

We ate the first evening at signature. Food and service were wonderful.

The second evening was the big barbecue around the pool, as we were leaving Monte Carlo and that also was excellent.

Our third night, we dined at Compass Rose. Food was good but service went south. Our waiter must have been having a bad day. There was no interaction. He took the order, no smile, quite in a hurry....never ever had someone like him before, on any cruise line.

Fourth night, Sette Mare. We had to wait half an hour to be seated, acceptable. Service decent but not perfect. Waiters were very nice and eager to help but very awkward, not well trained. I'll give you one example, not to bore everyone. We each had in front of us a full glass of water. My husband asked for some Perrier. The waiter obliged and came back with it. He opened the bottle and stared at us as to where he should pour it. We then said: maybe you should bring another glass. Oh yes, he replied. He came back with an empty glass and no Perrier bottle and then remembered and went back for the Perrier. As I said, eager to help but no training. Definitely unacceptable for Regent standard. Food at Sette Mare about the quality of Olive Garden. Tonight we are going back to Compass Rose, let's hope for a better waiter.

positives and negatives of our cruise. I was hoping for all positives but it hasn't been the case, unfortunately.

It started with a 3 hour check-in (for others up to 4 hours). Apparently, computers were down. Did not hear it from Regents, heard of it from fellow passengers. I understand computer can breakdown but it is unacceptable to let everyone stand for hours with no explanation of any sort or any apology.

After check in we headed to our room on the 10th floor and what a let down. Bare in mind, I am comparing Mariner to the Voyager. The suites and hallways are in need of major update ( second disappointment).

I had asked the question about noise above the 10th floor suites. It's not bad and it hasn't been an issue for us. We hear the pushing of chairs and carts between 9:30pm and 11:00pm. It might bother light sleepers or early to bed people.

Stay tuned for more....

Rarin2go, I don't let George wear his cowboy hat to dinner!

 

Trvlrs, no tipping room service or anywhere else on board. Only time you should tip is guides and drivers on excursions as they are not employed by regent. Onboard, no need or expectation for tips as they are already included. And as for guides and drivers, here is Rachel's tipping guide: bad job (really annoying constant talking or forced shopping stops not mentioned in tour description, driver getting lost for 2 hrs) no tip, average job 5-10 euro per person depending on length of tour, excellent job 10-20 euro per person.

 

You will note I used euro as the currency. That is because I personally feel you should tip in the local currency, and we are currently in the euro zone. If you absolutely don't have any euros, using dollars is better than no tip at all and in some countries (not Europe) is preferred. But don't give loose change as there is no way for the person to exchange it.

Thank you. I will definitely remember: No tipping on board and tipping for excursions. We paid a pretty penny for this all inclusive trip so I will remind myself anytime I think of tipping. I agree with you, we always tip in local currencies.

June 19,2014--Palma de Mallorca Spain

 

George and I had massages in the spa to use up our onboard credit. Quite nice, and no attempt to upsell or elicit an extra tip (tips are included).

 

Thanks...I need to remember no tipping at the spa. What about room service? Glad the weather is good. I can't stop thinking of the raviolis lol....