PART#2 CRUISING IN THE SS MARINER FROM TOKYO TO VANCOUVER

[ronrick1943]

 

We did walk pass the pool deck after lunch which was excellent both in food and service.  No pool lounge hogs out today.  But it is in the low 45’s and getting colder.  So just guessing, but this shouldn’t be a problem on this cruise.  A few cruisers are in the hot tub, wonder if they realize they have to get out sometime?

 

[ronrick1943]

This morning we decided to have breakfast in La Veranda, have to say nothing special.  Most of the hot food wasn’t that great looking.  The fruit, rolls and cold plates looked pretty good.  Service was outstanding as it always is. 

 

We’re at Port of Hakodate, Japan!  The docking area isn’t much to look at and it’s really cold outside, so we decided, yes you guessed it we stayed on the ship today.  We’ll be going to the spa a little later, maybe stop at tea time to see how Regent does it. 

 

Ron is working on his book he’s writing.  He started it on the last cruise we took.  He’s named it; How To Do Nothing”.  That’s as far as he gotten, hopefully he may get one page completed before this cruise is over however he’s taking a nap now.

 

We did walk pass the pool deck after lunch which was excellent both in food and service.  No pool lounge hogs out today.  But it is in the low 45’s.

 

The Coffee Connection was very busy late morning; however within seconds the staff grew from 2 to 5 working the counter and a few more working the tables and food area.  They handled it well. 

 

Here are some pictures from dinner last night, again very good dinner and service just as good.

We had plans to eat at Prime7, and then saw we also had Prime7 for tomorrow.  So we cancelled tonight and went to Compass Rose.  Our waiter was Nino for the second time, a good waiter as service great again.  We really weren’t that hungry so we only had two courses, both being good.  The photo(s) below are from two dinners, not one.

 

Something I notice is how many fresh flowers are around the ship, really looks nice and no I didn’t count them, but a lot of them.

 

Tonight the Captain said we should be ready for high winds this evening and they closed all outdoor decks.  Our suite is high up on 11 and in the front of the ship.  It’s a little bouncy, but really not that bad.  So we’ll see how the night goes.  Looking forward to sea days ahead, just relaxing for us but they do have a lot going on for tomorrow all day.

[MalbecWine]

Once again, it’s a pleasure to read your thoughts on your journey.  Keep enjoying!

[ronrick1943]

2 hours ago, MalbecWine said:

Once again, it’s a pleasure to read your thoughts on your journey.  Keep enjoying!

Thanks, we're having fun writing it and we still have 16 days of good times before we have to go home.

[ronrick1943]

This morning was The Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle Party in the Observation Lounge at 11:00AM.  The group attending total was about 23 cruisers, nice turn out and it really was fun meeting and talking to everyone.  Regent did a nice job putting this together, plus they had a descent amount of Officer(s) attending.  Did we need more food, don’t think so but there was right in front of you.   The CC group stayed around about.  It was a nice event.

Edited May 1, 2019 by ronrick1943

[Zqueeze1]

Is the first pic the famous panko shrimp?  I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them!!!  Please keep posting, we are really enjoying it.  Glad you had a nice turnout at the M&M.

Z and TB

[Travelcat2]

Where is the "famous panic shrimp served"?

[MalbecWine]

Panko is being used worldwide instead of flour.  Onion rings, shrimp, fish and some Asian restaurants are using it instead of traditional tempura.

[ronrick1943]

47 minutes ago, Zqueeze1 said:

Is the first pic the famous panko shrimp?  I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them!!!  Please keep posting, we are really enjoying it.  Glad you had a nice turnout at the M&M.

Z and TB

Yes it is, and Ron really enjoyed it. The M&M was a fun event.

[ronrick1943]

37 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

Where is the "famous panic shrimp served"?

Panic? ☺️  It was served in the Compress Rose and very good.☺️

[ronrick1943]

Still cruising, things are good and having a good time.  The problems are simple ones really not changing what we think about Regent.  We had breakfast at La Veranda the other day, the buffet itself really isn’t that good as far as hot food goes unless you order something like egg’s to order or pancakes which are excellent served with hot syrup.  The cold part of the buffet as well as the rolls and bread are pretty good.

