Live From The Mariner 13-24 May 2017 (Lite)

was that the 'Whole Main Lobster'? I wondered if it would be shelled for you - looks yummy.

Victoria: no worries.

Garyb: yes. It was shelled after the pic was taken.

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Yesterday was a lazy sea day. We enjoyed another great Terry Breen presentation on the Seymour straights and its perils. After another great lunch, we spent the afternoon by the pool for the first time during this cruise. We had cool weather but a mostly sunny day which to enjoy the outdoor spaces. We did not make it to krew kapers since it is sometimes too emotional for The Boss and may even make my eyeballs sweat. However, we sat outside to enjoy the evening and sunset after dinner as we realize that we are down to one last day:

Today: Victoria walking tour and we try to pack fifty pounds of "stuff" into a ten pound bag.

Z and TB

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Lovely photo! And how were drinks by the pool?! Inquiring minds want to know!

This was our first meeting of the M&BM society. We had lemon drops and wine. What a gorgeous day. We had to quit at 3PM so we could go to our cabin to get one last look at the sea life as we passed an area known for being an Orca habitat.

Z and TB

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jeb_bud--

 

For what it's worth, we were on a ship mid August of last year (not Regent, alas, the Solstice out of Seattle), were of course scheduled for Tracy Arm, and wound up in Endicott. The Endicott Glacier up close was still amazing.

 

The Solstice is a larger ship, which might have had something to do with it. But my impression was that about half the time all the way through the season ships turn away from Tracy Arm.

 

For me, I find Glacier Bay the most spectacular. Don't quite understand why that isn't an option on Regent, but of course it's all beautiful!

 

 

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I'm sure that whatever we wind up doing it's going to be a trip of a lifetime. With all the information available here on CC, it creates a desire for even more information.

This is our first trip to Alaska and also our first ocean cruise. I'm not an especially demanding person. As long as the air is clear enough that we can see the scenery and the crew isn't mysteriously replaced with a bunch of ne'er do wells we'll have a great time.

I've read that Tracy Arm is better than Endicott Arm. I'm sure Endicott Arm is more striking than anything on the Oregon coast. I'll be fine either way.

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Z and TB

This cruise has been the BEST! Z & TB have helped to make it the best, of course majestic Alaska contributed too!!:hearteyes:

Thanks Z for this blog, appreciate all your time & effort.

Sure will miss the lemon drops, little pink drinks (TB) & your great friendship and company!! Hard to find another couple as lovable & crazy as "yous" guys! :hearteyes:

We will miss you:(

Karen & John

Z and TB

 

This cruise has been the BEST! Z & TB have helped to make it the best, of course majestic Alaska contributed too!!:hearteyes:

Thanks Z for this blog, appreciate all your time & effort.

Sure will miss the lemon drops, little pink drinks (TB) & your great friendship and company!! Hard to find another couple as lovable & crazy as "yous" guys! :hearteyes:

We will miss you:(

Karen & John

Thank you so much. It is special friends like you guys that make us want to sail more often. You made our cruise so special and thanks for letting us hang out with yous. Now, go ahead and book the 10 Nov Mariner cruise. DO IT!!!

Z and TB

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Just catching back up with your trip as we just returned from a family vacation to Sedona--the entire family! Exhausting but fun. No down time at all.

At any rate, bummer about the jacket. I would ask if they can order one and have it sent to your house.

No Tracy Arm this early in the season. We were supposed to do it last year, and they substituted Endicott, which is not nearly as impressive.

Looks like the weather has not been great. May is always unpredictable as far as weather. We were there this same time last year, and it was mostly bright and sunny with only a few cool days and no rain.

I was told last year, perhaps inaccurately, that ships that get rerouted down Endicott Arm can get closer to the Glacier than they usually can to the one at the end of Tracy Arm. But I know so many people who have been rerouted--throughout the summer season-- that I'm wondering if it's even a good business practice to advertise a journey down Tracy Arm, for any cruise line. Of course they all do.

In my opinion, Glacier Bay is far superior. Does anyone know if Regent will have the ability to include it in future itineraries?

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Hi Rachel: funny thing about the weather is that it did not stop us from enjoying ourselves and it made it more "authentic" in the sense that we expected to be this way.

However, today is now a sea day with our stop to Victoria canceled due to high winds. The Captain is concerned that we may not be able to either dock or make it to Vancouver in time for disembarkation.

So, we now have a gorgeous day with perfect temperature but strong winds. Regent has changed their activity schedule to include bingo, blackjack and poker tournament, and wine tasting which we will attend.

Hoping to score another Prime7 reservation tonight!

Choppy seas:

Z and TB

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Really enjoying your blog. Photographs are great. We were on Mariner last August in Alaska and so enjoyed it. Thanks for taking us all along with you. Jean.

Thanks for taking us along for the ride. Sorry about the Victoria miss, and here's hoping that Vancouver works ok.

