CDreamer

Vandrefalk and whatnot, you have a superstar crew on your cruise! Say hi to all familiar faces from both of us.

Your itinerary is amazing - so wish we had been able to join you but am hoping that temperamental internet settles down so we can continue to live vicariously through your reports while you are all still on board!

Am laughing out loud at FT's advice not to break any bones!!! Good advice. :D

Betwen the Texans you're bringing and CDreamer and her relatives, we almost have a boat.

fpebbles, great idea - you might be on to something! ;)

Vandrefalk and whatnot, thanks for the up and coming on board toast(s)... Smooth sailing to you all - enjoy!

whatnot and Vandrefalk ---> enjoy!!

Sorry we couldn't join you on this cruise but you both know we will be there in spirit! :D Please hoist a glass of champagne for us and say hi to the crew.

Will look forward to your reports, either during your cruise (let's see that internet work, SD1!) or once you get back. Safe travels!

Highly recommend Albergo del Senato - so close to the Pantheon you can almost reach out and touch it, yet surprisingly quiet (esp. upper floor rooms) and in great central location, within walking distance of Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, etc. No dining room but does have a breakfast room, free WiFi, and rooftop bar, and plenty of very good restaurants nearby.

Ragnar, we sailed on the Paul Gauguin years ago, when it was owned by Radisson Seven Seas (before Regent). It was our first cruise and we loved both the ship and the islands - Bora Bora, Huahine, Moorea, and Taha'a. The beauty of the islands and water is not to be missed....think: Hawaii on steroids! :D...so if you don't go this time around do keep it on your bucket list.

The islands in the Grenadines as well as Granada are a lot more lush and feel less 'touristy' than some of the other parts of the Caribbean we have sailed to on SD over the years. Loved the simplicity of Bequia & Mayeau, river rafting in Granada, and the Catamaran sail to the Tobago Cays Marine Park was gorgeous!

So both destinations have their plusses with very few minuses - really depends on what you want to see. But being on the same side of the globe as you, if there is a real tipping point it would be the ease of taking that N/S red eye flight from LAX to Tahiti versus the longer trek to Barbados. Either way, you are in for a beautiful cruise and I would keep them both on your list!

PPS - karma balances, just learned my niece will be coming to visit for a week and will be bringing her 9 month old...

Be sure to invite Jim over.... I'm sure he'd appreciate a break from the heat!! ;)

What do you mean.......Perhaps a denial of service attack is warranted???

Just to be clear, although this 'denial of service attack' statement was originally quoted back to me (above) it actually came from fellow CCer Ragner, not me. :D

What do you mean.......Perhaps a denial of service attack is warranted???

No, it was tongue in cheek - envisioning a resurgence of the old Kid's thread.

Have also seen some new promotions aimed at golfers (as you mentioned) and some wine themed cruises as well. Think it is more of a SD blast in advertising to appeal to different interests in an effort to keep their cabins filled.

Zimmy, I have really been looking forward to your review! My brother and SIL said they met you and that they had a great time on their b2b cruise...but details have been brief so far since they are still catching up after being away from home for nearly a month! :eek:

Anyway, am glad you met up with other CCers and will look fwd to hearing more about your SD1 cruise.

No it is a "pickle" I know 30 cabins are going to "something". The problem is the airfare. Yest they will let me cancel or change, but the air change will cost $1000 and they are refusing to help with air change. Any input from anyone? That's why I was trying to find out the group. i can move out 2 weeks if they would work with the airfare.

Yes I rang them up and they wont provide any more info.

Unless someone else chimes in otherwise, I have never heard of SD reimbursing passengers for airfare (or fees applied for changing airline reservations).

So, I think you'll either just have to deal with the group on board or pay the (high!:eek:) change fee yourself.

::snip:: However, I think that is due to the mountains and not due to SD. I did notice that when we received our final bill we were charged the 7 day price rather than the prorated price for 10 days.

This makes sense to me. We experienced poor to complete loss of internet connection on our recent Douro river cruise in Portugal due to the high mountains that hugged each side of the river. Once we got to Porto we had no issues. Nice to know SD did not charge passengers the full amount this time.

Looking forward to your review, Zimmy.

There have been no reports from SD I on this board for months. Has anyone sailed since the dry dock that can report on internet service on board and the changes that occurred during dry dock. We will be sailing on SD I in less than 4 weeks. Info is needed. Do I use their internet or do I take my Verizon Mobile Hot Spot which works off of cell phone towers just like your phone. Anyone used this type of device in those locations?

Whatnot, I am anxiously awaiting a report from Zimmy on here, but what I can say is I did hear from my brother right before he came home from Norway and apparently they had a very bad connection on his SD 1 cruise, which took place shortly after the dry dock. He just returned home a couple of days ago so have yet to get a full report but he did say they really enjoyed their b2b cruise and your excursion suggestions were very helpful!

