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Seadream II December 3-10.


Jim Avery
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Don't be a sissy Ohmiss. No one here bites, even Hum. You and Jodie were up several nights later than we........MUCH later. You know you have lots of stuff to dish. Go for it.:D

 

Hum thinks the term is "you've been out-ed" !

Spill the beanz !

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Jim

 

Welcome Back. Happy to hear the sailing went well. Quick question about the St Thomas Pier. Did SD dock at Crown or Havensight? Just curious since we will be departing St Thomas on March 4th. Do you happen to remember which ports they put out the water toys and opened the platform?

 

Most important - any Beer left??????

 

Mark

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Jim

 

Welcome Back. Happy to hear the sailing went well. Quick question about the St Thomas Pier. Did SD dock at Crown or Havensight? Just curious since we will be departing St Thomas on March 4th. Do you happen to remember which ports they put out the water toys and opened the platform?

 

Most important - any Beer left??????

 

Mark

 

I must be getting old. I actually left some beer on board. As far as docking, it was Crown Bay. I have only boarded SeaDream at Havensight years ago. The platform was open every day I believe as we had very good weather for the most part. Motorized water toys were used at St. Barts and I believe a couple of other ports. Not sure as I don't use them.

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Glad to hear, Jim, that you and Lois had a wonderful sailing. Not surprised. Sorry Lois was disappointed about not being able to swoon over Capt. Remi. So, what cruise did you book next?

 

Didn't book one. Hate to miss the 15% but only offered 10% on open booking. 2017 is pretty full with a few non cruise trips and L needs ankle surgery which has considerable down time. And that is before the unknowables get in the mix. If we do SD in '17 it will be a relatively last minute deal. L wants one for Christmas as her birthday is Christmas Eve. We will see. :D

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Back to last week. After the crew, the most important next part of a SeaDream cruise (imho) is the passenger mix. We had heard in advance of a group booking of 18 cabins by Zoom Vacations. Zoom, according to their website deals in High End Gay Travel. 32 actually made the trip. With a couple of exceptions who wanted for a day or two to loudly express their preferences, they were a delight. Not at all overpowering as a group and very inclusive of the other passengers. We met many with who we enjoyed spending time on the pool deck. The two "expressive" ones soon quieted down whether b y a word from one of the owners of Zoom or by acclimating to the SeaDream vibe. Additionally there was a group mostly from Atlanta of 16 including about 8 Roll Tide fans. Made my day as Bama went on to win the SEC Championship the first evening. Roll Tide!! Ok, ok, the entire ship seemed to be a good mix and no kiddies. Capt. Steiner said the 98 passengers were from 6 countries. No further elaboration but the majority was obviously American. The weather was, for the most part, perfect with little to no motion to speak of. As we had been to most of the islands we did a few sea days. A couple of notable events when ashore might be of interest. First, while using wifi in a St. Barts bar, Lois's iPhone went into full brick mode. No camera, no phone, no nothing at all. Fortunately, back in the USA on reliable wifi she was able to reboot with no apparent loss of info. Seems that the iPhone, if under certain types of attack, will do this as a defensive measure. Who knows? We checked all our accounts from SeaDream internet and found no issues. The next little incident was on Anguilla. One of our favorite stops as we really like Shoal Bay East. We took a van on our own with 6 others and, as usual for Shoal Bay East, were dropped at Uncle Ernies Bar on the beach. We had a great time with fellow SeaDreamers and had a couple of Rum Runners then our driver arrived at the designated time to take us back for lunch. As we loaded into the van, a very heated altercation began with our driver and a driver that had pulled up behind blocking us in. One thing led to another and our driver dove back into the console and pulled a gun out. I told Lois he as a gun and she said "no way" then looked out the window and said "s**t, he's got a gun!" They never listen. Anyway, fortunately, the other driver backed off and moved. As we drove away they were still yelling at each other in the Creole dialect (for the most part). We were really glad to see the tender almost to the dock as we arrived back. Didn't leave our SeaDream home again till the Splash. The Splash was great as usual. A good time was had by all. I saw much change on White Bay Beach since January. Seddy's One Love now has a gift shop larger than the bar. New construction just past the Soggy Dollar as well. I guess little old Jost van Dyke has really been discovered. Ohmiss was the only other CC person we found and she is mostly a lurker. Chime in here Ohmiss or we will tell everyone where to find you.:eek::D A great week for sure.

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You heading to the London area any time this year?

 

Jim's confirmation as the new US Ambassador in the UK will be announced in the fullness of time meanwhile Hum will plead for restraint.

Hum has selected one or two fine properties for Jim and Lois to view: the criteria he requested of being within walking distance of 3/4 great pubs has been met.

Unfortunately he will have to forsake his "shooting iron" as guns are prohibited as the UK represents one of the few remaining parts of the civilised world.

 

Should Jim wish to be armed then there is an opening as an Ambassador in Anguilla where the taxi drivers are all armed apparently. The Anguillans can introduce the new Ambassador to the noble game of cricket as an alternative sport to American Football.

