Hot Spots and Headlines: A Mariner Mediterranean Joint Live Blog

[rayjames7]

Excellent, entertaining blog! Kudos and safe travels !!!!!!!

[RachelG]

Another excellent dinner in prime 7. I ordered the Dover sole because it is my favorite old standby. I had been planning to eat it this cruise and kept putting it off. It did not disappoint. Also the crab cake appetizer is one of the best crab cakes I have had anywhere- nice big chunks of crab, no filler.

 

Now sitting in Stars awaiting our airport transfers arrival. It was really wonderful meeting everyone, and I think this joint blog was a huge success. It will now fall to Rich to carry the torch alone unless he can recruit reinforcements.

 

Thanks everyone for the positive comments and well wishes. It keeps us going, and we very much appreciate them. And Jackie and Dennis, we will see you in May.

[Mr Rumor]

It appeared to be a very relaxed debarkation process this morning, with plenty of room for everyone to stretch out. I still get a wee shudder when I recall our 2012 Istanbul debarkation, when we slept-walk to the Constellation Theater at 4 a.m. for our very early departure from the ship.

 

With only 18 of us continuing on (number confirmed this morning), it was a snap to get our washing done. Each floor is a beehive of activity as stewards/stewardness work to turn over almost all of the rooms.

 

We'll be sailing full again on "Inspiring Isles" with a passenger count of 681. Female/Male breakdown: 381 to 301.

 

It is interesting to note that there are far more Americans on this cruise than on "Empires of Antiquity," 443 to 297. Also, there are substantially fewer Brits, 60; and more Canadians, 61. Here is the full nationality breakdown:

 

United States, 443

Canada, 61

United Kingdom, 60

Australia, 21

Ecuador, 15

Mexico, 14

Italy, 10

Switzerland, 10

Belgium, 6

Germany, 5

Ireland, 5

Chile, 4

New Zealand, 4

South Africa, 4

Thailand, 4

Hong Kong, 3

Taiwan, 3

Norway, 2

Romania, 2

Colombia, 1

France, 1

Guatemala, 1

Netherlands, 1

Singapore, 1

Spain, 1

 

We're very content to loll around the ship this morning (oddly the free excursion that Regent offered the in-transit passengers is very similar to the one we had on the morning of our embarkation, so no need to repeat it). We'll do a slow rev-up as folks begin embarking. Ate a very modest breakfast, so as to partake of Chef Kelly's Turkish Buffet on the Pool Deck. I think my stomach can handle it now!

 

We sail at 5 p.m. Our first stop, tomorrow, will be at the Mitilini, Lesbos replacement port, Kavala. We're signed up for an excursion that will take us to the archaeological site of Philippi.

 

Rich

[RachelG]

Glad you are feeling better, Rich, but jealous of your visit to Phillipi.

 

Our prebooked driver did not turn up. We called the number, and the guy on the phone said he was waiting for us, but we never found him. Lots of commotion and chaos outside the port as both Mariner and Silversea Spirit were de barking at the same time.

 

Anyway, we grabbed a taxi. Our driver was really funny, didn't speak much English, but gave us an ongoing commentary in Turkish. He was totally undeterred by traffic laws, going at top speed from lane to lane to shoulder of the road, through parking lots, and once wrong way down a one way street, but he got us to the airport in less than 30 minutes for the price I had agreed upon.

 

Now in the Turkish Airways business class lounge eating fresh made pizza and yummy yogurt. Best lounge food ever, and very nice huge lounge.

[Suite Travels]

I just read that Turkish Airline is in the top ten airlines according to Skytrax. We have never flown them.

[Anchorbuoy]

With big thanks to Executive Chef Kelly Cochrane here is some food for thought, literally, on how much food was consumed on our cruise (numbers are for passengers + crew/staff). All numbers are daily per person, except where noted. Prepare to be amazed!

 

Beef, 3.37 lbs.

Cheese, 6.8 lbs.

Chicken, 2.83 lbs.

Chocolate, 3.58 lbs.

Coffee, .5 lbs.

Eggs, fresh, 1,395 per day (number is for entire ship)

Eggs, liquid (breakfast, baking), 6.78 liters

Fish/seafood, 2.85 lbs.

Flour, 2.95 lbs.

Milk, 2 liters

Nuts, 30 ounces

Rice, .5 lbs.

