Live From The Mariner, Villages of the Amazon, 26 Nov - 21 Dec

TahoeTraveler · December 23, 2016

We are sitting here on our condo patio in Kissimmee, having coffee and watching the crane's saunter around, and so I thought I'd take the time to do a final wrap up of the cruise. I am glad we opted to stay in Florida for another 10 days after the cruise, so I could catch up on my rest from what turned out to be a very busy, and very eventful, 25 day period on the Mariner! Of course, the fact that it is a blistering 8 degrees back home doesn't hurt either.

Disembarkation in Miami was quite easy and fast, but that may have been due to the fact that we were in the last group to leave the ship. It was very strange because we had been told everyone had to be off the ship by 9am, but they didn't even start calling the luggage tag numbers until 8:40. I don't know what the hold up was, unless it was due to so many pieces of luggage having to be offloaded before they could let the passengers begin to disembark. I know I contributed to that problem!

We opted to do a Lyft ride rather than a taxi to the Ft. Lauderdale airport where we picked up our rental car, and that turned out to be a great move. There was an exceptionally long line at the taxi stand, and we got our ride about 2 minutes after we called for it. The total was $31, which was quite a bit less than we were quoted for a cab. So all in all, with the exception emotionally of actually having to leave the Mariner, it was an easy and smooth transition back to terra ferma for us.

And so now for my final thoughts. First and foremost, it was a fantastic cruise, even with all my mishaps. The crew was exceptional, the itinerary was interesting and informative (Terry Breen helped out tremendously in that aspect), and the activities on board were fun and plentiful (perhaps too plentiful sometimes!!!). Our Horizon View suite was beautifully updated, but we did visit friends in one of the regular balcony cabins, and it seemed to have the same decor as when we were first on the Mariner in 2012. It was dark and tired, and I do think Regent needs to modernize all the cabins on the ship. I guess that won't happen until 2018 now.

We really enjoyed our time with Marla, the social hostess...she was funny and personable and seemed to remember everyone's name after just the first meeting. In fact, we are going to recommend to Regent that they make her a cruise director (even though I'm not sure she really wants to do that!). Her singing voice wasn't that great, but her personality more than made up for that. Likewise, Mark, the assistant CD, was great as well. He too was funny and really made the trivia, Liars Club, and bingo events fun and entertaining. As much as we love Lorraine, she really wasn't that visible this cruise (and I'm sorry TravelCat/Jackie, but I never saw her again long enough to ask if she would be on the Mariner next November...but based on my previous conversation with her, I really believe she will be). When she was around, such as on stage after the shows, she was wonderful. It just seemed that Mark and Marla did most of the heavy lifting on this particular cruise. Perhaps Lorraine felt she wasn't needed out front so much with such a great duo of assistants.

We were surprised that they didn't offer a memories DVD for this cruise. I know they were out and about recording things, like the Crossing of the Equator and ice sculpting events, so I can only imagine that some sort of technical difficulties prevented them from offering a DVD. We were rather upset by that, as we were hoping to have so many events from the ship and ashore captured for us. What a shame.

I had my nails done twice at the spa, and the manicurist was super friendly and personable. I didn't have any other spa services so cannot comment on them. Ram, the acupuncturist, never did unexpectedly show up on our balcony or anywhere else, thank goodness!!!

We never took advantage of the laundry services, but we had friends who did, and his underwear came back with blue spots all over them. Not sure what happened there, but we opted to just take care of our laundry ourselves to avoid any problems. I know most people have never had an issue...but given my luck on the cruise, I wasn't willing to take any chances! The pressing service they offered at the beginning of the cruise was great though.

Charlie, the butler, started off so well, but steadily declined as the cruise went on. Little things like opening the door immediately after knocking, failing to restock the fridge with our requested beverages, and removing things from the cabin that he shouldn't have (such as the ice bag I kept in the fridge to ice down my face and foot). Truthfully, I wish we could book the higher cabins and opt whether or not to actually have a butler. We just don't need one, and in fact, prefer not having one.

The Destinations staff were hit or miss. So many times we would go ask them questions about a specific excursion and they would either lie outright (or just not bother to get the correct information), or they were surly and almost rude. I know they work hard behind the scenes to make sure passengers have the best experiences possible when on shore, but that doesn't give them the right to be short with people. I do have to say though that they were the only staff on board anyone seemed to have problems with...all other departments were well represented with their employees.

