Mariner Los Angeles to Miami - live comments 9/30-10/15/19

[JC in CA]

Hello,

There are a few of us on the Mariner now (Sept 30-Oct 15) - perhaps we can all contribute to a live report.

 

This is our 1st cruise and so far we are quite impressed! We are in a concierge G - so had included air, hotel and transports.  San Francisco is the Regent airport closest to us - but we wanted to go out of San Jose. Our TA put in a request for deviation- it ended up being more cost effective to book our own flights.  

 

Regent uses the Beverly Wiltshire hotel - on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. What a beautiful, grand hotel!  We did not check in until 8 pm. The desk staff was apologetic that they no longer had any king beds - but told us we had been upgraded to a JR suite with 2 doubles. Was ok with us. Amazing room! The bathroom was bigger than my good sized kitchen at home!

 

Breakfast was a buffet with 3 hot dishes, yogurt with toppings, sliced fruit and pastries.  We sat with some great people and have already seen them numerous times on board. Buses were pre assigned and we were on bus 5; I believe a total of 7 buses.  The rep told me that she was expecting 315 people, but the number had dropped to 245. Our boarding time was 11:15-11:30; but they told us to arrive between 11& 11:15.  They were definitely ahead of schedule as we pulled away from the hotel at 11:30. We were driving into the terminal parking lot at 12:15 - it seemed to take forever to drive ALL the way around the lot and finally pull up at the terminal. 

 

We we were given boarding group 11, they had just called group 4. Plenty of seats to wait. We appreciated sitting and having boarding groups rather than standing and waiting. We were walking onto the ship at 1:30. 

 

Lunch was in La Veranda for us.  No lines, hardly anyone there. We had stopped at our cabin before lunch, just as our bags were being delivered.  We wandered around the ship after lunch then back to unpack. We are pleased with the walk in closet and drawers both in the closet and under the tv.

 

The muster drill was well organized. After the safety talk and life preserver de,o, they took everyone out to line up as if we were going to board the lifeboats. We were done a little after 5:30. We went up top for sale away. Lots of canapés were being passed, plenty of beverages available. 

 

Dinner reservations in Chartreuse tonight. The artichoke soup was wonderful as were the scallops and Dover sole. Service was so very warm and welcoming!  Definitely an enjoyable experience!

 

so far, a great start!

 

anyone else want to add on with their experiences so far?

jerie

 

 

[Hambagahle]

Thank you, jerie, for starting this thread and for the great summary of your first day!  Seems to me that boarding took a long time but at least you were sitting comfortably.

 

I have a question - we will be flying SJC to SAN for our March cruise (will have been in the Carmel area for a few days before that).  How is the SJC airport?  We are on Air Alaska...  I have never flown from SJC before but assume it is smaller than SFO.

 

Can't wait to here how the rest goes - have fun!

Gerry

Edited October 1, 2019 by Hambagahle

[RJ2002]

Thanks Jerie. Sounds like you are off to a good start. 
 

Our first Regent cruise was on the Mariner, on a round trip Miami that went down the Amazon, along with many other island stops. Be prepared to be pampered.  

Looking forward to your reports.  

 

Enjoy!

[forgap]

Looking forward to a live thread!  We were on Mariner in March of this year in Asia.  The cabins are somewhat smaller than on the other ships in the fleet but, since this is your first Regent Cruise, you won’t miss that detail!  I love the common spaces on this ship.

 

Enjoy your cruise and thanks for taking us along!  

[mrlevin]

Jerie, we board when you get off; can you post names of CD, Asst CD, Social Hostess, GM, and Orchestra Leader?

 

thanks,

 

Marc

[angie7911922]

Oh my, I love Regent... For me the crew feels genuine, if that makes sense? And who doesn't love being pampered? The price might be a little higher than other cruise lines, but I just love the all included. Different restaurants, open seating, wonderful food. I remember there was one night I really felt like Indian food. Our waiter told me that we could pre-order anything and if it was available they would make it. The next day was a Indian fest! 

I am going to follow these live comments!!

