CDreamer

 

"I heart C" ?

 

Love. Plain and simple. What's not to love about Christophe?

 

(...'heart': to soften the term "love" a bit since I wouldn't want to make Mr. CDreamer jealous - altho' I think he probably "hearts" Christophe every bit as much as I do! ;) )

Recently heard Michael (South Africa) was mugged ! He is fine.

 

What?! :eek: Knew he was traveling but hadn't heard. Glad he's OK.

 

"Christophe (the best hotel manager on the ocean and possibly land) est en vacance."

 

Good, he deserves it! Truth be told, I heart Christophe! :D

 

"Pierre is on SDI. Jamie on SDIi"

 

Also great. Both of them. Thanks for the update Ho Hum!

Jim, thanks for the heads up.... Some friends of ours were just on a Windstar cruise and were supposed to disembark sometime this week! :eek:

How ho hum envied your trip.

But in the summer the Douro can really stink !

Your early spring timing was perfect.

Mmmm, yes.... I imagine it could be a lot like Venice during hot & muggy months, & that is NOT very pleasant! We like to travel in the Spring... temps are milder & less crowds... so no smell on this trip, thankfully - and the rows of vineyards planted along the hillsides were just beautiful. With the current rise in rivers in other European areas & the massive flooding in the Balkans we were fortunate not to have any issues with rising/receding waters either, so the transition through the locks went very smoothly.

"The other former SD employee who occasionally helps out SD in between resigning Club Activities Directors is Ardienn, a wonderful young lady: sheer class. She works with TAUK."

I didn't know that! We booked this river cruise last minute but if there had not been any availability Tauck would have been our next choice - have heard great things about them.

Agree there does seem to be a revolving door with the CADs on SD but have never figured out exactly why. Adrienne is good, James Cabello was always popular, and we really loved Michael - intelligent, interesting, and fun - but many others have certainly come/gone over the years!

One last thing.... Is Christophe on board now? Haven't heard anyone mention him in awhile. Isn't he usually back on board for the Med cruises?

Ha, well thanks Ho Hum - wish we could delete posts (esp multiple ones!) on this forum after the alloted 20 minutes or whatever it is but, so be it...! :eek:

Will try to write a summary of our cruise sometime next week, but most likely will be an abbreviated version since we have a garage full of boxes to sift through (moved right before taking this trip)!

Chose the Douro river (Portugal) wine cruise with AMA because: 1. We wanted a relaxing cruise, 2. Enjoy wine and port!, 3. Love beautiful scenery, 4. Wanted to return to Spain & Portugal and were able to spend a little time in Madrid & Lisbon pre and post cruise, 5. Wanted to try river cruising (w/ no more passengers than the max on SD).

More later, but we really did enjoy this trip as it ticked all the boxes (above) and we had a really fun and interesting group of people on board. Many were repeat AMA passengers or had taken other river cruises with Uniworld, Viking, and Avalon. Seems AMA has a pretty loyal following.

Ho Hum, can you tell us which of the river cruise line(s) some of the former SD senior crew are employed with now?

Sorry for the double post... or triple now. Using foreign computer! :eek:

Didn't quite know where to post this but since Ho Hum already has this thread going (loving the updates!) and management came up....

We have jumped ship and have just taken our first river cruise, Spain-Portugal. Have been quite surprised at how "Sea Dream-like" this particular cruise turned out to be. Could have easily seen this same easy going but fun loving group of 100 at the TOY....well, maybe not all at once! :eek: Had similarly well presented meals (though SD's food is substantially better), a very personable crew (OK, I know - you can't "replace" any of the SD crew/Capts - ever!! - but we still had a great Capt. & hard working crew who went the extra mile for all of us), & interesting land excursions (most included; some optional).

