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hello, all! I am currently booked with my husband on Mariner for a cruise next April. We have enjoyed a multitude of cruises with Oceania, and came across a terrific offer from Regent. After reading several reviews and posts about Mariner, however, I'm getting worried since many folks comment that the ship isn't in great shape. We just came off a cruise on the Windstar Star Breeze (very disappointed with that ship) and I don't want to have a repeat of being on a ship that isn't as well maintained as the O fleet. Have any of you recently sailed on Marina, and were you satisfied with the condition of the cabins and public spaces? We adore smaller ship experiences and I'm thinking that we will love Regent like we love O, but the reviews are making me question my thinking!

Thank you in advance for your response.

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I don't know what kind of shape Mariner is in right now, but I've sailed on Regent 'immediate pre-refurbishment' ships before and never had a problem. There were some threads recently about this very question and I think the prevailing opinion was 'go for it'...

 

People make it seem like Regent doesn't maintain their ships and that if it's more than 8 months out of drydock it's going to be a run-down rustbucket. Not true - the ships are almost always maintained to a very high standard...

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If you are sailing on Mariner next April it will be very shortly after a multi-million dollar refurbishment; she is out of service from 15 March to 03 April 2018.

If they do a similar refurb to Voyager then the ship should be in excellent condition for your voyage.

 

Enjoy your cruise on what is a fabulous ship.

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I was on the Mariner 2 months ago and as far as the condition of the ship maintenance wise everything was fine. My first Mariner voyage was back in 2001 for the maiden inaugural Circle South America. I don't notice any real differences in the ships condition over the years. They are always painting. cleaning. polishing, etc.

 

However I think that there are still and continuing issues with/at MDR in the evenings with the wait staff being under-trained becasue of crew inconsistency.:(

 

Personally I am not a fan of the upcoming design changes being done at dry dock.

 

J

41/602

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Actually, some of changes on Mariner will not be the same as the Voyager. I do believe (but am not 100/% positive) that the changes in La Veranda for the Mariner will be more dramatic than on the Voyager.

 

Although we will not be on the Voyager next year, I believe posters (that I don't know) that the removal of the glass storage area above the desk has been problematic for some. I really appreciate the insight of CC'ers as it helps me understand what to expect when things change.

 

When we are on the Mariner at the end of August, I plan on posting a few photos (with a little help from my CC friends) of the Mariner as it is now. It will be interesting to compare those photos with the "after" photos next year.

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We got off the ship a couple of weeks ago and she is in fine shape. Most of the complaints I've seen have been pretty nit-picky. I was worried about the tub/shower combination after reading so much about it and it was fine.

 

It's a nice ship and we enjoyed it very much.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!

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We just got off the Mariner in early June and the ship was fine. You can see that it is getting to the time for some refreshing--as edges of drawers in some places were chipped, but overall, everything was fine--lots of storage room, nice rain shower head in bathroom, nice verandah furniture compared to many lines--sturdy wicker with cushions, not just the vinyl strapped furniture on most ships. Public areas were clean and well maintained. The only thing that was a little annoying was that the windows in public areas like dining room and lounges were streaky with dirt, but I think that can be attributed to the poor weather that the ship encountered on its previous trip to Alaska as we heard they had a lot of rain! However, in one port, the crew was out painting and cleaning! Service in MDR was fine during dinner hours but very slow during breakfast, and we ate there only once. My brother took his first Mariner trip last year after taking three previous trips on Oceania and when I told him that I thought Regent would be a step up from Oceania, he said, "No, it's about three steps up." While we enjoyed Oceania, I feel that Regent offers more personalized service and the included shore excursions were better than what was offered on Oceania. Enjoy your trip--remember, travel is a personal experience and you have to experience it yourself and form your own opinion, which may be totally different than anyone else's opinion!

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We were on the Mariner and got off June 7th. I spoke to the Maitre d' who trained the staff in Compass Rose on the Explorer and he was there to train them and he said it would be a few weeks before it would be available.

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Based on the experiences of passengers on the other ships, when they start using iPads on the Mariner, expect the service to be slow for a couple of weeks. After that, it will be faster than before due to the communication between the server, assistant server and the kitchen.

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I find the comments on the Mariner re-assuring as we are considering booking it's final cruise before refurbishment next February from Rio to Barcelona. We like the Mariner very much and does anyone know what changes will be made when it is refurbished. For example do they already have the new menu in Compass Rose or is that something following refurbishment.

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They have the new menu in Compass Rose but Signatures has not been converted to Chartreuse and will not be until the refurbishment. In addition to soft goods, the biggest change that I'm aware of will be to La Veranda. It will be patterned after La Veranda on the Explorer (rather than standing in one long line for food, there are multiple stations and a much better layout). Regent is spending $50M on the refurbishment so we can expect quite a few changes.

 

We'll be on the Mariner next month and have no concerns whatsoever. I understand that the furniture may have a few chips here and there but I expect the overall experience to be as good as it always has been.

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Thanks Travelcat. We'll probably book the Rio (or maybe BA) to Barcelona when we're onboard Explorer in three weeks time. We might also book a Med cruise in October if any are available.

