On the Mariner

[hvsteve1]

Here's the continuation of my thread started on the Alaska board.

 

The ship exceeds expectations. I can't believe the quality of the suite. We have catagory G and the large cabin and marble bath are unbelievable. The shower in the tup turned out to be no probelm at all. It's just fine.

 

The food...what can I say? We ate in Latitudes the first night and were blown away. Compass Rose is also amazing when you consider it to be the "lower end" restaurant. We try Signatures tonight. If you drink all the (fine) wine they pour and accept the after dinner drinks, I guarantee you will not leave the table sober. I don't know when we're supposed to use the booze in the room. We're taking home the welcome bottle of champagne and ordered two nice wines for the bar which we will take home. The stweardess,all Filippino,don't speak much english. We called the housekeeper,a scandanavian,and whe was able to choose some good wines off the lies.

 

There are about 500 on board this trip. There is a group cruise for a stock brokerage (heavy hitters who won it) and they brought kids. The ship is providing activities to keep them busy and out of the way.

 

Weather around 60. We may need heavier cltohers for the glacier tour. Otherwise,dress for spring.

 

We have yet to take our shore tours. We are kist roming in Sitka. I understand they are very fussy about their tours and send people along to monitor them.

 

Tomorrow is Skagway. I'll be back.

[cruiseluv]

Hi,

 

Glad that you're having such a great cruise.

 

The only thing that I'm not very impressed is this trend( I'm sure is cost-cutting related) of switching to filipino stewards that speak very little english. I had read about that under other threads recently. I don't care what nationality the stewards are but I think it's unacceptable that the passengers have to struggle to make themselves understood.

 

Is this also the case with the waiters in the restaurants and bars?

 

Thanks and continue enjoying your cruise!

[JoAnne B]

This is consistent with what two cabin stewardesses told me on the Diamond crossing. They were both concerned that they would not be offered positions on other ships after the Diamond left service. They also told me that there would no longer be a team approach with a stewardess and an assistant, but that the stewardesses would work alone. Personally, I liked the team approach as they were able to get in and out of the cabin so quickly. I didn't query further, but the impression I got was that it would increase the workload of the stewardesses.

 

Curiously, on the last couple of days of the crossing, I noticed a lot of new faces serving at afternoon tea. The new waiters did not seem to understand English and generally looked confused. One day the young waiter gave me a blank stare when I placed my tea order, and left never to be seen again. After a long wait, I reordered from another waiter. I had the distinct impression that these were trainee's, but they were clearly unqualified to provide service. I hope this isn't a trend.

[tiger13]

So can you give me an idea of what the men are wearing for dinner. Jackets....are all men, some or few wearing them?

 

I hate to bring one for my husband if he doesn't need it but on the other hand, I don't want him to feel awkward without it if the majority wears them.

 

Just how casual is "country club casual" on the Radisson?

 

This sounds crazy since we will be in Alaska, but I do not eat seafood. Do they have at least one steak option on each menu?

 

With less than 2 weeks to go, I am eagerly awaiting your daily reports.

Thanks again and enjoy your cruise!!

[gopackgo]

tiger13,

 

Just thought I would chime in here in case steve can't answer your question for a couple of days. We went on the same cruise last June and loved it. As far as the dress, for most of the nights, country club casual in Compass Rose, about half of the men wore a jacket with either a open dress shirt or a golf shirt under it. The other half just wore nice shirts or nice golf shirts with dark or khaki pants. The ladies wore a mix on Country club casual, from nice pant suits to nice capris to all sorts of skirts with nice tops. No one wore shorts or jeans at night.

 

In Signatures, most of the men wore a jacket with and without ties. I think they ask for informal there, which means men need a jacket. I wore a nice skirt outfit that night.

 

They always had a mix of entrees, some fish and some meat. Plus on the back of the menu in Compass Rose, they have a list of standard items, one of which is a filet. Now, I am not sure they still offer it, but they did last year. And it was very good. All the food was very very good. The baked Alaska was wonderful!!

 

Have fun!!!

