Cruise Critic heading out on Mariner! What do you want to know?

[Cruise Critic Chris]

Hi all! 

 

I'm leaving today for Anchorage and will board Mariner in Seward tomorrow for a weeklong Inside Passage cruise. This is my sixth trip to Alaska but never on a luxury ship, so I'm looking forward to seeing the differences. This is also my first (!!) trip on Regent, although I've sailed other luxury lines such as Seabourn and more recently Silversea. 

 

I'm not sure how great the wifi is but if you have any questions, let me know and I'll do my best to answer. 

 

Chris 

[NCCruzQueen]

9 minutes ago, Cruise Critic Chris said:

I'm not sure how great the wifi is but if you have any questions, let me know and I'll do my best to answer. 

 

Chris 

 

 

Hi @Cruise Critic Chris

 

I hope you enjoy Mariner.  I was on the May 5th sailing.  We had a great time with wonderful weather and fantastic animal sightings.

 

I can tell you from experience, the best time to use the wifi is early in the morning, before 8AM, early afternoon when passengers are on excursions and in the evening after dinner.  

 

Have a blast!!

 

Beth

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Have a great time.  Let us know if the maintenance issue they have has slowed the ship down at all.  Oh, and how is the passenger load?

[edgee]

3 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Have a great time.  Let us know if the maintenance issue they have has slowed the ship down at all.  Oh, and how is the passenger load?

Would also like to know about maintenance issue since my Seward to Vancouver cruise was cancelled because of it! On the positive side, we used our compensation to book Mariner in October for Mexican cruise. So anxious to hear all the positives you can relate about Mariner!!

[audobon_tx]

What is the  "maintenance issue"?

[Wendy The Wanderer]

20 hours ago, audobon_tx said:

What is the  "maintenance issue"?

Not sure of the details--a propeller maybe?

[ronrick1943]

Mariner is a great ship, to us it’s the way cruising should be…………..

[2012_Alaska_bound]

@Cruise Critic Chris

I just read your thread on Azamara Onward, and would be interested to know after you experience the Mariner if you think someone used to cruising on Regent would be happy on Azamara.

Thanks.

[Cruise Critic Chris]

Thanks, all! I'll get to some of these questions as the trip goes on. 

 

We embarked today in Seward after a night at the Hilton Anchorage. Lots of people dislike the Hilton. I have typically stayed at the Captain Cook and prefer that,  but there was nothing overtly wrong with the Hilton. Definitely not a luxury experience, however. Great Alaskan chowder and local beers at 49th State Brewery. 

 

We had a private transfer down to Seward. Our driver Steve was fantastic - knowledgeable and a Seward native; he gave us a brief tour of the town when we arrived. We saw a moose mother and two babies on the ride down. Also a stop in Girdwood for some apple fritters. 

 

[Cruise Critic Chris]

Embarkation took about 45 minutes. There was a hang up for ourselves and others with our ArriveCan - you need the arrival time of your ship to be exact. So make sure you have that exact time when you fill it out. 

[Cruise Critic Chris]

We are in suite 973, a concierge suite. Nice size. Welcome bottle of Veuve since we are new to Regent. Plenty of space for the two of us. Steward quickly separated our beds. We were able to request wine instead of beer for the mini fridge. We were also offered bottles of liquor which we turned down, simply because we don't drink liquor. 

 

Some photos of the suite 

 

 

[Cruise Critic Chris]

We had a late lunch at Le Veranda. Gorgeous outdoor view. Food was delicious. Only hiccup is that the first glass of wine we ordered, a French rose, was clearly corked (you can see in the one picture how off color it is). The second glass, a Chilean sauvignon blanc, was also off. Finally the New Zealand sauvignon blanc worked. 

 

I try not to be too picky (although I'm WSET Level 3 so I notice these things). But I thought this was a weird start to the cruise. 

 

Still great lunch overall. Can't argue with this setting! 

[JandKsVistas]

Thank you for taking us along on your cruise!  We would be curious to know about the new docking positions for Regent. We’ve heard that they no longer dock at Ketchikan, wonder if there are more out of town docks being used. We will be on the Mariner in September, we are concerned about coordinating third party tours if we have a 30 minute shuttle into town. Thank you. Love the pictures!  

