.......idle jottings continued

[TrapperZimmy]

What does it say about SeaDream, gcmv, that we spend good money to sail on her despite the fact she isn't "exquisitely beautiful?" Perhaps it is her crew that raises her to a level above any other vessel? If those outstanding men and women were aboard a tramp steamer, I'd be glad to spend a week with them.

Edited September 29, 2016 by TrapperZimmy

[ho-hum]

Great review! Thanks for sharing Hum!

 

Well that's jolly nice of you old chum: nice of you to pop in and also check that we are all behaving ourselves too !

Keep an eye on Jim........just sayin'.

But seriously, we appreciate your tolerant attitude towards items and issues "discussed" on this forum.

It IS firmly based on SD but we may be seen to appear to wander off subject occasionally but it is simply reflecting the camaraderie (and respect) between SD guests whether they take just one voyage or many and even if they never have boarded and never will !

 

Hum thinks Hum may have stretched your forbearance to tolerance regarding Hum's jottings.

Chums, Hum was draconically reprimanded and issued with a life time warning !

For what ? you enquire.

Simply asking for a contributor's address !

Yes.

How extreme you exclaim !

Well, it was not so innocent.

Hum asked the address of the secure psychiatric facility they were now housed !

You see Hum judged the horrid and un-true post was a bit "barmy" !

It was a joke.

 

On another occasion (much, much later) Hum was so incensed by a mean post that Hum posted that if the "contributor" were ever to encounter Hum, Hum would punch him on the nose !

Of course, Hum would not (neither did he actually believe a poster whom Hum reacted towards, actually lived in a psychiatric establishment of the most secure type. Hum is sure there are lots of good people in these facilities actually).

Hum notified Host Dan of Hum's transgression, who, with the wisdom of a Buddha, absolved Hum of his rash foolishness and offered to "pull" the post otherwise he would have let it stand !

Extraordinary !

How wonderfully handled !

Respect levels soared !

We ALL owe a lot to Host Dan.

Hum hoped we would sail together some time.

 

Thanks too for the kind remarks by a few of the regular chums here too about the review.

Does Hum take himself so seriously ?

Naaahh....

Only about what Hum is passionate about.

Well that's quite a lot of things actually.

Hum is very odd indeed.

Hum has little self-control.

Well none actually.

That's probably why Hum goes "blitherin' on" about all sorts of nonsense.

 

It gave Hum a lot of pleasure to be able to say somethings really nice about SD shoreside management too: makes a change from some historic comments Hum has made !

Oh how Hum winces at some of his comments !

They and the crew of SDI are going through a tough time.

And yes !

Hum is equally cognisant of the disappointment to those originally planning voyages on SDI.

No, it is a huge shame.

Surprising that the morale is so good amongst the crew of SDI.......but is it ?

Remarkable individuals.

Hum is short for "Hum....bled".

Humbled by good people doing their best and with a smile on their face.

Hum (and possibly Raggy ?) is a "grouch" in comparison.

No, he's a "grouch" FULL STOP !

 

Hum's off to Belgrade, Serbia tomorrow for a wedding: the former Housekeeper's, on SDII.

Meeting up with with a few former crew there too.

Really nice to be invited.

Feeling very proud if the truth be known.......that a hard working crew member wants Mr. Grouchy Pants to come to her wedding !

Yes of course it's really all about Blondie.

Ying and Yang perfectly balanced.

"Bring "Old Grouchy Pants" Blondie but keep him out of harm's way, pleeeeeezzzze"

Yes Hum accepts that it is most likely true.

But all the same.

Again it shows just how "warm and friendly" the crew are to guests.

Somehow the relationship to some of the crew developed into friendships even post-SD.

Remember a "favourite crew member is not just for ......(fill in blanks yourself)"

 

Finally chums, please pray for Hum's liver !

Or not !

Quietly, Hum is a tad worried.

They (the other 200 wedding guests !) are all going to be 30 years younger !

Hum is an old man !

And there will be dancing !

Ye Gods !

They drink "Gawd Awful" spirit made out of plums or something.......it is deadly !

And the men are all terribly "macho".

Hum is more Oscar Wilde (without the wit or talent admittedly).

 

Wish Hum luck.

Hum's goin' to die........he knows it !!!!!!

 

You know ?

Hum is so wonderfully lucky to have such (very) tolerant chums.

