Seven Seas Mariner: first all-suite/all-veranda vessel sets standards of spaciousness - cruise ship

Cruise Travel, May-June, 2002 by Theodore W. Scull

Latitudes, with a set sampler menu, started out as more Asian than it is now, and choices include a fois gras mousse, crab and avocado in a light curry sauce, tomato bisque, pan-fried lobster in a lemon grass gravy, and beef tenderloin in salsa. The setting is South Seas Oriental with black lacquer chairs, large side windows with slatted venetian blinds, and walls decorated with wooden masks and headdresses.

For breakfast and lunch, Compass Rose offers table service and La Veranda a buffet with sheltered outdoor seating aft at wooden tables and chairs set under an awning. An outdoor grill is sited here. The latter's buffet stations are far too cramped and limited in selection compared to the company's other ships, particularly the Radisson Diamond, which excels in this department. Inside the etched-glass doors, stylish seating uses high-back wooden chairs set around tables under a coffered ceiling, with the inner wall hung with alluring black-framed Cote d'Azur travel posters.

The smallish spa is run by Judith Jackson, an improvement over Steiners, with no pressure to buy products. On this same deck amidships, there is a gallery of high-end shop's, plus two specialty boutiques placed at two corners of the Atrium landings, and the Photo Shop.

The open-shelf Library offers a generous selection of hardbacks, reference books, and videos with tables to spread out an atlas and comfortable seating for reading newspapers and magazines. Club.com is the very plainly decorated internet center with 14 terminals (three more in the adjacent library), but offering very low charges for sending and checking e-mail, plus browsing and enjoying computer games. Computer instruction is excellent, free, and very popular. The long rectangular card room also serves as a conference center.

Deck space centers around the lido swimming pool, three whirlpools, slatted wooden tables and chairs, and a 10-stool outdoor bar. A mezzanine above features a jogging track and additional deck space fore and aft. Outdoor sports include paddle tennis, shuffleboard, and golf-driving nets.

The all-suite/all-veranda accommodations measure from 301 to 1,580 square feet, including veranda. Paneling is light-wood surfaces and the fabric colors are gold, orange rust, and light green. Deluxe suites are the most numerous and have separate bedroom and lounge areas that are slightly partitioned (and can be curtained), walk-in closets, and marble baths with tubs and showers. Curiously, the baths and closets are smaller than on the Seven Seas Navigator, something that is expected to be rectified on the upcoming Seven Seas Voyager.

Penthouse suites, the next level up, are somewhat misnamed. They are larger, 449 square feet, but not all are located on a higher deck, as the designation might warrant. They feature a roomy partitioned lounge with L-shaped couch, two lounge chairs, and a glass-top table. The 73-square-foot teak deck balcony has rather ordinary white plastic chairs and a low table. Accommodations increase in spaciousness in the higher categories, and these offer butler service. Some suites will take a third person, and the two-bedroom master suites accommodate up to five passengers.