Mariner - Vancouver to Seward - 6/29-7/6

Just returned yesterday from our Alaska cruise on Mariner. Others like RachelG and Poss have done such a great job with their blogs and reviews that I won’t go into a lot of detail about each port other than to address some of the concerns I had going into the cruise and to highlight a few of the high points and low points for us. Before I go on, thank you to all of those posters who shared information about their experiences and tips. Very helpful for planning.

After two previous cruises on Regent with just DW and me, we decided to bring the kids along for this summer cruise. They are 11 and 14 and are well traveled and used to quiet surroundings and longer dinner meals, so we weren’t concerned that they would adapt to the Regent style.

We started our trip with 2 days in Victoria and then 1 day in Vancouver. Very fun. Highly recommend the Magnolia Hotel in Victoria. We stayed at the Pan Pacific in Vancouver. It is a bit dated, but so ultra-convenient that it was well worth it. They took our luggage straight from our room to the ship. Never touched it until it was in our suite on the ship.

We had a Penthouse B forward on Deck 10. The room was wonderful and while some of the furnishings were showing some age, it was still a great suite. And very clean. We had plenty of room. Our daughter slept on the sleeper sofa and our son slept on a rollaway bed. Our steward would remove the rollaway every morning and set it up during turndown. Loved that they give you both Hermes and L’Occitane products in these suites. I prefer the Hermes and DW and daughter prefer the L’Occitane. We also had a shower which is our strong preference for any hotel or ship, and I don’t believe there were many Penthouse B’s with both a sleeper sofa and a shower. The room did have a very slight musty smell when we boarded, but we had brought a small diffuser jar so we did not notice the smell after our diffuser oil wafted around a bit. Our steward kept the room in great shape during the cruise, although we only saw him 2 or 3 times. Our butler was very friendly and served us room service a couple mornings for breakfast and daily canapes. He was very kind to our kids and they enjoyed him. We didn’t use him for any other services.

Based on recent reviews/blogs, we were concerned about service with some experienced staff being pulled away to Explorer. Our service in CR was good to very good each night we ate there. The sommeliers were great and always remembered our drink preferences. The waiters were efficient but not as outgoing. We never requested a particular waiter, but did try to sit in the same general area in CR. We special ordered once because we really wanted chateaubriand and it was not on the menu (at least that we saw). They happily accommodated this request. Our best meal and service was the first night in Prime 7. Our least favorite meal was the French Bistro night in La Veranda. I was also a little disappointed with Sette Mari. There was a VERY long wait for our main course (to the point that our waiter apologized). The pastas were good, but our mains were not as well prepared as the entrees in CR or P7. Maybe we just ordered the wrong thing or maybe they were training new staff. We did have the perfect table at the back of LV looking out to the aft of the ship – just beautiful. Not a bad place to wait, if you have to wait.

We had selected a number of Regent Choice excursions. For the excursions that we went on, they were very good. Two of our excursions were canceled: float plane in Ketchikan (understandable due to the weather) and a boat ride in Sitka. We really didn’t get a good explanation as to why the boat ride was canceled. I found the Destination Services folks to be less-than-helpful. There has to be a better way to let you know that excursions have been canceled other than a VM on your suite phone 1-3 hours before the excursion. We were obviously not sitting around waiting for their call. They were also very unhelpful with trying to arrange any alternative. One the up side, we did come home with a wallet full of cash from our excursion refunds (since it was x4 for each).

We had not paid much attention to the youth program (Mariners Club) prior to the cruise and were not expecting our kids to participate. They perked up once onboard when they heard about it. Our younger daughter went to several of the sessions. They had two coordinators working with the kids. They played games and did some crafts. She would usually stay about half of each session and then come back to the suite. Our son was in the older group. They really did not have a coordinator and while their sessions had themes on the schedule, he said they usually just talked or played cards. He seemed to enjoy it and made some friends that he shared contact information with.

We have not been huge fans of the shows in the past – just not our thing – but the Cirque Rock-n-Roll show was very good. The aerialists were excellent. I could watch that for hours. Our daughter sings and dances and she enjoyed both shows that we attended.

