Mariner at Christmas

[mrlevin]

Dinner was fantastic; now waiting for dance party.  Massimo and Fabio did a great job now up to John and his team. 

[mnocket]

2 hours ago, mrlevin said:

I agree 100% especially as they are not going to open the doors until 1830.  There are around ten 6-tops set up on covered area of pool deck that we can sit at now. 
 

It will be interesting at dance party to see how many attend in shorts.  Not my circus not my monkey; I will just be an observer. 

It actually worked out better then I thought it would. After about an hour, there was a shortage of tables and some people were forced to join shared tables, but really not a big problem. 

[CJANDH]

There were quite a lot of people in Compass Rose which probably helped keep the crowds down at the buffet. I had a wonderful Madras Lamb curry. As good a curry as I have had outside of India. The chef is excelling so far.

[crispy46]

Where in SC. We have a home on Kiawah and our granddaughter goes to College of Charleston. If you’d rather not post a response publicly you can email me at bob.crispin@me.com

[CJANDH]

1 hour ago, crispy46 said:

Where in SC. We have a home on Kiawah and our granddaughter goes to College of Charleston. If you’d rather not post a response publicly you can email me at bob.crispin@me.com

Hilton head Island.

[flossie009]

We entered the Amazon early this morning, when the tide was high enough to cross the sand bar.

 

Now at anchor for a technical stop only  - Brazil immigration etc

 

 

 

Tomorrow is our first Amazon stop for guests; tendering to shore in Santarem

 

Having crossed the equator during the night, we were due a visit from King Neptune this morning for the equator crossing ceremony.
However, he and his entourage cancelled due to rain …………… you would have thought he would be used to getting wet 😉

 

 

[CJANDH]

More toilet problems!!! This morning at least half of deck 11 has no toilets working. The engineers working on it are saying it is the vacuum system that is down. Mariner is not ready for a world cruise!

[flossie009]

After 3 days at sea we today arrived in Santarem. We were a little late arriving and anchored because of the low water levels.

 

Santarem is at the confluence of the Tapajos and Amazon rivers. You can see the colour change where the waters meet.

 

Today turned out to be better than expected; both in terms of weather and our excursion.

Forecast had been for thunderstorms & rain but it was clear skies all day.

The ship was set up this morning with Mariner’s tenders heading for the city.

On the other side of the ship a floating platform was brought in enabling local boats to collect guests for the river tours.

 

 

This worked well and we enjoyed our tour up the river and into a tributary/lake to fish for Piranha

 

 

……………… and yes, we did make a catch

 

 

 

 

 

[flossie009]

Sadly a tour boat with Carnival obviously didn’t make it 😮 😂

 

 

 

[newlondon]

Flossie, I LOVE British toung in cheek humor.

[Smitty A]

11 hours ago, CJANDH said:

More toilet problems!!! This morning at least half of deck 11 has no toilets working. The engineers working on it are saying it is the vacuum system that is down. Mariner is not ready for a world cruise!

We are on deck nine and have not had a single problem

 

[mrlevin]

Sorry to be making a complaint. 
 

25 night cruise and they don’t want to repeat any of the production shows so they are spread out.  We have already had movie night on multiple nights. Tomorrow Boogie and Kasia are the headliners in the theater.  We have no dedicated piano player on board. CD, ACD, nor Social Hostess have shows.  No music going on now.  I have never seen such a dearth of entertainment nor acknowledgement that there is an issue. There is not even an Amazonian folkloric show on board.  I really shouldn’t complain as the cruise, otherwise, has been absolutely fantastic. 

[mrlevin]

Just found out that Ross was supposed to board in Miami but there was an issue. 

[mnocket]

1 hour ago, Smitty A said:

We are on deck nine and have not had a single problem

 

We're on deck 8 and have had 2 outages (one this morning).

[lprp]

5 hours ago, flossie009 said:

……………… and yes, we did make a catch

Snap (literally 😉)

 

Edited December 23, 2023 by lprp

[flossie009]

13 hours ago, mrlevin said:

 I have never seen such a dearth of entertainment nor acknowledgement that there is an issue.

Agree that entertainment has been somewhat disappointing, especially for a Holiday Cruise, with lots of sea days.

Just to add:

 - Why no pre-dinner shows? particularly on the nights when a movie was the main post dinner entertainment. The Production Cast could have done something.

 - What happened to the singer Peter Cutler, who arrived without his luggage, borrowed some clothes for one performance then disappeared ?

 - The Dance Party was good, but why only Boogie & Kasia performing? Where were the Production Cast singers ?

 - Could they not have found some more recent movies ?  We know that Classic (old) movies are popular with some, but those can be seen in suite on the TV.

 - No “Liars Club” or similar impromptu entertainment. If there is an issue with visiting performers then please could the entertainment team use some initiative to fill the gaps.

 

Still enjoying the cruise and looking forward to Boogie & Kasia’s stage show tonight. Hope they are being paid well for their additional work this cruise 😁

[2012_Alaska_bound]

13 hours ago, mrlevin said:

Just found out that Ross was supposed to board in Miami but there was an issue. 

 

Ha, ha. Maybe he couldn't get the Brazilian visa!

[CJANDH]

17 hours ago, mrlevin said:

Just found out that Ross was supposed to board in Miami but there was an issue. 

Who is Ross?

[flossie009]

1 hour ago, CJANDH said:

Who is Ross?

 

Lounge pianist

photo from 2018

 

 

 

 

[ON cruiser]

Interesting re the entertainment. On our cruise ending December 12, there was a pianist in the 5th floor bar (the one with the lovely Xmas decorations on a table). He also played at the observation bar pre dinner

 

I am surprised that Regent isn’t providing that—perhaps someone on board should have a word with the CD. 

[flossie009]

After a lazy day anchored off Boca de Valeria we are now headed for Manaus where we will spend tomorrow and Christmas Day

 

 

 

[kjbacon]

Thanks for the great picture of Ross, @flossie009. Merry Christmas!

[mrlevin]

13 hours ago, flossie009 said:

After a lazy day anchored off Boca de Valeria we are now headed for Manaus where we will spend tomorrow and Christmas Day

 

 

 

Boogie and Kasia's show last night was fantastic; really looking forward to two days in Manaus.

Edited December 24, 2023 by mrlevin

[flossie009]

 

[CJANDH]

Too many guests or too few dining venues? Dinner last night was a zoo. At 7:30 there was a 45 minute wait for Sette Mari and a 30 minute wait for Compass Rose. When we were eventually seated in CR, the service was slow and the wait staff seemed stressed. With a full ship, the two open, non-specialty dining venues are inadequate. Regent should consider opening the pool grill in the evenings as Silversea does with Hot Rocks and their Pizza restaurant.

 

It is Christmas dinner tomorrow and I wonder how they will cope with the whole ship wanting a turkey dinner. CR is opening early at 6:00. That might allow for extra sittings.They are also offering the Christmas menu in Chartreuse and Prime 7. But most pax do not have the option of dining there.

 

We shall see.