Vancover to Seward 9/9 to 9/16 review

[zaby]

I wanted to share my experience as I am grateful to those who informed me.

 

LOVED the ALASKAN cruise and would do it again and again.

 

Cabin - we were in cabin 755 and we are very glad we didn't pay for an upgrade - it was enough room for us.

 

Food - The food - well there is much room for improvement. The best meal we had was in Signatures and it was on the last night. We were only able to book one nite in both Prime 7 & Signatures - even though we did try. The quality of food in Compass Rose and La Verdanda is fair to good and the portions are really quite small. So if you don't order an appeitzer, salad and soup with your entree you will walk away hungry. I didn't think as another cruiser noted to order an additional entree but will do so next time. There was one night when I was I had a little motion sickness and I had order the Ciopionni and the waiter was nice enough to bring me another order of the appetizer Sushi - and gave me a double order - he name was "Revene" and he was excellent.

 

Entertainment - As we had know - RSS is not known for entertainment but I do think they did their very best to put on some good shows.

 

Cruise Director - Jamie was excellent - he made it his business to walk around to get to know everybody.

 

Excursions - we all very good - exceptional was the Eagle Preserve and the young kids (20's ) who led the rafts - they were exceptional. The worse was in the capital - Juneau - the floatplane drivers were rude and stood with their hands in their pockets as we got on and off the plane - in contradiction to other drivers who assisted the passengers.

 

People - The ship may have been full but in no way did it seem like it in fact when we were at the Hubbard Glacier while everyone was on the observation desk - my partner and I had the Horizon deck to ourselves - it was great. My partner and I are 49 and 53 yrs old and we were amazed at how some of the passengers were quite abrupt. There were some occasions when we observed a passenger having some difficulty - getting up on a plane, etc and when we tried to help we were - on more then one occasion rudely treated. But this didn't damper the cruise there are always going to be people who are different. There was a very nice young couple that we met on the cruise who were asked by one of the older couples "why they were on this cruise" as if they were too young??? but no worries they loved the cruise also.

 

Liquour - We did ask for and receive shortly after we boarded a bottle of Bombay Sapphire Gin and Baileys.

 

On Board Credit - As a cruise critic member suggested on the 2nd day we went to the destinations desk and asked that our excursion which we had paid for with AMEX Platinum be charged to our on-board account. The destinations clerk told me that she would put that request in and I actually double checked a few times - she then told me to come back after we left our last stop which was Sitka and re requested it - which I did. So that on the day of disembarkment we where able to recover the amount of money in cash that we paid for excursions. We did have more $$ in our on board account but we used that on wine for dinner.

 

My only criticism - is the Food - Please RSSC give decent portions and better quality food.

 

If there is anything else that I've forgotten to talk about please let me know.

[zaby]

I forgot to discuss ATTIRE - Casual. Most people did follow the rules and dress much nicer after 6 pm - Men with Jackets but I see some people with shorts on after 6 pm - but this was very rare. The attire ranged from business casual to slightly formal.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Can't argue with wanting better quality food, and it's disappointing to hear this--maybe the new chef who's moving over from Voyager soon will improve things (but then, what about Voyager?).

 

This food thing keeps coming up--why can't they get some consistency of quality across the ships?

 

I've always thought that the small portion, many courses approach worked out fine. You should have been more proactive about that, and ordered more, methinks. This is a better approach than making the portions larger universally, since many of us think they are just fine.

[Border Rat]

I've always thought that the small portion, many courses approach worked out fine.

 

I agree, Wendy. My first meal in Compass Rose I ordered as if I were in a typical restaurant back on land, expecting large portions. From then on I, and all the others in my group, basically ordered one of each of all the courses and were always more than satisfied with the amount. We also all thought the food itself was very good to excellent.

[Down Under]

Thanks for your thoughts on the 09/09/09 cruise from Vancouver to Seward. I'm still on board and loving every minute of it, although there are a few waves out there today.

 

I must be odd as I find I just cannot eat one of every course - no way! In Prime 7, I ordered the Alaskan King Crab and had to leave half - how very sad but I just could not eat it all. I've decided the soup or sweets must go! Prime 7 is fantastic, although I've heard the larger steaks are not as good as they could be. Stick to the seafood and you won't go wrong!

 

I'm not one to criticise too much as I enjoy myself wherever I am, but there are a few things about the menu which aren't as good as I've had previously. Perhaps its the chef or just cost cutting, but there certainly isn't the choice at Compass Rose that we have had in the past. It's fine for a short cruise but would hate to be on the full one - boredom could set in. The other thing (again too small to worry about) but in La Veranda instead of putting little cards explaining what each item is, they've put a menu on top of the display which is definitely not as easy to see, which is probably not too much of a worry to most people but for one who has allergies, it is.

 

It still sure beats having to cook my own food!

[freddie]

Down Under (or anyone else who knows) -

 

Could you please tell us who is currently serving as Executive Chef on Mariner?

