Mariner cruise review 7/15-7/22

[Lsb58]

Hi, just returned last week from our first Regent cruise. I spent so many hours on this board trying to get all the information I could, so I'll return the favor if anyone has any specific questions. I had pretty high expectations and Regent did not disappoint. We flew in to Victoria 2 days prior and stayed at the Empress. Our rooms overlooked the harbor and we had stunning views day and night. Took the ferry to Vancouver and stayed a day and a half there prior to the cruise. We stayed at the Pan Pacific and were very happy with it. Our windows afforded us a lovely view of the Mariner as she cruised in to port at 7:00am.

 

Embarkation: Although our documents said we could board at 2:00, the porter said we'd be fine heading over at 12:30. We didn't realize the Pan Pacific had a hospitality lounge for Regent pax, but we had a late check out time so we didn't need a place to hang out. Once on board we were greeted with champagne and waited in a short line to check in. The music in the lounge was quite loud and made it difficult to hear what the check in staff were saying, but all in all it was a fairly painless embarkation. It took awhile for all of our luggage to be delivered to the room, but that didnt bother me.

 

Cabins: We had an E cabin on the 9th deck and found it quite comfortable, especially the bed. The rooms were elegantly appointed and both of us could actually be in the bathroom at the same time!

Another couple in our group had a C penthouse suite which was about half again as large. The larger room was nice to have as a place for our group to congregate.

2 in our group were in a handicap cabin which served their needs quite nicely. The only negative about the layout of the handicap cabin is that the beds are next to the balcony instead of the seating area so you have to sit on the bed if you want to look out. I believe the goal is to have the open area be right inside the entry and in front of the bathroom. Although the handicap cabin was located near the elevator and laundry room, there were no noise issues. The only thing I really missed in our cabin was a coffee maker. We like to have our coffee in bed first thing in the morning. Since it got light out around 4:00am, we found ourselves waking up very early so I just put some clothes on and went down to the coffee lounge and brought it back to the room. Mind you, this is not like getting coffee to go at Starbucks. There are no paper cups, cardboard holders, or plastic utensils anywhere on the ship! I used the huge automatic coffee machine near the "Coffee Connection" which dispensed reg coffee, decaf, hot chocolate, espresso, and cappuccino, and lattes. The cups provided were the small china type which meant we each had to have 2 to equal a decent size mug. The cappuccino was very good, but be warned that the regular coffee comes out with foam on top which eventually dissipates. It was quite a challenge to carry 2 cups in each hand and operated the elevator button and room key card. Although room service is stated to be 24hrs, the earliest you could request breakfast was 7-7:30. The one morning we did order breakfast, it was right on time. Loved the flat screen TV and enjoyed watching the video from the camera mounted in the front of the ship. Our stewardess Jane was very efficient and unobtrusive. Our room was always kept clean and stocked. We did have to "request" our choice of room liquor. Grey Goose is considered premium so we only got one, which is just as well since we only drank about a third of it. I hope the staff gets to keep the leftovers.

 

Food: Ate in La Veranda the first night and although my dinner was good some in our group thought it was just OK. Husband made the mistake of ordering the "Cowboy Steak" which was very different than the nice trimmed filets he favors. The breakfast buffet was better with a large variety of specialty items like 4 or 5 different kinds of smoked salmon, several types of flavored cream cheeses, pastries, fruits, cereals, and 3 or 4 chafing dishes with hot items. There was also an omlete station. Don't think I ever had lunch there.

Compass Rose was always good. Never any waiting, and service was great. It was here I had some of the best soups I've tasted in a long time, especially the curry squash! Others enjoyed a creamy seafood soup (emphasis on the cream!). There was always a very nice variety of dishes. Not sure how often they change the menu, but I remember thinking there were new choices each time we went. As with all the dining venues, if I didn't want the house wine they were offering I never had a problem getting something else. We were very happy with the Santa Margarita Pinot Grigio and the Dry Creek Fume Blanc. Pours were often and generous. We found the new chairs to be very comfortable.

Signatures was great. We were only able to eat there once. The lobster, avocado, and mango appetizer and rolls with truffle butter were outstanding. I had the halibut and really enjoyed it. Heard the veal was tender and tasty. Can't remember what everyone had, but I know it was ALL good! Desserts were a work of art and tasted as good as they looked.

Prime 7 was great too. Again, only able to go once. I had the king crab legs which were tasty and fairly well cracked. Those who had beef dishes were very satisfied with them.