 

Lunch at La Veranda is excellent in my opinion so I don’t see why they can’t get breakfast together.  But it’s no big deal because we prefer having a light breakfast in the suite in the morning.  Bring us to another little point; this morning before our Butler was on duty (6:30AM) room service took care of breakfast.  They came in and set the tray on the table and left.  No big deal, but really no setting of the table.  Unusual! 

 

The weather is turning from bad to worst bringing us rain and swells up to 14 feet.  The Captain is speeding it up to try to get ahead of the storm but told us it won’t get better-but a lot worst.

 

You know we said we’re not really tour people, but we did want to tour Petropavlovsk, Russia.  Well wouldn’t you know it because of the storm The Captain is cancelling the port of Petropavlovsk.  Not too popular as you could hear the “Oh no’s” throughout the ship.  But we think it’s better to be safe so we can cruise again than take a chance.  Besides on the bright side we’ll have another sea day to look forward too.

 

Now just a short note to update you on Ron’s book he’s writing about “How to do Nothing”.  I saw him turn a page—so I took a look, he wrote Chapter One before closing his eyes again.  I’m sure it’s going to be on the Best Sellers list and pre-sells may start at any time.

 

Dinner at Sette Mari tonight and it wasn’t so good.  Service was outstanding by the staff and Jackson our waiter as always.  The pancetta (but really looked like bacon) around the chicken was way under cooked (see photo), but the chicken was very good.  We just had a appetizer that we shared plus the main.

 

Our deck door seems to be leaking with all the rain, needed to have it dried out with a fan, tonight towels and a huge fan to dry out the carpet (and you know how they sound).  If it stops raining they will bring in a carpenter to try to fix it.  Its morning and the floor, towels are really wet.  Hopefully this will be taken care soon.

 

Our suite is cold and getting colder, seems the heat isn’t working (few days now, it’s either very hot or very cold), right now it’s really cold we’re using blankets to keep warm in the living room.  Things happen and that's OK, but let's see how they handle it.

[1teach53]

1 hour ago, Zqueeze1 said:

Is the first pic the famous panko shrimp?  I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them!!!  Please keep posting, we are really enjoying it.  Glad you had a nice turnout at the M&M.

Z and TB

We special ordered the panko  shrimp 🍤 yesterday for tonight. We were in prime7 the night CR served them.  Our favorite!💞

Benji took care of our order, great to see his smiling face again!

The M&M was very nice. Great to put names with faces.  A number of officers were  in a attendance, along with Margaret, Marla & Gudrun.

Still rain and gloomy weather. The waves have not gotten as bad as predicted, maybe it’s still to come ? We are catching up on some movies. 

Karen 😻

[rcandkc]

57 minutes ago, 1teach53 said:

We special ordered the panko  shrimp 🍤 yesterday for tonight. We were in prime7 the night CR served them.  Our favorite!💞

Benji took care of our order, great to see his smiling face again!

The M&M was very nice. Great to put names with faces.  A number of officers were  in a attendance, along with Margaret, Marla & Gudrun.

Still rain and gloomy weather. The waves have not gotten as bad as predicted, maybe it’s still to come ? We are catching up on some movies. 

Karen 😻

Sorry for the rain.  The cruise we met you and your husband on in November was quite wet too.  Hope your luck changes soon.  Frankly, hope ours does too. 

We go on our next adventure soon and also going to book our next cruise.  This time we are going to try a new TA too 😀.

[ronrick1943]

Yes the rain has stopped, and the swells aren't bad at all.  Much less than what the Captain was thinking for this morning, which is a good thing.  We've had many workmen trying to fix things--so far it's nothing is fixed.  So the good news is it has to get better, can't get much worst 🙄 I think.

 

Update on Ron's book, his hands are so cold he can't write and will have to take a break----so he'll have to postpone his booking signing.😌

[1teach53]

15 minutes ago, ronrick1943 said:

Yes the rain has stopped, and the swells aren't bad at all.  Much less than what the Captain was thinking for this morning, which is a good thing.  We've had many workmen trying to fix things--so far it's nothing is fixed.  So the good news is it has to get better, can't get much worst 🙄 I think.

 

Update on Ron's book, his hands are so cold he can't write and will have to take a break----so he'll have to postpone his booking signing.😌

😂 LoL 💞

sorry about to cold breeze in your suite😞

brrrrrr ! 

