Mariner Review - Papeete to Lima

[findacruise]

Review of Papeete, Tahiti to Lima, Peru 2/14/15 – 3/12/15 Mariner

 

This is lengthy so I am dividing it into sections so you can read only part if you aren’t interested in the entire review. My intent is to share information for someone who has never been on the ship and might like to know a bit about it, as well as those interested in what it might be like after the refurbishment. Of course, I’m also offering my opinions on how we felt about our experience.

 

PRE-CRUISE: We were fortunate to be among those flying in a day early. Because of lack of airline seats, especially in business class, a number of people we spoke to, had to fly in early, one couple 4 days in advance. Regent did not always pick up the tab and there were some upset cruisers. We were on Air France and we very satisfied with our arrangements.

 

Customs took quite awhile, as there were only 2 people working initially. However, as soon as we got our luggage, Regent representatives guided us to the bus and we were quickly on the short ride to the hotel. Check-in was a breeze, keys were ready for us, and all that was required was a credit card. This was at about 7:30 am. Breakfast was even included that extra morning. Nice buffet and very friendly staff.

 

I imagine the Intercontinental Hotel was quite something when it was first built. It is still nice, but showing its age. Our room was at the end of the older part. The room was a nice size and most importantly, the bed very comfortable. As has been written on this board before, the prices are very high, but we knew this. No reason to dwell on the subject.

 

EMBARKATION: As advised upon check-in, we had checked out earlier, so after buffet breakfast we lingered in our room until about 10 minutes before our bus departure. They had spilt up everyone and we departed based upon what deck of the ship we were on. It was a great idea, and kept everyone from arriving at the same time.

 

After filling out our health form, and showing our passports to security, we boarded the ship. Took our glasses of champagne and went to the theater where 7 or more people were waiting to check us in. I think from getting off the bus to heading to La Veranda took all of about 10 minutes. Best embarkation ever for us!

 

OUR SUITE: About a week or so before the cruise we took an upsell to a PH and are very glad we did. Our only caveat was that it must be a shower and not a tub. This was our first time on Mariner, but I had done my reading on CC! Great shower and with some of our rough seas, I was glad for the seat. The bathroom is smaller than on Voyager, but we found it fine – there’s never more than one person in there at a time – and the storage space is ample.

 

The suite was decorated with soft, soothing colors. The sectional and large table work perfectly for having friends in for drinks or eating a meal. Even though the closet seems to have less space than Voyager, we didn’t begin to use all the storage space in the cabin. There is a lot of space at the end of the bed, so we moved the piece of furniture from the end of the bed to the others side of the room to keep from hitting it when rounding the bed corner. This suite seemed to have more mirrors than usual – especially when I didn’t want to see my fuller profile later in the cruise.

 

We also appreciated the extra space with so many sea days. I think the additional charge was worth it for the PH versus the one we had on Voyager.

 

LOUNGES: We all like different things, but overall my favorite was the Mariner Lounge. It feels like someone’s living room. The couches and chairs are comfortable, even for vertically challenged folks. The furniture is arranged in different sized groupings to accommodate conversation. The lighting is pleasant and peaceful and the bar not bright and flashy.

 

The Horizon is a mixture. Opposite the bar is some rather large and deep furniture. If I did not grab one of the pillows to put behind me, I could not sit back comfortably and my feet would not touch the floor. In where the stage and dance floor are, the chairs are the smaller tub type and I had no problem sitting. We spent just one cocktail hour in there, though, as the trio played so loudly and sang off key - it did not make for a pleasant time. Also found service to be the slowest here of any of the lounges we visited.

 

The Observation lounge grew on me over time and time of day. My first encounter was a shock, as it was during the day. It is very white, with some beige thrown in. No one else, except a bar tender was around and it all looked very stark and sterile. However, after going several times more with people around I did enjoy it. Just don’t try to move one of the chairs, unless you are strong! They are grouped nicely and are low lacked. Perfect place for a great view at a sail away.

 

Coffee Connections: A great public area with not only tables and chairs but a long area on the starboard side with lovely couches and tables where they will bring you your favorite beverage and you can read the paper, a book or just chat with friends. I was a daily visitor for a GOOD cup of coffee or cappuccino or both!

 

FOOD & SERVICE: I will start with the usual disclaimer that food is very subjective. We ate 3 times in Signatures, being sent up there one night from Compass Rose because they had openings. There were two menus while we were on board. I was very satisfied with all three meals I had and the service was outstanding all 3 nights. In fact, it almost felt as if they were overstaffed.