Poolside Grill/Coffee Connection: The weather was cold and damp on our cruise so we didn't eat at the poolside grill very often. I had a basil, tomato, and cheese panini and thought it was pretty good. Unfortunately, the fries that came with it were delicious, nice and crisp which means I ate all of them :p. The Coffee Connection always had a nice little buffet for breakfast and lunch. Just enough to have a substantial snack, or light meal.

I think we all enjoyed the food and felt it measured up to our expectations. I've only been on one other cruise and frankly didn't miss the huge buffets. I felt Regent did a very nice job of giving you enough food to be satisfied without stuffing yourself or being wasteful. I don't think any of us asked for more, or left much on our plates.

 

Ship: The Mariner is a beautiful ship. I found it easy to find my way around and it didn't take forever to get anywhere. Since I was waking up so early, I enjoyed going up to the walking deck in the morning and taking in the scenery while doing laps (11 laps = 1 mile). Needed a cap and gloves though because as I said, the weather was cold, but to me it just added to the ambiance of Alaska. We usually staked out a few tables in the observation lounge about an hour before leaving each port. We loved having a cocktail while enjoying the view and listening to the commentary by Terry Breen. The first or second night out there was a huge pod of dolphins that started jumping out of the water right in front of the ship! The servers in the Observation Lounge came around often, and I never had a problem getting the brand of liquor I wanted. The chocolate martinis were excellent, and they made a pretty mean Manhattan as well.

Excursions: Husband and I did the Bear Creek Zipline in Ketchikan. The day dawned cold and rainy so I wasn't sure if the excursion would be canceled. When I inquired I was told the tour would proceed as scheduled and the rain just makes you go faster :eek:. I was admittedly nervous about this one, but once we got underway I really enjoyed it. There were only 6 in our group and the 2 guides made sure we understood everything we needed to. I even got up the nerve to look down on the last line! The scariest part was the narrow rope suspension bridge we passed over. Even though we were attached to a cable at all times, the bridge was very rickety and the guides like to get it rocking by jumping on both ends.

Heard the 2 crabfeast excursions were excellent.

The Tracy Arm excursion was stunning. The tour boat was very easy to board directly from the ship. It was a very long excursion but the scenery was beautiful. Often times there is too much ice clogging the narrow passage and the boat can't get all the way up. Apparently the conditions were much improved than just a week prior, so we got very close to the glacier and witnessed it calving several times. Saw a humpback whale breaching the water on the way back to Juneau which was really exciting. I regret not joining some in our group for the Evening Whale Watch in Juneau. From the pictures they took it looked like the whales came very close to the boat. I know they saw both orcas and humpbacks. Well, maybe next time:(

In Skagway we took the Scenic Rail & Yukon Suspension Bridge. The scenery was rugged and beautiful. It takes you really high up over to Frasier, BC where you board a bus for the trip back. The suspension bridge was a bit of a tourist trap, as others have said. It's practically a road and nothing scary. Enjoyed the dog who belongs to the owner of the little store and greets all the tourists. But beware, he is also the resident beggar!

Hubbord Glacier was HUGE! We were able to get within a mile of it and it looked a lot closer than that. The captain does what is referred to as his "signature move" where he rotates the ship in a tight circle so both sides of the ship get a good view. The seas got rougher as we headed out the last afternoon. By dinner time you could really feel it in La Veranda where we ate. We looked like an entire ship of drunks as no one could walk a straight line. The entire night was rough and being a novice cruiser I was pretty nervous. At least the glasses weren't flying out of the cabinets so I figured we were OK.

Entertainment: I didn't go to any of the shows, but I enjoyed the Nature Rhythm Trio that played in the Observation Lounge the first night. Getting up as early as we did we were pretty tired by the time most of the shows started. Some in our group saw a couple and said they enjoyed them.

 

Debarkation: Didn't like having to pack and put our bags out by 10:30 the night before, but I understand that's standard proceedure for a cruise. We appeared in the Constellation Theater at 7:30am per our designated luggage tag color. After a short wait we were told the Grandview Train was cancelled due to high winds. They had buses ready for all of us and the only real disadvantage was that we got to Anchorage a couple hours earlier than planned. We called BAC Limousine in Anchorage to try to get an earlier pick up from the Airport to the Hotel Captain Cook where we spent the night. I can highly recommend BAC. The owner picked us up personally in a stretch Lincoln Navigator with a cute little covered trailer for the luggage. He told us that when he picks passengers up in Seward he gives them the option of driving by a wildlife rehabilitation reserve on the way to Anchorage where they can get really close to the animals, including bears. I think I would consider this option instead of the train had I know about it.

