FOOD - Live from the Mariner - April 2 - 20

[fairbourne]

Hope you know that the nah nah nah is light hearted. When we disembarked the Riviera in December, it was the worst "mess" we have ever encountered. Passengers that were called to disembark could not as passengers were blocking every single hallway that led to the door to disembark. This was clearly a Oceania problem - not a port problem. Several people commented on this on CC.

 

Wish we had been in the Concorde room at LHR. We were only in the Business Class Lounge (which is still better than most lounges that we have visited). The plane.... hmmmmm, we always sit upstairs -- maybe six rows of seats. We are almost always in the same seats. There are a couple of things that are broken in the compartments next to the seats (there is a ton of storage area next to the window seats). Unless the exact same damage - in the exact same place has been done to multiple 747-400's, we were on the same plane multiple times.

 

In response to another posters most unkind comment, I do not care when the plane was built -- the interior was clearly "new" (new seats, new compartments, etc.) When Silversea and Oceania advertise their "new" ships, they were not necessarily built recently but were completely refurbished. Perhaps Oceania needs to be reminded that the "new" Sirina (debuting next year) is really an old ship that is taking a year to refurbish :eek:

 

Will spend the day shopping and reflecting on the cruise so that I can do the promised "review". :)

 

Of course, my nah, nah, nah, nah, nah was light-hearted too, hence all my LOL! and :p;):D. It did brighten my day when you two were playing the "my ship is better than your ship" game! ;). We've been on oceania a few times but not regent - first cruise with them later this year - so I'm looking forward to it, but I'm not sure I could be so generous with my holiday time to write a "live from"!

 

Yes I thought that was a tad unkind, my bubblegum comment was again cheeky, nothing else! I guess you were in the upper deck Club World seats, some say they are the best on the 747, but some are ageing better than others!

[dlouise]

We have traveled on the Oceania Riviera four or five times and only once was there a problem disembarking, which was caused by the port. We were in Rome and they were backed up with too many ships in port and we were not cleared until 10:15. I'm sure this caused many problems with those passengers that were traveling home on early flights. You can not blame Oceania for these problems. We were staying in Rome for a few days so we had no problem waiting and our car and driver did not charge us extra for the late start.

[Travelcat2]

fairbourne: I enjoyed your posts - especially the ones that were tongue in cheek:) It was good that Gerry and I discussed the differences between Oceania and Regent. We were able to determine that her tastes and mine are completely different (neither is right or wrong). Unfortunately, this means that anyone reading this thread (or hers) won't know if their tastes are the same. I am curious where in England you are from? My DH is from London so it makes me laugh when someone ask me if I dislike Brits. - based on some of my posts. Must say that he dislikes the U.K. discounts as much as I do.

 

Yes -- we fly Club World on BA. We prefer upstairs which is fine when we book through Regent since they book seats for us and we change them. Last year we booked BA on our own. For those that are not aware of their policy, unless you have BA Executive Club Status, there is a charge to book seats more than 24 hours in advance. If you want to sit upstairs, there is an additional charge. As I recall, the cost per person to sit upstairs was either $125/person or 125 GPB/person (per leg of the journey).

 

dlouise: There is a reason that I blame Oceania for the horrible disembarkation in Miami. Yes -- there was a delay in disembarking. However, IMO, it was up to Oceania to keep the isles clear to allow passengers to get off of the ship. The gridlock was so bad that no one could even move towards the exit. I feel that I need to say again that we enjoy Oceania very much but are joined at the hip to Regent;)

 

I will attempt to do a review in the next post.

[Travelcat2]

Reviewing our 20th cruise is not easy. First there is my built in prejudice -- we love Regent. It is not perfect but perfection is not easy to find. Many people seek it - few find it. Regent is a "fit" for us but may not be for others. When reviewing our cruise that ended yesterday, one must consider that passengers that boarded yesterday will not have exactly the same crew that we had. For instance, the Assistant Cruise Director left for Oceania yesterday. So, whatever I say may not be the same experience the reader will have. Therein lies my first issue.