Tea, 1.5 pieces

 

Rich, thanks for taking the initiative to start this most interesting blog. It made us feel like we were onboard traveling with you.

 

I think you have a typo on the food consumption list. If you ate 3.5 pounds of chocolate daily, that is the real reason for your stomach problems !!:eek:

[Mr Rumor]

I thought the chocolate consumption figure was crazy, too, Anchorbuoy, so I checked it with Chef Kelly and he confirmed it! Could the utterly decadent Chocoholic Tea be to blame for ramping up that number?! I think I better check in with him again on this. He has taken person responsibility, by the way, for Ginny's vegetarian dinner in Signatures tonight.

 

Speaking of the chef, here he is at the Turkish Buffet a short while ago. I was happy to have a second chance at the buffet, as we missed the first one on the 16th. It was great.

Edited September 28, 2015 by Mr Rumor

[Mr Rumor]

Just saw your last post, Rachel. Wow, what an exciting coda to your cruise! Glad that you and George kept your cool and made it safely to the airport on your amusement-park-attraction of a cab ride. Miss you two already!

 

The line of iPad-toting folks at the computer consultant's desk has already begun.

 

Rich

[FreeMaggie]

Well, I am truly a cruiser now, having completed my first cruise. I was so lucky to have my first cruise be on the Mariner and among such great CC'ers like Rich, Rachel and Jackie. Since I haven't posted since my second or so day on the ship, you may have thought I fell overboard. In reality, my mother needed more attention than I thought and we were always so exhausted by the excursions each day. I will write more observations once I'm home but wanted to add a HUGE thank you to Rich, Jackie and Rachel and their spouses who were so willing to nurture us during this cruise. I'm writing this while flying home on Turkish Air--I can't believe that the WiFi is better than on the Mariner!

 

I have been trying to determine which of the many things I saw and did on this cruise was my favorite....nearly impossible as I loved almost every minute of it (not the "bug" that got my intestines too...I had Cipro from home that knocked it out fast and would have shared with Rich had I known). The "Ephesus with an Expert" excursion is most likely the winner for all the reasons Rich mentioned.

 

One observation--I really liked that this cruise ended with an "At Sea" day. It allowed us to recover and pack at a leisurely pace and enjoy the ship as we started transitioning back to reality rather than squeezing in one last excursion and then scrambling to pack.

[Ron&Sue]

This joint blog was the best. It was so upbeat and I think we all wish we were onboard with the group. Thanks for taking your precious cruise time to post. Rachel - who would have guessed Turkish Air lounge to be the best. Safe travels to all.

[DaveFr]

With big thanks to Executive Chef Kelly Cochrane here is some food for thought, literally, on how much food was consumed on our cruise (numbers are for passengers + crew/staff). All numbers are daily per person, except where noted. Prepare to be amazed!

 

Beef, 3.37 lbs.

Cheese, 6.8 lbs.

Chicken, 2.83 lbs.

Chocolate, 3.58 lbs.

Coffee, .5 lbs.

Eggs, fresh, 1,395 per day (number is for entire ship)

Eggs, liquid (breakfast, baking), 6.78 liters

Fish/seafood, 2.85 lbs.

Flour, 2.95 lbs.

Milk, 2 liters

Nuts, 30 ounces

Rice, .5 lbs.

Tea, 1.5 pieces

Rich,

 

I really have enjoyed your posts as well as the posts of the others on this blog. I'm disappointed though because you haven't posted any pictures of the crew wheeling passengers off the ship in wheelbarrows. Anyone who consumed the quantity of food listed above over the course of ten days would surely weigh at least 500 pounds and would require assistance to get off the ship. :D Could anyone eat 68 pounds of cheese over ten days and survive? :eek: I think Chef Kelly meant to say that the amount of food listed above was used daily, not consumed daily. A lot of the food prepared daily, particularly for the buffets, is uneaten and is discarded.

[Mr Rumor]

DaveFr, you are probably very right that Chef Kelly was listing food used rather than consumed. I'll see if I can buttonhole him for some clarification.

 

I just reread a number of recent posts and want to thank everyone again for the kind words and kudos concerning the joint blog. Jackie and Rachel may be the two most dedicated, long-term live bloggers on this message board, and it was my pleasure to add my voice and perspective to the mix. Meanwhile, live posts from Dennis, Judy, Larry, Margaret/Maggie and Mike helped make this blog a Regent thread to remember. If any of my blogging compadres want to share any wrap-up thoughts, you know where to post them!

