Sad but we are almost at the end of the cruise. We have been fortunate and it has been sunny and warm every day. We arrived early into Anchorage last week. There is some great shopping there and no sales tax. We rented a car and drove to Whittier stopping along the way at Crow Creek Mine where my two children panned for gold. We stopped at some of the interesting little towns along the way, but unfortunately as we approached the area around the Portage and Byron Glaciers where we had hoped to hike, it was pouring down rain. We spent the night in Whittier at a small condo, went down on the dock where we caught a fishing boat coming in with fresh salmon. We bought some fish and cooked it at the condo. We ate it while we watched videos about Prince William Sound. It was wonderful beginning to our cruise.

Next morning we woke up to beautiful sunny weather and were able to hike up to see the Portage Glacier at a trail right near the Whittier tunnel. It was not a difficult hike, less than 2 hours roundtrip but straight up the mountain. Beautiful views of Portage Glacier and one other. We were able to drop off the luggage at noon, go to the nearby AVIS to drop off the car and were able to embark immediately. They were serving lunch in La Veranda so we sat on the back deck and watched all the fishing and Prince William Sound excursion boats come and go. It was such a beautiful day that there were a number of kayakers out in the sound. This is a very busy little town when the weather is great and people are out participating in fishing and water sports.

There are a number of new and old faces among the officers. Captain Philippe Delavault has been wonderful getting us in close to the glaciers and in particular at the Hubbard Glacier turned the ship around 360 degrees twice so that both the port and starboard sides could get the view. He also turned the ship around in Tracy Arm. Rogerio Guerreiro is the Food and Beverage Manager and has sailed on all the Regent ships including the Song of Flower and the Diamond. There is a new cruise director, John Barron. He has been a Peter Grey Terhune dancer for several years and recently became cruise director. He is a nice young man from England, has great energy and had a wonderful show last evening where he sang a lot of familiar tunes. He is very personable and appears to truly want to create a positive experience. His wife, Lynsay, also from England, is the social hostess and the two are a great addition. The assistant cruise director is Dionne Lochner from Cape Town, S. Africa. She was a dancer for Peter Grey Terhune but most recently was the Assistant Cruise Director on the World cruise. She also is very friendly. The hotel director is Engelbert Wartenberg, from Saltzburg, Austria. He is new to Regent as of July 2006 but had sailed on the QE2 for a number of years and appears to be committed to providing the best possible experience. I know that John will be the cruise director on MUSH and he is looking forward to meeting the MUSHERS.

There is a guest lecturer onboard Dr. Robert Clark, who has a wealth of information that he shares as we pass through channels, cruise the glacier areas, etc. He commentaries are heard in the Observation lounge, on deck, or on Channel 2 in your suite. He also has given several lectures on the area and the glaciers.

There were three local Klingit natives that got on and commentated during our sailing in the Hubbard Glacier. They were dressed in their native clothing and were quite interesting.

There are 77 children on board, but they are hardly noticeable. They have different age groups with leaders that have planned activities throughout the day so the children appear to be entertained. They did mention that after August 15 there are virtually no children as they are heading back to school.

From what I have heard so far the whale watching in Juneau and the helicopter/dog sledding in Skagway have received the highest reviews. I spoke with several men that have been salmon fishing that also were quite pleased. They said they caught fish which they brought back to the ship and the chef prepared for them for dinner that evening. They also had enough to ship home. Sounds like a productive trip. My children had a great time at the rock climbing in Skagway. There is some good shopping in Skagway for shoppers.

Today as we sail towards Ketchikan it is a bit gray, windy, and cooler but we have been fortunate with the weather as this is a rainforest and some of these ports get over 150 inches of rain per year. I always think of Central or S. America when I think of rainforests and had forgotten how much rain this area gets. So MUSHERS be sure to bring rain gear, but I think you will have a great time. This is a beautiful area and the people are very friendly and helpful. It is amazing how many people from the lower 48 come and work here for the summer. We met rafting guides in Juneau from Houston, the rock climbing guides were from Utah, and many of the dog sledders were from Minnesota.

Susan, great seamail. What a wealth of information! These details should have the MUSHer's salivating for their cruise.

Great reporting Susan! Capt. Philippe, Rogerio, John and Lynsay are all just great. We're thrilled that they'll be on MUSH with us. Of course we're praying for sunny, dry days but we'll be prepared for whateve we get. Thanks for taking the time to write such a great report.

Susan, thanks so much for letting us know how things are going on the Mariner! We MUSHer's are just counting down the days.

Captain Phillipe, Rogerio and John and Lynsay - great people.

Do not forget Dionne so glad she is on board she is South African for the ROARERS and the ROAR 2'ers.

Great report, Susan! Thanks for sending us that!

Masaki

Susan, it sounds like you are having a wonderful time! Your weather sounds great, I hope it keeps up for you!

Susan, super report, hope your kids are enjoying the cruise as much as you..r/wes

Wes,
The children have had a great time. Their youth counselor is from Montreal and very good with kids. They have had galley tours, bridge tours, shuffleboard tournaments, dodge ball, and even a Mr. and Miss Alaska pagent. I am amazed at how well behaved all the children have been. The adults have been noiser than the children.

I have found out that the Hotel Director will not be on MUSH. I will find out his replacement and post later.

We have beautiful weather for the Inside Passage. The water is like glass. We have been very fortunate and only had rain in Ketchikan, but enough that they had to cancel many of the tours. I did speak with some men that went fishing that did quite well.