 

I wonder if any luxury cruise line has mastered the art of consistency. Over the years we have learned that consistency is not easy to find. On Regent, depending upon the General Manager, the experience may/can be different. I would like to give two examples: First, the Head Sommelier. The Connoisseur Wine Tasting (the one with a cost) was different than the two we have done previously. It was much better. It wasn't the food or the wine pairings -- it was the Head Sommelier. He added a dimension to the experience by giving guests "tests". He provided three wine tastings and asked the passengers to guess what the wine variety was. This was really a lot of fun. We spoke with him later and learned that he recommends this "extra" to other Head Sommeliers but they do not necessarily listen. This is something that can easily be made consistent. Why is this not done?

 

More important than wine pairings is the General Manager. Franck Galzy is the senior G.M. for Regent. He has held most positions in the area of Food and Beverage, so, he knows each position inside and out. When he is on board, the crew is happy which translates to happy guests (I have said this before repeatedly). He follows the rules but always wants to help the crew rather than simply criticize them if something is wrong. He shows them how things should be done.

 

When other G.M.'s are on board, some are not that familiar with Regent and do not seem to want to talk to or mingle with guests. Most distressing is that these G.M.'s do not seem to want to learn. They prefer doing their own thing. Although Franck may disagree with me, for a long time I have wished that his position was that of trainer for G.M.'s so that each cruise would have some consistency.

 

I bring this up because this cruise had such amazing service. Another two people that added greatly to the experience is Food and Beverage Director, Donald -- absolutely amazing. Gami, Dining Room Manager also is incredible as is Chef Kelly. Unfortunately, I do not think that Chef Kelly can teach other Executives Chef's how to achieve the standard of food that he does.

 

This was an around about way of getting into food. IMO, there is no reason that anyone needs to have a meal that they do not like (at least not with this crew). Chef Kelly, Donald and Gami are in each and every dining venue for lunch at dinner. They try to speak with guests at every table. If what you order is not to your liking - change it. Ask for something else and make certain you describe how you would like it prepared. Or, you can pre-order your dinner 24 hours in advance to insure that what you are able to have what you want every night. As described earlier on this thread, I did not take my own advice and ended up with steaks in P-7 that were not to our liking and complained on CC. I feel that this was my fault as well as the chef and our server.

 

There is an area or two where food and beverage could improve. I found the items on the plate (in addition to the main course) to be cool a few times. Obviously, the temperature of the entire plate should be consistent. We ended up ordering mashed potatoes, fries or baked potato to make up for the unsatisfactory side items on the plate. We did not find this enough of an issue to complain.

 

We found that our stewardess and steward were very friendly - cleaned our suite when we wanted it to be cleaned but we felt there attention to detail was lacking a few times. It made us wonder if trainees are assigned to deck 7 on the Mariner since there are only five cabins that are "concierge" or above (we were in one of the two Seven Seas Aft suites -- there are also 3 Horizon suites). Some officers also have suites on deck 7. We were not fond of being on deck 7.

 

Regent seems to be doing something new with butlers. They have promoted some men from Food and Beverage to the status of butler. To be honest, I did not ask our butler what training he received and would like to learn more about this. Our butler and the other butler we met are Filipino. We have found Filipino crew to be amongst the best on the ships - so warm, kind and wanting to serve the guests to the best of their ability. When we had a dinner in our suite, the two butlers did an exemplary job of serving. It was amazing. The only area I am concerned about is whether the Filipino butlers are taught to be more intuitive in terms of the needs of passengers. The best butlers we have had in the past find ways to do things for their guests that have not even been asked for. I hope that this skill is learned by butlers that are being promoted into the position.

 

This is getting long so I will do a short review on excursions in the next post.

