TransAtlantic East to West on Mariner

[jctdlt]

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!!!

Yes this is his yacht. We saw it last year on the world cruise. Weird looking yacht. You can google it.

[boblerm]

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

Too bad. My recent cruise on the Explorer was the only cruise that I can remember that I could sit anywhere on the pool deck and not be bothered by smoke.

[MPCakes]

Could you let us know who the cruise director is and if they are staying on for the next cruise?

[ronrick1943]

Looking at some later photo's, doesn't look like the pool has water yet? Yes or No, if NO does anyone know why, if Yes great.

Also anyone know who the F&B manager is? Looks like a great ship, looking forward to joining the ship soon.

[RachelG]

George confirmed that is a sailing yacht. Apparently the masts can rotate and the sails wind up around them.

[flossie009]

Thanks to all for the information on the billionaire’s sailing yacht.

It is probably luxurious but we would rather be pampered on a Regent ship.

 

poss, the pool is actually bigger than it looks on the photos .............. but we have yet to test it with the new steps at one end.

 

ronrick1943, pool has not been filled yet. Unlikely that it will be filled today as the ship is rocking & rolling in a very heavy swell from the north. It has been netted which makes it a bit safer than when we took photos on the first day.

 

Glad to report that the snags in our suite have now all been rectified. Critical items were fixed on day 1, most were addressed on day 2 and the final snags were cleared on day 3. :)

[flossie009]

Gentleman’s L’Occitane gift bag in the suite:

 

 

Very nice ............... but what about the ladies?

 

.

 

This arrived in the suite on day 2:

 

 

Samuel, our Butler, tells us that it is a Bluetooth speaker for us to use with our phones, iPads, iPods etc.

Haven’t tried it yet

 

 

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[flossie009]

STOP PRESS!!

 

Found the ladies gift pack:

 

 

Sewing kit, stain remover, facial wipes, earplugs, hand sanitiser, hand cream, lip balm & teddy.

 

I think the men did better!!

 

 

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[flossie009]

Senior Officers & Staff on Seven Seas Mariner

 

Master / Captain: Serena Melani

Staff Captain: Yasen Sergeev

Chief Engineer: Vincenzo Di Rosa

 

Doctor: Gustavo Rojas

 

General Manager: Anatoli Makaev

F&B Director: Donald Curbelo

Exec Chef: Dino Schwager

Restaurant Manager: Maria Tancredi

 

Chief Purser: Heike Weiss

Exec Concierge: Janina Deeke

 

Cruise Director: Lorraine Weimerskirch

Asst CD: John Lidbury

Social Hostess: Caron Moran

 

Cruise Consultant: Matilda Jerosimic

 

Destination Services Mgr: Dagmara Kabala

 

 

As expected Joliza Fulgar, Head Sommelier on Explorer, joined Mariner yesterday in Malaga.

What she had not previously shared with us is that on transfer she was promoted to Assistant Food & Beverage Director. Congratulations Joliza

Edited April 7, 2018 by flossie009

[flossie009]

DAY 3 (Fri 6th April)

 

Malaga

 

We had decided against an organised excursion today so that we could just explore Malaga at our own pace.

We therefore took the short shuttle ride from the ship into the town and then took a stroll around the pedestrianised city centre.

 

Buffet lunch in La Veranda was very good.

The new layout of the serving area at first look seems better than before but, when busy, the circulation of guests does not work very well.

Maybe the positioning of food items needs a rethink; yesterday there were different starters & deserts at each end of the counter, but with cheese & fruit only at one end; much milling about and to-ing & fro-ing by guests, often causing bottlenecks.

 

The afternoon was spent making the best of the sunshine on the Pool Deck

 

After the Captain’s Welcome Reception it was off to dinner with the Chief Purser, Asst Purser and two other guests.

Heike, the Purser, was an excellent and entertaining host. Unfortunately service in Compass Rose was embarrassingly slow.

 

We missed the magician in the theatre tonight and also Karaoke, which was apparently very good with some excellent singers giving it a go.

 

Went through the Straits of Gibraltar around 10pm and, as predicted by Captain Serena, we started feeling increasing sea swells coming down from the Bay of Biscay.

 

During the rocking, rolling night we regained one of the hours that went missing on the previous crossing. We knew Regent would find them and return them to us. ;)

Nothing is more precious than time.

[flossie009]

Could you let us know who the cruise director is and if they are staying on for the next cruise?

CD is Lorraine Weimerskirch.

Next time I see Lorraine I will ask her how long she is on Mariner before her next break.

[flossie009]

Our neighbour in Malaga

 

 

 

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[flossie009]

DAY 4 - At Sea

 

 

Rolling swells hitting us from front and side make moving around the ship a challenge at times!! Perhaps a drink would even up our balance?

 

 

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[RJ2002]

Enjoying your reports and pictures very much. Thanks for taking the time to share with us.

 

Happy to see that Captain Serena is back onboard the Mariner. She is great!

[ronrick1943]

Flossie, again thanks for taking the time-great information. Really looking forward to getting on in Miami. Have fun and enjoy the rest of your cruise.

[Weeizer]

Thanks for the update. Sure wish I could of sailed back home on the Mariner instead if flying home.

 

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[flossie009]

DAY 4 (Sat 7th April)

At Sea

 

High swells & waves continued all day and into the night.

