New to Regent, Some Questions...

[ducklite]

Hello everyone! My husband and I have cruised Disney and RCCL in the past. Loved Disney because they kept our son happily entertained for a week, and didn't care for RCCL--by the end of the first day we realized that mass market cruising is not for us.

 

On to better thoughts. We're seriously looking at booking the 9/2/09 Alaska cruise on the Mariner. We're leaning towards a Class B Penthouse as we prefer to be more midships than the Class A's would allow. Is there a compelling reason to choose an A or a B?

 

A few questions for those who have cruised Alaska before. We would purchase our own airfare and hotel in Anchorage, I'm assuming we could still purchase transfers from RSSC to the port?

 

We're a bit confused about what goes on in Hubbard Bay and Tracey Arm. Is that a scenic "at sea" day, or are there shore excursions, or something inbetween?

 

Tell me what to expect weather-wise? Rain? Snow? Anything goes?

 

It seems that most of the dinners are "Country Club Casual" which we interpret at polo's and chino's for my husband, and "Informal" which RSSC describes as "sport coat and tie," does that mean suit and tie, or truly sport coat and tie? Either is fine for him, he just wants to be prepared. I'm assuming that during the day most people wear jeans and sweaters on those sailings. Has everyone found that their cabins stay sufficiently warm? What about the public areas?

 

Is the jogging track usuable for joggers, or does it get cluttered with people strolling along in the middle of it? (That's a big deal for my marathon running husband.)

 

How is the food? That was one of our big issues with RCCL, the food was pretty poor overall.

 

How difficult is it to get spa appointments?

 

What was your favorite and least favorite thing about cruising to Alaska on RSSC? Any tips, pointers, or other information would be greatly appreciated!

[OrpingtonT]

My first cruise with Regent, indeed my first cruise ever, was from Vancouver to Alaska and I can assure you that you are in for a treat.

 

We did the other way and disembarked at Whittier. You could buy transfers into Anchorage so I assume, but am not certain, that you could purchase transfers the other way also.

 

Hubbard Bay is indeed a sightseeing day on board Mariner. The Captain will sail as close as conditions permit to the glacier wall and if you are lucky you will see (and hear) the ice "calving". It is quite spectacular. The Captain turns Mariner through 360 degrees for everyone to have a good view. Tracy Arm is rather different but it is , in my view, the highlight of the cruise. If you are able, pre-book the excursion. At about 7.30am you will disembark Mariner in Tracey Arm into a catamaran which can traverse the ice-floes way into the inlet, which Mariner cannot do because of it's size. Mariner then sails off to Juneau whilst you explore Tracey Arm and the Sawyer Glaciers. We saw lots of wildlife including Black bears. The catamaran then motors off to join Mariner in dock in Juneau in time for a late lunch and another late afternoon excursion, if you want one.

 

The weather on our trip was warm and dry, but expect anything; it is usually wet, I believe. The dress code is as you describe and the air-con keeps public areas pleasantly warm. You can individually control your suite temperature. The jogging track was not extensively used but of course others do take their exercise up there. No problem with spa bookings, I understand.

 

Now the food. You will find the quality well above that experienced on mass-market lines with a wide choice in the two main outlets, Compass Rose and La Veranda. Pre-book a night at each of the speciality restaurants, Signatures and Latitudes. It would be a shame to miss them.

 

Everything about the Alaskan cruise was in superlatives for me. I loved the Tracey Arm excursion whilst my abiding memory is sitting in the Observation Lounge drifting along, the sun setting, a piano tinkling, drink in hand, seeing the occasional sea lion, porpoise and even whale. Near to heaven!

[harbormaster]

Hi. We did this cruise last year in August. It was one of the best we have taken. Regent is fabulous and you are in for a treat.

The weather in Alaska can be anything. Be prepared for rain, especially in Ketchikan, pack layers, and be pleased with sunshine if you have it. But the weather does not really dampen the beauty of Alaska.

Informal is indeed coat with tie or collared shirt. There were no formal nights on our cruise. Daywear was very casual.

The food is terrific and varied. Specialty restaurant reservations can be made online one month before sailing. Specialty restaurants have no extra fee. Excursions also can be booked online ahead of time. I would recommend you review them on the rssc website because some of them do sell out ahead of time.

