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Thread: Crusing facts

  1. #11
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    Default Cruise number 6

    I have just booked a November cruise on the Island Escape, (Number 6 for us). from Cyprus to Turkey, Greece, Crete, and back to Cyprus. All inclusive upgrade FREE and Outside cabin FREE. No tipping as she is a cashless ship, but we usually drop our cabin staff and waiter a few Pounds, (£20), when joining and get perfect service. If you are a regular cruiser just ask! All booked through the CO-OP Travel Shop. We always find them superb and reasonable. Flights from Stansted and free in-flight meals, (for what that's worth!). Our bar bill will be zero! I will raise a glass or two to you all.

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    I have to go along with Captain Kong on this one, particulary with the size of the ship. Up to 2400 bloods is about the most you want to be with any more and it gets a bit ugly. Before you ask for a cabin with balcony think long and hard, how much time are you going to spend on the balcony? For me it would be a total waste as I like to get out on deck and when possible mix with the crew rather than other bloods, though you do meet some nice ones at times. Be careful as some of the balconies take from the overall size of the cabin, and if you want to cut costs then take an inboard, that is if you like being in total darkness day and night. Cheaper but at a cost to your sanity.But value for money it is one of the best ways to go. Have to wait until December for the next one!
    Happy daze John in Oz.

    Life is too short to blend in.

    John Strange R737787
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    I had a balcony on the Queen Mary2, on the maiden voyage, A waste of time and money. We sat on the balcony, the sun was on the other side, or we were staring at a distant horizon and all the action was on the other side. eg. whales, scenery etc. lonely.
    So we always go out on deck, more sociable, see everything there is to see, all around and cheaper.
    I have had inside cabins on the longer trips, 48 days,to make it more affordable. We didnt mind, We are only in the cabin to sleep, shower and get changed, so no big deal. I dont pay more money to stand and look out of a port. Tho` I admit it is more pleasant having a little daylight.
    Some ships are so BIG you have to have a Sat Nav to find your cabin.
    Many ships do tours in the ports, these are expensive, Do a deal with the mini bus drivers or taxis outside the gate get a good tour with no rushing about and even more places for half the price.
    I sometimes book on the internet, you can get some good fare deals that way, I booked my last trip on the Rotterdam with the COOP, I just booked the cruise only, on the air fares to LA I saved £200, on hotels in London, and San Diego, I saved around £500 to £600.
    Book a hotel with the Coop, pre or post cruise is expensive, they charge per person. I always telephone the hotel and book the room direct. The Coop wanted to charge me £90 per person per night in the Sheraton Hotel, San Diego, £180 a night, I phoned the hotel in Dago and got the two of us for £80 the night, saving £110 in one night..times four, £440 saved. Many of the big chain hotels do a lot of good deals you dont get from Agents, Agents usualy charge per person not just a room rate. that is all their profits. Many Hotels do a `Senior` rate for the rooms, another saving you dont get from an Agent.
    Try and do more for yourself instead of the travel agent, compare prices, The agent is in business to make money, not to be charitable.
    I have booked my next cruise on Queen Elizabeth, to Australia with the Coop, cruise only, the airfares to San Fransisco and homeward bound from Australia I will do myself. Hotels in San Fran I will do myself, there are a lot of good deals out there if you look for them.
    We always go out several days early and stay for a few days after, to enjoy the place before joining the ship or coming home, it also gets rid of an eight hour jet lag, before joining the ship. Cunard told me to book at the Coop as I had a £3000 credit note due to my cabin being under the galley for 48 days last time on QE2. So check the location of your cabin when you book.
    I never do the Medi cruises as I am Anti european and I have never been to europe for more than twenty years and have no intention of doing so. I preferr the distant ones.
    enjoy
    Cheers
    Brian.
    Last edited by Captain Kong; 20th April 2011 at 11:06 AM.

