Mariner: 5/18-6/1, Vancouver-Vancouver: Poss now

[poss]

Slow-poke Poss here finally, whose input will probably come in dribbles, as in past reports. First, I want to thank Rachel and Mom of Most Perfect Toddler for their excellent reporting: great stuff. And also thanks to old CC friend Wendy for caring about our voyage and to so-sweet Kathy for ringing in on Rachel's post and for her kind words. And what a treat it was, after all these years of forum familiarity, to meet folks like Rachel and DaveFR and other CC family, including lovely Ngaire and Ken. Though my husband and I have never been especially social creatures (next life hopefully), though we don't much mix with the many caring and interesting people on Regent cruises, it absolutely did give me real pleasure to know that these special people were on board: made me feel all warm and fuzzy. And that little girl mentioned above-- a delight, as was her family. The five of them were sitting at a table next to us in Prime 7 near the end of the cruise, and I think we enjoyed taking them all in as much as we did the food: both delicious. I should say, too, that I noticed maybe half a dozen other kids on the cruise, all well behaved. This was a major difference from our last Alaska cruise-- in July or August, I can't remember-- where there were of course lots and lots of kids and teenagers, but I don't remember being especially bothered by them. Will admit, however, that I enjoy having fewer, though I love kids. (Happy teacher for many decades, still missing it a lot, and doing as much mentoring in the schools as possible.) Should mention here, too, that we weren't bothered by the large group mentioned in one of the other posts. In fact, I remember sitting close to a big circular table with those 8-10 people in CR and wondering how in the world so many people together could be as non-obtrusive as they were being. I don't remember anyone speaking especially loudly. But we turn in early, so perhaps as the evenings went on, with more drinking or whatever, the noise intensified. Or maybe I'm getting as hard-of-hearing as my husband.

 

We very much enjoyed the 14 days aboard. Though we found things wanting in a few areas, none of these was major, and we disembarked as eager as ever to join another Regent cruise. Our first cruise was on Voyager/Baltics about ten years ago, and we've tremendously enjoyed every cruise since then, all on Mariner or Voyager. As I've noted on several posts over the years, we never believed that we would enjoy cruising, in part because of our not-very-social temperaments, in part because we so enjoyed sailing/cruising a deux (or with my sister) for many decades, and couldn't quite imagine that the large ship (a motor boat no less!) and the hundreds of people would be our cuppa. How wrong we were! Before I launch into some comments about the cruise itself, I want to say a few things about Vancouver, a city we love, and one of the reasons we were eager to do another Alaska cruise.

 

We flew into Vancouver three days pre-cruise, so that we could enjoy at least a few of the wonders of that piece of geography. We were able to use ff miles to fly out from Florida, so that helped keep the cost down for us. A bit frustratingly, the flight seemed as tiring to us (mainly my husband) as flights across the Pond are. Somehow when I first started thinking about this cruise, I had the thought that well, at least we're near home, not so far to fly or be away from medical help if needed; silly me, I learned quickly. But flight was uneventful at least. We used Starwood points at the Westin Bayshore for three nights, so that helped us too. Last time in Vancouver, we'd stayed at the Fairmont Waterfront, and we enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as this time at the Westin. Though our view was great at the Fairmont, I liked the view even better at the Westin: gorgeous views of the harbor and the mountains and of Stanley Park, a great favorite of ours. In addition to being able to use points, we chose the Westin Bayshore for its close proximity to the Park, considerably closer than many "higher category" hotels around the port. We were happy campers indeed!

 

We're not into shopping at all, and not so much into trying numerous local eateries (though we enjoy that some), so we spent virtually all of one day getting happily lost in Stanley Park. Those wonderfully wooded walks are outstanding: such handsome old-growth trees and all sorts of wonderful shrubs and flowers and other delightful sights and sounds. We loved the woods most of all, as walking is one of our favorite things on earth, especially walking in magical forests like this one. We enjoyed the waterfront part of our park time as well (who wouldn't!), but it was the dense woods that took our breath away. Last time, we spent a number of hours biking in the park, and while it was a tiny bit disappointing not to be able to enjoy that pleasure again, we relished everything we did and saw in that marvelous public space.