I wrote a review of our Alaska cruise that included the ports and excursions we took. You can find it here.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=615619

 

As far as we are concerned, Regent is the best way to see Alaska while cruising. The ship is small enough to be able to go where other larger ships cannot.

There is a great Club Mariner program for children onboard. Spa appointments are made easily onboard.

Enjoy!

[Iamboatman]

I believe Regent is the best option as far as cruising Alaska on a conventional cruise ship. The ship is solid and goes places the other cruise ships cannot/do not.

 

The food is substantially better than any other line (save Crystal or alternative dining on Celebrity) and country club casual is welcome after busy days; no ties or formal nights.

 

The jogging deck is wide open and even if whales, etc. are in sight, there will be no problem for your husband. There is a remarkable amount of room on this ship.

 

Tracy Arm is a wonderful early morning excursion. Cannot say enough good about it. And you will have a ton of time for lunch and an afternoon of, say, whale watching in Juneau.

 

As for the spa, I do not think you will have much of a problem. My wife was - with a little flexibility - able to get everything she wanted. It is a bit pricier than RCCL, though.

 

I can't think of anything "bad" about my Alaska cruise. It was really quite a wonderful experience. (It was not issue free, but those issues have pretty much been resolved through Regent improvements and changes and wouldn't be relevant to my recommendation here!:) )

[ducklite]

My first cruise with Regent, indeed my first cruise ever, was from Vancouver to Alaska and I can assure you that you are in for a treat.

 

We did the other way and disembarked at Whittier. You could buy transfers into Anchorage so I assume, but am not certain, that you could purchase transfers the other way also.

 

Hubbard Bay is indeed a sightseeing day on board Mariner. The Captain will sail as close as conditions permit to the glacier wall and if you are lucky you will see (and hear) the ice "calving". It is quite spectacular. The Captain turns Mariner through 360 degrees for everyone to have a good view. Tracy Arm is rather different but it is , in my view, the highlight of the cruise. If you are able, pre-book the excursion. At about 7.30am you will disembark Mariner in Tracey Arm into a catamaran which can traverse the ice-floes way into the inlet, which Mariner cannot do because of it's size. Mariner then sails off to Juneau whilst you explore Tracey Arm and the Sawyer Glaciers. We saw lots of wildlife including Black bears. The catamaran then motors off to join Mariner in dock in Juneau in time for a late lunch and another late afternoon excursion, if you want one.

 

The weather on our trip was warm and dry, but expect anything; it is usually wet, I believe. The dress code is as you describe and the air-con keeps public areas pleasantly warm. You can individually control your suite temperature. The jogging track was not extensively used but of course others do take their exercise up there. No problem with spa bookings, I understand.

 

Now the food. You will find the quality well above that experienced on mass-market lines with a wide choice in the two main outlets, Compass Rose and La Veranda. Pre-book a night at each of the speciality restaurants, Signatures and Latitudes. It would be a shame to miss them.

 

Everything about the Alaskan cruise was in superlatives for me. I loved the Tracey Arm excursion whilst my abiding memory is sitting in the Observation Lounge drifting along, the sun setting, a piano tinkling, drink in hand, seeing the occasional sea lion, porpoise and even whale. Near to heaven!

 

Thank you for your response. Your final sentence very much sums up an enjoyable time for us, and enforces our decision.

 

By the way, the people who own the home next to mine (a vacation estate for them) are from Orpington as well.

[ducklite]

Hi. We did this cruise last year in August. It was one of the best we have taken. Regent is fabulous and you are in for a treat.

The weather in Alaska can be anything. Be prepared for rain, especially in Ketchikan, pack layers, and be pleased with sunshine if you have it. But the weather does not really dampen the beauty of Alaska.

Informal is indeed coat with tie or collared shirt. There were no formal nights on our cruise. Daywear was very casual.

The food is terrific and varied. Specialty restaurant reservations can be made online one month before sailing. Specialty restaurants have no extra fee. Excursions also can be booked online ahead of time. I would recommend you review them on the rssc website because some of them do sell out ahead of time.

I wrote a review of our Alaska cruise that included the ports and excursions we took. You can find it here.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=615619

 

As far as we are concerned, Regent is the best way to see Alaska while cruising. The ship is small enough to be able to go where other larger ships cannot.

There is a great Club Mariner program for children onboard. Spa appointments are made easily onboard.