 

This morning our Meet & Mingle was held in the Stars Lounge.

Over 20 guests attended and there was also a good turn out from the ship’s officers & staff.

Met with some CC members who are regular posters and also some ‘lurkers’.

Had an interesting chat with Captain Serena who said that westbound crossings were prone to rougher seas than eastbound as the ship tends to be battling against the wind and sea swells, whereas eastbound the ship is going with the wind and ‘surfing’ the waves. (However on westbound crossings you gain time rather than losing time eastbound).

 

Took lunch in Compass Rose as, being on a lower deck, there was less movement than in La Veranda.

It is good to see items on the CR lunch menu from the lunch menus in the Explorer speciality restaurants.

 

Unfortunately, due to the movement of the ship, this evenings scheduled Block Party and Production Show were cancelled; a movie being shown in the theatre instead.

DAY 5 (Sunday 8th April)

Funchal, Madeira

 

After a rocking, rolling night we docked in Funchal at first light.

 

We took an excursion that we had done previously a few years ago.

Cable car up, toboggans down, church visit, walk through the Botanic Gardens and then a “retail opportunity” at a shop selling embroidery, wine and other Madeiran items.

We thoroughly enjoyed the tour with an interesting & entertaining guide.

[side Note: when we were about to set off on the excursion the guide noted that no one was seated in the reserved disabled seats at the front of the coach, removed the signs and invited anyone who wished to move forward. Very sensible]

 

Returned from the excursion just in time for lunch on the Pool Deck since it was now warm & sunny.

Took advantage of the sun on the deck in the afternoon and later had a game of croquet.

 

After sailing from Funchal, Captain Serena kept the ship in the lee of the island to keep things more comfortable for the re-arranged Block Party and dinner; she warned that movement would increase around 9pm as we moved out of shelter into swells of 5m (15ft) with waves of 3m (10ft).

Our dinner in Prime 7 was therefore calm and delicious, albeit the wine waiter was not very attentive.

 

After dinner went to see the guest entertainer in the theatre, pianist Antonio Salci, backed by the Regent band.

He was very good and coped with the ship movements that became more extreme during his performance.

 

............. and so to bed to be rocked to sleep by the wind & seas.

Footnote: IMO the theatre on Mariner is much better than on Explorer. The aisles are ramped rather than stepped and there are good sight lines from all parts of the auditorium, both from the stalls, deck 5 and the balcony, deck 6.

Visually the theatre on Mariner does not appear to have changed much during the refurbishment, but apparently new sound and light systems have been installed. Also the soft furnishings and carpets have been replaced but in the same colours.

Pity they didn’t amend the “knee/thigh cruncher” protruding rails at the end of the seating rows :eek:

[flossie009]

Approaching Funchal

 

The clouds looked ominous but the day turned out to be pleasant and without rain

 

 

Views from the cable car:

Mariner in the far distance

 

 

View from the church at the start of the toboggan run:

 

Glad to see Mariner is still there!

 

 

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[flossie009]

Toboggan drivers on the starting grid:

 

New Michelin treads on their boots, and fully refuelled at the local bar (only joking!)

 

 

............. and tired out at the end of the 2km run:

 

 

Traditionally the drivers would carry their toboggans back up the hill but in these modern times the toboggans go back stacked on the back of a truck, while the drivers are transported back in a luxury coach!!

 

 

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[flossie009]

The Portuguese Navy were parked in front of Mariner

 

 

Note: This photo was taken from the forward facing deck of Mariner. Something you cannot do on Explorer.

 

 

 

Looks like someone forgot to order the new clock for the Pool Deck

 

 

Shame they didn’t just leave the old one in place as this is a bit of an eyesore on a luxury ship

 

 

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[flossie009]

The Pool on the Pool Deck

 

I know that ronrick1943 was interested in the refurbished pool.

 

Apparently after refurbishment a couple of leaks were found when the pool was filled which they have been working to repair.

 

Yesterday the pool looked like this:

 

 

 

 

..................... but today (Day 6) we have water (and apparently no leaks):

 

 

Too rough to use safely, but we are hopeful that tomorrow will be a calm sunny day for the first dip of the cruise.

 

 

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[flossie009]

CD is Lorraine Weimerskirch.

Next time I see Lorraine I will ask her how long she is on Mariner before her next break.

Lorraine expects to be on Mariner until mid July

[ronrick1943]

Thanks about the pool information.....looking good, hoping for warmer weather on our trip.

[nigelc]

 

Looks like someone forgot to order the new clock for the Pool Deck

 

 

Shame they didn’t just leave the old one in place as this is a bit of an eyesore on a luxury ship

 

 

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Oh come on Regent, get a grip - the more I read and see pictures of the re-fit the less the ship seems fit for service e.g ready for passengers paying for a 6 star service. I'm glad that I was on Mariner in November 2017, before the re-fit.

[Travelcat2]

flossie - if you have time, would you mind clarifying the condition of the Mariner as some posters (not on the ship) make it sound much worse than what you have described. Was the issue of flooding, ceilings falling down, etc widespread? From reading the two current Mariner threads, I understand that the safes were locked, some televisions were not hooked up, at least one faucet was not hooked up and the pool had a leak. It sounds as if you are having a good time and the poster (new to Regent) on the other thread is as well.

 

Since you are currently on Mariner, your input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!