.......idle jottings

I was on that cruise but I did not see him fishing! But Jim, I agree with Lois, I'm sure he looked good fishing! He is the Rock Star Captain!

Well, I didn't see him fish either (I don't do mornings :)) but he told me about it. And, yes, he would have looked VERY good :D

Vandrefalk

Ladies, ladies........control yourselves please !

So it seems SD voyages are chosen not for time of year or even itineraries but who is captaining the boat !!

Haha

Russell Brand was rewarded by the Plain English Campaign last week for his tide of non-stop gibberish, packed with obscure words and sentences that never know when to stop.

Brand won the annual Foot in Mouth prize for this definition of his politics: ‘I felt very connected to activism — particularly activism that feels loaded with potential. Not the oppositional activism that seems like there’s a stasis around it — earnestly sincere, but a monolith.’

The comedian is in impressive company when it comes to talking tosh.

For two decades, the prize has been awarded to the great and the good, from George W. Bush to Peter Mandelson.

But who said what? See how you do in the Great Gibberish Quiz.

Answers at the bottom

1. ‘Perhaps we need not more people looking round more corners but the same people looking round more corners more thoroughly, to avoid the small things detracting from the big things the Prime Minister is getting right.’

A John Prescott defending Blair.

B Peter Mandelson defending Gordon Brown.

C Bernard Ingham defending Margaret Thatcher.

2. ‘Look, I’ve got my old pledge card a bit battered and crumpled, we said we’d provide more turches, churches, teachers and we have. I can remember when people used to say the Japanese are better than us, the Germans are better than us, the French are better than us. Well it’s great to be able to say we’re better than them. And the Tories are you remembering what I’m remembering boom and bust negative equity, I mean are you thinking what I’m thinking I’m remembering, it’s all a bit wonky isn’t it?’

A John Prescott, in defence of New Labour.

B Ed Balls, on the ropes against Jeremy Paxman.

C Ed Miliband, in his first television appearance.

3. ‘I think that [the film] was very deep. I think it was deep in the way that it was very light. I think lightness has to come from a very deep place if it’s true lightness.’

A Kenneth Branagh on playing Henry V.

B Hugh Bonneville on his new film, Paddington.

C Alicia Silverstone on her hit comedy, Clueless.

4. ‘I believe in an America where millions of Americans believe in an America that’s the America millions of Americans believe in. That’s the America I love.’

A Mitt Romney trying to become President of an America that’s the America millions of Americans believe in.

B American spy Edward Snowden, who leaked thousands of secrets, pleading not to be deported.

C Tony Blair, bidding for an after-dinner speaking contract in the States.

5. ‘I hope you leave here and walk out and say: “What did he say?”’

A George W. Bush, showing how memorable his rhetoric was.

B John Prescott, claiming that he is in fact very easy to understand.

C Ex-England manager Fabio Capello, boasting about his English was after his first lessons.

6. ‘[Wayne Rooney] is inexperienced, but he’s experienced in terms of what he’s been through.’

A Louis van Gaal, on becoming manager of Manchester United.

B Former England football manager Steve McClaren, on his star player.

C Paul Gascoigne, in one of his rare pieces of football punditry.

7. ‘We offer the party as a big tent. How we do that — recognise the big tent philosophy — with the platform, the preamble to the platform or whatnot, that remains to be seen. But that message will have to be articulated with great clarity.’

A Nick Clegg on becoming Deputy Prime Minister.

B Former U.S. Vice-President Dan Quayle, on the Republican Party.

C Russell Brand on his plans for the evening.

8. ‘I could not fail to disagree with you less.’

A George W. Bush in a live TV debate with Al Gore.

B Andrew Mitchell, on being cross-examined in the Plebgate case.

C Boris Johnson on Have I Got News For You?.

9. ‘I know who I am. No one else knows who I am. If I was a giraffe and somebody said I was a snake, I’d think: “No, actually I am a giraffe.” ’

A Michael Jackson, on being accused of deliberately changing his skin colour.

B Richard Gere on the different characters he assumes on screen.

C David Mellor, when it was suggested he was a snob.

10. ‘When it comes to words, I have a uniqueness that I find almost impossible in terms of art — and it’s my words that actually make my art quite unique.’

A Tracey Emin, defining the meaning of her pictures.

