Mariner (somewhat live)

[RachelG]

I thought it looked a lot better than Sarande! No wonder, since it was a different port.

[JPR]

Que Sera Sarande Que Non Sera Sarande?

Edited April 16, 2014 by JPR

[Hambagahle]

Sarandë or Saranda. That was it. Totally and utterly forgettable. I hope I never see it again! (And I am sure Paul Noon does too...)

 

WOW Tina - 5 wins at Trivia. That is really good - but then so are you and Prabha! Any chance of your joining us on the TA next April on Riviera? I rather fancy a win once in a while and we had so much fun.

 

(A Bellini wouldn't be too bad either...)

Gerry

[optmax]

I am, to quote rarin2go, a 'ghastly Brit' and have just returned from this cruise.

 

My experience has been a little different to that of other contributors.

 

The whole trip was 'Work In Progress' - finishing work that should have been completed during dry dock.

 

Photographs earlier in the thread show:

New artwork in a suite along with a pile of pictures still to be hung. In some suites this was not completed until several days into the cruise. Other fixtures and fittings were still being completed in the refurbished suites several days later.

New double loungers on the pool deck - these were loaded and installed I think on day 3 in Civitavecchia with staff being seconded from their regular duties to unpack them. The new furniture outside the Horizon lounge was also installed at this time.

 

Painting and decorating (not just regular maiintenace) was still continuing inside and outside throughout the cruise.

 

We were not in one of the fully refurbished suites but did have a new TV still with some of its packaging attached and with its regular remote control (with seperate batteries not yet fitted as a screw driver was needed to open battery compartment). Steward did immediately supply the correct remote needed for the interactive TV.

 

While on the subject of the TV, the Navigation channel was not available at all. Some other channels were wrongly labeled, corrected on about Day 5.

 

We had new carpet. There was carpet glue on the footstool and settee. The carpet was coming away from the balcony threshold causing a trip hazard. Steward cleaned the glue when asked but this should have been done as a matter of routine before we boarded. Carpetwasmade safe by maintenance team.

 

The lavatory seat was badly stained. Steward tried but failed to remedy this. Seat was replaced but only after a written complaint.

 

One of our suit cases was not delivered until 11:15 pm and only after three phone calls to reception.

 

The farcical embarkation was glossed over by other posters. Lines were over two hours long at the worst point. The first coaches to arrive were turned away from the dock and had to return later.

 

We arrived at 5:30pm. Joined the line up the gangway and 20 minutes later were ushered into the packed Mariner loungue which was a holding area before the theatre being used as the main waiting room. We made the most of this and had champagne and nibbles until the theatre lines finally cleared at about 7:30pm. We entered our suite about 7:45pm.

 

We are experienced cruisers and know things can go wrong. I am sure Regent were mortified by this embarkation procedure and I know it is not a regular occurence but it does indicate that the ship was not ready to sail after the dry dock.

 

Some of these experiences were just minor niggles but nevertheless not what I expect from a 6 star line.

 

However we put all this behind us and had a most enjoyable cruise meeting many 'unghastly' Americans, Brits an other nationalities.

 

The food was excellent and the staff delightful and attentive.

[rarin2go]

I am, to quote rarin2go, a 'ghastly Brit' and have just returned from this cruise.

 

My experience has been a little different to that of other contributors.

 

The whole trip was 'Work In Progress' - finishing work that should have been completed during dry dock.

 

 

Sorry to hear about that but hopefully it means all will be shipshape when we board in June :)

 

I too am a 'ghastly Brit' BTW - just hope there's not too many of us on board ;)

Edited April 18, 2014 by rarin2go
punctuation needed

[Travelcat2]

It does sound like a difficult embarkation. Thankfully Regent sailed rather than delaying the sailing to complete the items that remained to be done. Regent does paint the ships (particularly the outside) all the time. I cannot recall one cruise where something wasn't being done to keep the ships in good shape. We've had balcony railing being re-varnished and various other things taken care of during the cruise. If maintenance were not continuous, the ships probably could not go two years between refurbishments.

[RachelG]

Not just Regent painting and varnishing. I can't remember any cruise I have been on, including Regent, Silversea, Oceania, and Celebrity, where there wasn't ongoing painting and varnishing. It is a continuous process.

 

On one Silversea cruise, there was a huge pile of furniture on one of the covered verandas at the front of the ship as they were refurbishing. They try to get everything done during dry dock, but anyone who has ever done a house remodel knows things often don't go on schedule.

[Hambagahle]

I am sure Regent wished that the dry dock work had been finished on schedule and that they had not been put in the position of clearing up a "snag list" (punch list for our American friends!) around sailing time and for days following... however as we say here "la vie n'est pas parfaite" and it seems that everyone did what they could to live with it.

 

FYI dry dock can also have disturbances beforehand - once on Voyager we were on a TA crossing. We docked very early in the am at FLL. To the sound of many thuds. When we emerged from our suite we discovered that there were mattresses leaning against the walls in all the corridors which made walking down them, even with carry ons, not easy. Apparently the dry dock was scheduled for Grand Bahama and the mattresses were from the US -- I was sorely tempted to curl up in one and stay on the ship and have an extra holiday!!

[greygypsy]

On Mariner now. Ship lovely. Crew great. International crowd. Not sure about Albania as port of call but other port stops superb. Jeff

[92mill]

Does that mean that all the incomplete dry dock renovations have now been completed.