 

Last time we were in Vancouver we went to Capilano (before all the dandy new trails and bridges), and we enjoyed it very much. This time we took the sea bus across to north Vancouver and then another bus out to Lynn Canyon-- which we enjoyed every bit as much as we had Capilano. We walked for maybe 3 hours, handsome rests along the way, taking in the stunning scenery, including a quite short but handsome suspension bridge, lovely waterfalls, and plenty of stunning woods. There was a bit more up-and-downing than we'd realized, and some areas just a tad steeper than we'd've liked, but the terrain was so handsome and varied that we didn't mind. I'd rate it a 2 (maybe at most a 2+ in one spot) in the little "walker" symbols that Regent uses to indicate strenuous or not. (More on that descriptive system later; I think Regent missed the boat on a couple of their designations.) In short, for those of you who enjoy walking/hiking, I highly recommend a trip out to Lynn Canyon: easy to get to, and p.s. it's free.

 

There were a number of other things we wish we'd had a chance to do in Vancouver (some of the gardens mainly), and the aquarium if the weather turned bad (our weather was great), but Stanley Park and Lynn Canyon are now memories that we cherish and are grateful that we were able to manage.

 

Because we were tired from each day's pleasures, and weren't interested in hopping a taxi for dinner, we chose to eat within very close walking distance of the Westin. One evening in The Lift Restaurant, barley even a hop from the hotel, and one night at Cardero's, just a hop, skip, and jump. Both were fine, nothing greatly memorable in the food department, but the settings, oh, wow.

 

OK: I know that most people are much more interested in the experience on board than in pre-cruise pleasures, and I'll get to them in my next post. But we enjoy Vancouver so much that I wanted to say at least some things about those fine pre-cruise days in the hopes that it might be of interest to some.

 

Before I sign off for now, I should say that our embarking wasn't bad at all. More lines and more waiting than on most past cruises, but nothing onerous. I should say, too, that we used Luggage Free for the first time, and that went very smoothly on the outbound (had to wait a while for the local pick-up chap after disembarkation, but everything got delivered properly).

 

More asap.

Edited June 8, 2016 by poss

[liptastic]

Poss your first report is very interesting and welcome. So glad you had a great cruise and look forward to your next installlment. Thanks, Jean.

[poss]

As I was still in the process of editing my first installment, and meanwhile hit "save," a notice came up saying something like oops, you've used up all your time (you blathering fool); we don't allow more than 20 minutes to edit. So a bunch of stuff that I'd just written and hoped to include has flown. Even terribly long-winded moi has never been told to go away before. I'm not exactly mortified, but maybe I've learned a little lesson. Maybe.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Poss, thanks so much for doing this. I'm glad to hear all about Vancouver--I also love visiting this city, and love Stanley Park, although traipsing around for hours as you obviously did is a bit beyond us now--good show!

 

Looking forward to more! Glad you go to meet Ngaire and Ken--we have only cruised with them once, and you know, it was 11 years ago. Time flies, doesn't it?

Edited June 8, 2016 by Wendy The Wanderer

[RachelG]

Love the first installment! Glad you didn't go tumbling down a hill on your hike through Stanley Park like I did. Of course, it helps to stick to the trail.

 

We really enjoyed meeting you and your husband. You are my kind of gal, as I really am not that super social but I think straightforward and down to earth.

 

One of the reasons I compose my posts off line then edit and cut and paste is because of the editing time limit on CC.

[Suite Travels]

Love the first installment! Glad you didn't go tumbling down a hill on your hike through Stanley Park like I did. Of course, it helps to stick to the trail.

 

We really enjoyed meeting you and your husband. You are my kind of gal, as I really am not that super social but I think straightforward and down to earth.

