.......idle jottings

Thanks gcmv,! I'll keep my eyes and ears open for him....does Ho Hum sing like Mick Hucknall also ? :D

 

On another note! Whats happened to Zoltan and the waiter Nick? Or Nicholas?

They were on SD2 last time we sailed with seadream. Nice to see Goran will be a recognizable face, he was such a sweety to us! :)

 

Kathy.

No ho hum sings better than Mick Hucknall ...... well anyone would come to that !

For the last time ho hum looks nothing like Mick Hucknall !

Se what you've started gcmv !

Zoltan is in Budapest, Hungary where he is recovering from a knee operation that went well: he is on crutches (3 days ago). We keep in contact.

Nichola is maitre d' on SD2 in the Caribbean. Posted a picture of him perusing a champagne list in St.Barts......looking as handsome as ever.

Sadly ho hum also looks nothing like Nichola.

Or did you mean Nicholas from Argentina.

He left SD2 a month ago and has kept in contact. He is meandering Europe, last time ho hum heard. Really nice guy.

For those old timers of SD who know Werner, who has been an icon of SD2 ever since Sea Goddess days.

Sadly ho hum must report that his mother died very recently and again we are in contact.

Werner left SD2 to look after his mother about 9 months ago.

He is simply the best ! And a great ambassador for Sea Dream.

Ho hum refers to the main dining salon as Werner's restaurant.

Ho hum refers to the piano bar as Zoltan's Piano Bar.......he creates an intimate and personal atmosphere. Ho hum pops in just to see him !

Congrats on the customer friendly response!

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Cannot take any credit for SD shoreside management's offer.

It was all their own work and ho hum heartily congratulates them .....

By the way, this offer eid extend to ALL the passengers and most will be satisfied......ho hum needs a few assurances of mechanical condition though for future voyages.

Quite a reasonable request methinks in the circumstances...... better receive an answer !

Ho-Hum, did you get the latest special offer that includes the Feb 14th cruise? If you can combine the special offer as well as the compensation offered, they will just about be paying you to cruise. They probably should do that anyway.

Atle phoned ho hum actually and said "Hey super clients of Sea Dream, I am phoning just to tell you about a fantastic offer that I'm sure you would be interested in".

Believe that ? No of course not !

Why do Sea Dream shoreside management do this ?

Selecting the "chosen few" for their sales promotions.

The few may be happy but it leaves the rest, really p...........

For the last time ho hum looks nothing like Mick Hucknall !

Se what you've started gcmv !

Ha, ha - I like the way, ho-hum denies looking like Mick categorically. :D

Herr and Frau gmcv beg to differ! :cool:

So, SD-cruisers of this cc forum board, please check this in the future - whenever you see a tall, handsome and charming man with a Mick-Hucknall-thatch onboard, don't hesitate to talk to him and ask him whether he is infamous ho-hum ... ;)

Btw - ho-hum: See you at the latest 10. November 2015 near Heidelberg:

http://www.eventim.de/simply-red-Tickets.html?affiliate=EVE&doc=artistPages%2Ftickets&fun=artist&action=tickets&key=984413%244176104

Ho Hum,

I am sure you have a lovely voice!? But so does Mick! :D we can decide who's voice is better if you ever do a duet!? lol love me some Simply Red!!

Nick! Was a bald british waiter I believe!? He was so sweet to us on our trip through the Amalfi coast! Gave us directions in some ports . Brought him a bottle of cream lemon cello! Sweet!, sweet guy! Hope to see him again feb 14.

Had so much fun with Zoltan in the piano bar...during our unplanned P.J. Party!

Lasting memories for sure! The adventures are nothing without the people you meet along the way! :)

Ho-Hum, did you get the latest special offer that includes the Feb 14th cruise? If you can combine the special offer as well as the compensation offered, they will just about be paying you to cruise. They probably should do that anyway.

@Jim,

Special offer? Would that apply if we have already booked months ago? Does not seem fair if we cannot? Hmmmm.

Trying to post a picture? I don't have an URL. I have an ipad!!? LOL

Ho hum, do you keep in touch with Felix? Can you bribe him to return to SeaDream...he always had me laughing!

Ho hum, do you keep in touch with Felix? Can you bribe him to return to SeaDream...he always had me laughing!

