First time cruiser on Regent and all in all we were very satisfied. The Mariner is a lovely well-designed ship. Her crew is delightful, the entertainment quite good and the food is excellent. The all-inclusive wines and liquors were top shelf and I rarely ordered a premium bottle with dinner. We were in cabins 732 & 734 which are a little tired. But, the AC worked, the bed was comfy and the shower rocks. They may well be some of the best located cabins on the ship.
We arrived in Venice 2 days early and stayed at the Bonvecchiati Palace, a nice hotel tucked between the Rialto Bridge and St. Marks; meals were at the sister hotel and they were quite good. We toured on our own and planned to tour the day of departure but, and this is a big but, Regents planning department pulled a major fail, both here and in Istanbul.
Redentore is the 500 year old celebration of the end of the plague and they build a pontoon bridge from Zattere to the Redentore Church. Also hundreds of party boats cover the lagoon. This in turn closes the passenger terminal and redirects us to the commercial terminal which required water taxis, buses and a long hike in the heat of the day. This was all done pretty efficiently but consumed most of the day. It also precluded the traditional cruise by the Lagoon and St. Mark’s.
Great cabin, a little worn. Wonderful location, walk-in closet, shower, port side.