Musings from the Mariner-LA to FLL

[doc47]

We are finishing up a holiday Panama Canal cruise and currently just south of the Florida Keys enroute to Fort Lauderdale in the morning. Once we get home in a couple of days, I will write a rather in-depth review of this cruise and of the Regent product in general as I see it. Suffice to say, Regent remains top tier in nearly all aspects. More later...

[Travelcat2]

I look forward to reading your review:)

[cruzndiz]

As do I ;)

[canadagal]

Yeah! Sounds encouraging. Me three!

Pat

[doc47]

We got home with no significant travel hassles. I've had some time to put some thought together about this cruise, but first a little background.

 

We are in our early 50s and gold level Regent cruisers, and we have been with them since about 2002. We've been on the Mariner a number of times and once on the Navigator, but never on the Voyager. We have sailed twice in 2008, and we were onboard in 2007 when the sale was announced.

 

We previously sailed with Princess having achieved platinum level, but we have stayed away since they became "carnivalized". Also a brief stint with Celebrity, but on one cruse, they messed up our arrangements so bad that the wife had to take the trip without me. We were told that losing us as customers was the cost of doing business.

 

My comments are simply of my own experience on this trip. I recognize that people come in with varied experiences and expectations and that opinion may vary. That said,let's get to it.

 

Embarkation: Our trip began at the "World Cruise Terminal" in LA. There was some question of where that is as it was not clear on the docs. A quick call to the Regent 800 number and we were headed to San Pedro-about 25 south of downtown LA. (Note to MarK: On the cruise docs, please try to be a little more specific about the location of the port.)

 

Our docs said embarkation was at 3 pm, but since our late checkout was 1pm, we thought we'd be able to board a little early, as we had in the past. We found that about 3/4 of the passengers thought the same thing, but no go. We were given a color coded card and we had to wait. They began calling colors at about 2:15. We finally got on board at about 2:50. (Note to self: 3pm means 3pm!)

 

We were greeted with the usual smiling faces and champagne. One of the servers remembered us from a prior cruise and greeted us by name.

 

Aside from getting the cruise docs in the mail, that moment of crossing the threshold for yet another cruise always gives me goosebumps!

 

More soon...

[doc47]

We have a ritual when we first board a cruise ship. We go to the top floor--deck 12 on the Mariner--and walk through all the public areas down to the bottom (deck 5). I found the Mariner to be in remarkably good cosmetic shape, especially for a ship that just finished The Grand Pacific with several days at sea and headed to drydock after this cruise. Paint, carpets, furniture, wallpaper did not show much wear. They picked up all new pool deck furniture in Thailand, and it is a major improvement over what they had just 7 months ago. The brand name is Royal Bonita, and I like it so much, I may order some for my deck at home.

 

One glaring change: no photography services. I was told that the photo contractor's contract was not renewed after the Grand Pacific tour. While I am not a major fan of onboard photography, we were looking forward to a formal Christmas portrait since it's been a while since we had one done. Also, I'm sure that the multigenerational families were disappointed the service was not offered. I read elsewhere on CC that Regent was looking to eliminate the photo service altogether. I'm pretty much OK that that, but there are those guests who like the idea of having memory photos.

 

Suite: We tend to book our suites far forward-even more forward of the 3 forward elevators. We have found that it is very quiet with no vibrations and much less outside foot traffic. I guess others feel the same way as our area housed 2 lecturers, the art guy, the bridge instructors, and the craft instructors.

 

Our suite was perfect--clean, well stocked, and everything worked. All suites now have flat screen TVs with 250+ on-demand movies. This was new since our last visit 7 months ago. Our stewardess also served our needs to perfection. She was attentive, but not intrusive, and always attended to our needs with a smile. No matter what time we stepped out for breakfast, our suite was cleaned upon our return. The fridge was always kept fully stocked, fresh fruit was replaced as needed, as was our choices of premium booze. Without question, she was the best we've had.

