Pigin

5 hours ago, Brownie54 said:

I saw him as well…often with no shoes on!

He may be from NZ.  We had heard that some people there go bare foot but were still shocked when we saw people walking into a restaurant/bar without shoes.  Clearly it wasn’t a fad as the adults and children walked across sharp gritted car park and were clearly well adapted to it.
 

However, when in Rome and all that!

I concur with the hit and miss.  Unfortunately when I encounter a miss, a single hit does not result in a zero sum game.  Chef Joseph was new to the ship and appeared to be making his mark as the dishes improved as the cruise progressed but still too many misses for a well established product.

6 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

I am also surprised!

Sounds like the OP is saying you have be "Rude" to get anywhere with the onboard Viking people.  We've had our share of issues and NEVER encountered that.  I always approached Viking with a smile, being courteous and polite, but firm and stating things in a business and facts sort of way.  I've always had good responses and fixes to the issues without ever having to be "rude".  

Perhaps you had a very isolated incident.  I haven't hear the need to be rude so much.  Certainly many passengers are rude onboard to the Viking people, but Viking staff seems to handle it well.  We always say that to work on Viking you must have thick skin!!

Rude, really!!!

What I, the OP, is saying is that I left a cabin that I believe has ongoing issues that I am willing to point out. 
 

I am not offering advice on how to deal with situations, it’s an adult cruise after all.  What I’m not doing is voicing presumptions.  That would be rude 😂.

58 minutes ago, sk99 said:

I think it's an excellent idea to have a topic dedicated to cabin information, both good and bad. For example Celebrity board has a topic and comprehensive spreadsheet where one can check on mostly every cabin, especially because cabin reviews are no longer available.

 

Depending on the scale of things a spreadsheet would be the way to go. Time permitting I would be amenable to doing such. 

@FetaCheese, sorry but the topic is about trying to "assist " the next person in a cabin so that they may use the comment in any further such issues.  Moving to a different cabin is a whole new topic should you wish to start it. Going off topic so soon is bound to render the topic fruitless 🥴.  I would have loved to have known if the problems had been reported previously. 

21 minutes ago, Hockeyump said:

I assume you reported these issues?

" ….that had previously been reported."

Having recently finished a VO cruise, it occurred to me that the next person into the cabin we had may not be aware of the issues that had previously been reported.

I will set the ball rolling with….

Viking Star 4055

Toilet backfills mainly overnight, mega disgusting, mega smelly. Hygiene issue.

Excessive noise.  We accept some creaks and groans and normal but this is excessive and makes for a VERY disturbed sleep.

Hmmm! 😏. A freebie from a travel expo in the UK.

7 hours ago, SNeuman said:

Pigin - Did it have some type of code associated with it?  

 

Thanks.

No code as such.  As the info says "just quote Christmas "

This is a recent promo for bookings made in the UK.

Hopefully this is not a breach of the posting rules.

I received this from Viking and thought it might be appropriate to post within this topic.  I'm not sure if such an offer is available across the pond.

I think it's a very tricky question to answer as all cruise lines seem to be fluctuating in where and how they sit in the market.  Unfortunately "O" seems to be bringing policies that are not well thought through and may drive their customer base to visit other options.

The last time I used Seabourn I was very impressed but it was way more expensive than "O".  That leaves me to wonder has "O" out priced themselves or has Seabourn cut corners to make the price point more appealing.

At £2k cheaper I would be more than willing to go with the Seabourn option.  You need to bear in mind that "O" are likely to honour any price reductions you see prior to final payment and so it might not actually be a full £2k.

Please can anyone confirm if they have been able to pay the $20 upgrade prior to boarding when on the House Select O Life option.

