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Review of 8 Jan RT Barbados

vandrefalk

By vandrefalk,
in SeaDream Yacht Club

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vandrefalk

vandrefalk

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We actually flew into Barbados three days early and stayed at the Bougainvilla Resort on the south shore. We liked it – the grounds were beautifully maintained. We later met a couple on the ship that weren’t impressed with the food – but you couldn’t beat the shoreside location of the restaurants. We explored Bridgetown a bit – clean, and more of a “big city” than most places in the Caribbean. Also wandered around St. Lawrence Gap – a collection of stores and restaurants, with a supposedly pretty active nightlife.

At last the day came to board SeaDream II. We had sailed SD I in November 2004 and were anxious to see if our memories matched reality. First item – the champagne is Perrier-Jouet (which we liked), although the split in the cabin was the Germain we’d had on the first cruise. Embarkation was a snap – the Barbados port has very long quays, so a shuttle bus took us to the ship, which was docked at the far end. There were other ships in port, of course. An RCCL ship, the Royal Clipper, WindStar, and the new “cheap” cruiseline, EasyCruise.com. Not a bad looking boat, but I understand it is very basic. Not our style, I’m afraid. Arrived on deck to be greeted by Martijn and Captain T (and champagne, of course!). Turned in our cruise documents, picked up our boarding cards and were on our way.

We didn’t sail til quite late. I think the hallmark of this cruise was the flexibility Capt. T utilized. We were supposed to go to St. Vincent, but SD had decided it wasn’t up to par and so we planned to go to Tobago Cays (one of Capt. T’s favorites). However, the weather was choppy, so we went to Union Island instead. Grenada and St. Lucia were the only ports that stayed in their original positions in the itinerary. We were in Bequia Thursday and most of Friday – again because of weather. Since most of the islands on this cruise were small, with little shopping or nightlife (which is what we were looking for), it didn’t bother us to stay longer at any particular island! It was also nice to not sail til after dinner and to sail short distances, since the weather was somewhat rough all week.

Passenger mix was interesting – a number of Brits, a couple of Kiwis, some Belgians (we had a group of Belgians on our first cruise – my perception is that they like to stay to themselves (this group ate out on deck EVERY night) and are – shall we say – not shy. Age range was 30-80 and everyone seemed to find things to do they enjoyed.

 

We took part in a couple of the shore excursions – typical tour of Castries and St. Lucia, catamaran sail in Mayreau – and a very interesting “Eco Jeep” tour of Grenada. Angela was the Activities Director on this cruise – nice lady, but hasn’t done many of the “land yacht adventures” – and especially not the Eco Jeep. We thought we would get a scenic tour of Grenada (which we did) and see a sulfur spring we could swim in and a volcanic crater lake. The roads were really, really rough and we had to hike a considerable distance uphill (and when the rain started, yes, it was muddy!) to the sulfur spring. It was an understatement, to say the least! It looked like a not-too-clean mudhole, but some folks did wade around in it. The lake also was not what we expected, but rather pretty. All in all, it wasn’t a bad tour – certainly gave us something to talk about for a couple of days! And the views were spectacular. Unfortunately, Grenada still suffers mightily from the hurricane damage of a year ago.

 

Aside from the weather, which was marginal about half the time (and who can control that? Apparently, there had been no rain for weeks before our cruise!) – the ship lived up to all expectations. There was caviar at a couple of the evening cocktail hours and at the past passengers reception (and of course at the beach party!) – the food was wonderful and imaginative – and the staff was absolutely wonderful. Zoltan at Top of the Yacht, Danny, Frank, Joram – our wonderful stewardess Melanie – everyone took such good care of us, we never wanted to leave. Lazy afternoons on the sun beds – occasionally dodging rain drops at Top of the Yacht (gotta keep that champagne dry!) – singing with Venmar in the Piano Bar – and watching Rod Stewart’s concert on the big screen on the pool deck – were all highlights. The beach party was great – complete with steel band. During the “caviar splash” portion, one of the female passengers decided to dunk Martijn – and remove his uniform shorts. I suspect this has happened to him before, as he had the foresight to wear bathing trunks underneath!!

The last night – sailing back to Barbados – was really rough! Several folks were a bit green around the gills – and trying to pack after dinner was not the best option, it seems. At one point, I had to lie down between suitcases on the bed! But the beds were wonderful and once we were down for the night, the seas didn’t bother us too much. Never did sleep on the Balinese beds – but maybe next cruise! Yes, we’ve booked #3 – same week next year – same ship – some islands we’ve seen before – and several (including St. Barts) we haven’t. Counting the days!

 

So – did the second cruise measure up to the first? Actually, it was even better! Even though it was a different ship, it felt the same – the service was impeccable – and we felt very much at home. SeaDream is unmatched in “casual elegance” -- I doubt we will ever set foot on a large ship again (and even Seabourn sounds big to us now!). Of course, that means SeaDream has to sail to Alaska, the Panama Canal and a few other places we’d like to see (which they did in the Sea Goddess years), as I doubt we’ll ever find anything we like quite as well.

You can use the following link to our pictures from the cruise – maybe it will bring back happy memories of your Sea Dream days, too!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=pyfnfi3.5ef306nr&x=0&y=q7mlsh

Vandrefalk

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wulicny

wulicny

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vandrefalk,

 

Thanks so much for a wonderful review. Of course, it prompts me to consider writing my long-awaited review from our SDII sailing last November :(.

 

One thing I must say, though, is how much I enjoyed those two sunset shots from Mayreau. Those are some of the most spectacular sunsets I have ever seen! I may even have to buy that shot from Kodak!!!

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