Great Carnival Cruise Reviewed by Esther

We were a group of 3 single ladies in their 40's and 50's. I was the only one who had previously cruised. After out experience on the Carnival Valor, all of us are planning another cruise in the future. I think cruising is a great value for the price. The ship itself is beautiful and we had very little problem getting from one place to the next. The ship was very clean and never did I find something out of order. We found embarkment to be a tad lengthy but the line moved consistently so it really didn't seem too bad. We participated in the self-disembarkment and were literally off the ship within 1/2 an hour, as we had a flight to catch. If you are in a hurry and catching a flight, I highly recommend this. We had some problems getting the dining time and table we preferred but with 3000 guests someone is bound to be unhappy. They did their best to accommodate us and we were very please with the outcome. Our waiter was very attentive and I enjoyed the dining room entertainment. Suggestion for carnival to take from Norwegian Cruise lines, put hand sanitizers at the entrance of every eating place. With 3000 people on board, I think something as simple as hand sanitizers is a good idea. NCL even watched as you entered the dining room to see that hands were cleaned with the convenient sanitizing locations. Can't be too clean. Our cabin stewardess was fantastic. We were not left wanting anything-except when a fuse blew in the cabin, which did not take more than 1/2 to have restored. WARNING: there is only 1 outlet and with 3 ladies that was a problem. If we go again, we will bring a powerstrip. Pool/Deck Service was fine, except that occasionally it took longer than expected to get a drink. Also beware that there is not adequate seating around the pool so get your spots early. We did have an unpleasant encounter with someone who took our lounges, but did not let this bother us. The evening shows were fabulous with the exception of the comedian Jim Brick who was extremely crude and not funny, even for a late show. The singers were absolutely fantastic. Do not miss them. The dancers were very good also. Enjoyed the Legends show (cruisers who sang like celebrities) very much. I think it was a great thing to incorporate the cruisers this way and your passengers have a lot of talent. We especially enjoyed the Philipino band in the lounge, the piano bar and the disco. Another thing to take from NCL, have staff people there, particularly men, to get the dancing started. It really does encourage people to get out and dance and give the ladies someone to dance with. I would suggest that perhaps in one of the lounges there could be a country night and teach some couples or line dances. Line dances are great because it doesn't matter if you have a partner. As a group of single ladies, we were disappointed with the singles mingle. It was held in the piano bar the first evening and no one from Carnival even asked the pianist to stop and welcome the singles in. There was no acknowledgment that there was even a singles activity going on. This was my 5th cruise and was very pleased. Any of the negatives and suggestions are really quite mild (with the exception of more outlets in the cabin). My experience has been that you really have to try hard to have a bad time on a cruise. I have traveled 3 different cruise lines and I think the Carnival Cruises really have been my favorite. Both virgin cruisers and me are talking about a cruise in the future and would not hesitate one second to sail Carnival again.

French Polynesia Cruise Reviewed by Mike

Ports of Call: Tahiti, Polynesia; Moorea, Polynesia; Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands; Hiva Oa, Marquesas Islands; Rangiroa, Tuamato Islands; Raiatea, Polynesia; Bora Bora, Polynesia

Embarkation:

We arrived at the ship about 10:45 AM on Monday. The Princess embarkation crew was just setting up the stations under the tented area where you register before boarding the ship. There was some confusion as to whether you should stand in the roped off section or wait at one of the stations. People were told to do both; and since it wasn’t marked, it did cause a problem as more people started arriving to check in. In all fairness to Princess, we were early; but a few directional signs would certainly help. Once they started checking people in at around 11:15 AM, it went very quickly.

Ship:

The Tahitian Princess is the smallest cruise ship we have been on. It was built in 1999, is only 30,000 tons and holds 680 passengers. It was the Renaissance R3 prior to Princess buying it; and is beautifully appointed in dark woods. Many of the public rooms make you feel like you are on someone’s large personal yacht. It is very easy to get around the ship. Since it is only 594 ft. long, it doesn’t take much time to walk from one end to the other. Additionally, since the main public areas are on decks 5 and 9, you can quickly get to them on the stairs or with the always available elevators. An interesting thing we quickly realized was that since both of the elevators open toward the front of the ship, you always turn the same way to get to your hallway, rather than having to stop and think about it. You still need to know if you are in the front or back elevator to know which way to turn once you got in the hallway, but there’s a diagram right there to help you.

Cabin:

Our Mini-Suite, Cabin 8021, was on the starboard side of the ship a few cabins forward of mid-ship. This was our first mini and what a pleasure it was. I couldn’t believe how big this cabin was. The main room was 12.5’ wide and 14.5’ deep. The bathroom had a full bathtub and plenty of room to move around in, really unusual in a ship cabin. Another benefit of the mini is that unlike the standard balcony cabins, it had a refrigerator; and robes were provided without asking. We did ask the steward to bring us a lounge chair for the balcony since there was plenty of room for one. He happily obliged, and I got to spend a lot of quality time looking at the ocean and the beautiful islands of French Polynesia while relaxing in the lounger.

