The Happy Wanderer (reprise)

[jhannah]

Oh, Ruth. You're much more gracious than I would be! Bless your heart. I hope it's at least tolerable for the remainder of your cruise. I believe GN is right about the law of averages. (I would just push her things to the side and let what happens happen.)

[obriendan]

Here are a few pictures from D7ublin. Yes, we do have towel animals!

[elmorejj]

OMG!! the roomie from helll has raised her ugly head! Didn`t we have a thread about this a couple of years back? Ruth, does she turn in early? just flick on all of the lights when you come in, then order room service.........jean :cool:

[obriendan]

Viking RuthC takes a Viking Splash Tour in Dublin.

[grannynurse]

Wipe that smile off your face, grab a sword and go get that "grab-Bag" roomie.

Swords on pillow sound effective.

GN

[dakrewser]

Wipe that smile off your face, grab a sword and go get that "grab-Bag" roomie.

Swords on pillow sound effective.

GN

 

Oh I think hiding the helmet in the roomie's bed might do the trick!

[RevNeal]

RUTH !!!!!!!

You look FAAAAAAHHHHHBUUUULUS ... in horns!

 

Elmer: "Oh Brunhilda, you're so lovely."

Brunhilda: "Yes I know it I can't help it."

 

:D

[RevNeal]

:eek:

 

Ruth ... put that helmet into your cabin-mates bed!! :D

hehehehe

[kryos]

I'm scheduled to do single share in January on a 30-day cruise. Now I'm getting worried after reading about Ruth's roommate.

 

See, Ruth obviously is a very nice person ... and that's why the roomie has not gone overboard yet ... but if that were me, I would have straightened out the b**** on day number one. This is called "guaranteed SHARE," remember?

 

I have no problem with someone requesting lower shelves if they are short ... and if they are nice about it, I am willing to accommodate almost anything. But getting someone with a "takeover" attitude would have us in a screaming fight on day one. As for hanging their stuff in the bathroom, that's fine ... I do the same thing ... but when I need to use the shower, her stuff gets moved to the vanity ... as I would understand my stuff would be moved. But be "damed" if I'd put it away for her. I certainly ain't the maid. :)

 

Maybe I'd better rethink this whole guaranteed share thing? 30-days is a long time to be stuck with someone you don't get along with. :(

 

Oh, Ruth ... I only wish you had booked the 30-day Hawaii/South Pacific in January with me. I have a feeling we would have gotten along just fabulously!

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[longtimecruiser]

Ruth, Myra is right. The law of averages has caught up with you. Your luck has run out. No more Dollies or Joans. Super B---- is here!!!! I just had a feeling that something was not right with the roomie situation. I would NOT be nice. I would have told her off long before this. I would make her last two weeks a living h---!!!!!! I would not only move her undies, I would twist them and knot them together. Don't just move them nicely. Taking her pillow chocolates would be a good idea as Myra suggested but I imagine you are the last one to go to bed. You still could arrange to take them. I would. I suppose she has overtaken the bathroom. I would Accidently "lose" some of her things in the bathroom.Not throw them out but move them around to a different side. I'm so sorry for you. You have been a real good sport about this. Too good!!!!! Keep us posted on the "roomie from h---. Enjoy your day in Torshaven tomorrow. Till the next installment. By the way, I love your picture in the Viking hat. I printed it out cause every time I look at it it makes me smile.

[kryos]

I'm so sorry for you. You have been a real good sport about this. Too good!!!!! Keep us posted on the "roomie from h---.

Yeah, and at the end of the cruise, Ruth outta print out all the posts about her and leave them on top of her bed on debarkation morning. :)

 

You know, it's sad ... but it's exactly because Ruth is so nice that she is probably having this problem. I remember years ago ... here at work ... we had one particular employee who was the b**** from h***. She was very overbearing and "informed" her co-workers what the ground rules would be. The funny thing was that this woman was not even here for that long, and she was giving this "attitude" to people who had been around for years.