The ship seldom felt crowded. Really the only time was in La Veranda for breakfast when there was usually a brief wait for a clean table. During the day and evenings, the public areas usually seemed deserted.

Other than the rainy day in Ketchikan, the weather was wonderful. We were able to get within 1 mile of the Hubbard Glacier and the captain apologized that we were not able to get closer due to the current – I thought it was wonderful. We had a very relaxed amount of time there. We watched from our balcony as we approached and first turned to face the glacier and then got ourselves ready and went to breakfast in LV – where we still had a great view of the glacier throughout our meal. Lots of spectacular calving.

Overall, we definitely enjoyed our cruise. Our suite was very nice and butler/steward were very friendly and efficient. Mariner penthouses are our new favorite suite. Food and service in CR and P7 were good to very good. Food and service in LV and its variations were fair to good. Personal taste, I know. That said, I don’t think I felt as good about the cost:value ratio this time. Just didn’t feel as much specialness as we’ve felt before. Can’t put my finger on a specific thing – maybe the service was a bit more mechanical than personal, maybe the food wasn’t quite as spectacular, maybe there was a bit more wafting scent of cigarette smoke here and there, maybe I didn’t feel that anyone went particularly out of their way to make our cruise special. Not sure, but I’ll have to ponder that before we plan our next cruise.

As one additional note, we decided to stay an extra day post-cruise. With that time, we did a Kenai Fjords cruise in Seward. It was 6 hours and I was a little concerned that we would be bored after week of cruising and excursions. However, it was incredible, non-stop action. We saw humpback whales twice, include 4 spectacular breaches. We saw a pod of orcas, including a mom with her baby. They swam under our boat and the water was so clear that you could see their white bellies. Amazing. Also, lots of sea birds, seals, eagles and even a pair of mountain goats. We also approached the Aialik Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park and were able to get very, very close to the face. It was more wildlife than we had seen the whole week. I’m so glad we ended our trip with that experience.

Happy to answer any questions.

Thanks for your detailed review. We board Mariner next month. We always enjoy a few meals at Sette Marie for Italian food, but have not been on board for the French evening there. Did you go to Signatures during the cruise ?

I think I have felt in a few posts here and there that the experience has not felt as special as before, and that's been reading posts from all 3 ships in service at present. Glad you enjoyed your cruise and weather was kind. We have a few days pre cruise in Vancouver and look forward to that.

Thanks for your posts, if I have any questions I think about I may reply to your thread again, Jean.

Bummer about the excursion cancellations. The weather is often an issue in Ketchikan..

Glad the kids had a good time, and that you got up close to Hubbard glacier, though it makes me wonder even more why we were not able to on a perfectly sunny day. Maybe someone took my complaints to heart.

Thanks for your detailed review. We board Mariner next month. We always enjoy a few meals at Sette Marie for Italian food, but have not been on board for the French evening there. Did you go to Signatures during the cruise ?

Liptastic - We did not go to Signatures. We had made reservations in advance, but when we looked at the menus on board, we were concerned that the kids would not find as many choices as they could in CR or P7. I was a bit disappointed and did have escargot the same night we ordered chateaubriand in CR, which softened the blow a bit.

Many posters have had such great things to say about Sette Mari that I hope our experience was an anomaly. Besides the long wait for our mains, I had the sea bass and it was not bad but not great.

The French Bistro was offered only one night -- the day in Juneau when the ship was in port late. Many passengers (including ourselves) returned in the late afternoon/early evening from excursions and upon reboarding they informed us that we could go to the French Bistro in LV "as is" -- that is, with casual attire. We did, although I would have preferred to clean up before dinner. But couldn't convince DW and kids. The French Bistro is all from the buffet, unlike Sette Mari. I am not a fan of the desserts on the buffet at lunch or Sette Mari or French Bistro, so I missed out on those for two nights.

Hope you have a great cruise! Happy to answer any additional questions you may think of.

Bummer about the excursion cancellations. The weather is often an issue in Ketchikan..