 

One of the reasons I compose my posts off line then edit and cut and paste is because of the editing time limit on CC.

 

I never understood why CC has a time limit on editing. I too do it offline and hope that it posts while on a cruise.

[poss]

Thanks to those of you who are ringing in. Rachel and Suite Travels: no doubt difficult to imagine, but troglodyte moi (in the tech department anyway) isn't real clear about how to write posts off line and then cut and paste. I know, I know...

Rachel: I am a great tumbler of hills, stairs (I even tumble UP stairs), etc. I am so glad that your tumble didn't cause problems or even any real pain if I'm remembering correctly. It was a tumble on stairs that caused my Jack to wind up with the terrible cauda equina syndrome 3 years ago: wondered whether we'd ever cruise (or do much of anything) again-- and here we are!

 

As I said, we loved our cruise, but were not completely pleased with every aspect. For one thing (and those who've read my posts in the past will find this familiar), I was very cold in many parts of the ship.

[Travelcat2]

Enjoying your posts very much and am looking forward to learning what was not up to par on the Mariner. In terms of the temperature, this is something we will probably never agree on because we all have different temperature tolerances. We find all Regent ships too warm - so much so that I purchased a small clock/temperature gauge that I have onboard. The temperature ranges from 72-75 F (my non-mathematical brain does not calculate from Fahrenheit to Celsius - only the other way around). In any case, for people that are not used to air conditioning find it cold. Also, the temperature in CR is colder (68F) when it opens but warms up as the restaurant fills up.

 

Sorry for taking up time on this thread with temperature comments but it is something that new passengers should be aware of.

[poss]

I hadn't even realized that my last post had posted. I had been in the middle of it, suddenly needed to do something else, and hit "save" hoping that somehow I'd be able to re-find and continue. Actually I expected that it'd just disappear, and I'd begin again when I had time. So here we are again.

 

Yup, I found parts of the ship maddeningly freezing (ok, a bit of hyperbole, but we were very uncomfortable). Fortunately the individual temperature control in the suite was (as always) perfectly reliable (and wonderfully quiet, as some in hotels are not). The halls were overly air-conditioned imho, and even more so, the areas around the aft elevators. The big space in the center of deck 5, where the Destination and Reception desks are, was always very cold: Even the people who worked at those desks agreed, along with many, many other passengers. Many of us politely registered our discomfort; didn't help. Jeff the Concierge said the temp was 72 F in those areas, but that's about what we keep our home (actually more like 74), and I say no way. In any case, while many people were clearly not uncomfortable, many others were wearing sweaters and jackets and scarves indoors-- not a great burden, but not great either. Compass Rose was also much too cold for us, at least anywhere near the doorways. When I asked the head waiter early on to please seat us in the warmest part of the restaurant he (not Mark Anthony, someone else) said that it was all the same. Say what? Anyway, we found that the area in the middle section, where the big chandelier is, was quite fine for us; it missed all that cold air from the hallways, and didn't have the draft that most of the other areas had. Never once did my husband miss having his boina, and I never needed to pile on pashminas. Hooray!

 

Ok, speaking of Compass Rose. This was another disappointment. Nothing seriously to diminish our pleasure in the cruise, but I'll mention some things anyway. I'd say that well more than half of the food we ordered arrived lukewarm, not anywhere near hot. I gently registered our disappointment, was assured it wouldn't happen again-- and it kept happening again and again, despite my mentioning before-hand each time that the previous evening (also at lunch) most of the food had been room temperature. Apologies and offers to start anew, but starting over would probably have driven my husband a bit batty, so we just ate the food as it was. Most of which was delicious, by the way: One does not go hungry on Regent.

