Update - Mariner Dry Dock & Voyager Refurbishent

[BBfromCA]

Looks like they are scheduling the Mainer Dry Dock for March of 2018. Here is why I think so. We are booked on the Lima to Miami cruise from Jan. to March 2018. Today, we noticed that the 2nd part of our cruise (Rio to Miami) is now missing from our "upcoming cruises" page on the Regent site. We called Regent and they said that the Mariner is now scheduled to go from Rio to Barcelona. That messes up their full "Circle South America" cruise. The full Regent online site shows the Mariner ending in Rio on Feb.25 and nothing until April 18th in Miami...so it looks like they will be going from Rio to Barcelona, get the dry dock done, then go from Barcelona to Miami in time for the April cruise.

[Travelcat2]

Still onboard the Explorer and can't seem to get a straight answer. Yes, the Mariner is going into dry dock in March, 2018. Now I'm hearing that there will be a short "wet dock" (3 days) next year but do not know when. As mentioned earlier, the home office knows more than the officers on the ship.

 

Sorry that I could not give more specific information.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Looks like they are scheduling the Mainer Dry Dock for March of 2018. Here is why I think so. We are booked on the Lima to Miami cruise from Jan. to March 2018. Today, we noticed that the 2nd part of our cruise (Rio to Miami) is now missing from our "upcoming cruises" page on the Regent site. We called Regent and they said that the Mariner is now scheduled to go from Rio to Barcelona. That messes up their full "Circle South America" cruise. The full Regent online site shows the Mariner ending in Rio on Feb.25 and nothing until April 18th in Miami...so it looks like they will be going from Rio to Barcelona, get the dry dock done, then go from Barcelona to Miami in time for the April cruise.

 

That's bad news for you I guess, too bad. About a month ago it appeared that the Rio-Miami leg was somewhat undersubscribed. I say that because all categories showed availability while we were given a "move over" over from the Miami-Lima leg (which we refused.) If this is true, then the people that *did* "move over" are going to be out of luck.

 

What a mess.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Hi Folks, I have not had problems yet with the web site; if you are, however, I have had nothing but good experiences with Mike Moore. While you may think he is the IT manager only for O he has been helpful in the past with Regent. I suspect he has a lot of influence as a senior employee/officer at NCH. I suggest you contact him to solve your problems.

 

Thanks for the advice, but I don't think anyone is actually having problems with the website. It's just problems with scheduling and perhaps therefore some of the content. I'm just waiting for the dust to settle.

Edited November 17, 2016 by Wendy The Wanderer

[mrlevin]

Looks like they are scheduling the Mainer Dry Dock for March of 2018. Here is why I think so. We are booked on the Lima to Miami cruise from Jan. to March 2018. Today, we noticed that the 2nd part of our cruise (Rio to Miami) is now missing from our "upcoming cruises" page on the Regent site. We called Regent and they said that the Mariner is now scheduled to go from Rio to Barcelona. That messes up their full "Circle South America" cruise. The full Regent online site shows the Mariner ending in Rio on Feb.25 and nothing until April 18th in Miami...so it looks like they will be going from Rio to Barcelona, get the dry dock done, then go from Barcelona to Miami in time for the April cruise.

 

Thanks for calling Regent and posting the update. I am hoping that this leads to them lowering the fares on Lima to BA as there will no longer be full SA circumnavigation passengers.

 

Marc

[wishIweretravelling]

I'm booked on the Circle South America for 2018. My TA just forwarded an email from Regent saying the 72-day Miami to Miami is now a 67-night Miami to Barcelona, or a 52-night Miami to Rio. No new itinerary provided, nor any new pricing. And of course this all came after business hours, so no one for my TA to talk to about it. And nothing on the website.

 

So I guess the 67-nighter is the repositioning for the dry dock. Wish I knew where they were going after Rio, and what it is going to cost. Those are the make or breaks on my decision whether to keep the booking,

 

Poorly handled, Regent.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

And yet tonight, the Rio to Miami segment is still up on the Regent website.

[BBfromCA]

Wendy,

I think you are looking at the 2017 Rio to Miami. The 2018 that I was talking about is gone from the site.