The medical staff never did follow up with me after either of my accidents. I was a bit surprised by that, especially when Mike went to return the crutches I had been using and the doctor asked him if I was going to see an orthopedic doctor when we got to San Juan. He seemed upset when Mike said no. If he was that concerned, perhaps he should have done a bit of checking up on me himself. But I didn't really care...there were so many nurses and physician assistants on board giving me advice (most of it unsolicited, by the way! Although we became friends with a nurse and her husband who were wonderful in making sure I was getting better) that I figured I was being taken care of elsewhere.

It could have been that it was just that the medical staff was overworked. Seriously, I have never seen so many injuries on a single cruise. The second day into it, we saw a man walking around with his arm in a sling...he had apparently sprained it or something. Then of course I decided to face plant into a rock, which became the talk of the ship (and got even worse when I decided later to break my foot for good measure). There was a girl who got an ear infection, and then had a bad reaction to the medication. Paul (Ka Honu) tripped somewhere and messed up his foot. A woman got stung badly in her leg by a stingray at Alter do Chao, and, even with prompt medical care, it swelled and became infected and had to be drained. But that was nothing compared to the passenger who took the Swim with the Stingrays tour in Antigua and had part of his or her (we never found out who it was) finger bitten off. Took 13 stitches to close that one up. Whew! This wasn't the Love Boat; it was the Disaster Waiting to Happen Boat!!!!

I've already given specifics on the entertainment, so won't rehash it here. Suffice it to say some of the entertainment was excellent, and some was not so good. We became friends with all the JAR dancers and singers, and are very sorry to hear that they will no longer be with Regent once their contract expires in April. In fact, they were all telling me that they don't know where they'll go, because Regent was the last cruise line to use JAR, and now that the NCL production company is taking over, they will no longer have anywhere to go. Because JAR specifically hired tall (they had to be over 5'7''), very thin, blonde girls, and NCL specifically avoids those characteristics, none of the girls think they'll be hired on with any other production companies. I'm sure they can find something else...but I get how they would prefer not to go from the Regent experience to the Carnival one. It's just very sad for them (and for us as well, as we became very fond of them all).

As I've said before, food is so subjective that I won't even comment on it, except to say that I never had a terrible meal, that most were at least good, and that many were exceptional. My weight gain will attest to all that. Mike and I did think, however, that the food all must have been loaded with sodium. Even though we routinely drank at least 4 bottles of water before we even had lunch (we rarely ate breakfast), and then more throughout the day, we found ourselves swelling up and my blood pressure started increasing as well (I carry a portable monitor with me). As soon as we got to the condo and started cooking for ourselves, the swelling stopped. We may have to ask for low sodium options the next time we cruise, although that will take some of the fun out of it, I fear.

On longer cruises (I suppose it could happen on shorter ones as well, although it never has with us before), expect to run out of some of the more popular food and beverage items. They only restock at certain ports, and if the port doesn't have what they need, the passengers are just out of luck. The ship ran out of diet ginger ale about 4 days before the end of the cruise and had we known, we'd have hit the Walgreen's in San Juan to stock up for ourselves. It wasn't a big deal, but Regent apparently now uses Sprite Zero, instead of Diet Sprite, and Sprite Zero is far too sweet to be a good substitution for ginger ale. Luckily they still carry my Caffeine Free Diet Coke...hope that never changes!!

So to sum it all up...was the cruise fantastic? Yes! Did we have a great time? Yes! Did Regent impress once again? Yes! Do we want to cruise with them again? Absolutely, although we've had to cancel the January 2018 cruise from Lima to Buenos Aires because of Mike's job (it appears he got into trouble for being on this cruise for so long, even though it was approved months ago, and we're not even sure he's going to HAVE a job next year. Wouldn't surprise me one bit if one of two things...or both...happened before this year from hell for me ends. Either Mike will get canned, or we will come home to find a water pipe burst in our house because of the sub-freezing temperatures and our house will be flooded...or both. Sigh). Would we do the Amazon again? No. Been there, done that, got the black eye and broken foot. It was interesting, and well worth one visit. But for us, there wasn't enough there to go back to see, and there are too many other places in the world that we haven't visited to make us want to repeat a trip there. Again, this is just us. We are very, very glad we did it, and we've got some great stories and pictures to share (pictures will hopefully be forthcoming if I can ever figure out this "security token" error I keep getting with Cruise Critic when I try to post them). But other locations are in our future, and we hope to meet up with more great CCers when we visit them.

Thanks to all of you for reading, commenting, and going on the journey with us. It was a blast!!!