Hum is (very) appreciative, so (very) appreciative.......

 

Oh Gawd !

How Hum has rambled on .........

Edited September 29, 2016 by ho-hum

[Jim Avery]

In vino, veritas. Or some such reasoning for Hum's rambling on. A bit like ( but more sophisticated than ) Jimbodini when he is conversing with Cousin Jasper Newton Daniel during a Bama game.:eek: Hum is forever youthful and will "hold his own" well against the younger set. Sort of like Dorian Gray. There must be some ancient portrait somewhere at Hum Castle. All the best to Hum and Blondie for a safe and fun trip to the Wedding. And may I add my thanks to Host Dan. Dan, you are the best..By far. Just make a few comments at other boards and duck and cover! The SeaDream Board is my Facebook. We have a great group with a great Host. Ok Hum, back to you....... Ramble on my friend.

[Jim Avery]

BTW, found this photo of Ragnar in his kitchen attire.

[TrapperZimmy]

They drink "Gawd Awful" spirit made out of plums or something.......it is deadly !

 

Ah, Slivovitz. If you replace the two bottles Ernest consumed when he picked up the sofa droppings, I will gladly reimburse you the next time we sail together. Sljivovica is the national drink of Serbia. Close to 100 proof! Once you drink it you will never go back to ordinary paint thinner.

 

BTW, Hum, do you know if any of the SD1 crew have been able to get home during their time off the ship? It would be nice if they could see their families before going off on the crossing.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

BTW, found this photo of Ragnar in his kitchen attire.

 

 

Spot on, except it is missing the "Kiss the Cook" that is on my apron....

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

"Looking forward meeting you onboard one day, having a nice glass of Champagne together with hum, blondie, Mrs. gcmv and Mrs. Raggy. "

 

Throw in Jim and his far better half and you got yourself a deal!

[Jim Avery]

"Looking forward meeting you onboard one day, having a nice glass of Champagne together with hum, blondie, Mrs. gcmv and Mrs. Raggy. "

 

Throw in Jim and his far better half and you got yourself a deal!

 

Danke mein Freund.:D

[Host Dan]

In vino, veritas. Or some such reasoning for Hum's rambling on. A bit like ( but more sophisticated than ) Jimbodini when he is conversing with Cousin Jasper Newton Daniel during a Bama game.:eek: Hum is forever youthful and will "hold his own" well against the younger set. Sort of like Dorian Gray. There must be some ancient portrait somewhere at Hum Castle. All the best to Hum and Blondie for a safe and fun trip to the Wedding. And may I add my thanks to Host Dan. Dan, you are the best..By far. Just make a few comments at other boards and duck and cover! The SeaDream Board is my Facebook. We have a great group with a great Host. Ok Hum, back to you....... Ramble on my friend.

Many thanks for such a nice comment! The people that follow the SeaDream forum are by far the best behaved out of all of the forums I host! Thanks to you for making my life a lot easier! :)

[BeignetBoy]

Hello Mr. Hum...

 

When you have a minute, let us know how you enjoyed the wedding... I am sure that you "survived" and had a lot of fun. As for Blondie, we are sure that she did very well also. Did you learn how to dance? You seemed a bit worried about it when we saw you on the cruise to Venice a few months ago.

 

And we enjoyed your review of the last voyage on SDII. It was a bummer that you were "bumped" off of the second part of the trip. I have often wondered how SD's management handles such a thing as a cancellation, and hope that they are very generous in taking care of the financials and inconveniences of customers involved with cancellations. I hope that we never have to learn about these "first hand."

 

I hope that SD's financials are in good shape to be able to keep up their excellent service in-spite of the tremendous costs involved with the fire and the cancellations. Lack of revenue for one month plus cancellations must have been quite costly.

 

We are looking forward to seeing Blondie, you, and many of our other SD Crossing Buddies in a few weeks in Barcelona.

[TrapperZimmy]

I hope that SD's financials are in good shape to be able to keep up their excellent service in-spite of the tremendous costs involved with the fire and the cancellations. Lack of revenue for one month plus cancellations must have been quite costly.

 

This is what insurance is for. In addition to insuring the ship, I'm sure there is also business interruption insurance that covers loss of revenue.

[Jim Avery]

This is what insurance is for. In addition to insuring the ship, I'm sure there is also business interruption insurance that covers loss of revenue.

