Alaska Mariner D cabins

[harbormaster]

We just booked a last minute Mariner Alaska cruise August 15. First time to Alaska and we're very excited.

We had an H guarantee and have been moved up to a D cabin - 1060 which is not directly under the pool, but I am wondering about noise.

Can someone who has been on deck 10 in a D Cabin let us know about sound, etc of people walking above.

 

Also, would appreciate any tips regarding what to do in ports in Alaska. Have a few ideas from friends who have cruised but would love to hear your actual experiences with Mariner excursions. Have cruised Regent before and LOVE it. Can't wait to get back.

 

Thanks much.

[ChatKat in Ca.]

We've done Alaska twice on the Mariner. We were on an H Guarantee the first time and ended up in a D. Cabins are the same. No noise - no problem in the D cabin.

 

There are many, many things to do. The favorites are Whale Watching with Capt. Larry in Juneau, The Taku Glacier Lodge by Floatplane, Mt. Roberts Tramway, White Pass and Yukon Rail in Skagway; Walk around Sitka and see the Russian Dancers show or go to the Wildlife Center; Ketchikan is no longer one of the ports.

[harbormaster]

Hi Chatkat and thanks for the info on the D cabin.

 

I'm a bit confused though as our itinerary still shows Ketchikan. It was my understanding that the Northbound Mariner will still stop at Ketchikan but southbound will do Campbell River? Has this changed? Thanks so much.

[BBfromCA]

Harbormaster,

 

On my recent cruise, I was in cabin 1068. The cabins in this area were being refurbished during the cruise.

 

The only noise I heard was from the movement of chairs on the 11th deck at about 5:30AM each morning. It only lasted a for a few minutes.

 

You will also enjoy the easy access to the back elevators/staircase from your cabin.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[ChatKat in Ca.]

If you are in Ketchikan contact Michele at Island Wings. She has several flightseeing tours. The town is okay to walk but has become mostly Jewelery stores. It is the rainiest city but I forget rainiest where - Alaska, USA or No America. We did a rainforest hike there the 1st time.

[JMARINER]

Harbormaster,

 

The only noise I heard was from the movement of chairs on the 11th deck at about 5:30AM each morning. It only lasted a for a few minutes.

 

You should not have. The deck crew are under strict instructions to carry and not drag the deck chairs and tables. Next time inform the desk.

 

j

[kathy16]

We love this cabin. Very convenient to buffet restaurant for breakfast and lunch, and to pool area. Today we are on a sea day , and will dock in Campbell River tomorrow. Weather hasn't been so great on this cruise- with a few peeks of sunshine. Today is cold and foggy- so consequently not too many people around pool. Our highlight this afternoon will probably be 3 p movie. The Alaska port days are so busy-planned at least 1 excursion/day- I thought I would enjoy this day to rest, but I am bored (why I'm on computer now, I guess). We reserved all our excursions prior to sailing. I think the Campbell River ones are on waiting list now- so sign up ahead of time for ones you want- can always cancel them, during cancellation period.

The food is delicious, and we love the all-inclusive drink policy.

[BBfromCA]

Kathy,

 

Do you have Jade as your housemaid? Please tell her (and Silvia..who should be housemaid a few cabins up) that Bill...who likes Mickey Mouse...says hello.

Also, if you happen to see Daniela in the casino, please tell her hello also.

Glad to hear you are enjoying your cruise.

[harbormaster]

Hi Kathy glad you're having a great time on the cruise and thanks for the information on the cabin. We're very excited and are having a hard time waiting till mid-August.

Enjoy yourself!

[jc4uk]

We were in 1061 and would sometimes hear a rolling noice, perhaps the ping pong tables or other equipment upstairs. But it was short and not disturbing. Alene (or Alena) was our housemaid and she was wonderful. The location of these cabins is ideal, as previously mentioned.

[Sucheslife]

we just finished the Seward to Vancouver run in 1032D. We encountered deck noise one morning when the crew was apparently dragging deck chairs. That was at about 5:30 and only occurred once.

 

Regent was great. Quality cuisine, no lines for anything and very personalized service. I am a newbie but from talking to the more experienced cruisers this about as good as it gets.

 

We loaded up on excursions and were generally impressed with quality and value. I would warn you that an additional advantage of booking Regent excursions is that you have a better chance of them waiting for you if your return from an excursion encounters a delay. I recall hearing a passenger off a Princess Line ship screaming from the pier as his ship was departing.

 

We picked excursions trying to maximize the Alaska experience without extreme exertion. We booked them by internet in advance and found that those that waited could not get all their first-choices. Ours were as follows:

 

Sitka - Sealife discovery tour. This was a nice boat with clear plastic windows for viewing undersea life. They did a good job but I would recommend this for children. Water is green. Limited visibility. Lots of star fish. I would recommend kayaking or other wildlife excursion unless you are really in to life in the kelp beds.