B Andy Warhol on his advertisement-based art.

C Churchill on his paintings.

11. ‘These balls now — they literally explode off your feet.’

A Trevor Brooking, remembering the footballs of the 1970s.

B Footballer Jamie Redknapp, taking inspiration from the great David Coleman, the gaffe-prone sports commentator.

C Roy Hodgson, explaining why England didn’t win the World Cup.

12. ‘At this moment in time, if that changes in years to come, I don’t know, but what happens here today and changes as we go along, that is part of life’s learning and part of your inner beliefs.’

A David Icke, on the role of aliens in British politics.

B Ex-England manager Glenn Hoddle, explaining to Trevor McDonald his theories about disabled people.

C Stephen Hawking on how the universe is developing.

13. ‘I love England, especially the food. There’s nothing I like more than a lovely bowl of pasta.’

A Frankie Dettori on his adoptive country.

B Naomi Campbell on why she stays so thin.

C Alex Salmond, when accused of disliking the English.

14. ‘Ideas which stress the growing importance of international co-operation and new theories of economic sovereignty across a wide range of areas, macro-economics, trade, the environment, the growth of post neo-classical endogenous growth theory and the symbiotic relationships between government and investment in people and infrastructures — a new understanding of how labour markets really work and constructive debate over the meaning and implications of competitiveness at the level of individuals, the firm or the nation and the role of government in fashioning modern industrial policies which focus on nurturing competitiveness.’

A Gordon Brown on his approach to economics.

B Russell Brand in his new book.

C Alan Sugar on the principles behind Dragons’ Den.

Answers

1. B 2. A 3. C 4. A 5. A 6. B 7. B 8. C 9. B 10. A 11. B 12. B 13. B 14. A

Sorry not all of you may know the British characters but it's still funny nevertheless.

Here are some rants that have been publicly tweeted.

RETAIL WOES

This woman is kicking off in Starbucks because there are no more Chai Tea Lattes.

Traumatic day: Farrow & Ball [posh paint manufacturer] were out of Hague Blue paint!

Went to TWO Waitroses and they were both out of veal!

Hell is . . . when you ask for a flat white but they make you a latte.

The best part of working in a bakery is watching adults break down because we’re out of their favourite sourdough.

Appears to be a ricotta shortage in West London. Nightmare.

FOODIE FLUNKS

I just burnt myself eating baked Camembert.

My chicken Caesar salad has no croutons in it.

No Shiraz so had to use Merlot in the beef bourguignon.

OH GOD, I just hate it when I put too much oil in my blini!

Hell is . . . when the only salt you have in your cupboard is smoked Maldon sea salt.

Have actually run out of marmalade bought at the local church fete. Disaster.

I can’t find my garlic press!

I really don’t like quinoa. There, I’ve said it.

TERRIBLE TOTS

(Six-year-old) son’s rugby coach asks team to choose team name after something green. They chose ‘pistachios’.

School email asking whether I want to opt in or out of my child to learn Mandarin?

[i am] definitely the only kid in Notts/Bucks who can’t ski.

Terribly posh kids on my train complaining to their dad that they’ve to sign a card for their retiring live-in cleaner.

My inbox is full of parents denying all knowledge of another child’s missing cello.

Do I give kids ciabatta rolls or leftover garlic croutons to feed the ducks?

‘Let me eat my couscous in peace’ — Nina, age four.

Seven-year-old girl in Whole Foods loudly complaining about the lack of swordfish.

ANIMAL TRAGIC

Gaah! Dog walker has lost my spare house keys.

Just walked in on my mum hand-feeding avocado to the dog and the cat.

Why does the dog like to eat the goose-down duvet?

Hell is . . . Seeing a dog chew and initially believing it to be a cinnamon stick.

... When the cat decides to chill in the champagne ice bucket.

Cat was ignoring pure chicken breast cat food so I’ve mixed a tin of Waitrose tuna into it to con her into eating it.

My sausage dog seems depressed.

FESTIVE FRETTING

Last night’s Xmas baking meltdown: haven’t got a rolling pin, so have to use a bottle of Bollinger instead.

Hell is . . . regifting that panettone you never saw the point of to the person who gave it to you.

My cyclone vacuum is still clogged with Nordic pin needles — will the stress of Christmas never end?!

