A Quintessential Crossing on the Mariner - Live!

[seasickphil]

5 hours ago, vitacura said:

I have noticed more coughing and sniffling amongst guests, at lunch the guest at the table behind me was coughing a bit and openly told friends passing by that she had a cold. Yet, there she was eating and drinking at the Pool Grill lunch buffet. 😠

Unfortunately Covid is here to stay, are you saying that everyone who now sneeze or cough has Covid, it could actually be, as the person said, just a cold. Here in the UK there is no need to quarantine nor even take a Covid test and i believe in certain work places you do not even need to stay away from work.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

10 minutes ago, seasickphil said:

Unfortunately Covid is here to stay, are you saying that everyone who now sneeze or cough has Covid, it could actually be, as the person said, just a cold. Here in the UK there is no need to quarantine nor even take a Covid test and i believe in certain work places you do not even need to stay away from work.

Agree that Covid is here to stay but, if someone is sneezing, coughing and exhibiting cold symtoms and even says they have a cold, why expose everyone else?

 

Edited September 14, 2023 by suzyluvs2cruise

[vitacura]

1 hour ago, seasickphil said:

Unfortunately Covid is here to stay, are you saying that everyone who now sneeze or cough has Covid, it could actually be, as the person said, just a cold. Here in the UK there is no need to quarantine nor even take a Covid test and i believe in certain work places you do not even need to stay away from work.

I never mentioned Covid, so curious as to why you would?
 

I just made an observation that someone actively coughing and admitting to being ill was at the lunch buffet. If I was as ill as she sounded, I would order room service, but that’s just me.

[CDR Benson]

8 minutes ago, vitacura said:

I just made an observation that someone actively coughing and admitting to being ill was at the lunch buffet. If I was as ill as she sounded, I would order room service, but that’s just me.

 

Valid point.  Even if it was only a cold I contracted from another passenger, it would spoil my cruise experience to some extent.

 

[wristband]

Here's the problem: you don't know exactly who the culprit was.  Exactly where did you contract that cold, influenza or (gosh) Covid?  Could be the Sniffler.  Might be pax or staff at the bar.  Might be in the Theater during a performance or on the tour bus.  Enclosed spaces, close proximity to others.

 

Personally, if someone nearby is hacking, I immediately move far away or leave the dining venue.  Worse is standing in the lunch buffet line with a guest is coughing in back of you. 

 

I would hope courtesy dictates they isolate in their cabin or have that bologna sandwich delivered to their table - rather than making others uncomfortable we are being exposed to a virus.

[seasickphil]

11 minutes ago, vitacura said:

I never mentioned Covid, so curious as to why you would?
 

I just made an observation that someone actively coughing and admitting to being ill was at the lunch buffet. If I was as ill as she sounded, I would order room service, but that’s just me.

Pre Covid, i had people coming in the office with streaming colds, people may not have liked it but it happened if everyone stayed away from work with colds then and now many work places would come to a standstill. The person was outside eating and not inside which would have been worse. 

I'm afraid if we wish to continue cruising, then we have to accept the consequences that go with that. Two weeks ago we got off a cruise and the next day my wife tested positive for Covid, she tested because her elderly mother has cancer, as i said, we are all aware before we board ships of the possibilities of getting the so called Cunard cough, Norovirus or now Covid.

We can not pick up on people every time they sneeze or cough, i'm extremely concerned with people not washing their hands [is it just me?] after visiting the toilets, can i stop them from doing this, no, will this and people sneezing and coughing stop me from cruising, no.

[vitacura]

Today was our first wet Sea Day. Woke up to a wet balcony and found dark clouds in the distance. Those would arrive around lunch time, bringing with rain showers that would clear the pool deck.

 

 

 

 

The pool was drained and being touched up by maintenance. The sun did make a few appearances in the afternoon.
 

Morning lecture by Terry Bishop today was: Ocean Survivors. Accidents, adventure and misadventures. -how long could you survive in the open oceans? 

Quite staggering what some of the survivors had to endure during their time drifting the oceans. There is concern on our cruise.. 

 

 

 

Terry is a hoot!

 

Pool Grill Lunch today featured Fish Al Fresco.

 

Afternoon Tea was paired with Pies!

Checking in on our position, we have slowed down to about 12-13 knots this afternoon.

 

 

Updated itinerary sent to our suites. I guess this means we will technically be at sea for 8 continuous days.
 

 

Passages indicate the Casino and Boutiques are to be open tomorrow.

