Booked on Mariner, feeling glum….

[claranda]

I’m feeling  a bit apprehensive about our New York to Montreal cruise on Mariner this September. It’s a whole new route for us, which is exciting, but I keep reading so many negative reviews about Mariner – the backed up toilets, the exaggerated movement, the dismal service and food quality, the dreadful wine – that I feel a bit glum about it.

 

Has anyone out there been on Mariner recently and can confirm or refute these criticisms? We usually sail Seabourn, are having a second go at Viking, and were on an Explorer Caribbean cruise a few years ago  that we thought was…OK.  Should we lower/adjust our expectations to enjoy this old lady?

[mrlevin]

Mariner is still the best ship in the fleet!  Never had any of those issues you mentioned; last time i was on her was last September/October.  Ship is extremely stable.  Service fantastic.  Only food disappointment for us was lack of king crab legs in Prime 7.  I never complain about wine as I always find something I like.  What I would be concerned with is the itinerary if it is too early in September.  

[Catlover54]

4 minutes ago, mrlevin said:

Mariner is still the best ship in the fleet!  Never had any of those issues you mentioned; last time i was on her was last September/October.  Ship is extremely stable.  Service fantastic.  Only food disappointment for us was lack of king crab legs in Prime 7.  I never complain about wine as I always find something I like.  What I would be concerned with is the itinerary if it is too early in September.  

 

Why do you think Mariner is better than Explorer? 

[flossie009]

24 minutes ago, claranda said:

Has anyone out there been on Mariner recently

We were on Mariner in October and had an excellent cruise, with good service, food & wine.

Mariner is one of our favourite ships; the layout of the public areas is excellent and she is a very stable ship.

The only things to consider are the size of suite that you would like and whether you favour shower-only (our preference) or a bathroom with a tub/shower combo (not favoured by many guests).

 

I am sure you will have an enjoyable cruise on Mariner 😎

 

[slidebite]

To be clear a toilet issue can happen on any vessel, it's the nature of plumbing. If one guest flushes something they shouldn't, there is a high chance it can take out the toilets of a whole area of cabins.

 

I haven't been on Mariner for many years, but I have been on Voyager just before Covid. Regent keeps their ships in excellent operating order and condition in my experience. Mrs. and I took a Princess cruise just prior to Covid on a much newer ship and were were shocked by the number of issues they had (out of order elevators, water leaks in various places) - something I have not seen personally witnessed on my few Regent cruises.

 

Regarding food and service, if someone faults Regent food and service, I can't imagine what they would think poor is. Its always been exceptional in my biased opinion.

[mrlevin]

6 minutes ago, Catlover54 said:

 

Why do you think Mariner is better than Explorer? 

Horizon Lounge - dance floor and outside seating.

 

Outside decks adjacent to Observation Lounge so you can go out to take pictures and quickly come back inside.

 

Stars Lounge - additional lounge over all other ships so Mariner Lounge gets to be open relaxed lounge unlike Voyager, Explorer or Splendor Lounges.

 

Best (and original) Coffee Connection

 

I will keep thinking and add more I am sure.

 

Marc

 

PS I have spent 166 nights on Mariner but only 24 on Explorer (least favorite Regent ship) and 43 on Splendor (now my wife's favorite).

 

PPS Even Splendor is a lot better than Explorer as they have addressed a number of design flaws.

Edited February 9, 2023 by mrlevin

[flossie009]

 

18 minutes ago, Catlover54 said:

Why do you think Mariner is better than Explorer? 

 

Marc's list is a good start but let us add

 - Mariner has a theatre where all seats (including on the upper floor) have a good view of the stage. The design of the Explorer theatre auditorium has significant drawbacks

 - Aft elevators/lifts that service all decks (allowing a rear entrance/exit to Compass Rose)

 - Layout of Compass Rose

 - Layout of Pool Deck

 

However, the suites on Explorer are better than Mariner (size, layout, storage & bathrooms), especially in grades D, E & F

 

We like all Regent's ships but each has unique & specific plus points.

 

 

Edited February 9, 2023 by flossie009

[Thundery]

Been on them all. Mariner is still my favourite because of all the above reasons

[GOARMY]

One more voice in this Chorus:  

 

Last on Mariner October-November.  No issues.  As-usual excellent service and food choices. 

Specifically booked a Penthouse (bathroom with shower--not bathtub) and the Suite having over 300 square feet of interior move-around space.  

 

GOARMY!

 

[DeepFreeze63]

Mariner is definitely my favorite (Regent) ship in rough seas. I also LOVE the public areas. My draw back with her is the smaller standard cabins and I will NEVER again take the standard cabin with tub!

[hapzfl]

We are on the Mariner right now on the World Cruise 2023.

The staff and service are the best!!!

And we have cruised on many ships and many cruise lines. The food quality and variety is very good. We have had better food only on one cruise line but with other disadvantages.

The Regent package is perfect, at least for the WC.

We are having problems with the internet but a fix is promised at the next port in Fiji: special parts and an engineer to install them.

[claranda]

Well thank you all, glumness quite gone! Judging by your posts I think we’re ok on the suite - Penthouse with a shower. However, MrLevin, is 17 September boarding late enough to miss most of what I presume is bad weather (ignorant Brit who was unaware of it..)?