 

Unfortunately, Prime 7 was not a winner. We ate there twice and both times my entrée was not good. I did not send it back because I didn’t want to wait and really wouldn’t starve without it. Plus, no one came to ask us how our food was after it was served! When they did come to clear I told them the problem and the response I received was “I will tell the chef.” They seemed to be understaffed both times. No one in our party was excited about either visit.

 

Compass Rose: I was completely satisfied with the food in Compass Rose. Some entrees were even outstanding. Chef Kelly on two occasions prepared a special dinner for our group. It was wonderful. Wine service was prompt. Food service wasn’t always, with some long wait times between courses. But that was the exception, rather than the rule. Still could use some work in that area. Biggest problem, was the longer we waited the more bread I’d consume!!

 

La Veranda: When we were on Voyager I didn’t like that I couldn’t get from one side to the other without going out and back in. After being in La Veranda at breakfast I wish you couldn’t on her! It is a real bottleneck. I think they need to take out that section that they put the rolls etc on if they are gong to have a pass through and make it wider! It was great to see supervision helping out when things got busy – as they usually did. The crew was really hard workers and everyone very friendly. But when it’s busy it is hard to find a table.

 

Sette Marre: We had several enjoyable meals there. The appetizers they brought to the table were good, and the fresh Parmesan cheese yummy. One evening our friends made dinner from the items on the buffet. One night I didn’t even go to the buffet for any antipasto as the entrée was enough for me. Service was always spot on.

 

Pool Grill: This was a delightful area as far as lunch choices. (There is also a very adequate continental breakfast there daily, too.) In addition to ordering off the menu and getting sides from a small buffet, there were a number of special “Grill” days, as we had many lovely weather days (although windy) while at sea. For example, there was Polynesian grill, Asian, South American, seafood, etc. with all the side accompaniments. It could get crowded, but crew was always there helping to find tables and clear quickly and reset.

 

OTHER SERVICE: Our cabin stewardess and steward were outstanding and always on top of things. They caught on to our schedule (or some days lack of one) and were very good at getting the room made up. I swear they can see around corners and knew when we have left even if no one is in the hall! The suite was always spotless and bath in perfect order. Our butler was satisfactory. Not as good as the one we had on Voyager, but not worth complaining about.

 

We initially had air conditioning problems and it took a few days to get them corrected. Our room would not cool down even on the coolest setting with the drapes closed. Finally the engineer got it fixed after it totally turned off one day.

 

Around the ship I found everyone to be friendly and offer help when it looked like you wanted something .

 

Internet service was really pretty good until about the last 3 days at sea when at times you could not get on or it would take 10 minutes for one page to come up. At that point I quit posting on CC or trying to do much other than occasionally read email. I just enjoyed the sea and a book. Not a bad life.

 

ENRICHEMENT LEACTURES: We were very fortunate to have Terry Breen on the cruise and she lectured on Polynesia, Pitcairn Island, Easter Island and Peru. When our stop at Pitcairn was cancelled due to high swells she pulled out an extra lecture on Capt. Cook, part 1. Later she added parts 2&3 on another day as a bonus. She really knows her stuff and is able to talk without notes.

 

With the addition of the Smithsonian Collection on Regent things are unsure about guest lectures in the future. We made our feelings known on our comment cards that Terry Breen needs to remain a part of the Regent family.

 

 

SHORE EXCURSIONS: Even though the cruise was 16 days, there were few stops, hence few excursions. I am not doing each port, as I understand Regent is not doing this itinerary next year. Our excursions in the French Polynesian Islands were very good to excellent, made so by the guides. Bora Bora has the most amazing water I have ever seen! The scenery is amazing and the history of the islands most interesting.

 

Easter Island had been a real drawing card for us. Terry Breen’s lecture was perfect at supplying the background – good thing as we had no guide in our vehicle and she said very little at the two sites we went to. But others chose better excursions and had excellent guides. But it does not diminish how amazing “the most isolated place on earth” is to visit. Thankfully, the ocean had calmed down enough for us to tender in, or we would have been very disappointed. Other tourists who were there had flown in from Chili. It is a place you could spend several days exploring.

 

DISEMBARKATION: Because many flights leave Lima after midnight (ours 1:15 am) we chose to get off the ship the evening we were in port rather than the next morning. There were a number of other people who had done the same thing, many with Regent air and some without. We had done Regent air to Tahiti, but we used some miles, bought our own tickets and upgraded to business/first home. It was significantly less than upgrade from Regent and we could control the timing.

