Live from ghe Mariner -in Mykonos

[makai 7]

This is our second Regent cruise- our first was on the Navigator. Overall the service is wonderful and the staff are all exceptionally friendly and seem happy.

The food has been very good. We had two dinners in Setti Mari and other than some very chewy chicken we enjoyed them both.

Haven't been to either Prime 7 or signatures yet.

 

The excursions have been somewhat of a letdown. The busses are filled to capacity with 40+ people on board. Too much talking and waiting and not enough actual seeing.

Another problem is the scheduling- breakfast doesn't start until 8am so the only option is room service or buffet. Most tours do not include a meal, but everything is closed except the steambath of the pool grill- with no place cool to sit and eat- when you return to the ship after 2pm.

We cancelled a few tours be pause of this.

 

Ok you cheerleaders -I am ready for the rotten tomatoes to be thrown-

The interior is boring bland throughout. The art is unattractive to ugly. Yes- the Carpets ARE stained and worn and it is not due to the nature of the wool or weave. The ship is overdue for replacement of furnishings and there is quite a bit of rust that needs attention. The balcony furniture is just a couple of chairs- should have 2 chaises instead.

these are just our opinions...overall we are enjoying the ports a d the pampering.

[zorro90068]

This is our second Regent cruise- our first was on the Navigator. Overall the service is wonderful and the staff are all exceptionally friendly and seem happy.

The food has been very good. We had two dinners in Setti Mari and other than some very chewy chicken we enjoyed them both.

Haven't been to either Prime 7 or signatures yet.

 

The excursions have been somewhat of a letdown. The busses are filled to capacity with 40+ people on board. Too much talking and waiting and not enough actual seeing.

Another problem is the scheduling- breakfast doesn't start until 8am so the only option is room service or buffet. Most tours do not include a meal, but everything is closed except the steambath of the pool grill- with no place cool to sit and eat- when you return to the ship after 2pm.

We cancelled a few tours be pause of this.

 

Ok you cheerleaders -I am ready for the rotten tomatoes to be thrown-

The interior is boring bland throughout. The art is unattractive to ugly. Yes- the Carpets ARE stained and worn and it is not due to the nature of the wool or weave. The ship is overdue for replacement of furnishings and there is quite a bit of rust that needs attention. The balcony furniture is just a couple of chairs- should have 2 chaises instead.

these are just our opinions...overall we are enjoying the ports a d the pampering.

 

Thank you for your blunt and candid reporting!...I appreciate it...never been on Regent but about to book Voyager Istanbul-Dubai-Cape Town for late next year. Don't know if I want to be on a tired looking ship paying those rates etc. and an ugly ship with ugly art and BEIGE all over either? YUK..

:( Surprised to hear about the excursions since Regent touts themselves over and over again about them being included etc.

[WesW]

MaKai 7; no rotten tomatoes or green tomatoes, just sincere thanks for your on board reports. Hope the included tour execution goes better as your cruise progresses. Enjoy your Mariner cruise.

[msmillie]

Makai 7, You stated:

"Another problem is the scheduling- breakfast doesn't start until 8am so the only option is room service or buffet. Most tours do not include a meal, but everything is closed except the steambath of the pool grill- with no place cool to sit and eat- when you return to the ship after 2pm.

We cancelled a few tours because of this." I agree this scheduling does not provide adequate service, report it right away. They can open restaurants earlier and stay open later, Angie

[Island Cruiser]

Your observations are spot on! I've seen the same problems happen on Navigator. A rushed breakfast because all the tours are departing at 9:00 and CR closed before most of the tours return. This should not happen. The dining venues should be scheduled to avoid this problem.

[Travelcat2]

No rotten tomatoes -- just comments and suggestions.

 

First, strongly recommend that you immediately walk into the General Manager's office and have a talk with him. We were on the Mariner in March and La Veranda opened early (6:30 a.m.) and stayed open about an hour late to accommodate excursions. There is no reason why this should be occurring. It can and should be fixed!!!!!!!

 

Full buses is a new comment. Typically the buses are not that full. Unfortunately, I have little positive to say about included excursions. My opinion has always been that it is not possible to have up to 700 guests taking excursions every day and have it work well. If 600 passengers go on excursion. it would require 20 buses (assuming 30 persons per bus). If it is a small port and/or there are other ships in port with you, there simply could not be enough buses to accommodate all passengers. This could be one reason why guests are being stuffed into buses.

 

In terms of the quality of excursions, it has been our experience that this is dependent upon the port. Our best excursions have been in the Middle East -- our worst in South America. Excursions are extremely expensive in Europe -- the ones that fit within Regent's budget for "included excursions" (used to be up to $129/person) are limited. Not an excuse for Regent -- simply a reality of the included excursions.

 

I could not agree more that the Mariner needs to be refurbished. She was refurbished 2 years ago isn't scheduled again until next year. For some reason, they are doing the Voyager first (suspect that Regent wants to do some "pod" refurbishment while in dry dock). When the ships go into dry dock, they will finally get rid of the awful carpeting!

