Carnac767

2 hours ago, TrapperZimmy said:

 

I don't believe we stopped for a swim.  At least, that's my excuse.  Because we started in Florida and headed north, the water was cold.  And then it got choppy.  I'm hoping to try it this fall when we do the westward.

I saw on SD's instagram that on the current crossing SD II held swim call somewhere between the Azores and Lisbon. They reported the water depth was 4,500 feet where they stopped for swimming but the water temp was not noted.

4 hours ago, ctbjr1309 said:

We are booked on this voyage.  Living in Orlando, we'll be driving down to Riviera Beach (where Port of Palm Beach is located) the day of departure.  After the cruise, we're staying on board for a while so not spending time in Lisbon.

Welcome aboard. 

The restaurants in Paris don't charge for bread and butter any longer. Spanish restaurants used to provide free tapas but that custom has pretty much died away except in the eastern, less touristy, parts of Andalucía.  

Hey, Trapper Z, did you do the mid-Atlantic swim? How was the water temperature? I've done a mid-Pacific swim, but I consider any water temp below 78 Arctic conditions. I used to teach scuba in Bermuda and the water in April was usually pretty damn cold, unless you're a Canadian, eh. 

Thanks for sharing. Good stuff.

One thing I forgot to mention about dining in Lisbon. Your server will bring you a platter of bread, cheese, olives, and the like, and you'll think, "wow, this is nice."  They don't tell you that it's not free. It will be added to your bill and in some places it's as much as ten Euros. However, you can refuse it. Just tell your server you don't want it, though I usually found it hard to resist because that bread and cheese is usually really good.

What's everyone doing pre and post-cruise? We're taking Amtrak from Jacksonville to West Palm the day before. In Lisbon we're staying at the Indepentende Prícipe Real, which is in the Bairro Alto but a quieter section than the last place we stayed. It's about a 15-minute walk to the ferry terminal by the Time Out Market. The ferry is the quickest and cheapest way to get across the river and get to Ponto Final. We're only going to spend two nights in Lisbon before flying to Nice to spend a couple of weeks in Provence, something Sarah's been wanting to do for ages.

If you're interested in dining with Zé, you can find his Eatwith link here: https://www.eatwith.com/events/8982?date=2024-04-30&seats=2

Let's try this again. We were booked on this cruise in 2023 but had to cancel because of health reasons. We've been to Lisbon before and have lived in Bermuda (long time ago), so we can't wait to return. For those of you who are traveling to LIS for the first time, I recommend you watch the "Somebody Feed Phil" Lisbon episode on Netflix. You'll get lots of ideas of places to visit and places to eat. We highly recommend dining at Ponto Final. You'll need to make reservations about two months in advance, but if you can't score a reservation, don't worry. Get there at six, wait in line, and around seven they'll start taking people without reservations. One of the waiters there guaranteed us we'd be seated, and he was right. It's worth the wait. The Time Out Market is also worth a visit, especially to enjoy Pateis de Nata (Portuguese Egg Custards), which are amazing. If the line at Pastel Manteigaria is too long, just go outside around back on the street and they have a counter on the back end of the building that never has a line. All the tourists who've watch Somebody Feed Phil are in line inside. We also recommend you get the "Eatwith" app, where you can find local families who host people for dinner. We've used the app in Lisbon, Rome, and Paris, and have always had a fantastic experience. The people who want to host on Eatwith are carefully vetted by the company, so you can feel confident about wherever you book. The last time we were in Lisbon we had dinner with Zé at his apartment in the city, and he was a great host. I can't remember how many courses we had and lost track of the wine after the fifth bottle. We stumbled out of Ze's place at two a.m. He said when he has several guests, the revelry has gone on until five in the morning. You can also make bookings for Eatwith at Eatwith.com. 