Glad the kids had a good time, and that you got up close to Hubbard glacier, though it makes me wonder even more why we were not able to on a perfectly sunny day. Maybe someone took my complaints to heart.

RachelG - they may have very well taken your feedback into account. Not only did we get fairly close, but the captain herself offered a very detailed explanation of why we could not get closer (currents, sea ice, etc.) and a literal apology over the PA for the fact that we had to stay 1 mile away from the face.

Tracy Arm, on the other hand, seemed more like a foregone conclusion that we would not go. Only a quick explanation was offered and by the time most folks woke up we had already passed it by. I did get up for our quick spin into Endicott Arm (I think), but it wasn't very impressive. The special Tracy Arm excursion that you loved was initially offered on board (I did not see it online), but unfortunately it was cancelled.

mborchgardt: Thanks for your good review. I'm glad that your weather was mostly fine, though not surprised to hear about Ketchikan. The day we were there on our first Mariner/Alaska cruise, we were the only flight able to get over to Misty Fjords. I hope that you manage to have that wonderful experience sometime in the future. It's been lovely to hear that most of the Alaska trips this season have had predominantly good weather; as you know, it can so easily be the reverse (though nothing much could ever really spoil the wondrousness of that scenery). Too bad about missing Tracy Fjord (we did this time also). That excellent excursion is often missed in May, but I hadn't realized that there was a good possibility of missing it later in the season.

Nice to hear of your splendid experience at Kenai. I'd love to do that trip, but I've always been hesitant because I tend to get sea-sick and I've read (repeatedly) that Kenai can be not-so-great in that sense. What you describe about the orcas sounds totally awesome, something I'm sure that the four of you will remember for a long, long time--made especially memorable by the fact that your family experienced it together. And of course I'm envious of your Hubbard experience. You go, Rachel-girl!

I'm sorry that you didn't get to enjoy Signatures. Not everyone is real high on the restaurant, but we certainly are. There's such a variety of goodies on that menu, I'm kinda surprised that your kids wouldn't find enough appealing. It interests me, too (NOT a criticism), that you'd not want, at least on occasion, to dine alone with your spouse; I'd think that dividing up once on the cruise would be fun for the kids as well. I wish, too, that you'd ordered one or two dishes from Signatures to have in CR. Obviously, though, these things matter so very little: The fact that you in general enjoyed the dining is what counts. (Btw, our least favorite dining venue has always been Sette Mari, though I know that many enjoy it very much.)

I don't remember whether I mentioned the cigarette smell in my own post (probably yes). There was definitely plenty of it, but my memory is that it's always that way. Not anything close to intolerable, but it bugs me.

Thanks for mentioning the hotel in Victoria. We love that part of North America, and I like to think that we'll be back to Victoria and Vancouver once more before we sail off to the great cruise in the sky.

And may you and you family have many, many more delightful cruises. Thanks again for reporting.

Thank you for the review, mborchgardt.

We are looking forward to our cruise. I do hope that it will feel special for us- this is a pretty pricey trip for a family of 4.

We have a reservation in Signatures for the 4 of us. I wonder if it would be ok for our kids to dine in Compass Rose by themselves? They are teens and are used to dining in nice restaurants. Do they have kids club dinners? While we actually want to eat with our kids sometimes they just want to chill.

I too am sensitive to smells, particularly cigarette smoke.

I am getting wary about this so hoping all goes well next month!

Lynn

. . . Nice to hear of your splendid experience at Kenai. I'd love to do that trip, but I've always been hesitant because I tend to get sea-sick and I've read (repeatedly) that Kenai can be not-so-great in that sense. . . .

 

I'm sorry that you didn't get to enjoy Signatures. Not everyone is real high on the restaurant, but we certainly are. There's such a variety of goodies on that menu, I'm kinda surprised that your kids wouldn't find enough appealing. It interests me, too (NOT a criticism), that you'd not want, at least on occasion, to dine alone with your spouse; I'd think that dividing up once on the cruise would be fun for the kids as well. I wish, too, that you'd ordered one or two dishes from Signatures to have in CR. . . .