 

I finally made supervisor after being here for several years and one of the first things management did was sent me to a one-day seminar on how to deal with "difficult" employees. They knew that I would have a problem with this woman since she was much older than me, not happy that they did not give her the supervisor position, and would likely try to take advantage of my inexperience in my new role. See, we're in a unique position here at my job. We are union members and even first line supervisors are union. We get an override percentage over the salary for the job in return for being responsible for the workload on our shifts. We really don't have personnel authority, per se ... and must go to a manager if we are having specific problems with any employee.

 

One of the first things I learned in that seminar is that these types of people "test the waters." They will be overbearing and insistent on getting their own way just to see how far they can push you. If you stand them down right from the get go, usually they become very easy to deal with. They will realize that they can't intimidate you and thus will become much more easy to work with.

 

I came back from my seminar and the next time this woman pulled her crap on me, I came right back at her in no uncertain terms. Boy, did she back down quick. I was shocked. It was only then that I realized, this woman would do whatever she could get away with. If you would let her walk all over you, she would gladly do it. But if you stopped her in her tracks, she would go in search of someone else to intimidate.

 

Thankfully, this woman didn't stick around too long after I became her boss. She got into some sort of trouble with an employee in another department and quit shortly thereafter. But I can't help but think how applicable the techniques I learned in this management seminar would work with the roommate from h***. Betcha if she saw she wasn't dealing with a pushover, she'd be a lot easier to live with.

 

Ruth! Stop being so nice! :) Tell her the next time she pulls her crap, she's getting tossed overboard! :)

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[RevNeal]

People, my DD (dear dog) Dorcas ...

 

 

... respectfully requests that we please stop denigrating her and all other self-respecting and courteous female dogs by using their gender-name as a descriptive for cabin-hogs. Her suggestions for alternatives all have to do with cats ... ;) :D

 

Thank you.

[RuthC]

If there has been one failing on this cruise it's HAL's lack of timely information on shuttle service from the ports to town. For example, today we're in Torshavn, Faroe Islands; it's about a 10-minute walk from the commercial pier to town. As late as the end of last night's show we were told that there would be a required shuttle from the ship to the pier gates, but there was no mention of the shuttle continuing to town. That announcement only came when the ship was cleared this morning---and when it was too late to purchase shore excursions.

This wasn't the first time this cruise that this happened---but it's getting darned near the last. From here on out I remember the drill. If anyone taking next year's cruise wants a run-down I'll be happy to provide it.

grannynurse asked about dance hosts---I presume you mean the dance instructors? Not this year, granny. There have been a few classes, but they were led by the show performers. I didn't go.

There are "gentlemen hosts" to dance with at night; they don't seem to be too busy after dinner.

One night I spotted one in the Crow's Nest---there was one single woman and a couple there. There were two chatting with each other when I stopped in the Ocean Bar the other night. Perhaps they should dance with each other?

To the credit of one of them he did invite me to dance, but I declined as I was just passing through. They may get more business at cocktail time.

[longtimecruiser]

Ruth, Sorry you didn't get to d much in Torshaven. I know you have been there before but it is always nice to see something else. Sounds to me like Hal ought to get their act together about the shuttle service in the various ports.It is their responsibility to see that their passengers get the correct info about the ports. Was this a free shuttle? It is bad enough that Hal has economized that passengers have to pay for these shuttles. At least they can give correct info about them

From your post it sounds like the dance hosts aren't doing too much on this cruise. I hope they are more busy before dinner at cocktail time. On last year's cruise they seemed to hang out in the Ocean Bar before dinner. Have a relaxing day at sea tomorrow before Iceland. I'm really enjoying all your posts. Till the next installment. Adele

[kryos]

People, my DD (dear dog) Dorcas ...

 

 

... respectfully requests that we please stop denigrating her and all other self-respecting and courteous female dogs by using their gender-name as a descriptive for cabin-hogs. Her suggestions for alternatives all have to do with cats ... ;) :D

 

Thank you.

LOL ... Rev, please tell Dorcas that I am very sorry and won't denigrate her again. We'll have to come up with another name ... something more appropriate ... for the roomie from h***. :)

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[LizB1]

Just a few comments from me about this cruise.

