On Board the Mariner Miami to Miami

[Johnthesailor]

Oh no - again? Did you stop in Rio and take on more passengers or is this from existing passengers. Feeling badly for those on board but it sounds as if everyone is taking it in stride.

 

 

Hopefully, they will get it under control soon. And since handwashing is the most important precaution I'm surprised there isn't some alternative to tissues in the washrooms. We've been on code red cruises before and while the situation isn't great we have always managed to still have a good time. The crew does get pretty ragged from all the extra work they get handed. We will be joining the cruise in a few days and are still looking forward to it. Jackie - Hope you are doing well haven't seen you since South Africa.

 

John & Jan

[Travelcat2]

Hopefully, they will get it under control soon. And since handwashing is the most important precaution I'm surprised there isn't some alternative to tissues in the washrooms. We've been on code red cruises before and while the situation isn't great we have always managed to still have a good time. The crew does get pretty ragged from all the extra work they get handed. We will be joining the cruise in a few days and are still looking forward to it. Jackie - Hope you are doing well haven't seen you since South Africa.

 

John & Jan

 

Agree with your post! Really hope that you both will be on one of our Explorer cruises. Do you have anything booked on the Explorer?

[Kwaj girl]

...we will stay overnight here in Santos. Apparently there's a problem with the emergency generator which must be fully operational before sailing. As they say,"ship happens."😏

[Konagolfer]

My DH had a chat with Captain Serena last evening and she stated that there were 9 passengers with the intestinal bug so that put us over the 2% reporting criteria and triggered the return to level two. Also we cannot sail without the emergency generator working so they are trying to find a replacement. Luckily the port we are in, Santos, is the largest port in South America so they may have what we need. There has not been an update so far this morning but destination services has come up with a couple of tours (can you believe that they are charging $159 for one of them?) and shuttle buses to a couple of shopping destinations, however it is raining and it appears that not many people went on tour. I have a feeling that we may be here for a while. We are trying to look at the situation as staying in a luxury hotel!

[Johnthesailor]

If at level two red the guest laundries are closed, I assume the only alternative is to pay to have laundry done. Has this impacted the turn-around time for laundry? Is it next day or has that been turned into a two or three day turn-around? We are joining on Friday and I'm curious if I should make extra provisions for additional clothing.

 

Thanks,

John

[Gilly]

John when we were on board during the previous segment, when code red was activated the laundry service was reduced to half price. I had clothes for travelling home laundered and was delighted to be given a complimentary service - whether that relates to our gold SSS status or something else, I have no idea. I was grateful though!

 

The impact on the turnaround time was slight - whilst it was no longer a 24hr turnaround, it didnt take that much longer IMHO.

Edited February 29, 2016 by Gilly

[Konagolfer]

We are still at the dock in Santos and it is our second night here. Today we heard through the grapevine that only about 50 passengers took advantage of the offered tours, everyone else either stayed on board or went on the shuttle bus into town. The captain just made an announcement (about 8:30 pm) that they have a generator being trucked in from Rio and it should arrive in the morning and it will take about 8 to 10 hours to get it installed (including the time for all the red tape in the port). This is a temporary installation being made up on deck 12 in the area of the paddle tennis court. They hope to sail tomorrow night but are not optimistic. Most passengers are disappointed but stoic about the situation, we have only heard about a few "meltdowns". A third day in this port may prove to be a challenge for everyone. More news as it develops!

[Gilly]

Oh my goodness, Konagolfer. Hang in there and thank you for keeping us updated. Let's hope that things turn out better than they fear...I'll keep everything crossed ;-)

[JMARINER]

Good luck. But from my past experiences traveling to Brazil, I am now an endless cynic.

 

I am sorry to say that anything that has anything to do with "red tape" and Brazil ends up for the worse. It seems that every time the Mariner goes to Brazil there is some official government bureaucracy messing thing up. Last year the Brazilian put the kitchen staff/food services through a horrid inspection which consumed endless hours of needless busy work to meet their made up regulations.

 

 

J

[Travelcat2]

Unfortunately, I agree about Brazil. Even without having difficulty with the back-up generator, there are many challenges that the crew of the ship face when the ship is in the waters of Brazil. I believe that the authorities always do a "horrid inspection" of the ship

 

We have been to Brazil three times and each time there was difficulty getting the food that they needed (my source is a Food and Beverage Director). Entertainment is affected because you cannot perform unless you have a certain type of visa (this probably does not matter due to the Code Red status of the ship). If I remember correctly, some crew members cannot get off of the ship at all (depending upon the country they are from). And, of course, there is the 25% tax on items that you buy in the Boutique or Spa ("services" not taxed).

 

Truly hope that the Mariner is ready to sail again ASAP and that the passengers recover quickly.

[Johnthesailor]

Is the ship still on code RED? Any progress being made?