Edited April 22, 2015 by Travelcat2

[Travelcat2]

What can I say that I have not already said about excursions? Probably nothing. I do feel that it is necessary to stress how important it is to have the correct description and "level of activity" on each excursion. The difference between two excursions - stated to be at the same activity level was dramatic. The excursion I described in an earlier post definitely should not have allowed people with visible disabilities. The kind of walking that we did caused one man to not be able to continue on without resting for a long time. Thankfully he did not have a heart attack. I know that it sounds harsh to prevent people from taking active excursions but, IMO, it is dangerous not to.

 

Depending upon a passenger's traveling history, they may like or dislike Regent excursions. For some, having multiple buses arriving at the same place at the same time is no big deal. For others, it makes the "luxury" cruise more like a "main stream" cruise. How good the excursions are seems to be dependent upon the area of the world where the excursions are being taken. Once again, we were disappointed in Brazil tours but were pleasantly surprised in tours in the Canary Islands. In general, we cancel more excursions that we take. Having said that, when we do South Africa, Mozambique and Namibia, we are happy to have included excursions - even though they will be challenging. Once again this is a reason to allow passengers to opt out. While we would not think of opting out of excursions in Africa, we would definitely do so in the Caribbean, Alaska, Brazil and Europe.

 

Lest you think that I forgot that I promised to explain why I complimented Destination Services -- I didn't;) IMO, Destination Services has an impossible job -- trying to get up to 700 passengers per day on excursions. Since many excursions are included, some guests simply do not show up (instead of cancelling in advance to allow guests to be taken off of a wait list and added to the excursion).

 

To give a bit of history, many things have been tried when they gather guests in the theater. There have been times when the guests feel like they are being hoarded like cattle into the theater and then moved in huge groups to the buses. There were complaints about people going to their buses to get good seats before their bus numbers were called. So, at least on the Voyager, they put policies in place to prevent that. On our last Voyager cruise (July, 2014), they were so strict that you could not get your bus assignment until the bus was ready for you to go outside. This was the worst we have seen. People surrounded the desk - waiting for the opportunity to get bus tickets so they could get to their bus quickly as possible. There was shoving, cutting into line, pushing -- definitely a mess.

 

It seems like the Mariner Destination Services staff finally realized that people going to the bus early was not as bad as the alternatives. So, guests went into the theater - got their bus assignments and either sat down and waited for the number to be called or went early to the bus. This actually wasn't so bad. IMO, there should be a few more "Handicapped" sheets reserved in the front of the buses, but, for the most part, it went smoothly. Many buses have two doors so you don't have to wait too long to get on or off of the bus. We found the staff at the Destinations Services desk to be friendly and helpful (especially Michael) and, in our opinion, it was the best Destination Services Team that we have seen on board Regent. Bravo to them!

 

If I missed anything, I'll add it later. Time for a rest!

Edited April 22, 2015 by Travelcat2

[irishwitchy]

Thank you for your complete description of the cruise. As another person wrote I would not take the time from my vacation to write this, but I'm assuming you are retired. I on the hand get to think and write all week - on vacation I'm not going to worry about my grammar and spelling. I enjoy folks comments about what had the better Indian, Asia, Mexican and Italian food! As was disappointed that octoberkat didn't chime in with a comment or two!

[Gilly]

TC said: "If what you order is not to your liking - change it. Ask for something else and make certain you describe how you would like it prepared. "

 

 

This chimes with our recent Voyager service and highlights a ?new? approach to food service - or at least, a different way of working from our previous Regent experiences. We noted in our mid-cruise comments a lack of several favourite items, particularly at breakfast time. The response was prompt and came from the top - all the items we'd missed were indeed still available, but it had been decided that some areas of the servery area in La Veranda (fruit juice in particular) were too cluttered and as a result, some things had been taken off the self serve area and placed in refrigerated storage behind the scenes. All we needed to do was to ask for what we'd like.

 

In fact, we never did have to ask....we only had to appear and like magic, two glasses of our favourite juice were brought to our table!

