Final thoughts

July 2006 trip to Vancouver and Alaska

General Observations.

Ship

Mariner has 700 people, all suites and balconies. Comparably new ship, nicely decorated, not flashy, well furnished. Balcony was a plus, even in Alaska when it is cold, we were able to catch some sun on the balcony. The ship has an impression of spaciousness and you do not see many people. Besides some events or day at sea when many people congregated in one place (deck/pool), you sometimes wonder – where are the people?
I liked it.

Food
We are foodies and we loved the restaurants. There is only one restaurant we did not go – Le Verandah Mediterranean bistro. We do not care about buffets and when it was a la carte dining – we looked at menu and it was just OK. But people said food was well prepared.

We ate once in Le Cordon Blue French restaurant and we liked it. Excellent food, well prepared. But then Compass Rose food was good as well, but not necessarily French.
Asian restaurant Latitudes was good and the menu there was just for information since they serve everything – sample food.

Breakfast – most days we ordered in room. Roome service was prompt.
Other days we had breakfast in Compas Rose , again from the menu and it was good.
Lunches were eaten in Compass Rose and few times by the pool and from room service. I liked that they served a lot’s of local fish and seafood. Very good services in any restaurant. I also noticed how well they treated children. Kids menu was even available at French restaurant.

There was afternoon tea daily with different themes – Viennese Tea, British Tea, Chocoholic tea, etc.. Tea consisted of small sandwiches, scones ( I love scones ) and deserts. There were always low carb and sugar-free desserts available. Some of them were good, but some did not make sense like for example, low carb Crème Brulee – you cannot make caramelized crust without sugar so it tasted like pudding.

There was great coffee machine in the library which can make espresso, latte, regular coffee and something else (forgot). It was very popular. Next to the machine were always cookies available.
In observation lounge they served boullion and crackers as a snack and continental breakfast for early risers.

Caviar bar was open every evening before dinner. We buy caviar often at home in Russian store so we thought it was expensive there.
I hear that next year Regent will be all-inclusive so it will be interesting if caviar would be included.

So as in any cruise, there was a lot’s of food but quality and presentation was excellent. In restaurant, you can have table for 2 or more. Or they ask if you want to join someone in case you want to meet new people. But not enforced as on large ships.
Once we had dinner for 2 and there were 2 more couples at separate tables,. So we started to talk and finally we moved tables together and waiters did not mind.

Alcohol was included in many cases. 2 wines are offered with dinner, but premium wines for $100+ are available for extra. On arrival we had champagne in the suite. The refrigerator was stocked with beer and soft drinks. You are also offered 2 complimentary bottle of wines on arrival from room service.
Plus there were cocktail parties, art auction, etc so champagne was available. Other times after dinner they charge for drinks. We do not drink much other than wine with dinner so for us it was inclusive..

Tipping is included in Regent so it is a big plus. We tipped however extra our stewardess since she was very good.

Entertainment was OK. Good shows in the theater, piano player performed piano tunes, there was potpourii from Broadway shows and also show “Tribut to the beetles”.
The music which played by the pool and by piano player and guitar players was classical, and 60-80. Just what we like.


Weather – was mixed. I read before leaving to dress in layers and it was a good advice. It ranges from 30’s (in glacier) to 70 on the sun. So it depends on what you are going to do all day.

Also, it was close to solstice time (June 22) and unusually for us Northeasterners, it was light almost all day (18 hours). Sunset was at 11 (beautiful), and sunrise at 4am. It of course enhanced our time outside. In winter we were told, only 4 hour of light in December.

3 days on a cruise we had clear weather, especially we were lucky with Hubbard glacier. Other days it was changing from rain to clouds and sun but we still did our shore trips and excursions.

Overall we did not expect good weather, so were not disappointed.
You need to bring waterproof fleet jacket. I also brought knitted hats for glacier and expedition and I was not sorry.

Overall, Regent has grade A. I cannot honestly think about any issues. We only had one inconvenience – one suitcase was delayed when we started cruise, but the guilty party was the person in the port who did not write clear our cabin number.

I would go on Regent again, only on different itinerary.