 

thanks,

John

 

Jackie - We are not booked for any future voyages beyond the Amazon. That is just because we had a lot going on and have not seen any trips which sparked our interest. We will take a deeper look onboard.

[pvgal]

Code Red continues. But the generator has arrived and they are getting ready to place it on deck 12. It is now about 2:30pm. So much for it arriving in the morning. I am pretty sure we will stay here overnight and sail tomorrow to Rio. This entire cruise has been an experience that I do not want to repeat anytime soon. Let's hope the final leg of the cruise goes better than the last two legs. One can only hope.

 

Eileen

[Travelcat2]

Let's hope the final leg of the cruise goes better than the last two legs. One can only hope.

 

Eileen

 

All of us are hoping so as well!

[b&m@11]

Hi Noel, just picked this up and once again, many thanks for the updates very useful and very welcome...so kind and hopefully you will have a stress free and safe travel home. In the meantime keep informing!!!!

[Sunprince]

Sorry, but I don't get some of the "precautionary measures". How does closing the laundrette improve sanitation? I would think laundering your clothes would be important. Why wouldn't the ship provide antibacterial hand wipes (like Lysol wipes) in the laundry so passengers can wipe down the handles etc before and after use??

 

Also, removing the hand towels in the bathrooms is silly to me. So a better alternative is providing nothing but Kleenex?? We all know how effective Kleenex is at drying your hands! I would think a non-reusable hand towel would be more sanitary?? And what about providing anti-bacterial hand wipes? Where are they? Now I know why I travel with them in my luggage

 

The generator issue is an entirely other matter, but needles to say I hope people are making the best of a bad situation

[drcandon]

Well, the generator problem has made Facebook groups...if you search on Facebook for the Regent Seven Seas public group, you will see a post on the issue.

 

It says besides the generator they flew in 2 techs from Miami to work on it...

 

Here is a link to a website called Crew Center ( lawyer web site for crew - or so it says.), that "broke the story"...

 

http://crew-center.com/cruise-ship-stranded-santos-due-generator-problems

 

Warning (update 8:03 pm).. I just went back on the Regent Facebook group and someone has posted some very offensive image on the public group..I have reported it to Facebook and to the admin of the group - will be off soon I hope..the other web link is okay

Edited March 2, 2016 by drcandon

[Kwaj girl]

We are on board now....I think the article's use of the word "stranded" is a bit dramatic, don't you? We are certainly well cared-for in what would be considered a lovely resort. We are not at all restricted in terms of our ability to get off the ship to go into town, etc. Yes, we may be unable at this time to set sail due to safety requirements but we are in no way "stranded."

[JMARINER]

Sorry, but I don't get some of the "precautionary measures". How does closing the laundrette improve sanitation? I would think laundering your clothes would be important. ................

 

Also, removing the hand towels in the bathrooms is silly to me. .........

 

You don't want someone who's hands may have been exposed to fecal matter from under wear potentially touching a public surface. Also, the water in the public laundry may not be hot enough to kill the virus. Same thing with the bathroom reusable towel. But in my experience, they should have put paper towel in their place.

 

j

[drcandon]

I certainly agree ..stranded is a bit of a stretch. .but everyone loves drama..on a serious note when do they expect to get the ship to Rio...We board on Friday!

[Kwaj girl]

I certainly agree ..stranded is a bit of a stretch. .but everyone loves drama..on a serious note when do they expect to get the ship to Rio...We board on Friday!

 

The generator was to be installed overnight and this morning, followed by testing procedures. We are currently scheduled to depart around 6 pm to arrive Rio tomorrow morning. If all goes well, that is.

 

See you on board!

Edited March 2, 2016 by Kwaj girl
Finish

[Konagolfer]

The generator is on board and crew is working on the installation. Hopefully it will check out ok! We expect to sail late this afternoon and will go straight to Rio in order to arrive there tomorrow morning as per original schedule. I did post some pictures on my blog of the generator being lifted to the upper deck. https://thewatkinscruise.blogspot.com

[Johnthesailor]

Lets hope all goes well with the generator. And, that the next cruise segment is without any problems. Are you still on Code Red?

 

Thanks,

John

[pvgal]

Generator functions properly and we will set sail this afternoon. And we are now in code green.

[Johnthesailor]

Is Code Green equal to normal? Or, are there still restrictions, just less?

 

Thanks,

John

[b&m@11]

Regards filling out health forms prior to boarding. So that the majority of people are not inconvenienced by the few, perhaps the industry needs to establish a (hate to say) procedure for TA's / Cruise lines / Airlines to ensure that all passengers have valid insurance for when they travel. This does happen with some, but not enough flight / holiday companies in the UK, and or we all sign forms indemnifying the TA's/Cruise lines etc. That just may make people think twice, then again pigs may fly.....

Edited March 2, 2016 by b&m@11