 

Now, to the news. Sad to report that favorite Regent bartender Olga (Observation Lounge, Pool Deck) had to leave the ship today in Istanbul due to a family emergency back home in the Ukraine. She was three months into her current Regent contract.

 

The planned Pool Deck "Sail-Away" at 5 p.m. with the Regent Signature Orchestra was cancelled due to the damp weather and winds. Instead, passengers gathered in the Horizon Lounge (members of the orchestra performed) and Observation Lounge (Resident Pianist Seana-Lee played and sang). Due to the winds, there is a bit of movement as we sail toward Kavala. Captain Teo said he would be going top speed as we have 254 nautical miles to cover.

 

There are at least seven children, aged 8-17, on this cruise--and they are all from the same (15-member!) family. Way too early to know how much the kids will be making their presence known around the ship. I'm expecting (hoping) that with our port-heavy itinerary and series of "strenuous" excursions they will have an adequate outlet for their collective energy.

 

Our itinerary:

 

September 29, Kavala, Greece, 10 a.m. arrival; 5:30 all aboard

September 30, Ephesus/Kusadas, Turkey, 10 a.m.; 5:30 p.m.

October 1, Rhodes, Greece, 8 a.m.; 5:30 p.m.

October 2, Aghios Nikolaos, Crete, 8 a.m.; 8:30 p.m.

October 3, Santorini, Greece, 9 a.m.; 6:30 p.m.

October 4, Mykonos, Greece, 8 a.m.; 6:30 p.m.

October 5, Athens/Piraeus, Greece, 5 a.m.

 

Spotted at 8:40 this evening: one gentleman on Deck 6 and a couple at the Reception Desk on Deck 5 dressed in jeans. I'm sensing a lot of Regent first-timers on this cruise. One of several indications: the parade of loud talkers who are still happening into the computer room as they continue to check out the ship at 9:40 p.m. A different "vibe" so far from the last cruise.

 

Rich

[RachelG]

Maggie, you are right about the wifi on Turkish airlines, better than on the ship. Final excitement. George lost his iPhone and credit card in the airport. Thinks they were stolen, but fortunately figured it out soon enough that we reported it and were able to cancel the card and shut down the phone permanently before boarding our flight. But lost hundreds of pics. He tends to take a lot more than I do. Only has the ones he posted to Facebook as he could not backup due to the slow internet on the ship. Kind of a bummer to end the trip this way.

 

Rich, a single family with that many kids aboard cannot be a good thing.

[pingpong1]

Rich (Mr. Rumor) - I'm interested in your posting of very specific and quite detailed demographic information for the compliment of passengers and crew on your cruise/s. On two of my past (Voyager) cruises, I asked (and thought I was being quite polite about it) for some of the same information you are coming up with. Specifically, I simply wanted to know the number of passengers onboard from "which" countries. I was told (rather curtly, I might add) that "Regent does not provide or furnish that type of private information to other passengers." I wasn't asking for names - just raw numbers.

 

So I said, "Thank you very much", walked away, and never attempted to engage again. Do you have a "special source" or "knack" for obtaining this kind of information or did I just happen to ask the wrong people? Just wondering. Regards.

[Travelcat2]

We just arrived home after a long day. Got plenty of sleep on the plane out of Heathrow. The only difficulty of the day was Istanbul Airport -- security is causing severe delays. Even though we were in the "Fast Track" line for Passports and then screening, it took about an hour standing in line. This was after standing in line for 45 minutes waiting for the British Airways counter to open up.

 

We will miss the people that we got to know on board but in terms of most of the crew, we'll see them in slightly under two months when we board in Cape Town. After Cape Town to Cape Town followed immediately by Cape Town to Rio, we plan on rethinking our future Regent cruises as we really want to get back to our favorite ship (the Voyager) and start sailing on the Explorer. The Mariner is a lovely ship, however, IMO, she is showing her age.

 

I will eventually write more about the experience

[Mr Rumor]

Thanks for checking in, Jackie, and glad to know you and Dennis made it home safely.

 

Rachel, Ginny and I are so sorry about George having his phone and credit card lost or stolen at the Istanbul airport--we all dread this happening overseas. Luckily, you were able to react quickly. Hope you are also happily settled back in at home.