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We were on the Mariner in March, 2017. The condition of the interior was quite good. Let me comment briefly on the tub/shower combination that was "original equipment" in many of the suites, and still remains in some suites that have not been converted to shower stall configuration. Because the tub bottom sits on a raised area of the bathroom floor, the head room for one standing to shower is only 6'2" (I took a tape and measured it). Anybody near that height will have a problem, and those who are that height or above will have a major problem. And this situation makes it difficult (or impossible) for people with physical limitations to enter the tub, because its floor is higher than the bathroom floor, with no step or grab rails provided. Also, the tub seems smaller than standard residential tubs in the US, so side-to-side room is limited. Finally, I am only 5'8" tall, but was annoyed when my hands kept hitting the ceiling while washing my hair. Also, my wife (who is only 5'1" tall) had fairly recent back surgery before our cruise, and in no way could she enter a raised tub. We made sure to book a suite with a shower stall. Having done that, the cruise was great.

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Yes - here we go again. IMO, the tub/shower combo is dangerous and likely to be unusable for people with disabilities. The low ceiling is more of a nuisance than a real problem but, being only 5' 3 1/2", I'm not used to touching the ceiling in any bathtub. And, getting out of the tub requires a very large step down so it is wise to be careful since. you are wet and it is easy to slip.

 

Having said that, we will be in a tub/shower suite next month because we booked very late and all of the shower suites in our category were booked. The showers on the Mariner are as good or better than the showers on Explorer (which is a difficult to do).

 

Some people do not have issue with the tub/showers but, IMO, it is better to give people warnings than find out when they book the suite that getting into and out of the bathtub can be challenging.

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No, if you are 5'1" you needn't worry about the 6'2" headroom in the bath/shower--- unless you have had recent surgery and can't step into a tub whose floor is 8" above the bathroom floor with no steps and no grab rails. With the age of Regent cruisers being what it is, I feel that Regent should be more respectful of the ADA. We booked our cruise a long time before we knew my wife needed back surgery. And we had to pay $1000 pp to "upgrade" to a guarantee of a shower stall. Not a good move, Regent!

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I love Mariner but at 4'11" I can only sail in a Shower only cabin. I can't even get into that tub to shower without assistance climbing in and out. Ya it's a vision! But that tub/shower combo is dangerous. Never mind being too short to even reach the shower head.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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  • 1 month later...
hello, all! I am currently booked with my husband on Mariner for a cruise next April. We have enjoyed a multitude of cruises with Oceania, and came across a terrific offer from Regent. After reading several reviews and posts about Mariner, however, I'm getting worried since many folks comment that the ship isn't in great shape. We just came off a cruise on the Windstar Star Breeze (very disappointed with that ship) and I don't want to have a repeat of being on a ship that isn't as well maintained as the O fleet. Have any of you recently sailed on Marina, and were you satisfied with the condition of the cabins and public spaces? We adore smaller ship experiences and I'm thinking that we will love Regent like we love O, but the reviews are making me question my thinking!

Thank you in advance for your response.

 

Which cruise will you be on? We will be Regent first timers on the Transatlantic cruise April 4. I'm excited not only to sail Regent, but on a newly refurbished ship!

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  • 1 month later...
Which cruise will you be on? We will be Regent first timers on the Transatlantic cruise April 4. I'm excited not only to sail Regent, but on a newly refurbished ship!

 

 

We are also booking this cruise tomorrow! Our first time on Regent also. Have sailed Oceania, Princess, and Hal. Looking forward to a brand new ship;)

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Was on Mariner for 18 days in January - February. She is very ship-shape. I too don't understand some of the comments I've seen about this.

 

We were on the Mariner last month and were very disappointed with our suite, which was a standard balcony. I won't go through all the bits, but suffice to say that the overall impression was a little shabby and not what I would expect from a highly rated cruise line. Fully understand that it will be going through a major refit early next year but a lot of shabbiness could have been rectified without major cost. Stained carpets with edges coming unstuck, chipped woodwork, net curtains replaced etc. The cabin size was fairly good, as expected and the public areas on the ship were generally in reasonable shape and food and service were very good.

 

My only reason for posting is to say that if I had seen my suite before booking I would not have booked on this ship until after refurbishment.

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We were on the Mariner last month and were very disappointed with our suite, which was a standard balcony. I won't go through all the bits, but suffice to say that the overall impression was a little shabby and not what I would expect from a highly rated cruise line. Fully understand that it will be going through a major refit early next year but a lot of shabbiness could have been rectified without major cost. Stained carpets with edges coming unstuck, chipped woodwork, net curtains replaced etc. The cabin size was fairly good, as expected and the public areas on the ship were generally in reasonable shape and food and service were very good.

 

My only reason for posting is to say that if I had seen my suite before booking I would not have booked on this ship until after refurbishment.

 

I agree with you. The suites were/are quite shabby. At least we know this advance and won't be shocked (again) when we board the Mariner next month. It is really a shame that the Mariner's scheduled refurbishment was blown away by a hurricane and that it has to sail in this condition for so long. If this is someone's first sailing with Regent, IMO, it would not be a good first impression.

 

Note: I am specifically referring to suites - not the public areas which look fine.

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