 

A couple of other disappointments in Compass Rose. I love steamed Atlantic lobster probably more than any other dish, so I tend to order it on the ship a couple of times a week, despite its having being frozen, or flash-frozen or whatever it's called: certainly not fresh from the sea or tank. I ordered lobster in CR, and it was, hands down, the single worst lobster I'd ever had. Pure mush, even though I'd requested that it be slightly undercooked if possible. (I fondly remember once in a ryokan in Japan having sashimi lobster-- the tentacles were still moving, I'm not kidding!) That radically over-cooked lobster was the only entree that I didn't eat, that poor noble beast died in vain-- but lordie, I had plenty of other yummy food to enjoy, including a good soup, and, always, great desserts. (bad!) Another of my favorite dishes-- Beef Wellington-- was also a disappointment (as it never had been on past voyages); it was barely warm, certainly not hot.

 

A perhaps even more curious lapse this time about dining in CR was that the service was nowhere near as professional or engaged as on all our other trips. (I miss Aurelia!) As I looked around, it seemed that many of the servers seemed to be not especially enjoying their job. The service, often, was perfunctory; not awful, but somehow "distracted." E.g. servers seemed to be already looking elsewhere while they were speaking with us or other diners; hurrying off to the next thing with little genuine attention to the diners they were attending. They seemed not only hurried, but harried. Even those times when we were asked whether we were enjoying our meal, the question seemed perfunctory: something "dutiful" rather than a real inquiry. This wasn't the case always, but definitely often.

 

Ok: I apologize for going on at such length about the not-so-great experience in CR. It really bothers me to sound like a complainer (especially when we have the luxury of cruising a line like Regent). We had some wonderful food there (we even like the escargot better in CR than in Signatures, same for their creme brûlée): some terrific appetizers, soup (I don't think the salads were remarkable), good veggies, the Dover Sole was good (though guess what, not really hot), plenty of other excellent dishes; and oh, yes, the desserts. (I seemed unable to get the server not to bring to the table the plate of petit fours, from which we would eat maybe one; seemed like such a waste.) So: Please do not get the idea that we didn't enjoy and appreciate our meals in CR. We for sure did, but I thought it was not a bad idea to mention the disappointments, and if we had leaned harder, perhaps things would have been better; I just don't like to do it. (Btw, we don't dine at officers' tables -- just have never had a wish to do that -- but I am certain that both the treatment and the food at those tables don't suffer the same sorts of problems. Oh, yes: terrible "suffering" on Regent; such "problems." The whole world should experience such "suffering"!)

 

Before I end this section I should say that we frequently smelled cigarette smoke/tobacco in the hallways. I hate the stuff, but I guess it just gets on people's clothing. Not a whole lot Regent can do. (And as others have pointed out, the pretty strict smoking policy is one of the reasons we cruise Regent-- one of the MANY reasons!)

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Was the cigarette smoke in any particular hallways? I'm guessing it was leaking out from the Connoisseur Club?

 

I appreciate your criticisms. We will be on Mariner in about six months, so I'm keenly interested. I'll bring a shawl, although seeing that we will be in the tropics much of the time, I'm betting that the ship will not have the same problem as your voyage.

 

I also will be on the lookout for perfunctory service and warm food. This will be our first Regent cruise since 2012, so almost a 5 year gap when we embark; we're hoping to feel like we're returning home. The main thing, for us, will be the service for sure, and the people, our fellow pax. I fight the eternal battle of the bulge, so I try to stay somewhat uninterested in the food, although it's inevitably yummy.

[poss]

Wendy: Unfortunately, the cigarette smoke wasn't just near Connoisseur Club. I smelled it in a variety of places. But I must tell you that I happen to have a hyper-sensitive sense of smell. In fact, people have always told me, and I think it's true, that all my senses are remarkably acute (for both better and worse: noise bothers me a lot, e.g.).

 

As for the too-cold temps. There, too, I believe I'm more sensitive to cold than most people (heat bothers me less). But even when we're on Med cruises in the deep heat of the summer, CR has been uncomfortable for us. I really do think that Regent keeps public areas too air-conditioned, but I bet if a poll were taken (even the mention of the word "poll" these days makes me want to retch) we'd not be in the majority.