Edited December 23, 2016 by TahoeTraveler

liptastic · December 23, 2016

Tammi,

Thanks for all the posts and also taking the time on your rest time now to summarise it all. You've had some journey for sure. Marla was hostess on our cruise on Mariner end of August she is really good at her job. Surprised to hear Charlie didn't keep to his usual standards, we found him to be excellent as our butler but that was quite some years ago.

You both deserve a rest now after such a busy hectic cruise. Thanks for all the informative posts and a very merry Xmas to you and Mike. Jean.

Travelcat2 · December 23, 2016

Glad to hear that you are resting and enjoying your time in Florida. As I'm sure you have seen on the news, now is not the time to be flying. Being from Southern California and knowing how much they need rain, it was surprising to learn that flights were delayed due to rain.

Your comments and observations are most interesting. I do feel badly for the JAR group - I enjoyed some of their shows and do not enjoy NCL more or less than JAR (but do like the many things about the shows themselves with JAR over NCL).

In terms of a butler, we have asked to have our butler changed a couple of times which made a difference. In the future you could ask to not have a butler. On our recent Explorer cruise, we had a butler for 2 weeks and no butler for 2 weeks. I must admit that having the butler show up a couple of times a day to freshen our fruit, chips, nuts, etc. was nice. We don't utilize butlers much but like the fact that they are there.

Thank you for even thinking of me and my question about Lorraine. I really like Lorraine but feel that she needs to be more visible (especially with the return of John Barron who seems to be everywhere all of the time). I asked about her because Paul Reynolds (also returning to Regent - in January) could change some of the schedules around.

Don't know what to say about all of the injuries that occurred during your cruise. Thankfully everyone will recover (except the person who lost the tip of the finger - what an awful thing to happen). I'm sure that resting your foot for 10 days is also very helpful.

The food issue is also of particular interest since we have heard about how difficult it is to get supplies -not only in the Amazon but in Brazil in general. I think I'll put a request in to Regent to carry diet 7-up on our cruise as we don't care for Sprite. Apparently if you ask far enough in advance, they can accommodate most requests.

I want to add my thanks to the other ones -- all of us really appreciated your taking us with you on your amazing cruise!

P.S. We get more error messages on the Cruise Critic website than on any other site that I visit!

Edited December 23, 2016 by Travelcat2

Mr Rumor · December 23, 2016

That was some journey you took us on, Tami--thank you! You're a terrific writer/reporter, and I love your energy, great attitude and candor. Wishing you and Mike wonderful holidays and a healthy, happy (and mishap-free!) 2017.

Rich

Wendy The Wanderer · December 23, 2016

Well I hope the standard cabins aren't too tired. We board in three and a half weeks, but have an H GTY, so we won't know what kind of cabin probably until we board (never done that before!)

I like the idea of having the butler be optional in the larger cabins. We have had one a few times, on Voyager, the PG and Oceania Riviera, and I can honestly say that we don't get much out of them. Okay, yes, on Voyager he was very nice and not intrusive, on the PG too. On Riviera it was a horror show--fawning on us and trying to ensure a good review. On balance I'd rather do without.

I guess if you don't want a butler, you can just tell him to go away.

Edited December 23, 2016 by Wendy The Wanderer

RustyRollock · December 23, 2016

We've had butlers (not just on Regent) who didn't really add to the experience. If we need "nibbles" we order them from room service anyway and we can open our own wine thanks! Maybe butlers are "monopolised" by more demanding pax but getting anything organised is usually quicker and more efficient if we do it ourselves. Or maybe we're more low maintenance than some. It just feels awkward almost thinking up things for a butler to do that we can't do ourselves. We'd certainly Opt Out of a butler service if possible - it just seems unnecessary and, yes, a bit pretentious?

flossie009 · December 24, 2016

Glad to hear that you still enjoyed your cruise, despite all the various issues that occurred

Creepy chicken wire man is still there, and it's funny that you mentioned that, as Mike commented early on in the cruise how very weird that headless looking thing was, while we headed up the elevator to the Observation Lounge one day. I honestly do not know what Regent is thinking.

I seem to remember FDR saying on these Boards about 2 years ago that he had arranged to have the chicken-wire 'bodies' removed......................he obviously has had other priorities since then ;)

Great comments. Just for your information and others onboard the Mariner, an announcement has been made about the delayed refurbishment. The place where the work was to be done was hit by Hurricane Matthew and it was no longer viable (no place for the 1,400 - 1,800 workers that they need to be housed). To play it safe, the Mariner will be refurbished in the spring of 2018 - in Europe. It is sad for the people that lost their homes and some lost their lives in Hurricane Matthew.