Anyway, we "promoted" SD like crazy with fellow passengers on this trip - hmmm....maybe we'll get a free drink next time on SD?! :p - but have been surprised that NONE of them had even heard of SD. Seabourn, Regent, and WindStar yes, but SD no. Yet, once we told them about it they wanted to know more & several wrote down SD's website info. Most of the passengers were from Canada, the U.S. and U.K., have travelled extensively, plus several independent travel agents were in the mix...so am wondering if SD is missing something, marketing-wise? That said, I am still confused as to WHO exactly SD is trying to attract at this point? Interesting that BOTH SD ships will be locked up over NYE to charters - always thought they left one of the ships to open booking when the other was chartered?

Sorry again for stealing your thread, Ho Hum - just also a bit interested re: what is going on with management's marketing strategy right now?

Didn't quite know where to post this but since Ho Hum already has this thread going (loving the updates!) and management came up....

We have jumped ship and have just taken our first river cruise, Spain-Portugal. Having wonderful time and have been quite surprised at how "Sea Dream-like" this particular cruise has turned out to be. Could easily see this same fun group of 100 at the TOY (well, maybe not all at once!). Have had similarly well presented meals (though SD's food is substantially better), a very personable crew (OK, I know - you can't "replace" any of the SD crew/Capts - ever! :D - but we still had a great Capt. & hard working crew who went the extra mile for all of us), & we have had interesting land excursions (most included; some optional).

Anyway, we have been "promoting" SD like crazy with fellow passengers on this trip (hmmm....maybe we'll get a free drink next time on SD?! :p) but have been surprised that NO ONE we have talked to has even heard of SD. Seabourn, Regent, and WindStar yes, but not Sea Dream. Yet, once we tell them about SD they want to know more & several wrote the info down saying they plan to check into it more once they get home. Most of the passengers are from Canada, the U.S. and U.K., have travelled extensively, plus there are several travel agents in the mix...so am wondering if SD is missing something, marketing-wise? That said, I am confused as to WHO exactly SD is trying to attract at this point? Interesting that BOTH SD ships will be locked up over NYE to charters - always seemed like they left one of the ships open when the other was chartered?

Sorry again for stealing your thread, Ho Hum - just also a bit interested re: what is going on with management's marketing strategy (or lack thereof?) right now?

Wow, your father sounds unbelievable, both physically and mentally. I hope you inherited his genes!

Ha! I completely agree - he sounds like an amazing and ver accomplished man!

SDII: Mumbai-Athens, Day 6 (Tuesday, 29 April, 2014) Oh and dont forget the crew. If it's bad for us then it will be bad for them also and then they have to listen to us complaining how bad we slept.

A double whammy!

Yes.... And THIS is what now and always has set SD apart from the rest.

Ho Hum, thanks for your honest and detailed review... Just another reminder as to how much the hardworking Captain(s) and crew work to help make all of our times on board not only as safe as possible but worth every penny spent.

Thanks for reply. At least on iPad that link goes to the 2013 crossing site.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

JES, it did, but now it connects to the current blog.

Thank you both for your replies - very helpful info!

Hi, we are new to AMA and river cruising, but not to CC. We will be taking a Douro river cruise next month and have the age old question of what to wear/pack for this particular cruise.

We have taken Windstar and many Sea Dream cruises where the dress is very casual during the day then more "country club casual" at night. Is this similar to what people wear on a Douro AMA cruise? On SD, DH usually wears a button down shirt at night then takes a sports coat for captain's night. Should he plan on doing same? How dressy do the ladies get on AmaVida?

Also, will light weight jackets (windbreakers) be warm enough during the day in May or should we take heavier jackets?

We'd like to pack as light as possible but also want to make sure that we have the right clothes for this trip. Haven't been to Portugal in years so we are really looking forward to taking our first river cruise on AMA!

Yep, it's unanimous: Rome Cabs @ romecabs.com! Not only did they take us and the Vandrefalks from Rome to Civitavecchia to catch our SD cruise, but we also hired them for the evening to take us all into Rome for a special dinner and were treated to an unexpected night of sightseeing afterwards on our way back to our hotel! ;D They are a reliable ~ and quite personable ~ service, but reserve asap as they do book up quickly!