 

As far as dishes in CR were concerned, one of our friends took the opportunity to make a comment about seasoning to the chef when he was making his regular visit one evening. His reply was "this is a six star ship - all you need to do is to ask". Now, I'd prefer to leave it to the experts to get the seasoning correct in the first place and really dislike sending something back, especially when dining in a group of six. How will I know that something will come out too salty for my taste? Should I always request low salt? (probably) So, whilst I understand what the chef was saying, I'm not sure I am happy with his answer (and given the opportunity, would have liked to have explored it further, but sadly, it was neither the time nor the place to do that)

 

 

 

Regarding butlers:

"To be honest, I did not ask our butler what training he received and would like to learn more about this"

 

Our butlers have always hailed from India and during our conversations have told us of their backgrounds. Most have trained with the Taj group of hotels and speak proudly of their previous employment in private clubs and other exclusive hotels. Both of our families have connections with India and we enjoy chatting about the country and life in general with these delightful young men, most of whom have gone out of their way to provide whatever service they could to make our cruise special. During this cruise, our butler was called for training on the one afternoon when he'd planned to go ashore, to do some shopping for his mother (who he planned to see when the ship visits India in the next couple of weeks). Sharing my concern that this training was particularly inconvenient as far as timing was concerned, he assured me that it was far more important than buying a gift for his Mum! Raising an eyebrow (I'm a Mum myself!!!) he went on to say that his particular responsibility in an emergency was to care for those who needed additional assistance and that this was something which he needed to be completely au fait with. If this meant giving up an afternoon off, then so be it - it was all part of his job (Ma'am!)

[fairbourne]

Morning TC2 - We live in Scotland. I don't know I've ever seen any bargain or low prices for Regent at all! What we are paying for our late summer Baltic Cruise is certainly not cheap! We've had a couple of brochures recently with special offers but the special prices didn't really seem to be that special to me and only in certain stateroom categories! They can get away with offering a special low price on even one stateroom category on any cruise and give the impression that it's all a special deal!

 

However, before I booked I did a quick price comparison with what Oceania had to offer (very similar cruise, similar dates, ports etc) and after adding in the drinks package, The "Your World" excursions (which were exactly the same as offered on Regent),gratuities - it worked out about the same within a few pounds.

 

Anyway our Regent cruise will be very interesting as although we have been on Oceania, Seabourn and Silversea, we have not sailed any other lines and never taken ships excursions.

 

So being of the type of cruiser who loves to do small private tours either on our own or with a small group we discover on roll calls, this will be an education I'm sure!

 

The DH, who is an "Honorary Scot by marriage", is nae happy at a' about getting on a bus with potentially lots of pushing and shoving grannies and grampas so we will see how it goes! I've told him to man up! :rolleyes:

 

The butlers we have had on Oceania have all been Indian and trained by Taj Hotels, one of the finest hotel chains in the world and if you've ever been to the very famous Taj in Mumbai, you will know how high their standards are. I did comment on here somewhere ages ago, that Taj hotels are doing a grand job training butlers for Oceania and now it appears Regent also! ;):)

 

Gilly - I read your blog with glee - I totally get the photo taking of anything and everything that catches your eye which may not be terribly obvious to anyone else! It's always a tad embarrassing sending food back when dining with others - and the awkwardness of your fellow diners wanting to wait for your food to come to eat theirs! And then you graciously ask them to carry on to enjoy their food "while it's hot", they "reluctantly" do, then your food arrives when they've just finished and they all sit and stare as you try and enjoy your late arrived dish! Which if course you don't as you are aware of holding the whole table up! This is one of many reasons we prefer a table for two!

 

If the food is heavily salted then I think I may order low salt too.

[Gilly]

The thing is, Fairbourne, the food isn't *always* heavily salted...just occasionally. Which adds to the dilemma about whether or not to request a low salted dish! Our friend was referring to a Malaysian curry or similar when she made the comment to the chef - it was hardly spiced at all and most agreed that it could have been described as bland. All very well making specific requests when ordering, but it's a bit tricky to be objective about "a bit spicy, a little salt and served on a hot plate please" - I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the chef to utilise his skill and experience here!