All in all it was a wonderful cruise and we didn't have any issues with names and airline tickets being an exact match to our passports (as was discussed in an earlier thread).

A special Thanks to all of you who recommended the Zen Ray binoculars. We took the Summit 8x42 and 10x42 and they both worked great. I kept mine with me most of the time in the hopes of seeing bears. To my disappointment, we saw no bears but saw lots of Bald Eagles.

Well, this post was meant to be a short review, but I just don't see how that would be possible!

[Travelcat2]

Thank you so much for posting such a detailed review. Some of the excursions sound perfect for us. The information on excursions was pariticularly important as the Alaska season is winding down and we will be on the the cruise that repositions the Navigator to Alaska.

 

We are definitely planning on the crab feasts, Tracy Arm and zip-lining.

[Lsb58]

Glad you found the loooooooong review helpful. We were told that the company that does the Tracy Arm excursion (Allen Marine I think) only do it on Saturdays, and Regent is the only cruise ship they provide tours for. The guy that gave the commentary was very knowledgeable, even though he looked about 16 years old! The only other ship we saw that morning was a National Geographic research vessel. Once we arrived at the glacier, a crew from the Nat Geo vessel boarded a large zodiak raft to get even closer. We took a great picture of a huge wave generated from the calving in the background, with the little zodiak in the foreground. I'm sure the wave was much further away from the raft than it looked, but I think the appropriate caption for the pic would have been "Oh $#%&!"

We enjoyed the Bear Creek Zipline and I'm sure you will too. As I said, I didn't do the Crab Feast, but from the pictures I saw, "Feast" is the operative word!

Have a wonderful time!

[Peek-a-boo]

Although room service is stated to be 24hrs, the earliest you could request breakfast was 7-7:30. The one morning we did order breakfast, it was right on time.

Thanks so much for your review. The info is very helpful. :)

Interesting that they would not bring breakfast before 7am. Any suggestions for breakfast if our excursion leaves at 7?

Thanks!

[msmillie]

Thank you so much for the wonderful review of your cruise and for sharing it with us; you are an excellent writer, and we appreciate the way you relate your experiences. We are so pleased that you had what seems to be a terrific Alaska cruise experience. We are really glad that other cruisers share the wonderful experiences that we have had on Regent cruises.

[Lsb58]

Peekaboo: room service breakfast hours are still a bit confusing to me. One of the features of "turndown service" was to leave a breakfast room service menu on the bed. The earliest time to order was 7-7:30am. Having said that, we never called room service when we woke up to request a pot of coffee, so not sure what the response would be. I'm pretty sure the room service menu said "24 hours", so I would assume they'd deliver a pot of coffee on request. I can say that the the one time we did order breakfast, the pot of coffee was not as good as that behemoth of a machine down by the coffee connection produced!

[Lsb58]

Peekaboo, also meant to tell you that on days where there were early excursions, La Veranda opened at 6:30am. That's still cutting it a bit close for a 7:00 am excursion departure though. I'd check with Regent and clarify the room service hours.

[Rally]

Peekaboo: room service breakfast hours are still a bit confusing to me. One of the features of "turndown service" was to leave a breakfast room service menu on the bed. The earliest time to order was 7-7:30am. Having said that, we never called room service when we woke up to request a pot of coffee, so not sure what the response would be. I'm pretty sure the room service menu said "24 hours", so I would assume they'd deliver a pot of coffee on request. I can say that the the one time we did order breakfast, the pot of coffee was not as good as that behemoth of a machine down by the coffee connection produced!

 

If you call before going to bed and ask for breakfast at 4:30 Am you will get it. Just not on the standard card. I know; we did it one time.

[Lsb58]

Rally, this is just the kind of info we need BEFORE the cruise! This solves Peekaboo's dilemma regarding breakfast prior to an early excursion departure. As I'm fond of saying, "If you don't ask, the answer is always no.":D

[Peek-a-boo]

Thanks for the info...we board the Navigator one week from today!:)

[poss]

Thanks ever so much for your excellent report and glad you enjoyed your trip. A couple more questions, with thanks in advance.

 

Did the Fairmont in Vancouver look like a pleasant place? (I can't remember why we chose that over the PP. or the Westin Waterfront.) Did you have an especially enjoyable dinner in Vancouver?

 

Did you like the Capt Cook? Did you eat in Crow's Nest or at one of the town restaurants? (We'd been trying to decide between CC and Marriott, finally chose CC.)

