Onboard Mariner now

[rcandkc]

After our VERY HOT summer in Texas, we are wishing it was not quite so hot and humid.  Feels like temperature is 99.  Lesson learned. We are usually in Caribbean in January or February.  But really no complaints on service at all. Very good. I do tire of the food (always have).  I find it bland but others love it. So, I board knowing this. 😜

[ginny123]

Lunch today at La Veranda was outstanding!  Several hot Indian dishes, a few cold salad Indian choices and all excellent flavors with mild seasonings, none too spicy.  Hats off to whomever was the chef.

 

A couple days ago there was a German food theme in addition to the same offerings each day,  The pool grill is open at lunch with made to order grill items and a buffet side with precooked hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, chicken, fish, and fresh grilled vegetables 

 

Our second visit to Chartreuse did not disappoint, even better than the first night!  We did the lunch wine tasting at $169 a person a few days ago and worth every penny, even if the food had not been included.  Not doing the second one however as the tastings did not suit us personally.

[Kwaj girl]

On 11/7/2023 at 11:39 AM, rcandkc said:

After our VERY HOT summer in Texas, we are wishing it was not quite so hot and humid.  Feels like temperature is 99.  Lesson learned. We are usually in Caribbean in January or February.  But really no complaints on service at all. Very good. I do tire of the food (always have).  I find it bland but others love it. So, I board knowing this. 😜

 

Am curious...."bland" in what way?  What is missing?

[registrar]

On board also

Toilets are not working!!!! Will keep you updated 

[registrar]

All working now 

Not informed of what the problem was.

[rcandkc]

3 hours ago, Kwaj girl said:

 

Am curious...."bland" in what way?  What is missing?

Flavor.  Too little use of adequate amounts of spices for my palette.  I do realize growing up in Texas I’m used to more spices.  As more people move to Texas, restaurants seem to be lowering food spice content there too.  I’m not talking heat spice although I like that, flavor from spices, garlic, onion, peppers, etc. 

[rcandkc]

6 minutes ago, registrar said:

All working now 

Not informed of what the problem was.

We were not affected. Heard it was one line..whatever that means. 

[Kwaj girl]

1 minute ago, rcandkc said:

Flavor.  Too little use of adequate amounts of spices for my palette.  I do realize growing up in Texas I’m used to more spices.  As more people move to Texas, restaurants seem to be lowering food spice content there too.  I’m not talking heat spice although I like that, flavor from spices, garlic, onion, peppers, etc. 

 

Or do what Jim Stoddard does - he brings his own variety of hot sauces/spices to add to taste

[rcandkc]

Just now, Kwaj girl said:

 

Or do what Jim Stoddard does - he brings his own variety of hot sauces/spices to add to taste

I bring my own small tobasco bottles and request more of other items when ordering. Sometimes they get it…others not. 

[rcandkc]

Just now, rcandkc said:

I bring my own small tobasco bottles and request more of other items when ordering. Sometimes they get it…others not. 

I don’t come on board for the food so I’m ok. 

[Pcardad]

25 minutes ago, rcandkc said:

We were not affected. Heard it was one line..whatever that means. 

It means someone clogged their line and took out their neighbors as well.

[registrar]

Toilets affected again early this morning.

plumbers gave fixed it again. Appears to be aft  on the ship

[Jim Avery]

Working on 9 deck midships at the moment.

And I thought I was weird for toting my own bottle of Tabasco. Arizona, like Texas is used to a bit more zip.🔥

[jeb_bud]

We didn’t have any problems ourselves but we saw some plumbers with drain snakes and drying fans from time to time on deck 8 starboard during the last Montréal to New York cruise. 

Edited November 10, 2023 by jeb_bud
Added some detail

[BigDinners]

22 hours ago, Pcardad said:

It means someone clogged their line and took out their neighbors as well.

I’m on this cruise as well and I gather there was pretty much a Ship-wide problem yesterday that was happily fixed early evening.   All sorted though and another day has passed on a lovely day in Paradise!  

[pingpong1]

1 hour ago, BigDinners said:

I’m on this cruise as well and I gather there was pretty much a Ship-wide problem yesterday that was happily fixed early evening.   All sorted though and another day has passed on a lovely day in Paradise!  

That's The Spirit!  😜

[flossie009]

Moving away from toilet troubles, can I ask who will be the senior officers & staff on board Mariner over Christmas? Captain, GM, F&B, CD? 

 

[registrar]

Deck 10 affected again! On the poop deck.

[Bridson]

Currently on Mariner, berthed in Curacao. A couple of issues have spoiled what would otherwise have been a thoroughly enjoyable cruise for us.

 

First, the toilets. They have been problematic for the last week or so. We thought it was just a problem on our deck (8), but speaking to others apparently it is ship wide. We were told when we reported it again last night that it was an issue with the vacuum system and parts were being replaced, however, as I type, the problem persists.

 

The other disappointment has been the food. Far too often it has been simply lukewarm. It’s not just one venue, but various dining places across the ship The soup we had with our in room dining last night was just stone cold.

 

We have politely raised our concerns with the staff who of course are courteous and apologise. But the issues have persisted.

 

Regarding the Starlink internet/wifi - you get basic access that comes at about 2-3 MB/S which is good enough for browsing WhatsApp and messenger video calls etc, but does not facilitate streaming. If you want streaming and a higher speed you can pay $10 per day extra.

 

This is our first time cruising with Regent after more than forty trips with Celebrity and Royal, to be honest we expected much better.

 

[Kwaj girl]

Paying extra doesn't getuou a "higher speed". Only access to streaming.

[pingpong1]

2 hours ago, Bridson said:

Currently on Mariner, berthed in Curacao. A couple of issues have spoiled what would otherwise have been a thoroughly enjoyable cruise for us.