My mother is furious that my Grandma bought a Christmas cake from Aldi . . . ‘It wasn’t even the award-winning one.’

Would it be too middle-class to ask to have my teeth whitened for Christmas?

My mulled wine isn’t home-mulled.

KEEPING UP APPEARANCES

Need to get my Barbour jacket re-waxed.

Hell is . . . Feeling like you’re cheating on your Hunters [upmarket wellies] every time you wear your Le Chameaus [still more upmarket wellies].

Found my self swapping stories on how best to cook quinoa this morning. What have I become?

Couldn’t possibly go to yoga without my yoga mat, so have taken the night off.

Overheard: ‘I couldn’t get the Jag through the gate this morning, it was only half open.’

Just found myself asking someone if they only had one shower in their house.

At my local Aldi store ladies from Hale [a wealthy village in Cheshire] bring M&S bags to put cheap food in.

DOMESTIC DISASTERS

My Mum: ‘Unfortunately, our friends came round last night and they also brought profiteroles.’

Gave myself a cut on Sat from wine bottle foil. Irritated said cut this morning by getting loose leaf tea in it.

I put my Dior perfume on the floor and it all evaporated because of underfloor heating.

HELL IS ... when you change your bedding and the sheets aren’t 300 thread count.

I cannot get the smell of salmon out my house.

Bread knife in the dishwasher so had to use a paring knife to hack at the brioche. Disaster!

ARGH! VISITORS! How hard is it to understand what can and can’t go in a compost caddy?

COPING WITH THE HELP

The worst thing to ever happen: wanting food from the kitchen but the floor has just been mopped.

Our fabulous cleaner is leaving us. How will my bathroom get cleaned now?

Hell is . . . needing the loo immediately after the cleaner has finished scrubbing it.

Days off are actually really boring when the only person you see all day is your cleaner.

I will never understand why I clean the night before the cleaning lady comes.

I can’t bear the sound of my cleaner coughing.

TERRIBLE TRAVELS

Disappointed that nowhere in Heathrow Terminal Five sells Eggs Benedict past noon.

Hell is . . . having to get a new passport six years early because yours is too full of stamps.

. . . when you arrive at your second home too late to get milk so you can’t have tea in the morning.

Heard on the train: ‘When we got to the station and thought M&S Simply Food was closed, it was the end of the world!’

There’s nowhere in Wokingham to get ceviche [a Peruvian raw fish dish]. Night ruined.

The British Airways lounge in Boston has run out of gin . . .

The teepee I was supposed to be glamping in has been destroyed by the storms along with the log-burning stove.

Man asking to charge his [electric] car in the corner shop.

REAL HARDSHIPS

Just dropped chia seeds all over the kitchen floor.

I have to smoke my cigar on the patio and the wi-fi doesn’t reach.

Just got a lentil stuck on my pashmina.

Apple auto-correct does not know ‘goujons’.

Hell is . . . having a paper cut on my iPad finger. Each tweet is agony.

. . . getting woken up at 4am by bread machine starting up.

Limited leg room at the Royal Opera House. Ballet better be good.

Yesterday, a hero was born.

One woman, who happened to be the VP of Korean Air, had the guts to finally stand up to the tyranny that is mis-served nuts. When Heather Cho — a human — was served nuts in a bag, like a filthy animal, she ordered the plane back to the gate and took action.

Most international airlines based in Asia are known for their high-quality service, down the the smallest detail. At Korean Air, that smallest detail is Macadamia nuts — and the daughter of the airline's Chairman kicked a flight attendant off a flight for serving them improperly.

Last Friday, after Korean Air flight 86 from New York's JFK Airport to Seoul had already left the gate, Vice President of catering and in-flight sales Heather Cho ordered the Airbus A380 to go back to the gate. According to local reports assembled, Cho was infuriated at the improper way the purser (head flight attendant) was serving Macadamia nuts, and demanded the crew member be kicked off the flight.

Korean Air backed up up the VP's decision, saying in a statement released on Sunday, "The purser didn't know the company's procedures and 'kept on making up lies and excuses.'" The airline said the plane was only 10 meters from the gate when the return demand was made, and noted the flight was only 11 minutes late arriving in Seoul.

