Live from nautica 7/15

[pacheco18]

Hello all

Happy to be back on an r ship

We had 70 at our cc party organized by Arlene tanny18

Our cruise director bob drewes is a winner. He runs a great trivia game. His brother reads cc so I am sure he will hear about this post lol

 

I learned that all the r ships were not renovated equally. The laundry room on this ship was not renovated as was regatta 's. Only difference I can find

 

We left Edinburgh an hour ago and we are off to Orkney tomorrow

 

Toscana tonight

 

Very few familiar faces among the crew but we are a great cc group with lots of fun private tours planned.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the live update!

[CintiPam]

Another cruise, Laraine! You are so lucky. Looking forward to hearing more, including your full disclosure of what the only difference in the laundry room is! :)

Edited July 15, 2014 by CintiPam

[pacheco18]

The laundry on Nautica remains unchanged

 

On regatta they put in stackables like those on the o ships. I think I posted a photo. If I recall there are six washers and six dryers on regatta with the new configuration (might be five and five) There are four and four on Nautica

 

The extra machines make a big difference on the r ships

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Jancruz]

The laundry on Nautica remains unchanged

 

On regatta they put in stackables like those on the o ships. I think I posted a photo. If I recall there are six washers and six dryers on regatta with the new configuration (might be five and five) There are four and four on Nautica

 

The extra machines make a big difference on the r ships

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

What about the rest of the ship..how does it look..have you started laundry already?? LOL

Jancruz1

[pacheco18]

The rest of the ship is gorgeous just like regatta

You can look at the regatta photos I posted a few weeks ago. No difference

I was just surprised to see the difference in the laundry

I'm guessing they ran out of time

 

We spent four nights in London precruise and our first day was a sea day so I figured I'd just get it done. Lol

Next load going to the ship

Have to use up the obc somehow

No on board jewelry designer sad to say

 

Toscana was excellent. The Dover sole is fabulous I miss the chocolate ravioli dessert. Wish they'd bring it back

 

We actually had dinner in the GDR with friends last night. Rare for us to dine there. Was ok Still not my favorite venue

 

Orkney tomorrow

Great ports on this cruise

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[CintiPam]

No on board jewelry designer sad to say

 

Look on the bright side. Now you will be able to take another cruise!:)

[pacheco18]

A bit of news

 

First, Shetland is beautiful beyond words. If you are a knitter, you can visit the famous Jamieson & Smith (which we did on our fabulous private tour).

 

The grill on the R ships does NOT serve lamb chops. We have some irate passengers. There does not seem to be a "legitimate" reason for this omission.

 

My luck with Oceania has run out

First the downsell followed by a complimentary upgrade to a Vista Suite on Regatta

Next the $14000 downsell on Viking Odyssey -- the cruise I am currently on.

 

Now for the bad luck. Our wonderful cruise director, Bob Drewes, had to leave the ship suddenly due to a family emergency. We all hope that things work out well for him and that it is something that can be favorably resolved. He is a great guy.

 

SO....... this is a 20 night cruise and they had to find a substitute cruise director on an emergency basis. Guess who is coming on board????...................

......

 

 

NOLAN DEAN -- how could this happen to me?? It's a curse!!! Seems he was "in the area" even though he has left Oceania.

 

Maria -- stop laughing . . . .I know you are.

[Paulchili]

Laraine,

Sorry to hear about Bob Drewes - hopefully all will be well. I am sure you'll survive Nolan Dean :D

Surely you mean $1400 and not $14000 downsell?

Paul

[pacheco18]

Laraine,

Sorry to hear about Bob Drewes - hopefully all will be well. I am sure you'll survive Nolan Dean :D

Surely you mean $1400 and not $14000 downsell?

Paul

 

You read it right, Paul

$14000! An offer I could not refuse.

Two downsells.

Price I will have to pay for suffering through yet another cruise with ND.

Fortunately we have a great, large CC group on board -- to distract me. LOL

[canuck.qc]

I'm not too sure what a "downsell" is exactly...could you explain?

So sorry about the LAMB CHOPS!

[A Knitter]

Maria -- stop laughing . . . .I know you are.

 

I won't laugh for yarn!

[Paulchili]

You read it right, Paul

$14000! An offer I could not refuse.

Two downsells.

Price I will have to pay for suffering through yet another cruise with ND.

Fortunately we have a great, large CC group on board -- to distract me. LOL

 

That means O is practically paying you to cruise with them - not a bad deal! :D

Please say Hi to our friends Steve & Sue from the Bay Area (if you see them) who are on your cruise and CC group.

Paul

Edited July 17, 2014 by Paulchili

[pacheco18]

I'm not too sure what a "downsell" is exactly...could you explain?

 

So sorry about the LAMB CHOPS!

 

 

A down sell occurs when a cruise is overbooked and the cruise line needs the cabin category you booked for a passenger who was guaranteed a cabin

They will sometimes make you a generous offer to move to another cruise. If that doesn't work they offer you financial compensation to go to a lower category cabin. You can even hold out for a more lucrative deal. Usually your ta handles.