I'll second that. Really miss Felix. I think I heard he was working for Seabourn, but that was a while ago. Apparently when he had recovered enough from his injuries to go back to work, there were no openings on SD at that time. But this is just info I picked up on the ship; I don't know it for a fact.

Ho Hum,

 

 

 

Nick! Was a bald british waiter I believe!? He was so sweet to us on our trip through the Amalfi coast! Gave us directions in some ports . Brought him a bottle of cream lemon cello! Sweet!, sweet guy! Hope to see him again feb 14.

 

 

HO Hum,

 

JAY!!! Jay was his name!!!.... NOT Nick!

I had to go back and read my trip report to find his name.

Also!, is Jeff the cruise director still around? Have not heard any mention of him lately!?

So Ho Hum - Idle Jottings is now number one on Seadream forum! Open the champagne - oh I forgot you already did that (along with a bottle of red) at 12.10pm today!!!

WOW!! Impressive!! Congratulations!! :D

Hello BlondieSD.

So Ho Hum - Idle Jottings is now number one on Seadream forum! Open the champagne - oh I forgot you already did that (along with a bottle of red) at 12.10pm today!!!

Welcome Blondie. Now maybe we will get the REAL story. :D

Ho hum, do you keep in touch with Felix? Can you bribe him to return to SeaDream...he always had me laughing!

I'll second that. Really miss Felix. I think I heard he was working for Seabourn, but that was a while ago. Apparently when he had recovered enough from his injuries to go back to work, there were no openings on SD at that time. But this is just info I picked up on the ship; I don't know it for a fact.

Sorry guys ho hum knows nothing of Felix. Anybody out there with news ?

Ho Hum,

 

Nick! Was a bald british waiter I believe!? He was so sweet to us on our trip through the Amalfi coast! Gave us directions in some ports . Brought him a bottle of cream lemon cello! Sweet!, sweet guy! Hope to see him again feb 14.

 

HO Hum,

 

JAY!!! Jay was his name!!!.... NOT Nick!

I had to go back and read my trip report to find his name.

Also!, is Jeff the cruise director still around? Have not heard any mention of him lately!?

 

Finally you got there ! Sorry no news of Jay. Yes a lovely guy.

 

Jeff is living and working in California with his brother Jim. He is in contact from time to time. The son of one of the Captains visited him a month ago.

Sadly ho hum thinks it is unlikely he will return.

As much as the passengers liked him, the crew did too.

He is one of the best storytellers ever.

He brought two of his sisters onboard once. They were both gorgeous.

One of the very best evenings onboard with Jim and his sisters.

Ho-Hum, did you get the latest special offer that includes the Feb 14th cruise? If you can combine the special offer as well as the compensation offered, they will just about be paying you to cruise. They probably should do that anyway.

Who on earth can figure out shoreside management's haphazard approach to:

Promotions - Sales - Upgrades

It is just crazy, arbitrary, confusing and very badly run.

Dont they have a proper database of clients ? No obviously.

What ever happened to supremo Club adirector appointed to look after us ? Nothing.

So sad! That we will not get to see Jay and Jeff... :( they both made our first Seadream experience a special one! We went on the chefs walking tour with Jeff. What a character !! Had us laughing the whole time. Real sweet guy!

Too Bad about Jay not being around either... We were really hoping to see him again. I suppose the cruising life only lasts so long?

Sorry guys ho hum knows nothing of Felix. Anybody out there with news ?

Not current news but in 2013 we were celebrating an anniversary on St Bart's and found out SD would be in port one day - so we went down to the dock to greet Christophe and Goran who were tendering over to spend a little down time on the island. While we were waiting for them a tender from another ship dropped off a familiar face - it was Felix! We hugged and he said he was now working for Seaborn. Didn't ask him about why he was no longer with SD - felt it was his business - but he looked good and was his usual cheerful, friendly self. Always a favorite of ours too.

RATINGS

4 - Cabin (air conditioning and soot problems)

10 - Housekeeping (deserve more for extra cleaning)

10 - Kitchen (even despite melted ice cream)

10 - Restaurant Services

10 - Concierge

10 - Spa

10 - Bar Services & Sommelier

4 - Overall impression of yacht

5 - Overall impression of voyage

HIGHLIGHTS

- crew

- Nichola & waiting crew (adore and respect them all)

- cuisine, Alvan soups

- Concierge & Shop lady (Rachel, Reyna & Kath)

- Sanja and housekeepers

- Cabin bed

LOW MOMENTS

- air-conditioning failure

- soot on chairs resulting with soot on clothes

- other mechanical failings to fridges, ice machine, burst pipe (small leak)

STAND OUT CREW (the whole of the crew are of course amazing but...)

