Mariner Seven Seas Suite

Has anyone stayed in a Seven Seas Suite on Mariner? Would love to hear any thoughts or concerns regarding these suites. I am leaning toward the Aft suites as they are slightly larger and the balcony is almost 3 x as big. Any reasons to consider forward vs aft? I'm assuming that the forward would also make the balcony windy while sailing. All comments appreciated.

Although we have only stayed in Penthouse and Mariner suites on the Mariner, I do have a couple of comments regarding the location of the forward and aft Seven Seas suites. First, you are correct that balconies in the front of the ship are unusable while the ship is moving. We have stayed in forward suites on both the Voyager and the Navigator and found this to be the case.

The aft suites look beautiful and I would not hesitate to book one of them. I would avoid two decks. The Seven Seas Aft suite on deck 10 is under La Veranda and you would likely hear chairs being moved around early in the morning and whenever the restaurant is open. Also, it might be difficult to enjoy the peace and quiet of your beautiful veranda with people dining outside of La Veranda - right above your heads.

The second area that I would not book an aft suite is deck 7. While I am not certain that you would hear the live music from the Horizon Lounge below, your veranda would be above theirs and they designate an area outside of the Horizon Lounge for smokers and you could have smoke wafting up to veranda (depending upon which side they designate and where your suite is).

Hope this helps a bit.

Thanks for the feedback. I wouldn't have thought about the difference in noise between the decks. That was really helpful. Still struggling between this and the Oceania suite on the Riviera.

As you have read on other threads, there is a big difference between the two cruise lines. We will be in a Vista suite on Oceania in November (have toured an Oceania suite -- they are lovely). There are many positive things about Oceania but we prefer Regent. The Oceania suite is much more luxurious than a Seven Seas suite. The Riviera is much larger than the Regent ships (feels larger than it actually is). Being in an Oceania suite would allow you to dine in the specialty restaurants many more times, you will receive 6 bottles of alcohol in your suite, can board early and visit the Executive Lounge (very overrated IMO).

We have 18 cruises on Regent and will have 2 on Oceania (both on the Riviera). We have 3 future cruises booked on Regent (one begins next week) and none on Oceania.

Hope you will post and let us know which cruise line you decide on.

We booked the Seven Seas Aft on 7 on the Mariner in the Med. It was an exceptional experience. We never had any noise, smoke from the lounge or anything that made the cabin undesirable. We would book that cabin again in a heartbeat. We also sailed an aft corner cabin on Oceania's Riviera with the same experience. We sailed on HAL's Amerstam in a forward suite and had no problem using our deck but the deck was on the side of the ship and wrapped around.

The Seven Seas Forward Suites on Mariner don't actually have forward-facing balconies, the balconies face either starboard or port and are smaller than the aft. We sailed in a Seven Seas Aft Suite on her first voyage to Alaska, and were enthralled with that huge almost wrap-around balcony! I've never been in a Master Suite, except on Navigator, but you can't go wrong with that SS Aft on Mariner.

edit to wave to Kathy; we were posting at the same time.

We were in the Horizon Suite (deck 8) last September. It was lovely! Very spacious comfortable. We loved it. The Horizon suites are aft. Enjoy your cruise.

Papa B Me...

We are currently on the Mariner in the 10th deck Aft Suite.

We LOVE the size of the living room and (of course) the balcony.

The corner even number suites (780, 8100, 988 and 1080) have a shower and tub...odd numbers (781, 8101, 989, and 1081) are shower only.

I have photos of our suite on the photo page of my daily travel blog:

http://www.BillinLodi.com (See the Sept. 23rd photos)

If you have any specific questions about the suite, feel free to contact me at the e-mail address on the page.