 

The wife has noticed that Regent has gotten away from stocking the bathrooms with premium toiletries. They used to use Avada products, but they have switched to "Regent" brand. This seems more of an issue for women than for men. From my standpoint, they could give me a bottle of Head and Shoulders and a bar of Ivory soap, and I'd be as happy as a bug in a rug.

[doc47]

Continued...

 

Food services: In general, I found the food to be quite good, but slightly short of outstanding. The portions seem smaller, but that is not a problem as one can always order more. Lattitudes was good, but the wife didn't really care for her meal. This was a departure from our previous experiences. Laveranda was terrific for all 3 meals. I was going to write about the limited breakfast menu in that restaurant compared to the Compass Rose. One morning I had a desire for pancakes while sitting in the outdoor portion of Laveranda (pancakes are not a usual offering there), and the waiter told me that he would get me whatever I wanted. Five minutes later, 2 lovely buttermilk flapjacks appeared in front of me. So much for limited menus. I will say though, Compass Rose has one of the best breakfast menus I've seen. It is nice to know that one can get anything from that menu in Laveranda.

 

The pool side Grill remains a shining star. Almost every day we were offered specialty fare including Mexican, BBQ, Indian, mixed grill or seafood. All this on top of the usual burgers, dogs, brats, etc. Let's be clear about one thing. The Mariner Pool side Grill makes the best cheeseburgers and French fries on the planet! When ordering, just don't forget to give the staff your table number!

 

The Coffee Connecton on deck 6 was a central gathering place. Frankly, I don't get the appeal, but it may have to do with its proximity to the computers and the library. Regardless, the CC has been a wildly successful addition to the Mariner.

 

In general the food service was quite good. With rare exceptions, they were prompt and accurate. Attentive-not intrusive. (This is unlike Princess, where they are attentive and Ultra-intrusive.) We especially enjoyed the white-glove service at afternoon tea. Yes- they wear white gloves!

 

There was only one culinary negative. On the first or second day, lobster was on the Compass Rose menu. Understand that I think a good, well-prepared lobster tail with drawn butter is one of those things that makes life worth living. Unfortunately, it was not to be, for that evening I was presented with the absolute worst lobster of all time. I've sat here at the keyboard for the last 10 minutes trying to find the words for how bad this lobster was but I can't. I don't want to insult the carp of the world. I sent it back, not for a repeat lobster performance, but for a medium cooked filet mignon. Problem solved (sort of...).

 

More later...

[Donaldm]

Thanks for the review. We were on the prior cruise which disembarked on December 20th. You mentioned the late embarkation time in San Pedro. Normally you can board Regent ships around noon. The problem here was that the prior cruise did not arrive in San Pedro until 10:00 am which put everything back 2-3 hours (normal disembarkation port arrival time is 7-8 am). We did not object and enjoyed the late arrival time having leisurely late breakfast while sailing into port.

-Don in Sacramento

[Travelcat2]

Your posts regarding your cruise has been wonderful. Really enjoyed all of them!

[canadagal]

A very enjoyable read this morning about your Mariner cruise. Just a few hiccups but she still sounds marvelous and I really look forward to seeing the new pool chairs.

Pat

[RachelG]

You have the same arrival ritual as us. We take a complete tour of the ship, but start at the bottom and move up--ending on top deck. One of my favorite things!

[doc47]

Let's press on...

 

Bar service:

Premium alcohol continues to to be plentiful and running freely. All the major brands are available as well as some unexpected ones such as Glenmorangie single malt. Free booze is a great aspect of the all-inclusive pricing, but I think guests actually end up drinking less. For instance, there is no pressure to finish a drink or carry it in to a restaurant. I believe the policy works well for Regent as it probably costs more to deal with swiping cards, dealing with receipts, accounting hassles, etc. (Note to self: Pray that free alcohol is not made available on Carnival.)

 

Our evening ritual usually includes cocktails in the Observation Lounge at sunset. The venue is lovely and the service there was superb. Again, the apt phrase is attentive-not intrusive. The bar staff made a point of learning our names, as well as our drink preferences by day 2. What a treat to sit down and within a couple of minutes have our drinks presented to us, correctly made, and with a smile-without even ordering! My preference is not simple: Beefeater martini, rocks, very dry, 2 olives. Staff only needed to hear it once, and they got it.