Sorry, I must have missed that announcement; where & when was it published?

Travelcat2 · December 24, 2016

I seem to remember FDR saying on these Boards about 2 years ago that he had arranged to have the chicken-wire 'bodies' removed......................he obviously has had other priorities since then ;)

Sorry, I must have missed that announcement; where & when was it published?

TA's forward announcements and anything else relative to Regent to their clients.

You hit the nail on the head regarding FDR!

flossie009 · December 24, 2016

Interesting..................we did not receive any announcement from our TA or from Regent UK regarding the postponement of Mariner's refurbishment, or the reasons for the postponement

We only know the refurb is not until 2018 from info posted on these CC Boards.

Do you happen to know why Regent also chose to move the refurb from North America/Caribbean to Europe with the consequent itinerary disruptions? Surely the dockyard originally chosen would have been repaired 18 months after the hurricane damage?

KashmirMyst · December 24, 2016

Thanks for posting about this cruise - I'm really enjoying your reports. Fwiw, my husband always asks what the price would be if we arranged our own transportation to the port. For this cruise, he saved us several thousand $$ (much more than even first class fares from SC to Miami via Atlanta!). Depending on the logistics, this might be worth checking.

KashmirMyst · December 24, 2016

So sorry about your accidents. I'm sure you coped as well as anyone could - will continue reading your wonderful descriptions. Your review of Boca de Valeria was right on: absolutely a show for the tourists, and the way they treat animals is deplorabe. However, this show is a source of real income for the "villagers." The guide on one of our tours (maybe Santarem) told us that the mininum wage in Brazil is about $3000/yr. If each of us took only one or two $1 photos, that would be over $1000 for just our visit. Multiply by the number of cruise ships that go there . . .

rallydave · December 24, 2016

Do you happen to know why Regent also chose to move the refurb from North America/Caribbean to Europe with the consequent itinerary disruptions? Surely the dockyard originally chosen would have been repaired 18 months after the hurricane damage?

$$$

Travelcat2 · December 24, 2016

Interesting..................we did not receive any announcement from our TA or from Regent UK regarding the postponement of Mariner's refurbishment, or the reasons for the postponement
We only know the refurb is not until 2018 from info posted on these CC Boards.

Do you happen to know why Regent also chose to move the refurb from North America/Caribbean to Europe with the consequent itinerary disruptions? Surely the dockyard originally chosen would have been repaired 18 months after the hurricane damage?

I don't know for sure but do know that the Caribbean gets deadly hurricanes just about every year. While it will be much more costly to have the refurbishment done in Europe, Regent won't have to worry about the difficult weather in the Caribbean. I did speak to someone from corporate when they visited the Explorer (we were docked next to the Voyager last month - there were several executives onboard for the special cruise). It sounds as if Regent is as unhappy as the passengers are about the delayed refurbishment.

KashmirMyst - if you post what cruise you are on (date/ship), I'll let you know what the air credit would be (probably not too much since it is a domestic flight).

Edited December 24, 2016 by Travelcat2

TahoeTraveler · December 25, 2016

Thanks for posting about this cruise - I'm really enjoying your reports. Fwiw, my husband always asks what the price would be if we arranged our own transportation to the port. For this cruise, he saved us several thousand $$ (much more than even first class fares from SC to Miami via Atlanta!). Depending on the logistics, this might be worth checking.

We always book our own air, even if it costs us more. Only Delta, United, and American fly out of Reno, and United is unbelievably unreliable from there. American always forces us to fly through DFW, and Mike cannot do that flight in regular coach due to a medical condition. With our status with Delta, we not only get free luggage, but Mike also gets upgraded to seats with more legroom. Since Regent goes with the most convenient carrier for them, which is typically not Delta, we just opt to do our own arrangements. It may cost more, but the convenience and ability to control our own travel is worth it to us.

IndiTravler · December 25, 2016

Tami

Thanks so very much for taking the time to provide a blog of your trip. I'm one of the folks on the May version of the trip. I was too busy with my own trip to comment during yours (or on my roll call), but I'll taken a bunch of notes.

Hope you you heal quickly and may 2017 be a much better year for you and your husband than 2016 was.