 

Sitka - Wildlife Hike. A nice guided walk on a couple of trails just outside Sitka. It is simple but worth the price.

 

Tracy Arm Fiord and Glacier Explorer. This was one of the highlights of the trip. A large heated catamaran gets you up close to two glaciers. The young local tour guide had astounding knolwedge of the wildlife we encountered along the way. You cruise among small ice bergs complete with harbor seals, eagles and whales.

 

Junea - Mendenhall Glacier via Helicopter. This was canceled due to low visibility. We had done two flyovers of Denali before our cruise so we were not crushed by this.

 

Junea - Whale watching quest. Excellent trip. We encountered a group of 8 Humpbacks bubble feeding. Watched them for over a half an hour as they simultaniously breached head first and then slowly sank back into the ocean. It was amazing to see.

 

Skagway - Eagle Preserve. You will encounter many bald eagles on the cruise: in towns, on icebergs just about everywhere. The Eagle Preserve float cruise takes you to an area that gets eagles year round in natural habitat. You travel by heated catamaran to Homer and then by bus to the preserve. You float down a glacial river and see eagles up close in their habitat. If you are lucky you will get CP as your guide. He entertains the entire trip and is quite the character.

 

Campbell River - Kayaking. Campbell river is a new stop only used by Regent on south-bound one-ways. Ours was only the 4th time Regent has stopped there. They are working hard to build up the infrastructure we take for granted at other ports. I don't think that passengers who just walked the town were particularly impressed. It is a tall order to compare with Sitka, Junea or Skagway but they are trying. The tribal-focused excursions seemed to be well received. The kayaking was great. They train you and guide you up tidal streams encountering wildlife all along the way and then out into the open waterway if you are up for it.

 

Other thoughts. If you have never flown over a glacier, do it. It is a different perspective you only get by flightseeing. If you get a chance to take the Alaska Rail Road between Seward and Anchorage you should take it. You will get a guided, unobstructed views of glaciers, towns and tidal basins you cannot see from the highway.

 

Have a great time!

[harbormaster]

Thanks so much Sucheslife! Your trip sounds like it was great! We are looking forward to it and our documents came yesterday so we're dancing today! How was your weather? We have pre-booked shore excursions, including the Tracy Arm one that you took, so thanks for the tip.

[Catwoman12]

Hi- I just returned from the Mariner as well-and you will have a great time.

The weather was not the best- but again it is Alaska- so go with the thought that you will have some rain/overcast/cool weather (especially when you are close to the glaciers ) and when the sun comes out -it is the BEST ! We did have a beautiful day in Skagway-even able to sit by the pool and enjoy the Hot tub !

Be sure to confirm your dining reservations for Signature and Latitudes

on line before you cruise- you can always cancel/ rebook when on board.

We heard many had difficulty making reservations once on board.

 

The Tracey Arm excursion really was the highlight-and we even saw a bear ( black bear- but still a bear in the wild ! )

 

One thing you may want to bring with you if you need to recharge your cell phone, camera, etc is a power strip-really only one outlet- so this really helps to plug in all those items.

 

Have a wonderful time !

[harbormaster]

Thanks Catwoman glad you had a wonderful time. We've already booked our Signatures reservation and are really looking forward to Tracy Arm! Did you do the Northbound or Southbound? Can you tell me about Regent's transport from Seward to Anchorage? We'd like to take the regular train up to Anchorage, but it leaves too late for us to make our flight out of Anchorage at 5:30pm. Does Regent charter a train trip like Princess does? Or is it a bus? Thanks for any help on this

[Catwoman12]

Hi- We were on the Southbound cruise-Regent does a motorcoach

from Anchorage to Seward- leaves from the airport or the

Hilton Hotel-downtown. We flew in the night before and stayed at the

Hilton -so we were right there the next day. There are several motorcoaches that depart- takes less than 3hrs- they give you a

small bag of snacks and water. There is a hospitality desk located

at the Hilton for checkin where they also provided coffee, tea, cookies.

 

I did the train from Seward to Anchorage a few years ago and it was

great-longer ride- but just a great experience- however we were

spending the night in Anchorage before our flgt the next day.

 

As far as dining on the Mariner- Latitudes is alot of fun too ! At first

we were not going to make a reservation but decided to make one

just in case as you can always cancel. I was glad we did- it was so different than the other dining venues.

 

Enjoy !:)

[harbormaster]

Thanks much for your comments. The train sounds great but not sure it will be an option. We will rent a car to drive it I think.

Thanks also for the info on Latitudes. We have not tried them on prior cruises, but this might be the time. We are doing the Auckland to LA segment on Mariner in December and will surely try them then. The nice thing about Regent is that Compass Rose is so good it's hard to go to the other restaurants!

Glad you had a great time. Were counting down!!!