 

I don't know if all guests got such good service, but we always makes a point of learning the correct pronunciation of names and the words "please" and "thank you" in the native languages. Believe me when I say it makes a huge difference for the folks who are so far from home for extended periods-especially at the holidays.

 

We had similar experiences in the Mariner Lounge, Horizon Lounge, and the Pool Deck.

 

Just a quick word about the free non-premium wine. It seems that Regent has moved to serving from screwtop bottles. If it is true, it is a very smart cost-cutting move. Those of us who understand wine know that 10% of corked wine is contaminated with TCA causing the wine to taste funny. Think wet cardboard or band-aids. Screwtop closures avoid this problem thereby allowing 100% of the wine to be consumed. This is why more and more wine (including some very high-priced premium wines) are moving to non-cork closures. If Regent is not charging extra for the wine, it makes good sense to be able to serve all of it, rather than dumping up to 10% of it. I can't address Regent's policy on returning "corked" premium wine as I've never been presented with a bad bottle.

 

more later...

[Travelcat2]

We spent a lot of time in the Observation Lounge -- our favorite spot (such incredible views -- well, we were in Alaska -- kinda different). Glad to hear about the drinks. A wine guru friend of ours said that twist off tops is the future -- cork is difficult and expensive to get. Plastic corks have a short shelf life (2 years as I recall).

[doc47]

Just wrote a long post that didn't take hold. I'll try to break into smaller parts. Let's press on...

 

Entertainment:

 

In general, the entertainment was not as good as we have seen previously. I'm not sure why that is, but wonder if it has to do with looking forward to disembarkation. That would be a poor excuse however. The Regent Singers and Dancers seemed out of sync-especially the singers. The dancers, led by Francesca Pearce, were quite good, but it is clear that Francesca is far better than the others. I'm not sure she has a home off the ship as she has been on our last 4 trips!

 

On past trips, the these entertainers were allowed to mingle freely with the guests at the pool, lounges, restaurants, etc. This was not the case this time. I'm not sure why, but it is too bad because they are a very friendly group and interesting conversationalists.

 

Nature Rhythm, the Asian trio are very accomplished musicians. Their ability to cover the Beatles, Beach Boys, Queen, etc. is amazing. They worked very hard, beginning the day at the pool then moving to the Mariner Lounge for the evening, followed by another venue for the late night. I do wish they would expand their repertoire. If I had to listen to "Surfin USA" one more time, I would have screamed.

[DebbieH103]

Doc47, I've really been enjoying reading your commentary.

[doc47]

Regent tends to fly entertainers in and out during the cruise rather than keeping the same ones for the entire trip. One of the comedians was very unfunny--I actually felt sorry for him since nobody was laughing. One of the concert pianists was outstanding. I can't speak to the other comedians, magicians, singers, etc. I just didn't go to most of those shows.

 

I wasn't too keen on the piano player in the Obs Lounge. He seemed play everything too fast. For those of you that remember LPs, think of playing a 33 record at 45.

 

For the first time, we experienced an event called "Ye Olde Country Faire". One afternoon, the pool deck was cleared of guests, and the various crew departments set up game booths. There were about 12 of them with games like pie in the face, dart throwing, water balloon toss, darts, kareoke, etc. Each guest got $15 in play money, and they paid a dollar to play each game. If you won, you were paid a few dollars. After an hour, you could cash in you money for raffle tickets-$20 for each ticket. The drawing was for various Regent stuff. It was all over in 1 1/2 hour.

 

This seemed like a very bold experiment on the part of Regent. It was more like something one would see on Princess or Carnival, but I will say that everyone-including the crew-seemed to have a great time.

 

Lectures:

 

I really enjoyed the lectures, especially oceanographer Robert Clarke and the astronomer/artist. His name escapes me at the moment but he was the right hand of the late Carl Sagen. He was one of the guys that designed the gold plaque carried by Voyager spacecraft that would communicate with other life if they came in to contact.

