Seven Seas Mariner Review
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This cruise line gets it right...
We started with 2 extra days in Barcelona after a wonderful Business class flight from Miami. The Hilton Diagonal Mar was very nice, but checkin was a bit messy...after waiting for 30+ minutes I was told by the girl behind the counter that I could have gone to the 15th floor and skipped the line since I was on the executive levels. I was not too happy to hear that AFTER waiting in line, but it wasn't the worst experience so I let it go! Regent reps were at the hotel to make sure we had everything we needed and to offer pre-cruise excursions. We opted for a guided tour through La Sagrada Familia (which saved us hours of waiting online) and a trip to Montserrat...both were totally worth it. Local guides that really know the subject matter adds so much to the visit.
The tour bus brought us to the port and we quickly went through some security measures before climbing aboard the ship at 1PM. We couldn't yet go to our room, but there was an announcement that all the rooms should be available by 2:30PM. There was a buffet and the bars were open! After a quick plate of shrimp and salad, we grabbed a glass of Cava and explored the ship. Although it is a relatively small cruise ship with ~700 customers it certainly felt spacious in and out.
Cabin Review
Horizon View Suite
Perfect room....beautiful views...huge balcony... We were in 1084 which is center-aft, and deck 10 is the highest level with suites on the back of the ship. Perfect! The room was large, with a beautifully appointed marble bathroom stocked with goodies from Hermes and L'Occitane (in case you can't decide)...but the thing we loved most was the over-sized balcony. The outside space was nearly 275 sq feet...large enough for a breakfast table with four chairs and a 2 person chaise lounge plus room to dance in between! The views in port and whilst leaving each destination were worth the price alone!! Three nights of the cruise my wife and I actually fell asleep on the chaise listening to the wake of the ship.Our Butler "Z" was amazing and our steward "Nic" was excellent. They even filled our room with balloons and put rose petals and kissing swans (made of towels) on our bed the night we celebrated our 25th anniversary. We had Proseco and Canapes most evenings before dinner, and enjoyed breakfast on our balcony most mornings. We also had dinner in our room 3 nights out of seven...it was so relaxing and the food and service were excellent.