South Korea's Transportation Ministry said it was investigating the incident, to see if any regulations were broken. On the decent human being side of the story, you've got to feel a little bad for the purser — especially when you consider the "I don't give a damn" attitude many of us encounter of domestic flights here in the U.S. But on the other hand, you also have to applaud Korean Air for not allowing their service standards to slip, even the tiniest bit.

Granted, she's not totally resigning from all her roles at Korean Air — just from the airline's catering, in-flight sales business, cabin service. and hotel business divisions. She's staying on in her twin roles of VP and daughter of the chairman of Korean Air, Cho Yang-ho.

Let's just be clear on what happened here, and why this woman is a hero for all human beings who enjoy and respect the splendor of a quality mouthful of nutmeat. She was sitting on the plane, as a passenger, not as the VP of the airline, when she was served some macadamia nuts.

That, in itself is fine. People need nourishing nutmeats, we all know that. But here's where the crime against humanity occurred: the flight attendant, perhaps on some sort of mind-destroying drug or simply suffering himself from a lack of nutmeat, served her those macadamia nuts in a bag.

A bag. To a human being.

Not on a plate, where the nuts need to exist, but in a filthy, repugnant celluloid satchel, the same sort of thing that one might find a stool sample in, or perhaps 50 lbs of peat moss. Most rational humans would congratulate this woman's self-control by not immediately plunging her thumbs into the cretin's eye sockets and ending his miserable, nut-bagging life right there. Who would have blamed her?

(Why, I know if my miserable valet, Prescott, ever dared serve me nuts in a bag, I'd take his other goddamn ear off. Prescott, if you're reading this now, so help me, I swear I will. Don't you ever even think of even showing me a bag of nuts. In fact, you should be working. We're going to have to go for a ride in the Big Van when I get home.)

Instead, this woman — this saint — simply put the horror of those bagged nuts out of her mind and ordered the plane back to the gate, where the miserable ex-flight attendant could be kicked off the plane, and, hopefully, worked over by Korean Air's hired goons for his stupidity.

I wish I could have taken a swing at that attendant NUTS IN A BAG?

In the end, the plane was only 11 minutes late to Seoul, and come on, it's just a plane, people. What's the big deal about laboriously returning it to a gate and inconveniencing over a hundred people? THE MONSTER SERVED HER NUTS IN A BAG.

Cho later issued a statement saying

"I will take full responsibility for the incident and step down from my post."

... but I just want to be clear that there are those of us who support Cho and her last stand against nut debasement. First we let ourselves be served nuts in bags, then next we're enslaved on a penal colony in the asteroid belt, being worked to death for our nut-in-bag-eating overlords.

Thank you, Miss Cho. May you ever be full of sweet, sweet nutmeats.

Certainly Sea Dream's standards would'nt sink so low as to serve nuts in a bag !!!

I once worked for a company that got bought by a large Korean company, for several billion dollars. They attempted to treat the American employees as above. A year later every key employee had left (to much greener pastures) and the company simply imploded. The Koreans ended up getting a few million dollars for the patents and trademarks. Billions to millions in a year... I laughed my #%% off. The press couldn't figure out how everything unraveled so quickly.

The only difference is in the KA case above the behavior of management was seen in public.

Dearest ho-hum, dearest nut-lovers,

the nuts of the macadamia plant - latin macadamia tetraphylla - although considered to be very tasty, however, are quite difficult to handle during cultivation, harvesting and processing. For weeks, they must be dried so that the thick shell can better crack. Because it is so noble and expensive, the macadamia nut is therefore also called queen of nuts.

How can somebody be so careless and serve these royal nuts in a bag??? :eek:

After this incident, gcmv will never fly Korean Air, buy a Korean car, have dinner at a Korean restaurant, etc ... :D

And add to that Korean electronics. At another company we used some Korean components in a design and they had a very high failure rate, so we had to redo the design to use other suppliers.

Your milage may vary. But I doubt it....

Dearest ho-hum, dearest nut-lovers,

 

the nuts of the macadamia plant - latin macadamia tetraphylla - although considered to be very tasty, however, are quite difficult to handle during cultivation, harvesting and processing. For weeks, they must be dried so that the thick shell can better crack. Because it is so noble and expensive, the macadamia nut is therefore also called queen of nuts.

