Seven Seas Mariner

[rancb]

The Seven Seas Mariner is definitely NOT fixed. I am

on it. It is skipping ports and arriving late/leaving

early in others. It can't make its normal cruising

speed. When I called the home office before the

cruise, they claimed there were no further problems.

This was not true.

 

People need to know this!

[sundial]

Can you elaborate a little more? We are getting on in Tokyo and I would like to know if there are any port changes anticipated. What I had heard is that they were only adjusting the schedule on this first leg of the Grand Asia Pacific Circle and on the last one going back to Los Angeles because the ship couldn't reach top cruising speed when crossing the ocean.

[rancb]

I don't know what ports they are skipping or shortening the stay in.

 

I suggest you get a refund guarantee in writing if they are making promises.

 

Otherwise the ship is great. However, I don't like it when home office doesn't tell the truth.

[mrlevin]

You are losing Dutch Harbour, a six hour stop, and Raratonga and one other port on the long leg from Auckland to LA. The rest of the trip (Tokyo to Auckland) the distances between ports are not that great. If cruisers wanted "refund guarantees" for every missed port on cruises, cruise lines would cease to exist. That is part of the romance of the seas.

 

Marc

[Iamboatman]

I don't think the issue is the "romance of the sea", but rather being "snowed". People want good information, not a sense of being misled.

 

True ports are missed due to weather, mechanical breakdown, etc. and the cruise lines are not liable for every miss. However, if there is a problem, people react far better to being told the ship isn't 100% and a couple of ports will be missed then being given bad information so that the issue can be sidestepped and dealt with later...by someone else.

 

I don't know what happened or is happening in this instance, but I don't think the OP's real issue is really the missed port(s).

[xplrcrzn]

It's a shame Regent is undertaking this lengthy, and expensive, itinerary on a limping ship but I don't know what alternatives they had given their very small fleet. Some price adjustments would seem to be in order, however.

[dougburns]

According to other folks on board, the ship is proceeding at 19 kts, as compared to the normal 20-21. Also, they did a drive by of Dutch Harbour, which was only a 6 hour stop anyway. Seems to me that they're handling the situation pretty well and the folks on board are having a great time with very good weather.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Wow, what a diversity of opinions! I must agree that Regent should be forthcoming, especially to passengers on board or joining this cruise. But as someone above said, the adjustments may be very small once ports get closer together. And on the other hand, I think we all risk turning into a bunch of whiners, really. If the ship is great, and the itinerary mostly intact, why should it matter so much if the ship is going 19 instead of 22 knots??

[Iamboatman]

I fully agree that if the problem is only 2-3 knots and the number of ports missed/reduced times in ports are not truly significant, there really is nothing that Regent should do other than keep the passengers properly informed.

[xplrcrzn]

Dutch Harbour would have been sorely missed by any WWII history buffs aboard the Mariner.

[dougburns]

That's probably true, but they got to see an abundance of sea and bird life during the drive by. Apparently, it was a sunny, calm day and nature was out in all its spendor.

[dougburns]

Mariner is in Petropavlosk. Weather is still great.

[Portolan]

On the Mariner in May 2005, we were slowed by rough seas from San Francisco to Victoria, BC sufficiently that the port call at Victoria was cancelled. This wasn't a mechanical problem, pure "act of God" WRT sea state. RSSC gave each passenger a $300 credit for the missed port call. Very generous, I thought.

 

So, with problems due to mechanical defects, I'd expect something more than "keeping the passengers informed".

[dougburns]

Apparently, the damaged pod is not fixed completely and is only putting out about half power. They don't know exactly when it will be totally repaired. The ship can make 19 kts. Also, they are apparently changing registration of the Mariner and Capt Guillou has been forced into retirement as a result. A real shame. France had no age limit for the Capts., but the new country of registry has an age limit. It appears that Capt Romeo from the Navigator will become the second captain for Mariner. Capt. Philippe Delavault is pretty old too, so maybe that will create an opening in the organization such that they can bring Capt. Broomhall back. Wouldn't that be great!