 

The interior being bland, etc. is subjective. Regent has always had a country club look to it -- understated elegance. Some of us are perfectly happy with the décor. Furniture was also replaced two years ago -- so were all wall coverings, carpeting, etc.) The artwork comment makes me chuckle:-) Some of the artwork is from Park West -- the company that does auctions on board. A lot of the artwork was selected by CEO, Frank Del Rio. Again, this is subjective. I wasn't able to appreciate the art until we went on the Riviera recently. At first glance, it was just weird. Then I realized that much of it wasn't what it seemed. We ended up really appreciating most of the art on the Riviera. When we board the Mariner again this year, we'll look at the art again and see what we think. In any event, the art on the walls won't make or break the Regent experience for us.

 

You may want to mention the rust to the G.M. This is something that can be worked on either while at sea or when the ship is docked.

 

Appreciate your input and look forward to learning what the G.M. does to correct the dining issue:-)

 

P.S. Just read that there is a new G.M. on the Mariner and that he is really nice. Think he just needs some educating. It sounds like the staff went back to the old ways of opening La Veranda late and closing early (maybe they thought he wouldn't know the difference). Time to educate him:-)

[rallydave]

The problem isn't with La Veranda!! The OP stated the only options were room service and the buffet which is La Veranda. It is Compass Rose that is the issue and as far as I remember, they almost never open before 8 AM except on disembarkation days.

 

La Veranda does open early on early Port days.

 

Think the OP is wanting a sit down served breakfast in Compass Rose on port days and based on the usual small turnout Regent doesn't open Compass Rose early on Port days. Perhaps the GM can open early however, the wait staff works late into the evening and opening early would impact their rest schedule.

 

Hope the OP can get the breakfast they choose on Port days.

[tripperva]

I agree about the Mariner and Voyager tours being a cattle car experience.

A frenzy to start off;then crammed busses;and then a frenzy for meals afterwards.It has been this way for a couple years, and Regent does not

seem to be making any positive changes. We'll be on the Mariner for the 4th time coming up in South America, and I can only hope the tours and furnishings will be improved over today. They are simply not responsive to

these ongoing complaints from regular customers.

[RachelG]

Dave already posted what I was going to say. La veranda is open early, but I guess that is not what the OP is wanting. In my experience, breakfast is perfectly good in la veranda or with room service. The service at breakfast in CR is terribly slow. We just avoid it. You can order up any of the items on offer from room service, which is much better IMO.

 

No excuse for rust. That should be taken care of immediately.

 

As far as furniture on the verandas, it has always been chairs as far as I know. Not sure there would be room on the regular verandas for a couple of chaises.

[Travelcat2]

I agree about the Mariner and Voyager tours being a cattle car experience.

A frenzy to start off;then crammed busses;and then a frenzy for meals afterwards.It has been this way for a couple years, and Regent does not

seem to be making any positive changes. We'll be on the Mariner for the 4th time coming up in South America, and I can only hope the tours and furnishings will be improved over today. They are simply not responsive to

these ongoing complaints from regular customers.

 

I looked at the Mariner schedule for next year..... the most probably dry dock dates would be from April 17 to May 2nd. There is nothing scheduled on the calendar for that period of time.

[wripro]

Maybe Regent should change its marketing to... Relax, cheap excursions included!

[PaulaJK]

Zorro...........

'Included" does not mean quality. Regent has no incentive not to fill buses

and not a heck of a lot of incentive to make the tours riveting as most folks seem to merely love that they are 'included'. There are many posts describing difficulties in waiting/ticketing/lining up/disembarking for the tours but I don't see many posts suggesting that Regent had responded/changed this. Ditto w. keeping food venues open to accommodate going/returning pax. [bTW, Regent is not alone in this...and on a paranoid day I start to wonder if the particular line is attempting to reduce food costs!] I do agree with TC that the OP should speak with the GM to see what can be done to accommodate pax.

[zorro90068]

Zorro...........

'Included" does not mean quality. Regent has no incentive not to fill buses

and not a heck of a lot of incentive to make the tours riveting as most folks seem to merely love that they are 'included'. There are many posts describing difficulties in waiting/ticketing/lining up/disembarking for the tours but I don't see many posts suggesting that Regent had responded/changed this. Ditto w. keeping food venues open to accommodate going/returning pax. [bTW, Regent is not alone in this...and on a paranoid day I start to wonder if the particular line is attempting to reduce food costs!] I do agree with TC that the OP should speak with the GM to see what can be done to accommodate pax.

 

 

Hmmm.....interesting PaulaJK...thank you!

[DavidMjps]

The excursions have been somewhat of a letdown. The busses are filled to capacity with 40+ people on board. Too much talking and waiting and not enough actual seeing.

I wonder if this is to do with the time of year? We did a Med. cruise on the Mariner, in early June, and the excursion buses were never more than half full - typically around 20 people. This was our first ever cruise but we really enjoyed the excursions and found the guides very engaging.

[Travelcat2]

I wonder if this is to do with the time of year? We did a Med. cruise on the Mariner, in early June, and the excursion buses were never more than half full - typically around 20 people. This was our first ever cruise but we really enjoyed the excursions and found the guides very engaging.