Food:

We ate most of our meals in the main dining room when we could. We had outstanding tablemates at the main dinner seating. We had been very lucky on past cruises in finding good tablemates, but on this cruise we hit the jackpot. They were all such a pleasure, and we just hated having to say goodbye when the cruise ended.
We found the dining room food to be much better than the buffet. It was presented nicely and they had an excellent variety. The meat dishes were very good, and those who ate the fish raved about it. We always enjoy the cold soups; and on the Tahitian Princess they were outstanding with one exception. The Chilled Cream of Zucchini and Pear Soup was horrible! Desserts, especially the soufflés and ice creams were very good. Too good! One just wasn’t enough.

Entertainment:

Surprisingly, the evening entertainment was very good. We only missed one night’s entertainment, but it was the same singer we had seen earlier on the cruise. They had four production shows for the ten night cruise, two of them on consecutive nights. I think this qualifies in some countries as “dancer abuse”. They really worked hard. They were an excellent group and this was their first time together on the ship. This cruise only had two singers in the production cast. The rest of the voices were pre-recorded. This is one of the things I didn’t like about the one Carnival cruise we went on.

The male singer, Cameron Mannix was very good. I think the female singer must have been having some medical problems because she did have difficulty hitting the notes in the first three shows. I think she might have been lip synching in the last show, but I don’t know that for a fact. Due to the small stage on the Tahitian Princess, they were limited in the shows they could do; but for the most part, they were quite enjoyable.

We were very lucky to have an outstanding comedian named Elliot Maxx. He kept the house laughing most of the night. Fortunately he did shows on two different nights. It was such a pleasure to have a comedian with an original style, rather than some of the has-beens that tell the same old jokes. I also liked the fact that he didn’t resort to today’s common practice of negativism and cutting others down. If you see his name in a future Patter, don’t miss him.

Ports:

Everywhere we went on this cruise the people were so friendly and nice to the tourists. They were helpful and courteous. I had read that the French Polynesian people were a pleasure to be with, and I was happy to find that everything I had heard was true. One thing that was nice is that drivers are required to stop when you approach any of the cross walks. In most places around the world, drivers would try to get through the cross walk before you walked into it. In French Polynesia, they stop if they think you are going to cross the street.

If you are planning on taking a Princess excursion, you absolutely have to book it in advance online if you want any of the good ones. The day we boarded the ship we checked out the excursion list and about 80% of the excursions were sold out before anyone had even come on board. Those folks that didn’t use the internet or hadn’t booked any tours in advance were not very happy. If they had been reading the Cruise Critic board, they would have known they had to pre-book. Fortunately on most of the islands, other than the Marquesas, there are reasonably priced tour guides at the pier or tender docks to provide tourists with tours.


Papeete, Tahiti, Polynesia-

The island of Tahiti is quite beautiful with many high lush green mountains. The city of Papeete is a fairly congested small city with very few attractive structures.

The Marche (the large city market) is an interesting place with the best prices around for souvenirs. Many of the items for sale were of lower quality than you could find on some of the other islands, but since they were a lot cheaper it probably balanced out. I visited a few times for different things, but I couldn’t stay there too long because it was just too hot and humid in the non-air conditioned building. One of the best items was the bouquets of lovely tropical flowers that came in $10, $15 and $20 sizes. You could see lots of folks bringing them back to the ship. Unlike the Caribbean, there was very little bargaining in the stores; but there also was no badgering or begging by the vendors. It made shopping and walking around town much more enjoyable.

Moorea, Polynesia-

On Sunday we took the ferry over to Moorea and went on Albert’s Moana Lagoon Tour (http://www.albert-transport.net/p1_gb.asp). The ferry took a half hour and was a very comfortable and fast vessel. If you buy a round trip ticket in Papeete, you can avoid the long lines at the ticket counter in Moorea. It is a great way to visit Moorea for the day, but since the last trip back to Tahiti is normally 4:10, you need to keep an eye on your watch if you are on your own. Since almost everything is closed on Sunday, this six hour motu picnic worked out great.

Our guide, Siki, was quite a character. He kept us entertained all day. Our first stop was to feed the sharks. Since I am a scuba diver, swimming with sharks doesn’t concern me too much; but Carol can’t even watch sharks on TV. To my surprise, she got into the water with the black tip reef sharks swimming all around us to get to the fish. She told me later that she had decided that life is too short to miss out on extraordinary adventures just because you are scared. She also said that once is enough!

We were holding onto a rope, but the water was very rough and the sharks were really in a frenzy for the food. I had not expected there to be so many sharks. It was quite invigorating.

Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands -

Princess only does the Marquesas itinerary eight times a year. With these islands being more primitive and unspoiled, they make for an adventure that very few people will ever experience. Nuku Hiva is the largest island in the Marquesas, and was the site of the fourth season of the reality TV show Survivor. As we sailed into Taiohae Bay, it was obvious that this was an incredibly beautiful untouched island, and that this would be a remarkable day.

