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That'll be us — never using the tub.

Tc: I guess there are enough people who reallyreally enjoy bathtubs.

 

Agree! For some reason, there are people (generally those that reside outside of the U.S.) that require a bathtub. We have a jacuzzi in our bathroom and a regular bath in another bathroom so definitely do not care about them, I would much rather have a large shower on the Mariner than a bathtub that we felt was dangerous to get Into and out of.

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My mother is one who hates showers and loves baths. I have never understood!

 

Interesting! Once I was old enough to realize that I was cleaning and soaking in my own dirt, it grossed me out. Now, when I do take a bath (rarely), I follow it with a shower. I feel the same way about sitting in jacuzzi's - especially with other people.

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Interesting! Once I was old enough to realize that I was cleaning and soaking in my own dirt, it grossed me out. Now, when I do take a bath (rarely), I follow it with a shower. I feel the same way about sitting in jacuzzi's - especially with other people.

Exactly!

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Some post disembarkation thoughts on my experience with the Mariner around Alaska.

Overall, we disembarked as happy clients who will probably return to Regent but not necessarily for our next cruise.

After some thought and distance its clear that my primary disappointment was been around the upsell pressure at the spa and the generally poor experience at the spa. I have never come across anything like the desperate pressure to book and pay in advance for additional appointments. I don’t want to sound dramatic but it really left a very bad taste in the mouth that exaggerated the comparatively minor irritations particularly around dining.

I’ve ended up liking the Mariner. She is not flash or fancy when compared to the Explorer but a very comfortable ship nonetheless. Were I to have to choose between the two I would probably still say my preference is for the Explorer. The Explorer just has a wow factor that is hard to beat for me.

After a very poor meal on the first night, we had an acceptable meal at P7 on the last night with delightful service. Overall I have to say that the steaks in Compass Rose are superior to P7 so it really defeats the purpose of P7. It is however a lovely room with good atmosphere – just mediocre food.

Compass Rose other than some service issues was good. Missing side dishes were pretty common. The wait staff were so unfailingly lovely we just let the minor errors go. For me, Compass Rose could do with a few more specials at lunchtime. On a longer voyage I’d start to find the food monotonous I think particularly at lunchtime. This is where the Explorer having a specialty restaurant open each day for lunch was a real bonus . As a counter point we asked for an Indian dinner one evening as a special order in Compass Rose and it was outstanding. Possibly one of the best meals we had on the ship. Room service was efficient and very obliging.

The pool grill food was very average and not at all appetizing in presentation.

Internet was relatively reliable and fast.

Our Penthouse cabin was very comfortable and well sized. Just a shame the bathroom is so utilitarian – its practical but in no way luxurious. In some ways I preferred the Concierge cabin on Explorer.

The shows were absolutely abysmal in particular the singing. The content and style of the shows is also very dated. Definitely an area where Regent could improve significantly.

Destination staff were not particularly great or helpful. Tours themselves were of a high quality.

As I contemplate booking another cruise I wonder whether the consistency of restaurant dining across Regent’s ships (excluding Explorer) is really a plus. On one hand you know exactly what you will get in each but its makes the experience very predictable. A unique specialty restaurant on each ship would make me more likely to stay loyal to Regent in the long run. Perhaps we will try Crystal or Silver Seas next time just for some variety but its more than likely on balance we will return to Regent.

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Thank you for sharing your post disembarkation thoughts — and again for the other posts as well. And I'm glad that overall you enjoyed your experience. It was interesting that you found your excursions of high quality. I can't remember whether most were the included kind, but we mainly do included and have found most of our excursions of good-high quality as well.

 

Since we do not like fancy or flashy or the wow factor (well, I like to be wowed by exceptional food), I suspect that the Mariner will remain our go-to ship. And we like the bathrooms just fine.

 

Happy future sails to you, HKA.

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Alan - I also want to thank you for taking the time to review your cruise on the Mariner and agree with some of your observations -- particularly the comment about Compass Rose steaks being better than P7 (most but not all of the time).

