thecleave

Mariner 873 Cat E starboard. Close to the aft elevators, but it's right near a through hallway to the port side cabins, and the cabin attendants park their carts in this area. They also tend to gather and around the carts and may at times be somewhat loud. I wouldn't book this cabin again.

6 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

Surprised that they would all be rented that far out...

 

Thanks !

Agreed! I'm booked on the Navigator for next October and am thinking about reserving one now!

7 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

Did you contact the Concierge prior to your sailing to inquire about the availability of cabanas or wait until you were onboard to ask ?

The concierge sent me a welcome email 4 days before our sailing and I asked him then, but he said he wasn't able to assist me. My last Royal cruises went to Labadee and I had no trouble getting a cabana through the concierge, but that was about 4 years ago.

Just off the Mariner yesterday. Kept checking the online planner but when the cabanas finally showed up they were fully booked. Checked with the concierge to see if he could help, but he couldn't (we were in an OS). Went to the excursions desk first on Friday and was told they were completely sold out. We ended up in a bungalow which was fine, although the lunch wasn't anything great. The excursion rep did say the bungalow area was quieter.

I'm not sure what site you're using to find flights, or where you're trying to go, but assuming you are disembarking the Mariner on November 15th trying to fly to LAX it does seem as though the TN (Air Tahiti Nui) flight is sold out in business class. You would have to stay overnight until the 16th to get a business class seat. If you let me know exactly where you're trying to fly to I'm happy to look up availability.

Definitely not sure if I will get my original fare. At that point I will have to decide whether the increase is worthwhile - although I do love South Georgia and cruising the Lemaire Channel.

I booked it on December 7th in anticipation of the change. They have updated the prices since yesterday. I'm in a Vista which was $15,000 when I booked as a single, now it's pricing at $20,375.

Explorer Suite 921 review

Explorer Suite 921.xls

Just had the biggest disappointment so far...no buffalo wings at the pool grill. :loudcry: How did I not hear of this before?!

I hope the TS doesn’t mind me using this thread to post my thoughts.

Just wanted to report we had a great evening onboard last night. Started with cocktails in the Explorer Lounge. The bartender, Mayya, made me some fresh blue cheese stuffed olives for my Hendricks, which were delish. We ate in the CR around 6:45 pm. Had a nice starboard window table for 2. Excellent service all around. The wine - a Corvina from the Veneto - was the perfect temp for my husband. We both had the Dover sole which was fantastic.

This morning we had breakfast in the CR. Again, excellent, friendly service. In the past I’ve felt the morning servers weren’t really happy when people actually showed up for breakfast. It always seemed to take forever to order, get coffee, etc. None of that today. Fast beverage service, order taken quickly and the food was served piping hot.

Oh - yesterday we had lunch in Chartreuse, which was also really good. Lunch is served there from 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm. We arrived around 1:00, and were finishing up around 1:55 pm when a couple arrived to be seated. The maitre d’ seated them without question.

Hi Andrea,

 

Thanks for your posts. If you get a chance, would you list the top staff members on the ship now. I'd like to know names when I board in 13 days. I do appreciate the time you are taking to post here.

 

Enjoy!!!!

I was finally able to get this uploaded but can’t figure out how to imbed the image in the thread. Thought I was pretty good with technology - guess not! Here’s a link to the list of Senior Officers & Staff onboard:

http://www.andreanovickphotography.com/Travel/Explorer-2017/i-Pvqjr8m/A

The Senior Executive Chef is Aurelian Deumeylet.

I have noticed there seems to be a lack of “cleaning up” - this morning in the seating area in front of reception there were half empty bottles of water left on tables. I may be making excuses but that seems to be a sense of entitlement amongst guests at times - “oh someone else will clean up after me”. Why not take your half empty bottle of water with you?

In the coffee cafe this morning there was a staff member diligently clearing up after guests had vacated their tables. But that does leave me to question - do they take orders from guests when they sit at a table? I always place my order at the counter, wait for my beverage and then find a seat. I know at the Cafe al Bacio on Celebrity there is a server to take orders.