Hiva Oa, Marquesas Islands -

Other than the possibility of having 10 days of solid rain, my biggest concern during the months prior to this cruise was that we would not be able to tender into Hiva Oa. Unpredictable accessibility had caused the previous five cruises to skip this port, so as we sailed into Traitor’s Bay, I was thrilled that the waters seemed to be fairly smooth. When we got down to the ship’s tender embarkation area, there was a long line. Apparently what appeared to be mild seas, was a bit rougher than I first thought. They needed to get clearance that all was well for tendering. At last we were allowed to get onto the tender, but we were warned to be careful about sudden movement.

Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands -

After spending Sunday at sea, we arrived at the beautiful atoll of Rangiroa. An atoll is the coral reef that is left after an island sinks into the ocean. Rangiroa is the second largest atoll in the world after one in the Marshall Islands.
To our delight it was a beautiful sunny day, which is exactly what you want when you are diving or doing any of the water activities that are so popular here. Rangiroa is one of the best dive sites in the world, particularly the Tiputa Pass dive; which I had booked for this morning.

Princess uses the Six Passengers Dive Shop for the excursion. They use Zodiac boats rather than the traditional dive boats. I was apprehensive about diving from them because I didn’t know if I could pull my large body into the Zodiac after the dive. I had been reassured on other bulletin boards that it wasn’t a big deal and that folks that were fatter and in worse physical shape than me had no problems with it.

Raiatea, Polynesia -

The cruise past Tahaa on the way to Raiatea started at 9:00 AM on Tuesday. Lucky again, it was sunny. We were able to see Tahaa on the port side with Bora Bora in the distance on the starboard. Quite impressive. We got very close to Tahaa, making the cruise by it more like a circle island tour.

Bora Bora, Polynesia -

It was Wednesday morning, the last full day of the cruise. As we approached Bora Bora, the beauty of this relatively small island became quite apparent. The sun lit up the turquoise lagoons all around it displaying the different shades of the water. We had lucked out again with another sunny day. The ship had to navigate the Teavanui narrows to get into the lovely lagoon. We passed by the Radisson Paul Gauguin that was also in port. Fortunately the Tahitian Princess had an anchorage that was much closer to the tender pier, so it was a relatively short tender in.

Disembarkation:

The disembarkation process for the Tahitian Princess is quite different than on other cruises. Since most of the flights out of FAAA airport are late at night, Princess lets the departing passengers stay on the ship till they have to go to the airport. Since you can get on and off the ship; as well as eat all of your meals on board, it made the cruise seem like 11 days instead of just 10.

As with all cruises we have been on, we had to put all of our large baggage out in the hallway to be picked up the night before. We were able to check our carry on bags at the Sterling Steakhouse during the time we were waiting for our flight. This was very convenient, since you weren’t burdened with your luggage while you went shopping, took a tour or just lazed around the pool.

We had decided to take a taxi to the airport rather than use the Princess transfers. I had read that it would be much easier if you weren’t in the crowds from the Princess buses. I now understand what they meant. If you have transfers, your luggage is taken to FAAA in the morning to be picked up when your transfer bus arrives later that night. Reclaiming your bags involved a long line that seemed to be very slow. If you arranged your own transportation, your luggage was kept under the tent next to the ship where you checked in; and you picked it up before you went to the airport. Since most people had either had their luggage taken to a hotel for a post cruise stay or were on Princess transfers, it was very easy to find our luggage and get one of the many cabs that were waiting for fares. One of the pleasant surprises was that most of the cabs were small vans and had plenty of room for luggage. It was also cheaper to take the cab rather than the Princess Transfers, 2000 CFP or about $22 rather than the $25 per person that Princess charges.

Southern Caribbean Reviewed by Kelly

Day One – fly out of PVD through EWR to SJU fairly uneventful arriving only 1.5 hours late. No big deal. We got our luggage and grabbed a cab to the cruise terminal. The terminal we were at was different than the previous time and we were only 2-3 blocks from Old San Juan. We dropped the luggage off with the porters at the entrance of the terminal and headed into Old San Juan. I had just been there in June, but my husband, Jim, had never been, so I gave him a quick tour of the sites. Stopped into The Cigar House for (duh) cigars, the Super Mart for a couple of six packs of Diet Coke and some snacks for the room and headed over to the ship. Picked up a bottle of Capt. Morgan and Mount Gay for the room in the Duty Free shop before checking in. The guys in the shop wrapped everything up in newspaper and we put them in the bottom of my tote bag I was carrying and we had no trouble getting them up to the room. There were no lines at check in and it went much smoother than I remembered from the last time. Took about 20 minutes total. We were in room R510 (Riveria Deck, midship). Luggage was waiting for us. Met our steward, Pol. Mixed up the first of many cocktails to be had out on the balcony and started our vacation. We choose Anytime Dining, so we could take our time before heading out to dinner. Sorry I can’t remember what we had the first night, but being up at 3:30 a.m. will have the effect on me.

