SD II Transatlantic

[Jim Avery]

Bon Voyage to Ho-Hum and Blondie, Lady V and the Colonel and all the other SD II crossers leaving Barbados tomorrow.  Best wishes for fair seas.🍸

[BeignetBoy]

Our travel called yesterday indicating that she received a call from Seadream  informing her that the TA crossing tomorrow is embarking earlier.   Word is that embarkation is at 11 and departure is at 1. But other travellers here at the Hotel have not heard of a change.   Does anyone have more information?

[floridaag]

Safe travels - with the exception of our first day, I hope the seas and conditions are similar to the way they were on our October crossing

[vandrefalk]

Well, we are on our way — 34 on board! Some swells the first evening and yesterday but much better today. Capt Svein, chef Jorg, Hotman Jaime, MD Silvio, CD Matt, activities Anna. Also, Nic, Jerry, Severin, Fred (piano), Emmanuel, and others ! All good! Bobby’s girl and I are keeping the piano bar open. Not too much activity in terms of trivia and the like. lecturers are quite good. Hope this posts ok! Vandrefalk

[Jim Avery]

Thanks for posting info Karen.  We always count on you to maintain a certain level of decorum..🍸

[Zimmy]

Enjoy, Vandrefalk. Glad to hear that you have connectivity to post. We were pleased to discover while in Cuba that the internet on the ship was quite good. A marked difference from previous voyages.

[TrapperZimmy]

16 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

We always count on you to maintain a certain level of decorum..🍸

Even you and I played nice, Jim.  Wish I could be joining you at the piano bar, Vandrefalk.  We made beautiful music together. 😎

[Jim Avery]

Mighty quiet out there Trapper.  When we were aboard we posted regularly for all the stay at homes (like us).  Maybe nothing at all happening......😎🍸

[vandrefalk]

Ok, guys. Layout of this site is very different from what I’m used to, so not sure how this will post. With only 34 on board, it is a different experience from what we are used to. Guess the westbound crossings attract more guests, but I’m liking this smaller group. HH and Blondie continue to hokd the record, but we came in third! Won’t last long as we won’t be back on til fall 2020 — just the way things are. Food has been great — new chef is fabulous— lectures are really good — one is an earth, sea, sky guy and the other worked in the royal household for many years. Trivia has picked up — my team lost today but we are still 2-1. Afternoon and evening movies — dessert extravaganza and dance music tonight. Weather has been pretty good until today — whitecaps in am, swells in pm and rain (some heavy) off and on. Yes, Trapper, we made beautiful music — Bobby’s girl are holding down the fort! During tonight’s dance music, there was a fabulous male voice — asked why he hadn’t been at piano bar. Answer — on vacation— sung with English National Opera for 30 years — gulp! Hope this brings you up to date! Vandrefalk

[Zimmy]

Thanks for the post, Vandrefalk. 34 on board sounds fabulous - I can't even imagine. 

[Jim Avery]

10 minutes ago, Zimmy said:

Thanks for the post, Vandrefalk. 34 on board sounds fabulous - I can't even imagine. 

Same here Zimmy.  Lowest count we ever sailed SD with was 59 and that was the best ever.  34 is amazing.  Lois likey.  🍸

[vandrefalk]

OK, I know it's been a while but I thought I should probably do a final report on the crossing and the follow-on.  We got home mid-May and I had spinal surgery two weeks later, so have not been on top of my game.

We loved the crossing!!  Weather, for the most part, was absolutely gorgeous.  We had pedal to the metal most of the time -- guess having an appointment in dry dock is like going through the Panama Canal -- better not miss it!  We did so well that the Captain DID decide to stop for a swim!  Sadly, as they lowered the platform, they realized the swells were a bit too much and then -- jellyfish!  The blue bottle, Portuguese man of war type!  So that was that.  At least they tried!  The last day was an adventure -- breaking waves of 19 feet!  As they hit the bow, I could see the remains smack our window on deck 3.  A lot of folks (including Fred) were down for the count.  Even Matt had a few sinking spells, but managed to persevere.  I was ok as I religiously took my bonine but even I had to lie down for a bit just to keep from falling down!  Quite the adventure.  

 

Disembarked in Lisbon and said we'd see themin 4 days.  Did some touring with Beignet Boy and DW -- weather was great!  Tried a great wine bar built in part of an old aqueduct and a couple of other restaurants we had been to in the past.  All in all, a very nice 4 days.  Oh, I forgot to mention that they let us on early in Barbados (due to the rumor that we were departing early) -- we stayed in a corner of the main salon to stay out of everyone's way, but the crew just couldn't let us sit there.  Even though they had to get ready for the rest of the guests, they brought us bubbly, food and whatever we wanted -- isn't that just the SD way!

 

Anyway, we reboarded and had Capt Steiner for this 5 day.  And this time, there were only 37 pax!  We were the only in-transit guests.  Several were first-timers -- other cruises they had booked were cancelled or something, so their TAs got them on SD.  All those I spoke to were really impressed (of course!).  We  sat with several nice folks.  With so few on board, the only excursion that filled up was Gibraltar.  Anna arranged a walking tour in Cadiz (pronounced Caddis, which I never knew) and a lot of folks did the tour in Gib.  We had the front bed that night and it was amazing to see the Rock all lit up as we sailed by!  In Puerto Banus (which has changed a lot since we were there 30 years ago), they had shuttles going to Marbella.  We had lunch in the Orange Square, which still looked familiar, but the town has really grown.  

 

One afternoon, I was sitting by the pool and someone on deck 4 called me -- lo and behold, it was Christophe!  Sudesh was also on board!!  So great to see two of my favorite people.

  Did have some discussions about the Innovation.  Everyone seems excited about it, but they are aware that it will take some doing to recreate the same atmosphere.  I think the crew (at least initially) will be a mix of experienced and newbies as they ease into things.  I think they can do the service, food, etc. but, inevitably there will be some changes.

 

We disembarked (unwillingly) in Malaga and took the train to Madrid.  Spent three nights there and did day trips to Avila and Segovia.  Also went to the Prado and Botanical Garden, so It was a nice ending to the trip.  Flight home was fine.

 

I have to say this was a truly enjoyable trip -- almost no glitches, good weather, good company -- there was almost nothing to complain about except for the insane taxi drivers in both Lisbon and Spain (most of whom don't understand English, so you have to show them a business card or a map).  Small price to pay for getting to see nice stuff!

 

It will be hard to wait til the next trip!!

Vandrefalk