 

Make sure you take warm layers for the glacier day. Go up to the top deck around lunch time and you can see the glaciers far away. It gets really cold and windy up there so take layers, jacket, gloves, knit hat. You can take it all off once the ship stops in front of the glacier. Take binoculars.

 

Ginny

[dwelsh]

You can take it all off once the ship stops in front of the glacier. Take binoculars.

 

Ginny

[tiger13]

Ginny

 

Thanks so much for the help. I will bring his jacket so he at least has the option to wear it if he chooses. Also nice to know they have an optional menu. Someone else told me they had heard the same thing but had not actually been on the ship. It is good to hear it from you since you have sailed Mariner before.

 

Did you take any of the RSSC excursions? Your thoughts, recommendations. The more I hear the better.

 

Thanks again

[gopackgo]

dwelsh,

 

Yes, it could be a little bit breezy if you take it all off!!!

 

tiger13,

 

We took the Sitka tour with the Russian dancers and the Raptor center. It was fun and interesting, in a low key way. We shopped for about an hour and ate lunch in town. Sitka is a really attractive town. We took the Skaqway train up into the mountains - loved that. We missed Ketchikan because our ship's propeller broke so we had to skip it in order to make up time. We were scheduled for the Island Wing's helicopter flight. We also took the Captain Larry whale watching excursion in Juneau, which was fun.

 

Have a great time!

 

Ginny

[Dolebludger]

Tiger13:

 

To answer a couple of your questions, I personally always take a navy blue blazer on all cruises --- even those that are all casual. This is a matter of personal preference and not a requirement of the cruise. On many nights, I tend to dress just like I would for the minimum CCC requirements, then throw on the blazer just becuse I want to. But that is just me, and sometimes a minority of men. Dress codes set the minimum standards. Heck, I suppose someone could wear a tux on a CCC night and not be thrown out!

 

I too do not like seafood -- none of it -- not at all ---- ever! But still, on our RSSC Alaska cruise, I was certainly well fed, to say the least!

 

Don't worry. My wife insisted we go on the Alaska cruise. I thought I'd hate it. Was I ever wrong! I loved it! It is awesome!

 

Thanks,

Richard:) :) :)

[hvsteve1]

Here we are in Sitka. We're supposed to take the steam train this afternoon.

 

I second the above advice on clothing.

 

If you don't want small portions, Veranda seems to have heartier food at night.

 

I'm told there are about 450 on this cruise. It's one of those 'Ship seems empty" situations, especially since many of those on board are with a business group who have their own functions.

 

Stewardess situation does seem to result in less perfect service than I had heard about. I just call the housekeeper,who is one of the old Scandanavian stewardesses.

 

Ate in all three restuarants and hope to hit Latitudes and Signatures again,especially with the light crowd. Am told if you show up around 9 pm, they may give you a table. They only do one seating per night,but may take extras at the end. Menu in both is same all week

[hvsteve1]

In Juneau.

 

In Skagway...White Pass steam train is a must. Stupendous scenery and a steam engine hauling you 3000 feet up to boot.

 

Was surprised with how formal Veranda was for dinner. Very good,but run kind of like Compass Rose.

 

Norwegian and Celebrity in port today. WE got to dock in town. Those guys have some hike.

 

Loved Tracey Fjiord this am.

 

Running out of computer time. Probably will have to file from home.

[gf]

Thanks for your reports, Steve. Looking forward to more!

[hvsteve1]

We just got off in Vancouver. I'm on the internet at London Drugs.

 

Wonderful trip...more in a few days when I get home after a fews days touring here.

 

One interesting followup to my comments on the way they have gone with the stewardesses. I made that point on my comment card,then felt like a sh-- for complaining about fillipino maids with little English. Then there was last night.