Day Two – this is the at sea day. VERY windy and you can really feel the ship rocking. The Ship’s Log that is distributed at the end of the week indicated that there were Force 7 winds that day. We usually go to the buffet for breakfast – first stop being the coffee station. Even with all the selections, I stuck with my usual scrambled eggs and fruit. My husband loves the smoked salmon and had that every single morning with his eggs. Went back to the room to put on our swimsuits and grab our gear so we could find some lounge chairs before it got too busy. It was beautifully warm, but so windy that the letters kept getting blown off the Scrabble board. That got annoying pretty quickly, so we went back to reading the books we had also brought. Headed up to the gym around 1:00 and worked out and used the treadmills for about two hours. We belong to a gym at home and have a treadmill and we didn’t want to stray too far from our routine. Jogging on the treadmill was a little tricky with the boat rocking so much. Back to the room to sit out on the balcony with a cocktail and a fresh game of Scrabble. First formal night tonight and after we were dressed, decided to walk around the Piazza area and take a look into the shops. All the railings on the staircases were hung with garland and bows and there were decorated and lit Christmas trees on each level. Found the Crooner’s bar and that was instantly our favorite spot and we ended up there every night for the remainder of the week. The bartenders, Bonnie & Christopher, were just the best. By the second visit, they remembered our names, knew how we liked our drinks and were just so entertaining. We had dinner in the DaVinci dining room. Ordered a bottle of LaCrema Pinot Noir as we were both having the filet mignon. Two glasses left in the bottle, so we had it corked and took it back to the room.

Day Three – Barbados. We love Barbados. Last time we were there, we had taken a cab for a half day tour of the island, visited St. James Parish Church, went to Harrison’s Caves and shopped in Bridgetown. Today we wanted a beach. Grabbed a taxi and headed over to Payne’s Bay for the day. Tony, our cab driver, took us to the Blue Monkey Bar & Restaurant and agreed to come back to get us between 2:30 – 3:00. Rented chairs for $10.00 and let the sand gravity take effect. The beach did get a little crowded by noon, but it didn’t bother us. We took a walk down the beach and were rewarded with complete emptiness. Swam and lounged and decided we needed some liquid refreshments, so we headed back to our chairs and got some rum punches from the bar. Jim took out a jet ski for a half-hour or so and then we spent the rest of the time just relaxing in the sun. Tony returned right on time and took us back to the cruise terminal. We’re not big shoppers, but I was very pleased to find that Earthworks now had a shop in the terminal. I love their stuff, but the cost to ship it to the US was crazy. I bought some coffee mugs and a candle holder. I’m happy! Back to the ship and out to the balcony for our afternoon ritual of a cocktail, cigar and Scrabble. Down to Crooner’s and let Bonnie & Christopher mix their potions. Dinner in DaVinci again –Jim had the lamb shank and I had a pasta with red peppers and mussels. Jim is still talking about the lamb shank and how great it was.

Day Four – St. Lucia. We’ve been to St. Lucia on the last cruise and we took an excursion to the Diamond Botanical Garden/Rain Forest, Pitons & the volcano. The Botanical Garden was amazing, but we found nothing else appealing about that island. I had booked a massage for that afternoon with the plan that we would be staying on the ship, but we decided to give it another chance and got off the ship in Castries to walk around and browse the shops. Our opinion hasn’t changed. After about an hour of stepping around and over garbage, the smell becoming too much to stand, I had had enough and we went back to the ship. The day was a bit overcast but still very warm, so we put on our bathing suits and found the Terrace Pool and deck completely empty. Swam in the pool for awhile before it started to sprinkle, so I headed to the spa for the lime & ginger body scrub and full body massage I had an appointment for (heavenly) and Jim went to work out. An hour and half later, I dragged my nearly comatose body out to the Trident Bar to meet Jim, who was waiting for me with a margarita. Just what I needed, like I wasn’t relaxed enough already. Went back to the room for our daily Scrabble game (need to make sure the brain is still functioning with all the alcohol we’re imbibing). Down to see Bonnie & Christopher at Crooners and met another couple, Mike & Carmen from Wisconsin. We sat and chatted with them and decided to go have dinner together. Mike & I had the sea bass and Carmen & Jim had the Alaskan King Crab Legs. Another great meal. Back to Crooners for after dinner drinks before turning in.

Day Five – Antigua. This is another one of our favorite islands. Off the ship and found a cab driver, Louis, and he took us over to Turner’s Beach. Rented chairs & umbrella from the Blue Heron resort for $10.00 and we were good for the day. What a beautiful beach. Swam and napped in the sun. Perfect! Louis picked us up at 3:00 as promised. I wanted to do some shopping. I had bought a beaded bracelet in RastaPastaOneLove on our last trip and it is still one of my favorites. That was my sole destination. I got two more bracelets, a choker and bracelet/earring sets for my two daughters and my son’s girlfriend. We begin our usual evening activities. Ate dinner in the Michelangelo dining room tonight. Jim had a veal chop and I simply cannot remember what I had, so it must not have been that memorable. Back to the room early tonight as we have a big day planned tomorrow.