I was told last year, perhaps inaccurately, that ships that get rerouted down Endicott Arm can get closer to the Glacier than they usually can to the one at the end of Tracy Arm. But I know so many people who have been rerouted--throughout the summer season-- that I'm wondering if it's even a good business practice to advertise a journey down Tracy Arm, for any cruise line. Of course they all do.

 

In my opinion, Glacier Bay is far superior. Does anyone know if Regent will have the ability to include it in future itineraries?

 

 

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To get into Glacier Bay, you have to have a special permit, and they are pretty much all taken up by I believe Princess at present. They are limited in number, and you can only stay in Glacier Bay for a certain amount of time. The reason I know this is because we did a land/expedition cruise involving Glacier Bay several years ago. Our very small ship was the only one allowed to stay in the bay overnight.

Am now planning an Alaskan cruise for my wife and I, so this discussion prompted me to do a little research. Princess, Holland America, and Norwegian are at least three lines that can go to Glacier Bay. It appears as if the more luxurious cruise lines are all shut out.

Curious, since Regent's parent company is Norwegian.

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A few cruise lines have been banned from Glacier Bay due to environmental regulation violations. I researched this last year as I was also curious why Regent did not go into Glacier Bay. I do not recall if Regent was on the list, but I assume not because that would have likely made us reconsider taking Regent in Alaska.

Regent has not been banned. There is a limit to how many cruise ships can enter Glacier Bay!

Z, really hope that the Mariner can arrive and dock on time. It is quite windy here today but we know how quickly the weather can change.

Thanks so much for virtually taking us with you. Think you may want to apologise in advance to TB ��

A few cruise lines have been banned from Glacier Bay due to environmental regulation violations. I researched this last year as I was also curious why Regent did not go into Glacier Bay. I do not recall if Regent was on the list, but I assume not because that would have likely made us reconsider taking Regent in Alaska.

Thought it would be helpful to give you information regarding quotas for cruise ships entering Glacier Bay

Roberto, I read the portion of your post regarding the Victoria cancellation and the captain's concern about Vancouver tomorrow to Matthew at the Regent hospitality desk. It was news to him, so he picked up the phone and checked with his boss. He was smiling as he hung up: "The official news is that the Mariner will be on time tomorrow, that people will debark on time, and that you will embark in time." He added that due to Vancouver's location, on an inlet, it doesn't get the high winds that Victoria, much more exposed, is subject to.

Sounds definitive, yet I can report from very recent (as of 20 minutes ago) experience it felt pretty windy to us as we walked back from dinner on Robson, so fingers are still crossed for you and us!

Rich

Geez, Rich, your Vancouver story takes the cake. Hopefully, everything else will be smooth sailing from now on.

So far, no info has been provided regarding a late arrival. At least, we are fortunate that we have a 2PM departure time for our flight so there is plenty of wiggle room for us. The down side is that we don't get home until 8AM tomorrow.

During dinner we had an adventure of our own. The shop picked up a distress signal and stoped to launch a tender and rescue someone stranded in the woods. Here is a pic of the Canadian authorities picking up the individual from our vessel:

Rumor has it that when he saw the ship's luxurious interior and dinner menu, he asked to stay onboard.

We spent most of the day with our friends who will see again in November for another Mariner cruise.

It was very sad having to say goodbye to Risky who gave us top notch service throughout our cruise. She is one the the cruiseline's shining stars. Our last meal:

The Boss' new lobster count is a record breaking seven in eleven days.

After dinner, we finished our packing and sat in the veranda to catch one last sunset:

Today: will we depart on time and will we survive the red eye flight to Miami?

Thanks, everyone, for being part of our journey.

Z and TB

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Thanks for taking the time to post. Enjoyed it very much. We are boarding today and just watched the Mariner sail by our windows at the Marriott!

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Eagle lover: almost there!

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Z, thanks for taking us with you. CC (DW, not Cruise Critic) and I are sailing Mariner for the first time in October (we've had two great trips on Voyager) and you really whetted our appetites for sailing and for lobster.

Thanks all you guys for posting these last few weeks! Was so much fun reading and living vicariously!

Travelcat--

Thank you for the Glacier Bay info, but does all that boilerplate actually contain a specific answer as to why the same cruise lines, year in and year out, visit the bay while others are perpetually excluded? It seems odd to me that higher end cruise lines are not represented at all, in spite of whatever quota system is in place.

And I wonder why Norwegian, Regent's parent company as we all know, chose the Pearl for its apparent allotment of just one ship to visit the bay, while Carnival seems over represented, with multiple ships under both its Princess and Holland America brands cruising there every single season? Princess in particular seems like an odd choice, seeing that they've recently been fined 40 million dollars for illegal, environment despoiling waste dumping.

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Just wanted to add my thank you for taking the time. Your post and photos top grade-can't wait till we're on are Regent cruise. Thanks again and safe way home. Rick