 

How can somebody be so careless and serve these royal nuts in a bag??? :eek:

After this incident, gcmv will never fly Korean Air, buy a Korean car, have dinner at a Korean restaurant, etc ... :D

Ho hum hopes you dont mind ho hum saying gcmv but you are sounding a bit "nutty" !

I once worked for a company that got bought by a large Korean company, for several billion dollars. They attempted to treat the American employees as above. A year later every key employee had left (to much greener pastures) and the company simply imploded. The Koreans ended up getting a few million dollars for the patents and trademarks. Billions to millions in a year... I laughed my #%% off. The press couldn't figure out how everything unraveled so quickly.

 

The only difference is in the KA case above the behavior of management was seen in public.

What terrible experiences Raggy.

As it would happen, our posh little town has just had a Japanese/Korean restaurant open.

Sadly it has opened in a club for "old farts" that ho hum's father used to go to, no doubt to social climb, have a couple of beers and a few games of snooker: unfortunately his son was useless at the noble game.

Due to a decline of "old farts" and no new "old farts" entering the social milieu of gentleman business people, the club declined and sadly did not renew it's lease.

Ho hum and blondie and a couple of chums (who have been on SD with us a couple of times) decided to go on the grand opening.

Outside the main entrance which was at the side of the building with a huge waste container next to it, were the unfinished doors through which was a spartan lobby. Blondie had decided to take posh shoes and so was busy removing her boots in the lobby. We were spotted by the cctv and a waiter came down the stairs to see just exactly what was going on. The kerfuffle was explained to the suspicious waiter but eventually we climbed the stairs to one of the blandest restaurants ho hum has ever entered. It was dull. It resembled a North Korean prison camp's kitchen but without the atmosphere ! The only thing missing was a picture of Kim Il Sun ! At least that would have brightened up the place.

We were shown a table (surprised we were'nt manacled to the table legs) away from the window because a sullen Korean gentleman was completing the renovation.

Well suffice to say the food was quite good but the sushi and sashimi was quite brilliant: not as good as London, blondie added but good enough.

We had to tell the owner to ask the handyman to stop his work around the restaurant as he was making a hell of a racket. He walked passed our table with a look of incredulity. What ? You are kidding right. You think it is acceptable to bang away with a hammer a few feet away whilst we are eating ? On your bike, Mi No Appi or what ever your name is ! Bang away round ho hum eh...we'll see about that !

The Korean cook's wife sauntered over to enquire how we enjoyed the meal: well we presumed thats what she was asking. We smiled a lot and nodded our heads a bit so as to say we liked it.

We were asked to go to a hut inside the restaurant to pay our bill. Odd.

Next week we ordered the sushi and sashimi again as a takeaway. The handyman was still there. This time he was painting just a few feet away from a couple. Extraordinary. We recognised one another and he tut-tutted ho hum. Well really !

Ho hum noticed the manager/owners jacket had white emulsion on the pockets and ho hum pointed this out to him.

He looked dismayed.

Ho hum pointed to the handyman with a paint brush in his hand.

It took a nano second for the manager/owner to guess the culprit.

He stared over at the handyman who looked back with incredulity and that same "What ? expression. Ho hum made a silly face to the handyman and skidaddled laughing all the way down the stairs. Haha. Mi no appi haha. Your so funny hum, yes I know ho,

So that is ho hum's only experience of Koreans.

Mind you the North Korean leader seems awfully popular and well liked by the people.

Could lose a few pounds and change his wardrobe sometime.....maybe he likes black. Very fashionable ho hum hears.

See the attached photo.

More idle jottings: I have been receiving "Special Offers" with reduced pricing more frequently lately. A great deal of January to March seems to be going on sale. Could the cost and confusion of current air travel be impacting SeaDream? There is a real Fire Sale mentality going on in the mass market lines. For example, Princess has offered us a cruise out of FLL for $199! But it gets better. That fare includes up to a $200 OBC! Ok, it is an inside cabin on Princess, not SeaDream but you get the point. There is large overcapacity in the Caribbean this season. For SD pricing, you can get the biggest suite possible on the other lines. Could this encourage SD to maybe consider a MIA or FLL sailing? As many others have stated here on the SD board, I really don't care if SD leaves port and steams in circles for a week, it is the on board experience with SD. On the other hand, Europe cruises for 2015 seem to be heavily discounted as well on most lines. How will this play out?