 

No wonder I felt a different "vibe" on the ship last night: We're sailing with 473 Regent first timers!! Last cruise was our first with zero Titaniums; this cruise is our first with zero Titaniums and zero Platinums. The rest of the breakdown is as follows: Gold, 19; Silver, 106; and Bronze, 84. The Titanium, Platinum and Gold get-together will be a rather intimate affair this cruise, but not as small as our Alaska cruise in May, 2014, when I think there were fewer than a dozen of us.

 

We're sailing into Kavala as I type this. Seas are, of course, calm--but they weren't a couple of hours ago, when I got up. I'm glad that Ginny, hyper-sensitive to motion, was still sleeping comfortably at the time!

 

Rich

 

P.S. Pingpong, regarding your question, all I can say is I guess ol' Rumor has his ways of mining his Random Notes!

Edited September 29, 2015 by Mr Rumor

[orchestrapal]

Maggie, you are right about the wifi on Turkish airlines, better than on the ship. Final excitement. George lost his iPhone and credit card in the airport. Thinks they were stolen, but fortunately figured it out soon enough that we reported it and were able to cancel the card and shut down the phone permanently before boarding our flight. But lost hundreds of pics. He tends to take a lot more than I do. Only has the ones he posted to Facebook as he could not backup due to the slow internet on the ship. Kind of a bummer to end the trip this way.

Rich, a single family with that many kids aboard cannot be a good thing.

 

So sorry to hear about the IPhone but if he has his phone backed up to the cloud automaticly he should be able to recover his photos on any other Aple product. My photos go directly to my IPad. Good luck!

[Zqueeze1]

Rich:

 

So sorry about Olga's departure. We were wondering about her plans since the emergency actually occurred on the 15th but she wanted to stay onboard for at least one more cruise. I sincerely hope that she is able to return soon.

 

Another one of the great staff members onboard is a Romanian gentleman who lives in Madrid. He was a bar tender at the pool bar during our cruise from the 6-16th of Sep. Unfortunately, I don't recall his name, but he was excellent.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

Z and TB

[Mr Rumor]

Walking in Paul the Apostle's footsteps at the ruins of Philippi this morning.

[yllwjp1]

It was a great trip and we have talked with many wonderful people and seen so many interesting sights. So glad to have met Rachel & George (nice job trying to get salesman's attention by saying "Tom"), Travelcat, and of course Rich and Ginny(Agree wholeheartedly that Moshe was the best guide).

Fyi. Connections in Munich are tight (think OJ running thru airport commercial) but they are makeable

Safe & happy travels to all

[Travelcat2]

Also sorry to hear about George's phone and credit card. Glad that he was able to shut things down before boarding the plane.

 

Margaret, it was delightful meeting you and your mother. Wish we could have spent more time together but are happy that you both enjoyed the cruise.

 

Rich - I cannot even imagine the "vibe" on the ship with so many cruisers new to Regent. The vibe seems "different" (for lack of a better word) when there is a majority of repeat customers and when there is a majority of new customers. We met some delightful new cruisers on board and were happy to answer their many Regent questions over lunch in Rhodes. On the same excursion, I was asked twice if I was "one of the bloggers". Apparently there was a lot of interest in what we were doing and people wanted to know how to get to the Regent thread. I am not surprised that my DH got lost on the CC website because finding the different threads is not as intuitive as I thought. The heading "Community" is nice but does not necessarily lead you to believe that you will find threads there. Once finding the "Cruise Critic Message Board Forums, it seems easier to find Regent's Roll Call (which is where my DH's post went) than the Regent Board.

 

BTW, Rich does have an incredible knack of obtaining information. He always has his notepad with him and that, along with his winning personality, makes it easier for him to obtain the information he is seeking.

 

Tried not commenting on the children (that thought lasted about 30 seconds) but have to at least say that we appreciated having all adults on our cruise. I'm wondering if the family is from Australia because that is the only country where it is currently Spring and the children are probably out of school.

 

I don't have a lot of comments about this cruise - the food and service were exemplary and the crew was even better than that. We enjoyed the Grand Suite and felt very fortunate to have received the last minute upsell offer. You never know when Regent will need your suite and will "sell" an upper suite for an amazing price. Our Cape Town to Rio cruise (an extension to our prior cruise) was an offer we had turned down several weeks earlier but accepted when the price got to about 50% of the fare.

