SeaDream 2 16th Jan 2022 Palm Beach to Palm Beach HUGE Itinerary change

[RJM1]

Hi, I am due to sail on SeaDream 2 departing from Palm Beach 16th Jan 2022 sailing around the Bahama's.

With less than 3 months to the trip, I've just been advised that pretty much the WHOLE itinerary has changed with no explanation as to why from SeaDream.

First impressions are that the new ports of call do not look as good as the original itinerary.

If you visit the SeaDream website, other than one port of call, there are no details, pictures etc of the new ports of call, suggesting the itinerary is still work-in-progress?

Is this normal and is anyone else affected by this or has any knowledge of what has prompted the complete itinerary change?

I've raised the issue with my travel agent

[Jim Avery]

What's on the list now?  SD website seems to be no help.

[TrapperZimmy]

Hi, RJM

We are a B2B starting in St. Thomas, with the second one going from San Juan to Palm Beach.  We disembark on Jan 10. It looks like there is a charter between our sailings.  They changed two of the stops in the Bahamas on our itinerary.  We still go to Clarence Town, but instead of Staniel Cay and Great Harbour Cay, we are doing Compass Cay and Salt Cay.  I don't know anything about the four Cays, and I doubt that it will make any difference for us.  Compass Cay is rated by Trip Advisor at 4.5 out of 5.  It sounds like a beautiful island and you can swim with the sharks there.  If you have never done that, I highly recommend it.  Of course, since I'm a lawyer I get professional courtesy.  Salt Cay is a private island and I suspect it will be our beach party since its the last port before Palm Beach.

 

We'd like to hear from people who are on SD2.  I'm excited about the makeover, but want to know what crew members are on board.

Edited October 30, 2021 by TrapperZimmy
typo

[RJM1]

5 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

What's on the list now?  SD website seems to be no help.

Hi Jim, 

Blue Lagoon (Salt Cay),  Compass Cay, Emerald Bay, Exuma (Sandals Resort?), Clarence Town, Long Island, San Salvador Island, Egg Island (uninhabited ?)

[RJM1]

5 hours ago, TrapperZimmy said:

Hi, RJM

We are a B2B starting in St. Thomas, with the second one going from San Juan to Palm Beach.  We disembark on Jan 10. It looks like there is a charter between our sailings.  They changed two of the stops in the Bahamas on our itinerary.  We still go to Clarence Town, but instead of Staniel Cay and Great Harbour Cay, we are doing Compass Cay and Salt Cay.  I don't know anything about the four Cays, and I doubt that it will make any difference for us.  Compass Cay is rated by Trip Advisor at 4.5 out of 5.  It sounds like a beautiful island and you can swim with the sharks there.  If you have never done that, I highly recommend it.  Of course, since I'm a lawyer I get professional courtesy.  Salt Cay is a private island and I suspect it will be our beach party since its the last port before Palm Beach.

 

We'd like to hear from people who are on SD2.  I'm excited about the makeover, but want to know what crew members are on board.

Hi, Thank you for the  reply. 

We are similar in that we still go to Clarence Town but they have replaced Rose island, Norman's Cay, Staniel Cay, Harbour Island and Great Harbour Cay with Blue Lagoon (Salt Cay), Compass Cay, Emerald Bay (Sandals Hotel?),  San Salvador Island  and Egg Island (uninhabited?). 

I appreciate that circumstances change but other than one port of call, for the whole itinerary to be amended just after all passengers have paid their final deposits, seems a bit odd??

[ctbjr1309]

8 hours ago, TrapperZimmy said:

Hi, RJM

We are a B2B starting in St. Thomas, with the second one going from San Juan to Palm Beach.  

 

We'd like to hear from people who are on SD2.  I'm excited about the makeover, but want to know what crew members are on board.

Hi there, TZ.  We are on those same 2 weeks so looking forward to sailing with you.  We were on SD2 earlier this month and I will be on the upcoming crossing.  Happy to answer any specific questions.

