FOOD - Live from the Mariner - April 2 - 20

[RachelG]

You can definitely request no dressing or dressing on the side. I usually do it this way.

[Techno123]

Many thanks, RachelG

[Travelcat2]

First morning on the Mariner has been slow. Just sent a photo of our Swedish pancakes to computerworks. We had breakfast in Compass Rose as it is quiet and calm there. Service was on the slow side which wasn't a problem today since we are at sea but would have been if we were going on an excursion and had a time limit. The pancakes were good but the toast was cold and hard. Just telling it like it is.

 

Computer room is packed. Between the passengers with included internet due to their Seven Seas Society status and passengers that get a certain number of hours "free" internet, there are not enough computers. This was also an issue on the Voyager. While most of us have iPads, Kindles, etc., there is nothing better or easier to use than a computer with a keyboard (IMO)

 

Being the second night at sea, tonight is the Captain's Reception. I look forward to seeing the Captain. He gave more information than we have heard from Captains in the past (unfortunately it was when we were standing outside during muster). We learned from him that the ship cannot put their stabilizers out until the Pilot h as left. For us, this meant us really feeling the waves for a while. Once the stabilizers were put out, the "ride" has been very smooth! More about the menu and Captain's Reception later.

 

In response to a post above, let me clarify my comment about the children on board. Firstly, I understand that this is "Spring Break", however this is an 18 night cruise that will not end until April 20th -- quite a while after school is in session. It is possible that these children are home schooled. My point was about taking children on a luxury cruise line when they are the only children on board. They are very well behaved -- I just feel a bit sorry for them.

 

Scallops can definitely be rubbery when cooked "well done". However, a really good chef can prepare them cooked through while keeping them moist and tender (we obviously have a excellent chef on the seafood station).

 

Brief correction regarding the Delta lounge. When you to go their "luxury bar", all you see is a list of drinks and prices so I assumed that they did not offer complimentary drinks. In Atlanta I learned that domestic beer, their house wines and some cocktails are complimentary (2 per person). Still feel that the Delta Lounge is poor. FYI, for people with "branded" Amex Platinum cards, if you are in an airport where there is a "Centurion Lounge", they are amazing lounges and include a facial or massage, etc. Unfortunately, Atlanta does not have this lounge but Seattle's is under construction (so far only a few airports - check the airports out on the Amex website by Googling "Centurion Lounge).

 

Lunch today will be at Compass Rose. My DH goes up to La Veranda to prepare his salad and will join me in CR. I'll try to talk him into taking some photos of today's offerings in LV.

 

When I find Franck Galzy in his office, I'll ask for the complimentary wine list and will learn more about the coffee. That it is for now.

[Linda VH]

I agree with you about feeling sorry for the children. We were on the QMII in the Caribbean and saw two girls (early teens or preteen). I asked them if they were having a good time or were they bored being the only "kids". They said they liked the cruise but yes it was pretty boring having no other kids.

[computerworks]

Just sent a photo of our Swedish pancakes to computerworks.

 

Nothing has arrived today.

[computerworks]

"...Swedish pancakes."

 



 

"...No name dessert (sorry)."

 

[Travelcat2]

computerworks: Sorry - I am a dismal failure today. Jet lag hit and it seemed that I was taking pictures of everything but the food (meaning that I accidentally took a picture of a glass, the tablecloth, my lap, etc.) However, I will describe our food. My DH went to La Veranda to make his salad. Note to Techno123...... unlike Oceania, your help yourself on Regent. I know that it isn't as sanitary, etc. but that is the way it is. Anyway, he brought his salad down to Compass Rose and ate only that and soup. I had a shrimp with octopus salad and spaghetti Bolognese (boring to some people but great for me). There was a BBQ on the pool deck that I neglected to photograph.

 

We had dinner with Franck Galzy and the Executive Concierge, Connie. I do not mention this to brag........ we have known Franck for a few years so this was not "special treatment" but rather friends catching up with each other. There was another lovely couple at the table who also know Franck (and Connie) and have taken many Regent cruises. Dinner was fun - lots of laughs but no pictures. Since NCL bought Regent, the Captain, G.M. and Cruise Director can no longer have even a sip of wine. Being French, wine is like milk to many of us. Anyway, Franck follows rules (and never drank more than a glass of wine - even when it was allowed).

