TransAtlantic East to West on Mariner

DAY 1 (Wed 4th April)

Barcelona

We said our farewells to our home-away-from-home on Explorer this morning, with the ever smiling Nicola wishing us well for the next leg of our travels.

Having identified our luggage and seen it loaded onto the back of a truck (hopefully destined for Mariner), we took a taxi to the Sagrada Familia where we had tickets booked for an audio guided tour.

We then walked down to the shopping area. Having parted with a few Euros we took a taxi to Mariner.

We obviously timed our arrival badly as we found check-in slow and had to queue for just over half an hour before finally boarding the ship.

A pleasant lunch in La Veranda and then down to our suite on deck 9 at 2:30pm. La Veranda serving area has been re-vamped to be very similar to Voyager.

Luggage transfer from Explorer had not been as smooth as hoped for and having sent our Butler, Samuel, searching the ship our bags arrived slowly one by one through the afternoon, with the last not located until after safety drill and sail-away; this had us stressing for a while worrying that a bag might still be on the dock in Barcelona.

As reported on another thread, we were also disappointed by the number of major faults found in our suite which really should have been picked up earlier.

A very good dinner in the refreshed Compass Rose; wine service was very sparse.

Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia in Barcelona

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Welcome to Mariner

It’s that carpet again! Must have got a bulk deal!

........... but what is this?

............ and it changes colour

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Our Penthouse C

Only three deep storage drawers in the suite (plus 6 shallow ones in the closet. No wall cupboards.

Hopefully someone will chip in to say what storage is in the D to H grade suites.

A very good vanity unit with mirror over and a useful drawer. Same stool as previous which is now not high enough for the new unit.

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Bathroom (shower only)

I do not think a lot has been done in here, apart from new basin tap and new soap dishes.

New basin tap (pity they forgot to connect it!)

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Closet

Plenty of hanging space, 6 storage drawers, shelves and a new safe (same large size as on Explorer).

Pity they left the safe locked when they installed it!

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The pool on deck 11

New mosaic tile surround, and the steps which have been installed at one end should make entering and leaving the pool easier. However, not sure why this feature had to be the full width of the pool as it reduces the length available for swimming.

Pool has not been filled. Not sure when it will be available for use.

Is that cover over the Jacuzzi new? Do not think it was there before but could be wrong.

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Flossie glad to hear you eventually got your luggage and eventually got settled in. Not so god to hear about the issues onboard.

Think you are right about the bathroom, it looks the same really, suite looks freshened up nicely with the new vanity.

Look forward to your posts, have a great second cruise, thanks for keeping us all updated, much appreciated.

Jean.

Flossie, thanks for the up date and hope your cruise gets better. Sorry to hear about all the problems you've had soon far. I think if the president of Regent is on, he should be asked why that ship when out before it was ready. Even the pool not filled? If your going to take a customers money, you should be able to give the full Regent Experience and nothing less. It's called Customer Satisfaction. I realize others will make excuses for Regent, but really excuses are just excuses. It's your time, your money and you should be able to relax in your suite without all the mess. Just my opinion. Looking forward to hearing more, hopefully all good from this point forward. We'll be on the ship April 18th out of Miami---hope it's really ready. Rick. Thanks again for taking the time and posting.

We are in a PH on Mariner in Nov. Can you tell me about the electrical outlets near the bed? We have a CPAP (maybe two) that will need a plug at night and I was wondering if we'll need an extension cord. Thanks.

We are in a PH on Mariner in Nov. Can you tell me about the electrical outlets near the bed? We have a CPAP (maybe two) that will need a plug at night and I was wondering if we'll need an extension cord. Thanks.

I read on another post that Regent would prefer you to use their cords, you need to ask once on the ship. However to be sure I'd have you TA call and put your needs in writing to be safe. I believe they feel it may cause a fire hazard using your own.

Thanks so much for posting your trip reports, I really appreciate it.

Question- is there a smoking area on the pool deck, and if so, is it enclosed as it is on the Explorer?

I loved the fact that I was not able to smell smoke, and was hoping that this would become the standard on all the Regent ships.

Bob

Thanks Susan and David for another Regent crossing thread. And special thanks for posting Mariner refurb photos. Like u disappointed in the swimming pool refurb as we like to swim laps but do like the new mosaic tile. Enjoy your second crossing and sending hopes for fair winds and following seas.

I read on another post that Regent would prefer you to use their cords, you need to ask once on the ship. However to be sure I'd have you TA call and put your needs in writing to be safe. I believe they feel it may cause a fire hazard using your own.

Thanks. I'll call our TA.