 

It had been three years since our last cruise, and I can happily report that it definitely felt like returning home, especially as Mariner is the ship we know best. If I'm remembering correctly, you've not been on Mariner yet: Imo you have a real treat coming up. Btw, do you know a lot about the ports in your up-coming cruise? I imagine that part of the reason you're interested is that it's a flight in only one direction. Do you know some of the ports already, or have you heard lots of terrific things about them? (I know the Caribbean ports; have never been to SA.) Are you at all concerned about Zika in those areas? I am, and of course mainly here in FL where, alas, we'll be most of the summer.

[xrvlcruiser]

Poss,

 

I assume that you told the GM just exactly where and when you smelled the cigarettes.

 

Peggy

[poss]

I didn't speak to the GM, Peggy. But I did report to both front desk and to head concierge and asked them please to relay. I tend not to want to mix with or complain to "higher ups," and anyway, I didn't feel comfortable with Davor (I think that's his name). I met him at a gathering a couple of days into the cruise, and I felt that he had no interest whatsoever in me, just doing the "pro forma" thing of greeting people because he kind of had to; that was his agenda for that period of time. If I have the sense that someone is genuine (not just doing some sort of "duty"), I tend to open up a bit, but I didn't get that impression with him. I grant that I could be mistaken. And for sure, if the smell had been intolerable, I'd've pressed more; it wasn't something that I couldn't live with. (My husband didn't smell the cigarettes at all, but then his sense of smell is on the other end of the scale than mine.) In short, it wasn't a huge issue. (So perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned anything?)

Edited June 10, 2016 by poss

[xrvlcruiser]

Poss,

 

Of course it's fine to mention it here. Your take on Davor is different than mine - I've always found him very open and interested in what was going on on which ever ship he was on.

 

I'm like you - very sensitive to the smell of smoke. Would anything have been done? Who knows.

 

Anyway, I hope the next trip you take, things will be better.

 

Peggy

[Wendy The Wanderer]

...If I'm remembering correctly, you've not been on Mariner yet: Imo you have a real treat coming up. Btw, do you know a lot about the ports in your up-coming cruise? I imagine that part of the reason you're interested is that it's a flight in only one direction. Do you know some of the ports already, or have you heard lots of terrific things about them? (I know the Caribbean ports; have never been to SA.) Are you at all concerned about Zika in those areas? I am, and of course mainly here in FL where, alas, we'll be most of the summer.

 

In fact we're doing this cruise so that we can end up in SA to visit friends in Ecuador (yes, we booked before the earthquake, which was in their area, but life is getting back to normal.) We haven't done the southern Caribbean, so all those ports are new, plus the Panama Canal, which I hope will be special. We'll spend a couple of days in Lima at the end, then fly up to Guayaquil and then on to Manta where our friends live. Regent has a special on Business air, so they will fly us back to Tampa from Guaya. Our cruise also stops in Manta, so we'll invite our friends onboard to see the ship. We've been to Brazil before (Rio and then up the coast), but nowhere else in SA.

 

I didn't speak to the GM, Peggy... I didn't feel comfortable with Davor (I think that's his name). I met him at a gathering a couple of days into the cruise, and I felt that he had no interest whatsoever in me, just doing the "pro forma" thing of greeting people because he kind of had to...

 

I have sometimes felt that about various CD's, so I completely understand. Won't name names, but...

[Travelcat2]

poss - not sure what was up with Davor that day. IMO, he is a wonderful, caring and competent G.M. Sorry that your experience was not as good as ours was.

[RachelG]

Davor is a very good friend. I wish you had alerted me as I would have had him on the case immediately.