Day Six – Tortola. The day I’ve been waiting for all week. This is the only island we have not been to and I have been so looking forward to. I have wanted to do a vacation to the BVI, either staying on Tortola or VG, but Jim was hesitant as we had never been there before, what if we didn’t like it, etc. This was going to be the perfect way for me to give him a chance to “test the waters” so to speak. I booked us on a day sail with White Squall II, a TTOL sponsor. I can’t say enough good things about the entire day! Capt. Chris, mate Deb and Jeff (Capt. Chris’ brother) were attentive, friendly and so much fun. We sailed to Norman Island and our first snorkeling stop was Privateer Bay. Simply amazing. I love to snorkel, but Jim can usually take it or leave it. He couldn’t get enough of it. After an hour and half, we headed over to the Bight and Pirates Bight Bar & Restaurant. The men all swam in to shore and the women took the dinghy while Capt. Chris & crew got lunch ready. Browsed in the gift shop and lounged in the sun before heading back for a great lunch. Loved the curried rice salad with the mango chutney so much, I got the recipe and made it for Xmas day dinner buffet. After lunch, we headed over to Soldier’s Bay for some more snorkeling. Back on the boat and we started back. Now that we were done snorkeling, we took Deb up on her offer of rum punch. Got back into the marina by 4:00. Walked around town a little and poked into some of the shops (mostly the ones I recognized the names of from the BVI forum) and headed back to the ship. What a great day! Sat out on the balcony with cocktails while we pulled out of port and my plan had worked – Jim wants to go back and see more of Tortola and the other neighboring islands. Second formal night tonight, so we get cleaned up and decked out again and head down to meet Mike & Carmen at Crooners. Dinner tonight was lobster tail for Jim and beef Wellington for me. We still don’t order dessert – the waiter, Lorenzo, seems genuinely disappointed.

Day Seven – St. Thomas. Been here before and not having any interest in shopping, we decided to sleep in and have breakfast a bit later. After breakfast we were able to find whole decks of empty loungers so we took our pick and settled in for a few hours of reading and the last few hours of sun. A couple of margaritas, some time in the pool and hot tub and we were ready to head back to the room. Need to start packing up some of the dirty clothes and items we don’t need and were able to put out one suitcase before going to dinner. Stop in Crooners for one last round with Bonnie & Christopher. When we get there, Bonnie is working on something that looks like origami with colored paper – it’s a long stem rose which he gives me – what a sweetheart. Even though we know the tips are built in, we gave them each an additional cash tip. They deserved every penny. Dinner tonight in DaVinci again. I had the prime rib and Jim had the beef tournedos – again perfectly done. We appeased Lorenzo tonight and ordered dessert – black cherry sorbet. Back to the room to finish packing up.

Last Day – San Juan. Up and out of the room for 8:00 and down to breakfast. This always the worst part of the trip. Our flight wasn’t until 2:45. Disembarkation wasn’t too painful. We waited in the Explorers Lounge and were off the ship by 9:30. I had the pier to airport transfers so we were to the airport, checked in and through security by 11:00. Still a long wait at the airport, but we had books with us to pass the time. Flight was about 10 minutes late departing. Got into EWR about 6:30 but our flight out of EWR to PVD wasn’t until 8:45. We really weren’t that hungry, but both needed coffee badly. Found the Dunkin’ Donuts and settled down for some more waiting. 8:45 became 9:15, which became 9:30, which became 10:00. We’ve long since finished our books and are trying not to doze off, becoming more aggravated by the minute. We finally board our last leg at 11:00 p.m. only to have to wait on the plane while one of the engines was jumped started!! Pilot came on and apologized for delay and indicated that he had informed the airport about this problem before he landed and they should have been waiting with the part/equipment needed. Finally take off 11:40. Only a 35 minute flight to PVD. Find our luggage, call for our car pick up and we are in our car heading home by 12.50. At that time of night and no traffic, we are able to drive home in 25 minutes.

We've cruised with Princess before. The Crown Princess is a beautiful ship and we were thoroughly pleased with the service and attention we received from all the staff we encountered. We always go with the balcony room (it truly is the only way to go)and Anytime Dining. I think the only complaints we had was one: take St. Lucia off the itinerary and two: there seemed to be more kids than on our previous cruises. Perhaps it was due to Christmas/school vacation. There is a whole area on the ship with two pools and a hot tub for kids and yet we never saw a single child in them.

Alaska Cruise Reviewed by Kathy

We just returned from the 8/15 NB Regent Mariner Alaska cruise. It was a fantastic journey and one we hope to repeat in the not too distant future. Alaska was gorgeous and amazing beyond words, and the Regent Experience made it all the more so. We cruise frequently and Regent is our favorite line, but we have cruised on a variety of ships in different lines for the last 25 years. This was our third cruise with Regent, first on the Mariner, and we think Regent is better than ever.
We departed Newark and flew non-stop to Vancouver on Continental the day before sailing. We stayed at the Pan Pacific Hotel at Canada Place, where the ship docked. The hotel was lovely and the room overlooked the harbor, so we could see the cruise ships arrive, as well as Mount Baker in the distance.