- Chief Engineer Bogdan and all engineering crew (WINNER)

- Frank (sommelier)

- Rachel, Reyn & Kath (concierge & shop)

- suhermann (laundry master)

- Tomasz (chef)

- Nichola (maitre d')

- Tanja (spa manager

- Jamie (hotel manager)

CONCLUSION & WHAT HO HUM LEARNT

- this ship was in the worst condition ever experienced possibly due to a lack of maintenance at dry docks and the faults are occurring quick and fast. The crew do their best but the big decisions by the Owner seem to be avoided. Have the recent repair works remedied the main problems regarding soot and air-conditioning ? Quite probably but we have no definitive information.

- the weather was great

- again met up with old friends, made even better connections t'boot and the passengers were ALL generally a friendly bunch. That's SD

- again coming on SD you were relaxed straight away especially if you had done it before. Everything is taken care of. But now you wonder what is going to go wrong !

- the crew are put under tremendous strain when there are mechanical failures of this type as passengers are un-happy, they have to work harder and their conditions are twice as bad.

- shoreside management offered generous compensation for these faults soon after the voyage, probably due to the record number of complaints but at least they did something, so we must be grateful for that but what of future mechanical problems ? Another set of problems and .......

COMING UP: What you have all been waiting for ......the one and only......Voyage Awards !

!!!!! VOYAGE AWARDS !!!!

RUDEST REMARK/ACTION AWARDS

HER !

Miss Snooty Drawers !

But the husband came in close behind: Mr. Sniffy Pants !

Simply ghastly, the pair of them. Both dressed in clothes out of the late 1950s.

Aaggghhhh !

And she looked so miserable and condescending: ALWAYS !

Charm offensive was quickly rebuked, so complete "blanking" only option left.

Mr. Sniffy Pants did recover a tad and actually smiled.....there is hope.

When ho hum was told Miss Snooty Drawers always makes a splash, ho hum thought that would be a good idea, let's try it now !

Other than that the passengers were very nice indeed, as xing people invariably are and created a pleasant atmosphere despite the appalling conditions.

FUNNIEST MOMENT

Crew A

During a trivia quiz which ho hum somehow "got roped into" the gentleman quiz master asked "What are the character's names in the film "The Three Musketeers" ?

Ho hum says, I think you'll find it was a book first.

"Really" was the reply

Yes really !

Crew A

Again in trivia, the same quiz master asked who was the detective based in Oxford and drove a Jaguar.

Answer Inspector Mouse. Inspector Mouse !

It's Inspector Morse.

Again "Really" was the reply.

Yes really !

Inspector Mouse...ha.

OUT OF THE BALL PARK MOMENT/S

Mrs.Beignet Boy

What a voice, what a singing voice ! Simply astounding. And all the right moves t'boot !

Captivating to watch, captivating to listen to. Amazing lady and so nice too......that goes for BB too. A nice southern gentleman always with a genial smile and great vibe.

(Ho hum would like to assure you again these are genuine situations: well maybe not Inspector Clouseau but ho hum was definitely pushed by passenger who later left for Paris with his gorgeous moll).

Miss Snooty Drawers (or Mrs maybe) and Mr Sniffy Pants! Love it. I've met so many Snooty and Sniffers I've built up a resistance and I'm now immune. Can't catch it. However we really should feel sorry for them as they have obviously have a condition called a 'personality Bypass'.

Ho Hum, have a look on the DM website. There's an article covering the funniest place names in the UK. Is the Posh Part on it?

I'd post a link however some are a bit rude but I think they're funny:D

Miss Snooty Drawers (or Mrs maybe) and Mr Sniffy Pants! Love it. I've met so many Snooty and Sniffers I've built up a resistance and I'm now immune. Can't catch it. However we really should feel sorry for them as they have obviously have a condition called a 'personality Bypass'.

Ho Hum, have a look on the DM website. There's an article covering the funniest place names in the UK. Is the Posh Part on it?

I'd post a link however some are a bit rude but I think they're funny:D

Missed the article unfortunately Poppy.

Many years ago ho hum and blondie began a tour of the "Golden Triangle" of India (Delhi-Agra-Jaipur).

