piratelooksat45

Has anyone missed the 3-day out deadline to register online? Is it a pain to get onboard without preregistration?

To the last few comments - we love SD, have traveled on board many times (including another TA). My observations are based on our 10 years sailing with SD and may or may not agree with others on this voyage or others. Neither of us has ever gotten sick on board before nor have we had any other issues that I observed and reported on during this voyage. Purpose was to inform, not discourage others. For ourselves, we realize that a TA is probably not wise in the future due to our own medical experience. I guess that's why it's called Cruise "Critic" - each can provide their own perspective.

 

Happy sailing!

I like your style, classy response.

6 months might be a bit on the "over-eager" side, but 2 weeks is right in the Wheelhouse. Mrs. Tiki is already starting to organize for our Nov 20th sailing, but that is also due to the fact that she is traveling for work almost the entire week before and also some next week (pesky job) and we are visiting our daughter in Nashville next weekend. She literally is flying back to Atlanta on Friday the 17th and we fly out on Saturday the 18th early morning for a couple nights prior to boarding in Antigua. It will be quite the juggling act for her and SDI will be a welcome reprieve for her. As long as they have some chilled Chardonnay on board she will be a happy person.

18 days until drinks at the TOY for sailaway.

Cheers

Tiki

You're in the home stretch Tiki-man! Let us know how you liked your hotel in Antigua, still debating where we are going to stay! We're also interested to hear your take on how the islands are after the hurricane. Enjoy your cocktails, now you've made me thirsty!

Looking forward to following along with you. Have a great trip!

MarDav, still disembarking from San Juan. Only change is to St. Martin. Only 1 of 3 of us received the phone call. Hopefully we'll get an email verifying. See you in 3 months!

Our January 27th also got changed to embarking from Antigua. Anyone have a good hotel/resort to stay at on Antigua for a few nights before the cruise?

One of the people traveling with us on the Jan 27th cruise received a call today -- all ports are as scheduled, with the exception of embarkation changing from St. Martin to Antigua.

A post on Celebrity's board said that they were informed that their October 28 sailing had reinstated St. Thomas to their cruise, due to the progress the island is making. It had been cancelled after the hurricane. So hopefully things throughout the Caribbean are progressing faster than expected

And before I get a bashing, yes, for the record, I'm one of those few SeaDream fans, that also likes the huge ships. :rolleyes:

Every little bit helps, though. Especially if it goes to the local little guy try to feed his family.

That sounds encouraging for St. Maarten and for cruisers (y)

Good suggestions. I had also thought of the ABC islands. I feel sorry for those in SD that are having to hustle to make changes that were set in place a year or two ago. Not sure how it works but there are only so many "slots" at each island each season. I suspect one of the problems will be simply finding an open place to go to. Can't kick another line out of a place they already had booked. I guess we shall see soon as the TAs are coming up rapidly. I alway said (when I lived in the Florida Panhandle) I wished SD would sail out of Pensacola and just sail around the Gulf for a week.;p:cool:

Hey Jim, I have a question for you since you seem to be the official sailing guru on the board. Since SeaDream is such a small boat, if it tendered to islands would that eliminate the needed "slots" at each island?

Hey Cabosal, we've sailed with you a time or two. Please post if you hear anything. Such a sad situation. We're booked for the end of January and are anxiously awaiting news. I don't care where they sail as long as they don't cancel :o

Sounds like Dominica got hit bad overnight, what a sad September for our beloved Caribbean islands.

Thanks for all the help! These boards are amazing, I can post a question about a particular cabin on a particular ship and get responses so quickly!

Has anyone stayed in Equinox Cabin 1603 (Aqua Class/Penthouse Level? We are currently booked in Cabin 1583. I've been reading that the Hump cabins have a bigger balcony...so was considering requesting a cabin change.

From past experience, I know most of the balconies are covered and don't get any sun -- any chance this hump balcony gets sun at all during the day? Also, it appears the bed is near the bath, can anyone confirm that? Thanks!

