mrlevin

Mariner will NOT be Formal Optional for this New Year's Eve. 😒 I guess they are keeping with Captain's Farewell instead of making the sensible change. Also, this is one of the first times we have had New Year's Eve indoors instead of on the Pool Deck; at least for dancing. 630 people in Horizon Lounge should get interesting.

Ross arrives tomorrow!

Today is the ninth of ten sea days; there is only one lecture scheduled for today; on algae. Thinking back, a number of the lectures on this trip have been about algae. Miami sure made it hard on the CD. Where is Terry Breen?

But we knew this when we booked the cruise. We scheduled our tour of Manaus on 24th and no tour got 25th because of holiday. Yes, a different schedule would have been better but we knew this in advance.

I strongly concur that this is a Miami issue. Even with lack of entertainment this is a fantastic cruise. The Captain, GM, and F&B are constantly circulating amongst the guests. The food, beverage, butler, and housekeeping staff are all fantastic. Food is fantastic. A fantastic cruise. marc

Never mind, crossing ceremony is this morning.

Mariner changes before or after 2024 Grand Arctic? Final payment due next week.

Grand Voyage from Mauritius totally gone. Cape Town to Dubai completely waitlisted. Bye, bye Voyager?

Six months ago she was selling perfume in boutique on Explorer.

Lprp, remember who you were booking with; she who believes Christchurch is on the North Island. I would be suspect of any price she gives you and I definitely would not trust her recommendations on cabins.

I know I could look up what ship you are on but I am lazy; I am sitting on the Mariner in the middle of the Amazon river. If you are one of the old ships you can use the rear entrance and avoid the lines. If you are on one of the new ships del rio wanted you to stand in line. If you do stand in line that will probably be the worst experience on an otherwise fantastic trip. Main word of advice - don’t sweat the small stuff; you will have a fantastic time.

This is our 7th Christmas/New Years cruise on Regent. We are booked again for Mariner next year. All of them have been fantastic; albeit most of the Caribbean ones have been different clientele. You will have a fantastic time with or without your kids. Marc

Last night we too arrived at 7:30 at Compass Rose and we were asked if we wanted to go to Prime 7 instead; we went over there and asked for a quick meal. We had three courses and were out of there in an hour. A little while ago we got a call asking if we wanted to move to Prime 7 again tonight albeit at 6pm. We agreed; tonights dinners will be a little more relaxed in speed. Tomorrow is turkey so we will definitely stay in Compass Rose. Marc

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

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

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.

Ross is not on Mariner now; in fact, we don’t have any piano player on board except orchestra keyboardist and boogie. I much prefer Gino or Anthony to Ross.

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

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.

Nothing is more civilized than roasting a pig over an open pit. I will be interested in seeing how well they pull off the bbq indoors along with dance party for entire ship in Horizon. We had this happen once before when Beatles night on deck got rained out and it was a bit of a disaster.

Jan, I think thin cabin walls was the biggest complaint I heard on Grandeur; followed by theater balcony design. Overall, the ship was wonderful.

Can I ask when bottom survey is due on Seven Seas Mariner? thanks, Marc

Yes, that was also wonderful! It was National Day and a large group of us went down to Tiananmen Square for all the festivities. Crowds were gigantic and we traversed the tunnels.

Yes we did; and a wonderful tour of ABC. marc

This is nothing new: Radisson used to do this regularly. Mariner 14 night October 2005 Hong Kong to Singapore. Overnights in Hong Kong, Ha Long Bay, and Saigon. Then overnight in Bangkok wherein Radisson put all passengers in hotel in Bangkok so we didn’t have four long bus rides. Finally, overnight in Singapore. Might be the best cruise ever.