SDI - Barbados-Caldera

[vandrefalk]

Finally back in the land of internet! It was sooooo frustrating! They didn't charge us for it, fortunately, cuz I'd have made a bit of a stink. Jim, they have a flat charge for unlimited wifi throughout the ship for the duration of the cruise -- plus they have the 2 computers in the library. Once in awhile, I could get on in the interior of the ship -- never at the pool. They even flew someone in from Miami to work on it -- he said one of the issues was bad parts, whatever that means.

 

The second cruise was very different from the first. About half of us stayed on and we got another 50 or so newbies -- many of whom were first timers. There was a group of 20 Brazilians, who were pretty badly behaved the first day. I think several of us complained -- they even pretty much threw Anthony out of the piano bar the first night and plugged in their own music! Believe they were spoken to as they seemed to settle down quite a bit -- still a bit annoying, but tolerable. Just goes to show that enforcement is the key, whether it be kids or adults!

 

Costa Rica was lovely -- but HOT, HOT, HOT! Nothing like the Caribbean! And since I don't do heat well, I missed the hikes. Just too hot and humid for me. But others liked them a lot. Did do the whale watch, though only saw porpoises. Went to a beach and saw monkeys and a few birds. The beach we went to was sort of like quicksand and pebbly, so you should have water shoes.

 

One of the ports James Cabello had set up reneged on us, despite calls from the captain. I heard James was NOT happy!! So, guess some glitches are to be expected for an inaugural cruise and hopefully, they will work the kinks out quickly. Elisa was a good CAD -- she's been to the area before and seemed to be quite knowledgeable.

 

Rutzie put on two shows -- Zimmy's DH sang with her on the first and I did on the second show. Last night she came to the piano bar and we did a few more numbers. She is so good!!

 

We were supposed to go to a volcano (Poa) on the way to San Jose (I hear a song!) but opted to come straight to the hotel. Fly home tomorrow. As much as I love SD, there does come a time when I'm ready for my own bed.

 

Am sure Zimmy will post at some point. If you have any other questions, let me know and I'll try to answer them.

 

Vandrefalk

[Jim Avery]

Thanks for the info. Which port did not work out? We are heading down on Friday to the Marriott. Bad planning on my part to be on SeaDream for Auburn/Alabama AND the SEC Championship.:eek: Don't Yall be winning while I am not looking.:D

[knotheadusc]

Thanks for checking in, Vandrefalk!

 

Sounds like the group of Brazilians that was on our first SeaDream cruise. They were pretty obnoxious. Glad they were given a talking to.

[frequent traveler]

Thanks for checking in, Vandrefalk!

 

Sounds like the group of Brazilians that was on our first SeaDream cruise. They were pretty obnoxious. Glad they were given a talking to.

 

I speak a bit of Portuguese and it's amazing once people speak a common language. We started out with problems on our 2012 voyage but after explaining expectations, everything went smoothly.

 

FT

[knotheadusc]

The large group of Brazilians on our first cruise were clearly intent on having a lot of fun and they ran the bartenders ragged. I remember one bartender, who is no longer with SD, commenting that he was surprised their livers hadn't "packed it in"!

 

Most of them seemed like nice enough people, though… they were just party animals to the extreme. The one exception might be the one woman in Prada who ashed her cigarette on my suitcase. I doubt she even realized she'd done it.

[Jim Avery]

Maybe I missed it on the earlier posts but I do not see any mention of the Chef on board. Is Sudesh still Chef?:D

[Zimmy]

Maybe I missed it on the earlier posts but I do not see any mention of the Chef on board. Is Sudesh still Chef?:D

 

Sudesh was promoted to corporate a while ago. We have seen him Onboard (not this trip) but it has been as a visitor.

 

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.

[CDreamer]

...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!

[Zimmy]

Well, I'm finally home with my own computer and internet. It's working so well that I think I'm in Oz. We had a fabulous trip, my broken wrist notwithstanding. In fact, now that I'm home and we have to do everything for ourselves (like normal) I'm realizing how good I had it for the first three weeks. DH also - now he has to do everything around the house and it's not easy. I'm calling him for help constantly.

