Sealover64

I would not do it. Where do you think the "cute" little monkeys come from? Ask the handler what happened to it's mother? They may tell you that it is an orphan but how does that happen when they have no predators on the island? They generally avoid contact with people. My rant is done!

Poor things.....thanks for "Food for Thought"!

ok - I know a lot of hotels aren’t open yet (witness Zimmy and Trapper having to stay in Miami) but we are sailing in early March. Does anyone know anything about Mafolie? Or Emerald Beach? Those look like the most likely for pre and post stays. Suggestions welcome!

 

 

Vandrefalk

We heard nice things about a B&B - At Home in the Tropics - so we are booked there

Boy do I miss ho-hum and idle jottings! In attempt to wake this board up - here's my question. What is the favorite food you ever had while on SeaDream? There were lots of items in the running, but my vote is for the White Tomato Cappuccino soup with toasted pumpkin seeds.

Thanks for starting this thread!!! Will be our first time with SeaDream this February!

We were in St Thomas on Friday 11/10 on Adventure of the Seas. There is a lot of visible damage to the hotel on the right (Marriott?) as you enter the harbor. There were missing roofs beside us on the pier but no piles of debris. We were greeted by a Mardi Gras type celebration with music and dancers as well as cheering and waving. As we disembarked the dancers were handing us trinkets and photo post cards of St Thomas. They were definitely excited to see us and personally thanked each one of us for coming. The open air bus drivers were equally thankful and shook our hands.

 

We booked the Sapphire Beach and Island Tour excursion through the ship as we didn't know if taxis would be available. We did talk to a couple later that took a taxi back to the ship from downtown but there definitely was not the usual lines of taxis waiting at the pier. There was a lot of damage around the island that ranged from debris strewn around to collapsed buildings. There were many blue tarps visible that FEMA had installed over damaged roofs. There was no electricity on the island. The driver Curtis told us that they had contracted with "foreign" electrical workers but they were still waiting for the telephone poles to arrive. The wires were laying along the sides of the roads and in some places blocked the roads. Pieces of telephone poles hung from sagging wires above the streets,

 

Curtis said they are very proud of the community effort to help each other. Those with generators are housing others without. He explained that fuel is difficult to get and expensive so they take turns using the generators. The solar farm that took several years to build is gone. Pieces of solar cells are everywhere. The owner of Sapphire Beach said he was hoping for electricity by Xmas but Curtis thinks it will be closer to a year.

 

Curtis also told us about friends that lost their lives. One woman was sucked out of her home when the wall crumbled. Another police officer was trying to put plastic on a blown out window when a piece of his neighbors roof blew into the window and killed him. A young mother of four huddled under her truck for seven hours because her roof was blown away.

 

The roads are in very bad shape. Some are impassible. There are no road signs. I don't know if there are rental cars available but I highly discourage attempting renting one at this time. Many cars we saw don't have windshields and are covered with plastic. Others are being driven with no windshields. There are traffic jams where debris is blocking the road or where giant holes are.

 

There was a lot of damage on the Sapphire Beach property as we headed down the hill but the bathrooms are functioning and the dive shop is open. Many people rented snorkel equipment. There is a tent over the snack bar/food area and they were cooking something that smelled heavenly!! The beach is narrower and the sand is courser than I remembered. The trees behind the beach were heavily damaged or missing but a few people saw the iguanas in the field behind the trees.

 

We snorkeled to the right (as you face the water) and the visibility was limited due to sand being kicked up by the surf, There was a fair amount of fish at the shallow reef but it was too rough to go to the end of the rock point. Keep in mind that you can encounter conditions like this without a visit from a hurricane. Others that snorkeled to the left reported seeing debris and a roof.

 

Despite the damage visible around us, the view across the water remains breathtaking. The water was clear for swimming and quite enjoyable. The residents were upbeat and thankful that they emerged "ok" and reminded us that St John and Tortola was much worse off. Their resiliency and optimism was truly inspirational. They are excited that everyone now has jobs and are working together to put their community back together.

 

As we pulled away, even the drivers waved and cheered with the shop owners and yelled "Thanks for coming! Tell your friends!" We struggled with our decision to visit St Thomas and worried we would be instrusive or viewed as non-caring but we are reassured that they want us there and need us there. We are glad we went and enjoyed our short time with the lovely people of St Thomas!!!

Thank you for sharing!

Good afternoon all. The Tiki's are wheels up from Atlanta tomorrow morning (Nov 18) for a couple of days in Antigua and then step aboard SD1 on Monday the 20th for our Thanksgiving sailing. We did a similar sailing on SDII last Thanksgiving so this is starting to feel familiar.