[mrlevin]

You will never totally miss hurricane season; always take a chance.  You just want to be late enough to see leaves.  I think the Canadians can pipe in, but I think you should be good once you get to Novia Scotia and beyond.  

[slidebite]

Well I was in Halifax/Nova Scotia/PEI this past Sept and missed the hurricane Fiona by 1 day so it can go either way, but to be clear that's very rare. I think it was Sept ...23 when it made landfall?

 

Do not worry about scheduling your holidays around the risk of a hurricane in Canada. Just buy insurance if that's a worry (it shouldn't be). It wouldn't concern me.

[mrlevin]

33 minutes ago, slidebite said:

Well I was in Halifax/Nova Scotia/PEI this past Sept and missed the hurricane Fiona by 1 day so it can go either way, but to be clear that's very rare. I think it was Sept ...23 when it made landfall?

 

How was the colour of the leaves when you were in Canada?

[slidebite]

They turn earlier the further north you go. When I left Nova Scotia the 3rd week of Sept they really had not started turning yet. I think a week or two later would have been better (although I suspect Fiona got rid of most of them before they could turn!)

 

Cape Breton which is famous for the beautiful foliage would be similar, it's only a couple hours further north by car... maybe a week earlier due to the higher elevation?

 

But I think it might depend on the year - if it's a cool late summer/early fall, it might start earlier.

Edited February 9, 2023 by slidebite

[flossie009]

2 hours ago, claranda said:

- Penthouse with a shower.

Excellent choice 

We favour a PH (or Horizon) on Mariner as they offer so much more space than the D to H suites

[cruiseluv]

4 hours ago, mrlevin said:

Mariner is still the best ship in the fleet!  Never had any of those issues you mentioned; last time i was on her was last September/October.  Ship is extremely stable.  Service fantastic.  Only food disappointment for us was lack of king crab legs in Prime 7.  I never complain about wine as I always find something I like.  What I would be concerned with is the itinerary if it is too early in September.  

Boy, do I appreciate you chiming in, we have a NY to Iceland booked on Mariner for next year and I was about to cancel after reading the OPs comment!!

[mrlevin]

1 hour ago, cruiseluv said:

Boy, do I appreciate you chiming in, we have a NY to Iceland booked on Mariner for next year and I was about to cancel after reading the OPs comment!!

Maria, are you on Mariner NYC - Iceland 2 June 2024?  If so, we will see you there.

 

Marc

[cruiseluv]

2 hours ago, mrlevin said:

Maria, are you on Mariner NYC - Iceland 2 June 2024?  If so, we will see you there.

 

Marc

Yes!! Looking forward to it! 

[macmarsue]

I have been on Mariner twice, the last time was May 2022. Service and food were excellent both times. We had no issues with plumbing or anything else. We were on the Voyager Aug 22 and are sailing on The Explorer next month. I am looking forward to being back on Regent. 

[Timeflies]

14 hours ago, claranda said:

 

I’m feeling  a bit apprehensive about our New York to Montreal cruise on Mariner this September. It’s a whole new route for us, which is exciting, but I keep reading so many negative reviews about Mariner – the backed up toilets, the exaggerated movement, the dismal service and food quality, the dreadful wine – that I feel a bit glum about it.

 

Has anyone out there been on Mariner recently and can confirm or refute these criticisms? We usually sail Seabourn, are having a second go at Viking, and were on an Explorer Caribbean cruise a few years ago  that we thought was…OK.  Should we lower/adjust our expectations to enjoy this old lady?

 

On 2/6/2023 at 3:43 PM, BBfromCA said:

I understand that the Small Group Excursions are limited to around 12-16 passengers. My question is: Are the Small Groups taken on the excursion via the normal large bus (with plenty of room for everyone), or taken in smaller vans?

Was on mariner last year and the ship and cruise was as excellent as ever. You will only hear of the few bad experiences but you will hardly ever hear of the hundreds or thousands of good experiences.

 

[RetiredandTravel]

We haven't been on the Mariner since 2019 but I can confirm we had a major issue issue with backed up toilets with water and sewage pouring into the room.  This issue had nothing to do with our actions.

 

Attached is a recent review (not ours).  We were also on 8.  We did have a great time at Prime 7.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=694244

 

 

Edited February 10, 2023 by RetiredandTravel

[HonTri]

We've been on the Mariner five times never had a problem with our cabins we just got off in Dec. The crew has been very responsive to any requests from us on every cruise. We board again May 30th.

[papaflamingo]

On 2/9/2023 at 2:19 PM, claranda said:

I keep reading so many negative reviews about Mariner 

 

 

You have to take reviews with a HUGE grain of salt.  An incident of a backed up toilet is not a sign of decline of the entire ship, it's a sign that someone flushed something that caused a back up somewhere. As you can see many, most in my opinion, love Mariner.  We do too.  Our first Regent cruise was on her and she not only didn't have "the exaggerated movement, the dismal service and food quality, the dreadful wine," but quite the opposite.  Handled the very rough Tasman Sea very well.  Yes, she moved, she's only 700 feet long or so and will certainly not ride like Oasis of the Seas which is twice her length.  But she does quite well.  As for food and wine, well, that's personal preference.  I have sailed over 35 times on Royal Caribbean, NCL, Carnival, Celebrity, and Holland America.  Regent food and wine offerings are heads and tails above any of those cruise lines.  If someone thinks the food is "dismal," then they likely are way to picky for a cruise ship.