Bill

Thanks again to all that have responded. I've been researching our 2016 cruise for months now and can't wait for the full 2016 itineraries to be released. This has really been helpful. I've narrowed it all down to Two ships(Mariner or Oceania Riviera), two suites(Seven Seas Aft or Oceania suite on deck 12) and the basic itinerary of primarily Italy, Greece, and Adriatic stops. So now for the Regent and Oceania to catch up with my planning and release the schedules for 2016. I understand they are very different cruises and each appeals to me by their strengths. Regent appeals by its all inclusiveness, buisness air included, and apparent personal service. Oceania appeals to me by the size of suite and food. I've done a comparison of 2015 itineraries/rates between the two. If I add projected BA upgrade, excursion package, alcohol package, etc... to Oceania the price difference is negligible(when spending between 30-40k anyway). So guessing it will all come down to itinerary and dates of sailing. I'm leaning either toward May or September for the Med. Any additional feedback appreciated

Bill

Your pictures were wonderful. Thank you for taking the time to post them. Continue to have a great time on your cruise.

We have been to the Med. in early May and it was already getting quite warm. Since we will be in the Med. the first 2 weeks of October, we've been checking temperatures. -- they have been in the 70's - may hit low 80's. The reason I would pick September (as late as possible) is that the days and nights are beginning to cool a bit while in May they are heating up. A slight difference but you can feel it in the air. Whichever time you choose, it is far better than July or August.

Bill

Your pictures were wonderful. Thank you for taking the time to post them. Continue to have a great time on your cruise.

Agreed.

Bill - we are in an aft suite next April, Barcelona to Venice. I knew the decor & furniture had been upgraded but that looks amazing. The balcony will do for me, doubt I'll get my wife off that lounger! :)

Additionally, extra thanks for posting better pictures of the suite than Regent have bothered to do on their website!

Despite the refurb being about 5 months ago they still have the old pics of the ship on the website, which is, pretty much, unforgivable. Desperately poor from a P R & marketing perspective.

Thanks to all for the compliments. If there is any specific part of the suite you want me to photograph or have any questions, I am happy to do so.

I know that I did not photograph the 1/2 bath. It is just a toilet and sink. If you want to hang a toiletry bag or your bathrobe in there, bring Command Strip hooks. I am having to use one of the coat hooks in the hallway for my toiletry bag. The main bathroom has two hooks inside that they use to hang your bathrobes.

I should mention (for those of you who like to hang things magnetically), that they now have textured wallpapers in these suites, so magnets and even command strips do not work in the living room or bedroom.

We were still able to put the photos of our dogs in magnetic frames for the outside of our suite door.

The whole suite looks amazing. I'm interested to know about the hanging space in the "walk through" wardrobe. Equally, you mentioned that 8100 has a separate shower cubicle and a small bath, I hadn't realised that.

Any more pics of the bedroom, wardrobe & bathroom area, plus that balcony, would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks.

I have posted 2 more photos of the "walk through" closet...one from each side.

The side with the 5 drawers and 4 cubbie holes (one which houses the safe) has about 3 feet of hanging space. The other side has about 4 feet of hanging space. Do note that there are no lower hanging bars that are in other suites.

The photos are posted along with the other suite photos on the September 23rd photo entry.

they were both fabulous but with a LOT more motion up front. I personally loved the movement but my husband not so much. Yes, the aft balcony is heavenly. Go for it!

Bill - Okay - Now you've really piqued my interest in the Mariner. So far, we've only cruised on Navigator and Voyager. But I must say, your wonderful pictures of the Seven Seas Aft Suite on Mariner looks absolutely delightful! I would definitely give that a "go" if I could find a destination and time that worked for us!

How about further teasing us a bit further and telling us about some of your evening meals (what you ordered) and in which dining rooms.

Thanks Much and Best Regards.

Bill - Okay - Now you've really piqued my interest in the Mariner. So far, we've only cruised on Navigator and Voyager. But I must say, your wonderful pictures of the Seven Seas Aft Suite on Mariner looks absolutely delightful! I would definitely give that a "go" if I could find a destination and time that worked for us!