Work is done, packing our bags, and ready to enjoy warm sunshine and smiling faces soon on SD1. Looking forward to some relaxing in Antigua and hopefully stop by Shirley Heights on Sunday night. I will report back on how the logistics of embarkation and disembarkation are handled from Antigua.

We are supposed to visit St Barths, Anguilla, St. Kitts and Nevis (Anguilla is always iffy and depends on the wind, but right now the forecast seems in our favor). Not sure where they have the caviar splash planned, but I am sure the crew will create an entertaining afternoon.

It will be interesting to see how the Hurricanes affected the islands and I will post a couple of updates if I can find good wifi.

For us, this is when it truly starts to get fun, when we are packing sunscreen and bathing suits and passports. Might enjoy a pre-vacation libation tonight to get in the mood ;p (and get in shape for the sailing haha).

 

Cheers to all

 

Tiki

Looking forward to hearing from you! Happy sailing!!

When do these ships have time to get repairs and updates?

SO very sorry that your anniversary had any bad and ugly but your reporting is incredibly informative and appreciated. I am hoping SeaDream has been informed and makes the proper adjustments, improvements and considerations to your wife and you. To hear this from 10 year loyal SD cruisers is very disconcerting as my husband and I will cruise with them for the first time in February. Wishing you many healthy and happy anniversaries in the future!

The great, the bad and the ugly

 

For those who may be wondering where the rest of this tripreport has been, first I must back track on the last update posted as this wasslightly deviated from the truth. Knowing that we had relatives watching CC, we didn't want to alarm them until we had settled things out. Thereality is that starting around 11 AM on Tuesday, I started to not feel sowell. Thinking it was a touch ofseasickness, I took two pills and took a nice nap on the Balinese beds. Waking up around 2, I wasn’t really feelingany better so retired to our cabin. Fromthere, things just kept going downhill. I started experiencing extreme stomach pain, nausea and cramping. Around 5:30, I finally decided I needed tosee the ship’s doctor (more about her later – let’s just say, she falls intothe “great” category). We started somemeds to help address what we thought at the time was the dreaded ship-borneillness. My DW decided she would go todinner (which was fine, someone needed to carry the flag!) but as she completedher shower and was getting dressed, she was overcome with seasickness. Reports from the ship (little that we couldget –more about this later but let’s put this in the bad category) indicatedwave heights were running 8-10 feet but from what I could figure looking outour cabin window, I think there were some good 15 foot rollers out theretoo! Since she was vomiting (andusually, once she starts, she doesn’t ever stop), the doctor started IV’s onher as well as some IV meds to help.

 

 

Tuesday night was miserable, tossed about and feelingsick. Wednesday AM after very little toeat or drink and lots of meds, we tried to venture out of our cabins topside toget some fresh air. At that point, I’dstill say waves were running same and we had a strong wind of 15-20 mph fromthe starboard bow that was giving the yacht a good heal to port. The waves and wind were strong enough to sendan occasional spray up to the TOYBAR, to give you an idea. Unfortunately, this helped very little and wewere back at the doctor’s office at 5 PM with my DW vomiting some more and mystomach in full revolt. At this point, Igot hooked up with IV’s and more meds and we rode out another night in our cabin.

 

 

Thursday around 7 AM SD I docked in Madeira, Funchal and wefinally had a steady, peaceful ship. Butwe were at a decision point. We couldremain on board for the crossing – 9 days with seas expected to stay the same,or get off the ship and figure out what to do from there. We were never able to get any clear picturefrom staff about the expected weather situation (put this under “bad” also) andgiven I could pull up my own Atlantic Ocean Wave Height prediction, I didn’tunderstand why we couldn’t get some specific info. And the info I saw didn't look like things would get any better any time soon.

 

 

At 8 AM we made the call – we were getting off theship. I was miserable but now that theship was still my really wonderful DW felt fine again and took to packingeverything up. The Doctor visited again(she actually stopped in about every 3 hours the whole time we were sick). She became our intermediary for all plans toget off the ship (working with the Purser, Concierge, and port agent). At 12:30, we stepped off of SD I. Only the doctor saw us off (put this under“ugly”). We were met by the port agentand let me tell you – you always see the port agent mentioned about info atpre-boarding but these are the unsung heroes for those who need specialassistance. The agent accompanied usthru customs and immigration, as well as ensuring a taxi was ready to pick us up. He had already arranged and coordinated withanother colleague on shore (medical port agent) for us to be admitted to aprivate clinic and to see a Gastro specialist. We arrived at the clinic, immediately put in a room with two beds so myDW could stay with me, and within an hour had had visits from the Doctor andthe medical port agent (both with first names of Nuno – go figure). I was hooked up with IV’s and meds and itseemed that the food service staff were determined to make us both eat as we wereoffered full lunches, afternoon snacks, and dinner.