[vandrefalk]

We are on Jan 23 - Feb 6 with most of those changes each week.  SD told us (via our TA) that the changes were  made “ro enhance the overall experience in the region.  We are certain these lovely, intimate islands will provide you a most enjoyable yachting holiday.”  I’m ok with it as I’ve never been to any of the islands, either originally listed or revised.  What would have bothered me woul be if they dropped Turks & Caicos and DR the second week. On the 2019 spring crossing, they made a lot of changes when SD2 had to go into drydock in Lisbon for 4 days — we were on the following week and had several ports changed - all worked out ok!

 

Will be aorry to miss you, CTBJR and Trapper!

vandrefalk

[RJM1]

7 minutes ago, vandrefalk said:

We are on Jan 23 - Feb 6 with most of those changes each week.  SD told us (via our TA) that the changes were  made “ro enhance the overall experience in the region.  We are certain these lovely, intimate islands will provide you a most enjoyable yachting holiday.”  I’m ok with it as I’ve never been to any of the islands, either originally listed or revised.  What would have bothered me woul be if they dropped Turks & Caicos and DR the second week. On the 2019 spring crossing, they made a lot of changes when SD2 had to go into drydock in Lisbon for 4 days — we were on the following week and had several ports changed - all worked out ok!

 

Will be aorry to miss you, CTBJR and Trapper!

vandrefalk

Many thanks. 

This is really useful

We received the same communication from SD via our TA just a couple of days ago. Makes you wonder why the original itinerary wouldn't have enhanced the overall experience in the region. I suspect this is just a standard phrase they trot out when there are itinerary changes?

Judging from the responses that I have received so far on this and another chatroom, it would appear that my experience with SD is not uncommon, which given the money that we are paying, is a bit annoying.

Thanks again and enjoy your cruise!

[TrapperZimmy]

Happy to see we will be sailing with you, CTBJR.  Not sure if we've been aboard with you before, but certainly possible when you consider the number of cruises we both have taken.  If you can, let us know what crew members are with you on the crossing.  And sorry that you won't be joining us, Vandrefalk.  At least we got to see you guys this summer.  That was a special treat.  And if granddaughter is in that program again, we may be back.

 

We're like you, Vandrefalk.  Never been to any of the original or new islands.  As far as I'm concerned, a beach is a beach.  And we don't get to many beaches in January where we live.  I can think of two reasons for the changes.  One is COVID and the other is possible storm damage.  It is also possible that excursion vendors that were lined up originally are no longer in business.  We have had several cruises where the itinerary gets changed en route.  SeaDream has always had passenger safety and comfort as priorities.  Even when we spent three days anchored off Virgin Gorda because of weather we had a wonderful time.  I am sure these were not just arbitrary alterations.  I do agree, though, that communications with passengers could be improved.  They realized this need when they started sailing again in 2020 and did town hall meetings.  It would be a good idea to do more of those to keep us up to date.

[RJM1]

1 hour ago, TrapperZimmy said:

Happy to see we will be sailing with you, CTBJR.  Not sure if we've been aboard with you before, but certainly possible when you consider the number of cruises we both have taken.  If you can, let us know what crew members are with you on the crossing.  And sorry that you won't be joining us, Vandrefalk.  At least we got to see you guys this summer.  That was a special treat.  And if granddaughter is in that program again, we may be back.

 

We're like you, Vandrefalk.  Never been to any of the original or new islands.  As far as I'm concerned, a beach is a beach.  And we don't get to many beaches in January where we live.  I can think of two reasons for the changes.  One is COVID and the other is possible storm damage.  It is also possible that excursion vendors that were lined up originally are no longer in business.  We have had several cruises where the itinerary gets changed en route.  SeaDream has always had passenger safety and comfort as priorities.  Even when we spent three days anchored off Virgin Gorda because of weather we had a wonderful time.  I am sure these were not just arbitrary alterations.  I do agree, though, that communications with passengers could be improved.  They realized this need when they started sailing again in 2020 and did town hall meetings.  It would be a good idea to do more of those to keep us up to date.