 

The cruise I am on was seriously overbooked. It has a unique itinerary. Many of us got lucrative offers to move down. I took two separate offers, turned down a third.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[pacheco18]

That means O is practically paying you to cruise with them - not a bad deal! :D

 

Please say Hi to our friends Steve & Sue from the Bay Area (if you see them) who are on your cruise and CC group.

 

Paul

 

 

Just about lol

Our per diem is 133 a day.

We got to keep the specialty reservations we made when we had a ph and our huge obc which was based on ph booking

Best deal I will ever get I am sure

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[pacheco18]

Maria -- stop laughing . . . .I know you are.

 

 

 

I won't laugh for yarn!

 

 

You will always get yarn from me. Lolol

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[canuck.qc]

I figured it was a good offer, but we don't hear about them often, especially the likes of yours!!! Enjoy reading about your travels, thanks.

[A Knitter]

You will always get yarn from me. Lolol

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

:). Just finished another piece of wearable art. Enjoy your cruise!

[LHT28]

My luck with Oceania has run out

First the downsell followed by a complimentary upgrade to a Vista Suite on Regatta

Next the $14000 downsell on Viking Odyssey -- the cruise I am currently on.

 

 

How does one get such a deal :eek:

[pacheco18]

How does one get such a deal :eek:

 

 

 

Pure luck. U need a perfect storm as follows

U have to book a cruise that sells out and is oversold

U need to have booked a cabin they need.

U have to have others refusing to take a deal so that they are desperate and up the offers for your cabin. The offers can get better and better as time goes on. No way to know. It's a gamble

U need a ta who will inform you of these deals quickly ( first come first served) and negotiate on ur behalf. Just like upsell offers, downsell deals can disappear quickly. You can make a counteroffer for a better deal too. Lol. Btw ur ta gets a small commission for getting a client to accept a deal. U get to keep the perks u had originally. Win win

 

If all those conditions fall into place it could happen to you

 

I got downsell offers two cruises in a row. The first was generous. The second was the 14k. Incredible

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Edited July 17, 2014 by pacheco18

[TERRIER1]

Pure luck. U need a perfect storm as follows

U have to book a cruise that sells out and is oversold

U need to have booked a cabin they need.

U have to have others refusing to take a deal so that they are desperate and up the offers for your cabin. The offers can get better and better as time goes on. No way to know. It's a gamble

U need a ta who will inform you of these deals quickly ( first come first served) and negotiate on ur behalf. Just like upsell offers, downsell deals can disappear quickly. You can make a counteroffer for a better deal too. Lol. Btw ur ta gets a small commission for getting a client to accept a deal. U get to keep the perks u had originally. Win win

 

If all those conditions fall into place it could happen to you

 

I got downsell offers two cruises in a row. The first was generous. The second was the 14k. Incredible

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

The is no where "down" to go from my cabin (lol) so I guess the Oceania gods will not smile on me. Enjoy your good fortune.

[bornfreenowexpensive]

I was on the cruise that debarked July 13. You are probably sleeping in my cabin. Sorry to hear about Bob, we really liked him. It was his first gig as O CD.

 

Be sure you get to the Giant's Causeway in Belfast, and Snowdonia National Park in Wales.

 

Judy

[pacheco18]

The is no where "down" to go from my cabin (lol) so I guess the Oceania gods will not smile on me. Enjoy your good fortune.

 

 

We are paying less than if we had booked an inside and we are in an outside cabin on 4. Way too cold for a balcony anyway

 

Again u need the perfect storm of factors. I doubt this will happen to us again. There are several in our group who are enjoying some sort of downsell on this cruise. I think I am the only one with a double downsell. They offered us the drink package as part of the last deal. We are not drinkers so my ta got them to convert it to cash. They really needed our cabin. Lolol

 

Btw. This is a fabulous itinerary. No wonder it was oversold and folks did not want to change cruises

 

Faroe Islands today

 

Another curious thing I have noticed.

On regatta we could not touch anything on the buffet. On this cruise the items in the front are self serve eg cream cheese, brown sugar , nuts , Raisins. Not sure why

 

Absence of lamb chops We have been told the grill on the r ships is smaller so it cannot accommodate everything. Personally I think they could alternate and have lamb chops occasionally

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[pacheco18]

One more tidbit

 

There was supposed to be a jewelry designer and a bridge instructor on this cruise

BOTH were cancelled because they had no cabins for them

Gives u a sense of what oversold really means

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Jay23]

Let me get this right...... You paid in excess of $14000 for your cruise, and Oceania offered you a "lesser" cabin and gave you $14000 credit/refund??? and you kept all the perks of the original suite???

 

Sorry it's cold up there, down here in the Midlands and Southern England it is extremely hot. But we are getting thunder storms.