 

As I referenced earlier, the Mariner is showing its' age - mainly in the bathroom. The upper suites (PH and above) have been completely refurbished and look great - except for the bathroom (and the carpeting in our suite needs to be re-stretched). The grey marble tile throughout most of the bathroom looks lovely. However, the old yellow/gold granite countertop seems to age the ship several years. The grouting in the shower (at the bottom - by the yellow granite) is poorly done. I suspect that this would be a costly job for Regent -- perhaps they could do a few suites at a time.

 

My best memories of the cruise was meeting the CC'ers on board (the bloggers and some others) -- everyone was upbeat, happy to be onboard and enjoying the cruise. It was a pleasure to sail with such a congenial group of people. Now, if I could only get them onto the Explorer transatlantic...............................

 

P.S. Miles, you need to leave our little fishies alone....... fishing not allowed:-)

Edited September 29, 2015 by Travelcat2

[Linda VH]

Thank to all who have posted. It has been a joy to read as we will be on Mariner in Feb. in South America. Looking forward to hearing how the children and people new to Regent "change the vibe".

[RachelG]

So sorry to hear about the IPhone but if he has his phone backed up to the cloud automaticly he should be able to recover his photos on any other Aple product. My photos go directly to my IPad. Good luck!

 

Unfortunately, both devices have to be connected to Internet for this to happen, so it is not possible to back up while on the ship. So he has all the old stuff, but none of the new pics.

 

Rich, I am super jealous of your excursion since seeing you pic.

 

Have to agree that one of the best things about the cruise was meeting my fellow CC'ers, especially Jackie and Rich. And I also got stopped several times by random people asking if I was RachelG, so the blog really had a presence on this trip.

[Mr Rumor]

I have a slightly adjusted figure for the number of first-time Regent cruisers on "Inspiring Isles"--456 instead of the previously reported 472. Still an amazing number.

 

I know three lads who are very happy with the present ship "vibe": Jun, Sernil and Larry of Nature's Rhythm. I felt kinda sorry for them at the end of the last cruise, as they were doing their nightly gig in Stars to an almost empty room. Not this week! The dance floor is packed, the decibel level up, and they have all the song requests they can handle. They're not complaining!

 

Jackie, good guess on where the family of 15 hail from. When I encountered members of the family on the Pool Deck, I kinda knew. . . Ecuador (I had been surprised by the number of Ecuadorians on the passenger breakdown). We stood in their midsts until "mama" saw us and we exchanged smiles. Then I blurted out, "Are you from Ecuador?" A surprised "Yes!" Then, "Are there 15 of you?" Another surprised "Yes!" That was our ice-breaker, and she and her husband and Ginny and I are now friends. Friendly enough that when we encountered them near the elevator after dinner last night we had a group hug. I have to confess, however, that the hug was only part greeting--we were also trying to steady ourselves as the ship was really rolling at the moment! (We had been warned by Captain Teo to be prepared for motion last night due to the forecast of 35-knot northeasterly winds. The winds materialized, as did the motion. Happily, Ginny fared just fine on just her Bonine tabs.)

 

Devotees of Paul--and I know that you and George are among them, Rachel--appreciate the great importance of Philippi, so yesterday's excursion to the ruins was very special. We walked on the very stones in the Forum that Paul walked, and viewed the spot where he and Silas were judged by the magistrates and then the spot nearby where they were imprisoned. Just to the east of this area we also viewed the ruins of the Octagon, an octagonal early Christian church that it is believed was consecrated to Paul. After we left the ruins we made a stop at the nearby St. Lydias Church Baptisery where we viewed the spot where Lydia was said to have received the first baptism on European soil by Paul.

 

We're just over an hour away from docking at Kusadasi. Today's excursion will take us to the ancient sites of Priene, Miletus and Didyma.

 

Rich

[motone]

Hi everyone, A family member was on the Istanbul roundtrip on the Mariner and has told us that they had difficulty every night trying to get into dinner at the time they wanted. He said they usually had to wait about 30 minutes for a table, irrespective of the time they went to the restaurant. This applied to both the Compass Rose and Sette Mari. They had reservations in Prime 7 and Signatures and said the food was fantastic, although it took up to 30 minutes for the main course to arrive.

 

My question is : me and my OH are sailing on the Mariner Lisbon to Cape Town and wonder if we will have the same problem. The family member said he thinks there wasn't enough staff.

 

What is your opinion? The family member does have a tendency to exaggerate but it's making me wonder whether we'll come across the same problem. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.