 

First, I do not feel it has the ambiance of a long (35-day) cruise that we had two years ago on the Rotterdam. To us it is nothing more than a b2b with nothing special being done as in the past for long cruises. Same dreary menus and I have never seen so much salmon being offered.

 

I agree with Ruth about the lack of info regarding shuttle service...which incidentally has been available in almost every port, but we have not been informed of this until the last two ports when folks started to scream about not being told.

 

I feel this HM is worthless. Know of someone who wanted to discuss something with him and the GRM called back and wanted to know what subjects he wanted to discuss with the HM. Not good PR IMHO!

 

Do not feel that the Maasdam has the "class" that the Rotterdam has -- or perhaps all the ships are now the same?? First time in 71 cruises I have felt let down by HAL. First time I can honestly say I will be glad to get home from a cruise.

 

To Jennie and Debbie -- I miss seeing both of you on the ship and hope Jennie you had a pleasant time in Switzerland and good flight back to Melbourne.

 

more from Ruth later today, I am sure.

[longtimecruiser]

Oh Liz, I was so sorry to read your post. That is a shame that you are both so disappointed in your cruise. I know how much you had been looking forward to going.

That is depressing to hear that this cruise lacks the ambiance of our cruise two years ago on the Rotterdam. I think that Hal is cutting back too much too fast. It should not be as obvious to the passengers as it is. I had noticed cutbacks from our cruise two years ago till our cruise in June. I noticed even more DRASTIC changes from June till our cruise last December. This is not good, IMHO.You mentioned about the sameness of the menus, that is one thing I noticed right away from June till December.

I agree with you about the Massdam not being as classy as the Rotterdam.You should not notice any difference in food and service among any of the Hal fleet. They should all have the same standards, but they do not. One bad HM can make or break a cruise.

Hal, I hope you are reading these posts. You need to wake up and smell the roses. When a longtime passenger like Liz is dissappointed, that says it all. Having made 71 cruises on Hal and being glad to get home, is not good customer PR IMHO.

[elmorejj]

I too am sorry that you aren`t enjoying your cruise as much as you should be Liz. I have noticed the same lack of caring on the ships and my BtoBs on the Maasdam 18 months ago were my worst experiences on a HAL ship, didn`t like that ship at all.

 

For the past few years we have been taking 3-4 cruises on HAL per year, that is down now to one cruise a year and who knows where it will go from that................jean :cool:

[kryos]

That is depressing to hear that this cruise lacks the ambiance of our cruise two years ago on the Rotterdam.

I too am sorry this cruise has proven to be a disappointment to those onboard. A 35-day cruise should be a highlight, not a new low in onboard ambience.

 

I must say that while I certainly do not have the cruising experience of some of the folks posting here, I noticed a major difference in onboard ambience just between my two HAL cruises so far ... the Rotterdam in March of 2004 and a b2b on the Zuiderdam in August of 2004. It seems like the Rotterdam was a much classier ship and the service reflected that.

 

As for b2b's ... I would normally not do b2b's anymore for precisely the reasons cited here. Nothing special about them. Everything repeats the second week and it is essentially a replay of the first ... just with new faces. I only booked the b2b next October because I want to do the CC group cruise and I hate to fly to Fort Lauderdale for just a seven-day cruise. I also want to do lots of SCUBA on that cruise, so it's the ports more than anything that interest me.

 

Normally, I will now do all cruises of no less than ten days as opposed to any more b2b's. While my 2006 cruises are exclusively HAL, I plan to continue trying some other lines in 2007 ... just to see what else is offered. I really enjoyed my two cruises on Princess this year, and look forward to sailing them again as well.

 

HAL is certainly a very nice cruise line with a lot of "special" going for it, but it's certainly not the only one to offer a great cruise experience either.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[HeatherInFlorida]

I am feeling so badly for both Liz and Ruth and some disappointments on this cruise (to put it lightly). I think they're both being awfully nice about the whole thing!!