 

How about further teasing us a bit further and telling us about some of your evening meals (what you ordered) and in which dining rooms.

 

Thanks Much and Best Regards.

The food/menus are identical are all three Regent ships (except perhaps for local items that are available). The Executive Chefs switch between the three ships. The excellent Chef we had on the Voyager in June/July had just left the Mariner, so I cannot imagine that there would be any difference in food.

IMO, the biggest difference between the two ships is the size of the suites. The regular suites on the Mariner feel much smaller (they are smaller but not as much as they seem to be. The PH suites are much larger on the Mariner. The Mariner also has a larger Stars Lounge (rarely used except for late night entertainment), larger Coffee Connection (lovely but is next to the library and computer room which can be very disruptive to the people trying to concentrate). The aft suites on the Mariner are larger and do not have a vibration.

While we have a slight preference for the Voyager, our next three Regent cruises will be on the Mariner.

Papa B Me...

We are currently on the Mariner in the 10th deck Aft Suite.

We LOVE the size of the living room and (of course) the balcony.

The corner even number suites (780, 8100, 988 and 1080) have a shower and tub...odd numbers (781, 8101, 989, and 1081) are shower only.

I have photos of our suite on the photo page of my daily travel blog:

http://www.BillinLodi.com (See the Sept. 23rd photos)

If you have any specific questions about the suite, feel free to contact me at the e-mail address on the page.

Bill

I loved your pictures! Mariner happens to be my favorite ship, just like the layout, TC's comments aside, (which are correct), but we all have personal reasons for loving one ship over the other. I've been on her for 13 cruises and more coming plus the Voyager. You two really travel well, before and during, and take long cruises. How lucky you are to have this opportunity. Having taken several cruises to the Med in the fall, I agree that this is the very best time, late September, or October, even early November. Or, I have also been in early April which is also nice. I just avoid the summer because of the crowds, and I live at the beach and have more family visits then.

Once on a trip to Alaska, my young adult kids struck up a relationship with a couple my age who were in that same suite, except I think on Deck 9? They were awestruck! Great to have some people shots from that fabulous balcony on a sunny day!

Papa B me, if it doesn't hurt your wallet too much, I'd go with it!

I have posted 2 more photos of the "walk through" closet...one from each side.

The side with the 5 drawers and 4 cubbie holes (one which houses the safe) has about 3 feet of hanging space. The other side has about 4 feet of hanging space. Do note that there are no lower hanging bars that are in other suites.

The photos are posted along with the other suite photos on the September 23rd photo entry.

Terrific, many thanks.

Just to clarify, we will be in 8100 and you indicate that does not have the separate shower cubicle, just a "shower over" a bath tub?

Edit: I think the deck plan confirms what you were saying re: shower/bath - 8100 is a tub/shower combination.

Thanks again.

 

Just to clarify, we will be in 8100 and you indicate that does not have the separate shower cubicle, just a "shower over" a bath tub?

 

Edit: I think the deck plan confirms what you were saying re: shower/bath - 8100 is a tub/shower combination.

I may have confused you. 8100 has a tub and a separate small shower enclosure.

8101 does not have a tub at all, just a shower that runs the full length of the back of the bathroom. It does have a marble "seat" at one end.

Marvellous. Thank you.

BBfromCA - Hello again, Bill. I'll try once more. I am fully aware that the menus on all 3 ships are essentially the same. In fact (despite another poster's comment), I wasn't even asking about whether there was a "difference" between the meals on one ship or another....

My question [specifically to you] is what meals have YOU particularly enjoyed while onboard, so far? Do you have any "favorites" that stand out or other selections that you might "pass up" the next time? Best regards and please continue your wonderful and informative posts.

Pies4U: Just a comment about the shower/bathtub combinations. Many passengers find the bathtub very difficult to get into and out of. There were so many complaints that approximately 50-60% of Mariner's suite were changed into having one large shower. Thought you should be aware of this fact.