 

Thanks for kind blog comments - it's always good to know someone else "gets it" ;-)

 

As for the bargain basement prices which are supposedly available in the UK, well, the grass is always greener on the other side, eh?

Edited April 22, 2015 by Gilly
punctuation

[Travelcat2]

I really wish I had saved the brochure that was emailed to me a couple of months ago when the thread about lower prices in the U.K. was "hot". I truly believed that there must be an explanation -- something must be missing that would explain the differences. After reading the brochure, I learned that some pricing in the U.K. (on some itineraries in some cabin categories) was 50% lower than in the U.S. (after converting prices from GBP to USD). Everything that is included in the U.S. was offered for these special prices. I have since verified this with Regent -- it is a fact -- not a rumor. However, I understand that the "specials" that were offered are no longer being offered (at least not for now).

 

As a "Honorary Brit by marriage" (thanks, fairbourne for teaching me that phrase), it still bothered me to think that some people were paying so much less than we were. However, as with many things in life, I have to "let it go". Some people threatened (on the other thread) to leave Regent over this -- I am not one of them.

 

Interesting information regarding the training of butlers for Oceania (and presumably Regent). I do wonder what type of training the "promoted" butlers are receiving.

[Dakota0307]

Oh my. You have me second guessing our AFT, 780. We chose deck seven over ten thinking the sailing would be smoother sailing the Atlantic from Africa to Rio on a lower deck. Also because there is a cabin above and below us. While our last butler told us he was bored because he rarely heard from us we plan to use our next butler more. Plan to enjoy a few meals served course by course in cabin. Thank you for time you spent critiquing to help others.

[Boreus]

It made us wonder if trainees are assigned to deck 7 on the Mariner since there are only five cabins that are "concierge" or above (we were in one of the two Seven Seas Aft suites -- there are also 3 Horizon suites). Some officers also have suites on deck 7. We were not fond of being on deck 7.

 

We have followed your postings with interest, and we have learned from them. Thank you. We are looking forward to our first Regent cruise out of Venice April 30 on the Mariner and have just been assigned to one of the category H cabins aft on deck 7. Was there anything besides the possibility of trainees being assigned there that made you not fond of deck 7?

 

I noticed in one of your posts that electronic cigarette smoking is permitted in non-food areas. Did this create any problem?

 

Could tobacco from traditional cigarettes, cigars, or pipes be smelled outside the designated smoking areas? The Connoisseur Club is aft on the sixth deck. Did you smell smoke from it on the seventh deck? I ask because my wife is made ill by tobacco smoke, and I try to avoid it myself. Our last cruise was on Silversea, and we had to change cabins because of tobacco and other smells coming through the ventilating system.

[ChatKat in Ca.]

I have sailed in Cabin 780 on the Mariner.

There is no cigarette/tobacco smell at all and the location and cabin are heaven on earth.

[Pam]

I wouldn't worry about the quality of service on Deck Seven. We were in a Grand Suite on Navigator when they were using all Filipino single stewardesses (?); ours looked about 16 years old. She got seasick when the water was rough, and climbed up on the sofa with her shoes on, to dust a picture frame. We didn't say anything, but you would think they would put more experience in the pricier suites.

[fizzy]

I wouldn't worry about the quality of service on Deck Seven. We were in a Grand Suite on Navigator when they were using all Filipino single stewardesses (?); ours looked about 16 years old. She got seasick when the water was rough, and climbed up on the sofa with her shoes on, to dust a picture frame. We didn't say anything, but you would think they would put more experience in the pricier suites.

 

I say spread the untrained staff to everybody. Or how about not subjecting guests to poorly trained staff at all? That might actually require supervisors to be servicing the cabins along with the new trainee.

[Travelcat2]

Was there anything besides the possibility of trainees being assigned there that made you not fond of deck 7?

 

I noticed in one of your posts that electronic cigarette smoking is permitted in non-food areas. Did this create any problem?