 

No matter what happens with corporate, or Norway, or Miami, SD onboard is still SD. It is all about the fabulous crew, and nothing has changed. A very good addition to the crew is the new cruise director Elisa. In addition to being a delightful person, she is competent, and she is straightforward and honest. Since I was limited to what I could do on excursions because of my injury, her advice regarding the excursions was invaluable in making my decisions.

 

We started in Barbados, staying at the Hilton. It is a nice property - not fabulous, but we were paying very little for it, in fact not enough to even use our Hilton points. We liked it enough that we will stay there for our January 4, 2015 Barbados to Barbados trip. A highlight was dinner at The Cliff. We had never heard of it but our traveling companions had been there and booked our table many months in advance. Apparently you receive a number when you book, and numbers 1 through something, maybe 20, are guaranteed a table outside. Wonderful food and ambience. Expensive. Other than leaving our hotel to eat at The Cliff, we just spent all our time in Barbados at the pool.

 

Embarcation was as usual, smooth. At the port I met Vandrefalk and FPebbles. While I would not have been able to recognize them, I was easily identifiable as the one in the cast. Upon boarding we were thrilled to find out that our room stewardess was our favorite, Rutzie, and to find out that her family in the Phillipines were safe and unaffected by the hurricane.

 

Our first port was Grenada. While we have been there numerous times, we have always taken walking tours or walked on our own in the town. This time we took a taxi and saw much more of the island, which was quite enjoyable.

 

The next port was Isla de Margarita. SD offered a Mangrove Tour, but we did this on our own. Six of us took a taxi to the National Park and then hired a boat to take us through the Mangroves. Fabulous. Whether you go with SD, or do it on your own, this is a winner.

 

Our next port was intended to be Los Roques Island, and this is where the problems started. We lost our port engine, missed the port due to our slower speed, and went directly to the next port, Curacao. Here we again hired a driver for the morning, saw a few sights, and returned to the ship for lunch and afternoon at the pool.

 

The next day was intended to be a sea day, but it turned out to be two sea days, as it was announced that due to our slow speed we could not get to Cartagena. This was a huge disappointment to most on board, as it was a highlight of the cruise. While DH and I have been to Cartagena, most passengers had not and were looking forward to it, and rightfully so. I have to say that the mood on board became a bit ugly. Half of the passengers on this cruise were staying on board for the next cruise, and we were all worried about what was in store for us. We were assured that the distances between ports in Costa Rica were small, and the lack of a second engine would not be a problem. This turned out to be true, but at the time some of us were thinking about the Carnival disaster. It was not a happy time. In addition, the public rooms at the back of the ship, the lounge and the dining room, were uncomfortably warm. We were wondering whether this was an effect of only one engine. I don't know the answer to that, but on our transit day between the two cruises the corporate chief engineer came on board and voila, the air conditioning problem was immediately resolved. I think the happiest person to get off the ship at Balboa was the engineer from the first cruise.

 

Our next port was San Blas Islands. We anchored and were tendered to one of the islands. The indiginous Indians who live there make their living by fishing and by selling their wares, mostly molas, to tourists. This was fascinating. We wandered throught the village, where each resident had their molas on display. The children also hold out their artwork for purchase, saying "one dollar, one dollar." If you go to this island, bring lots of singles as you will want to distribute them to these adorable children. The Cuna people, and their way of life, is a real wake up call to us. While we can't imagine living as they do ( I don't know how they withstand bad weather as their houses look like they would blow over in a strong wind) they appear to be quite happy and content. A number of them, though, have satellite dishes.

 

SD did a fabulous job of the Panama Canal transit. DH & I have done this before on Seabourn (one of the larger ones), and it felt much more up close and personal on the smaller SD. SD brought on a local expert who narrated on the loudspeaker all day, and it was terrific.