  4. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by captain gordon whittaker View Post
    I have just booked a November cruise on the Island Escape, (Number 6 for us). from Cyprus to Turkey, Greece, Crete, and back to Cyprus. All inclusive upgrade FREE and Outside cabin FREE. No tipping as she is a cashless ship, but we usually drop our cabin staff and waiter a few Pounds, (£20), when joining and get perfect service. If you are a regular cruiser just ask! All booked through the CO-OP Travel Shop. We always find them superb and reasonable. Flights from Stansted and free in-flight meals, (for what that's worth!). Our bar bill will be zero! I will raise a glass or two to you all.
    Hi Captain make you right re the prices, but the Flying bit puts a lot of people off. Southampton to Southampton or any UK port to and from is for us. Airports are a NO NO, I know you seem to lose a bit of "sunshine" but the Airports ?? Agrhh. Each to their own though.
    Graham R774640

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    Default A cruise to remember

    Home News U.S. Sport TV&Showbiz Femail Health Science&Tech Money Debate Coffee Break Travel Royal Wedding News Home World news Arts Headlines Pictures Most read News Board My Profile Logout Login Find a Job Dating Wine Our Papers Feedback My Stories Thursday, Apr 21 2011 9AM 19°C 12PM 23°C 5-Day Forecast The moment 73-year-old British cruise ship passenger is dropped into icy seas during botched rescue
    By Paul Sims
    Last updated at 3:47 AM on 21st April 2011

    Comments (69) Add to My Stories
    This is the dramatic moment a pensioner was dropped into sub-zero waters during a bungled rescue attempt after being taken ill on an Arctic cruise.

    Janet Richardson, 73, is fighting for her life in hospital after spending four minutes struggling to stay afloat in the icy sea.
    She had been returning from seeing the Northern Lights with her husband George, 78, when she was taken ill with internal bleeding on board the Ocean Countess.

    Ordeal: The poorly pensioner desperately tries to keep afloat while horrified onlookers watch from above
    The ship’s captain was so concerned about her condition that he decided she needed urgent medical treatment and would have to be taken to a hospital immediately.
    He radioed the authorities on the Norwegian mainland and they launched a rescue operation.

    Within minutes a lifeboat had pulled up alongside the Ocean Countess and Mrs Richardson was placed on a stretcher.
    But as she was passed from the Ocean Countess to the waiting lifeboat the two boats moved apart from one another and Mrs Richardson was suddenly dropped into the icy sea – which was as cold as -3C (27F).

    They then took an astonishing four minutes to pull her to safety. The horrifying events were captured on film by a horrified passenger on the icy deck above. His extraordinary pictures show Mrs Richardson struggling to stay afloat in the freezing water.
    Easy does it: A passenger watches as pensioner Janet Richardson is lowered from the cruise ship on to a rescue boat on a stretcher

    Icy: Passengers crane over the side to see where the patient has gone as Mrs Richardson can be seen floating in the water moments after the stretcher falls
    Mrs Richardson, who was wearing a lifebelt during the botched rescue, was eventually hauled back on to the lifeboat and transported to Bodo, just north of the Arctic Circle.
    But at the dockside she stopped breathing and was given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation before being taken to a nearby hospital where she was put under sedation.
    She has now been airlifted to the Cumberland Hospital in Carlisle, Cumbria, where her devastated husband is keeping a bedside vigil in the intensive care unit.
    The retired farmer from Penrith spoke of the moment he watched his wife fall into the sea and disappear from view on what was meant to have been the cruise of a lifetime.
    ‘When they tried to move her on to the lifeboat the ship was still moving,’ Mr Richardson said. They tried to keep the lifeboat close to the side but suddenly its rear end moved away from the main ship.
    Emergency rescue: Mrs Richardson can be seen floating in the icy seas, where she remained for nearly five minutes before being hauled onboard the boat by rescue crew
    ‘There were six men on the stretcher but it went down and then Janet slipped into the sea. I just saw the end of the stretcher go in. It was very traumatic to see her fall - I thought I was going to lose her.
    'I was going to go with her once they got her out but they decided they'd better get her to the shore fast and then come back for me. They gave her mouth-to-mouth on the dockside. Her temperature was very low after being in the water, but luckily they managed to get that back up and put her under sedation for a good while.’

    The couple had booked the cruise to fulfil their dreams of seeing the Northern Lights for themselves and boarded the ship in Hull on March 20. But just nine days into their 13-night voyage to the Arctic Circle disaster struck. Mrs Richardson, who suffers from diabetes, fell ill during the night on March 28.

    She was examined by the ship’s doctor the following morning at 5am and transferred to the onboard hospital where she was attached to a drip.