 

Afternoon lecture by Dr. Nelson was Digging for History - a personal journey to archaeology.

 

The evening show today was Tuxedo, offering songs from the ‘Rat Pack’, Tony Bennet, Frank Sinatra and Natalie Cole. This show was a pre-dinner event, starting at 6pm. 
 

Dinner afterwards was back in Compass Rose. 
 

What’s this? Have I rubbed off on the Mrs? We had a dessert buffet this evening!

 

 

Currently sailing into the sunset, we have company with other cruise ships off in the distance.

 

Horizon Lounge will host Dance, Romance & Desserts in the Horizon this evening. A dancing ball for sweethearts with sweet treats, oh my! 

 

Tomorrow is bonus sea day number two! At least we, hopefully, have quite the view of NYC for the next two days.

 

Thanks again for following our adventures. 😀

[Dbfoto]

Vitacura, thank you so much for all your postings during your Mariner journey!

We’ll be new to Regent when we board on Sunday, and we really appreciate learning so much about life onboard, as well as the updates on the consequences of the storm. 
Enjoy the rest of the trip and safe travels!

[vitacura]

Land ho!

 

We are now anchored just inside the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge and we do have quite a bit of marine traffic passing by.

 

 

We have a neighbor anchored off our starboard side, the Norwegian Escape!

 

 

Windy morning in the low 60’s, quite a departure from what we’ve enjoyed the last week, but the sun is shining, the bar is open and we have quite the view!
 

 

 

[vitacura]

1 hour ago, Dbfoto said:

Vitacura, thank you so much for all your postings during your Mariner journey!

We’ll be new to Regent when we board on Sunday, and we really appreciate learning so much about life onboard, as well as the updates on the consequences of the storm. 
Enjoy the rest of the trip and safe travels!

I’m happy to hear you have benefited from my posts. The ship and crew have been phenomenal and I hope you have a fantastic cruise coming up! 😄

[flyers]

Yes we too have very much enjoyed your postings and your photos have been outstanding. We actually even feel as if we have been enjoying the food on board.

Hopefully when we board on Sunday everything will be as good as your have experienced...Safe Travels wherever you are heading to next.

D & D.

[CDR Benson]

47 minutes ago, vitacura said:

The ship and crew have been phenomenal . . .

 

That's been my take-away from your reports, and it's most pleasing.  As I mentioned, the purpose of our November cruise on Mariner is to luxuriate in the indulgences of the ship.  The Good Mrs. Benson deserves a week of being treated like queen of the realm, and it sounds like the Mariner crew will do its best to do that.

 

Thank you!

 

 

Edited September 15, 2023 by CDR Benson

[Jim Avery]

Get out your ship spotter guide.  If you hang out in NYC harbor long enough you will just about see every type of ship that floats.  Queen Mary 2 sailing by would be a nice pic.  Not sure what her schedule is but she docks at the Red Hook Terminal at the mouth of the East River.

[seasickphil]

15 hours ago, vitacura said:

What’s this? Have I rubbed off on the Mrs? We had a dessert buffet this evening!

Surely even you couldn't eat more than 2 dessert's, could you? 😋😋

[briar14]

Vitacura, I have really enjoyed your posts and photos. We spent a month on Mariner in June and agree that the staff and crew are wonderful. Many of them are still onboard, some heading out on leave when you dock on Sunday. Safe traveling home. And, the soufflés are my favorite desserts! Thank you.

[Linda VH]

Have enjoyed your postings very much!  Going on Mariner on Nov. 15 yay!

[claranda]

Adding our appreciation for your lovely posts to those already expressed and looking forward to boarding Mariner on Sunday.

[vitacura]

Thanks everyone, but I’m not quite done yet! 😉

 

I did see that the Boutique and Casino are open today and tomorrow. In fact, the casino is hosting its usual tournaments on both days!

 

Terry Bishop gave us another wonderful talk: The New World. The discovery, occupation and populating of North America. 0-350 million in 17,000 years! 

In the afternoon, Dr. Douglas Nelson spoke to us about Newport: Home of America’s One Percent.

 

Spent some time on the balcony when I noticed we had a visitor!

 

 

Later I noticed that the Norwegian Escape behind us were also refueling.

 

 

Afternoon Tea Time today featured Waffles with many toppings!

 

 

 

 

 

As we near the end of our cruise, prior to dinner, we had the Captain’s Farewell Reception & Krew Kapers. What a fun show the crew puts on, and it’s quite different than the ones from years ago with new songs and dances. Only a couple repeats. (No people like cruise people, YMCA and Impossible Dream). 
 