No, I don't belong to it, but have been there several times. They have an almond sparkling wine that everyone I have met loves. I think there will be other people from our area on the cruise since it is being hosted by that winery. I haven't been on one of AMA's wine cruises but am so looking forward to it because I love wine.

I was on AmaVida's Port Wine & and Flamenco cruise earlier this year and loved it. Enjoyed trying the different local wines and ports along the way.

Re: the Ca. vineyard: their almond sparkling wine is delicious - have you ever tried their chocolate port? If not, do so - it is really, really tasty! ;)

zqvol & FT - saw your post on SD forum so will follow along here. You two always write such interesting trip reports & post great pics. Enjoy your trip - hopefully it will be sans screaming kids this time! :eek: ;)

Carolyn, am really enjoying your posts & just read the live chat with interest since we did this same AmaVida cruise this year, only in reverse.

Someone asked if they thought this cruise would be a good introduction to river cruising. Probably depends on individual preference re: what you like to see/do, but the thing I will say is that this was our first river cruise and we felt it was a great introduction. We liked sailing on the river during the day so we could soak in the natural beauty of the Douro river valley and watch as the ship went through all the locks. We felt the pace was relaxed but at the same time there was always something to do or see (excursion-wise) so we didn't get bored. Needless to say, we have taken a lot of cruises on a favorite small luxury (ocean) cruise line but now can't wait to do another river cruise!

How is the weather there right now?

A question especially for H20str, Pacmom, CDreamer and Squarevanman though not limited to anyone who's already done the Duoro: We're told ceramics are beautiful in Portugal and Spain and of course port (white port, Pacmom!) is a good souvenir. Anything else you'd recommend we keep an eye on? Carolyn

Definitely agree about the white port....really tasty! I could kick myself for not bringing some home with me! :rolleyes:

We brought home some hand painted tiles and several cloth linen baskets which were a big hit with some of my 'baker' friends - they are flat and lightweight so very easy to pack. (Am going to attempt to attach a pic below).

One thing I forgot to mention about our AmaVida Douro cruise: tips at the end of the cruise must be made in cash - no credit cards. This was briefly mentioned at the beginning of our cruise but not everyone heard it, so many passengers were caught off guard when they were reminded the night before we disembarked. Of course by then it was too late to head to an ATM so some felt bad and upset over this last minute notification since it must have cut into some the crews' tips which they all so well deserved. So just be prepared to set some cash aside if you plan to tip the crew at the end of your cruise. Enjoy!

This is a fantastic trip report, CDreamer :) -- thanks for sharing your experience. Carolyn

You're welcome, Carolyn. Will look forward to reading all about your upcoming cruise on AmaVida. Enjoy!

"And for those of you who are veterans of a Portugal/Spain Duoro River cruise, please – please! – feel free to share your advice and insights about your trip here."

Hi Carolyn, am new to this board but not to CC. Thought I would chime in about our recent experience with AmaVida on the Douro since you asked for some input and I never got around to posting a trip report!

We took AMA's 'Port and Flamenco' cruise this year and throughly enjoyed it. AMA's excursions were, for the most part, very well organized and provided a great introduction to the Douro region.

Ship: AmaVida was built last year but is not owned by AMA (typical of river cruises on the Douro) - in fact, we were docked right next to a UniWorld ship that was an exact twin of our boat! The lounge and dining areas were spacious and comfortable, & even during "peak times" it never felt cramped. Our cabin was very clean, well appointed, and comfortable, and it was nice having a little step out balcony with a small table & 2 chairs.

Food: breakfast and lunch were buffet style AND/OR you could order off a menu. Dinners were very well presented and tasty though don't expect "5 star." That said, the crew could not have been more personable or engaging: nothing was too much trouble if requested (some passengers had very specific dietary requests which always seemed to be met).

Internet: available in each cabin but sometimes connection was lost due to the steep hillside terrain. During some of these times many of us found that internet connection could still be made in the Main Lounge area.

Weather: ideal. So the upper deck was busy at times but never felt "crowded" due to its layout: there was a pool with lounge chairs around it & plenty of tables & chairs available for those who wanted shade.

Wine and port, coffee/tea: Wine & port were poured/sampled quite frequently on this trip so we certainly didn't go thirsty! :D Really enjoyed trying the white ports as well as learning more about some of the local Vintage ports. There is also a handy little 24/7 coffee/tea/cookie self serve station on board. Would have liked to have had a small fridge in the room, though not sure if this is the "norm" with river boat cabins?