 

Have fun

[sassyw]

5 minutes ago, angie7911922 said:

Oh my, I love Regent... For me the crew feels genuine, if that makes sense? And who doesn't love being pampered? The price might be a little higher than other cruise lines, but I just love the all included. Different restaurants, open seating, wonderful food. I remember there was one night I really felt like Indian food. Our waiter told me that we could pre-order anything and if it was available they would make it. The next day was a Indian fest! 

I am going to follow these live comments!!

 

Have fun

So happy to see positive comments!! We board her in February in Tahiti!

[JC in CA]

1 hour ago, mrlevin said:

names

Marc,

Couldn’t get the quote function to work properly!

Here is what I know

CD is Andy Heath

Assistant CD is John Lidbury

GM is Michael Coghlin

Social Hostess is Tammy Heath

 

no idea on the orchestra director 

 

[JC in CA]

Wow, I forgot how nice it is to be lulled to sleep on a cruise! 

Beautiful day in Ensenada!

Decided to have room service this morning, we have an 8:30 call for our Taste of Mexico excursion, so much easier morning to have breakfast delivered.  We asked for 7-7:30 delivery, it arrived about 7:10. 

Off for our excursion soon!

[mrlevin]

Jerie, thanks!  With Michael as GM, you will have the best trained crew as well as the most courteous GM.

 

have fun!

 

Marc

[ronrick1943]

Really looking forward to hearing what you have to say about your cruise.  We really like and enjoy Regent, hope you have a great cruise and the time to enjoy some relaxing along the way. Enjoy!

[califsealion]

Looking forward to hearing about your trip! 

[UUNetBill]

13 hours ago, JC in CA said:

Hello,

 

This is our 1st cruise and so far we are quite impressed! We are in a concierge G - so had included air, hotel and transports.  San Francisco is the Regent airport closest to us - but we wanted to go out of San Jose. Our TA put in a request for deviation- it ended up being more cost effective to book our own flights.  

 

anyone else want to add on with their experiences so far?

 

jerie

Jerie, thanks for the write-up, it makes me that much more eager for January to get here so we can sail on Explorer again.  Gotta love the Regent experience!

 

It’s been a few years since we sailed on Mariner but I wanted to just try and clarify - if you’re in a Cat G that would be a Deluxe Veranda as opposed to a Concierge.  Concierge is E and above if I’m not mistaken.  Same size, I believe, but without the Concierge amenities (pre-cruise hotel night, espresso maker, etc.) but every category on Regent includes air and transfers if you so choose.  Just wanted to make sure that any new Regent cruisers were aware what all is included regardless of cabin.

 

And you’re 100% correct that between paying the deviation fee of $175/pp and the round trip fare for a non-gateway city ($249/pp if I’m not mistaken) it’s most often less expensive to book your own air, even if you lose your included transfers.

 

Anyhow, thank you for taking the time to post about your trip...I look forward to traveling vicariously through you!!  Have a great cruise!

Edited October 1, 2019 by UUNetBill
Corrected an autocorrect....sheesh...

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

Enjoy your first Regent cruise. You will never look back and will become a Regent cheerleader. Thanks for the blog. 

Sheila

[JC in CA]

50 minutes ago, UUNetBill said:

 

 

It’s been a few years since we sailed on Mariner but I wanted to just try and clarify - if you’re in a Cat G that would be a Deluxe Veranda as opposed to a Concierge.  Concierge is E and above if I’m not mistaken.  Same size, I believe, but without the Concierge amenities (pre-cruise hotel night, espresso maker, etc.) but every category on Regent includes air and transfers if you so choose.  Just wanted to make sure that any new Regent cruisers were aware what all is included regardless of cabin.

 

 

You are absolutely correct!  We are E!  Typed that when tired....

[JC in CA]

We are just back from our excursion A Taste of Mexico - very enjoyable time there were 33 on our excursion.  We left very promptly, in fact I think we were on our way out of the theatre to the bus a minute or two before our 8:30 meeting time!