Karen 

[Travelcat2]

3 hours ago, ronrick1943 said:

Panic? ☺️  It was served in the Compress Rose and very good.☺️

 

Would't it be nice if our computers did not change our words into something that is a word so that it isn't found when you do spell check?

 

Thanks for the info.

[ronrick1943]

1Teach53,  No it's not a breeze, the heater doesn't work and we just came back from lunch and it's still not fix.  They say it's going to get down 2 or 3 c tonight.

We called but no one is around until after 4:00PM and 2:00PM now.  We'll see........

 

Travelcat2, wouldn't it be nice, it happens to me more than once.

 

[rcandkc]

10 minutes ago, ronrick1943 said:

1Teach53,  No it's not a breeze, the heater doesn't work and we just came back from lunch and it's still not fix.  They say it's going to get down 2 or 3 c tonight.

We called but no one is around until after 4:00PM and 2:00PM now.  We'll see........

 

Travelcat2, wouldn't it be nice, it happens to me more than once.

 

This really is not good.  I think getting more insistent with gm may be in order.  Maybe they don’t understand no heat not just not warm enough. 

[ronrick1943]

59 minutes ago, rcandkc said:

This really is not good.  I think getting more insistent with gm may be in order.  Maybe they don’t understand no heat not just not warm enough. 

We've been in contact with the GM, nice guy and trying.  The heat is now on, so let's hope it works through the night.  If the storm catch's up with us we'll get more water in the suite  living room.  Right now we seem to be moving fast to stay ahead of the storm.  Captain thinks the swells will be 15 to 16 feet later tonight or morning.

And the temp 2c.  So things are looking up, let's hope for the best.

[ronrick1943]

No photos but lunch with friends was in Compress Rose today.  Not so good, steak was over cooked, duck very-very dry, pasta was under cooked and the slicers dry, the french fries cool at best.  Now it isn't just us, it was others at our table and the table next to us.

Dinner tonight is in Prime 7 with a Regent Officer, should be good.  Will write more later, hope all is good with everybody.  

And don't forget this is only our opinion as we see it during this cruise on Regent.

[1teach53]

3 hours ago, rcandkc said:

This really is not good.  I think getting more insistent with gm may be in order.  Maybe they don’t understand no heat not just not warm enough. 

I’m so sorry!! It really is not good!😞 No heat!!!!

Hope the situation improves quickly!! 

K

[ronrick1943]

Just updating, not good it's been about 3 hours and only a little heat coming out.  Just can't heat the whole suite.  They will be coming back to work on it, so I guess taking a hot shower to get warm.😌 But I'll have to get out sometime...............We've asked for extra covers for tonight. We're still smiling! 

[1teach53]

15 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

Where is the "famous panic shrimp served"?

Compass Rose 💞

[ronrick1943]

OK, just back from dinner.  Is Cold or Hot?  We left the suite with 5 crew members working in the suite and 1 outside the suite.  We wondered if the heater was fixed or not.  To our surprise as we walked in a saw a stack of blankets on the couch, I mean a stack of them.  Not looking good---but the suite wasn’t cold or hot but comfortable to me and a little cool to Ron.  The heater is on full blast, and it’s getting warmer.  So that’s some good news.

 

And it gets better; we just had a delightful dinner at the Prime 7 with Officer Valdamir.  Company was great and we had really good food.  Sorry but we didn’t take one picture during dinner, not because we didn’t want to take any-we were just having a good time.  The food was perfectly cooked.  Now if you’re having dessert try the banana cream pie, we think the best dessert we’ve had on the ship.  Just to be truthful (and I’m not being bias) I retired from a large banana company and that’s where I get my retirement check from) please order anything with bananas in it-please-Really this dessert was really good.

 

So things are back to good and all you can ask and hope is that Regent takes customer service seriously and they did.  That’s what counts.

[Hambagahle]

Sounds like you needed a Master Electrician to look at the heating system and sort things out...there is nothing worse than being cold and wet.  But glad it seems to have been sorted - at last!

 

And then on top of it to have the food problems (and the pancetta looked very undercooked to me...not that that is dangerous - here in Switzerland we eat bacon raw and it is very nice - but that clearly should have been cooked.  Where is the supervision of plates going out from the kitchen??

 

It is odd because normally breakfast at la Veranda is a lot better than at the CR.  Seems to be the reverse right now.  Anyway I hope the weather clears and the suite stays warm!

Edited May 2, 2019 by Hambagahle