 

It depends on what coverages they bought. Full business interruption/loss of income insurance is very pricey. And, in my experience, maritime loss insurance never seems to cover it all. I would imagine some is insured but also speculate that there is significant expenses out of pocket so to speak. They really need to get the old girl back in action. :D Besides all the full refunds, at least some displaced passengers have been given free future cruises. Again, loss of income somewhere down the road. Not sure if that would be covered by any policies.

Edited September 29, 2016 by Jim Avery

[ho-hum]

What does it say about SeaDream, gcmv, that we spend good money to sail on her despite the fact she isn't "exquisitely beautiful?" Perhaps it is her crew that raises her to a level above any other vessel? If those outstanding men and women were aboard a tramp steamer, I'd be glad to spend a week with them.

 

So true, so true dear chum but with the added proviso.......a well stocked bar !

 

Ah, Slivovitz. If you replace the two bottles Ernest consumed when he picked up the sofa droppings, I will gladly reimburse you the next time we sail together. Sljivovica is the national drink of Serbia. Close to 100 proof! Once you drink it you will never go back to ordinary paint thinner.

 

BTW, Hum, do you know if any of the SD1 crew have been able to get home during their time off the ship? It would be nice if they could see their families before going off on the crossing.

 

Sljivovica !

 

That's the stuff !

Fortunately it is a clear liquid.

Hmmmmm..........Hum has a plan.

All in the interest of SURVIVAL you see !

 

Regarding the SDI crew.

All Hum can say is that the issue seems to be frustratingly close to be resolved but there have been a few "false dawns".

As a result, the crew have to remain onboard ready for resuming duties though one crew member was able to get away for a couple of days not far from the ship.

The crew desperately want to get back to work and see US (guests) !

They were initially "put up" in a basic standard hotel for a few days and then soon moved onto a really "swish" one.

 

All our thoughts are with the crew but Hum has been told by a very reliable source who had been with the SDI crew that they are all in remarkably good spirits.

[ho-hum]

Hello Mr. Hum...

 

When you have a minute, let us know how you enjoyed the wedding... I am sure that you "survived" and had a lot of fun. As for Blondie, we are sure that she did very well also. Did you learn how to dance? You seemed a bit worried about it when we saw you on the cruise to Venice a few months ago.

 

And we enjoyed your review of the last voyage on SDII. It was a bummer that you were "bumped" off of the second part of the trip. I have often wondered how SD's management handles such a thing as a cancellation, and hope that they are very generous in taking care of the financials and inconveniences of customers involved with cancellations. I hope that we never have to learn about these "first hand."

 

I hope that SD's financials are in good shape to be able to keep up their excellent service in-spite of the tremendous costs involved with the fire and the cancellations. Lack of revenue for one month plus cancellations must have been quite costly.

 

We are looking forward to seeing Blondie, you, and many of our other SD Crossing Buddies in a few weeks in Barcelona.

 

Hum ain't gone yet !

Leave for airport in 2 hours.

Gotta get on......

Remember those prayers for Hum's liver !

[ho-hum]

BTW, found this photo of Ragnar in his kitchen attire.

 

Spot on Jim !

 

Obviously Raggy sees himself as pirate "Jack Soarrow" but evidence reveals he is more Martha Stewart ..... -an honest Martha Stewart of course.

 

He really should change his avatar to the pinny guy for sake of accuracy..

[MACT]

Dear His Lordship

 

A cracking good review, a spendid piece of homework, now please try and get out of deepest darkest Serbia with Blondie in tow all in one piece. The name of that country always rather sounds a little foreboding to me...oh and try and not turn into a "plumb dumpling" with all these toasts to the bride and groom having to be throw down the throat.

 

A cunning plan eh? Alas poor Baldrick also had a few of these if I do recall.

[LN50]

Really enjoyed the review, a good insight as to what we can expect.

I am hoping that things are sorted on SD1 for us to board on our taster cruise on 12th. First time on Seadream, but have loved the smaller yachts of Seabourn.

 

How delightful to be invited to a crew wedding, hopefully the liver will survive in full working order. Have fun. :)

 

Any other tips for first timers? I see somewhere that we are able to shop with the chef, do we need to book in advance?

 

Are we able to have caviar on room service? We sometimes do on Seabourn as a pre dinner appetiser. Is it a pay for extra, if available?