[Jay23]

We have just arrived home from this cruise and I believe that all the maintenance has been completed. However, as someone else said, the ship is always being painted, varnished, wallpapered, washed down etc etc. and so it was on this second cruise after the refit. Mariner looked very smart when we boarded. We had a lovely cruise, with great company and excellent itinerary. Downside... mixed weather.... but I don't think Regent can do much about that.

[92mill]

Good news. But have the signing on to the internet problems that we experienced earlier this year on the Voyager been sorted out. In other words when you had bought a package could you get straight on or did you still have to go through the rigmarole of signing on each time

[RachelG]

You are still going to have to sign on each time. There is no way around that. I have to go through multiple screens of sign ons to get to my work vPN in addition. Takes me about 5 minutes to sign on each time, but this is on any cruise line, just not regent. If you are only wanting Internet, not a vPN, it is less, but still no way around it.

[tallship]

Yes and it logged you out frequently as well....

[92mill]

Logging on after the first time is very much quicker on Seabourn. I am not an expert at this, but some fellow passengers told me that it is an issue that Regent could resolve if they made an effort.

[Travelcat2]

Logging on after the first time is very much quicker on Seabourn. I am not an expert at this, but some fellow passengers told me that it is an issue that Regent could resolve if they made an effort.

 

It isn't surprising that Seabourn appears to have faster internet than Regent since the majority of passengers on Seabourn do not have free internet as they do on Regent. Of course, speed of the internet depends upon many things. Regent has done upgrades to the internet in the past several months but will be doing a major upgrade later this year when the provider increases the speed. Forgive me if my post is not technically correct. Basically, it was reported last year that internet speeds at sea will be dramatically better by 2015.

[92mill]

The problem is not the speed , once connected, but the rigmarole a nd time taken to log on each time. Regent need to address this issue even more than the speed when connected.

[Responder]

If I remember, years ago, although the speed was never too great, the logon was a one step deal after the initial sign up. This worked from either the kiosk or individual laptops.

 

I'm sure they could easily set up a radius server to allow instant logons after the initial authentication. Minimal cost.

 

I was never able to dig in technically with the internet managers as they were conditioned to quote the company scripts. A few over the years were quite competent but were corporately limited in their conversation.

 

I found this to be true on a number of lines besides Regent

[WesW]

Hi Tallship/Tina, enjoyed your posts--even the past two weeks, when sailing across the Atlantic with the Silver Cloud--thanks for taking the time to share. We look forward to sailing the Mariner next November--Capetown to Capetown.

 

Hi Greygypsy. Hope Susan and you have a terrific voyage. Look forward to reading more about it--have you enjoyed your fav martini (s) with b/cheese stuffed olives yet?

[Travelcat2]

The Mariner isn't finished. The top suites on both the Voyager and Mariner will be upgraded in about four months. As has been mentioned previously, the ships are constantly being worked on to keep them in the top shape.

 

In terms of signing on multiple times for internet, I think we should be thankful for what we have and not complain about a slight inconvenience. -- especially those of us who have had free internet since our 21st day on board a Regent ship. Unless things have changed, free internet does not exist on Seabourn, Silversea or Crystal unless you stay in one of the top suites.

[DaveFr]

The Mariner isn't finished. The top suites on both the Voyager and Mariner will be upgraded in about four months. As has been mentioned previously, the ships are constantly being worked on to keep them in the top shape.

TC,

 

I'm confused. I thought the top suites on Voyager and Mariner (i.e. Penthouse Suites and above) already were upgraded during the ships' recent dry docks. What further upgrades are they planning?

[92mill]

Nothing is free, it's all in the price.

[DaveFr]

Nothing is free, it's all in the price.

Well, yes and no. :D Yes in the sense that all costs such as the Seven Seas Society benefits are averaged and included in all cruise fares. No in the sense that a cruiser with 21 nights on Regent will get included, unlimited internet in a non-concierge suite while a first-time cruiser in the same suite category and paying an identical cruise fare will not get included, unlimited internet.

Edited April 28, 2014 by DaveFr

[Travelcat2]

Well, yes and no. :D Yes in the sense that all costs such as the Seven Seas Society benefits are averaged and included in all cruise fares. No in the sense that a cruiser with 21 nights on Regent will get included, unlimited internet in a non-concierge suite while a first-time cruiser in the same suite category and paying an identical cruise fare will not get included, unlimited internet.

 

Agree with you. Free internet is quite different that "included" excursions, airfare or hotels.

 

Do not have specifics on further work on the upper suites but know that some further will be happening to them.;)

[Responder]

The Mariner isn't finished. The top suites on both the Voyager and Mariner will be upgraded in about four months. As has been mentioned previously, the ships are constantly being worked on to keep them in the top shape.

 

In terms of signing on multiple times for internet, I think we should be thankful for what we have and not complain about a slight inconvenience. -- especially those of us who have had free internet since our 21st day on board a Regent ship. Unless things have changed, free internet does not exist on Seabourn, Silversea or Crystal unless you stay in one of the top suites.

 

My only comment would relate to your explanation of "Thankful."

 

For what I pay Regent to cruise, I think Regent should be thankful and not I.

 

If we should not be so concerned with a slight inconvenience, I wonder if the included excursions relate to all the criticism you have offered over the years.