One word of caution if you book a hotel in the Bairro Alto section of Lisbon. It's a great location but it can also be crazy noisy, as it's the hip and happening part of Lisbon. We had an apartment there that was surrounded by bars and nightclubs, and those places didn't seem to close until three or four in morning. Bring earplugs.

Well, this has gone on long enough. Feel free to ask questions, and we'll try to answer them. I'll add a few photos.

Rent a bike in Bermuda and live on the edge, especially when a squall hits. Weather in Bermuda in April can be windy and rainy.

The Swizzle Inn, located near the airport. Famous for its Rum Swizzles. Their motto: Swizzle In and Stagger Out. You might want to take a taxi if you visit here.

Lisbon's Time Out Market. Lots of different food choices in here.

Get your Pasteis here, hot off the press. Be sure to sprinkle nutmeg and powdered sugar on them.

I could eat these all day

Zé, our EatWith host

With each course, Zé showed us where in Portugal the food came from, the history behind the dish, and the wine that paired best with it.

One of the many courses we were served

Outdoor seating at Ponto Final. Don't push your chair back too far. Indoor seating is also available for the less adventurous. 

41 minutes ago, 2chiefs said:

The Jax port is definitely close to your home!! You could almost take an Uber and save parking charges and wear and tear on your car! We would be happy with the 5.5 hr drive!

You're right. It's about $90 for an Uber from the Island to JAX airport, and the port is probably about $10-$15 more.  On a 12-day cruise that's more cost effective than paying for parking. Fly Navy.

The Jax NBC affiliate reports that Gem will cruise from Nov through April every year through 2028. The proposed itineraries will be available on February 15, they say. The Florida Times-Union says destinations will include the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, St Thomas and St John, VI, Antigua, and St. Kitts, We're hoping the ship will reposition to Europe ahead of hurricane season for summer cruises, so we can jump on a TA, which we always enjoy.

Great news for us, too. The Jewel Class is our favorite class of ship, and some of the itineraries reported in the Jacksonville media look pretty good. It will be nice to see something in port beside that ugly Carnivore ship.

The question often arises concerning Transatlantic cruises and that is "what will the sea conditions be like?"  Here are a couple of photos taken from USS Teddy Roosevelt in 1999 on her way from Norfolk to the Med. She ran into this storm in early April.  The ship encountered 20' swells and 80' waves.  The first shot is TR taking white water over the flight deck, which is roughly 60' above the sea surface.  The second photo is of one of the escorts getting clobbered.  

Now that I've terrified everyone, let me add that this was a freak storm and very unusual.  I've made several crossings in late May and they've all been bathtub calm for the most part.  But as these photos illustrate, the Atlantic Ocean is a fickle beast.  If we ever encounter conditions like this on SDII, we won't have to stop for swim call.  The ocean will call on us.

On 10/28/2022 at 12:43 PM, TrapperZimmy said:

Have always said I wasn't interested in doing a crossing, but now I'm really looking forward to it.  Being away for that long is now more attractive.  I will probably have several questions for those who have done crossings, so here is my first.  Is stopping to swim in the ocean done on the eastward, or only westward when I assume the water is warmer?

Welcome aboard, TZ.  I hope we have swim call.  I've done it in the mid-Pacific, right where the equator meets the international date line.  Want to add the Atlantic to that very short list.  When I lived in Bermuda in the 80s, the water temperature in late April/late May was in the high 60s/low 70s, which to me was like the Arctic.  The further east we go the cooler it will be.  So, it won't be a long swim. 🥶

On 10/27/2022 at 3:57 PM, Zimmy said:

Trapper & I just booked this crossing today. We're veteran Seadreamers, but this will be our first crossing. We were going back through old posts on this board to find whatever we could regarding the crossing. We're very excited.

Welcome aboard.

On 6/3/2022 at 3:44 PM, Host Dan said:

Thank you!  I booked on deck 3, purchased my flights, and have something to look forward to!