 

Like you, we prefer Explorer over Mariner for the same reasons that you do (lunch in specialty restaurants, amazing F1/F2/Concierge suites, etc.). Mariner and Voyager are both lovely ships but they cannot compare to the Explorer (in my humble opinion).

 

I think that it is good to try another luxury cruise l line. One reason we avoided Crystal is the suites (much too small) and the ships are older. We sailed on Silversea three times and really enjoy their two mid-size ships - the Whisper and Shadow. While still older, they have a lot of wood (inlayed in the theater) and the suites (Silver Suites in particular) are large and roomy. The service is pretty equal to Regent and some of the food is better than Regent (their lunch buffet in particular) . For us, their main dining room does not meet up to Compass Rose and their Italian restaurant is quite good. The entertainment wasn't wonderful but we did two cruises "food" food focused itineraries where a chef is onboard so there are a lot of food and wine tasting as well as classes in such things as knife skills. At the end of the day, we did return to Regent and do prefer Regent but sailing on Silversea gave us a different perspective.

 

Whatever you choose, hope that you remember us on the Regent board and will share your experience on a different cruise line so we hear read your perspectives.

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Thank you HongKong Alan for taking the time to come back and reflect on your cruise. I’m so glad that you were able to enjoy your cruise despite the negative experiences at the spa and P7.

 

I hope management monitors the board because you are not the only poster who had less than stellar experiences in these two venues as reported by recent cruisers.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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HKA, thanks for returning to share your post cruise comments. Was glad to read that, overall, you seemed to enjoy your time onboard the Mariner, despite the experiences in the spa and P7.

 

We were on the Mariner late last year (our first Regent cruise :) ), and while we didn't visit the spa, we did have one dinner in Prime 7. Like you, we were underwhelmed and simply didn't return - despite the fact we were onboard for three weeks. We enjoyed CR so much that we really didn't care to go back to P7.

 

Welcome home!

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It is interesting how experiences differ. Maybe it is the cook or the ship or the particular cruise or maybe just me but virtually all of the beef I've had in P7 has been very good. We have sailed Mariner and Voyager many times (getting close to Titanium) and I look forward to dining in P7 several times per cruise. I did have a so-so prime rib once and a thin poorly cooked steak once but otherwise all has been good. We have not been on Mariner in about a year and a half so maybe it isn't as good now. Next cruise is on Explorer and I hope that experience is as good as our historical ones.

 

Sorry your experience was not as good as mine in P7 I'm glad you enjoyed the Mariner in general. Thanks for posting on your journey.

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HKA, the spa issues are not just on Mariner; we had a very bad experience on Voyager last year; so bad, that I am saving lots of money as my wife refuses to give them a cent on our voyages since. As for P7, I, too, had a bad experience but it was followed by a wonderful experience; it is unfortunate that it is inconsistent.

 

Marc

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That gave me a laugh Marc. It does seem there is a systemic issue with the Spa and high pressure selling across various ships. My presumption is the staff are heavily incentivised to sell - its not a good model and lets hope that Regent addresses this with its sub-contractor.

 

Thanks also to everyone for their advice on embarking from Vancouver. We got their nice and early and beat the crowds and I'm glad we did.

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My DW and I have also had recent, unpleasant high-pressure sales experiences at the Spa ( on the Explorer). Although DW and I are not novices of repelling unwanted sales proposals, it did offend us.

Maybe we should mount a campaign of comments to Regent such as the ones that led to the removal of the "art auctions"!

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Thanks for your review. Surprised that the ShorEx staff did not met your expectations. The Manager, Dag, I have always found the be pleasant and very much on top of things.

 

 

I will put in my 2 cent about the Spa. I agree with you 100%. Way overpriced. Pushy for a tip. Always trying to up sell some sort of lotion or portion. Canyon Ranch Spa management has always been this way. Too bad that Steiner lost the Spa contract on Regent years ago..