 

The cheese soufflet (miserably misspelled -- I can't look up words on this computer) was amazing. The caviar appetizer was also great as was the onion soup. My DH and I found the steamed lobster on a bed of risotto disappointing. The "destination dish" was grouper and it was reported to be excellent. For this particular meal, Oceania receives a point for lobster (not surprising as Oceania has lobster everywhere).

 

A few comments about our suite (Seven Seas Aft). I have mentioned before that the Voyager is our favorite ship. Part of the reason is the regular suites, PH suites, etc. On the Mariner, the regular suites are smaller, the closets are smaller and the safes fit a wallet and money -- very small. So, although our suite is beautiful -- very large living room and a 1/2 bath in addition to the regular bath, I wonder what the designer was thinking. From the bedroom, you walk through a too small closet to get to the bathroom that is also too small (however, we have the wonderful sit-down shower - no complaints there). The balcony is wonderful because you get not only a rear view but a side view as well. My fear of noise from Horizons Lounge below was unfounded (no noise). And, if there is smoke wafting up from outside of Horizons Lounge, it would be on the port side and we are on the starboard side. I can now breathe a sigh of relief because our next two cruises are in the same suite. In terms of the Mariner, I highly recommend the PH suites which are more affordable than the one we are in (my DH just insists on the 1/2 bath..... wonder if that means that I am a bathroom hog:confused:)

 

The Meet and Greet this morning was one of the best we have attended. Although small, the people were lovely and we hope to spend more time with them. Linda (mudhen) -- could not get into the Observation Lounge tonight as there was a private party. Apparently the children we have seen are part of a large group (guessing 20-30 people) that had a wedding on board today. We went to the Mariner lounge where we met lovely people at the bar (not quite as lovely as you and John;))

 

It seems that I have so much to say when I am not in the computer room but go blank when I get here. Went to the "new" Jean Ann Ryan show tonight. Sorry- but although they are very talented, the selection of music was not to our taste. We briefly spoke to William Ames (Cruise Director) and he will be repeating the show he did last week. Apparently when you are in Brazil you must have a visa to work in Brazil. Willie has one while the while the Jean Ann Ryan singers do not. I learn something new every day.

 

Oh -- there was apparently a wait of approximately 1 1/2 hours to get on board yesterday. Regent booked too many rooms at the Sheraton (which, despite previous negative reports was enjoyed by everyone we have spoken with). The buses paid no attention to the times they should be delivering passengers to the ship so a few hundred arrived at the same time. The G.M. apologized for this at the Captain's Reception. We are happy that we arrived directly from the airport at noon and only had to wait a couple of minutes. After visiting Rio three or so years ago, we wondered how they would ever be able to hold the Olympics there. After visiting Rio this past week, the question is still in people's minds. Tours included pointing out things that were suppose to be done in time for World Cup and still are not even close to being done.

 

In terms of the holidays, there is a special Passover dinner as well as special festivities for Easter. The G.M. and C.D. are working on getting passengers to a church service on "Easter" (note: we leave the port early so the arrangements may be tricky).

 

Okay - enough rambling. There is just a lot going on. Sorry again for typos and misspellings. IMO, it is more important to post than to be perfect.

 

Promise photos tomorrow!

Edited April 4, 2015 by Travelcat2

[Travelcat2]

Sent photos of breakfast in La Veranda this morning. One negative comment was the temperature of the hot food. Eggs prepared perfectly. Service excellent!

 

Franck Galzy, G.M. has verified that the coffee used in the machines on Regent is identical to the coffee used on Oceania. I also verified this by looking at the canister in the Coffee Connection. We have also seen the coffee canisters on the Riviera - both Illy "Espresso". From what I can tell, it is the machines that are different. There is something different about the coffee served in the morning in La Veranda. Still need to figure that out. One solution to getting decent morning coffee in La Veranda is to order the "Double Americano" which requires the server to use coffee from the machine.