 

And may you and you family have many, many more delightful cruises. Thanks again for reporting.

Poss: Thanks for your kind wishes. I so much enjoyed reading your reviews even though I didn't chime in.

We were a little wary of sea-sickness on the Kenai boat trip as well. They do warn you because you have to go into the Gulf of Alaska to get from Resurrection Bay to the fjords. The Park Ranger narrating our cruise said we were lucky to have smooth water, but several people still suffered on the open water. We all took Dramamine (never took it for the main cruise or excursions) before the Kenai trip. I also prefer to sit on the open decks as much as possible which helps. Even with the potential for queasiness, I would say this one was worth it.

Re: Signatures, my son could have found something as he is quite an adventurous eater. My daughter, however, sticks to the basics and they have a pretty clear disclaimer on the Signatures menu that they will not alter dishes in any way. Not sure if that's true or not, but she would inevitably needed pasta for an appetizer or some sauce on the side or something -- so we decided to stick to CR. I did request the escargot from Signatures to accompany our chateaubriand in CR, so I got a taste. If the trip had been any longer, we probably would have done a romantic dinner for just DW and me; but 7 nights is so short and we did enjoy the family dinner time together since schedules are so hectic back home.

Wishing you wonderful future trips as well.

Thank you for the review, mborchgardt.

We are looking forward to our cruise. I do hope that it will feel special for us- this is a pretty pricey trip for a family of 4.

We have a reservation in Signatures for the 4 of us. I wonder if it would be ok for our kids to dine in Compass Rose by themselves? They are teens and are used to dining in nice restaurants. Do they have kids club dinners? While we actually want to eat with our kids sometimes they just want to chill.

I too am sensitive to smells, particularly cigarette smoke.

I am getting wary about this so hoping all goes well next month!

Lynn

LynnRuns - We had a great trip and several unforgettable (in a good way) experiences. The trip is pricey, but when I priced out our trip before booking last year it came out nearly equivalent to a Celebrity cruise (although that would have been a larger suite) once you added in all of the extras. It was a no-brainer for me to go with Regent because of the smaller ship, better food and overall feel onboard. I am still confident of that particular assessment post-cruise. We saw many different ships in port and I was never wishing that I was on another one -- except maybe the small National Geographic ship which I'm sure would have been an awesome, but totally different experience. (We did not see a Seabourne ship -- maybe I would have felt differently.) I think you'll find plenty to like and enjoy on Regent. I'm not sure that I felt there was as much value for the price as in the past, but still an overall good experience.

My son's favorite excursion was the Helicopter & Glacier Trek in Juneau. He and I did this one together. They outfit you will crampons, helmets and ice picks and you go for a 2-hour hike on the glacier. Very neat experience.

My daughter's favorite (although it sounds like she is younger than your children) was the 4x4 Excursion on Kruzof Island from Sitka. This provided our only bear sighting -- and that was at quite a distance. She really had fun although it was a little loud and bumpy for me.

I don't recall seeing any teens sitting by themselves in CR at night, but I don't know why that wouldn't work. They can definitely get a table for two. (BTW, the two-tops have the best views in CR.) They could also get room service (same menu as CR) if they would rather eat in the suite. I know they offered pizza for the younger kids at least a couple of nights in Club Mariner, but I don't know if that was available for the youth or not or how many might have been there for that. Any why would you pass up a great dinner option for pizza??

Regarding smoke smells, we did not notice this throughout the ship, but there we several usual spots were it was pretty obvious because of the smoking areas and then an occasional spot where it seemed like it shouldn't be. It was not pervasive. My wife is also very sensitive and it did not come anywhere close to ruining her cruise -- just something we noticed and wished would disappear. I smelled it twice on our balcony while in port, but only for short periods and it could have been drifting from one of the smoking areas with the wind or something. If I had seen it coming from another balcony, I would have called the front desk. I personally wish there could be a no-smoking ship altogether, but understand why that's not practical when your cruising.