More idle jottings: I have been receiving "Special Offers" with reduced pricing more frequently lately. A great deal of January to March seems to be going on sale. Could the cost and confusion of current air travel be impacting SeaDream? There is a real Fire Sale mentality going on in the mass market lines. For example, Princess has offered us a cruise out of FLL for $199! But it gets better. That fare includes up to a $200 OBC! Ok, it is an inside cabin on Princess, not SeaDream but you get the point. There is large overcapacity in the Caribbean this season. For SD pricing, you can get the biggest suite possible on the other lines. Could this encourage SD to maybe consider a MIA or FLL sailing? As many others have stated here on the SD board, I really don't care if SD leaves port and steams in circles for a week, it is the on board experience with SD. On the other hand, Europe cruises for 2015 seem to be heavily discounted as well on most lines. How will this play out?

We and 2 other couples wanted to do a Caribbean cruise with SD in January, but their prices back in September for Jan-Mar sailings were about $1,000 p/p more than Seabourn for similar itins. We contacted them anyway and asked if they might drop prices closer to our preferred sailing dates, and were told this would not happen. So we booked 3 cabins on Seabourn. A month and a half later they started dropping prices for early 2015, but too late for us to change our plans. It's frustrating that SD prices were not competitive until so close to sailing dates. We would have gladly paid a little more to sail on SD, but the offer came too late.

More idle jottings: I have been receiving "Special Offers" with reduced pricing more frequently lately. A great deal of January to March seems to be going on sale. Could the cost and confusion of current air travel be impacting SeaDream? There is a real Fire Sale mentality going on in the mass market lines. For example, Princess has offered us a cruise out of FLL for $199! But it gets better. That fare includes up to a $200 OBC! Ok, it is an inside cabin on Princess, not SeaDream but you get the point. There is large overcapacity in the Caribbean this season. For SD pricing, you can get the biggest suite possible on the other lines. Could this encourage SD to maybe consider a MIA or FLL sailing? As many others have stated here on the SD board, I really don't care if SD leaves port and steams in circles for a week, it is the on board experience with SD. On the other hand, Europe cruises for 2015 seem to be heavily discounted as well on most lines. How will this play out?

Maybe it is a case of over supply then........these ships just get bigger and bigger capacity too and travelling out of Miami must make travel easier and cheaper.

Combine that with Sea Dream not investing sufficiently and not having the vision to make it a really high end facility and people are tempted away to ships that are mechanically tip-top with increasingly more sought after facilities.

Sea Dream has not created sufficient "clear water" between itself and other lines.

So new people contemplating a cruise cannot comprehend the point of value between SD and these other lines indeed they may query why on earth does SD charge more when it only has one restaurant, you pay for wifi, the cabins are tiny etc..

But that is not the whole story, SD has an abundance of things to offer as we all know.

Size, personal attention, the amazing crew and fellow guests.

SeaDream is also at fault for not promoting their product.

God whenever ho hum enters the cabin and that nasally, whiney southern American woman voice over is being played on the TV: ho hum wants to tear the TV set out of the wall with his bare hands and throw it through the window screaming "take that you........." !

Thankfully almost every time, housekeeping remember ho hum's violent aversion to this shmaltzy, indulgent, self satisfied monologue and turn the TV off prior to entering the cabin after embarkation where it stays off.......ho hum still thinks that woman is living in the set waiting to start her monologue: ho hum is prepared to grab the remote control and throw it at the tv.

Sorry to return.

You have to tell the world you have a great product, you cant just rely on returning passengers. Especially after a few fiascos with bookings and mechanical condition, ho hum is not inviting chums to join ever again.

If you come then great but you book it yourself and be prepared for something to go wrong.

Ho hum doesn't want to spend his time on board feeling guilty that the persons you invited are not having a good time so now when they ask would you recommend it (on the Guest Questionnaire) the answer unfortunately is a "NO" and will remain a "NO" until the owner steps aside and let's someone competent run the business and invests, invests, invests !!

Oh, ho hum is getting a tad worked up....time for a quick rub down with a fresh copy of the Daily Telegraph and a "snifter" methinks.

Surely the slump in oil prices is also having an effect.