 

Next - the included wine list. Under each title will be the name of the grape, country and name of wine.

 

Compass Rose White

Pinot Grigio, USA, Trinity Oaks

Chardonnay Avant, USA, Kendall Jackson Avant

Frascati, Italy, Frascati Candida

Sauvignon Blanc, Chile, Tributo Calettera

Macabeo, Chardonnay, Spain, Bodegas Castano Alicante DO

Chardonnay, Australia, Jackaroo

Grechetto/Procanico/Verdello Canaiolo Bianco, Italy, Rulffino Orvietto Classico

Insolio, Italy Insolio Corvo

Chardonnay, France, Macon-Lugny Saint Pierre

 

Compass Rose Red

Cabernet Sauvignon, Chile, Santa Gloria Cabernet Reserve

Shiraz, Australia, Weighbridge by Peter Iehmann

Pinot Noir, Canada, Backhouse

Zinfandel, USA, Cline Ancient

Merlot, USA, Paso Robles Passo Creek

Cabernet Sauvignon, USA, Hess Select

Malbec/Syrah/Merlot, Chile, Etnico L.E. Reserve

Nero D'Avoio, Italy, Nero D'Avolo Corvo

Syrah, Grenache and Carignan, France, M. Chapoutier Bila-Huat

 

Going to post so I don't lose this and will continue below.

[Travelcat2]

Included wines continued:

 

Signatures (Mariner and Voyager)

Pouilly Fuisse, France, Laboure

Sanceer, France, Le rand Buis

Merlot, Cabernet sauvignon, Petit Verdot, France, Chateau Haut-Bourcier CV Bordeaux

Chateau Neuf de Pape, France, Les Grama Chais de France

 

La Veranda

Cortese di Gavi, Italy, Principessa Gavia Gavi

Pinot Gris, Italy, Santa Margehrita (think they misspelled this)

Sangiovese, Italy, Placido Chianti

Sangiovese, Italy, Valpolicella Fumanelli

 

Prime 7

Sauvignon Blanc, USA, Rodney Strong

Chardonnay, USA, Hogue Genesis

Cabernet Sauvignon, USA, Paripaso

Meritage, USA, Robert Mondavi Private Selection

 

Champagne

HP Sparkling, France, Bouvet Signature Brut

Sparking Setti Mari, Italy, Prosecco Val Doca

HP Champagne, France, Montaudon

In Suite Champagne, France, Jacquart Brut Mosaique

 

Party Wine

Cabernet Sauvignon, Spain, La Terre

Chardonnay, USA, La Terre

 

Special Wine

Alcohol free Red wine, USA, Ariel Cabernet Sauvignon

Alcohol free White Wine, Ariel Chardonnay

White Zinfandel, USA, Beringer White Zinfandel

Riesling, Germany, Piesporter Riesling Dinhard

 

Additional Wines

Pinot Noir, Chile, Puerto Viejo

Merlot, USA, Murphy-Goode

Pinot Noir, USA, Phanter Creek

[RLK33853]

Thanks for the review - we are looking at changing lines and you are answering questions that we have.

 

My wife for the most part only drinks wine - the list you supplied was excellent. Could you in a future post let me know which beers are included? Also are cocktails like Long Island Ice Tea or Cosmos included?

 

Thanks in advance and have a wonderful cruise.

 

Ray

[Mudhen]

mmmmm! Wine list sounds perfectly fine to me! I think I can survive a few days with those choices...hahaha! It sounds like you've got some great traveling buds. I always love comparing notes with a glass of bubbly in hand after a long, hard, day.....giggle! Tough work, but someone's gotta do it! Will be looking forward to more reports. Keep up the good work..haha!

[computerworks]

"...Cheese souffle from last night."

 

[computerworks]

Breakfast - La Veranda

 

"...Juice."

 



 

 

"...Muffins/pastries - La Veranda."

 



 

"...Cereals - LV."

 



 

"...Misc."

 

[computerworks]

"...Some hot items."

 



 

"...Smoked, meat."

 



 

"...Fresh fruit."

 



 

"...Egg station (remember your table number:-)"

 

[computerworks]

Lunch...