[English Voyager]

There appears to be no consistency in Regent's compensation policy.

In April this year we were on the Mariner's cruise to Tahiti and Hawaii when,two days out,due to a medical emergency,we had to return to San Francisco.

As a result,we lost three ports of call,for which the compensation was $150 on board credit,and $500 future cruise credit.

I gather that the recently disrupted Alaskan cruise attracted a future cruise credit equal to the cost of the affected cruise.

[sundial]

I did notice today that although the ports remain unchanged on the RSSC website for my upcoming Tokyo to Hong Kong cruise on the Mariner, the arrival and departure times have been adjusted. I am assuming that this is the result of the pod situation.

[Grothj]

We are on the Mariner right now. If you didn't know about the pods, you would not guess there was any problems. Yes, we are arriving or leaving at different times, but so far nothing too signficant. Today we just arrived in Japan for our first stop and we were right on time. We will be leaving about 30 minutes to one hourly early.

 

She is still a beautiful ship and hopefully when she goes into dry dock in March, everything will be fixed. The people that might have problems are those with prebooked private shore excursions as the timing might be different.

 

Our suite has been redone. We have new uphostery and new carpet. But the suite next to us had really bad damage to their couches. She complained and within two days she had new couches. We also saw new couches in the hall on another day.

[jhp]

It is amazing to me how they do this refurbishing at sea! I am glad to hear that at this point, there are no major problems.

[KiwiIan]

We are on the Mariner right now. If you didn't know about the pods, you would not guess there was any problems. Yes, we are arriving or leaving at different times, but so far nothing too signficant. Today we just arrived in Japan for our first stop and we were right on time. We will be leaving about 30 minutes to one hourly early.

 

She is still a beautiful ship and hopefully when she goes into dry dock in March, everything will be fixed. The people that might have problems are those with prebooked private shore excursions as the timing might be different.

 

Our suite has been redone. We have new uphostery and new carpet. But the suite next to us had really bad damage to their couches. She complained and within two days she had new couches. We also saw new couches in the hall on another day.

I would hope that any passenger who had booked a private tour will find that the operator will be well aware of any changes to the ships ETD. This type of tour is becomming much more common as passengers realise there are alternatives to the shore trips offered by the shipping line. The companies who offer these tours know very well that they MUST get the passenger back in time to board the ship. Here in NZ there are plenty of options to tour on a more personal basis with a reputable local company. If you need to find an operator you can usually go through the port of calls local visitor information centre [called I-Sites in NZ] or try a Google search the following: Visitor Information [followed by the port name such as Dunedin] or Shore Trips [and the port name] thats a start.

[Leejnd4]

Here's another perspective. I was booked on the last leg, Auckland-LA. I just found out a few days ago that of the 7 ports on this 19-day cruise, two of them were dropped due to the pod issue. I originally booked this cruise for the purpose of scuba diving, and the two dropped ports were two of the best dive spots...especially Rangiroa, which is the TOP dive spot I wanted to visit. This is NOT a cheap cruise, and I did not want to spend that kind of money to spend the vast majority of my time on the ship.

 

So I went through major hassles and headaches to change my cruise over to the PG, sailing at about the same time. I'm very grateful for my travel agent, B&K, for working tirelessly on my behalf to get the changeover accomplished. Regent customer service was very helpful and extremely fast in their response as well. I'm just SO relieved that we were able to find another cruise in the same region, on close to the same dates.

 

Here's my issue with Regent. I only happened to find out about this because I was checking dates for dives on the website and noticed the itinerary change. They hadn't yet notified my TA, although it seems I may have discovered it before they had a chance to...I have no idea how long it would have taken for them to do so, had I not told me TA about it myself.

 

As for the missed ports, I do understand that ports sometimes are missed due to unforeseeable circumstances. But these are FORESEEABLE circumstances. They know about this already. And given the length of this cruise, and how few ports are already being visited, it's a huge chunk out of the itinerary. For me, there was no longer any real purpose in going on the cruise.