We had done it a few times and on previous occasions had stayed in Delhi but this time we wanted to head out from the airport and bypass Delhi altogether: hell to get in to, hell to bet out of.

So blondie found a B&B outside Delhi in a "village" called Tikli.

It was off the main road at the bottom of a lane, so it became known as "Tikli Bottom" (sounds like tickley bottom).

It was the name that caught her eye and when she found out it was run by a British ex-diplomatic couple who had lived and worked in Delhi all their professional lives, we guessed it would probably be "pukha stuff".

It was charming. A huge Lutyen style bungalow complex style offering four bedrooms for guests. The couple were in their late 70's and were utterly charming, had many many stories and were very interesting t'boot.

The property had a water buffalo farm and made prize winning mozzarella, which they sold in Delhi. The chief cow hand was utterly devoted to the couple and it was very touching to see.

The B&B was a roaring success from the first day as they had so many contacts in India and Delhi in particular and many visiting diplomats from other embassies would stay.

Tikli was near the booming hi-tech industrial region of Northern India, so this too added to their success.

Ho hum loves Indian food and especially vegetarian food (which accounts for 95% of all restaurants in India let alone 99% of ordinary households) and as there was a fledgling wine industry (now quite significant), ho hum was really looking forward to lunch on the first full day.

Well "knock me down with a feather" when a traditional Sunday lunch emerges: roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, roasted potatoes, brussel sprouts, "neeps and tattoes" and gravy !

There were 10 at lunch including our distinguished guests and there were 4 staff on hand who were most agreeable and efficient.

The luncheon conversation was most interesting and we all dressed for it t'boot.

Afterwards the host asked if we wished a tour of the property and smallholding among which were his prized herd of water buffalo. Now cows in India are honoured, as anyone can testify who has visited India. Well these creatures were .... err... real beauties !

Next was the garden ....... roses everywhere. It was a peek into a wholly different world.

Later blondie asks the hosts, why (at their age) would they want to run a B&B and farm plus maintain such a large garden and with 10 staff !

"Well my dears, we had a choice after my retirement, to return to Blighty and get a small place in Tunbridge Wells then having to find a Residential Home or just stay on in India. We had many staff at the embassy to whom we were attached too. We decided to stay, we could'nt face the confines of a smaller home and the weather. Here we are essentially looked after. The staff run everything now. There is the occasional minor official to deal with but if there is a problem, I usually say I will refer the matter to their headquarters in Delhi adding that they know the head of department really quite well !

We would also miss the lavish socialising we had in Delhi and this place gives us the opportunity to meet all sorts of people from all over the world. We always come out for lunch and it is always good fun".

Well this couple were amazing. They would live out their lives here surrounded by staff who had become very loyal to them. You cant say the staff became friends, it is not like that in India but their devotion to the couple was most evident especially the head cow man whom the couple had taken in as a boy who could not read and write and here he was now head cow hand and practically ran the place with the lady housekeeper and cook. He and the owner's were great followers of Mahatma Gandhi.

Tikli Bottom was once in the countryside and being encroached on by India's equivalent of "Silicon Valley" we often wonder what has happened to it as the expansion of India's economy has been meteoric and especially after Modi was elected (thanks to that, our saving investments have had a bit of a boost but still a bit wary of the politics. More skirmishes in Kashmir reported).

We loved our time there and we loved the couple and the staff. A truly indelible memory.

And that is the story of Tikli Bottom: quite endering n'est pas ?

Photo of owners below.

Miss Snooty Drawers (or Mrs maybe) and Mr Sniffy Pants! Love it. I've met so many Snooty and Sniffers I've built up a resistance and I'm now immune. Can't catch it. However we really should feel sorry for them as they have obviously have a condition called a 'personality Bypass'.

Ho Hum, have a look on the DM website. There's an article covering the funniest place names in the UK. Is the Posh Part on it?

I'd post a link however some are a bit rude but I think they're funny:D

So yes ho hum found it and yes we are very near **** Bottom !

And you ? Ho hum's guessing you are somewhere twixt Bonar Road and Spankers Hill. Haha

It's so British, is'nt it ?

Greetings from the Balinese bed on SDI. After a rainy embarkation in Barbados, life is very good. We had a very nice day in Bequia today and are currently sailing to Dominica. Seas have calmed, drinks are flowing, and thankfully "It's Raining Men" has already been played. Cheers to all and let me know if you have any questions.

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