 

There also a shrink who talked about psyhcobabble stuff I have no interest in while on vacation, so I didn't attend her talks.

 

continued...

[Cattravel10]

Loving your review. Ever since the Radisson Diamond was sold, a very sad thing, the Mariner has become my favorite ship. Looking forward to more!

[doc47]

Let's continue...

 

Cruise Director:

 

Ray Solaire is a very proper English gentleman of about 70. I never saw him dressed in less than pressed dark dress slacks, a crisp white shirt, Windsor-knotted tie and braces--no matter the temperature or humidity. He has been at sea for over 40 years, including the maiden voyage of the QE2. His resume is quite impressive. He is a Master Puppeteer having performed for the Queen. (Yes, THAT Queen.)

 

My first impression of Ray was, "He can't be a CD! He's not like John Barron or Barry Hopkins!" As it turned out, my impression was correct. Ray is Ray. Just as John and Barry have their strengths, Ray brings a whole different slant to the job. He was terrific. His puppet performance was amazing and not to be missed. I hope to see Ray again on a future Regent cruise.

 

Gift shop:

 

In a word-weak. There was very little I found the slightest bit appealing, and all was overpriced. As for personal care items the selection was awful. On the shelf were 10 large size cans of Noczema shave cream, but no aspirin, tylenol, etc. The clerk said I could go to the doctor's office for the aspirin. I thought, "Sure $80 to get a couple of aspirin". A free Beefeater martini, very dry, rocks, 2 olives took care of my sore shoulder. (Note to self: Always bring a wide array of OTC meds from home. OK to forget the shave cream. Regent stocks plenty.)

[nowornever]

That's something they did on the Oceania trip we took last year....must be an Apollo thing.

 

Love your comments doc....keep 'em coming (as they say at the faire.)

[Jim B]

We had a "county fair" on our Auckland to LAX cruise aboard the Mariner in 2007.

I am not sure who was laughing the most. The crew staff or the passengers. Our room stewardess was involved and when she saw us she made sure we went to her booth.

The crew staff really laughed when they got one of the supervisors, or officers involved

and they got soaked! Uniform and all!!

[BBfromCA]

In 2006, the Mariner "Country Fair" was held on the SF/Hawaii/Tahiti cruise. The Fair is as much for the crew as it is for the passengers.

The various departments that set up booths were voted on by the passengers (best booth) and the winning department received an extra "benefit" at a future port of call from Regent.

[doc47]

Let's continue:

 

Holiday cruising/demographics:

 

Some folks in the mainstream media believe that it is wrong to show public displays of Christmas. Some feel it is divisive and exclusionary--not politically correct. To Regent's credit, they do not feel this way. Secular Christmas was in abundance on this cruise and it was wonderful. The entire ship was decorated with Christmas trees, hand-made gingerbread houses, and garlands. There must have been 1000 poinsettia plants scattered around, including one in every suite. On Christmas Eve, Ray led us in Christmas carols in the Obs deck at sunset. The Compass Rose had a special holiday menu . The Regent performers had a special Christmas show. There was a priest and a rabbi on board, so there was midnight mass, Christmas morning services, and the eight days of Hanukah services. Christmas Day brought Santa Claus to the pool deck with wrapped gifts for every child on board.

 

Holiday cruising means a different passenger demographic. Past Regent cruises for us meant that we were close to the youngest on board, with the average age somewhere around 65-70. This standard demographic suites us just fine.

 

On this cruise those well-heeled seniors who usually travel alone, brought their kids and grandkids. There were probably 50 or so guests under the age of 18, along with their parents--many of whom likely first time cruisers or first time Regents folks. I must say that the kids were fairly well behaved, but at the same time the overall volume of the ship was turned up a couple of notches. Many of the teeagers looked bored out of their minds and a few spent the entire time by the pool working on suntans. (Note to self: don't waste money on cruises with the grandkids. Use money instead for college or music camp.) One issue that just drove me crazy: walking across the empty pool deck at 8 am to breakfast, but finding that 80% of the lounge chairs have been "reserved" by the multigenerational famlies with books, bags, etc.