[poss]

Quick follow up on my Davor comments. I'm afraid that I didn't make clear enough what I meant; I apologize for that. I don't doubt for a minute that Davor is a good GM, and that he's genuinely interested in what's going on around the ship. But as with dining and all sorts of other aspects of experience on board, it truly does make a difference whether one is just an ordinary, anonymous passenger as opposed to being someone who hob-nobs with the officers. Getting to know not only one's fellow passengers, but the staff/officers as well surely enhances the cruise experience and is no doubt a "better" way to travel than the more insulated way that we tend towards. But, again, it's clear that those who do become friends or schmooze with the Regent folks receive a different sort of treatment than those of us who don't-- as is perfectly natural, and as happens in so many other aspects of life. People whom one knows are more likely to pay attention and to go to bat for someone; that's easily understandable and simply the way the world works.

 

Back to my face-to-face with Davor: This was at a little cocktail party, and when I introduced myself, he seemed scarcely interested, sort of looked past me and showed no interest in actually communicating. Who knows-- perhaps my own slight nervousness showed through, as I've already noted that I'm not perfectly comfortable in social situations. I honestly don't hold anything against Davor, and I know that Rachel and Tc and others are friends of his, so I absolutely trust that he is a caring and worthy man. But asking someone to intervene for me goes so against the grain that it didn't cross my mind, though good Rachel, I know, would have been happy to do so.

 

Wendy: Of course I remember now about your friends in Ecuador. What fun that'll be for all of you. And is it really the case that non-passengers are permitted on board? I'm half-eyeing a Montreal-Miami, 14 day cruise in 2017, especially as it stops (for the first time!) in Baltimore, where my sister lives. How cool it'd be if I could actually show her the ship that I've been raving about all these years. I wish I had more interest in the ports that that itinerary covers. The Montreal-New York itineraries hold much more interest for me, as they do Bar Harbor instead of Portland, and cover a lot of Canadian ports that the longer itinerary misses altogether.

(I also want to do a bit of research on the voyage that you're on. Sounds good, and of course the included business air and the one-way flight is a big draw. I suspect the flight will be too long for us though.)

Edited June 10, 2016 by poss

[xrvlcruiser]

Poss,

 

Speak to your Travel Agent about getting a Visitors Pass for your sister - or any other people you'd like to invite on board. Not a big deal but needs to be done some time before the actual stop in a particular port.

 

Peggy

[poss]

This aspect of cruising is very important to us. Though we much enjoy being on the ship, we engage in very few of the onboard activities and tend to spend any "free" time reading and luxuriating in the scenery (and eating!) E.g. I know that a number of people (at least some people) enjoy continuing to cruise even when they're no longer able to participate in excursions. That's easy to understand, but it wouldn't be the case with us, so we're happy that we're able still to do some active tours, even though we're less healthy and older (obviously) than when we first started cruising ten years ago.

 

Since we so enjoy walking/hiking through handsomely wooded areas, I was disappointed in some of Regent's "ratings" of those kinds of tours. The main miss for us was the Butze Forest walk in Prince Rupert. It had sounded lovely from the description, and we very much wanted to do it, but the three ("strenuous") walkers on the descriptive material made us hesitant. We sure wouldn't want to sign up for something beyond our abilities and thus hold up an abler group. When I checked the Butze website itself, the indication was that the walk was not strenuous, but Destination Desk said it was, so we chose something less interesting (to us). From speaking with a couple of people who did that excursion, I learned that we'd've had no trouble at all, at least I suspect not. All by way of saying that while in the past I was sometimes frustrated by the fact that the Destination Team had no personal experience with the tours, I felt that much more strongly during this cruise. I know that some of the ports were newish to Regent, and I understand the impossibility of knowing everything about all the tours on any itinerary, but for my money this is an area in which Regent could stand real improvement. Again and again I'd try to learn specifics, and the team was clueless. (I've never cruised on another line, so I have no idea how this aspect compares: probably much the same.)