[Zimmy]

 

 

Any other tips for first timers? I see somewhere that we are able to shop with the chef, do we need to book in advance?

 

Are we able to have caviar on room service? We sometimes do on Seabourn as a pre dinner appetiser. Is it a pay for extra, if available?

 

If there is a chef's walk, LN50, it will be announced onboard. But not all itineraries lend themselves to this, so you'll have to wait and see.

 

If you want to sleep on deck one night, reserve the large bed at the front of the ship. Reserve it at the desk as soon as you board, because lots of passengers know that this is the best one. And ask for an egg crate to be put under your mattress - those lounge pads that are so comfortable during the day are not quite as comfortable at night.

 

I can't answer your question regarding the caviar, except to say that caviar is served at the beach party and once or twice at cocktails. We've never asked about ordering it.

 

I hope that everything works out for you and that you have a great time. We are booked on SD1 in January and we can't wait.

 

Zimmy

[BeignetBoy]

 

Any other tips for first timers?

 

Are we able to have caviar on room service? We sometimes do on Seabourn as a pre dinner appetiser. Is it a pay for extra, if available?

 

I agree on reserving the balinese bed in the front of the ship when you check in, especially if you are in a climate where it is comfortable outside. it is quite an experience, even if you don't stay outside all night. (Every time we have tried it, it rained on us, but it still was enjoyable to view the stars.)

 

As for the caviar, if I remember correctly, it is available as an extra item that you can purchase on the dinner menu. It is often served with dinner on the "degustation meal" which is served on some voyages. It is also usually served on several of the pre-dinner cocktail parties (Captain's Welcome Party and the Club Member's party, I think), as well as the splash in the Caribbean. SeaDream's staff is very accommodating, so if it isn't obvious; ask for it, and if it can be done, it will be done.

 

Enjoy

[LN50]

Thank you Zimmy and Beignetboy.

 

Not sure if the weather in the Med in October would be suitable for sleeping outside, but might be worth trying if we wrap up warmly :) I will look to book it anyway then if it is good weather we have the option.

 

Hoping we manage to sail :D

[Poppy1966]

Hey, Ho Hum, just home Tuesday. Thank you for recommending Marco. Walked straight off the ship and was waiting for us. Marvellous! Even more surprising was Marco said the transfer was gratis, courtesy of Ho Hum.😜

Lost a very expensive ring onboard,( been trying to track it down all week or claim through my insurance)and hallelujah it has been found on the ship today!!

Restored my faith in humanity.

 

Booked Auckland to Melbourne over Christmas/New year. In Sydney (3days) onboard incl NYE in Sydney harbour, then meeting my Tasmanian friends in Melbourne for few days before flying home. Yeah

 

Will pick my ring up when I join the ship in Auckland in Dec rather than taking a chance of it getting lost in transit.

It's currently travelling Rome to Lisbon, then a crossing to Miami, onto San Diego round trip and finally Tahiti, papeete and arriving in Auckland where I will meet up with it again in Dec. It will have clocked more nights onboard than me!!

Hope all is well. Pxx

[ho-hum]

Dear Ragnar - gcmv understands, but for the real luxury experience you should join hum and gcmv on a REAL LUXURY cruise ship next time, and not on an old steamer with high repair susceptibility that has to cancel cruises due to technical problems or fire onboard ... ;)

 

For example, the Hapag Lloyd EUROPA2 - here's an excerpt of their latest press release:

 

EUROPA 2 Receives the Highest Distinction, 6 stars-plus in Stern's Guide to the Cruise Vacation 2017

 

Top distinction for Hapag-Lloyd Cruises' EUROPA 2, 6 stars-plus and 6 stars for the EUROPA

In the 28th edition of Stern’s Guide to the Cruise Vacation 2017, the EUROPA 2, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ luxury ship, took top ranking with the highest distinction, 6-stars-plus for cruise ships worldwide.

"Having cruised on over 800 ships, I can honestly say that no other ships was as exquisitely beautiful as the Europa 2,“ said Steve Stern.

 

On this ship the glass is 9/8 full ... :D

 

Looking forward meeting you onboard one day, having a nice glass of Champagne together with hum, blondie, Mrs. gcmv and Mrs. Raggy. :)

 

Dearest Baron,

 

We have discussed the reason for Hum (and many others) preferring SD many times !