 

That morning they deactivated our suite keys while at breakfast and instead of owning up to it, said oh, it happens all the time, “I can’t believe you made it through the cruise without it happening.” This was after trying to tell me my Kindle had deactivated it. (I hadn’t had my Kindle with me at breakfast!) So we got new keys and went about the day.

 

Later they deactivated our Internet service even though it said it was good through the next day. A call to reception did get it reactivated after about 20 minutes. Guess they wanted us off the ship earlier!

 

 

Airport transfers became the hot topic of discussion the last few days on board. A number of people with Regent air had flights that were earlier or later than might be expected. Again, there appeared to be some difficulty with capacity of business class, times or whatever. I don’t pretend to know all the stories, or both sides. Group transfers were offered only the morning of the end of the cruise. Even if Regent booked you the night before, you were responsibly for getting yourself to the airport. I think there wouldn’t have been such an uproar if the options were better.

 

One choice was to take the port shuttle to the gate and get a cab. The pier is an industrial location not in the best of areas, to say the least. (One gentleman had been solicited that afternoon outside the gate) The warning in Passages was that most cab drivers do not speak English, be sure to negotiate the fare, it will take about 20-30 minutes to get to the airport and the fare is $20-30. And we were all going in the dark around 10 or so at night.

 

The other choice: book a car transfer at a cost of $349! It said it would be big enough for 3 people and 4 bags or something like that. We took the car option (thanks for some left over OBC to throw in), although I felt the price was making Regent some money. We get off the ship and there is a big van with 4 rows of seats, a driver and an escort waiting for the 2 of us! Talk about overkill. Long story short, there were 4 people waiting and worried going to take the shuttle to the gate and cab it, that had been unable to get a car booked. We invited them to ride with us for nothing and told them to pay it forward. What did we need with all that space?

 

My thought – why couldn’t Regent have done the same thing for the passengers who were all leaving about the same time? One of the couples was Platinum. You’d think they’d want to take good care of them.

 

CLOSING THOUGHTS: We enjoyed the Regent experience again and I think that’s all that matters. Not going to argue if it was 5+ stars or 6 or whatever. Some things did not meet my expectations, but in my regular life everything doesn’t meet my expectations. We will continue to choose our cruises based on itinerary and what value we feel we are receiving. I must say we’d love to have stayed on and gone from Lima to Buenos Aires with Terry Breen, so that one is on our list.

 

I did learn that I wouldn’t stay again on the 11th deck when on open seas. 25 knot winds coupled with 18+ knots of speed makes for a bit too much movement for me – not sickness, but trouble sleeping. I probably won’t do a cruise with that many sea days in a row broken up by just one short stop.

 

But I will be somewhere warm next February. Just don’t where yet

[OctoberKat]

Thanks for this informative post!

[Travelcat2]

What a great review - thank you. It was of particular interest since we will be on the Mariner in approx. 3 1/2 weeks. It will be interesting to see if Chef Kelly will still be there. Who was the G.M. on your cruise? I know that whoever it was is leaving on the 22nd and Franck Galzy will be taking over. Any thoughts on the Cruise Director (he is staying on - at least through our cruise)? Terry Breen will be on our cruise as well and I will remember to write a comment about how necessary she is to the Regent Experience.

 

Nice to hear that Signatures was good. We have found that when it is good, it is extremely good but when it is not, it is better not to go there. P-7 seems to be disappointing more often than not. As you said - food is subjective. I know that some people love the steak in P-7 but generally not people from areas of the U.S. where they raise cattle.

 

Could not agree more about the lounges. Our usual haunt is the Observation Lounge but, after the refurbishment we don't care for it as much. As you noted, the chairs in some of the lounges are very low. Low chairs are particularly difficult for people with leg, knee, hip issues. On the other hand, the bar stools in the Observation Lounge felt like baby high chairs.

 

Great description for people that have not been on the ship and even though I sailed on the Mariner since she was refurbished, it is fun to read about her:)

[findacruise]

Thanks TC2 and OctoberCat. I was worried that I expounded too much. Massimo was the F&B on our cruise. The CD was Willie Ames and the assistant is Olivia. I think she is definitely being groomed for CD. She is very nice but walks around in these 5-6 inch stilettos. I don't know how she does it! She did laugh at our second safety drill and told folks she would have on flat shoes in the event of a real emergency.