 

Ruth, I am laughing though! You say your roomie is shorter than you????? I don't mean to suggest you're all that short, but it is your own self-description to me before I met you:) . To be shorter than you is to be quite short and it seems she's making up for that with certain personality disorders! Tell her to "snap to" and be quick about it! Who the H*** does she think she is anyway? Is she treating you to this cruise or something?

Can you tell I'm mad:mad: ? I sure hope you're getting to have some good times. This is a very long cruise not to be a happy camper:D .

[RuthC]

It's been a dreary, foggy, lazy kind of day all day today. I guess everyone was tired last night---I sure was---and the extra hour sleep was not enough to perk the spirits for today. We're now four hours ahead of Eastern time.

There was a repeat of the Filipino Show last night---Myra is an excellent emcee. I didn't go again, but sure hope there was someone who stayed up to watch it. The lounges weren't doing any business, that's for sure. Then today there was a repeat of the Mongonian Buffet.

As Liz says, there doesn't seem to be anything "special", but I don't want to give the impression I'm not having a good time. I am. Not the best-ever, but certainly a very nice cruise.

We are scheduled to cross the Arctic Circle about 8:30 tonight; there's going to be a "Swim Across The Arctic" from 7:45-8:45. Glad I got my Polar Bear's certificate last year---I'd hate to miss dinner. :rolleyes:

Actually, I'm lucky to be at a table of enjoyable people who prefer to come to the dining room nightly---we all show up and get along well enough that we're the last to leave. We even get an officer to host on Formal Nights. :)

This isn't the way it started, though. After the first four nights aboard I remembered that life's too short---and this cruise too long--- to spend every evening with incompatable people so I asked to be moved.

Good decision.

As I read this back it sounds so dull and boring, which is exactly how I feel right about now. So, I'll post, try to catch a quick nap, and get my energy up for this evening.

Girl's gotta sparkle some time! ;)

[longtimecruiser]

Hi Ruth,

I know this cruise has been somewhat disappointing. Sounds like you have been making lemonade out of lemons. Good for you! You know the saying that any cruise, even a bad one is better than being home and at work. I know you are thinking that you don't have to work, get meals, etc. Keep enjoying your last days, as I know you will.

I bet you are glad that you swam across the Artic Circle last year. Remember you got to do it in the Lido pool and I had to do it in the COLD OUTDOOR POOL. Either way , we both did it and have the certificate to prove it. Now you can sit back and enjoy your dinner while you cross the Artic Circle.

I'm glad that you have a nice table of fun people. Too bad that it didn't start off that way but you were smart to change. You were right, it was a long cruise to be stuck at a bad table. Happy it worked out for you.

Good thing you had a lazy day today while you were at sea. I see you are in Akureyri tomorrow. What tour do you have planned there? Don't suppose you are going to the Santa House again. It wouldn't be the same without Stephanie...lol Let us hear about your day in Iceland. Till the next installment. Adele

[tomc]

elmorejj wrote:

I have noticed the same lack of caring on the ships and my BtoBs on the Maasdam 18 months ago were my worst experiences on a HAL ship, didn`t like that ship at all.

And yet, I was on the Maasdam for a b2b in late June / early July. Loved it, loved the ship. What I didn't try at meals on the way up, I tried on the way back. As for the constant offering of salmon, well, I'm biased toward salmon so let's just say I'm part cat.

 

Cruises are such an individual thing that two people, on the same trip/ship, will post contrasting (or varying) reviews. One will say, "Just like h*ll" and the other will say, "Just like HAL."

[HeatherInFlorida]

Ruth, I sure hope you don't mind, but I'm going to use that line in my signature ... "A girl's gotta sparkle"! I LOVE IT!!!:D

[rocks]

I was on the Maasdam in May & I had a GREAT time! The ship just seems to get better ( I have done a few b2b's on her the last several years) and I give most of the credit to the Crew...they are the ones that make the cruise so special.

Yes, I've noticed a few small changes...but nothing-AT ALL- to make me even consider switching to another line!

I'd LOVE to be on the Maasdam (or any Dam ship) for 35 days & some day, God willing, I will be.

rocks