Greetings from the Mariner - Sept 2007

[Donaldm]

My wife and I joined the ship in Seward on a somewhat rainy day. Our first stop in Kodiak went off without a hitch and the ship was incredibly smooth on the ocean. The excitement came a day or so later when we hit quite a storm. The captain said it was the worst storm that the Mariner had ever faced with 85 mph winds and 30 foot waves. No one slept much that night with the sounds of things crashing about the ship. We managed to avoid rolling our of our bed, but climbing uphill or sliding downhill to the bathroom was a bit of a trick. All ship board events were canceled for the following day and it was suggested that we stay in our cabins. The elevators were shut down so the poor crew had to climb all the stairs with room service food. The surest sign that the weather was bad was that even the casino was closed. Food in the galley was damaged and the chefs had to re-plan breakfast. The captain saw something he had never seen before: a kind of water hole such as when you let water out of your bathtub. It was 40 feet in diameter and could swallow small boats. We are survived without injury and the ship took the storm quite well.

We arrived at Kamchatka on a beautiful day, however the Russian immigration officials were not as cooperative as the weather. They slowly processed the passports and our tour was delayed 3 hours. I hate to think of what they will do to the much larger Princess ship coming in next week. As a result of the slow clearance, the Mariner delayed its departure by about 2 hours so that all the tours could take place. Much to our surprise, a US Coast Guard ship was docked near our tender landing.

The most popular center on the ship is the new coffee/snacks/cookie area on the 6th deck which is like the Bistro on the Crystal ships.

The ship is in excellent shape and the crew is wonderful. We have no complaints. Even though the ship is somewhat full (about 575 out of a possible 700), there are few lines and the service and food are very good.

My wife and I have over 21 days on Regent. This entitles us to free internet and one hour of free phone calls home. I love these perks.

[Donaldm]

We also saw the largest number of whales that Jean Michel Cousteau had ever seen - upwards of 200 going to Hawaii. Quite exciting.

[wynkys]

Donald,

 

Thank you for the report and I look forward to further news of your cruise.Pleased to hear that everyone survived the excitement of the storm.

 

Wayne

[comettgirl]

Wow! Glad you all survived the storm.... Not exactly what you were expecting, but what a memory to have!!! You will never forget this cruise!!!

[Hambagahle]

That storm sounded terrible - glad you are all OK!! And quite glad to read about it since we are taking the second Latin American "leg" Lima to BA in January and I was wondering about possible storms around Cape Horn!! Sounds like whatever nature provides Mariner can deal with, though I really hope we don't experience things quite as bad as you did!!

[Donaldm]

Our captain, Phillippe Fichet Delawault, came down with a viral infection and was removed by stretcher and ambulance in Hakodate, Japan. He may or may not return before his normal vacation date of October 10 in Hong Kong. The staff captain, Fabrizio Rota, has taken over as captain.

[Donaldm]

Hi Hambagahle,

The storm was in the Bering Sea which is notorious for bad weather. I have not heard about any injuries and not that many passengers or crew were sick. Our cruise director, Barry Hopkins, estimated the roll at not over 5%, but it seemed more when I was walking uphill to the bathroom. We all sympathized with the crews of the fishing vessels which have been featured on the Discovery channel recently. Our captain did not get any sleep for at least 36 hours which probably contributed to his illness. My personal worst storm was crossing the north Atlantic in September about 5 years ago. If you have a storm, the Mariner can handle it quite well.

[harbormaster]

Our best wishes to Captain Phillipe. He is a wonderful person and an excellent captain. Thank you for the updates on your trip. We wish you smooth sailing from now on. Enjoy the Far East!

[englishlee]

I too have just been on the Seward-Osaka voyage and encountered the 'Great Storm'. RSSC gave everyone a certificate to confirm that they had been on board the Mariner when it encountered the worst storm since it's launch in 2001.

 

Considering the very poor weather for a couple of days I thought that the Mariner rode the storm very well. I've been in other similar storms in ships which were much less stable.

 

The Captain Phillipe has now rejoined the ship (in Osaka).

 

We had a great cruise (apart from a hiccup with our Signatures reservation) and thought the service levels were marginally better than our last couple of RSSC cruises.

 

Any questions let me know.

[LibLively]

Would love to hear about this cruise as you go forward. We are signed up for the Grand Asia Pacific cruise next year (minus the crossings on each end). I'm especially interested in the Japan, China, and Korea shore excursions. I'm trying to decide if I want to hire private guides for those ports. We did a Viet Nam cruise last year with a private guide meeting us in each port and it was fabulous, but don't know if that's necessary for Japan, China, and Korea. If you have time to post any "favorite" excursions or experiences, that would be great! I wish you great weather and an interesting journey!

[newlondon]

Me too. Same questions and places.

[englishlee]

Newlondon and LibLively

 

I probably can't help you much as I got off in Osaka and I'm guessing that's where you'll join. If you plan to arrive in Tokyo and spend a few days there before joining the ship then I can recommend an excellent guide in Tokyo. She tailored our tour to what we were interested in and took us around using public transport.

 

Let me know if you want her contact details (she's freelance).

[LibLively]

Englishlee,

Thanks for the offer, but I think we're going to go straight to Osaka and do several days in Nara and Kyoto on our own with private guides before we get on the ship. If we change our minds and do go to Tokyo, I'll contact you. How did you like Tokyo? Had you been there before? Did you go anywhere from Osaka once you got off the ship? I'm dying to see some of the Japanese gardens and countryside before we board the ship, so that's why we're opting to skip Tokyo and make Osaka area our base.

[englishlee]

LibLively

 

We loved Tokyo, not as busy as we thought it would be and not as expensive either (but we're comparing against London prices). Everything was spotlessly clean and the people were very friendly. Would go back tomorrow if I could. Because we only had three days to spare, and it was our first time to Japan we spent them all in Tokyo rather than spend any time in Osaka (that's for another time). The Nozomi Bullet train between Osaka and Tokyo was great as well (only 2.5 hours).