 

On our transit day between the two cruises we went into Panama City and had lunch and walked around with one of the couples whom we had met on the first cruise and who had left the ship to spend a few days in Panama City. I think they were sorry, as it was impossibly hot and humid. DH and I were in Panama in January, and I don't remember it being this uncomfortable, so perhaps it is somewhat seasonal.

 

As mentioned in previous posts, the passenger mix on the second trip was quite different from the first. Mostly first timers to SD. I suspect they had trouble selling this cruise, as it would have meant flying down to Panama for five days. But at the repeaters party, I'm not sure there was anyone there who had not been there the previous week.

 

Our first port in CR was Isla de Coiba. We anchored and SD tendered us to a gorgeous, tiny island where we swam off the beach. It would have been a perfect setting for the splash, but SD was not allowed to bring anything over (except a cooler of beer).

 

Our next port was Golfito. There was a hike to a National Park offered, and those who took it liked it I think, but the hike was not appropriate for me. So we hired a cab for the morning and the driver took us to the top of the mountain (where others were hiking) so that we could see the views without the work. Our driver was great, and I highly recommend doing this for those who can't do a strenuous hike. The CR people are lovely, and truly want you to enjoy their country. This was obvious everywhere we went.

 

Our next day was Drake Bay. There were three excursions offered. I understand that the hike to the National Park was wonderful, but again it was too strenuous for me. We took the Marine Wildlife boat ride. We were not happy with this excursion. Too many of us were packed into a small boat, and we were supposed to see whales and dolphins. We saw no whales, which I understand they can't control, but we went from spot to spot to see dolphins. For four hours. Stopping again and again to see the same thing. We, and those around us (I can't speak for everyone) just wanted to get off the boat. At the end we stopped at a small, very rocky beach for swimming and snacks. I think that if this excursion had been half the time and half the price we would have appreciated it more.

 

In the afternoon we were supposed to go to Isla del Cano, but the authorities reneged and wouldn't allow us to visit.

 

The final port was Quepos. We took the excursion to Manual Antonio Park, and I highly recommend this. The tour description says that it is a 1 1/2 hour walk, followed by a swim, followed by a 1 hr walk out of the park. Don't be put off by this if that length of the walk scares you. It is not a 1 1/2 hour walk. It is perhaps a half hour walk which takes 1 1/2 hours because you are constantly stopping to look at animals and plants which are pointed out by the absolutely wonderful guide. While you could take a taxi and do this on your own, if I had done the walk without the guide I would have seen nothing. The guide carries a telescope and finds things in the trees, which we looked at through the scope, which then enabled us to find the place in the tree where the animal was.

 

We ended our trip with three days at The Four Seasons in Guanacaste. We were picked up at the ship by Swiss Travel Service (arranged for by the hotel) and driven to the resort. It was about a three hour drive on good roads. The resort is wonderful. We didn't need a telescope to spot Beyonce and Jay-Z at the hotel. We flew home from Liberia, rather than San Jose, and it was only a 45 minute ride from the resort to the airport.

 

All in all, a wonderful trip. While I am glad that I went, I was surprised by how hot and humid CR is compared to the Caribbean, where it is cooler in the mornings and at night. CR is just unrelenting heat. Thinking about the Caribbean, I brought shawls for the evening and long sleeves for the morning. Don't bother. Bring your lightest clothes - it never gets cool.

 

Our next SD is the 7/16/14 Norweigan Fjords, which we had previously booked. While on board we booked the 1/4/15 Barbados to Barbados going to the Grenadines on SD II. For all of our SD voyages, this will be the first one on the II. And while we loved the voyage, and have booked two more, for the first time we are somewhat concerned about the age of the ships. It of course relates to the engine breakdown, but there were also numerous small things which broke down during the voyage and were fixed. The yacht will be in dry dock before we do Norway, so hopefully everything will be in working order for us.