Many thanks for the input. 

I am waiting to hear from SD with details on the final ports of call  and why the whole original  itinerary has been changed.

As soon as I hear from them I'll post the response on here.

 

 

[ctbjr1309]

7 hours ago, vandrefalk said:

Will be aorry to miss you, CTBJR and Trapper!

vandrefalk

Vandrefalk, sorry to miss you as well.  One of these days.  As for port changes, I completely agree.  It will all work out just fine!

[ctbjr1309]

6 hours ago, TrapperZimmy said:

Happy to see we will be sailing with you, CTBJR.  Not sure if we've been aboard with you before, but certainly possible when you consider the number of cruises we both have taken.  If you can, let us know what crew members are with you on the crossing.

Looking forward to sailing with you as well, Trapper.  I don't think that we've sailed together before.  Having been on board very recently, I have a pretty good list of crew members scheduled to be on SD2 for the crossing.  For example, Captain Steinar will be in charge, Tomasz will be Chef, Jamie will be Hotel Manager, Severin will be Maitre 'd, Frank will be dispensing wine and Frud will be Activities Manager.  There will be a new Club Director on board who joined SD1 for training a couple weeks ago and will moving over to SD2 shortly prior to the crossing.  Some of those named above will be heading home prior to December 27.  Hope that helps.  If you have any other questions or other names you're wondering about, please holler.

[CKforensic]

Hello everyone,

My wife, Leslie, and I are looking forward to joining you on this itinerary. We live in Punta Gorda, FL and this will be our 5th sailing with SD.
We are on the fence about the itinerary changes after some preliminary research on the islands. One of the destinations appears to be a popular excursion from Nassau for mega ships and other Nassau visitors and another destination appears to center on an all-inclusive resort. Regardless, we can’t wait to sail on SD again look forward to learning more from SD soon!

[TrapperZimmy]

Hi, CK.  Which of the sailings will you be on?

Don't know which Nassau ports you are referring to, but if one is a private resort it is possible SD has reserved a portion of their beach for the Splash.  Remains to be seen.  I think in all the times we have sailed SD the only port where we were bothered by a bunch of large ships was Santorini.  We waited a long time to get onto the island, and then couldn't wait to get off once we got there.  Thankfully, it was not our first time there.

[RJM1]

On 11/28/2021 at 3:36 AM, CKforensic said:

Hello everyone,

My wife, Leslie, and I are looking forward to joining you on this itinerary. We live in Punta Gorda, FL and this will be our 5th sailing with SD.
We are on the fence about the itinerary changes after some preliminary research on the islands. One of the destinations appears to be a popular excursion from Nassau for mega ships and other Nassau visitors and another destination appears to center on an all-inclusive resort. Regardless, we can’t wait to sail on SD again look forward to learning more from SD soon!

Hi CK,

Thank you for the comments and I share your observations about one of the destinations being a popular excursion from Nassau for mega ships. Another port appears to be dominated by a Sandals hotel resort.

My wife and I have never sailed with SD before, hence my original post some 4 weeks ago. 

Since then and despite repeated requests from my travel agent and now me, SD are still not in a position to provide an overview of the ports of call. This seems highly unusual, especially as we are due to sail in just over 6 weeks!

SD have offered to refund our money due to the wholesale port changes and lack of information on details of the new ports of call.

We honestly don't know what to do - sail or take the money and try again in the future. 

Any thoughts form this forum would be welcomed.

Thanks and if w do go, it would be great to meet up!

[RJM1]

2 hours ago, TrapperZimmy said:

Hi, CK.  Which of the sailings will you be on?

Don't know which Nassau ports you are referring to, but if one is a private resort it is possible SD has reserved a portion of their beach for the Splash.  Remains to be seen.  I think in all the times we have sailed SD the only port where we were bothered by a bunch of large ships was Santorini.  We waited a long time to get onto the island, and then couldn't wait to get off once we got there.  Thankfully, it was not our first time there.