Many, many times !

 

SOUL !

 

"Soul" does not and never has done......mean perfection.

"Au contraire" !

But discerning passengers returning to SD ain't that much interested in lavish facilities and uber correct and aloof service.

Nay they are wholly satisfied by basic comforts, open areas, friendly fellow guests, great food, no silly signing for drinks and above all a long time serving, reliable, intelligent, friendly crew with personality and a love to be of service.

 

There is a new waiter onboard SDII from Austria.

He is the "genuine article".

Extremely smart.

Perfectly mannered.

Aware.

Hum adored him.

 

He worked on E2.

He hated it.

"Cold", he said.

He had no reason to "curry favour" (so sorry Baron...........Hum always comes out with this "low life" type of saying with you. Yes it is grossly un-fair and in-sensitive !).

Service was robotic, aloof........err Teutonic and was most suited for Germanic peoples !

Oh Hum did not want to enter national stereotyping but let us face facts and not shy away adopting a politically correct attitude for fear of offending (but if H has, H sincerely apologises).

 

The problem with E2 is that it's too German.

Just as:

The problem with Ponant is that it's too French.

The problem with Costa is that it's too Italian.

The problem with Disney is that it's too "young family" (aka "screaming brats").

The problem with river boats is that it's too "old farts" ("would suit you then Hum").

The problem with big ships is that everyone is treated like cattle, admittedly some are prized "Heffers" but most are ordinary "Freisians".

 

Now what Hum also loves about SD is the fact that most guests are cosmopolitan, international minded or just plain home lovin', decent folks and the size of the bally vessel means you are more likely to chat than on the equivalent behemoths like New York city on water.

And yes the same type of people can be found on all the other disparaged ships too but........

 

Yes the nationalities favouring certain ships may be very proud of their respective countries and jolly good luck with that too and why jolly well not but Hum doesn't want to be onboard a wholly English style ship with English crew and English passengers !

Heavens forbid !

Hun wants to meet and interact with the natives from less advanced societies like America, Canada, Australia even (dont understand a ruddy word they say of course !).

Now before "knickers get twisted", H is just being cheeky.

No offence meant.

Heck the English can be really awful.

Take H for example.

In-sufferable fool.

 

To summarise, H loves the International vibe onboard and the mostly liberal minded attitude of most guests (and even gun totin', rootin' shootin' types nay especially gun totin', rootin' shootin' types !) H usually finds most guests interesting too and intelligent (but the stuff that comes out of TraaperZ is "way over Hum's head": he proves some people can be too intelligent !).

 

So you don't think there are issues on the new modern ships too.

Hmmmmm..........

That's what we all thought about Volkswagen cars !!!!!

How wrong we all were.

Haha

 

H would love to join you and the Baroness on a "taster" (3 day cruise) on E2 but that would be to predominantly to meet up with you dearest chums.

Better make it sooner rather than later as we hear the German economy is about to "tank".

What H doesn't understand is Merkel bails out the Greeks (with no sign of seeing a euro back !) but won't bail out Deutsche Bank which is likely to be a bigger failure than Lehmann Brothers (didn't that have German origins too ?).

 

Time spent with you and Frau GCMV will always be fun.

We share a common love that is beyond our nationalities, religions, political views, habits, idiosyncrasies, temperaments and all and every potential and actual points of difference, no matter how large or how minuscule.

 

We share a love for life for as long we are so blessed with it ...........

 

ANOTHER frigging ramble....

[abenaki]

,,,,but one of your better rambles, really.... see you soon dearest. Please give our congrats to the bride.

[kathyanddanny]

Cheers!

 

To Brother Hum's rants!...

And Seadream wins everytime!... 😊👍🏻

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Well, SD wins 99% of the time. Our favorite cruise by far was the Galapagos on Celebrity Xpedition. Xpedition has everything SD has (except a jaccuzzi instead of a pool), but you get the incredible adventure of seeing the wild Galapagos. And since all pax go on all the adventures (if they want), 10 to a zodiac, you have shared experiences that really make for great camaraderie. And you will never forget the Galapagos.

 

So if you haven't done it, book the trip. It sells out way in advance. Take the 10 day package, includes hotel and tours in and around Quito, and all transfers. They have a Machu Pichu extender too.

 

If you have any questions, glad to answer.