Hi everyone! I'm the friend Rachel referred to earlier. This is my 19th Regent cruise, first time on the Explorer.

Even though it's only the morning of Day 2, I have been impressed already with some things that I usually find lacking with Regent.

We dined in Prime 7 last and had great service from a bar waiter who was assisting the sommelier with wines. My husband finds the included wines too warm (since they open several bottles at a time when they are prepping for dinner service around 6:15pm or so), and when he mentioned this (after we tried the already opened bottle) the waiter opened a new bottle for us. Husband was very happy. We'll see if we get that sort of service in the CR.

This morning we ate in La Veranda. Typically I don't go there in the morning because I've always felt ignored as the staff seems to concentrate on cleaning and resetting the tables after the morning rush. I either timed it perfectly this morning, perhaps because so many people had early excursions, or their training has been better.

I'll note right know I won't be able to give any insight on excursions on this trip. I've been to most of the ports before so I know what I like to do, and that doesn't include being on a bus with 25-30 people.

I'll find out who the Executive Chef is too.

Just boarded the Explorer in Monte Carlo & we are to disembark next Saturday in Barcelona. I’ve been keeping my eye on the news in case we have to make a sudden change to our travel plans home.

Not sure if Ruslan will still be on the Mariner in November, but he makes a mighty fine blue cheese stuffed olive to go with your Hendricks, which I just drink straight.

My husband was not pleased with Regent's selection of rye whiskeys so he found a bottle of Bulleit when we were in either Juneau or Ketchikan last month. I had made a special request for either Bulleit or Rittenhouse, but didn't receive either one. I made sure to make a note on our comment card to see if they could start stocking more rye. However, my next goal is to have Stella Artois available all the time without a special request.

I am definitely going to try the bottled water trick on my cruise next week! I've always hated what the ship's water does to my hair, and I bring my own shampoo & conditioner because I need products with no sulfates due to having keratin treatments. Thanks for the tip Caroldoll!

Make sure you check under your authorized user's account too. I didn't have the offer under my card but my husband did. So thanks for posting joepeka!!

Chef Kelly?!! Love him - can't wait to board on Tuesday!!

Unfortunately Celebrity stopped being part of the Amex Platinum Cruise Privileges Program a couple of years ago. Royal Caribbean and Azamara are still participants.

I used Sun Transfers a couple of years ago when I flew into Nice. They were great because my checked bag did not arrive with me, so I had to stand in line and put in a claim. I was able to call them and they made sure the driver waited for me until I was ready to go.

https://www.suntransfers.com/nice-airport#?passengers=2&direction=1&legs=2&gateway=551

Paul leaves the Mariner end of South America on March 29. Lorraine will be the CD and Massimo will be the GM. Captain is probably Cpt. Teo.

 

J 40/595

Thanks! Wasn't sure of the exact date.

So, and this is pure speculation, the likelihood is that either Ray, Lorraine or (less likely?) Margaret will join Mariner at the end of March

Lorraine will be back on the Mariner at the end of March.

Andrea, We booked the Modern Havana in an American Classic Car tour that says $149. per vehicle but when I booked it on the phone several days ago, the Rep said the price was $105. per vehicle. I was very pleased, not sure whether the price dropped or ?? why...SOLD, I thought it best not to inquire :)

Nice job Marcie! I need to hang out with you more - you always have great luck!

As of last night, excursions are still available for Cuba and the are FREE.

 

Tourguide

Actually - they were finally loaded on the website overnight. There are a few that aren't free. "Modern Havana in an American Classic" is $149 (per vehicle which seats 2), "The Vinales Valley - A UNESCO World Heritage Site" (8 hour tour) is $99.00 and "The Legendary - Tropicana Cabaret" is $99.00.

Thanks Marq - I hope it happens but I'm not getting too excited yet!