On sail day, we woke early and walked downstairs just before 7 am. Soon, the Pacific Princess came into view, followed closely by the HAL Zaandam, and then the beautiful Regent Mariner. They all docked at the piers on both sides of the hotel. We were able to talk with passengers on the Mariner right from the dock, and heard that they had had a beautiful sunny week on the southbound portion. As it turned out, we also had a week of beautiful weather, although we were prepared for rain because it is Alaska.

At 11:30 am we walked our bags to the terminal downstairs, and after a short wait, were taken through immigration to the waiting Mariner. We walked to the Constellation Theater, were given champagne, and checked in. Our rooms would be ready at 2, so we took our carry-ons up to the pool deck and enjoyed a wonderful lunch. Everywhere we went on the ship we were greeted with smiles and “welcome aboard.”

The ship was clean and gleaming. Mariner had just received a sanitation score of 100% for the fifth time, and the staff was justifiably proud.

Mariner is an all-suite, all balcony ship. We had booked an H guarantee and received a D category cabin 1060. It was in a perfect location, just one deck below the 11th deck which had La Verandah, terrace grill and pool. It was an easy walk up to the observation lounge on 12 also, for the naturalist talks. We had a welcome bottle of champagne chilling, and the refrigerator was stocked with beer, water and sodas. Our stewardess, Laura, also brought one bottle of Absolut and another bottle of white wine at our request. The bed was wonderfully comfortable, the suite spacious and the balcony ready for viewing the wonderful scenery as we sailed away. The walk-in closet provided ample storage. The only comment I would have about the cabin was that, at lunch time, as the special buffets were put out, you could hear food carts rolling out and back quite loudly, and people walking on the deck above the cabin. However, this only happened at lunch and early afternoon, not evening, and only interfered with a small nap we took one day. Otherwise, the cabin was great!

We sailed under the Lions Gate Bridge and away from Vancouver on our Alaskan adventure. We enjoyed the scenery that afternoon and the comments of Captain Phillipe as we sailed away. We had dinner reservations at Signatures, the Cordon Bleu restaurant,that evening and enjoyed a special dinner with attentive service. The complimentary wines poured with dinner were excellent.

Regent is truly all-inclusive and we appreciated not having to sign for anything during the cruise. If we did not like the complimentary wine offered in the evening with dinner, Daniela our sommelier, was ready with another choice or our preference off the complimentary wine list.

Passenger make-up on this cruise was international. We met people from England, Australia, Russia, Denmark, Canada, Japan and South Africa. There were about 100 well-behaved children aboard due to the kids sail free promotion.

The next day was a cruising day on the Inland Passage, so we made ourselves comfortable with the ship layout, enjoyed the gorgeous scenery, listened to the excellent lectures by Dr. and Mrs. Iliff, the naturalists, played trivia and checked out the internet. Lunch was a grilled seafood buffet with salmon, halibut and mahi mahi along with great salads and desserts. Weather was overcast, but not raining. Dinner that evening in Compass Rose was very good, again with excellent wines. We ran into Executive Chef Cornell whom we had met on the Regent Voyager two years ago. We had taken the Cordon Bleu cooking class from him, and, to our amazement, he remembered us. It was nice to catch up.

The first port was Ketchikan. John had booked a sportsfishing excursion and I wanted to see the Totem Bight state park. I left the ship on the tender and found the city bus which took me to the park and back for $1. (The ship also offered excursions here, but I preferred to do it on my own). I highly recommend this trip to a beautiful, mystical park filled with Totems and a stunning clan house. There is an information cabin with pamphlets that explain the meanings of the Totems, and the self-walking tour is on a beautiful tree-lined path that leads to the water and gorgeous views. It was stunning. I visited the fish ladder where salmon were jumping, the museum and did some shopping back in town. I easily made the 3:00 tender back to the ship in time for trivia. DH caught 4 salmon (the boat had 4 people and they brought in 14 salmon total). He filled out the necessary paperwork and brought the fish back to the ship. Chef Cornell graciously offered to cook the fish for dinner the following evening. It was a wonderful day and dinner in the Compass Rose, with our favorite waiter, Gerry, was a great way to end it. Gerry was so professional and caring, and remembered our preferences each time he saw us. Truly amazing service!

The next day was our favorite day of the cruise. It began with a 5 am commentary from the Iliffs and a whale-watching in the observation lounge. Regent provided a continental breakfast in the lounge to keep us provisioned before breakfast while we scanned the sea. A large number of hardy souls were up, and we were rewarded with seeing humpback
whales swimming nearby. We had booked the catamaran excursion to Tracy Arm. At 7:15 am the catamaran came next to the ship and 120 of us boarded for this incredible 6-hour journey. Mariner followed for a bit, then turned off and continued on to Juneau. We would eventually meet up with her about 1:30, just after she docked. But our little catamaran continued up Tracy Arm, through the growing ice fields, past deep blue icebergs up to Sawyer Glacier. We had a very informative commentary from the crew all along the way. On the sail-in we saw humpback whales and, to the amazement of the catamaran crew, orcas jumping and swimming in the water. It was a gorgeous site. The glacier itself is magnificent, with spires of ice shooting upwards. While we were stopped, about ½ hour, huge areas of the glacier calved. This included a 75 foot spire of ice, which thundered down and created large waves. This calving happened about 10 times. It was awe inspiring. Along the way there were harbor seals, perched on the ice flows, lifting their heads to watch us go by. This was the most beautiful place, and the best excursion we have taken. Highly recommend it!