Scenery: simply gorgeous and very peaceful - hillside after hillside sculpted with beautiful lush, green (at that time of year) vineyards everywhere you looked!

Tour guides: locals who were engaging, interesting, knowledgeable about the area, and fun.

Excursions: We really enjoyed the fun dinner at the Quinta da Avessada winery and the Mateus Palace is a must see: such beautiful grounds! Porto is an interesting city to explore and we loved spending time in Madrid and Lisbon, pre and post cruise.

On the way to/from the ship: Salamanca is an attractive and interesting town but felt the lunch, which included a so-so Flamenco show, was a bit of a letdown. Enjoyed the interesting stop in Fatima on thenway to Lisbon though.

So overall it was a fun, scenic, and relaxing cruise with very friendly passengers on board. We love river cruising now and were very happy with our first AMA experience.

(Ho hum, breaking your post apart here....)

"He (Captain) instructs the crew to tie down all equipment, goods etc.. Lets hope this instruction extends to miserable woman ! Tie her up and gag her, ho hum says !"

Hysterical! Best humor, even in the worse of times!

"The sea swells were 5-6.0 metres and the side winds creates a force 8 gale (so informed by Captain the next day) so the motion was side to side; very odd."

:eek: Those aren't just occasional large swells. Aren't these strong sea conditions fairly unusual for this time of year?

"Waves crash over our window on deck 3 ! All objects ended up on the floor. Fell out of bed three times !"

Yikes. We usually stay on deck 3 - have rocked and rolled (weather!!) but in 9+ cruises have never, ever seen waves come anywhere near that level of the ship.

"....one passenger wanted to discuss anomalies in his interim bill to a petrified and green gilled young lady at Concierge !

Takes all kinds... :rolleyes:

Thanks again Ho Hum....enjoy following along on your daily reports.

Interesting SD blog article on Transatlantics that mentions "teens" and "children".

Time to book that SD cruise, Jim! :eek:;)

We are booked Athens - Rome - Monte Carlo stopping off at St.Tropez on 25 September, 2014

What a fantastic itinerary, Ho Hum! And ctbjr & Ho Hum both on the same cruise?! Will look forward to reading firsthand trip reports from BOTH of you while you are on this cruise!

Ho Hum, thank you for another interesting - and entertaining - review. Have enjoyed following along and getting a sense of the various excursions offered (or not, when the weather didn't cooperate) & hearing about some of your fellow passengers! Probably a godsend that you didn't hear ALL of the griping, but do hope your ears settle down soon... NOT fun to fly with plugged up ears!! :eek:

DJ, welcome back to the board and to SD! Understand how life can get in the way sometimes - we recently moved too so understand how all consuming that change alone can be - but you must be over the moon to have another SD cruise to look forward to next year!

Quelle horeur ! A chap-ette ! You fool ho hum ! Yes ho hum can see that now ! Je suis tres desolee mademoiselle ! ... Oh and an extra "mea culpe" for appearing to patronisingly imply you dont know how to use the functions of an ipad ! Arrogant British twit !>>

 

Hahaha... de souci!!

 

Always good info to pass along - not everyone knows an iPad screen can be adjusted.

 

<<Have a nice day Lady CDreamer.>>

 

Thanks Ho Hum - you too!

Pinch or (in your case) spread the presented image on your ipad using your two fingers by dragging them apart across the screen.>>

 

Thanks Ho Hum... I do know how to enlarge the screen :eek: but it just surprised me that the page format had suddenly changed since it wasn't necessary to do this in the past. But hopefully your handy tips will help other posters here who also use an iPad and are experiencing the same thing while reading this forum with just the regular screen.

 

<<Hope that helps old chap.>>

 

Very helpful Ho Hum, thanks.... but I'm a chap-ette! ;)

Sorry to jump in here while people are congratulating Doramas and Fatima, but rather than start a separate thread this seemed like the place for an Idle Jotting rant! :eek:

Anyone else annoyed with the larger side ads that are appearing on this forum? Not sure how the page looks on a laptop or desktop computer, but on my iPad these wide-margined ads now take up a significant amount of the page, making the threads & posts harder to read.

Advertising on a forum is nothing new, but this particular format seems less reader friendly. Or, maybe it's time for new glasses?!! OK, rant off... just wondering if anyone else has noticed this change?

Two beloved crew members say "I Do"...Fatima & Doramas

Love is in the air!

Two of SeaDream I’s favorite crew members are getting married in the Philippines Saturday, June 14.

Waiter Doramas Calderin and stewardess Fatima Perez will tie the knot at the Lord’s Transfiguration Parish Church in Pampanga province on the island of Luzon in the north of the country.

Courtesy of Sea Dream Facebook.

Aw, that's wonderful news - congrats to Doramas and Fatima!