 

All this may sound like I am anti-family, but that is not so. I mention all this because most Regent cruisers are used to a certain demographic and a certain level of decorum. Those of you who might be considering a holiday cruise in the future and are not bringing the whole clan, need to realize that the passenger mix will likely be different. We are not sure that we will repeat the holiday experience in the future.

 

more soon...

[doc47]

How Regent solves problems:

 

We only had what I would consider two major problems on this cruise.

 

The first involved reservations for Signatures and Latitudes. Regent allows you to make these reservations online several weeks before embarkation. We made ours in November, including a New Years Eve sitting in Signatures.

 

When we realized that a Latitudes sitting came and went without a confirmation card, we became concerned that our reservations were not in the system at at all. This turned out to be the case. I suspect the problem had to do with their new computer system. I was concerned that all the reservation slots were filled long ago. When I inquired about the reservations and what could be done, especially the New Years Eve sitting, Regent simply fixed the problem. A Mataire de (sic) took me to a computer at the Compass Rose and confirmed that we'd been lost. She made apologies, but no excuses. She kept a smile on her face, and with a couple of mouse clicks, we were booked in to Signatures at the exact same time we wanted originally. Same with Latitudes. No problem. No hassle.

 

The second problem was a little more irksome. We thought it strange that a week into the cruise, that we hadn't heard about The Seven Seas Society Captain's Cocktail Party. We let it go until we received our invitation on our door--two days after the event took place!

 

I took the invitation down to Brian O'Brian, the future cruise booking agent. When I showed him the invitation, I was thinking it might have been misprinted with the wrong date. He turned several shades of pale. He was extremely apologetic-not to mention apoplectic. His embarrassment was palpable. He had absolutely no explanation for what happened, but he promised to pass it up the chain of command. I asked for nothing, but I thanked him for his concern.

 

Later that day, we had an invitation to dine at the Captain's table for the following evening. Again, Regent stepped up to the plate and solved a problem.

 

More soon...

[Jancruz]

Let's continue...

 

Cruise Director:

 

Ray Solaire is a very proper English gentleman of about 70. I never saw him dressed in less than pressed dark dress slacks, a crisp white shirt, Windsor-knotted tie and braces--no matter the temperature or humidity. He has been at sea for over 40 years, including the maiden voyage of the QE2. His resume is quite impressive. He is a Master Puppeteer having performed for the Queen. (Yes, THAT Queen.)

 

My first impression of Ray was, "He can't be a CD! He's not like John Barron or Barry Hopkins!" As it turned out, my impression was correct. Ray is Ray. Just as John and Barry have their strengths, Ray brings a whole different slant to the job. He was terrific. His puppet performance was amazing and not to be missed. I hope to see Ray again on a future Regent cruise.

 

Gift shop:

 

In a word-weak. There was very little I found the slightest bit appealing, and all was overpriced. As for personal care items the selection was awful. On the shelf were 10 large size cans of Noczema shave cream, but no aspirin, tylenol, etc. The clerk said I could go to the doctor's office for the aspirin. I thought, "Sure $80 to get a couple of aspirin". A free Beefeater martini, very dry, rocks, 2 olives took care of my sore shoulder. (Note to self: Always bring a wide array of OTC meds from home. OK to forget the shave cream. Regent stocks plenty.)

 

I too love Ray, he is the most amazing gentleman and how he does everything he does with a smile on his face at his age is amazing to me..every evening he tries to dine with guests..

I completely agree with the shops ..I dont understand why they can get some really unusual things at a reasonable price, I go to the swap meet here in Palm Desert and they have wonderful clothes and outfits that I have never seen before for $70 and up..

Jancruz1

[cruzndiz]

Doc: your review is wonderful....thanks for taking the time to put it all together for us. I'm stumped: is the current CD Ray Solaire or John Barron?