Fred Olsen sale

[twotravellersLondon]

7 hours ago, Britboys said:

Latterly, the cabins with doors onto the Promenade were renamed "Lanai Staterooms" by HAL. Obviously a very American terminology.

 

The terms "Lanai Staterooms" and "Ocean-view stateroom" were concurrent and frequently appeared on the same brochure page to describe the same cabin.

 

A Lanai has different meanings in different parts of the USA. In the hotter Southern states it's often referred to as the front porch that's big enough for a couple of chairs in some other places it means the same as the rather lowly "stoop" or the posher "veranda." In Spanish/Hispanic... it's a "terrace" but can be an inner courtyard for outdoor living.

 

In FOCLise... it's a couple of steamer chairs in the shade in full public view with soaking wet cushions if it's rained. Those who pay extra for them... if they wish... publically luxuriate on their private steamer chairs... while those from the lower decks can only walk past... trying not to obscure the views of those who can afford more .

 

HAL have designed this type of cabin out of the Nieu Amsterdam/Rotterdam... we can certainly see why.

[Britboys]

8 hours ago, tring said:

 

I knew they were called Lanai cabins, but seemed a strange word and I had never heard that word before.  Does it have a meaning in America? 

 

I know they call their balconies verandas, which is a word we would understand, though I would have thought of that as ground level, rather than overlooking whatever is below, like the word balcony.  American English can be very different to real English though of course.

 

It is very Floridian Barbara. Can be just a balcony or patio but is often covered or glassed-in to provide a garden room. I first came across the word in the American tv comedy, Golden Girls, where they would often go and sit on the Lanai...😊

[tring]

3 hours ago, twotravellersLondon said:

 

The terms "Lanai Staterooms" and "Ocean-view stateroom" were concurrent and frequently appeared on the same brochure page to describe the same cabin.

 

 

We actually have the later HAL deck plans for those ships, which were available on the net before Fred published his, with the changes the ships were undergoing, a lot of work was done, the ships were in very poor condition apparently. There are both Lanai and also outside cabins on the prom decks and the Lanai cabins are clearly shown as a different colour, i.e. grade.  That is the same as the cabins on Fred's deck plans now, the patio doors were all put into some cabins by HAL.  Also interesting that they are for the ones less likely to be affected by noise as they are not under the kitchens or adjacent to the public doors out onto the Prom deck - they remained as outsides and still do.  That original design of most, if not all ships of that age if accomodation is on the prom deck was for outside canins.

 

Regards rain, the prom deck is covered over to the outside edge of the ship, so rain does not go that far, but could get condensation which would cause damp if people wanted them overnight, but we have been on cruises when the

crew put them out when wanted, we have seen that being done by staff ourselves, but probably would not cover very early mornings or later at night.  I may prefer to hang onto them myself.

 

Regards shade, for short cruises from the UK or the Med off season, we would prefer sun, but would not be the case if we were on a cruise in a warmer climate in a hot season.  In the tropics or Med in summer, shade is something not easily found on the outside deck of ships.  It would also be useful to have outside space which is sheltered from the elements for scenic cruising.  We had an outside on prom deck for a cruise with a lot of scenic cruising in Scotland and the weather was not good, but we really enjoyed being able to go out on to the virtually deserted prom deck, then return to our cabin facilities when we wanted, taking a cup of tea out with us at times.  The top deck would have been much more exposed.  All personal preference. 

 

Edited August 8, 2023 by tring

[twotravellersLondon]

 

Problem is that that neither these "terrace cabins' nor the next grade up "junior balcony suites" are offered at a competitive rate even at the last minute.

 

In the days that the MS Rotterdam was run by Holland America Lines all of the cabins on Deck 3, the Lower Promenade Deck, were Ocean View Staterooms. Grades H and HH had partial or fully obstructed views, Grades D and E had unobstructed views and the Lanai cabins, Grade CA had unobstructed views and a glass door leading onto the walk-around promenade deck. But all were classified as "Ocean View Staterooms."

 

If we pay our hard-earned money for an ocean cruise, we expect to be able to enjoy sitting on the deck or wandering around the prom deck, taking in the sea air, watching out for birds, enjoying convivial conversations being exhilarated by sighting whales and delighted by the ocean in all its many moods. 

 

We believe that "FOCLs" did the Boudicca a great disservice when he created the "terrace balcony suites and rooms" on that ship. We well remember being part of a group chatting on the rail on deck 7 after the excitement of sighting turtles by the side of the ship in the Bay of Bengal... only to be stared at over the half-rimmed glasses of one individual in white dressing gown reading some heavy tome on her balcony... whilst her partner... tutted on and eventually asked the dozen of us to move on as we were disturbing their peace and blocking their view! but of course they couldn't see the turtles from where they were sitting and had just missed an experience of a lifetime.

 

These Lanai/Terrace cabins haven't been replicated in the ships that have replaced these old vessels taken over by FOCLs. The Promenade Decks on the Nieuw Rotterdam and on the Nieuw Amsterdam are open, clear and inviting... with not a "private steamer-chair" in sight.

 

We were very taken by an early review of the Borealis commented on, "a lack of opportunity to sit outdoors with a drink and look out to sea." "The deck above the Crow's Nest is completely surrounded by glass... which has a very dark tint", "the Lido deck pool area had dark tinted glass..." "deck area to the rear of the self-service restaurant, which had views to the back and sides... again the chairs/tables were mainly under a shaded area and the only clear view was from further back where there were sun beds... but they were fully occupied fairly early most days, despite our cruise having no more than 50% occupancy."

 

Reviews like the one quoted above that were a huge put-off for us at a time that we were very keen to try-out the post-covid "Fred." As a result of these comment and chats with trusted friends, we chose to travel with another company instead of FOCLs and we've since booked 5 months’ worth of bookings with that same company... so quite a loss to Fred!

 

Given the type of cabin that we want... we can get a better cabin, with better food, better entertainment and a far better cruise than FOCLs seems to be offering ... even in its sales.

[Equiferro]

On 7/25/2023 at 1:05 PM, ann141 said:

We have booked this morning. It's because we have ended up paying a lot more than others on previous cruises that we wanted to wait until the cabins were what we consider a more reasonable price. Hopefully Fred will notice that people are holding back on booking so give more of an incentive to book early.I also hope that upgrades will be offered first to those who have paid more.

 

On 7/25/2023 at 1:10 PM, ann141 said:

I phoned Fred again this morning and although Terrace cabins aren't included in the offer, I was able to book a terrace cabin at a very much reduced price which I was happy to take. It doesn't concern me that others who may have booked an inside cabin will have paid thousands less than me. I have paid a price that I think is reasonable for an itinerary that I really want to do 

We responded to that offer. Bopth Terrace and Balcony cabins were available on it and we booked a balcony

[ann141]

10 minutes ago, Equiferro said:

 

We responded to that offer. Bopth Terrace and Balcony cabins were available on it and we booked a balcony

We couldn't book a terrace on exactly the same offer as was available for inside and outside cabins but still booked at a considerable saving