 

"...Items from Brazillian BBQ."

 



 

"...BBQ."

 



 



 

"...Lamb chops outside BBQ."

 

[computerworks]

"...Pork on BBQ."

 



 

"...Beef."

 



 

"...Sausage."

 

Edited April 4, 2015 by computerworks

[cAPS lOCK oN]

Thanks for the review - we are looking at changing lines and you are answering questions that we have.

 

My wife for the most part only drinks wine - the list you supplied was excellent. Could you in a future post let me know which beers are included? Also are cocktails like Long Island Ice Tea or Cosmos included?

 

Thanks in advance and have a wonderful cruise.

 

Ray

On a recent cruise, the beers available were Amstel Light, Becks, Carlsberg, Corona, Grolsch, Guinness, Heineken, Pilsner Unquell, Bud, Bud Light, Coors Light, Miller Lite, Samuel Adams and Sierra Nevada.

 

Any mixed drink is included. Although if you ordered something like a brandy manhattan and requested that it be made with a rare cognac, there'd be an upcharge for that. But who would do that? :) The list of included brands is long and of good quality.

[Travelcat2]

I am not certain if I will be updating the bar list, however, if you do a search on the Regent board for "bar list", you should be able to find it. The beers listed above sound right but will check.

 

The jury is out on La Veranda. Today it felt like I was Oceania...... the items looked much better than they tasted. Disappointing. I ended up with some delicious spaghetti which is my "go to" meal whenever there is nothing I like. Also, this is the first time I have felt the crowds on this ship. People lining up to get into La Veranda -- lining up for ice cream, etc. More on La Veranda in future posts. Tomorrow we will return to CR - especially since they should have some special items for Easter.

 

An interesting note is that items sold on the ship while sailing in Brazilian waters are subject to a 25% surcharge. This means that items you purchase in the boutique, bars (not the included alcohol) or in the spa (not including services) will have a 25% surcharge added to your account. Regent recommends waiting until we are back in international waters to make any large purchases.

 

Someone asked about drinks. You can order just about anything. Most brands of premium alcohol is included. This means vodka like Grey Goose and Chopin, Don Julio or Patron tequila, etc. Again, I have posted the bar list a few times -- it can be found using the search engine.

 

We just docked in Salvador de Bahia (1:00 p.m.). We are here overnight but leave mid-day tomorrow. Due to intense heat and humidity, we are staying onboard today. Tomorrow everything will be closed. If it cools off, we will walk around the city. The port is so much nicer than Rio (IMO and the opinion of guests we have spoken with).

 

Tonight is Prime 7 where I may order a porterhouse steak and my DH plans on having surf and turf (filet mignon and crab legs). You can order steak and lobster if you wish.

[fairbourne]

TC2 - you mentioned the food tastes a lot better than it looks. it doesn't look that great! Especially the buffet. As for the the barbecue food - that's what I would expect to see in the kitchen - those large chafing dishes - not used "in public" for display for guests!

 

I hate when serving utensils are left lying across food! It seems from your photos that you also have to reach across dishes to get to other food too! What a bad layout. And you can see the "grease" marks on the serving utensils. And cross contamination if you look closely enough at the breakfast offerings. ! Yuck, double yuck, yuck!

 

Oh dear, Oceania, is streets ahead in this area, if this is representative of Regent.

 

I'm so disappointed seeing these photo having read and heard such goods things about Regent. And with our first Regent cruise later this year!

Edited April 4, 2015 by fairbourne

[Pam]

She said it looks better than it tastes, so since it doesn't look all that great, the taste must be very lacking. That's not a happy thought.

[fairbourne]

She said it looks better than it tastes, so since it doesn't look all that great, the taste must be very lacking. That's not a happy thought.

 

Oops I mis-read that totally - I guess I read what I wanted (or hoped!) to read! oh heck, that makes it even worse! Thanks - I think! ;) - for pointing this out! :)

[Pies4u]

We are on Mariner's next cruise - Barcelona to Venice.

 

If they present food like some of that to me, I'll send it back! If that is what Regent regard as "six star" food then I'll stick with Cunard, thanks. It looks awful, dreadful presentation, garnish sparse & wilted at that! The breakfast buffet looked, barely, passable - well the jam sekection did.

