Piaa

Perfect - thank you 

@CKforensic - this will be our first.  Quick question - what grandstand do you recommend please?

Thanks for any help 

We just booked this hotel in Nice for our 2025 Monte Carlo cruise on SD! - have not stayed there before but it looks good ..

https://www.hyatt.com/hyatt-regency/en-US/ncehr-hyatt-regency-nice-palais-de-la-mediterranee

And here are some I bookmarked that were recommended for Rome by previous SD guests..

https://www.hotelcampodefiori.com/en/classic-room

https://www.luxerosegarden.com/en

https://www.albergodelsenato.it

https://www.lifestylesuitesrome.com/en

I have stayed at a Baglioni Hotel in Rome and it was great (can't remember if there is only one or more though sorry) 

@CKforensic - would love to hear all about your experience when you return as we are on the SD sailing in 2025 for the Grand Prix .. info like what time you left to see the race (I see the drivers parade starts at 1pm and the race starts approx 3pm) etc.

Thank you and hope you have a fabulous time .. won't be long now 

Hello everyone,

We are sailing on SD1 in 2025 for the Grand Prix and I know SeaDream will release tickets at some point but until they do might anyone here attended the Grand Prix and purchased the general admission tickets?  I see they are in the $700 to $1100 range for this year (not the general admission which are around $140 but these would be in one of the Grandstands) and if so I am wondering if anyone has a recommendation as to where the "best" Grandstands might be on the course.

Thanks for any help ~ Pia 

We have stayed here .. 

Electra Palace  https://www.electrahotels.gr/hotels/electra-palace-athens

We will let you know commodoredave as we booked Emerald Sakura for a Caribbean cruise in December - we know it won't be SeaDream but the price was great and it's always fun to try something new 

The only thing I can say is that I guess it depends on the passengers on the ship on any given sailing - we had a very fun group that sailed when we were on deck 4 and liked to party to way past 1am (closer to 2am some nights) and they LOVED karaoke

We had a friend book this suite and said never again because of the noise - sorry I have no personal experience though but we did stay in the first regular room next to it and kept sending hubby every night to ask them to keep the door closed because it was loud and I wanted to go to bed.

Hope this helps 

Emerald Beach is not "that" far but boy will it be a HOT walk (one I would hate to do but thats just me) 

It's a long way to St John's from St Thomas no wonder they felt ill 😂   Now St John is relatively close and takes about 15-20 mins by ferry from Red Hook and 30-45 (depending on ocean conditions) from Crown Bay so not sure why they would have been inside for "hours" on any ferry.

You will swim in unless the catamaran has a dinghy they will use (some do some don't) 

Highly doubt you will be stopping at St John on an NCL cruise (we only have small boutique type cruise ships that anchor - think SeaDream and Azamara etc) - are you sure you don't mean St John's Antigua?  

Plenty of taxi tours will be available at the pier and they hold 15 or so people so it won't be a problem.

Ok spill the beans ... you can't say "drama" and then leave us hanging 😂

10 hours ago, gracebest said:

Did you end up going with Ato on Fakarava.  I am having a hard time finding excursions for our upcoming cruise. Do you have recommendations for Ranigiroa, Moorea, Raitaea, Nuku Hiva?  

 @gracebest yes we did but it wasn't Ato it was his son that was our captain for the day and I think it would have been much better if it were Ato but still had a great time and would do the trip again.  

On Rangiroa we were booked with Six Passengers but because of the ship having a problem we had to skip that port and had the day at sea.  On Raitaea we were booked with https://www.tahaa.net/en/home/ but had to cancel as I was sick with an ear infection.  In Moorea I would book something through the cruise or make sure the tour company will meet you at the dock as taxi's don't want to take you anywhere "far" - we booked lunch at CoCo Beach on their motu and none of the taxi's would take us as it was 15 minutes away!  - luckily we had spent 3 days on Moorea prior to the cruise so had a nice day relaxing on board.

Hope this helps 

But rechecking their new schedule there isn't one during the day they are only doing dinner runs 😞 

There is a ferry from Lovango to St John 😀

If you have a private snorkel boat booked for Sopers Hole make sure they take you to the Indians to snorkel 

3 hours ago, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

Visiting the 'Swimming Pool' while on Fakarava is a must. Your 10 miles away from the small town or your ship ... so serene. You've haven't seen French Polynesia without getting away from the main tourist areas and be adventurous. No big facilities ... bring toilet paper, camera, sunscreen and an adventurous spirit. We prefer to arrange our trip out there on our own ... we had the place all to ourselves. 

What company did you book with to get there please ?

@kjc852 thank you for this.  Quick question - what day was/is the deck BBQ - was it when you were in Raiatea ?

Hope you are having the best trip ever !

On 8/25/2023 at 8:29 PM, AmateurGO said:

When we did approximately that itinerary about 5 or 6 years ago, the deck BBQ was at Raiatea.  This was the only "port of call" where we were docked in a harbor, so it might be easier to do the BBQ in that condition, rather than rolling a bit at anchor or while sailing.   Obviously, things may have changed since then.

Thank you 

44 minutes ago, armyfam said:

Hi @Piaa! Thank you for the information.

We are booked for the following month. Too bad…..It is always fun meeting other cc’ers when onboard.

Do you know which night the BBQ will be held? (I am guessing the first night since we are due to leave the second night.)

 

 

I don't unfortunately but I have read the 2nd night ???

If you are stopping in St John USVI there is some fabulous hiking trails - do not ride a bicycle on St John (USVI) regardless if there is a tour offered .. take it from someone who lives there it is beyond dangerous as we are not accustomed to looking out for bicycles and the locals and taxi drivers are pretty crazy when it comes to driving as we know the roads so well.

1 hour ago, armyfam said:

Hello All!

 

I am enjoying all of the advice here in this section regarding WindStar and Tahiti.

Our first voyage is quickly approaching and we are looking to book a full day snorkel with motu lunch.

As I look over the booking form I am trying to figure out "Pick up Location" since it says we are at Anchor on Bora Bora days. How will we get to H2O Bora Bora or rather, how will they get to us? I have sent an email asking them the same question, but thought I'd post it here for maybe a quicker response.

 

Thank you in advance to all who are sharing your experiences.

@armyfam - I have booked a half day with BoraBoraH20 and they meet us at Vaitape Dock which is the dock we will tender in to.  When are you going - we booked for September 15th.