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SD 1 TA October 2017 - Trip Report


DupontCruiser2
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Hi,

 

We'll be on the upcoming TA from Malaga to Barbados. Hoping to provide a trip report on a "regular" basis (regular determined by when I'm awake, not napping, eating, or drinking :cool:). We will be spending a few days before the trip in Barcelona, hoping that they don't leave Spain before we get there :'). Then we'll hop over to Malaga for a day before we sail on the 16th. We have everything set (travel arrangements, that is, still have yet to figure out what we will actually be taking!).

 

The only question we have is what to do when we get to Barbados. Hoping that, unlike US customs, we can relax and depart SD a little later and then kill a few hours before heading to airport (flight leaves at 3:30 so we'll need to be at the lovely airport 3 hours before :mad:). Given we have a long trip with connections in Miami, not really looking to spend time at the beach but hoping to find somewhere nice where we can sit, have a few cocktails and an early lunch and then head to airport. This means we have to find a place that is open around 10 AM (which knocks out quite a few restaurant options I've been checking out since they don't open until closer to noon). So, any ideas or thoughts are welcome!

 

Stay tuned for more!

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Time nears. We've arrived in Malaga after several days in Barcelona. Despite all the news of Independence protests, etc. all was quite nice while we visited. Saw all the main points of interest, enjoyed some really great tapas restaurants, and can't say enough about the staff at the Hotel Indigo. Great location and very helpful. Today we flew via Ryanair which has to be a low point in our travel history. Felt like cattle being herded to slaughter and was thankful that it was a short flight. The reward was a stay at the Room Mate Valeria right on the harbor. Can't beat the rooftop bar and pool!!! Met a few of our fellow cruisers who will be joining us tomorrow. A final dinner in Spain that was wonderful (el Tapeo de Cervantes, check it out!) and we board tomorrow. As my DW said, the final night we pay for our dinner (well, we've already paid for the next 13 dinners in advance!).

 

More to come.

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Monday, October 16th

We stayed one night in Malaga at Room Mate Valeria. Although the name is strange (“I’m staying atRoom Mate”??), the hotel is a fun, quirky boutique feeling place. Wonderfully friendly staff, nice room, and aroof top bar and pool with amazing views of the harbor. If you are sailing out of Malaga, this is theplace to be! Also, easy walk to manybars and tapas restaurants. Be warned,the best places are farther from the harbor – don’t stop at the first ones youcome to as they are more aimed at tourists and are not as good. We had an amazing dinner at el Tiempo deCervantes, very small, be sure to make reservations as it fills up quickly anddoubt walk ups will work.

We only had one morning in Malaga so took the hop on, hopoff bus. It was OK in that it gave us agood overview of the city but between the long stops (more like crawl on, crawloff) and the many inoperable headphone connections (two seats in front of usdid not work and at every stop we had to tell people not to sit there (why didthey think two great seats were open for no apparent reason?), not sure it wasworth the money. We did agree that wewished we had more time to explore Malaga as its smaller size and more laidback pace was more appealing to us versus Barcelona.

Right at 1:45 we headed to the ship which was literallysitting across the street from us. Itwas a short walk with our luggage to the terminal where we checked in and wereon board right at 2. No official countyet but the ship does not seem very full at all. Enjoyed a smooth sail away at 6 PM, havealready met several passengers from California, Connecticut, New Jersey andGeorgia as well as some folks from UK. Since we usually have sailed on SD II, not asmany familiar crew faces but have seen Brian whom we remember from our lasttrip on SD I on the Barbados RT and Matt who was chief bartender last year onSD II but is now Club Director!

Dinner was in the dining room, supposedly will be the entirecrossing L? DW had chicken which was overcooked while Ihad a beef filet which was perfect. Can’t remember the last time either of us had a meal that wasn’t perfectso hopefully this is a rarity. Have notmet the chef yet. Had a few drinks atTOYBAR, made sure to keep the office open and represented! Wepassed by Gibraltar around 10:30 and then called it a night. Definitely have a good rolling sea once wegot out into the Atlantic

Tuesday, October 17th

 

Definitely into so rolling seas today. Announced at 6-8 feet and I think we havesome that are higher than that. We wokeup around 7:30 and surprised to see it was still completely dark out. With ustraveling west the whole trip, we’ll be shifting clocks back every few days sowho knows exactly what time zone we’re in. The day started cloudy and cool but we soon ran out of the clouds andinto a nice afternoon – not too cool, not hot either. Had breakfast and then hung out at one of thetables on the pool deck, near the bar, of course. Read and played some cards rest ofmorning. Two guest speakers on board –one discussing oceanography and the other covering technology. Too cool for the pool so far and not manypeople hanging out down there yet. Backup to TOYBAR for lunch, then several hours napping on the Balinese beds. Drank a little too much in the afternoon plusafternoon snacks so decided it was an evening to recharge and not push so earlyinto the voyage so skipped dinner.