Just to chirp in, agreed it's horrible...I just logged in for the first time since last fall and can't get anywhere on the site -- excursions, future trips, etc.. I can't believe a company so large and with so many online customers would allow this. Plus it's been months since this thread was started, can't believe they couldn't fix it by now. I also emailed Customer Service a question a few days ago without a peep back. Hopefully, the service on the ships aren't going to follow suit!

We've done the splash in Nevis twice and were able to use the zodiacs. Hopefully that's a possibility for you, it definitely adds to the charm of the Splash. The restrooms and the open-air building for eating lunch are gorgeous...the beach and sand not as pretty as Soggy Dollar.

My rating for the splash

#1 Soggy Dollar

#2 Nevis

#3 Fishers Cove

That being said, it's always my favorite day of the cruise and the year!

6 month countdown until we're back on SeaDream. Am I being overly eager if I start packing now? ;)

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.

Time for my annual “state-of-the-union” address. We’ve been sailing SeaDream yearly since 2010. Since every trip has been memorable and there aren’t many reviews posted on Cruise Critic, I’ve tried to write a review for most of our trips. This years vacation stands out as one of our favorites for many of the usual reasons - great itinerary, great crew and service, great fellow passengers, great food - and as luck would have it, great weather!

We started our vacation by staying at Caneel Bay on St. John for 3 days prior to the cruise. We like to take a few days to get into vacation mode before boarding SeaDream. Caneel Bay has always been on our bucket list and we were quite pleased with our stay. It has some similarities to SeaDream in that the rooms are not modern and slick, but more retro and quaint. We loved the laid back vibe and gorgeous grounds and beaches. Definitely a place we want to return to. The resort runs a ferry taking guests back and forth to St. Thomas. It was very easy leaving Saturday morning and getting to the dock to board SeaDream. Highly recommend it as a pre- or post-cruise stay.

ITINERARY

• SATURDAY | Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas.
  
• SUNDAY | Sopers Hole and Norman Island. Anegada was supposed to be our first port, but because of swells the captain moved Anegada to Friday as the weather report showed a better chance of tendering later in the week. We took a quick walk around the shops at Sopers Hole and then headed back for lunch. At Norman Island we took a quick trip ashore to Pirates Bight and quickly returned to the ship to enjoy the pool.
  
• MONDAY | Anguilla. We took a taxi to Shoal Bay, rented lounge chairs and enjoyed the beach. We stopped in at Elvis’ bar at the dock for a beer before taking the ferry back to the ship.
  
• TUESDAY | Philipsburg, St. Maarten and St. Barts in the evening. We took our only ship excursion on St. Maarten. We thoroughly enjoyed the America’s Cup Regatta. Great fun and well run though, if you suffer from seasickness, it might not be for you. Got a relaxing poolside massage while we sailed from St. Maarten to St. Barts. We stayed onboard in the evening, though many guests went ashore to have dinner.
  
• WEDNESDAY | St. Barts. We have a routine we follow for St. Barts. Shopping in he morning, Nikki beach and lunch midday, and then a late afternoon trip to Gouvernor’s beach. Usually we have lunch at LaPlage, but this year we decided to try Eden Rock. SeaDream’s concierge made the reservation for us. Lunch and service was excellent and we will probably make it our “go-to” lunch spot on future trips.
  
• THURSDAY | Jost Van Dyke (Champagne & Caviar Splash) and Foxy’s in the evening. Because of the change in itinerary the Splash was moved to Thursday. As always, it was a highlight of the trip and I think we prefer having it on Thursday. There was no worrying about rushing back to the ship to pack. Instead we wandered down to Soggy Dollar and people-watched until the last tender back. That evening we felt obligated to take a trip to Foxy’s. It was extremely crowded and we couldn’t even get through the crowds at the bar to get a beer. In the future will probably pass on Foxy’s if it’s offered.
  
• FRIDAY | Anegada. This was the only island on our trip that was new to us. After a treacherous (but fun) trip onto the tender and a bumpy trip to the island, SeaDream had a complimentary shuttle waiting to take passengers to Cow Wreck beach. The beach was spectacular and went on for miles, great for a long beach walk. We tried the famous lobster lunch and hate to admit it but was totally unimpressed - maybe it’s just us as the others guests were raving about the lobsters. Service at the bar/restaurant was good, and we would rate this as the prettiest beach of the trip.
  