 

 

The most concerning situation was that when the doctor firstsaw me, he indicated a desire to do an endoscopy in the AM. We really couldn’t understand why I needed tohave something so drastic for what appeared to be either a regular GI illnessor seasickness. However, after severaldiscussions (the doctor stopped by again at about 6 PM), we realized that somethings had been lost in translation with the ship’s doctor. The doctor on land understood I had a“stomach on fire”, thinking I had some sort of ulcer or other issue. When we started over from scratch, all wasgood.

 

 

An uncomfortable evening on hard hospital beds transitionedto a Thursday where I felt much better. Started to eat and was sure I was passed the worse. With expectations that I’d be discharged, Ireached out to our travel agent (“great”) back home and lucky for me, he likesto get up early (we are 5 hours ahead of home) and was responding by 11 AM ourtime! We decided that we still had thetime so why not enjoy a few days in Madiera. So, our agent was able to pull some strings, get us a great room at anice rate at the venerable Reid’s Palace and travel back home the followingTuesday.

 

 

One other item/activity going on during all of this. We had taken out trip insurance and startingthe night before disembarkation, we reached out to our carrier and started theprocess of getting reimbursed. Aftersome initial confusion, we were very happy that while at the clinic, they hadalready sent a guarantee to pay (and thus we never provided any form ofpayment, didn’t pay a cent) and had sent in our ship bills forreimbursement. Still have to work outthe reimbursement of travel home costs but feeling really great about theprocess (another “great”).

 

 

Will not go into further detail on our visit and time inMadeira on this thread but given the title of this section, wanted to summarizesome highlights and lowlights of the trip:

 

 

The Great:hearteyes:

As noted previously, Doctor Princesss Velasco was our hero. I’m sure she got little sleep in the two daysshe was treating us, visiting our cabin every three hours to check on us,helping with our plans to depart, and generally being the face of SeaDream whenwe were feeling the lowest. In additionto taking care of us, she had other demands put on her by other passengers (atleast one injury requiring on shore follow up at Madeira but this passenger wasable to return before the ship left) including those who had been on for yearsand expected her attention even when they didn’t need it.

 

 

Port agents – When you aren’t feeling well, the last thingyou want to do is deal with immigration and customs delays. The port agent employed by SD walked us thrucustoms and immigration in no time, knew all the important people and ensuredwe were off the ship and on our way quickly and efficiently. In addition, there is an entire add’l layerof agents that help on the medical side. They helped clear the way for our arrival and admission with no delays,no paperwork, and super care.

 

 

Brenda at Concierge desk – Brenda genuinely cared about oursituation, was responsive to our many calls for help and support and was therewith us as we left the ship.

 

 

Lucy – cabin attendant – Lucy is a star. She was available whenever needed and severaltimes acted as the doctor’s assistant in helping with medical support, as wellas cleaning our room around us. She wasvery caring and supportive and really went the extra mile to help keep uscomfortable.

 

 

Brian Beard with Travel Edge – Brian was a life saver,finding us a great hotel with wonderful upgrades plus some terrific last minuteone way travel home.!

 

The Bad:mad:

The officers of SD I (other than the Doctor). Invisible and non-supportive. We fell in love with SD in part due toparticular captains who were visible and engaged with the guests (one has sincedeparted, one is still with SD). Weasked many times for info on sea conditions and future forecasts but couldnever get a concrete answer. The noonupdate report was provided by the “training manager”. No officer or anyone known ever provided anyinfo on status. And when we left theship, no officer (supposedly the Purser and Captain were aware of our situationand our planned departure time) bothered to see us off.

 

 

The food/chef. Granted, we had limited exposure to this area but given we’ve NEVER hada bad meal on any past voyage, we were stunned to encounter several poor mealsin our short time. First dinner my DWhad a chicken that was so tough we figured it had flown from the US to Malagabefore it was killed for our dinner. Itwas tasteless and sad. And when thedinner was picked up barely eaten, no question was asked about why, if anythingelse was desired, etc. Mussels on thefirst lunch were the saddest I have ever had. The plate was hotter than the mussels which were warm at best andcovered in onions. And finally, whenfeeling ill we asked for some chicken soup. What we received was some very sour tasting chicken stock poured oversome sliced carrots Have no idea who thechef was since we never saw him in our short visit.

 

 

The Ugly :mad::mad::mad:

The ship’s water was repulsive. Yellow/brown in color, it literallydiscolored some of the items we put in the shower for rinsing. This was a known issue by the crew who notedit in passing, almost in a humorous way. We’ll never know if this had anything to do with my illness as I’m sureit was used in some of our food prep and/or coffee, etc.