Edited by ho-hum
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Jim, we are so jealous you got to Anguilla. The one time we were supposed to go there the seas were too rough and we couldn't anchor on either side of the island. Wanted to buy a rugby shirt from their team, the Eels. Thought that would be cool.

 

Hum, we will be ships passing in the night. On SD1 from Jan 3 to the 14th, but our itineraries do not have us meeting at all. I see Blondie will be in St. Barts before we will. Guess there isn't much point in Zimmy shopping there unless they have an opportunity to replenish their stock. At least that's what I'm telling her. (Hope she doesn't read this.)

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Jim, we are so jealous you got to Anguilla. The one time we were supposed to go there the seas were too rough and we couldn't anchor on either side of the island. Wanted to buy a rugby shirt from their team, the Eels. Thought that would be cool.

 

Hum, we will be ships passing in the night. On SD1 from Jan 3 to the 14th, but our itineraries do not have us meeting at all. I see Blondie will be in St. Barts before we will. Guess there isn't much point in Zimmy shopping there unless they have an opportunity to replenish their stock. At least that's what I'm telling her. (Hope she doesn't read this.)

 

Hum has told Blondie to leave all the "high end" jewellery for Zimmy.

No need to thank Hum old chum, it's the least a good chum could do for another.

Happy sailing to you both.

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Okay, Jim...a little peer pressure and here I go. As all of you know, I absolutely LOVE SD and have never really had a bad experience with the crew or the yacht, etc. Berry (my DH) was always a great traveling partner, we always had a blast. Sadly Berry passed away a few months ago. I booked this SD because it has always been my "Happy Place." It did not disappoint. My advice is...do not take a friend that you barely know just because she "wants to go and needs a vacation!!" NO! I spent most of my trip waiting for her to get ready and then spending money on drinks and lunches on all the islands because she didn't get that the YACHT is my destination and the food and drinks are better and Free!!

 

Anyway, I digress....heehee! The crew and pax were wonderful to me. I was alone most nights for dinner and always was invited to a table. Jeff, activities director, was so great, inviting me three nights to sit with him. I loved the Zoom guys, it wasn't long before they found out about my hubby. One of them said whenever I needed a hug to come find him!! Lovely guys! I always love going up for breakfast and seeing the smiling faces of the waiters. Jesse, O'Neil, Jerry, Louis, and of course, Jamie and Nikola. Breakfast is one of my favorite parts of the day is sitting and reflecting while looking out on the beauty of the Caribbean. Peaceful.

 

Of course, TOY bar is a favorite place to enjoy the day. Cameron, Severin, and Christian always take great care of everyone. Cameron offered to loan me his sneakers for a hike. (I didn't bring mine on purpose because I did not want to hike) But my GF wanted to go so I did. I ended up wearing Fruhd's (concierge) shoes because they fit. See...great crew to even offer their shoes to me!!

 

The Splash was fabulous this time. The last two for me were pretty much rained out. The food, the drinks, the location (my favorite), FRANK!! Awesome stuff! Of course, had to go to Soggy Dollar and photo bomb the webcam. Froze it on my phone. JJ the bartender at Soggy Dollar grabbed me for a picture behind the bar. Back to yacht at 3:00 to pack and I had a lovely last dinner with Jeff again. His laugh makes me laugh! All in all...I had a wonderful time and again cannot wait to sail again! I think I'll be a bachelorette on board for now on and sail by myself! The crew makes me feel so comfortable and I feel no stigma in being alone on SeaDream! :)

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Good job Robin! Now that wasn't so hard was it? We hope to sail with you again some day just leave Hi Mai Girlfriend or get separate cabins. Thanks for the pictures you sent of Shoal Bay East.

All the best,

J & L

 

Heehee! Thanks, Jim. You and Lois are the best and it was such a pleasure meeting you! No worries about the GF, she doesn't quite get the SD experience. I look forward to seeing you again one day!

Cheers to you both!

Robin

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Jim, we are so jealous you got to Anguilla. The one time we were supposed to go there the seas were too rough and we couldn't anchor on either side of the island. Wanted to buy a rugby shirt from their team, the Eels. Thought that would be cool.

 

Hum, we will be ships passing in the night. On SD1 from Jan 3 to the 14th, but our itineraries do not have us meeting at all. I see Blondie will be in St. Barts before we will. Guess there isn't much point in Zimmy shopping there unless they have an opportunity to replenish their stock. At least that's what I'm telling her. (Hope she doesn't read this.)

 

Shoal Bay East is beautiful. Trying to post a picture but somehow not working.

Edited by Jim Avery
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Jim, that picture is great, thank you ohmiss. I am guessing the only way to get there is by taxi across the island? I hope the weather allows SD to stop in Anguilla, that is one of the main "check list items" on our sailing.

 

Mark

 

Ohmiss actually took that picture. She shared with us. Yes, taxi (van) across. Takes about 20 min. Was $12 p/p r/t.

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