 

Tour guide took us to the plaza, where we got off the bus, and she talked about Mexico’s history.  Also pointed out the brand new aquarium that is being built. Then drove around the restaurant/shopping area talking about it before stopping at an opal / silver store.  We heard a bit about Mexico’s opals and then went in to do our “cooking “ actually more assembling!  Learned about different peppers and then we each made our own guacamole, green chicken enchiladas and beef tostada.  Margaritas were for sale at $4 each.  Spent around 1 1/2 hrs there then back to the bus to be driven to the shopping area. Was just 20 minutes left for those who wanted to shop. And back to the ship.  

 

We we met some great people.  We are quickly noticing a difference between Regent and other cruises we have been on (Princess, RCCL, NCL) - passengers are very friendly and willing to chat!

 

All in in all a very enjoyable excursion, minimal time spent on the bus since the location was quite close to the port.  I would recommend this excursion!

[boblerm]

Jerie, 

Thank you for taking the time for posting your impressions of your cruise.  It looks like you are having a great time, continue to enjoy.

Looking forward to following.

Bob

[JMARINER]

8 hours ago, mrlevin said:

Jerie, we board when you get off; can you post names of CD, Asst CD, Social Hostess, GM, and Orchestra Leader?

 

thanks,

 

Marc

I just left the Mariner yesterday. I was told that there is a big staff  turnover in Miami on Oct 15. I believe  that Paul Reynolds is taking over as CD from Andy Heath.

 

J

[zoomerica]

This is for Hambagahle, absolute reply fail lol

 

 

Alaska from SJC is pretty painless...nice choice of local restaurants in the concourse. I have always had good luck out of there.

 

One caveat. smaller town and airport than some of the international giants, but it can get busy at peak times so security can get behind. Other than that, easy access car wise, and the terminal is close to curb, no long walk out to the gates like LAX or something.

Edited October 1, 2019 by zoomerica

[forgap]

Just found out my in-laws once removed (niece’s in laws - so twice removed?) are on this voyage.  If you meet Marsha and Dave, say hello from Jennifer & Georges!  Dave will be drinking good wine and Marsha will be dancing until dawn.  

[angie7911922]

18 hours ago, sassyw said:

So happy to see positive comments!! We board her in February in Tahiti!

 

I love Tahiti! All this talk about this made me looking into Regent cruises once more. I should book again....☺️

[Hambagahle]

17 hours ago, zoomerica said:

This is for Hambagahle, absolute reply fail lol

 

 

Alaska from SJC is pretty painless...nice choice of local restaurants in the concourse. I have always had good luck out of there.

 

One caveat. smaller town and airport than some of the international giants, but it can get busy at peak times so security can get behind. Other than that, easy access car wise, and the terminal is close to curb, no long walk out to the gates like LAX or something.

Thanks so much for this!   Our flight is at 1515 so I hope we won't get stuck in queues at security - I think we need to be there at 1315 for this?  We are in First class and I think (hope?) there is a fast track...   We also have Diners Club cards and they have a lounge at SJC which we plan to use.

[Mjflowers]

On 10/1/2019 at 6:51 AM, angie7911922 said:

Oh my, I love Regent... For me the crew feels genuine, if that makes sense? And who doesn't love being pampered? The price might be a little higher than other cruise lines, but I just love the all included. Different restaurants, open seating, wonderful food. I remember there was one night I really felt like Indian food. Our waiter told me that we could pre-order anything and if it was available they would make it. The next day was a Indian fest! 

I am going to follow these live comments!!

 

Have fun

Also on Mariner now. Have requested a Peking Duck dinner for next week. Was told no problem. Looking forward to that.

[JC in CA]

5 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

fast

 

Sorry - quoting and I are not getting along! 

Yes, SJC has a line for first class through security- was a very pleasant surprise for us!

[SkystheLimit]

We were on the Mariner in July.  Great time.  Make sure you try the chimichurri sauce!  Tried it on fish, beef, chicken, and lamb.  Andy and Tammy were on our cruise also.  Believe they will be doing the world cruise in Jan.  He is a very strict trivia host!  Keep having fun!