Bill

[Paul&Shark]

Jackie,

Thank you for keeping us so well informed! We will be on the Voyager coming December and January. Since you recently spoke some of the crew; Do you know who the cruise director , captain and restaurant manager are?

[flossie009]

Looks like they are scheduling the Mainer Dry Dock for March of 2018. Here is why I think so. We are booked on the Lima to Miami cruise from Jan. to March 2018. Today, we noticed that the 2nd part of our cruise (Rio to Miami) is now missing from our "upcoming cruises" page on the Regent site. We called Regent and they said that the Mariner is now scheduled to go from Rio to Barcelona. That messes up their full "Circle South America" cruise. The full Regent online site shows the Mariner ending in Rio on Feb.25 and nothing until April 18th in Miami...so it looks like they will be going from Rio to Barcelona, get the dry dock done, then go from Barcelona to Miami in time for the April cruise.

 

I see your information has been confirmed; Regent has now introduced two TransAtlantic crossings to get Mariner to-and-from Barcelona, separated by a period suitable for a full refurbishment:

25 Feb - 14 Mar 2018: Rio to Barcelona

15 Mar - 03 Apr: Refurb?

04 Apr - 18 Apr 2018: Barcelona to Miami

 

It must be really annoying for those who were booked on the previously scheduled cruises but it no doubt makes business sense for Regent to have the major refurb done in Europe

They were obviously badly let down by the contractor/dockyard who were due to carry out the work in Florida in April 2017; the dockyard in Europe has proven, through its recent refurb of Voyager, that it has the resources and expertise to complete the job; and it is probably cheaper

 

 

The newly introduced TransAtlantic crossings look to be good value for those who enjoy plenty of sea days :)

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Wendy,

I think you are looking at the 2017 Rio to Miami. The 2018 that I was talking about is gone from the site.

Bill

 

Oops, sorry for the confusion, yes I was looking at 2017. My bad.

[wishIweretravelling]

 

It must be really annoying for those who were booked on the previously scheduled cruises but it no doubt makes business sense for Regent to have the major refurb done in Europe

 

I wonder how good a business decision it is to disrupt a "grand voyage", unless they were not getting the revenue compared to the costs from the booked full cruisers. The poor way it's being handled by Regent (primarily, giving us 2 weeks to decide whether we want to keep our booking without giving us any information re pricing, product content, etc.) makes me think they really WANT us to cancel.

Edited November 18, 2016 by wishIwerecruisin'

[Wendy The Wanderer]

It looks like a nice crossing, anyways. Salvador, Recife, Cape Verde, Canary Islands, Malaga.

 

They do have pricing up, btw, at least on the US website:

 

https://www.rssc.com/cruises/MAR180225/summary/default.aspx

[Travelcat2]

Jackie,

Thank you for keeping us so well informed! We will be on the Voyager coming December and January. Since you recently spoke some of the crew; Do you know who the cruise director , captain and restaurant manager are?

 

Wish that I knew this information. I do know that Ray Solare (spelling) is currently the C.D. on the Voyager and believe that Davor is the current G.M. Reports of the "new" Voyager are very positive. Hope that you have a great cruise:)

[wishIweretravelling]

It looks like a nice crossing, anyways. Salvador, Recife, Cape Verde, Canary Islands, Malaga.

 

They do have pricing up, btw, at least on the US website:

 

https://www.rssc.com/cruises/MAR180225/summary/default.aspx

 

Unfortunately, they are not telling us the full cruise pricing, and the options that it seems that they are substituting for the full cruise are not being shown anymore as a grand voyage or any other kind of unitary cruise. So it isn't clear whether the amenities previously offered to full cruisers still apply.

[Rocknie]

I'm totally confused (which never surprises the wife) we just booked a ten day cruise on the Mariner. Sailing dates are March 16 - 27, 2018 (Colors of the Caribbean). I have had no notification of the cruise being cancelled or even an indiction of a possible cancellation. This will be our first cruise with Regent so we're wondering will Regent notify us directly or will they just put a notice on their website? Also, will we receive a full cash refund on any monies already paid toward the cruise? We don't want future cruise credit!!

 

Thanks for the help!