Enjoy!

 

 

What an amazing cruise review! Thank you so much for sharing!

[ducklite]

I believe Regent is the best option as far as cruising Alaska on a conventional cruise ship. The ship is solid and goes places the other cruise ships cannot/do not.

 

The food is substantially better than any other line (save Crystal or alternative dining on Celebrity) and country club casual is welcome after busy days; no ties or formal nights.

 

The jogging deck is wide open and even if whales, etc. are in sight, there will be no problem for your husband. There is a remarkable amount of room on this ship.

 

Tracy Arm is a wonderful early morning excursion. Cannot say enough good about it. And you will have a ton of time for lunch and an afternoon of, say, whale watching in Juneau.

 

As for the spa, I do not think you will have much of a problem. My wife was - with a little flexibility - able to get everything she wanted. It is a bit pricier than RCCL, though.

 

I can't think of anything "bad" about my Alaska cruise. It was really quite a wonderful experience. (It was not issue free, but those issues have pretty much been resolved through Regent improvements and changes and wouldn't be relevant to my recommendation here!:) )

 

I'm glad to hear that the food was good and there was a lot of space onboard. Thank you for responding!

[Hambagahle]

I see that your questions have been well answered with the exception of which PH category to choose -- when we went to Alaska on Mariner in June 2004 we (and two other couples we travelled with) choose a PH C suite, deck 9. This was identical in every way to the PH A and B suites, except they have butlers.

From the deck plans it did seem to me that one category or another of PH suites was more foreward or more aft. They are just stacked on top of each other!!

When we were on Mariner for the Panama Canal cruise in 2005 we choose a PH A because we wanted to be on the same deck as the pool. This worked out well but we were not so impressed with the butler services. We tend to think that having a butler is not really worth the extra money you pay for it. And especially now that all alcohol is included - why bother drinking in your suite??

We are leaving tomorrow (yipee!) for Lima and will join Mariner for our third time on her on Jan 16th. On this cruise we are in a PH B on deck 10. We had originally booked a PH C but during a refit RSSC removed the bath in that suite and put in a shower. I hate showers and really can't spend 19 nights without a bath - so we upgraded to a B category to get the bath. The moral of all this is, don't worry about the butler, but choose the location on the ship that you like. The A B and C suites are all identical and are absolutely lovely, very spacious (much more so than on Voyager I have to say).

You will love Alaska. Do take the Tracy Arm catamaran cruise - it is a wonderful excursion.

Gerry:)

[ducklite]

Gerry,

 

Thanks for your comments. We would prefer to be in a butler suite for a variety of reasons. We tend to spend more time in our suite than many others do while cruising or on any vacation for that matter, as my husband is out of town on business about 75% of the time, and I have a job that requires a lot of constant interaction with (often very off the wall) people, so vacation isn't just travel, it's getting away from everyone but each other.

 

I might not have been terribly clear in my original post, our son is now an adult and will not be cruising with us.

[AtA]

Gerry,

 

Thanks for your comments. We would prefer to be in a butler suite for a variety of reasons. We tend to spend more time in our suite than many others do while cruising or on any vacation for that matter, as my husband is out of town on business about 75% of the time, and I have a job that requires a lot of constant interaction with (often very off the wall) people, so vacation isn't just travel, it's getting away from everyone but each other.

 

I might not have been terribly clear in my original post, our son is now an adult and will not be cruising with us.

I have to concur with the previous poster about butlers. For the first time (on the PG) we were upgraded from a C to a B. If anything I found my service more consistant without the butler than with.

 

It seems without, you call for your room service (or stewardess) and someone appears with whatever it is you want within the time specified. With the butler, I had to wait until he called us back to give our order and then wait for him. Sometimes that took longer than needed as he was one person serving many. The service is so good on Regent it's not necessary...remember this isn't a mass market line and whether you're in a catagory H or a Master suite, you'll wind up getting fabulous service.

[Pam]

Hi! I'm so glad you decided to go with Alaska on Mariner. You'll be thrilled with your choice.

[Coastal Jewel]

Hello There...We were on the Mariner 2 years ago in early September. You may want to check to make sure that the Tracey Arm excursion is offered on your cruise. It is not available on early and late season cruises.

 

We experienced a LOT of rain, but that will vary; the Mariner is a wonderful ship with excellent food & service.