-Indi

TahoeTraveler · January 6, 2017

We have finally gotten home and are playing catch up after being gone for a month and a half. Turns out the break in my foot was an actual displaced break, not a hairline fracture as we originally thought, so I am now on crutches and wearing a boot, and hoping it heals properly. If not, I guess they'll have to re-break it and start all over again. Since I really can't do much else, I'm on my computer now, trying to catch up on all my paperwork, which includes trying to figure out why I couldn't post any pictures of the cruise while on board. I'm starting out small...with a couple of pictures of one of those ugly inflatable heads I mentioned before as Regent's idea of "art." Hopefully you'll find them as humorous as I did!!!

Travelcat2 · January 6, 2017

We have finally gotten home and are playing catch up after being gone for a month and a half. Turns out the break in my foot was an actual displaced break, not a hairline fracture as we originally thought, so I am now on crutches and wearing a boot, and hoping it heals properly. If not, I guess they'll have to re-break it and start all over again. Since I really can't do much else, I'm on my computer now, trying to catch up on all my paperwork, which includes trying to figure out why I couldn't post any pictures of the cruise while on board. I'm starting out small...with a couple of pictures of one of those ugly inflatable heads I mentioned before as Regent's idea of "art." Hopefully you'll find them as humorous as I did!!!

I find it extremely upsetting that your foot fracture was misdiagnosed. If your insurance didn't cover it, I would go to Regent for reimbursement as the doctor may have made the situation worse. Truly hope that you don't have to have surgery.

In terms of the artwork on board the ships, I do try to understand them and am sometimes successful. While they are not my taste, I know that Frank Del Rio selects all of the artwork and he has an "eye" for what works. I don't always agree with him but have learned to appreciate the art even though I wouldn't necessarily want it in my home.

Looking forward to more photos.

Be well!

TahoeTraveler · January 6, 2017

I find it extremely upsetting that your foot fracture was misdiagnosed. If your insurance didn't cover it, I would go to Regent for reimbursement as the doctor may have made the situation worse. Truly hope that you don't have to have surgery.

In terms of the artwork on board the ships, I do try to understand them and am sometimes successful. While they are not my taste, I know that Frank Del Rio selects all of the artwork and he has an "eye" for what works. I don't always agree with him but have learned to appreciate the art even though I wouldn't necessarily want it in my home.

Looking forward to more photos.

Be well!

The ship's doctor didn't charge me for the x-rays or his services, and to be honest, he did want me to go see someone as soon as we got back to "civilization." He actually asked Mike if I was going to see someone when we got to Puerto Rico but I honestly wanted to wait until we got back home, so I would have continuity of care. So, I knew that it probably would be partially closed when I finally got to the ortho in Reno. He seemed to not be too concerned, but did say that if I still had pain after a few more weeks, they might have to relook at it. I don't think they would have done anything more had I gone right after the accident...but at least they would have had the boot to give me (I was surprised that the ship didn't have any on hand, given the number of falling incidents that must happen on board). We've got great insurance through our military retirement, so I'm not too bothered...after all, it was completely my fault that I'm obviously such a klutz! And just being in the boot and off it for a couple of days has made it feel a lot better, so I'm very hopeful it will heal properly and all will be well.

And even if I liked that art, I wouldn't have a place for it anywhere in my house...those things were huge!!!!

Edited January 6, 2017 by TahoeTraveler

1982CruzStart · January 6, 2017

Thanks again for all the time you took. i hope that 2017 is the best year ever for you. It is so refreshing to read about someone that doesn't want to blame others for what has gone wrong. Not that i excuse an incomplete diagnosis but it is nice when we take some responsibility in what happened. You are a rock star.

I love your outlook on life. i am sure it serves you well. All the best in your recovery.

TahoeTraveler · January 12, 2017

I have to apologize again for not getting any pictures posted yet. It is definitely on my to-do list, but I'm having a hard time getting around to that list. If anyone has watched the news, you may have seen the stories about the tremendous flooding we have been dealing with in Reno and Northern Nevada...now the creeks and rivers are going down a bit (not much, but at least they are back within their banks), we are suffering through blizzard conditions! We were without electricity for hours yesterday and the day before, and are just hunkering down now trying to keep warm. It's been nuts! What a change from the Amazon!!

Anyway, will get to those pictures ASAP.

Lalalucy · January 12, 2017

Hope your weather improves! Take care and be safe. Thanks again for your detailed report on your Amazon cruise!

Sent from my iPad using Forums

TahoeTraveler · January 12, 2017

Sorry for the small photos...still cannot figure out how to make them bigger on Cruise Critic (they won't allow larger photos to be uploaded, and they automatically minimize them even when they're within their size guidelines).