 

First, the toilets. They have been problematic for the last week or so. We thought it was just a problem on our deck (8), but speaking to others apparently it is ship wide. We were told when we reported it again last night that it was an issue with the vacuum system and parts were being replaced, however, as I type, the problem persists.

 

Bridson - Thanks for reporting in.  So sorry to hear that your first Regent experience hasn't been stellar.  It would seem like the problem of being served consistently cold food (that's supposed to be "hot") would be a reasonably easy problem for Mariner management to quickly address and solve, if the problem was "high on their list".

 

As to the plumbing problem... I think that some folks have been far too willing to "dismiss" the Mariner's "Toilet Problems" as simply a case of a "few people" (randomly and inconsiderately) flushing "something wrong" down their own toilets in their own suites, which results in the whole ship's system becoming jammed up.  It is a "Fact" that not every person on every cruise ship is ever going to always flush "only the correct things" down a toilet.  And a huge modern public "plumbing system"  (like on a cruise ship) should be designed and built to "accept and tolerate" those occasional "flushing faux pas", without it shutting down large sections of the ship's waste water system at any given time.

 

I don't think the core problem is caused by those occasional/errant/random "flushing mistakes".  This "Mariner toilet problem" has been reported and experienced by too many people for too long, and has affected many areas of the ship at the same time when it does occur. And I would bet that it has caused more than a few folks to simply "not book on Mariner" anymore.  I'm not sure we would book a Mariner cruise in the future, if there were other acceptable options on one of the newer ships.

 

I believe the obvious root cause of the (Mariner) problem is that it's an "old wastewater system" on an "old ship".  The ultimate "fix" would be extremely expensive and I would surmise that Regent simply doesn't want to have to spend/invest that kind of money (that would be needed to upgrade/modernize the entire waste water infrastructure) on a ship that's 22 years old (Mariner construction was completed in 2001) and won't be in Regent "service" for too may more years.

 

So when these "flushing system problems" continue to occur on Mariner (and they certainly will), the maintenance folks will have to continue to scramble around in "emergency mode" to fix the problem.  As you said, it certainly detracts from an overall "luxury cruise experience".  Regards

[Bridson]

1 hour ago, Kwaj girl said:

Paying extra doesn't getuou a "higher speed". Only access to streaming.

You can also access the streaming sites with the basic service by using a VPN - however the speed is too slow to watch without occasional buffering hence my assumption that the premium service included an improved connection speed.

 

Thanks for clarifying.

[Bridson]

26 minutes ago, pingpong1 said:

Bridson - Thanks for reporting in.  So sorry to hear that your first Regent experience hasn't been stellar.  It would seem like the problem of being served consistently cold food (that's supposed to be "hot") would be a reasonably easy problem for Mariner management to quickly address and solve, if the problem was "high on their list".

 

As to the plumbing problem... I think that some folks have been far too willing to "dismiss" the Mariner's "Toilet Problems" as simply a case of a "few people" (randomly and inconsiderately) flushing "something wrong" down their own toilets in their own suites, which results in the whole ship's system becoming jammed up.  It is a "Fact" that not every person on every cruise ship is ever going to always flush "only the correct things" down a toilet.  And a huge modern public "plumbing system"  (like on a cruise ship) should be designed and built to "accept and tolerate" those occasional "flushing faux pas", without it shutting down large sections of the ship's waste water system at any given time.

 

I don't think the core problem is caused by those occasional/errant/random "flushing mistakes".  This "Mariner toilet problem" has been reported and experienced by too many people for too long, and has affected many areas of the ship at the same time when it does occur. And I would bet that it has caused more than a few folks to simply "not book on Mariner" anymore.  I'm not sure we would book a Mariner cruise in the future, if there were other acceptable options on one of the newer ships.

 

I believe the obvious root cause of the (Mariner) problem is that it's an "old wastewater system" on an "old ship".  The ultimate "fix" would be extremely expensive and I would surmise that Regent simply doesn't want to have to spend/invest that kind of money (that would be needed to upgrade/modernize the entire waste water infrastructure) on a ship that's 22 years old (Mariner construction was completed in 2001) and won't be in Regent "service" for too may more years.

 

So when these "flushing system problems" continue to occur on Mariner (and they certainly will), the maintenance folks will have to continue to scramble around in "emergency mode" to fix the problem.  As you said, it certainly detracts from an overall "luxury cruise experience".  Regards

Thanks - your views sum it up well.

 

This ship is full of experienced repeat cruisers who will of course know what to and what not to put into a vacuum toilet system. Further, I’m sure that if the management suspected that it was indeed inappropriate items being flushed, that they would in some way issue a polite reminder to everyone. That hasn’t happened.

[olindacat]

There was a big dinner buffet poolside last night. A ton of food, and everyone in the F&B dominion breaking their butts to pull off a daring event.

A Brit head chef was so personally dedicated toward making things right. Impressive was he, and every worker on this ship. The staff doesn't get the praise they deserve. Really hard work, but they don't make you feel bad ever.

 

I have so much to say and will, as the comments upthread are all valid points but considering the strong positives, all mostly can be figured out, and worked around.

 

We worried the cabin and boat would be in poor condition, and yet this vessel is so beautiful compared to anything else we've seen along the journey.

[rcandkc]

3 hours ago, Bridson said:

Thanks - your views sum it up well.

 

This ship is full of experienced repeat cruisers who will of course know what to and what not to put into a vacuum toilet system. Further, I’m sure that if the management suspected that it was indeed inappropriate items being flushed, that they would in some way issue a polite reminder to everyone. That hasn’t happened.

The cruise director did exactly that on todays channel 1 Mariner today program.