New considering Regent in general and Mariner in specific

[JSR]

Hi I have been reading as many posts as time allows. We are in our mid 60s and are in the process of changing our cruising style. We are now retired (DH semi but very flexible about the semi part) and more inclined to small ships that can do more interesting itineraries as opposed to the chill in the Caribbean we enjoy on larger ships. We have tried Silversea Moon and Cunard QM2 (not small however, well suited to transatlantics). We enjoyed both and had some criticism of both that being said we are transiting on QM2 again (beats flying) and also embarking on the Silversea Endeavour to the Arctic.

 

Like everyone we have our specific needs and wants that matter to us and may not matter to others. The Mariner has a 2025 World cruise that we really like the itinerary. We would take a much shorter trial cruise on the Mariner prior to committing. I would appreciate some help to determine if we should even be considering this. 

 

I am a paraplegic and therefore use lightweight folding wheelchair for mobility.  I  gravitate to cruise lines that are inclusive in the desire to provide an equal experience for all and also to newer ships as they tend to be the most wheelchair accessible. I am active and in reasonable shape though I no longer need to do things I did in my younger years however, I do arrange interesting tours where ever we go and do explore to the best of my abilities.  I have posted on the disbilities board of CC however, there is little to no information on luxury cruise lines. Again, some of these are subjective, please share your opinion

 

- If you have stayed in a wheelchair accessible cabin on the Mariner, will you share the photos?
- How is the accessibility on the ship, are their areas that are not accessible by elevator or ramp?

-Are there automatic doors to the outside and if not are there people willing to help with opening them if my DH is not with me at the moment?

- In general have you found the ship to be easy to get around in a wheelchair ?

- Have you seen or experienced the ships crew helping with exiting and entering ports either down stairs, ramps, or using tenders? 

- If you have been on Silversea Moon or her sister ships how do the cabins compare?

- the only class of cabin available is a standard veranda, who would this be for 150 days?

-Please share anything you think would be helpful or fun. 

 

Thanks for reading all this and helping if you can. 

 

[papaflamingo]

We did our first Regent cruise in 2018 for 44 nights on Mariner.  LOVED the ship.  I can't speak much to accessibility other than from what I remember there were no areas unavailable by elevator, and, IMHO, since the passenger load is only around 700, the areas were rarely crowed.  

Two things are imperative for you to know.  

First, Some of the cabins on Mariner (at least through Penthouse category) are combined tub/shower.  they are designated on the deck plans, a star is shower only, no star is a combo bath/Shower.  The tub is very high so hard to get in and out of if you have mobility problems. So if you aren't booking an accessible cabin, be sure to pick a cabin that has a star for shower only.

Second,  be aware  that the tender platform floats (it's not integral to the ships structure).  So there can be a lot of movement in both the platform and the stairs.  We have no mobility issues but there were some days that we even had to be very careful going up or down to the tender platform.  The crew, of course, is there to assist so that helps a lot. 

[kjbacon]

Our first Regent cruise was in 2017 and have enjoyed several since. And our next one is tomorrow!! We hope you love Regent as much as we do. We have always found crew members to be very helpful and willing to assist.

 

The 2025 world cruise is or is nearly sold out. You can waitlist but some cabins have very long waitlists. If you waitlist a cabin and decide against it, there is a $1,000 admin fee. The 2026 itinerary has not been announced yet.

[slidebite]

Our first Regent cruise in 2008 was on Mariner. I have very fond memories of that ship.

[ronrick1943]

I think the ship is great, love the way it looks.  We don’t have the experience of a wheelchair, however we saw 2 couples with wheelchair and they seemed to be having a good time.  I use a cane and didn’t have any problems—I know not the same, but I didn’t have a problem getting any place I wanted.

[JSR]

Thank you for all your helpful responses. Glad to here. We are exploring many options for the next couple of years of travel and Regent is clearly an option. 

[puppyluv1]

The doors in the pool deck are not automatic but I witnessed several times staff and passengers opening and holding doors for others whether they had mobility issues or not. 
We are recently off a Caribbean cruise on Splendor and we were eating lunch at the pool grill on embankment day at a table right next to the door to La Veranda. A flurry of people were going in and out of the door so my husband reached over from his seat and grabbed the door handle to hold it open until the rush stopped 😊. This is the sort of people you will meet on Regent. 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 2/6/2023 at 5:58 PM, JSR said:

If you have stayed in a wheelchair accessible cabin on the Mariner, will you share the photos?

 

...if the only class of cabin available is a standard veranda, who would this be for 150 days?

No photos, sorry, but we have stayed in one of these cabins.  It was on deck 8, starboard, near the forward elevators.

 

Standard suites on Mariner are a bit smaller than the other ships.  In this case, there was no walk-in closet, but a small built-in closet plus an armoire-type piece with plenty of room.  There were ramps, into the bathroom, and out to the balcony.  The shower was just open, wheel-in I guess you call it, with a curtain around it. I don't remember, but I believe the sink and toilet were laid out for wheelchair use.

 

I can't really say I noticed other details around the ship as to accessibility. We were just recently on Splendor, and you can see that it has more modern disability features built-in.  Like push-button doors, and wider doors generally I believe.

 

We were booked on the (cancelled) 2021 WC in one of the standard cabins.  It would have been tight, but we would have been fine. I had planned a few storage helpers like thinner hangers and shoe trees, things like that.

Edited February 12, 2023 by Wendy The Wanderer