It was a packed house in the Constellation Theater!

 

The show tonight is the return of Michelle Montuori for Songs & Smiles. 
 

Tomorrow is sea day #8 in a row! 😂 

[SkystheLimit]

17 minutes ago, vitacura said:

Thanks everyone, but I’m not quite done yet! 😉

 

I did see that the Boutique and Casino are open today and tomorrow. In fact, the casino is hosting its usual tournaments on both days!

 

Terry Bishop gave us another wonderful talk: The New World. The discovery, occupation and populating of North America. 0-350 million in 17,000 years! 

In the afternoon, Dr. Douglas Nelson spoke to us about Newport: Home of America’s One Percent.

 

Spent some time on the balcony when I noticed we had a visitor!

 

 

Later I noticed that the Norwegian Escape behind us were also refueling.

 

 

Afternoon Tea Time today featured Waffles with many toppings!

 

 

 

 

 

As we near the end of our cruise, prior to dinner, we had the Captain’s Farewell Reception & Krew Kapers. What a fun show the crew puts on, and it’s quite different than the ones from years ago with new songs and dances. Only a couple repeats. (No people like cruise people, YMCA and Impossible Dream). 
 

It was a packed house in the Constellation Theater!

 

The show tonight is the return of Michelle Montuori for Songs & Smiles. 
 

Tomorrow is sea day #8 in a row! 😂 

Enjoy your sea day tomorrow! After reading  your wonderful posts, we are certainly looking forward to boarding the Mariner on Sunday.

[lprp]

8 hours ago, vitacura said:

Terry Bishop gave us another wonderful talk

Did the fabulous Terry Bishop do one of his “Troubadour” performances?

 

Was hoping he might be on our Mariner cruise at Christmas, but just checked and he’s going to be entertaining the lucky travellers on Grandeur😏

[Techno123]

Thank you @vitacura for taking us along on your cruise. I am not sure I would have been as chilled as you with the number of sea days though 😁

 

Re @seasickphil comments. In Japan and areas of south east Asia, the wearing of face masks has long been considered polite when feeling 'under the weather' in order to protect others from whatever lurgy they may have. Perhaps post Covid, we in the west should be taking a leaf out of their book and when we have an obvious upper respiratory tract infection we should be masking up in public as a courtesy rather than seeing people who wear a mask as paranoid. I know they are not fail safe but do help to reduce transmission via larger droplets.

 

Even though not a necessity here in the UK, I certainly popped one on after contracting Covid on the Ovation as we had no food in the house and I needed to do some shopping. @seasickphil I also agree with you re the hand washing 😜

[Bobreg]

Thank You vitacura for sharing your experience with us.  We are boarding the Mariner in Montreal on sept 28th for a B2B and after seeing your pictures of the ship and activities, we are eager to enjoy everything.  According to forecast, Lee should be over Corner Brook tomorrow and then continue over the ocean.

We whish a nice cruise to everyone making the sept 17th cruise as the weather should be nice until Montreal.

Lise and Robert.

[CurlerRob]

Some good news. Just announced that we will be moving to our dock at 2200 - meaning a good opportunity for photos as we go by Manhattan! 🍺🥌

Edited September 16, 2023 by CurlerRob
Correction

[vitacura]

We are on the move, working our way up toward the island of Manhattan!

 

This morning in both the Horizon and Observation Lounges we had a Taste of New York: Bagels & Smear offered. Ships officers and senior staff were found mingling with guests and posing for photos!

 

 

In the afternoon we had Terry Bishop back for a fun, laid back time in Stuff and Nonsense, tubes of a troubadour! 
 

Lunch feature in the Pool Grill was Burger Heaven.
 

I was surprised to find suitcases out and ready to go by early afternoon. I’ve barely opened my suitcase by the time I’m getting ready for dinner!
 

 

Afternoon Tea today featured a variety of yummy Donuts! 
 

 

 

Pre dinner show was the put on by the Mariner Production Company: Broadway in Concert! A journey through Broadway’s past and present.

 

The final meal for this cruise was in Compass Rose and it had to end with the usual, two desserts.

 

 

 

Disembarkation early tomorrow for guests, then Coast Guard inspection and drills for the ship and crew!

Edited September 17, 2023 by vitacura

[wineoclock]

Thank you so much 

your posts have helped me to decide that Regent will definitely be our next cruise booking. Due to dates it will most likely be on The Splendour rather than Mariner but I’ve enjoyed the journey with you.