 

As we were packing, I had all the momentoes piled on the floor. I keep brochures, post cards and books I have purchased from all the places we saw. This was for a two week period and I especially need the stuff as I will be giving a presentation to a club when I get home. There was about five pounds of this stuff on the floor when we went to (yum) dinner. Upon our return,it was all missing. My first instinct was to chase down the maid and ask if she took it. Her answer amounted to "Trash can,only"). I got the housekeeper in. She was one of the former Scandanavian stewardeses who have been promoted to oversee the new staff. The maid kept insisting to her she had not taken it and the housekeeper stressed to us that the maids are to take nothing that is not in the can. She suggested we may have already packed all this stuff. So....we started going through our already packed luggage. The housekeeper offered to go down and check the trash,just in case. A while later she was at the door and sheepishly handed me a pile consisting of a soggy book,some brochures and a few bent postcards. She said she thinks she saw the rest of my stuff,but it was too mixed in with "old fruit" and other wet garbage for me to want back. She apologized and when I asked if they could at least replace my week's worth of "Passages" (the nightly newsletter) so I would have some record of my cruise,she said she would try. This morning,I was told they no longer have any copies of them and the publisher has erased them from the computer.

 

My point,again...If I want to spend a week with a shy,non-english speaking cabin attendant who throws out my personal stuff and lies about it to me and her boss,I can book on one of the floating Motel 6's that I'm trying to avoid with Radisson. PS. I do feel badly for the maid. They said she has been on the job only a few weeks. I guess she was scared to admit throwing out my stuff when she realized what she had done,and was even moe afraid of admitting it to her boss. Now that she was caught in the lie and caused the housekeeper to go dumpster diving,I suspect she didn't sleep well last night. I do feel very sorry about that and tried not to make too much a a federal case about the incident.

[cruiseyguy]

You were much more laid back about this than I would have been. Whether RSSC or Carnival, passengers have a right to expect a certain level of competence and trust. I wonder what is behind this staffing change? I noticed it on my last Celebrity cruise also. Most of the bar and much of the wait staff is now Asian, Jamaican or Central American (previously they had been East European or South African). I can't believe it is simply "currency issues" (euro vs. the dollar). Whatever is going on, the cruiselines seem to have fallen down on training their new crews.

[Island Cruiser]

As far as I am concerned, this is a black mark on Radisson. We pay luxury cruise prices to sail on a Radisson ship. We have a right to expect timely and competent housekeeping. Radisson (1) decided to assign a poorly prepared stewardess to work your cabin (2) alone. Results matter. In this case, you didn't receive the service you paid for. Patrick

[Marpal]

Our experience was good and the team approach was used......one of the girls with experience and the other in training. We did not have long conversations but never felt that we were not understood. Hopefully the negative experiences will not be the norm. I would have been soooooo upset if this had happpened to us.

[English Voyager]

The increasing unwillingness of east european staff to work on cruise lines is due to the decline in the dollar/euro exchange rate,and the improving economies,and,therefore,greater employment opportunities,of their home countries.

Thus,to be away from family,and friends,for 6 to 8 months at a time,for declining monetary benefits,is becoming less attractive.

[JoAnne B]

It may well be true that the pool of Eastern European workers is drying up, but it is my understanding that RSSC has a new policy of hiring only asian workers. Current staff does not believe that their contracts will be renewed. Some of them are long-time staff, and certainly not "refusing" to continue with RSSC. They were upset that they probably would not be offered positions on the other ships. I think this is a decision by the "bean counters" with no consideration at all as to service levels.

 

I had an Asian team on the Diamond crossing, and had no problems at all. They were in and out in no time, and very thorough and friendly. I was feeling punk one day, and sat on the balcony while they cleaned. I was surprised how quickly they serviced the suite. No communication problems and no complaints. I did have a butler (loved that!) and that really helped. However, when they bring in poorly trained staff and turn them loose, I do have a problem.

 

I think it boils down to maintaining the standard of service, regardless of the nationality of the worker, and also taking a responsible position toward long-time staff.

 

I like the teamwork approach, and will miss the rapid service they provide.

[hvsteve1]

I'm home now (damn,damn,damn) and will be posting a post cruise thread tomorrow. It was a great experience.

[JayNu]

Looking forward to reading the balance of your trip/cruise report. So far, it has been a pleasure to read and seems quite fair and balanced. It's always nice to see reports from new people.