Flossie, thanks for the up date and hope your cruise gets better. Sorry to hear about all the problems you've had soon far. I think if the president of Regent is on, he should be asked why that ship when out before it was ready. Even the pool not filled? If your going to take a customers money, you should be able to give the full Regent Experience and nothing less. It's called Customer Satisfaction. I realize others will make excuses for Regent, but really excuses are just excuses. It's your time, your money and you should be able to relax in your suite without all the mess. Just my opinion. Looking forward to hearing more, hopefully all good from this point forward. We'll be on the ship April 18th out of Miami---hope it's really ready. Rick. Thanks again for taking the time and posting.

I couldn't agree more - there are no excuses for putting a 6 star ship into service with such issues. As you say, Regent have taken full fares for the cruise and customers are entitled to have the full Regent experience. It will be interesting to hear what the President of Regent does/says.

Thanks for everyone’s support on this thread. Hope the double-act with gjkov works.

Thanks so much for posting your trip reports, I really appreciate it.

Question- is there a smoking area on the pool deck, and if so, is it enclosed as it is on the Explorer?

I loved the fact that I was not able to smell smoke, and was hoping that this would become the standard on all the Regent ships.

Bob

Bob, I don’t think they have changed the arrangement for smokers on Mariner i.e. an open area in one corner of the Pool Deck, one side of the open deck at the back of the Horizon Lounge plus the dedicated smoking room, the Connoisseurs Club.

I will double-check tomorrow and get back to you if anything has changed

PS I understand from Reception that the CC Meet & Mingle is scheduled for 10am on Saturday 7th April. Surprised the invitations haven’t gone out yet ........ but Reception have been a tad busy :rolleyes:

PPS Although disappointed with some of the issues encountered on Mariner thus far, as others have said it will not get in the way of our enjoyment :cool:

papaflamingo, here is a picture of the sockets either side of the bed - same each side

One socket is a US outlet; the other is a European outlet, but only accepts narrow pins (which I think means for low power usage).

Labels on the power outlets would be really useful to avoid potential misuse!!

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Thanks Flossie! Really appreciate the great photos and the great review.

Thanks for sharing great suite and ship photos!

In regard to drawers and cupboards....We are in a D suite and has the bank of 6 drawers in the closet, 2 deep drawers and small lower cupboard in the living room desk and a long, but narrow drawer in the vanity area. The only top cupboard is a glass one with drink wear.

We received our meet and mingle invite last night. We have spa appointments at 9, but will come after.

Question- is there a smoking area on the pool deck, and if so, is it enclosed as it is on the Explorer?

Bob

Smoking area is forward on the starboard side of the Pool Deck. Not enclosed.

DAY 2 (Thurs 5th April)

A leisurely start to the day as we did not dock in Cartagena until late morning after a picturesque sail-in.

A beautiful sunny day with reasonable temperatures when in the sun.

The town of Cartagena is only a short distance from the dock so we walked into town for some retail therapy. Susan shopped while David drank coffee outside a local bar; everyone happy with this arrangement :cool:

Took a late lunch on the Pool Deck on our return from town.

Dinner was scheduled to be a shared table in Chartreuse. We were a bit late getting ready and were rushing to ensure we did not let down our table companions.

On the way to Chartreuse we bumped into Jason Montague and stopped for an enjoyable chat, which made us even later :o

However, we need not have worried as our prospective table companions were no-shows (or the maitre d’ had confused arrangements!) so we were seated at a nice table for two.

Unfortunately we had to return the main courses due to a number of issues, but the Chef’s second attempt was an improvement.

Managed to finish in Chartreuse and get seated in the theatre just in time for the singer Lovena B Fox.

We have enjoyed seeing her previously and her performance last night was just as good as we remember. Her Tina Turner number brought the house to their feet for a well deserved standing ovation.

We are fortunate that Lovena is staying on board and will be giving another performance later in the cruise.

Cartagena

Can anyone help us identify the very strange looking craft on the left of the picture? Appeared to be flying the British Red Ensign (Red Duster)

Below are some shots taken of the vessel while we were docked

The latter photos were taken from Mariner’s forward facing deck. Couldn’t have done that from Explorer!!

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Lovena has recorded a few CD’s and they usually sell them in the gift shop. We have three of hers. I’m sure she had people standing and dancing at their seats.

Continue to enjoy the cruise and thank you for the blog.

I think the yacht is 'Sailing Yacht A' and belongs to Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko.

It cost $450 million to build - the same as Seven Seas Explorer!!!

Thanks for reporting, flossie, and I hope your cruise is enjoyable in all ways (as many ways as possible). The pool really looks teensy-tiny; I'm hoping that's in part because of perspective. Doesn't look like a swimming pool at all, basically just something to stand around in.

Spooky-looking thing, that ship (not Mariner) !