 

 

The seas – Although stated as 8-10 feet, I think this wasconservative. The seas were rough fromthe outset due to the remnants of hurricane Ophelia passing to thenorthwest. But things did not let up aswe travelled further south and west. Atone point, TOYBAR liquor had to be locked up because bottles were falling outof the racks. Rumors from some crewmembers indicated the captain was steering further south to avoid the worst ofit but since we never were told anything, we can only guess. Understandably, SD has no control overweather and the trip must go regardless. But some open and honest sharing of what was to come would have beenappreciated. Who knows, maybe smoothseas were encountered from Funchal onward and I certainly hope this was the casefor our remaining fellow passengers.

 

 

State of the ship – Overall seemed in need of general upkeepand maintenance. There were times whenno blankets or towels were available (and not that many were being used so notsure why the boxes couldn’t be stocked). Brass polishing was sloppy, leaving lots of polish behind onrailings. Deck boards were pulled up forreplacing and not blocked off creating potential trip hazards forpassengers.

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion – this was our 30th weddinganniversary trip and our 10th anniversary with SeaDream. We’ve had many wonderful trips on SD in thepast 10 years and also some times where there were slip ups. Realizing that seasickness is no one’s fault,my final assessment of our voyage does not take this into account. But, the overall shape of the ship,performance of the crew and officers, and the general enjoyment of the shortjourney we had feel way short of our expectations. We know now we will never attempt another TAon SD. Whether we take any otherjourney’s on SD at this time is up in the air.

Good Evening!

Looking forward to our first cruise with SeaDream and looking to meet any cruisers sailing with us!

Cheers,

Elise & Scott

We are sailing in 2/18 and we just made a reservation at Sugar Ridge in Antigua....it looks lovely.

Good morning. We received a phone call direct from SeaDream (actually Mrs Tiki got the call) that SeaDream has moved out Departure and Arrival Port for the Nov 20th sailing of SD1 to Antigua in place of St. Maarten. We were told our itinerary would not change (although Anguilla is listed as a port of call, that is just not going to happen). St. Barths, Nevis, and St. Kitts are other ports for our itinerary.

 

Antigua makes sense. Good port with 2 piers, plus a commercial area to re-provision. Was not as affected by either Irma or Maria. Still a northern port with a good airport for arrivals and departures. Close to other ports of call that should be functioning well by November (St. Barths, Nevis, St. Kitts, etc). Decent port area for Customs and Longshoreman issues.

 

No idea if SD will keep Antigua in the rotation, but just my guess, it will replace St. Maarten and quite possibly San Juan as a Northern Caribbean "jumping off" port for a while. San Juan may get back sooner, but with so much chaos on that island and the dramatic cut back in Air Routes, they may have to use an alternative.

 

From a selfish standpoint this works out great for us. We were able to change our flight to Antigua in place of St. Maarten yesterday. We get to spend an extra day in Antigua AND we get to go to Shirley Heights on a Sunday night (prior to the cruise departure on Monday). For those of you that have not experienced a Sunday night at Shirley Heights, if the weather is good, it is an amazing sunset.

 

Again, not sure if any other itinerary will use Antigua, but wanted to pass this info along. If anyone knows of a wonderful hotel in Antigua (maybe Blue Waters Hotel?) we would love to hear of any recommendations

 

Cheers

 

Tiki

Hi there,

Our 2/18 itinerary was changed from St. Maarten to Antigua.

Has anyone heard anything on SD's plans for this winter season? I've called multiple times and been stuck "on hold" too often. We have a cruise upcoming in January which we have made a down payment on but are now unsure of its itinerary. Looks like northern Caribbean is out which, I guess, leaves Barbados and points south. Not somewhere we'd choose again. Hopefully they come up with something new ( a day at the Pink Sands in Canouan might be nice. What about St Vincent? The ABC's? ).

Any updated info would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

If embarkation or debarkation port then it will be an issue but if it is a port stop then they may just have a sea day or if possible will go to another port

Usually with disasters they do not have too much notice when things will happen as in the case of IRMA

If the airport is closed the airlines may try to work with you

 

You might say what info you are actually looking for

Thank you! New to CC and I was concerned about debarkation. SeaDream has contacted us and we were able to get new flights.

Just want to welcome you to Cruise Critic.

 

Also, there is no time requirement. Each cruise line has their own policies. I suggest you ask this on the cruise line forum of interest to you.

Thank you!

What is the protocol for Cruise lines when they must change ports/itineraries due to natural disasters like Irma? Is there a time requirement? How do passengers coordinate flights?