Hi Trapper,

Thanks again for your thoughts.

The Nassau port side trip we are referring to is Blue Lagoon (Salt Cay)

The Sandals resort / mega hotel resort port is Emerald Bay.

If you have any experience of these, would appreciate your thoughts.

 

 

[SWFLAOK]

On 11/29/2021 at 4:44 PM, RJM1 said:

Hi Trapper,

Thanks again for your thoughts.

The Nassau port side trip we are referring to is Blue Lagoon (Salt Cay)

The Sandals resort / mega hotel resort port is Emerald Bay.

If you have any experience of these, would appreciate your thoughts.

 

 

We haven't been to Salt Cay, but it appears to be quite small compared to stopping in Nassau, or even Rose Island, as a stop.

We have stayed at the marina at Sandals Emerald Bay on our own boat in the past. That Sandals is definitely not a mega hotel resort. As marina customers we were offered a discounted day rate at Sandals, and took advantage of that twice while we waited for a weather window to head back North, and totally enjoyed it. We have recommended that resort to friends as a nice, small, upscale resort.

[loving life]

Hi Folks,

As usual I like to jump into the forum a few weeks before our cruise.  Mitch and I will be on our 15th sailing, like many of you, serial repeat offenders.  Our last cruise was 2 weeks in January 2020, with our August 2020 Venice cancelled, and then our 2021 Caribbean also cancelled.  This will be our first cruise in 2 years.    RJM1, I too find the complete cancellation of an itinerary planned, posted and advertised for 3 years, being completely changed for "our benefit" BS.  Something else is up, and we don't get to know, but to date this line has never let me down and I always come back.  I am game for anything they throw at us - it's the Bahamas... I'm in.  The Sandals at Emerald Bay is not a mega hotel as noted, but an older hotel, bought and refurbished by Sandals.  This brand is loved and marketed to many Canadians, my friend Candice is there right now.  Mitch and I have friends that own a house on Exuma, and Canada has always had daily flights direct from Toronto to Exuma - mostly because of Sandals.  Our American family had a much trickier time getting there from Colorado and New Mexico, when we rented their house a few years ago.  The one thing we found on Exuma was that it was a quiet, cottage style island with very few amenities, but some of the nicest beaches in the world.  If you can afford to stay on the island, you must also be able to eat there!  We found that the house rental was a great price, but then quickly realized the cost of food would be more than the rental - lettuce $15 wilted.  Nuts in a jar, $40.  Yup!!  $200 went nowhere.  It's experiences like this that always make me appreciate Seadream and what they do for my dollar.   We found out today that the US will now require a negative Covid test, in addition to our vaccines.  We are of course flying to Florida so to ensure we are negative, I have a strict self-isolation rule for myself and Mitch from New Year's Day on...   Well we see, things are changing daily... maybe none of us will be going....    Look forward to seeing you all soon...  Ira and Mitch 

[CKforensic]

On 11/29/2021 at 2:35 PM, TrapperZimmy said:

Hi, CK.  Which of the sailings will you be on?

Don't know which Nassau ports you are referring to, but if one is a private resort it is possible SD has reserved a portion of their beach for the Splash.  Remains to be seen.  I think in all the times we have sailed SD the only port where we were bothered by a bunch of large ships was Santorini.  We waited a long time to get onto the island, and then couldn't wait to get off once we got there.  Thankfully, it was not our first time there.

Hi Trapper,

We are on the Jan 16 sailing.  This will be our 5th SD sailing (the others were in the Caribbean and Costa Rica/Nicaragua) and we are comforted by the fact that everywhere we have ever gone with SD has been special. There is something about going to a destination where big ships cannot and sometimes you can only land via zodiac (except for when my cell phone was lost forever when it fell out of my pocket when getting into a zodiac on the beach...). 
 

We can’t wait!