 

Starting to worry tbh. Cunard Queens Grill is the benchmark that I would rate cruise cuisine & service against. So I'm getting worried about Regent tbh.

[Travelcat2]

Oh my goodness..... what a mess Prime 7 was. For anyone new reading this, I need to say that this is our 20th Regent cruise so we pretty much know what to expect. Nothing in this world is perfect so we know that there are "misses" here and there. We also know that Chef Kelly is wonderful. However, our experience in P-7 tonight was dismal.

 

There will be pictures from computerworks of the dishes we had this evening. The tuna tartar was lovely as was the shrimp. When the soup came, my DH accidentally put a lot of salt instead of pepper into the soup (he kept "grinding" thinking that the pepper wasn't coming out). Unfortunately, it took a long time to get anyone's attention in order for him to reorder the soup. Perhaps this put their timing off (not a good excuse). BTW, my onion soup was okay but the cheese they used to melt over it wasn't right (cheddar and something else). Comparing this to Oceania, they have excellent onion soup in the P-7 equivalent restaurant Polo (however, the onion soup in Jacques did not meet our expectations).

 

My Porterhouse steak was not only cold but was almost impossible to cut and had too much gristle. The two onion rings were also cold. The potatoes looked awful but were hot and tasty. My DH's steak was cooked to perfection (as was mine - forgot to mention that) but was not hot. He ordered surf and turf (the surf being crab legs) The portion was 1 1/4 pieces of crag legs (the largest piece was half the size of what we normally get). He could not get the crab out of the shell (usually it is split in half). Again, no one came by to check on how things were. After a long wait, we were asked how our dinner was and we were 100% honest. I don't recall if this was our server or someone else but he tried to get the crab out of the shell (he did not have the proper tool). He finally managed to get the crab out of one piece but was only able to get shredded pieces out of the other piece. The piece that my DH ate was extremely good. Note: Service by the sommelier (misspelled), Mark, was excellent -- the best part of the meal!

 

I don't know what happened to the lovely chocolates that used to be served after the meal. What they serve now isn't to our taste. We had key lime pie that was okay. We could not wait to get out of there. This has been reported to management already.

 

In response to some of the comments above, agree that the presentation of the BBQ meats out on the pool deck was poor. The pictures were taken early in lunch service and should have been presented better. I did not take many pictures inside of LV or I would have driven computerworks crazy as there is so much food. Inside LV, the serving utensils are not kept inside of the serving dish, however, passengers serve themselves rather than being served by a crew member. While many people dislike this and prefer the way Oceania handles it, we prefer being able to serve ourselves. Many times we use a napkin to hold the handle of the serving pieces for sanitary purposes. In terms of cross contamination, servers generally pay a lot of attention to this. However, the passengers on this cruise act as if they haven't eaten in years -- they appear in large groups and and seem to grab everything in sight.

 

As a reminder of the service and food in the Terrace Cafe on Oceania, we had spaghetti "cooked" in cold water while we waited in a long line to get the cold spaghetti. Unlike Regent, it was not delivered to your table. A server tried to pry open a clam that was not cooked long enough to open (dangerous thing to do). You cannot serve yourself which can be frustrating when you want a certain piece of food or a small (or large) portion. So, as bad as LV was today, I do not find Oceania to be any better.

 

My rant is over for the night. Below is the latest beer list:

 

Amstel Light

Corona

Dos Equis

Estrella (gluten free)

Grolsch

Guinness

Heineken

Heineken Light

Newcastle Brown Ale

Sol

Tiger

 

Tomorrow is Easter -- Happy Easter to all. We look forward to our caviar and champagne breakfast in Compass Rose.

[computerworks]

"...Delicious ice cream and yogurt."

 



 

"...Toppings for ice cream."

 



 

"...Cheese tray."

 

[computerworks]

"...My pasta and wine."

 



 

"...Clam chowder - P-7 (too fishy)."

 



 

"...Onion soup (melting cheddar cheese???????)."

 



 

"...Bread presentation."