We landed in Juneau, had lunch of huge king crab legs at the Twisted Fish in town and did some shopping. All in all it was a wonderful day. We had invited some new friends from England whom we had met on the ship to have dinner with us. Chef Cornell cooked John’s salmon perfectly and presented a platter of the fish for our dining enjoyment. He also went out of his way for me. Chef Cornell remembered from our previous cruise that I loved a Salzberger Nockerl soufflé, and to our surprise, Gerry brought the dessert to the table. It was delicious and a wonderful, personalized dinner gift from an outstanding chef and staff. We went to bed happy and tired.

The next day found us cruising into Skagway. We had rented a car for the day for a drive to Emerald Lake, Carcross and the Yukon. We had breakfast as usual on the Verandah deck and left the ship at 8:30 to walk about 1/3 of a mile to the tiny Avis office in town. By 9:15 we were off on HWY 2 out of town. On the way to White Pass, the fog came in and as we approached and then went over the pass, we could hardly see our hands in front of our face. We actually crossed over a bridge over a 180 foot gorge without knowing we did it. We almost turned back, but followed a small tour bus with flashers and, as soon as we came over the pass, the sun came out and we had a gorgeous drive with magnificent views for the rest of the trip. The White Pass railroad excursion was on the other side of the river and, for a short while, we could see it wind its way along the cliffs up over the pass, until it too disappeared into the fog. The weather turned warm and sunny as we continued on, and it was almost 80 degrees. We used Murray’s accurate and well detailed guide from CC all along the way (thank you Murray) and stopped often for photos of the gorgeous scenery. We reached the Yukon sign, took photos and continued on to Emerald Lake where we stopped to relax a bit and take photos. We then turned around and went to Caribou Crossing and stopped in Carcross at the Watson General Store for great ice cream in a home-made waffle cone. The drive back was relaxing with a beautiful day of sunshine. We found out that the bridge we had passed over actually is set only on one side and “floats” due to the earthquake zone it covers. We arrived back in Skagway about 2, shopped a bit, and returned to the ship about 3:30 for the 5 pm sailaway. In the pine trees just across from the ship, a bald eagle bid us farewell.

The Captain and staff held a Seven Seas Society reception that evening for past guests of Regent. It was extremely enjoyable due to our meeting with Douglas Pinkerton, Guest Relations Manager for Mariner. We had a wonderful talk about the cruise line, and he invited us to dinner the next evening. In our 25 years of cruising, Douglas is the best Guest Relations Manager we have met with any line. He is very caring about the passengers and their needs and his follow-through is exceptional. We’re sorry that he won’t be aboard for our New Zealand to LA crossing in December, because he will be sailing the Caribbean on Regent Navigator. We hope to see him again in the near future. Following the reception, we had another wonderful dinner at Compass Rose and concluded the evening early.

Sitka was our next port. It was a lovely small city with much Russian history. The shops, streets and cathedral reflect that background. We decided to do the city on our own and enjoyed walking through the parks, the fort and the small history museum. There also are some excellent shops with some fine native artwork. There is also a hands-on aquarium. It was an enjoyable, relaxing day. Our dinner that evening with Douglas Pinkerton was cordial and fun, and we took in the Broadway tunes show and some karaoke afterwards with him. He is an excellent host and made the evening special.

The following day, our last at sea, found us up early in the observation lounge for commentary by the Iliffs on Yakutat Bay on the way to the Hubbard Glacier. In addition, we had the pleasure of commentary by three Tlingit natives, who were kind enough to explain to us the history and mythology of the Hubbard Glacier area. They were in gorgeous native dress and very accommodating in answering our individual questions. The Hubbard Glacier is huge and awe-inspiring, as are the two adjacent glaciers. We were the first ship in, and our Captain Phillipe took his time and got very close in to allow us excellent time for photographs. In addition, he swung the ship 360 degrees to allow greater views. An offering of tobacco was made to the glacier in a Tlingit ceremony, ice was gathered from a tender for research, and we slowly made our way out of the fjords. It was another perfect example of the time and care Regent took to allow us a memorable experience.

We attended another excellent lecture on the glaciers and ice age that morning as we continued sailing out. In addition we were taken on a guided tour of the “back areas” of the ship – galley, crew quarters, mess, and laundry as part of an American Express Platinum extra. We were served champagne and canapés in the laundry room while chatting with the crew.

Chef Cornell and staff put together an international food extravaganza buffet that noon for lunch. It was difficult to go back to the room and think of packing, but we did. We had our final dinner of perfectly cooked chateaubriand and toasted the wonderful cruise.
When we returned back to the cabin, there were two glasses of champagne and a small cake saying, “Happy Birthday with the Captain’s regards.” The next day was my birthday and Regent remembered and surprised me. A very nice touch! We sat on the balcony having our treat and regretting having to leave this wonderful ship.