 

I'm from the H.V. also, although I don't live there anymore. What a beautiful place! Did you think that places in southern Alaska looked similar to home? The mountains are certainly bigger than the Catskills, but the plants and trees looked like home to me. I'm just dying to know where you're from, would you email me if you don't want to post it here? jcrzr@bellsouth.net

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Sigh, your experience with the stewardess was regrettable, but I must tell you about my own recent experience on the PG, which was similar, and involved a German girl, who seemed to speak adequate English.

 

She was a sweet thing, quite efficient, but on the second last day, I had left a bag from the Black Pearl Company on the floor of the room, under the desk (alas, beside, but definitely not *in* the trash.) I didn't notice it until the next afternoon, when we were tearing the room apart packing. The bag was gone--I spoke to the stewardess, and she couldn't really remember, but opined that she might have put a bag into the trash. It was far too late to try to retrieve it.

 

Luckily, the bag did not contain my pearl pendant, just the receipt, certificate and duty-free forms. But what if it had? Since I now have no receipt, I have to fax information to the store in Moorea and see if I can get my "upgrade guarantee" and certificate of authenticity replaced.

 

It's my own bloody fault for not putting the stuff somewhere safe, really, but I did not think in a million years she would remove something that was clearly NOT in the trash.

 

So, I feel for you, really I do.

[hvsteve1]

ITCLUXURY,

 

Alaska did bear some resemblance but was different enough to be worth the trip. I have heard from Europeans who have taken cruises on the Hudson and opined that it was superior to cruising the Rhine. We even have a castle (Bannerman's Island). If you consider the Hudson Highlands,Shawangunk Mountains and other attractions,this is really a prime location. Clipper cruises even comes up the river,stopping in Kingston's Rondout district which has really been improved and made "touristy" if you have not been back in a while. I was raised in Litchfield County,Connecticut but have lived in the Hudson Valley for most of my adult life.

[JayNu]

very close to Kingston! Thanks for responding.

[TedC]

We just got off in Vancouver. I'm on the internet at London Drugs.

 

Wonderful trip...more in a few days when I get home after a fews days touring here.

 

 

As we were packing, I had all the momentoes piled on the floor. I keep brochures, post cards and books I have purchased from all the places we saw. This was for a two week period and I especially need the stuff as I will be giving a presentation to a club when I get home. There was about five pounds of this stuff on the floor when we went to (yum) dinner. Upon our return,it was all missing. My first instinct was to chase down the maid and ask if she took it. Her answer amounted to "Trash can,only"). I got the housekeeper in. She was one of the former Scandanavian stewardeses who have been promoted to oversee the new staff. The maid kept insisting to her she had not taken it and the housekeeper stressed to us that the maids are to take nothing that is not in the can. She suggested we may have already packed all this stuff. So....we started going through our already packed luggage. The housekeeper offered to go down and check the trash,just in case. A while later she was at the door and sheepishly handed me a pile consisting of a soggy book,some brochures and a few bent postcards. She said she thinks she saw the rest of my stuff,but it was too mixed in with "old fruit" and other wet garbage for me to want back. She apologized and when I asked if they could at least replace my week's worth of "Passages" (the nightly newsletter) so I would have some record of my cruise,she said she would try. This morning,I was told they no longer have any copies of them and the publisher has erased them from the computer.

 

My point,again...If I want to spend a week with a shy,non-english speaking cabin attendant who throws out my personal stuff and lies about it to me and her boss,I can book on one of the floating Motel 6's that I'm trying to avoid with Radisson. PS. I do feel badly for the maid. They said she has been on the job only a few weeks. I guess she was scared to admit throwing out my stuff when she realized what she had done,and was even moe afraid of admitting it to her boss. Now that she was caught in the lie and caused the housekeeper to go dumpster diving,I suspect she didn't sleep well last night. I do feel very sorry about that and tried not to make too much a a federal case about the incident.

 

Except for the "disposal" incident, it sounds as if you had a wonderful cruise. Our first Rad cruiser will be in January.

 

I want to go on record that in about 20 cruises on various mass-market lines (most on Holland America) we have NEVER had anything taken or thrown away from our cabin that we didn't want to get rid of. And I, like you, always collect a lot of memorabila.

 

I'm glad you got some of it back and it appears to be an isolated event due to new, inexperienced help who probably thought she was doing a good thing.