If one company passes on the saving then another company is duty bound too.

And ho hum still does not receive emails alerting him of savings !

For God's sake Sea Dream "pull your finger out"

A fascinating situation........others opinions appreciated (including nasally, whiney woman on the truly awful, cringeworthy, Sea Dream 70's promotion ! .....simply ghastly).

SeaDream, with its ancient boats, can go one of two ways:

1) Devolve to a "booze cruise" running between Miami and the Bahamas.

2) Complete overhaul - reducing the number of cabins by half, greatly increasing quality, going adults-only (except full charters), sailing from smaller ports accessible by NetJet, etc., and doubling fares (to keep out the Ragnars of the world). In other words, filling the vast void between Seabourn and chartering a mega-yacht.

SeaDream, with its ancient boats, can go one if two ways:

 

1) Devolve to a "booze cruise" running between Miami and the Bahamas.

 

2) Complete overhaul - reducing the number of cabins by half, greatly increasing quality, going adults-only (except full charters), sailing from smaller ports accessible by NetJet, etc., and doubling fares (to keep out the Ragnars of the world). In other words, filling the vast void between Seabourn and chartering a mega-yacht.

My guess is I will see you on the Miami/Nassau run.:eek::D:D

Better yet, the San Diego - Ensenada run :eek::eek::eek:

Better yet, the San Diego - Ensenada run :eek::eek::eek:

Hey, I like it. We can drive to San Diego. Doing it this next week for a Christmas cruise. Maybe we can entice Ho-Hum away from Posh Part England to join us on SeaDream's inaugural San Diego/Ensenada Very Posh Booze Cruze.:eek:

And we can take ho-hum shooting. I'll let him use my K-98 high-turret sniper (with 200 grain bullets...). That should sober him up quick :D

Getting back to ho-hum's point, if Seabourn would implement your modifications to their small ships (move the pool), SD would be toast.

Getting back to ho-hum's point, if Seabourn would implement your modifications to their small ships (move the pool), SD would be toast.

I agree with that!

Just off the Caribbean Princess which was a last minute cruise for us out of FLL. Princess actually PAID us to take this cruise. DJ's DH is still trying to figure out how I was able to work this deal.

We hadn't cruised Princess in close to 20 years but I have to say this particular cruise, as DJ's DH said on more than one occasion, "exceeded expectations."

There were 1700 pax on this cruise but we never felt crowded ... as a matter of fact we were amazed that so many crew members knew our names and preferences by the end of the first day.

Granted the food wasn't as wonderful as SD but it was quite good. DJ's DH even joked about no toilet outages, no a/c outages/issues and no soot:p

I can't wait to return to SD as it holds a special place in our hearts but not in our pocketbooks:eek:

I will post a review once we are settled back in NY. Right now we are enjoying Vero Beach for a couple of days.

Just off the Caribbean Princess which was a last minute cruise for us out of FLL. Princess actually PAID us to take this cruise. DJ's DH is still trying to figure out how I was able to work this deal.

 

We hadn't cruised Princess in close to 20 years but I have to say this particular cruise, as DJ's DH said on more than one occasion, "exceeded expectations."

 

There were 1700 pax on this cruise but we never felt crowded ... as a matter of fact we were amazed that so many crew members new our names and preferences by the end of the first day.

 

Granted the food wasn't as wonderful as SD but it was quite good. DJ's DH even joked about no toilet outages, no a/c outages/issues and no soot:p

 

I can't wait to return to SD as it holds a special place in our hearts but not in our pocketbooks:eek:

 

I will post a review once we are settled back in NY. Right now we are enjoying Vero Beach for a couple of days.

Hi DJ. Good to hear you are sailing. We also have had two very nice Princess cruises in the last year. Sometimes, the offer is just too good to pass up.

Hi DJ. Good to hear you are sailing. We also have had two very nice Princess cruises in the last year. Sometimes, the offer is just too good to pass up.

We are glad to be back sailing! I am trying to work a SD cruise into the early part of '15 but I just don't see it happening at this point:mad:

SDII passed with flying colours the USPH inspection with a really high score of 95.

This is an amazing achievement bearing in mind the age of the vessel.

Well done the crew and well done Jamie McGregor, the Hotel Manager.

So pleased for them all.....now they can relax.