 

 

As to trying other ships, I like Crystal. Yes, their standard balcony cabins are much smaller, and no walk in closets, But the bathroom has a extra wide bath/shower combo that is lower to the floor for easy access. Crystal has much, much better and more varied entertainment, particularly if you are into ballroom style dancing. Much better internet and far more tech advanced than Regent. Food is about the same, but the main dining room service is always excellent. Very limited included ShoreEx. I didn't start Crystal till late or I would have had far more days on them and less days on Regent. (646 + 52 Booked)

 

 

 

J

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Thanks for your review. Surprised that the ShorEx staff did not met your expectations. The Manager, Dag, I have always found the be pleasant and very much on top of things.

 

 

I will put in my 2 cent about the Spa. I agree with you 100%. Way overpriced. Pushy for a tip. Always trying to up sell some sort of lotion or portion. Canyon Ranch Spa management has always been this way. Too bad that Steiner lost the Spa contract on Regent years ago..

 

 

As to trying other ships, I like Crystal. Yes, their standard balcony cabins are much smaller, and no walk in closets, But the bathroom has a extra wide bath/shower combo that is lower to the floor for easy access. Crystal has much, much better and more varied entertainment, particularly if you are into ballroom style dancing. Much better internet and far more tech advanced than Regent. Food is about the same, but the main dining room service is always excellent. Very limited included ShoreEx. I didn't start Crystal till late or I would have had far more days on them and less days on Regent. (646 + 52 Booked)

 

J

 

Thanks for the thoughts on Crystal J, very useful.

 

I’m going to write to Regent re the Spa once I’m home and let’s see what they say. Best, HKA

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Also agree about Canyon Ranch Spa. I believe that they are out of control and need to be reigned in by Regent. As long as they are permitted to do the things that they are doing, they won’t stop and it will likely get worse. Hope that everyone that they have tried to get a tip from, tried to upsell you with products or simply did a poor job will report it to Regent. They cannot fix what they do not know about.

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We have been cruising with Regent since 2001 and have also found the Spa services to be way to expensive. $55.00 for a basic

manicure is a joke and $75.00 to wash and blow dry medium length hair is a joke. I don't tip because they have added 18% in already.

The nail salon still has no type of drying machine. I've complained about this for years. Every nail salon in the USA has some type of

drying machine. They aren't expensive.

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Such good advise. Complaining to the right people is important

 

And also such a frequent advise, as a matter of fact i turns up every time someone has a complain on Regent, It´s nerver Regents fault that they don´t deliver the luxury experience they promised you, no it seems to be the customers job to run a round to various supervisors complaining to get what they paid for, thats not Ultra luxury to me!

And in this case with the Spa it seems that complaining does not help either since it turned out several people already done that, or maybe they just complained to the wrong lovely supervisor?

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And also such a frequent advise, as a matter of fact i turns up every time someone has a complain on Regent, It´s nerver Regents fault that they don´t deliver the luxury experience they promised you, no it seems to be the customers job to run a round to various supervisors complaining to get what they paid for, thats not Ultra luxury to me!

And in this case with the Spa it seems that complaining does not help either since it turned out several people already done that, or maybe they just complained to the wrong lovely supervisor?

 

I do not believe that anyone is saying that it is never Regent's fault if something goes wrong. I do not think that there is a perfect cruise line anywhere - not even on a private yacht (for those that watch Below Deck) or a luxury cruise line.

 

The TS spoke with someone and his experience improved. No one needs to "run around to various supervisors complaining..........." One stop at the General Manager's office or a phone call to Reception is all that needs to be done (plus 5 minutes of your time to explain to the problem). IMO, if anyone is not willing to take 10 minutes out of their cruise to speak with someone about their issue, it is not fair to complain on CC.

 

In terms of Canyon Ranch Spa (an outside contractor), I make sure to indicate my comments on the Comment Card. IMO (again), Regent is not going to do anything if only a handful of people complain about upselling products and tipping requests at the Spa. It would need consistent comments over a period of time (look at how long it took to get Park West off of Regent -- not only were customers complaining but Regent had to wait until their contract ran out).

 

It would seem that one strict directive from Regent would result in Canyon Ranch Spa changing the way it deals with their onboard customers.

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