 

You don't mention any of the plane excursions. We've signed up, but I'm a fraidy cat and suspect I might wimp out. Did you hear anything worth repeating about the copter flights in Juneau and the floatplane to Misty Fjords? Did you do any walking/hiking in any of the ports? (That tends to be our favorite kind of "excursion," but I know that Alaska is different, so we've signed up for the more Alaska-typical ones (including the Skagway train/Suspension bridge that you mention).

 

Thanks again for taking the time to post, and in such good, helpful detail. Greatly appreciated.

[TheAlohaLady]

That was one of the best, most comprehensive cruise reviews I've ever read! The perfect amount of useful details, written in an entertaining and lively fashion.

 

One thing is troubling...

 

Why is it that the poster had to go get the coffee? The law in Alaska (AK SB 323) and, conveniently, California (SB 714) is that husbands make/get coffee and deliver to wife -- preferably while she is still in bed. :D

 

Thanks for a great review.

[Travelcat2]

Did the Fairmont in Vancouver look like a pleasant place? (I can't remember why we chose that over the PP. or the Westin Waterfront.) Did you have an especially enjoyable dinner in Vancouver?

 

If you are referring to the Fairmont at Vancouver International Airport, it is one of the top hotels in Vancouver (with top prices as well).

[OrpingtonT]

I think the reference is to the Fairmont across the street from the Pan Pacific. Though I stayed in the PP, I did have a look around the public areas of that Fairmont. It did look nice, though not as modern as the PP.

[RachelG]

Great review! Sounds like you had a wonderful time.

 

A couple of things--you can get coffee 24 hrs a day from room service as far as I know. At least, you can get it at 6 am.

 

The wildlife rehab center that your driver told you about is one of my favorite places. We have been there twice as the animals change all the time. But they always have some elk, caribou, and moose. They had only one bear the first time we were there, but the 2nd there were several including a cute cub. And there was a HUGE porcupine.

[bkcruzing]

We stayed at the Fairmont Waterfront and it was very nice. It is right across the street from the PP and where you board the Mariner. The hotel brought our luggage to the ship for us. We were very pleased. We did the Misty Fjords Seaplane Adventure and it was beautiful. It was a bit bumpy at first but got better when we got to sunny weather in the Fjords. A great experience! It was a wonderful cruise!!!!! We are sad it is over.

[Lsb58]

Poss: Can't comment on the Fairmont since we didn't really see it, but looks like bkcruising has some good info on it. We've stayed in the Fairmont Vancouver which is downtown (about 4 or 5 blocks from Canada Place) and enjoyed it. I think you'll find a lot of opposing opinions about the Fairmont Chain. The older hotels, like the Empress and the Fairmont Vancouver are classics, and we appreciate the "old world charm." The Pan Pacific is very contemporary and modern. We enjoyed our stay at both places. We enjoyed a wonderful meal at the Five Sails, located at the top of the Pan Pacific. The views are awesome and the food was delicious. As regards Hotel Captain Cook: it was recommended by our TA and although it doesn't have the charm of the Fairmonts, or the style of the Pan Pacific, it was fine for the one night we stayed there. We arrived well before check in time so we left our luggage in the capable hands of the hotels bellhops and went to lunch. The limo driver from BAC recommended Simon & Seafort which is located about 2 blocks away from CC (towards the water). They have a huge variety on the menu and the setting is very casual. Not an inexpensive place to eat, but we felt we got what we paid for and the server was fantastic. There is a really nice gift shop located in the building if you still need to satisfy that urge;). The decor at CC is very dark and rustic. I had read reviews where people thought the rooms were "dingy" and I can see where they might think that due to the dark decor. My biggest beef with the CC was that one of our rooms (the handicap room) was not ready until about 5:30 which was well after check in time. Ironically, that same thing happened every place we stayed! At least 1 of the four rooms we reserved wasn't ready at check in time at the Empress and the Pan Pacific. Not too big a deal in retrospect, but at the time we were all anxious to get settled and we usually had dinner reservations we needed to change clothes for. We had a great meal at the Crows Nest. Since there were 8 of us we were set up in a back room with large windows facing the water. Food was really tasty, especially the Thai Yellow Curry, Coconut, and King Crab Soup! The Crisp Pear and Feta Spinach Salad was delicious too.

As far as the Floatplane excursions, I didn't do any personally and the Floatplane Exploration in Ketchikan was canceled due to weather. I think the airborne excursions are much more vulnerable to the weather conditions than ground or boat excursions. Didn't do any hiking, but I was really surprised when the White Pass Train we were on stopped to let a group of hikers off, seemingly in the middle of nowhere! Sounded like it was a fairly common occurence. I think you'll enjoy the Skagway train as the scenery is beautiful. You'll be amazed at just how little ground those tracks are built on when you see them from the bus on the return trip. Again, weather conditions dictate how much you see but I found the clouds surrounding the mountains and lurking down in the valleys added a unique beauty. Besides, I live in California so I can see sun anytime!