 

Could tobacco from traditional cigarettes, cigars, or pipes be smelled outside the designated smoking areas? The Connoisseur Club is aft on the sixth deck. Did you smell smoke from it on the seventh deck? I ask because my wife is made ill by tobacco smoke, and I try to avoid it myself. Our last cruise was on Silversea, and we had to change cabins because of tobacco and other smells coming through the ventilating system.

 

In some ways I really liked deck 7 - it was convenient to the spa, gym and boutique. My only concern was the level of experience of the crew.

 

No -- electronic smoking definitely did not create a problem of any kind. The only electronic device (the pipe) that we saw was from a visitor on board.

 

I was surprised that there was no noise from Horizons at night. Deck 7 on the Mariner is right above Horizons yet we did not hear a peep from there. There is smoking outside of Horizons - port side -- we were starboard. I do not think that there would be a smoke smell on the port side but am not 100% certain. We were not aware of smoking anywhere on the ship.

 

Dakota0307: It sounds like you will be aft on the Voyager since you indicated that there were suites above and below you (on the Mariner, the Horizon Lounge is below you). We have also been in a Seven Seas Aft suite on the Voyager (I believe it was 781). We loved that suite. There was a little bit of vibration in the bathroom but it didn't bother us a bit. In terms of the butler -- ours must have been bored as well as we found little for him to do.

 

The only issue with our aft suite on the Mariner was a noise/vibration that my DH heard/felt that bothered him. This only occurred when the ship was going at slow speeds. Some people are simply noise sensitive -- I am not. I loved the suite and the huge deck and would not have changed our suite if my DH felt the same way.

 

Appreciate the kind comments. It was easy to spend time on Cruise Critic while onboard since this was a crossing and we had so much time at sea (we love sea days). I basically went online after breakfast and after dinner O(we didn't care for the shows so this was a nice way to spend time before going to bed).

[Dakota0307]

To those addressing SS AFT cabins, thank you. My mistake about cabins above and below us. Did not catch I was looking at Voyager and not Mariner. Layout map. Just recently began following this board. Extremely informative and appreciated.

[rallydave]

Wish we had been in the Concorde room at LHR. We were only in the Business Class Lounge (which is still better than most lounges that we have visited). The plane.... hmmmmm, we always sit upstairs -- maybe six rows of seats. We are almost always in the same seats. There are a couple of things that are broken in the compartments next to the seats (there is a ton of storage area next to the window seats). Unless the exact same damage - in the exact same place has been done to multiple 747-400's, we were on the same plane multiple times.

 

In response to another posters most unkind comment, I do not care when the plane was built -- the interior was clearly "new" (new seats, new compartments, etc.) When Silversea and Oceania advertise their "new" ships, they were not necessarily built recently but were completely refurbished. Perhaps Oceania needs to be reminded that the "new" Sirina (debuting next year) is really an old ship that is taking a year to refurbish

 

Interesting, the interior was clearly "new" (new seats, new compartments, etc.) but, the identification of the broken things in the compartments identified the plane as the one flown previously. Sounds as if BA keeps the same damage when they refurbish the interior????:eek::eek:

[Travelcat2]

Interesting, the interior was clearly "new" (new seats, new compartments, etc.) but, the identification of the broken things in the compartments identified the plane as the one flown previously. Sounds as if BA keeps the same damage when they refurbish the interior????:eek::eek:

 

Clearly you misunderstood my post. I understand that men look at things differently than women (in many cases ...... think Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus). When I stated that we had flown the same plane numerous times, a couple of posters said that the only way to know this was by some number on the tail or someplace else. My response was that I identified the same plane by broken things in specific compartments.

 

When we had the delay at Heathrow and they had to change equipment, it was clear that this was not the same plane that we had flown for two reasons: 1) the seats and compartments were clearly new; and 2) the identifying items mentioned above were not there. Hope this makes things more clear for you.:rolleyes:

[rallydave]

Clearly you misunderstood my post. I understand that men look at things differently than women (in many cases ...... think Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus). When I stated that we had flown the same plane numerous times, a couple of posters said that the only way to know this was by some number on the tail or someplace else. My response was that I identified the same plane by broken things in specific compartments.