 

You are definitely correct. This is the absolute worst time of the year to visit the Med. - both from a crowd and heat perspective. We were sailing in the Med. both this year and last -- in May. One of the tour guides was asked what the area was like in August..... her response was "hell". Unfortunately, not everyone has a choice to avoid the area during the summer.

[zorro90068]

You are definitely correct. This is the absolute worst time of the year to visit the Med. - both from a crowd and heat perspective. We were sailing in the Med. both this year and last -- in May. One of the tour guides was asked what the area was like in August..... her response was "hell". Unfortunately, not everyone has a choice to avoid the area during the summer.

 

 

...and I love the Med at this time of year....heat and sunshine!....

[makai 7]

Here's a bit of clarification - the biggest problem is the return from excursions and only the pool grill or room service for lunch. I did notice that la veranda is now open until 2:30 instead of 2pm- and that is an improvement. You are correct that we would like to have a hot sit down breakfast- for the price of this cruise I want a bit of pampering:)

I am very surprised that Park West is on board considering all the scandals and lawsuits. Art and decor are very subjective and I understand everyone has different tastes. We prefer either a more nautical, asian or tropical style- and it would be nice to have a comfy leather chair to sit in - surprisingly HAL does this better.

I can't say enough positive things about the staff. We purchased an upsell to a penthouse suite and our butler complains that we do not use him enough.

the coffee connection machine has now been repaired (again). We were told it has broken down several times.

The cabin stewardess was doing a rust inventory on our balcony, so they must be planning some repairs.

every meal has been very good. Tonite we dine at prime 7 so we had a lighter lunch LOL.

We know the Med is hot and crowded this time of year but we are still working and have to schedule vacations around major projects. Weather has been fabulous - no complaints.

[makai 7]

I forgot to.mention - I think the tour ticketing and departure process has been very well organised and smooth. The biggest problems have been caused by people who do not know how to - or don't want to follow instructions. They push and shove or stand in the way instead of being patient.

tendering has also been fine - except for people who don't seem to understand that they are on a moving boat.

[tallship]

I looked at the Mariner schedule for next year..... the most probably dry dock dates would be from April 17 to May 2nd. There is nothing scheduled on the calendar for that period of time.

 

I have a cruise booked then...it is still showing available

[Travelcat2]

I have a cruise booked then...it is still showing available

 

You're correct! A Regent website error (in case the website guru is reading this thread). If you look at all of Mariner's itineraries at once, it is missing one in April. Last night I was looking at Mariner April itineraries and saw the one missing from the larger list.

 

Also, you were on the Mariner when we were in March. Do you recall that a new coffee machine was being delivered when we disembarked? If the new one is breaking down, it probably means that they need to get a better machine. When I am on the computer in the hallway, I can see how many people use that machine. It must make 2,000 cups of hot drinks per day (at least).

 

Glad to hear that they are doing a "rust inventory". Regent executives do read these threads and do what they can fix things.

[FPJC03]

As one intelligent cruiser mentioned, JULY and AUGUST are the WORST times to visit the Mediterranean. We are going on Mariner in late October when the weather isn't so oppressively hot, the kids are back at school, the locals are back from summer holiday, and the rates are actually lower than prime summer season.

As to the breakfast situation on port days, I have been on 6 different cruise lines and ALL of them only had buffet service for breakfast. Most passengers simply want a decent breakfast done QUICKLY, not the hour or two for the MDR.

So the crowding on busses would be alleviated if you went after to high season. And the hot temps on board would also be tolerable. My wife retired from teaching a few years ago, so we had to go in summer. But now we can delay that vacation until early fall for a more temperate clime and fewer crowds on board and on land.

[DaveFr]

I don't think the website is or was in error. It has consistently shown a ten-night gap from March 28, 2014 (the end of the Rio to Barcelona TA) and April 7, 2014 (Monte Carlo to Venice). If there is to be a "dry dock" in 2014, it most probably will be during this time period. Of course the Mariner may be chartered instead of "dry docked." There is also a five-night gap between April 27, 2014 and May 2, 2014 which is most likely a charter.

 

I'll be on the Mariner at the end of September so I'll be interested to see what condition she is in. I'll report back then on her condition.

[Travelcat2]

I don't think the website is or was in error. It has consistently shown a ten-night gap from March 28, 2014 (the end of the Rio to Barcelona TA) and April 7, 2014 (Monte Carlo to Venice). If there is to be a "dry dock" in 2014, it most probably will be during this time period. Of course the Mariner may be chartered instead of "dry docked." There is also a five-night gap between April 27, 2014 and May 2, 2014 which is most likely a charter.

 

I'll be on the Mariner at the end of September so I'll be interested to see what condition she is in. I'll report back then on her condition.

 

Just don't look at the carpet:)

[wripro]

The point of a luxury cruise is to offer options. One of those should be breakfast in the MDR.

[Travelcat2]

The point of a luxury cruise is to offer options. One of those should be breakfast in the MDR.

 

Breakfast is offered in Compass Rose at 8:00 a.m. It is also offered in La Veranda and in the pool area early. Out of curiosity, is there a sit down restaurant on Seabourn where guests can finish their breakfast in time for an 8:00 a.m. excursion?