CREW - as always the crew was top notch. Some that really stand out:

• Captain Holmsteinsson. This was our first trip sailing with him and we were lucky enough to dine with him one evening. He was a very nice dinner host and great captain. Keeping us informed all week of weather situations and going the extra mile to make sure we were able to experience Anegada.
  
• Hotel Manager | Christophe. What a professional! We try to be low maintenance, and because of the great service, we really don’t have much need to request anything extra. But it seems Christophe is so good that he anticipated what would make our vacation better. For example, while we were eating lunch at the splash Christophe came over to say hello. One of us mentioned how the coconut macaroons that had been served all week were fabulous, and the only way to improve upon them would be to dip them in chocolate. That evening at dinner a plate full of chocolate dipped macaroons appeared, followed by a visit by the pastry chef. Another special touch, on the last day of the cruise we were on the pool deck waiting to see our last Caribbean sunset for awhile. Again Christophe stopped by to say hello. We mentioned how this was our favorite time of day and how absolutely perfect the weather and day had been. He asked if we would like to dine outside that evening. We were thrilled. I know this is something that we can request, but we feel that the waiters work so hard at all times that we don’t want to add to their workload. With Christophe’s blessing our last meal was perfect with the added treat of dining under the stars.
  
• Waiter | O’Neil. Poor guy was the “lucky” one that served us breakfast, lunch and dinner most days. Such a nice man and perfect waiter. He was always checking to make sure we were happy and everything was prepared properly.
  
• Casino | Stela. Adorable, funny and entertaining, we enjoyed spending most evenings with her.
  
• Head Bartender | Severin (piano bar). Great guy and great bartender. One of us requested a pickle martini - I know, why would you do that? He didn’t have pickle juice but told us he would try to find some when he went shopping. A few nights later while we were in the lounge for cocktail hour, he came towards us with a tray with a jar of pickles on it! He also made a perfect Lemon Drop, Espresso Martini, B&B...come to think of it all of his cocktails were perfect. On top of that, he is just a really sweet guy.
  
• Top of the Yacht Bartender | Gareth. We usually ended each night with a drink at the TOY Bar. Gareth was game to make anything we requested and quite enjoyable to chat with. He has only been with SeaDream for a few weeks but seemed like a natural fit.
  
• Music | Din Din (guitar) and George (piano). Both are very talented, one night they did a poolside concert that was very enjoyable. We spent many a night with George at the piano bar, it was quite lively on this cruise and always fun, though I think some current music additions would be welcome. We also enjoyed spending time with Din Din on the America’s Regatta.
  
• Tender Crew. Unfortunately I don’t know their names but they did a great job all week. There were a few times when the seas were rough and they were able to get us on and off the tenders safely.
  

FELLOW PASSENGERS. We had originally booked a cruise a few weeks later on SeaDream I, but because of a work conflict of one of our group we needed to change the date. When we called SeaDream to change we were told that the 3rd and 4th floor for this itinerary had been purchased by a group and they didn’t have any information about the group. We’ve read all of the horror stories on this board about groups taking over the ship and were a bit hesitant. Since this was the only trip that would work for us we crossed our fingers and booked. It turns out a travel agent who has sailed on SeaDream for many years had booked the 2 levels. His guests were very inclusive and quite fun. I’ve always thought that one of the biggest selling points of SeaDream is that the fellow guests are so down-to-earth and friendly. Last year was a bit of an anomaly, as quite a few guests seemed to have a superiority attitude, and I was scared this might be a trend -- I’m happy to report that it didn’t carry over to this year!

FOOD. The food, as we’ve become accustomed to, was superb this year. There seemed to be a lot of new items on the menu, but enough old reliables that we weren’t disappointed. Chef Thomaz was very visible and his usual happy self. The desserts seemed better than ever - and the dessert extravaganza was outstanding.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT. Just to be fair and balanced, here are a few areas that could be improved upon:

• Pool Bar Service. This would be my only real complaint. The pool service seems to have suffered a cut-back. In the past there seemed to be 2 bartenders during the day. On this cruise, there was only one server at most times and he seemed overworked. On a Caribbean cruise the pool seems to be the most popular area during the day, cutting back on service here doesn’t make sense.
  