[wishIweretravelling]

The email we got changing our cruise offered a full refund if we don't want the revised cruise, so I expect that you will get that too. Probably a future cruise credit as well.

 

My TA did manage to extract some info on the pricing and other changes for my cruise. Even though we had an H booked, they are now saying that there are no H's available, and thus we have to pay for a G--an identical cabin just a couple of doors down on the same hall. I'm hoping this is just a misunderstanding, because the increase in price for the meaningless "upgrade" is more than double what the "goodwill gesture" credit was. Also some other details seem "off."

[ellbon]

I see your information has been confirmed; Regent has now introduced two TransAtlantic crossings to get Mariner to-and-from Barcelona, separated by a period suitable for a full refurbishment:

25 Feb - 14 Mar 2018: Rio to Barcelona

15 Mar - 03 Apr: Refurb?

04 Apr - 18 Apr 2018: Barcelona to Miami

 

It must be really annoying for those who were booked on the previously scheduled cruises but it no doubt makes business sense for Regent to have the major refurb done in Europe

They were obviously badly let down by the contractor/dockyard who were due to carry out the work in Florida in April 2017; the dockyard in Europe has proven, through its recent refurb of Voyager, that it has the resources and expertise to complete the job; and it is probably cheaper

 

 

The newly introduced TransAtlantic crossings look to be good value for those who enjoy plenty of sea days :)

 

it beyond annoying!!! i was on this lovely RT Mia cruise. easy to get home. I hate Rio. I learned about all the changes from my RC. i sent 3 emails to agent and spoke to her today. she went off to a meeting and never got back to me today. meanwhile we have two weeks to decide. I do not want to be in NC in march. I am debating talking cruise and get off ship and fly to Lima and do a land tour of Peru. shorter to fly to mia from Peru than Rio. since the agent is going away then i leave for my cruise i haave this weekend to think things out. not happy at all.

[ThereIsNoPaul]

I talked to my TA yesterday and inquired about Mariner’s refurbishing. We will be on the ship in a weeks’ time. She heard that the rescheduling was due to the facilities in the Caribbean, where the work was to be done, being damaged by the recent hurricane. They can no longer accommodate the huge number of workers required to complete the work. Seems like money was not the motivation but that doesn't excuse the lack of communication.

 

Peter

[Travelcat2]

I talked to my TA yesterday and inquired about Mariner’s refurbishing. We will be on the ship in a weeks’ time. She heard that the rescheduling was due to the facilities in the Caribbean, where the work was to be done, being damaged by the recent hurricane. They can no longer accommodate the huge number of workers required to complete the work. Seems like money was not the motivation but that doesn't excuse the lack of communication.

 

Peter

 

This is exactly what I was told by Regent management in Florida. I seems that Regent is doing everything it can to accommodate guests that are affected by this change. Where I remain uncertain is what, if anything, will be done in a 3 or 4 day wet dock next year.

[charltonkerry]

I suppose in a way we must count ourself as being fortunate with this alteration, as we have just booked the 28 day Miami to Vancouver cruise leaving on the 18th April 2018, (present to ourself for surviving forty years of marriage) will be nice to have a totally refurbished ship to look forward to, but will be worried that it might cancelled / delayed if the refurb is delayed for any reason.

 

Feel very sorry for those who have had planned holidays drastically altered by all this.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

... Where I remain uncertain is what, if anything, will be done in a 3 or 4 day wet dock next year.

 

Yes, that's what I'm curious about. But I guess I'll find out when I board on January 17th in Miami.

[wishIweretravelling]

This is exactly what I was told by Regent management in Florida. I seems that Regent is doing everything it can to accommodate guests that are affected by this change. Where I remain uncertain is what, if anything, will be done in a 3 or 4 day wet dock next year.

 

If they are doing all they can to accommodate those of us affected by the change, they are keeping it a secret from us. Stony silence continues.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

If they are doing all they can to accommodate those of us affected by the change' date=' they are keeping it a secret from us. Stony silence continues.[/quote']

 

Well it is a long way out, right? Give them time.

[wishIweretravelling]

Except that they gave us a deadline of December 2 (yes, next week) to decide whether to cancel or proceed. They are starting to release information bit by bit, but each new bit raises new questions.