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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.

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Thanks for a very comprehensive review. I'm so sorry you and your wife got sick. That is really a bummer.

 

I'm also sorry to read that SD has apparently gone downhill. Sounds like the doctor is, at least, excellent.

 

Happy anniversary to you and your wife, anyway. I'm glad you at least got to enjoy Malaga and Madeira.

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The great, the bad and the ugly

 

 

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”).

 

Sorry for the issues that you encountered, and I hope that everything turned out OK. Wondering if you don't mind saying, what kind of Trip Insurance did you have and through which carrier? It seems that they did a good job for you here. This is one of the issues that I am always struggling with... to buy or not to buy?

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Apart from your sea sickness, nothing was as you report.Sea conditions were quite usual for a passage across to Funchal. Don't forget that SD is a small narrow beam ship so will roll more than the monster floating holiday parks. Sea certainly wasn't as high as you claim.

 

 

Food was fine. We lunched on the same table on Tuesday and I noted that your OH had a hot dog with lots of tomato sauce - hardly gourmet choice.

 

 

Ship condition was fine with the crew taking advantage of a quiet TA to do maintenance. Lots of varnishing and painting. Sure, some decking being replaced, but always guarded,so hardly a trip hazard!

 

 

Your comments are jaundiced,no doubt due to an unfortunate bout of mal de mer, or more likely a case of pre-boarding food poisoning?

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Apart from your sea sickness, nothing was as you report.Sea conditions were quite usual for a passage across to Funchal. Don't forget that SD is a small narrow beam ship so will roll more than the monster floating holiday parks. Sea certainly wasn't as high as you claim.

 

 

 

 

 

Food was fine. We lunched on the same table on Tuesday and I noted that your OH had a hot dog with lots of tomato sauce - hardly gourmet choice.

 

 

 

 

 

Ship condition was fine with the crew taking advantage of a quiet TA to do maintenance. Lots of varnishing and painting. Sure, some decking being replaced, but always guarded,so hardly a trip hazard!

 

 

 

 

 

Your comments are jaundiced,no doubt due to an unfortunate bout of mal de mer, or more likely a case of pre-boarding food poisoning?

 

 

 

Never been on a SD TA, but I'm not unfamiliar with pre-boarding food poisoning (and first night wine overindulgence...but that's another story) but knowing how conscious SD always seems to be regarding passengers comfort and enjoyment I have a feeling you're right regarding that review. Hasn't effected our anticipation of our upcoming (well, January) SD cruise (our 10th)!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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!
All turned out well. We enjoyed 4 wonderful days on Madeira (turned grapes into wine versus lemons into lemonade :p), met some wonderful people on the island and enjoyed our time thoroughly. With regards to your trip in Feb, I'm sure it will be marvelous, we've always enjoyed Caribbean trips, very relaxing, fun stops, and the champagne and caviar on the beach is not to be missed. And you'll have a different clientele on that trip, not as many snobs ;p Enjoy it!!!
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  • 2 weeks later...

We were on the same TA and had a very different experience. Granted boarding was a bit of a challenge as another vessel was in our spot and there was nobody to collect our bags at the taxi drop. The walk from the taxi drop off to the check in

dragging our bags was less than ideal. But once on board it was hugs all around. Many of us headed for the lounge for snacks, drinks, and greetings, although not necessarily in that order.

 

The first couple of days we had a fair amount of motion, but people seemed to handle it well. It didn't seem excessive to us and not as bad as some years past. We always anticipate more motion than on the mega ships.

 

We rather enjoyed the food and service was on point. We ate several meals in our suite and it was served by course. The chef was always at the pass for lunches, checking each plate before it was served. If he stepped away Silvia was right there to step in. Plating was lovely. We really enjoyed the meals.

 

We noticed some areas of the vessel where touch ups were needed, but hopefully this is planned for next year's dry dock.

 

We had need for medical help on a recent cruise and we,too, were impressed with the on-board doctor and Brenda's help. Poor Phil was unconsous and came to disoriented and looking up at what seemed like half of the staff crowded into our suite making sure he was okay.

 

It is a shame that you had such an unpleasant experience. Phil tends to get seasick. And it truly is miserable. After Madeira the sea calmed down and the weather was pleasantly warm for the rest of the voyage. Reid's is such a lovely hotel. The agent did well to place you there. Immigration can be a real pain so it is good that you had assistance. Our neighbors on the island always come onboard for lunch and "catch-up" of island gossip and politics and always are given a hard time by immigration/customs.

 

I just got word that the 2018 fall crossing will be delayed a bit. Just a little longer to wait.

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