 

We had some interaction with Willie, having had him on an Oceania cruise. We find him to be very low key and he does not put a lot of drivel on the air ways, which is fine with us. Others may feel differently. He believes that we are all adults and can read our Passages and watch for information on the TV. He does make announcements of changes and pertinent information.

 

TC: IMHO I hope you have a new captain on your Rio leg. JMO, but he wasn't my cup of coffee - that's American speak. (Neither is Mariners', except for the Coffee Connection - had to get a little dig in here.)

 

We saw Chef Kelly almost every day in whatever venue we happened to be eating in. He was going around to tables talking to passengers and looking at their plates to see if they had eaten their food and asking if they liked it. ( Too bad we didn't see him in Prime 7) He was out at the pool grill at lunch seeing if people liked the food. He did a couple of food demos. Very involved.

[Travelcat2]

Thanks so very much for the 'hints'. I contacted Willie Ames on Facebook (I do not know him personally but follow him on Facebook). His wife arrived on the Mariner yesterday and he seems very happy (this makes sense as he is a newlywed:-) Hope we have a new Captain. I still have not gotten over the fact that Oceania took Captain McDreamy (aka Captain McNeil) from Regent. He is the most customer friendly captain that we have ever met and we dearly miss him.

 

I was very interested in reading your review of the Coffee Connection. The Mariner definitely has the best one of the fleet and it is great to hear that their coffee was good. I am still on a mission to learn why the coffee on Regent is not as good (allegedly) as on Oceania. I suspect the "beans" but will know for sure next month. I'll definitely have a discussion about that with Franck Galzy.

 

One of the first things I will report on our April 2nd cruise is whether any of the management has changed as I know this is of interest to some people. Have to admit that I really screwed up on our flights and it was not caught by Regent. Our "final documents" indicate that we arrive in Rio on April 1st and will be taken to the Sheraton. The fact is that I mistakenly booked flights that get us to Rio on April 2nd which makes the hotel stay impossible. (Negative: Regent would not give us the hotel credit.) Even though it was my error, it is obvious that we could not stay in the Sheraton on April 1st if we do not arrive until April 2nd. On the positive side, the Sheraton in Rio gets poor ratings. As long as our three flights are reasonably on time, we'll make it to the ship several hours before departure. All of this reminds me of why I cancelled this cruise three times in the past two years:eek:

[RachelG]

Thanks for the excellent review.

 

We always do our own air and transfers and take the credit. I can tell you that the Lima port is problematic. We had been to Lima before. I knew about the sketchy nature of the port. So I arranged a private transfer for our early morning departure from the ship. Our driver was there, but the port authorities would not allow him to come to the ship. We had to take a shuttle to the entry to the port at 5 am in pitch dark, not knowing if our driver would be there or not. Pretty scary, but our driver was there, trying to argue with the port authorities.

[findacruise]

TC: Loved Capt. McNeil the time we had him. We will be on Oceania Marina in May and I should still remember the Regent coffee and will make my comparison.

 

Correcting a previous error - Massimo was the General Manager. F&B was in my previous thread but haven't gone back to look. Sorry.

 

Found it interesting that with a two room card/game area some people still played cards at the tables in the coffee connection.

 

Rachel: Yes, if I'm ever doing the Lima port again I will know what to expect. Still think the private transfer is over priced. JMO

[Travelcat2]

TC: Loved Capt. McNeil the time we had him. We will be on Oceania Marina in May and I should still remember the Regent coffee and will make my comparison.

 

Correcting a previous error - Massimo was the General Manager. F&B was in my previous thread but haven't gone back to look. Sorry.

 

Found it interesting that with a two room card/game area some people still played cards at the tables in the coffee connection.

 

Rachel: Yes, if I'm ever doing the Lima port again I will know what to expect. Still think the private transfer is over priced. JMO

 

 

Yes - you mentioned that the F&B Mgr. was Donald - another one of our favorites that I hope will still be onboard in April.

 

Was it difficult to get a table in the coffee connection with the card playing people monopolizing them? As you know, the Voyager coffee connection is much smaller so when people play cards/games there, it can be impossible to find a seat. Most of the time I ended up taking the coffee up to our suite.

[Pies4u]

Yes - you mentioned that the F&B Mgr. was Donald - another one of our favorites that I hope will still be onboard in April.