 

The reports of inconsistent food are certainly a matter of concern.

 

The wonderful Executive Chef on Voyager, Cornel Ruhland, is moving over to Mariner later this fall. That is great news for Mariner cruisers, not such great news for Voyager passengers.

 

Cheers, Fred

[Travelcat2]

In terms of portions. . . remember that some people (like me) order small portions of several items. . . sometimes two appetizers, soup, salad and main course. Remember that you can order a double portion of just about anything. . . . or, an appetizer portion of a main course or visa versa (Down Under taught me that one last year). ;)

[RachelG]

TC is exactly right. I hate to waste food, and the portions served in many restaurants in the US are outrageously huge. No one should eat that much. Regent's portions are just right for me--if you want more, you can always order more.

[Rally]

TC is exactly right. I hate to waste food, and the portions served in many restaurants in the US are outrageously huge. No one should eat that much. Regent's portions are just right for me--if you want more, you can always order more.

 

A recent report put about 40% of Americans as obese. Maybe the shrimp cocktail with 6 shrimp, the one-pound saled with blue-cheese dressing, the 18 ounce rib-eye with the one-pound backed potatoe (with all the tirmmings) followed by the triple chocolate cake with fudge suace and ice cream (and just a bit of whipped cream, please) is killing us.

 

To me, fine dining is a complete meal, each course designed to complement the one preceding it, along with wines that do the same thing --- not about packing it in.

 

Yes, you can always order more --- how about three of those 18 ounce rib-eyes? Yumm!

[xrvlcruiser]

Chef Mike is coming to the Voyager - he's terrific as well. I would say they are about equal.

[Lvtocruize2]

Everyone seems to have a different opinion as to the food issue on the Mariner. We sailed a week prior to zaby coming southbound. My husband and I both found the food to be excellent with the exception of Signatures which I booked on the last night. In Prime 7, I also ordered king crab legs and could only eat a portion of one. It was absolutely outstanding!! The next day we happened to pass by the restaurant and I saw the person who seated us and told him how badly I felt about leaving 1 whole crab leg and a portion of another. He told me to order "small" portions and I could always order more of the same, which I did thru out the cruise.

 

We found the folks that we met to be very friendly!! One young couple was from England and we enjoyed them so much!

 

My only complaint was with the coffee brought from room service in the AM. No one seemed to know which carafe was decaf as opposed to caf The tops were different but the coffee was very very very STRONG that even my husband who likes strong coffee could not drink it.

 

This was our first trip on Regent and we are spoiled!!! Probably won't book with any other cruise line...........

[DaveFr]

Down Under (or anyone else who knows) -

 

Could you please tell us who is currently serving as Executive Chef on Mariner?

 

The reports of inconsistent food are certainly a matter of concern.

 

The wonderful Executive Chef on Voyager, Cornel Ruhland, is moving over to Mariner later this fall. That is great news for Mariner cruisers, not such great news for Voyager passengers.

 

Cheers, Fred

Fred,

 

Assuming the Executive Chef hasn't changed since our Sept. 2nd cruise, Uwe Poehlmann is the Executive Chef of the Mariner. Opinions on food are so subjective, I tend to take them with a large grain of salt. Personally, with the exception of an off night in Prime 7, I found the food on our cruise to be very good to excellent.

 

Dave

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Well I'm still glad that this chef isn't moving to Voyager, and that chef Mike has a good reputation, since I'll be on Voyager in, hmm, 10 weeks or so.

[NCCruzQueen]

Chef Mike was the chef on 9-9-09. I found the baby lamb chops in LV were far better than the rack of lamb in Signatures. LV has a Polish chef in the evening, a real likable and visible chef. As DownUnder stated, the Alaskan crab legs in Prime 7 were outstanding. Had Cream of Mushroom Soup twice and superb both times. Creme Brulee in the CR on the last night was much better than in Signatures.

[Dreps]

I'm with the "hate to waste food" crowd. I would much prefer for there to be relatively small portions than have larger portions going to waste. While someone might feel uncomfortable about ordering a second helping of a particularly satisfying dish, I wouldn't hesitate. Also, if I see an appetizer that looks particularly appealing, I might have a larger portion of it for an entree instead of as an appetizer--I did this with a lobser/pasta dish that was terrific. Similarly, if I see more than one entree that looks interesting, I might have one as an appetizer (either a smaller portion or not, depending on my appetite). The point is, there is a tremendous amount of flexibility.

 

However, if food quality is inconsistent, that is another story. We've been on the Mariner a total of about 50 days over several years, and the food has been somewhat inconsistent, though generally quite good. We've only been on the Voyager for 7 days, and as I've posted recently, we had consistently excellent food on that Baltics cruise in August, and we are looking forward to a similar situation on the Mariner in January, especially given that the same chef will be on board. Our one experience with a 15-day Silversea cruise was also generally good, but inconsistent food quality.