 

When we had the delay at Heathrow and they had to change equipment, it was clear that this was not the same plane that we had flown for two reasons: 1) the seats and compartments were clearly new; and 2) the identifying items mentioned above were not there. Hope this makes things more clear for you.:rolleyes:

 

Absolutely NOT. Not a matter of looking at things differently, a matter of some people not completely reading what other people and they write compared to people who read posts comprehensibly and don't make errors that confuse others.

 

Why would anyone talk all about the plane and the identifying marks and new interior unless that was the plane they were flying?? Guess the answer is that some people need to try to impress others with their special treatment and that they always fly BA 747-400's and in the more expensive upper deck.

 

Most people on this board are not impressed by smoozing with the officers, high level executives, or flying on the same aircraft among other things.

[JMARINER]

Clearly you misunderstood my post. I understand that men look at things differently than women (in many cases ...... think Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus).............

 

Dave,

 

You really from Mars? Who knew. You always struck me as the Vulcan type or perhaps a Romulan. :D :D :D

[rallydave]

Jmariner now you've let everyone in on my secret identity I'm a desciple of Ming the Merciless hiding from Flash Gordon!!

[JMARINER]

Jmariner now you've let everyone in on my secret identity I'm a desciple of Ming the Merciless hiding from Flash Gordon!!

 

So, is it true that the Mongori have even a stricter " No tipping allowed" policy? Violations punished for impertinent by banishment to Frigia and recipients are turned into automatons?

 

 

Ya think that would work well here on earth 🙅

 

Sorry to be so off topic, but I really want to know.

[fairbourne]

Clearly you misunderstood my post. I understand that men look at things differently than women (in many cases ...... think Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus). When I stated that we had flown the same plane numerous times, a couple of posters said that the only way to know this was by some number on the tail or someplace else. My response was that I identified the same plane by broken things in specific compartments.

 

When we had the delay at Heathrow and they had to change equipment, it was clear that this was not the same plane that we had flown for two reasons: 1) the seats and compartments were clearly new; and 2) the identifying items mentioned above were not there. Hope this makes things more clear for you.:rolleyes:

 

Well Mrs, being a fellow gal, I understand exactly what you are saying! ANd the rest, well some jumbos are wearing better than others! I love flying in the 747 and have been lucky enough to fly "in the nose" all the way to Australia and there is nothing like sitting in 1A or 1K when taking off or landing! Sadly these old birds are retiring over the next few years. I do firmly believe that women are much more observant than men, I will ask my DH if he "noticed" something, or someone (!) and the number of times he will be oblivious! LOL! sound familiar?

 

Now rallydave, desciple (sic) of whatever - said in a way a stroppy teenager would say "wot evvverrrr" with their arms thrown around to make maximum emphasis on the "errrr " .... :p. You and I know full well the upper deck club world seats are no more expensive to buy than any other club world seat on any aircraft on BA. The difference is that if you do not have frequent flyer status with BA or any of their other one world partner airlines, you cannot choose your seat until 24 hours pre-flight when online check-in opens up, unless you choose to pay a seat selection fee, which varies depending on seat chosen. This is true for all cabins on BA, except first class when you can select your seat when you book.

 

So what if someone chooses to fly business class? It's their money, their choice and anyway if you book a certain category stateroom on Regent, aren't business class flights are included? I know in the UK, Business class flights are included depending on stateroom category - they certainly were for our upcoming Med cruise. From what I'm reading TC2 included this information as it completed her trip report, nothing else. Don't be so bad, you'll be getting a skelpt lug! ;):). I will show no Mercy! LOL!

[fairbourne]

So, is it true that the Mongori have even a stricter " No tipping allowed" policy? Violations punished for impertinent by banishment to Frigia and recipients are turned into automatons?

 

 

Ya think that would work well here on earth 🙅

 

Sorry to be so off topic, but I really want to know.

 

You'll be getting a skelpt lug an a'!!! :p:)