21 hours ago, laserboi said:

I am writing this in an effort to sensitize the CC community of the appalling response of Oceania in light of the pandemic.  We are Canadian citizens and based on the travel advisory issued by our FEDERAL government, as a result of a PANDEMIC, we were advised to cancel our cruise scheduled to take place in April 2020.  As responsible citizens of our country, and in consideration of the worldwide health concerns and events taking place, we complied with the government-issued travel advisory and cancelled the trip.  Of course at that time Oceania had collected the full payment of the cruise.  After requesting a refund we were recently informed that Oceania has REFUSED the request, but will instead hold our full payment as a credit toward a future cruise.  In addition we were also informed that when we book the subsequent cruise we would be required to leave an addition amount of money as a deposit!  As of March 31 (two weeks prior to our cruise) Oceania cancelled all cruises, including the one I am writing about.  Passengers informed by Oceania as of March 31 of the cancellations are receiving a full refund, which is completely unfair.  What Oceania is suggesting by taking this approach is that intelligent passengers, who are heeding the advice of Federal authorities, should in fact ignore this advice and risk the possibility of being exposed to a contagion, which is ravaging almost every part of the globe.  We have made numerous requests to our TA, the President of the agency as well as Oceania with no suggestion of refunding our money similarly to all other passengers on our cancelled cruise.  I find this behavior socially IRresponsible and reckless.  Other cruise lines such as luxury line Seabourn is offering guests a full refund as well as discounts on future cruises. If there are other social media tags for Oceania you are aware of please include them in your reply.  I hope to blanket their social media pages.

 

https://www.facebook.com/oceaniacruises/

 

https://www.instagram.com/oceaniacruises/?hl=en

What sad times we live in.

The OP has made one of many arguments that can be made about the way CV is affecting the world and the many decisions that need to be made as a result. Governments, companies and individuals will always have their own self interest and self preservations foremost in their minds.

It seems to me that along with the travel advisory the OP was concerned about his/her own health and welfare.  At the time @laserboi took the decision to cancel, I can presume that the dollar versus living calculation played a heavy part in the calculation.  Has the value of putting health over money now somehow changed because someone further down the line might get something you didn't?  Come on @laserboi please get a grip and remember why it was you cancelled.  

If we are old enough and wise enough to be able to make our own decisions then we are old enough and wise enough to stick by them.  As for blanketing social media, I hope it helps you sleep at night. To O it will be water off a ducks back.  You just need to make sure that when people read your posts they dont think that you are an over privileged selfish brat who has nothing better to worry about than their bank balance.  

To everyone else who is being forced to put their health at risk, be it on a cruise ship or on the front line saving lives, I wish you all well and please stay safe and healthy.

15 hours ago, Holiday 24/7 said:

We are in lockdown in the UK - only grocery, pharmacy and essential services still open.  Supermarkets only letting small amount of people in at a time and then it's one out one in.  Huge queues to get food and most shelves empty when you get in!  Hoping it will get a bit better on the food front now that we are in a more rigid lockdown and limits to what you can buy are now in place.  We are allowed out for one exercise session a day (running, walking) but must stay apart from others.  If you cannot work from home then people are still being allowed to go to work but they must follow the social segregation rules!  Let's hope that this will slow the tide to help our NHS cope and save lives.  Everyone stay safe - and ditto CruiseLibra "we are all in this together"

We are also saying a huge thank you to our NHS workers for their commitment to saving lives.  Last night at 8pm people stood on their doorsteps and balconies clapping, cheering and whistling to show support and solidarity.  The government want retired NHS staff and others to volunteer to help out, the request was for 250,000 people.  In a little over 24hrs more than 600,000 put their name forward.  In these challenging times its nice to know that there are good and decent people out there.  

Guinness Export is specially brewed for the Caribbean market. There are several different verities of the Guinness brand that can be identified by the label, all have different types of roasted barley. Darker the roast tends to equate to a more bitter taste. To then balance that, more sugar is used resulting in a more alcoholic percentage.

I totally agree that THE best pint of Guinness is had at St James Gate!

On recent trips to the States I have been please to see and taste the increase of local micro brew especially IPAs. It would be nice to sample some onboard.

Alan,

We have sailed both Seabourn and RSSC, Seabourn was our first cruise.

The best pieces of advice I can give, based on my preferences, are:

You will not be able to decide for yourself as to which you prefer until you have both under your belt, so for this one decide based on itinerary.

Look closely at the suites sizes and location.

I always struggle to separate "service" ( from boarding, staying and disembarkation ) and "food" ( quality, choice and delivery ) in terms of which I would prioritise as both are major players for me when on holiday. Both have been acceptable, both can be bettered, both have their high points. Remember, it's a one size fits all.

Consider the size of the vessels, number of passengers and locations requiring a tender.