Thanks shaskelly for the great report! Would love to do that cruise but I've got a hard sell to get my DH to travel that far. It's a long flight from NC Enjoyed all your great details!

Agreed, very interesting review and really appreciate you taking the time to write such a detailed account of your SDII cruise, Shaskelly.

Glad you had such a wonderful time - especially in light of some of the recent issues going on with SD1 - and lucky you to be spoiled by one of our favorites and one of SD's finest: Christophe!! :D

Thanks again for posting a great report!

Yes, thank you JNJATSEA for taking the time to post such a detailed review of your recent experience on board - especially since you obviously have a long, dedicated history of cruising with SD, as many of us have (to some degree) up to this point.

A relative of mine, also a SD lover, has a cruise booked on SD1 after the crossing and has tried - through his travel agent - to get some sort of "official" word from Miami re: the engine repair and when it is scheduled to take place... but so far, nothing. :confused:

So these first hand reports do help to at least shed some light as to whether anything is being said by staff, addressed (like honoring future booking discounts that were promised in writing), or even fixed (the crankshaft) while passengers are on board.

Since Miami doesn't seem to be forthcoming in shedding any light on things this appears to be the only way to get any info right now.

We just arrived home so more later when I have had time to digest all. Appreciate your advice . As to the salad

Spinner , according to the captain , the seas were 4,5 and sometimes 6 meters that combined with single engine stabilization was zip , the ride was fierce and bedtime noisy and sloppy .

Janieab, thank you for checking in again. Will be anxious to read your (and flygod's) full reviews of this particular cruise.

These first hand reports ARE important because they lend a personal, first hand perspective to all the rumors and PR (and in mgt's case, no response) spin that goes on when problems like these arise.

We are in San Juan right now ready to head out tomorrow. The ship is not at the pier right now. We are looking forward to a great time. I will report back.

Have a great time, Orchard Hill - will look fwd to reading about your cruise.

Hopefully Flygod will also check in soon.

Welcome back, Jim. Will be anxious to read your full report after you get home!

Zimmy, excellent review!! Thanks for taking the time to include so many details. Good to hear you were still able to get out and do & see some interesting things even with your cast. We like to do what you did: quickly explore then get away from the ports and see more of an area.... Gives you more of a sense of a place, its people, and culture even if you are only there for half day or whatever. Who knows, maybe it will be a spot you'll end up liking enough to return to some day and spend a little more time.

Glad you enjoyed your trip Zimmy, despite the hot temps and glitches with the ship. Nice to know so many familiar faces were on board and that they took such good care of you. Thanks again for your detailed review!

Our TA just informed us we have been bumped up to 415! Never sailed on 4 deck before. :D

The good news is your cabin will be furthest away from the piano bar but you'll have a very easy "commute" from your cabin to the spa and gym, in case you feel like being pampered or working off that 1 lb + gain per day! :eek::D

...We are at The Four Seasons in Guanacaste until tomorrow. Fabulous place. But I'm having trouble posting. Will report on Wednesday when we're home.

Internet appears to be an issue down there... Will look forward to hearing about your b2b cruise after you return home, Zimmy. Safe travels!

Anxious to hear details about the second leg of Vandrefalk's & Zimmy's b2b cruise....

Wondering what the new passenger mix is like, how the excursions are going (or went), what the weather is like now (has it changed at all), have they met any more CCers on board, etc...

Oh Vandrefalk & Zimmy... can you hear us now? :confused: :D

....We are leaving next Friday for CR. And I will do my best to report up to your standards.:eek:

Jim, have a great trip... and if the internet isn't working just {{YELL REALLY LOUD!!}} so we can keep up with all your activities, both on and off the ship. :D;) Enjoy!!

Vessel AIS shows SeaDream I in Gatun Locks. That is a good sign!:D

Good to hear, Jim.

Hopefully they'll (fpebbles, Vandrefalk, and/or Zimmy) will be able to log on soon so they can post more updates!