 

Was it difficult to get a table in the coffee connection with the card playing people monopolizing them? As you know, the Voyager coffee connection is much smaller so when people play cards/games there, it can be impossible to find a seat. Most of the time I ended up taking the coffee up to our suite.

 

You are far too tolerant then imo! If I couldn't find a seat because selfish people are playing cards (presumably for extended periods?) in a coffee lounge, thus preventing other guests from enjoying the facility/purpose of the lounge, I would, politely, ask them to, effectively, * "shift their backsides & let somebody else have a go - as they don't own the chairs & tables". If they want to play cards they should be directed to a card room or one of the other lounges where there is more space available, surely?

 

The lack of courtesy to others, of thought/awareness and self indulgent approach that some people have, (similarly staying for hours on end on heated loungers in spa areas etc, when courtesy notices suggest 20mins is the max), never ceases to amaze me.

 

*Anyone venturing on to Mariner for the Barca to Venice rise in April may get to experience that in real time! :)

Edited March 9, 2015 by Pies4u

[Travelcat2]

You are far too tolerant then imo! If I couldn't find a seat because selfish people are playing cards (presumably for extended periods?) in a coffee lounge, thus preventing other guests from enjoying the facility/purpose of the lounge, I would, politely, ask them to, effectively, * "shift their backsides & let somebody else have a go - as they don't own the chairs & tables". If they want to play cards they should be directed to a card room or one of the other lounges where there is more space available, surely?

 

The lack of courtesy to others, of thought/awareness and self indulgent approach that some people have, (similarly staying for hours on end on heated loungers in spa areas etc, when courtesy notices suggest 20mins is the max), never ceases to amaze me.

 

*Anyone venturing on to Mariner for the Barca to Venice rise in April may get to experience that in real time! :)

 

Wish you were on our cruise:) It takes a lot for me to confront anyone. While I am quite strong and opinionated on Cruise Critic, when I'm on vacation, I'm very relaxed. I do think that they have a problem on the Voyager with card and mahjong players (mostly mahjong -- groups set up times to play in the coffee connection). Our Mariner cruise next month has several sea days -- it will be interesting to see how crowded the coffee connection becomes.

[cAPS lOCK oN]

Unfortunately, Prime 7 was not a winner. We ate there twice and both times my entrée was not good. I did not send it back because I didn’t want to wait and really wouldn’t starve without it. Plus, no one came to ask us how our food was after it was served! When they did come to clear I told them the problem and the response I received was “I will tell the chef.” They seemed to be understaffed both times. No one in our party was excited about either visit.

I just don't get it. Our dinner last summer in Voyager's Prime 7 might have been the best meal I've ever had at sea. I had the ribeye, and it was as perfect as a steak could be. And I'm a transplanted Midwesterner that knows good beef.

 

But pretty much nobody else has anything good to say about P7, regardless of which ship we're talking about. Like I said, I just don't get it. But I'm eagerly anticipating my next P7 ribeye this summer; hope I'm not disappointed.

[liptastic]

We had 2 excellent meals in prime 7 on Navigator in October/November just past.

Steaks were perfect, and service excellent. We had no issues whatsoever.

I am sure you will not be disappointed on your future cruise..Have a good holiday,

Jean.

[Mudhen]

Here! Over here!......we've had wonderful experiences in Prime 7 on the Navigator, Voyager and Mariner. I'm a crab leg gal and I've never been disappointed! I actually prefer Prime 7 over Signatures......go figure!

[Caroldoll]

I could not eat in the MDR, too much salt. Who needs menu changes when you can have crab, lobster, steak and prime rib. I love Prime 7!

[Travelcat2]

Not trying to overly bash P-7 but it is the only dining venue when we had to return a dish three times (salmon - not steak). My favorite sashimi in the world is salmon. However, if it is not served raw, it had better be cooked through. P-7 on the Navigator could not get this right. To be fair, this was when P-7 was new to the Navigator and the person that cooked the salmon is probably not the person that will cook yours.

 

We find the steak to be okay (particularly the Porterhouse) but also enjoy steaks in Compass Rose. On our last three cruises, we cancelled almost all of our P-7 and Signatures reservations to dine in Compass Rose. Note: Compass Rose has two dishes on their menu from Signatures (could be one from P-7) every night -- and they change daily.

 

Obviously, food is subjective and your experiences may be totally different than ours.

[findacruise]

Yes - you mentioned that the F&B Mgr. was Donald - another one of our favorites that I hope will still be onboard in April.