 

Another thing I should mention I guess is that while we loved the cruise, and enjoyed every single excursion we were on, this Alaska venture didn't have quite the "wow" factor as the one we did (also Mariner) 5 years or so ago. For one thing, we (especially my husband) have less energy now, and find it harder to get going early, so we mostly only did one excursion a day, whereas every other time we've cruised, we packed in as much as possible. That was more fun. Another reason is that last time we did a couple of flying excursions, and they (along with Tracy Arm) were our favorite and most memorable excursions. Float plane to Misty Fjords (Ketchikan) and helicopter with glacier landing (Juneau) were among the most unusual and awesome things we've done/seen on all our travels. As I've said, we enjoyed every one of the excursions this time, but just not as much as the other Alaska cruise (which was only a 7-day; I liked 14 day!) The third thing that may account for our somewhat less excitement about this cruise is pretty weird, but I'll mention it anyway: Our weather was glorious this recent time! (I know: Say WHAT??) On our former cruise, the weather was iffy much of the time; e.g. on those favorite excursions that I mentioned, a number of earlier or later such flights couldn't manage to get out. Though at the time I kept wishing for warmer weather, more sun, greater clarity (while loving every minute anyway), I realize now that the misty, even gloomy, often rainy weather somehow made the trip feel more "authentic." I was mesmerized during much of that cruise; I more frequently felt a sense of awe and mystery. The whole landscape felt somehow other-wordly, and I am still haunted (in a good way) by those memories. I hope no one thinks that I'm complaining or around the bend-- OF COURSE we delighted in our good fortune this time-- but I will also admit that some of the magic was missing, and I don't think it was just because we'd been there before.

 

Time for lunch: more on excursions anon.

 

( I feel uncomfortable making some of these "negative" statements, and I want to reiterate that we are very grateful and that we loved the cruise, but I think that perhaps these other things are worth mentioning. I also wish I knew a way to make my comments shorter, more succinct-- but that's not my long suit. I shall try!)

[poss]

Thanks xrvl for mentioning the important detail about Visitor Pass.

[Travelcat2]

Yes - Visitor Passes are very important and should be requested at least 30 days in advance. We have a Visitor Pass for next Wednesday when we'll visit the Mariner in Vancouver (dreading the crowds that will be there but excited to see our friends for lunch).

[Eager2Travel]

Poss, I am enjoying reading about your cruise. It is a useful perspective as we are returning to Alaska for the fifth time in August. It will be our first on Regent. Your words are helping me keep me expectations in focus. We don't even go to Tracy Arm which is a favorite for us. Your experience had me remember long ago words from my Mom. They are perhaps dated in today's world but they often ring true to me. "You can't recapture a rapture". Your first Alaska trip sounds like it fit into that category.

Edited June 10, 2016 by Eager2Travel

[liptastic]

Poss likewise enjoying your detailed and thoughtful posts. Please don't feel the need to apologise for your comments that you feel are negative. This is how you felt re some aspects and you are writing this very honestly and I would much rather that. I too feel the compass rose too chilly of an evening, and always have a few different pashminas for the evening. We too are in Alaksa at end August on Mariner so I will make sure I come prepared. Thanks, Jean.

[poss]

First, thanks for the feedback, and I sure do like Eager's Mom's words. And yes, the word "rapture" absolutely describes what I felt, yes indeedy.

 

Before I launch into a port-by-port review, I want to say that we're cruisers for whom the included excursions are important. Especially at this stage (but earlier as well), I value not having to bother my head too much about what to do in each port. Of course I can drive myself nuts going round in circles about which of the appetizing selections to choose, and I have a tendency to over-study them, but at least I don't need to make arrangements on my own or try to hook up with other people. This was one of the big reasons we chose Regent to begin with, and while I can understand the other point of view, for us the included excursion policy is great. Indeed, we've liked virtually all of the outings we've taken, some more than others of course, and the bus aspect doesn't bother us. We think that Regent has a good balance of included excursions and choice excursions, and we've been essentially happy with both.

 

I'm going to stop here and post because I need to get dinner going, but meanwhile I have a question: Can someone tell me whether I can just leave what I've written on this post, put the computer to sleep, and come back an hour or so later and pick up where I left off? Or does the thing disappear?