AlohaLady: Thanks for educating me on the legal statues regarding coffee duty in CA and AK. I'll keep that little tidbit in my back pocket for later use.;) Coffee in bed is one of lifes little pleasures that we've enjoyed for 30 years.

RachelG:Our driver offered to take us on an afternoon drive to see the wildlife center but we declined since it was over an hour away from Anchorage and we just didn't think we had time. Wish we had known about it and incorporated it in to our schedule. Sounds like it's something to consider if you go for private transportation from Seward to Anchorage since it's somewhere in between.

[opheliaj]

We are headed off to Alaska on the Sept. 9th Mariner cruise and are very appreciative of your wonderful review.

 

We are very anxious to take the Tracy Arm excursion but, according to our TA, it isn't available for our cruise. Does anyone know of an outside company with which we could make some independent arrangements or what else may be done to arrange something? :confused:

[Travelcat2]

We are headed off to Alaska on the Sept. 9th Mariner cruise and are very appreciative of your wonderful review.

 

We are very anxious to take the Tracy Arm excursion but, according to our TA, it isn't available for our cruise. Does anyone know of an outside company with which we could make some independent arrangements or what else may be done to arrange something? :confused:

 

We had the same situation last May -- could not go to Tracy Arm until June 1st. Every company we checked with said that Tracy Arm is only accessible June 1 - August 31st. Since we were unable to do Tracy Arm, we are returning to Alaska next year and will be there after June 1st.

[OrpingtonT]

We are very anxious to take the Tracy Arm excursion but, according to our TA, it isn't available for our cruise. Does anyone know of an outside company with which we could make some independent arrangements or what else may be done to arrange something? :confused:

 

No. It is very difficult because the Tracey Arm excursion disembarks Mariner whilst in the fjord and so private trips could not be accommodated. Mariner sails on to Juneau and even if you found someone to take you back to Tracy Arm the time taken would render it unfeasible. Sorry.

[poss]

Thanks for continued helpful details. Am packed and ready to go. Discouraging to hear that train has been out past week (rock slide), and that area is expecting more of same (lots of rain with potential for road and track closings) in coming week. Nothing anyone can do about that sort of bad luck. Carpe diem, enjoy what there is to enjoy, be grateful that one is privileged enough even to be able to plan and dream about such luxuries. (I think I will definitely cancel float plane and copter excursions-- not my cup of tea, and should have acknowledged it from the start. Simply too scared when things are bumpy and shaky.)

[Lsb58]

You're very welcome Poss! Are you sailing from Vancouver to Seward or the reverse route? I felt really sorry for the folks boarding in Seward on the 22nd knowing what the sea conditions were the day we sailed in. At least the seas didn't get rough until our last day and a half. Even though most of our cruise was cloudy I was absolutely astounded at how calm the water was the first few days. The passage seemed so narrow that I felt I could hit the shore with a rock if thrown from my balcony. I got some wonderful pictures of the mountains mirrored in the calm water. I had to remind myself that I was at sea and not on a calm mountain lake. Because of the clouds and drizzle we saw 2 beautiful rainbows arched over the water in front of the ship. As the ship got closer one of the rainbows ended in the water right in front of us (no pot of gold though:rolleyes:)

I think that's a good strategy on your part to cancel the air excursions as it practically guarantees the weather will turn sunny once you do!:cool:

[poss]

Jackhawk, on the post just above this, reports that he just got back-- July 29-- and that the weather was perfect! Nice to know that what looked to be a not-good start turned out so well. I think that this week's was probably not so good and that ours next week is likely not to be either. Sigh.

[Travelcat2]

Jackhawk, on the post just above this, reports that he just got back-- July 29-- and that the weather was perfect! Nice to know that what looked to be a not-good start turned out so well. I think that this week's was probably not so good and that ours next week is likely not to be either. Sigh.

 

Just look at the 15 day forecast for Juneau -- it looks pretty good. Here is a link http://www.accuweather.com/us/ak/juneau/99801/forecast-15day.asp?partner=netweather&traveler=1&zipchg=1&metric=0

 

Ketchikan is even better! http://www.accuweather.com/us/ak/ketchikan/99901/forecast-15day.asp?partner=netweather&traveler=1&zipchg=1&metric=0

[poss]

Thanks, Cat-- sweet of you to mention.