[Cruise Critic Chris]

Dinner at La Chartreuse. This ended up being a great meal. I went with the escargot and the lobster preparation while my friend chose the crabmeat app and Dover sole. We were both impressed. 

 

In addition, the sommelier went out of his way to pair wines for us, to nice effect. A great introduction to Regent dining. 

 

 

[Host Dan]

Thanks Chris for posting!

 

I look forward to more day-by-day reports!

[padgman1]

Now that you have identified yourself as someone with some wine knowledge, would be interested in:

1. Availability of listed wines - any trouble getting wines you order. 

2. Impression of wine choices - representative from areas listed or are better choices around the same price level available ( if you were in charge of wine purchasing).

3. Condition of wine - you have stated that initial wine offerings were "off," would be interested if you continue to have such troubles going forward.

 

Sounds promising for you that the sommelier at dinner was able to suggest wines with menu offerings.

 

 

[2012_Alaska_bound]

Sommeliers on Regent are excellent! I always ask their advice.

[Kwaj girl]

@Cruise Critic Chriswe were on Mariner for 50 days Mar-May and had a few too many "off" wines.....of course a new bottle would  immediately be opened and 99% of the time would be fine.  BUT...the very next glass poured from the replacement bottle, say 20 minutes later or so, would also start to have an "off" taste.   Not all the time but enough that it was something we mentioned to the head sommelier.  May be a storage issue.

 

[pingpong1]

2 hours ago, Kwaj girl said:

@Cruise Critic Chriswe were on Mariner for 50 days Mar-May and had a few too many "off" wines.....of course a new bottle would  immediately be opened and 99% of the time would be fine.  BUT...the very next glass poured from the replacement bottle, say 20 minutes later or so, would also start to have an "off" taste.   Not all the time but enough that it was something we mentioned to the head sommelier.  May be a storage issue.

 

Hi Kwaj!  😉  You're definitely correct!  It shouldn't happen on any cruise line...and particularly not on one at Regent's price point!  Best Regards.

[RachelG]

The welcome bottle of Vieve is in every room, not just those new to Regent.  

[Cruise Critic Chris]

37 minutes ago, RachelG said:

The welcome bottle of Vieve is in every room, not just those new to Regent.  

 

Good to know! The note said they noticed we were new to Regent so I made that (incorrect) leap. Thanks! 

[Cruise Critic Chris]

For those asking, there are 420 passengers onboard this cruise. Quite a few multigenerational families too, so many that an impromptu kids club was set up during today's sea day. 

Edited June 10, 2022 by Cruise Critic Chris

[Cruise Critic Chris]

Today we were at Hubbard Glacier. I was here once on Royal Princess and an excursion boat was available to take us closer to the glacier than we were today. Still, we had a great two hours here and the ship moved around so every side could have a great view. Mulled wine and hot chocolate were served and commentary from the bridge was given by speaker Karen Dodd. 

 

 

[Cruise Critic Chris]

A tale of two meals.... 

 

We had our first dinner at Compass Rose. Lots of choices and great execution, particularly the halibut (the lobster wasn't as seasoned as it should be). Loved the Versace chargers. We liked the included wine so we didn't ask for pairings. 

 

I was a bit underwhelmed by the Seafood Extravaganza lunch at the Pool Grill. No King crab legs, no shrimp, no real sense of occasion beyond an ice sculpture  - just not what I expected compared to what I've seen on other lines such as Viking Ocean, Windstar and even HAL. 

 

 

[Cruise Critic Chris]

The big news for tomorrow is that we've been told that wind and stormy conditions are preventing us from going to Sitka. Icy Strait Point has been substituted. 

 

I love Sitka but have never been to ISP so I'm not upset about the change. Plus the ship was going to tender in Sitka, which is never a good idea in rough conditions (we had some swells this am that bothered a lot of people, my plus one included).

 

However, we were not given many included options for excursions in ISP which is a bummer. The only thing that's free is a gondola ride. 

 

Other for-fee excursions are a whale watching trip ($159) and  the zip line ($119), neither of which appeal. We are going to wing it and get off the ship a bit later, do the gondola and walk around Hoonah.