• Wine. The wine at dinner is generally pretty bad. We purchased wines most evening. I’m not a wine snob and there are quite a few inexpensive wines I drink that I enjoy. I think the complimentary wine list could be easily improved on.
  
• Bring back the pistachio cookies! I know, how can we complain when there is so much to choose from, but the pistachio cookies seemed like SeaDreams signature cookie. They were missed, but I didn’t gain as much weigh on this vacation, so there was a silver lining.
  
• Cocktail Hour hors d’ouvres. Lots of repeats and not very exciting,
  
• House Plant in the stateroom. This is my crazy nit-picky thing. If you read my review a few years ago I was appalled at the 1970 style plant in the staterooms. The next year it was replaced with a grassy looking plant. I of course envisioned the change as the heads of SeaDream reading my review, sitting back and saying, “what an astute passenger, she’s right - let’s replace it with something modern”. Well, flash forward to this year and the 1970s style plant is back. So much for my influence;)
  

THINGS WE LOVED. Overall we loved everything about the week. Some of the extra special things we loved that I haven’t listed above:

• Love walking up the ramp when we first arrive and getting a glimpse of the crew we’ve had the privilege to sail with before.
  
• Love that every year our list of “favorite” crew gets more and more names added to it.
  
• Love the new and improved monogrammed PJs. The new cotton pants are very nice.
  
• Love coming back to a beautifully made stateroom every evening -thanks to Jesse our room steward.
  
• Love sitting at the TOYB in the evening enjoying a cocktail, each other’s company, listening to the waves, and star-gazing.
  
• Love watching (and sometimes love listening) to the singers at the piano bar each evening - always entertaining.
  
• Love crispy bacon each morning.
  
• Love that they grate chocolate over the cappuccino
  
• Love swimming off the back of the boat -- this trip the captain even had a surprise sunset swim available one evening.
  
• Love the “voila” every evening at dinner. It never gets old.
  
• Love taking the tender to the beach the morning of the splash.
  
• Love knowing that we will be back on-board next year!
  

SeaDream really is a special vacation for us and one we don’t take for granted. We visit places that are breathtakingly beautiful, while being treated to impeccable service by a crew that works so hard, but always with a smile. Thanks for another week of wonderful memories. Happy to report the state of SeaDream is better than ever!

Back to the real world after another fabulous week with SeaDream! Another wonderful vacation...crew, passengers, food, itinerary were all top notch. Will write a more detailed review by the end of the week.

I think the latest you can stay onboard is usually around 10 am. The last time we flew home from STT after SeaDream, we had to stand at the open air ticket counter for a few hours before they would let us inside to wait. You might want to consider getting a day pass at a hotel near the airport. We waited at Best Western Emerald on one trip, which was only a few minutes from the airport.

We're taking the risk and sailing with a large group on SeaDream II in a few weeks. I'll let you know how it goes.

Last year it was very slow, and forget uploading/downloading files unless they are tiny. I was hoping when we sail in a few weeks it would have improved, but from the responses that doesn't sound like it's happened. I'm not a techie, but 2 years ago it was much faster and I was able to upload and download files -- so are they possibly restricting the bandwidth? I recently sailed on Celebrity (I know there's no comparison) their wifi was very fast -- so it is possible at sea. I'd be willing to pay more ($99 for the week seems inexpensive to me) to have faster internet. Not a deal breaker and it's actually nice to have 1 week that's totally work free, but the poor internet does keep me from considering multiple sailings in the year.

Page 1, this doesn't feel right. A lot like sailing SeaDream II after many sailings on SeaDream I...everyone looked familiar but something had changed. Of course it only took me one glass of "champs" to get over it. Cheers ho-hum and fellow SeaDream lovers -- looking forward to the next 5,000 posts.