The entertainment has been quite good and varied. My favorite, a very talented pianist, is leaving to get married so unfortunately he will not be here for MUSH.

This afternoon they are having a show of Beatles tunes and this evening a crew talent show. Both sound interesting.

I received the nicest farewell note today from the Assistant Cruise Director. She and I had a great conversation the other evening at the Society Party about S. Africa and also diving on the Paul Gauguin. Her boyfriend is the chef on the Paul Gauguin. She is such a nice and genuine person and I am glad she will be here for MUSH.

Gotta run to the Beatles show.

Susan,
Great reports!!! So glad you have enjoyed your cruise and thanks for posting!

Dionne is a treasure you are all going to adore her. One of the best. We have a great staff waiting for us on MUSH.

We at B&K are waiting for Susan to return, we miss her when she is gone. There is a huge bundle of energy missing when she is away from the office.

The Beatles show was fun but the Crew Capers was a show not to be missed. The crew appeared to have a good time and the passengers certainly enjoyed the show.

Richard Fenn is the new hotel director. He boarded during our cruise and is set to take over next cruise. He is new to Regent and from the UK.

The dining room manager is Arjan Scheepers and while I had not sailed with him before he is very accommodating.

Now that I am back home sleeping in my own bed, I realize I forgot to mention how great the new beds are. They have a great pillow top and quite comfortable. The Annichini linens are quite nice and the bathrobes very thick and luxurious. Both of ours were XL and quite generous. Probably will droop on Ngaire she is so small.

It was interesting to hear comments from passengers on other ships about the new Regent logo. They had trouble reading the name as it is painted on the smokestack in rather delicate cursive, the same as on the new brochures and mailings. We were in port each day with at least one other ship if not several but never really experienced any crowds which was nice.

I second Susan's comments about Crew Capers. It is on the last day of the cruise at 6:15, I think. Do go and see the crew do their song and dance routines. It was great!

Yes, the linens and robes were wonderful.

I also agree with Beth and Susan about Crew Capers. The rendition of " The Impossible Dream"
had me teary eyed.
Sandra

Sandra,
It is amazing you mentioned about being teary eyed when the crew sang the Impossible Dream. I had the same reaction.

I forgot to also mention that Regent provided a very nice Destinations Brochure in our cabin that were port writeups from Fodor's that included port highlights and a map.

I will be interested to see the Destinations brochure on our next cruise. Last cruise, I was not impressed with the Fodor's information (I really liked what they used to do each day in Passages with the port info, local street map that you could fold up and put in your purse). But things have been a changin' so maybe now it is better.

Susan mentioned Robert Clark as a guest lecturer. He usually fills in for Terry at the start of the Alaska season and on various other cruises. I've been with him on 2 Alaska trips and once when the Voyager visited Midway Island. Robert grew up in Alaska and has a wealth of knowledge. His presentation isn't as spontaneous as Terry's, but you learn as much. The two are probably the best lecturers in their fields on Regent. Since Terry isn't scheduled, I hope you have Robert on Mush instead of one of Regent's tour directors.

Susan,
Does Robert Clark give his commentary through out the day from the bridge like Terry does?

I hope the Fodors information has been updated. As Olivia mentioned there have been times when the Fodors information inside Passages or as a handout at the tour desk was so outdated and merely photocopied from an "old" Fodors book.

Arjan Scheepers is not only accommodating...he's also drop dead gorgeous! :) Crew Capers is such a very special show, just love it!!

Thanks so much for giving us a pre-MUSH update!!

Any word on why Regent hired a Hotel Director from outside the company? Who has left/retired? Why didn't they promote from within?

thanks,

Steph is on vacation and I'm assuming Martin is too? Don't know anymore Marc.

Marc, of course you will not find those answers here! Perhaps this new HD is a "star" from another galaxy! I find those Brits to have a sense of humor quite akin to yours, nice and dry!
jbittle's assessment about our probable MUSH commentator sounds good, if we cannot have Terry Breen aboard.

I am one of those people who can have fun with any group of officers aboard. I have never taken a cruise longer than 14 days, and always with family or friends. I just never expect that the senior officers are going to make a difference to me except in their "behind the scenes" work. It is really not important to me whether they are out and about, socializing or whatever. They have enough work to do without that! So long as things go well, and whatever activities they plan keep everyone happy, I will keep coming back!

Olivia, I agree about the behind the scenes being the important part; especially for hotel director. That is why I am surprised they would bring one in from outside; not someone the crew, or at least a large part of the crew, was familiar with.

:ch: :ch: Well said, Olivia - I feel the same way you do. Not to say that I haven't enjoyed some of their company during a dinner or two, but, it's not what necessarily make the cruise a success.

Hi Susan!

I enjoyed your report.
My parents and I will be sailing the Mariner
on the December 18 2006 Mexico christmas cruise.
(You booked it for us!!)

Do you know how much of a makeover the suites will be getting on the Mariner? I understand they will add flat screen TV's to each suite.

I don't dislike the suites the way they are now, I was just wondering if Regent plans a full floor to ceiling re-do, or just adding some things here and there.

Did anyone elaborate any info with you?

Just wondering

See Sic--(Randy)

Marcie,
Robert Clark does give commentary from the bridge just like Terry does.

Randy,
They are putting in the tv's but it is also my understanding they are redoing bed coverings, bed skirts, etc. as well as some furnishings. Just an update. They are continually painting, but of course doing drydock they are able to do so much more. I will check and see what is in the works prior to your sailing and get back with you.