Chet

[RJM1]

On 12/3/2021 at 3:03 AM, loving life said:

Hi Folks,

As usual I like to jump into the forum a few weeks before our cruise.  Mitch and I will be on our 15th sailing, like many of you, serial repeat offenders.  Our last cruise was 2 weeks in January 2020, with our August 2020 Venice cancelled, and then our 2021 Caribbean also cancelled.  This will be our first cruise in 2 years.    RJM1, I too find the complete cancellation of an itinerary planned, posted and advertised for 3 years, being completely changed for "our benefit" BS.  Something else is up, and we don't get to know, but to date this line has never let me down and I always come back.  I am game for anything they throw at us - it's the Bahamas... I'm in.  The Sandals at Emerald Bay is not a mega hotel as noted, but an older hotel, bought and refurbished by Sandals.  This brand is loved and marketed to many Canadians, my friend Candice is there right now.  Mitch and I have friends that own a house on Exuma, and Canada has always had daily flights direct from Toronto to Exuma - mostly because of Sandals.  Our American family had a much trickier time getting there from Colorado and New Mexico, when we rented their house a few years ago.  The one thing we found on Exuma was that it was a quiet, cottage style island with very few amenities, but some of the nicest beaches in the world.  If you can afford to stay on the island, you must also be able to eat there!  We found that the house rental was a great price, but then quickly realized the cost of food would be more than the rental - lettuce $15 wilted.  Nuts in a jar, $40.  Yup!!  $200 went nowhere.  It's experiences like this that always make me appreciate Seadream and what they do for my dollar.   We found out today that the US will now require a negative Covid test, in addition to our vaccines.  We are of course flying to Florida so to ensure we are negative, I have a strict self-isolation rule for myself and Mitch from New Year's Day on...   Well we see, things are changing daily... maybe none of us will be going....    Look forward to seeing you all soon...  Ira and Mitch 

Thank you so much Ira and Mitch

This is really useful and helps to know that others have the same feelings that we do on the late itinerary change.

It's also reassuring along with other people's input, that SD are well thought of, especially as we are newbies to sailing with them.

Trusting that we can get through all the checks and COVID tests, we will be taking the 16th January sailing, so look forward to meeting you and the other guests.

All the best... Rob and Beryl

 

[cabosal1]

Mitch and Ira; Sallie and Rick here.  Sorry we wont be onboard with you this time.  We sail 01/23/22 of SDI out of SXM.  So happy to be back with SD.  Hope you guys are well. 

[loving life]

On 12/7/2021 at 3:50 PM, cabosal1 said:

Mitch and Ira; Sallie and Rick here.  Sorry we wont be onboard with you this time.  We sail 01/23/22 of SDI out of SXM.  So happy to be back with SD.  Hope you guys are well. 

Hey you guys.  I thought I had replied, we with you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and are sorry we will miss you, but are sure we will see you in the near future!  Love Ira and Mitch

[CKforensic]

Hello everyone and Happy New Year!  We just noticed that SeaDream changed our Bahamas itinerary again. The biggest change/concern is that NASSAU is replacing Egg Island (Eleuthera), so instead of visiting an uninhabited remote island we will now be with tens of thousands of other tourists along with the Celebrity Edge and Caribbean Princess cruise ships. The other change is on Long Island where we will call on Gordon’s Beach instead of Clarence Town.  It is disappointing that we are two weeks from our sailing and there has been no communication from SeaDream and we can only learn of these changes by visiting their website. 

[Timmycokkies]

Blue Lagoon (Salt Cay),  Compass Cay, Emerald Bay, Exuma are truly great destinations

[RJM1]

Hi CK,

As you know, I started this thread off a couple of months ago when the first batch of itinerary changes were made.

I haven't sailed with SD before, so hope all the positive comments about them prove to be correct.

I don't think we have much option to proceed with the sailing (we are travelling internationally) BUT if I had known at the start that the cruise would include Nassau and SD would be so poor on their communications with customers, I wouldn't have booked with them.

I'm not happy, will again make my thoughts known to SD but plan to put on a brave face. 

See you on the 16th