Dan, check out the Wandering Hillbilly's YouTube channel.  He's done a couple of crossings on SD and has some good video.  He also has an awesome Aquila 54' Cat and lots of great info and vids on boat charters in the Caribbean.

We'd booked a deck two cabin for our upcoming SDII cruise because it was $1400 cheaper than a deck 3 cabin, and I didn't care about port holes versus picture windows.  But then I realized we were in one of those convertible cabins and began to wonder if noise would be a problem.  I probably wasted $1400, because I moved us to a non-convertible on Deck 3. As everyone says, we won't be in the cabin much except to sleep.  Oh well.  On every cruise I book, I'm like that guy in the meme, out with my nice cabin but looking back over my shoulder at the pretty cabin that just walked by.

Bueller? Bueller?  Is this thing working?  😂  Maybe we're the only ones on the cruise.  That's cool.

On 8/20/2022 at 10:13 AM, Zimmy said:

I had no idea that SD ever went to Bermuda!

It's the one port call we have on next April's TA from Palm Beach

5 hours ago, back1817 said:

I'm considering the PBI-LIS TA in April.  What temp & seas can be expected on this more northerly route?  I did the BGI-LIS TA a couple of years ago.  Outdoor/pool weather most days; calm seas until 1 day out of LIS. Thanks for any info.  Go Dawgs! 

I've done this route a couple of times on NCL, both times from Port Canaveral and in late April.  Temps were generally low 70s for highs in the western Atlantic, cooling off to high-to-mid 60 the further east we traveled.  Seas were bathtub smooth both times but mind you, the North Atlantic is a fickle beast.   As a rule, however, sea state on our route that time of year is generally fairly light.  From Bermuda on we had the relative wind right on the stern which meant there was hardly any wind on deck for most of the crossing.  I have been across that time of year on an aircraft carrier where the sea was so rough we lost an A-6 overboard, despite 22 tie-down chains but those were freak conditions.  

Go Dawgs!

For any of you who've been on a SD port call in Bermuda, I have a few questions.  Does the yachtshipboatfloatiething anchor or dock?  And where does she do this, Hamilton, St. George, or King's Wharf?  Was anything planned for the port call or is it independent steaming?  I know Bermuda well, having lived there for a few years, but I don't want to make any plans for our stop there next April until I know if SD is going to be doing anything for the pax.  Thanks in advance.

And you can never go wrong with Rick Steves guide to Lisbon:

I forgot to mention on the previous post that if you have access to Netflix, I encourage to watch Phil's episode of "Somebody Feed Phil--Lisbon" from Season 1.  Here's another quick video from Iz Harris titled What to Eat, See, and Do in Lisbon: 

Chicken, anyone?  Chicken in Lisbon?  A little something to stir up the taste buds, courtesy of Phil Rosenthal.

One of the cruisers on this year's crossing on SD II (2022 San Juan to Barcelona) just posted a video on YouTube:  

He has several other episodes about SeaDream on his channel, as well.  He mentions that on Day 8 of the crossing that a couple of crewmembers tested positive for Covid.  Everyone was tested and restricted to their cabin until the test results were read.  It doesn't seem to have been too big a deal.  The crew masked up for the remainder of the sailing and passengers were required to wear masks unless outside.

Don't look now, but this sailing is less than a year away.  We were wondering who else is joining us on this bodacious event.  I guess nobody needs to worry about arranging pub crawls (that would go by quickly), slot pulls (ditto), cabin crawls and private tour excursions.  That gives us plenty of time to concentrate on cruise essentials--eating and drinking.  I lived in Bermuda but that was in the 1980s when a coat and tie was mandatory for almost everywhere.  We were there four years ago and times they have changed . . . and so have the prices.  We went to one of my favorite watering holes, the Swizzle Inn.  Two rum swizzles and two fish and chips cost us nearly $70, but hey, we were in Bermuda, so it was still awesome.  Looking forward to meeting the rest of the motley crew for this adventure.