 

I feel there should be some financial recompense for this KNOWN IN ADVANCE loss of such a large percentage of the port stops. I have not heard that they are offering any.

 

Meanwhile, as for me, this cruise is now costing me at LEAST a couple thousand dollars more than it would have if I'd booked it on the PG to begin with. I booked it amost a year ago, when there were H cabins available -- I had to get a D. Same size, just different location. Not only that, but I had already purchased our flight to New Zealand, non-refundable. So I had to then buy flights from NZ to Papeete and then Papeete to LA. HUGE amount of money, not to mention the cost of the several days we now have to stay in NZ. We certainly wouldn't have tacked on this super-expensive pre-cruise in NZ had we booked it this way to begin with.

 

I'm still trying to decide what, if anything, I should do about it. I've never had a lot of sympathy for people who go crying to the cruise line asking for refunds over a missed port or because the ship vibrated or they could hear the noisy folks next door or the food wasn't perfect or they got the wrong kind of venison or whatever. But in this situation, I'm spending thousands of dollars more than I should have to. On the other hand, I could have just kept our cruise the way it was...although I would have been missing out on a large part of the primary reason I was taking this cruise to begin with.

 

I"m considering writing Regent and asking for SOME kind of consideration. I just don't know what yet. I'll be very curious to see how they respond.

[joannapvb]

Gosh: Sorry LeAnne your lemonade went to vinegar! Thought you were soooo happy/excited about your new cruise despite the mishaps - oh well

[piri]

LeeAnne, I cannot understand why you would have booked the Auckland to LA cruise in the first place if you do not like sea days. As you say it originally had 12 sea days now there are 14. (many people do not like port intensive cruises). For the dive enthusiast, 19 days sailing for 6 days of diving seems an unwise choice. Surely flying to a good dive location, staying at a resort and perhaps doing a local cruise of short duration would have been a better decision in the first place. I can't see why there should be any considerable compensation when this cruise is and was always definitely a sea voyage in the old style and not your regular port intensive cruise. I intend taking the same one in 2007 and although I will look forward to snorkling in Tahiti I would NEVER choose this itinerary for a diving/snorkling vacation.

Just my thoughts on your posting. Do hope you enjoy your PG cruise and your time in NZ. Cheers.

[joannapvb]

Intersting slant Piri.....

[Leejnd4]

Joanna, my lemonade is still lemonade! I'm still really excited, just bummed about the money. We are, after all, getting 8 days less cruise than we would have before, yet we're spending even more money. It doesn't shake my enthusiasm for the cruise, just makes my pockets burn a bit. I'm still debating whether or not I should ask for any kind of compensation, but the undeniable fact is that I'm dropping a couple thousand dollars that I shouldn't have to spend -- and that's not even counting the pre-cruise trip to NZ.

 

Piri, I never said I don't like sea days -- I love sea days! One of the main attractions for this cruise was that was going to be able to visit all these great islands and do all this diving, and then have 8 terrific sea days to go home rather than have to fly home (I hate flying). Now I've actually gotta take three flights -- LA-NZ, NZ-Papeete, then home.

 

I realize my previous post came across more negative than it should have -- I'm still really excited about my new cruise. Just bummed about the extra money I'm spending.

[dougburns]

Not to beat a dead horse, but info from my other board from folks aboard Mariner at present is as follows: The pod problem is an electrical one. It is fixed, but they don't want to push it, so they're limiting the speed to 19 kts. Eventually, the pod will have to be replaced during a dry dock period. The line has been profitable for the last 2 years, but Regent feels that they need another year of profitability before building a new ship. Navigator will get a $9Mil refurb during a drydock period. Capt Romeo will remain with Mariner along with Capt. Phillipe and they are hiring 2 new captains for Navigator. Sure hope Capt. Broomhall is one of them, because he's a fantastic captain and lost out due to seniority when Diamond left. Don't kill the messenger; just passing on info!