The next morning after breakfast and good-byes to the many nice cruisers and staff we had met, we self-carried off at 8:30 am and walked to the Seward terminal with no wait. We had rented a Hertz car to drive to Anchorage through the Kenai Fjords peninsula. Hertz had a shuttle waiting, and we quickly and easily were on the road. We took some time to visit the Sealife museum in Seward, The drive to Anchorage was lovely and we easily made the city in just over 2 hours. We had a wonderful lunch of halibut and explored Anchorage for a bit. Time this trip did not allow for a tour of Denali, so we will save that for next time. We returned our car to the airport and took off on our flight home.

Regent Mariner is a beautiful ship with exceptional crew. The service we received was personalized and special. I would highly recommend this cruise to anyone wishing for a 7-day luxury cruise experience to one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Nice to Athens Reviewed by Pam

We started this trip with a wonderful pre cruise stay at the Chateau Eza in the lovely medieval town of Eze, high above Nice. After a wonderful dinner at Le Troubadour restaurant with our friends Malcolm and Julie and Judy and Scott (portolan) we had a lovely nights rest in our beautiful old room. We wandered the little town for a while the next morning, sneaking in for a visit of the wonderful garden with sculptures at the Relais and Chateau property nearby called Le Chevre d"Or.
Scott had arranged for a van to pick us all up at noon for our transfer to the ship and we had a few photo stops on the way. At 12:30, we arrived at the Voyager and boarded without a hitch. It is always lovely stepping back onto the ship and being greeted by the staff. Louise, the darling social hostess was there to greet us as well as several others. We were disappointed that a new guitarist was onboard (Cesar), and although a great musician he did not have the charisma of Frankie!
The ship looked great with the new Regent logo in a few places, but the harp is still quite visible. We moved to La Veranda for lunch after getting our room cards and drinking our champagne.

Our itinerary was very port intensive so there was no rest for anyone on this cruise. Our first stop was Ajaccio, France and although we enjoyed it, would have no need for a return visit. Tom and I took the "Highlights of Ajaccio" ship tour that was worthwhile. Our next stop was Sorrento and we joined tallship (Tina and her mom) for a private drive of the Amalfi coast. Our driver Gennero, from Sorrento limo was terrific, allowing us to set the pace. This turned problematic for my husband as the stop at the ceramic shop could be repeated (and it was) and I ordered a gorgeous table! Next we stopped in Naxos, and we chose the 4X4 ascent of Mt. Etna which included a walk out to the spewing volcano! It was quite cold, including snow along the path! After this port we finally had a sea day for relaxation. Kusadasi was one of the highlights of the trip. Our day included a great private tour with our prearranged guide, Levant Solmaz. He was a perfect guide and very good at keeping to a pace that suited us. The evening started for Seven Seas Society members having a cocktail party at the Celcius Library and then we walked along a candlelit path to the theatre for the concert (with other guests from the ship). The concert consisted of ten classical pieces and it was lovely. Santorini was next and we took a taxi with Tina and her Mom to Oia before the crowds arrived. We enjoyed this lovely area and took loads of photos here with the scenic backdrop of white houses, blue roofs and many churches. Unfortunately our next stop was Athens and disembarkation.

Overall, this trip was delightful and the ship, crew and itinerary were great. The food was excellent at nearly all of our meals, with special highlights being the night in Signatures and also Latitudes. The service in all the venues was outstanding, except for the last night when we had planned an anniversary celebration for our friends. It was not a big deal, especially since Malcolm had to leave early (he felt poorly), but it still would have been nice if they had received their anniversary cake. It amazes me that the staff has such good memories. The two engineers who we dined with in June invited us to join them again and remembered my husband by name. Captain Knute was his usual jovial self, and we enjoyed lunch with him one day after he danced across the deck on his way to the outdoor grill! He definately enjoys his job. On a side note, we had two groups on the voyage: one from Toyata and another from Park West. Evidently Park West brought VERY expensive artwork (I heard one piece sold for $160,000) onboard and entertained their best customers at this special event. I bet some received a free cruise with those prices [Wink] . The groups did not cause any disruption to the regular passengers.
As this was "The President's Inaugural Cruise" in the med, we did receive some nice perks: the concert at Ephesus, all inclusive beverages and a commemorative photo album.

We stayed three nights post cruise in Athens at the Hilton. We used points for this stay and were happily upgraded to the concierge level with a lovely room that included breakfast and drinks at any time of day. With a view overlooking the Acropolis, this was very nice indeed! I had prearranged tours for our group, the first being to Cape Sounio to see the Temple of Poseidon. Although this was very intersting, our day was not picture perfect (no rain though! The next day we traveled to Delphi and this was a spectatular spot that we would highly recommend. The distance is far, approximately 200 kilometers from Athens, but definately worth it. The ruins were jaw dropping and our day was perfect with blue skies and a mountainous backdrop. The last day we stayed in town and toured the city on foot, seeing many of the sights in our "DK Top Ten Athens" guide.