    'Trip of a lifetime': Janet and George Richardson before she was taken ill and the accident happened
    Then, at 10.30am, the captain decided her condition had deteriorated to such an extent that they could not wait another day before making port in Alseund.
    He radioed for immediate assistance and a Norwegian lifeboat was instantly launched.
    ‘They were originally going to use a helicopter but then they decided to use a boat instead,’ added Mr Richardson.
    ‘The authorities over there have said health and safety is tantamount but if they had wanted to be totally safe they could have gone into port, which would have made things safer.

    ‘They could have held the lifeboat to the ship with a rope or something. But they were reluctant to go into port because they were already running late and it would have cost extra and caused further delays.’
    Voluntary worker Shirley Bottelfsen, 73, who is originally from Ireland but now lives in Bodo, helps out at the Norwegian hospital where Mrs Richardson was treated.

    She said: 'It was a terrible experience for her, her husband and the other passengers.

    'Everyone in Bodo feels very sorry for them. Luckily Janet had a life belt on her which saved her life. No one as yet knows if there will be any reaction from her time in the sea, but they are doing full investigations on everything.

    'It is a great strain on George - he sits at his wife`s bedside on the intensive care unit most of the day. Janet had a life belt and this saved her life as well as the skill of the doctor and nurses.'

    Mrs Richardson was treated in Norway and underwent brain and heart scans before being airlifted back to the UK last Wednesday and remains in intensive care.
    She has a tracheotomy in her throat and cannot speak and is also suspected of having kidney problems.The couple, who have both been married before, have children from previous relationships and together have a total of eight grandchildren.
    Last night, a spokesman for Cruise and Maritime Voyages, which operates the service, said: ‘Although we do not own this ship, we have been in contact with the ship's owners and the Norwegian rescue authorities and a full investigation into the incident is taking place.

    ‘We take the safety and comfort of our passengers very seriously, and although the actual logistics of the rescue was in the hands of the Norwegian rescue team, we will assist the investigation fully.’

    The ship is owned by Majestic International Cruises.



    Read more: Janet Richardson, 73, Ocean Countess cruise ship passenger dropped into sea | Mail Online

    there are photos of the lady in the freezind sea.
    click google news and then Mail on Line.

  6. #16
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    A very precise account of the events. More than I can say for one of our TV stations here that reported on it last night. According to them she had fallen from the ships rail into the icy sea and a ships lifeboat had been lowered to rescue her. I often wonder just where some of these TV reporters do their training?

    A fully laden 747 carries 57,285 gallons of fuel. Not many people know that.
    Happy daze John in Oz.

    Life is too short to blend in.

    John Strange R737787
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  7. #17
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    I see that Mrs Janet Richardson, the lady who was dropped into the sea. has since died.

  8. #18
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    Ship owners are still money grabbing blood suckers.
    On the Rotterdam, Holland America, there are three Laundromats on board each one has five washing machines and the dryers.
    The talk there was that these three Laundries were to be converted into six inside cabins.
    Now this means one of two things.
    One. do your dhobi in a bucket on the lido deck by the pool, or
    Two, send your dhobi to the ships laundry at a price.
    The company, e.g. an Inside Cabin for thirty day trip, per couple, like I just did, would cost $6,000 for thirty days.
    multiply by six new cabins, ex laundry, equals $36,000 multiply by 12 equals $392,000 plus spends on board and they are well into 400,000 US Dollars a year. Plus an increase in Laundry takings.
    I was told that the ` Westerdam` has already been converted. They have 15 ships in their fleet,
    Take out the laundries off the fleet and they will have an excess of 6,000,000 US Dollars, or 4,000,000 UK Pounds, a year more profit.
    Nice little earner.
    So if you go cruising with Holland America, dont forget to take your Dhobi Bucket with you.

    Cheers
    Brian.
    Last edited by Captain Kong; 28th April 2011 at 03:17 PM.

  9. #19
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    Default Cruises

    I have done about 10 to date (not my choice), my mouth went into Overdrive when courting my wife and telling her about my exploits in the Merch, so she wanted to experiance it, sadly and unfortunatley she loved the whole bloody cruising experience, stupid I know "but" My favourite Line Cruise line is "Fred Olsen" smaller ships bit more of a community ?
    Graham R774640

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    im going on the P.Os oceana in september iv been on her twice befor and found it suited my taste so no need to change

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