[Jim Avery]

glad you made it home safely Zimmy. We are heading out to the airport at 3:30AM! tomorrow for flights to SJO. thanks for the clothing advice. The sports coat stays home! I assume you received some compensation for the delays and missed ports. Glad to hear the air conditioner glitch was worked out. Thanks again for all your info and Happy Thanksgiving. Back to packing.:D

[whatnot]

Thanks Zimmy for a great review! Enjoyed reading about your adventures. Sorry about the heat and the ship problems but it sounds like everything came out good in the end! We were there several years ago in early February and it was hot but not as bad as you and Vandrefalk have described it. Maybe it is worse in November than in January and February.

[Zimmy]

your We were there several years ago in early February and it was hot but not as bad as you and Vandrefalk have described it. Maybe it is worse in November than in January and February.

 

I suspect that you are correct about that, Whatnot. I do not remember Panama last January as being as awful as Panama this month. And I would have remembered!

[vandrefalk]

Great review, Zimmy! Zimmy got out and did more than we did -- actually, we were trying to be more like FPebbles -- although I think she got off the ship more than we did! The heat was just debilitating for me. Although I found San Jose to be quite pleasant, so maybe it's just a question of not being on the coast.

 

Concur with all of Zimmy's comments -- especially about Elisa. She took some hits from guests over missing ports, but she handled it well. And did 90+ bookings!

 

It was a pleasure to meet Zimmy and her DH and their traveling companions!

Vandrefalk

[CDreamer]

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!

[Zimmy]

It was nice meeting so many of the Cruise Critic posters and lurkers (that's you, jsx2). Now we can picture faces when we read your comments. Next time we're on board together, Vandrefalk, we will have to do a duet. Sorry I had to miss the second show with you and Rutzie. Zimmy's DH

[frequent traveler]

Enjoyed the postings -checked daily for updates. Glad to hear nothing but good news about crew, especially with recent hurricane. Thanks and glad that SD has added experienced CAD and resource for going through Canal.

FT

[js2x]

Zimmy- Yes, I'm a lurker! What a great trip. And you were an awesome tour guide. Happy New year!

[js2x]

Zimmy- Yes, I'm a lurker! What a great trip. And you were an awesome tour guide. Happy New Year!

[Zimmy]

Zimmy- Yes, I'm a lurker! What a great trip. And you were an awesome tour guide. Happy New Year!

 

Happy New Year. I've been meaning to call you. I've done some research on Norway.

[Zimmy]

I just received a letter from Seadream in response to my comment card for the voyage. I'd post the whole thing if I knew how, but the important points in the letter, particularly for those who are sailing soon, is that it says that "the engine repair is taking place now and will be ongoing through the coming days." ..... "the vessel was just inspected by US Coast Guard which is customary when we return to US waters, and deemed fully safe and operational.........The current Caribbean voyages will have NO itinerary changes and will NOT be affected by the work being done."

[MarDav]

Zimmy,

 

We're glad to hear this, as we will be on SD1 trip departing from St. Thomas on 1/25. Keeping our fingers crossed that conditions will be OK at ORD for our flight to STT on 1/23. Should be a great escape from our unbearable winter and we're looking forward to a very relaxing trip.

[commodoredave]

Great news. I look forward to reading the story about the engine issue and its repair on the SD blog.

[Jim Avery]

Great news. I look forward to reading the story about the engine issue and its repair on the SD blog.

 

I think you will see that in the SD blog when there are swine aviators.:eek::D

[commodoredave]

I was hoping this episode could be the start of a new communication policy at SD where they tell people the truth and communicate in an open and positive fashion. Or it might just be a continuation of the old Norwegian stick your head in the North Sea policy that has worked so well! :rolleyes:

[Jim Avery]

I was hoping this episode could be the start of a new communication policy at SD where they tell people the truth and communicate in an open and positive fashion. Or it might just be a continuation of the old Norwegian stick your head in the North Sea policy that has worked so well! :rolleyes:

 

And we are still waiting for Andreas to deliver the new "policy". Which I think was spelled out for us on the blog posting. Families and groups.