 

Was it difficult to get a table in the coffee connection with the card playing people monopolizing them? As you know, the Voyager coffee connection is much smaller so when people play cards/games there, it can be impossible to find a seat. Most of the time I ended up taking the coffee up to our suite.

 

I don't think it became an issue, at least not for me, or when I was there. I usually was going to one of the lovely couches or the adjacent computer area. I tended to prefer the couches, as I wasn't trying to eat anything. (I should really say trying to avoid being near the food :))

[findacruise]

I could not eat in the MDR, too much salt. Who needs menu changes when you can have crab, lobster, steak and prime rib. I love Prime 7!

 

Interesting how things are different from place to place and time to time. Crab legs were one of my inedible dishes in P7. I could not taste the crab legs for all the salt. DH had filet one night in P7 and was not impressed. Several evenings later her tried it in CR and said it was much better. Go figure!

[findacruise]

Wish you were on our cruise:) It takes a lot for me to confront anyone. While I am quite strong and opinionated on Cruise Critic, when I'm on vacation, I'm very relaxed. I do think that they have a problem on the Voyager with card and mahjong players (mostly mahjong -- groups set up times to play in the coffee connection). Our Mariner cruise next month has several sea days -- it will be interesting to see how crowded the coffee connection becomes.

 

The mahjong players on our cruise were at the tables on the starboard side where the chess table is. They did NOT play at the tables in coffee connection...at least not when I was walking through the area or sitting down there. There were other card players there also and the big puzzle.

[Dolebludger]

We were on the same cruise as findacruise, and dined at Prime 7 three or four times. Fortunately, we found the food excellent. However, that does not mean that every meal served there for the 16 nights was good. Sometimes with any restaurant, things just go "off the tracks".

[Travelcat2]

We were on the same cruise as findacruise, and dined at Prime 7 three or four times. Fortunately, we found the food excellent. However, that does not mean that every meal served there for the 16 nights was good. Sometimes with any restaurant, things just go "off the tracks".

 

Haven't seen you on the boards for a long time. Welcome back - hope your cruise was as good as the food :)

[Dolebludger]

The onboard experience was great in all respects for us, and we really liked the shower conversion in our suite compared with the tub-shower situation when we last cruised the Mariner in '04. The condition of the ship was top notch, as was the food and service we had.

 

On the other hand, some off-board experience we had with this cruise were not so good. These include information (and misinformation) from Regent concerning price, credits, and air. We also feel that transportation from airport to ship was not as good as on our Regent cruises from 2002 to 2006. I won't go into detail here about these things so as not to derail this thread.

 

We also find that we don't care for Regents system of including some shore excursions in the price (and increasing price to cover that). Five months out, we found that few excursions were available. When Regent didn't have an excursion in a given port (included or extra cost) we asked for Regent to arrange an excursion with a private operator. Regent used to do that. This time, they said they didn't do that. Once onboard, some excursions were available that couldn't be booked in advance. But we like to plan ahead.

 

Bottom line, once on the ship, everything was excellent. Some of the peripheral matters, however, need some work.

[DeepFreeze63]

My sentiments exactly!

We love the Regent on-board experience. However,as the vacation planner, I detest much of the Regent "backroom" operations. The website frequently contains glaring significant typos and misinformation; I even formally offered to proof-read their stuff. They removed the ability to determine what suites were still available on any given cruise; that was really helpful in decisions. They have always (we've sailed 6 cruises with Regent) done well getting us from the ship to airport but airport to hotel has often been long and arduous. I make these comments considering my much better similar experience with Viking River cruises and recognizing the very high premium prices that Regent requires (at least from some of us apparently).

I've solved most of my problems because we have a super TA who knows the Regent system ("quirks").

Yes, Regent needs to "upgrade" its off-ship operations or I'm going to try elsewhere.

[DaveFr]

They removed the ability to determine what suites were still available on any given cruise; that was really helpful in decisions.

I'm not sure to what you're referring here. I've always been able to determine suite availability by doing a dummy booking up to about seven days before the cruise sails. At that time, online booking is closed. Is close-in booking what you are referring to or is it something else?

[DeepFreeze63]

"I'm not sure to what you're referring here. I've always been able to determine suite availability by doing a dummy booking up to about seven days before the cruise sails. At that time, online booking is closed. Is close-in booking what you are referring to or is it something else? "

Thanks, I never thought of the "dummy" booking! I just tried it and it worked. What I had been referring to was a direct availability link button which was next to the still present link button for a quote.