Don't believe all the hype. This is one I will expand on more. They are both good and worth the time and effort. They both have their good and not so good points but that is in the fine detail and very subjective. Remember they have to cater for all tastes and cultures and so they are unlikely to hit all the top notes for everyone.

So hopefully you will now be just as undecided as you where at the beginning because there is no one right answer. Others here may try and persuade you otherwise but it is totally subjective. Rest assured you should have a great time with either, providing you are not expecting every little thing to be absolutely perfect, and that you are able to let some of the consequentials just wash over you when it's no big deal.

Holidaying is a state of mind!

I have not done the Regent tour but have been an independent traveller to Barcelona.

Yes, if you manage to dock with the Columbus Monument round-a-bout in view you are at the bottom of the Ramblas. Less than a 5 minutes walk and well worth a stroll if you have time.

Its a great city with a good underground that will get you to within a few hundred yards of Gaudis Sagrada Familia Cathedral. The Cathedral has its own excellent audio guide headsets and would be top of my must see when in Barca.

If you walk up the Ramblas, be sure to go into the covered food market which will be on your left walking away from the ship.

Any football fans out there could do the New Camp. Meh.

A word of CAUTION. Both the Ramblas and the Underground are a hot bed for pick pockets, go figure it's a city full of tourists! Good strong eye contact is usually enough to dissuade any opportunists.

Thanks for your posts and therein your observations.

It seems that some TAs work harder than others or are more adapt at this particular market. What I do see is a less than six star service from RSSC admin on both sides of the pond which is a pity.

The other day I was just checking my RSSC account with regards an upcoming cruise and to my amazement and horror I noticed that one of the pre booked excursions has been removed. :mad:

Now I'm guessing that this my happen very occasionally due to circumstances out of RSSCs control but I am left wondering the following:

Why have I not been notified?

At what point should or would I have been told?

How often do I need to check my account to see what else has changed?

Why can't or won't RSSC find another supplier for the excursion?

Has anyone else had this happen to them?

I look forward to your views and comments.

There are some very good points being made on this post about allowing the "crew" to put things right.

Personally I think its about your expectations. Regent (and others) are eager to puff their chests out about just how good they are and they price themselves accordingly, it could be said that they are reassuringly expensive. As such ones level of expectation is going to be high and it is no wonder that some people are annoyed by things that they simply did not expect to happen.

I have yet to take a vacation, at any cost, that did not have the odd niggle. I don't consider myself unlucky just realistic. Stuff happens!

Getting back to the OP, my limited experience of Regent is that it certainly is never 3* but yes, on occasion, it might get a few things wrong over the cruise. Like many people here, I suspect, I choose to quickly deal with or ignore the small stuff so that I can spend more time reflecting on just how fortunate I am to be able to enjoy all the great stuff.

I'll get me coat. :cool:

TA - Travel Agent

 

You'll also see references to the "OP" which is Original Poster. The OP of this thread must wonder what in the heck happened!

Travel Cat 2 we have an alliterative saying this side of the pond, "No *hit Sherlock!" TA, really! Perhaps you could explain "W Tea F" for me? :D

Without being rude I almost didn't read your post. Given that you post so many replies and that theres no great insight or revelations being disclosed, I tend to skip them. You do seem to keep the site going though.

Ill get me coat.

.........still very, very bored! :mad:

I don't know what I was expecting but it was odds on favourite that there would be more about the subject. I now know what the letters TA means on this site, Tippers Annoymous. Just try and go one day without having to make a comment about any aspect of tipping.

So I take it this site is run without moderators.

I'll get me coat.

I follow the Regent comments with interest as we will be taking another Regent cruise later this year and I must say that I am truly madly deeply BORED with the subject of tipping.

Why are so many interesting threads hijacked with the constant tipping debate. If it interests you so much make yet another thread about it and if there are any moderators on here, they should be bumping such comments over to that thread.

Please please please put your tipping observations where they belong, on a thread where they can be avoided is so desired.

I'll get me coat! :eek:

Make sure you complain firmly but politely to your TA and/or Regent. You may not get the price reduced but should get compensated with an upgrade, on-board credit, future cruise credit or a combination of these

Really? This happens in the UK? Please tell me more.

Better take it easy now, this is my second post!:D