Regent Seven Seas Mariner trip report

So far, I have been pleasantly surprised by my Regent Seven Seas cruise to Alaska. I’ll talk more about the Alaska ports in a future blog, but for now I’d like to tell you about the two most important aspects of cruising: the rooms and the food. You’ll have to read my upcoming article for the full scoop.

My suite on the Seven Seas Mariner is humongous. It feels like a real hotel room rather than a cramped cruise cabin. The stateroom is neither the largest nor the smallest, but it has a separate sitting area, a walk-in closet, and a spacious bathroom. The only thing we’re missing is a coffee machine. Even the cheapest suites on this ship have balconies and sitting areas. Therefore, no one has a bad room.

I even have butler service. My travel companion and I had no idea we were getting a butler or what to do with one. Mostly, our butler brings us food. He brings us room service when we miss lunch and he brings us hors d’oeuvres every evening. And unlike many waiters throughout my life, he gets the fact that I eat only vegetarian food and some fish. And we haven’t had the same snack twice. I don’t know what other people do with butlers—let me know if you have good ideas.

As for food, I’ve been quite impressed with the cuisine in the Compass Rose main restaurant and the La Veranda buffet. Both my companion and I hated our meal in the specialty Le Cordon Bleu restaurant, Signatures (clearly we’re not that posh), and heard mediocre things about the Asian specialty restaurant, Latitudes. If you can find room for a between-meals snack, the 4 p.m. tea features yummy finger sandwiches, scones, and desserts. For continental breakfast with a view, the Observation Lounge is the place to be.

So I’m eating and sleeping well, and you will too on this ship. In a few days, I’ll share my views on the itinerary.