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North Boat Refit article


jambo6
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http://www.shetnews.co.uk/news/6381-more-cons-than-pros-on-new-look-nort-boat

Interesting read, highly opinionated and dripping with sarcasm though for a website that has "News" in its name. Rosa is stepping over the mark a bit with this in my humble.

Have to also say I disagree strongly with the suggestion that they suspend single occupancy cabins when its busy. I wouldnt stay in a hotel room with someone I didnt know and this is no different.

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I'd say she's given a pretty accurate description by all accounts. Take the sleeping pods, for example. Note Northlink website states they are similar to those on aircrafts. Err, the ones on aircraft recline all the way down like a bed whereas the ones on the boats don't. I certainly wouldn't pay £18 for a glorified reclining chair.

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Well, I've used the boats very recently and I have to say that most of the changes are an improvement.

Gone are the days when you couldn't get a seat because someone was spread out over 3 or 4 sitting places.

It was also good to see a steward telling someone, curled up on the floor in a sleeping bag, to move from the space between 2 rows of recliners.

As for the price increases... They don't bother me as I always travel 'prepared' and rarely spend anything on board

Suspend exclusive cabin use.. No way....

I tried sharing a cabin once and was horrified to discover that it contained 3 gentlemen who had spent far to much time in the bar area before retiring.

All in, I have come to the opposite conclusion to Rosa S..

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Suspend exclusive cabin use.. No way....

I tried sharing a cabin once and was horrified to discover that it contained 3 gentlemen who had spent far to much time in the bar area before retiring.

 

Similar experience many years ago which is why I chose to sleep in the bar from then on until I could afford single occupancy. Perhaps for women its different as I guess the chance of getting someone who is entirely minced is a bit less.

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It was also good to see a steward telling someone, curled up on the floor in a sleeping bag, to move from the space between 2 rows of recliners.

 

Are they trying to stop folk from sleeping in sleeping bags on the floor altogether?

 

I find the reclining seats impossible to sleep in and the floor is more comfortable in my opinion.

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Infiltrator i wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if this was the case now.

 

The new sleeping pods are just new reclining chairs, pure and simple regardless of what Serco say. They move the horrid uncomfortable old ones around to the shop, and the front bar where as i have said before on a bad night is the worst possible place to be. Call that progress? Your surely having a laugh...

 

I trust if someone is suffering nausea and feeling like their going to be seasick they will not insist on keeping that person sitting upright?

 

This service had really gone to the dogs, talking of which probably have a better time on board than their human masters. :roll:

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Infiltrator i wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if this was the case now.

 

The new sleeping pods are just new reclining chairs, pure and simple regardless of what Serco say. They move the horrid uncomfortable old ones around to the shop, and the front bar where as i have said before on a bad night is the worst possible place to be. Call that progress? Your surely having a laugh...

 

I trust if someone is suffering nausea and feeling like their going to be seasick they will not insist on keeping that person sitting upright?

 

This service had really gone to the dogs, talking of which probably have a better time on board than their human masters. :roll:

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Suspend exclusive cabin use.. No way....

I tried sharing a cabin once and was horrified to discover that it contained 3 gentlemen who had spent far to much time in the bar area before retiring.

 

Similar experience many years ago which is why I chose to sleep in the bar from then on until I could afford single occupancy. Perhaps for women its different as I guess the chance of getting someone who is entirely minced is a bit less.

I go for sole use of a cabin because I do not want to end up sharing with a drunk, a druggie, a seasick person or perhaps even a sea sick drunk druggie who snores. Lifeline services will have people travelling alone and surely single cabins should have been included from the start.
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Are they trying to stop folk from sleeping in sleeping bags on the floor altogether?

I don't think so. It seemed to me that the person + his travel kit (rucksacks etc.) was blocking access to 3 of the seats by bedding down between two rows.

 

I find the reclining seats impossible to sleep in and the floor is more comfortable in my opinion.

Maybe still true but the new(?) reclining seats are a fair bit more comfortable than the old ones.

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I'd say she's given a pretty accurate description by all accounts. Take the sleeping pods, for example. Note Northlink website states they are similar to those on aircrafts. Err, the ones on aircraft recline all the way down like a bed whereas the ones on the boats don't. I certainly wouldn't pay £18 for a glorified reclining chair.

 

I wasnt questioning her veracity, it was the style. I dont read the Daily Mail because they thrive on knocking people, this is in the same vein - it might all be true but I get the impression she didn't really attempt to look for positives which isn't my idea of balanced reporting.

 

If it was just a post on this forum, fine, its an opinion, but seeing it put like that on a News site that may well be read by prospective visitors to Shetland makes me feel pretty uncomfortable.

 

I stopped reading the Shetland Times years ago because the parochial "Shetland Crimes" attitude didn't sit well with me, I hope this style of article is a one off as I really don't want to have to consign the Shetland News to 101 because they choose to report in a fashion that could easily be described as biased.

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