Shaken_Bake

Thank you, Piaa.  I emailed the concierge as suggested above, and we have our reservations secured.  This time next week, we'll have arrived in St. Martin!!!

On 2/4/2023 at 8:52 PM, kmorg1234 said:

ShakenBake, are you sailing SeaDream I or II?

 We are on SeaDream II out of Marigot, embarking on Feb. 18.  We're leaving for SXM a week tonight.  SO EXCITED!!

I feel ya, Mrs. B!  We have only 15 more sleeps until our first taste of SeaDream.  I have clothes laid out already and lists all over the place!  This is our first real Caribbean experience too.  I know better than to wish time away, but I don't think I've been this excited since Christmas morning when I was six!

When do you make reservations for massages, etc. in the spa?  I really want to reserve a massage for hubby and me on our anniversary; kind of a tradition for us.  Do you need to wait until you board, or is there any way to reserve beforehand.  Thanks.

On SDII out of Marigot on Feb. 18.  I got the impression that the small size of the ship meant it can always dock in a port, but I've read other posts referring to a tender.  Can you please tell me which of these ports uses a tender?  Thanks.

• Terre de Haut, Guadeloupe
• Les Trois-Ilets, Martinique
• Falmouth Bay, Antigua
• S Friars Bay, St. Kitts
• Gustavia, St. Barts
• Chrishi Beach Club, Nevis

Thanks, Piaa, that's very interesting.  I never would have thought that.  We'll just have to see if we stumble on anything (which is more fun anyway!)

I just realized that it will be Carnival during our cruise (Feb. 18-25) and wondered what we can expect.  If you've cruised during this week, are there any ports where you can participate in any evening activities?  Does the ship do anything special to celebrate?  

We're on SDII out of Marigot on Feb 18 for our 20th anniversary.  First time on SD, cannot wait!  My husband was slightly dismayed to learn of the no shorts rule for the dining room.  I know we can eat on the deck, but I really think the dining room will be nicer and easier to meet people.  Is it really that warm after dark that he'd be uncomfortable?  Would khakis or Dockers and a nice polo shirt would be sufficient?  I'm expecting to wear somewhat casual summer dresses.  Hope that will work.

Over 12 years ago, when DH and I were about to embark on our first cruise ever, I posted a little ditty about the night before we left. It goes something like this:

Twas the night before cruisin’

And all through the house

Every creature was stirring!

Especially me and my spouse!

The fancy duds were hung

In the garment bag with care

With visions of boat drinks

Being hoisted in the air!

But that's as far as I got. Now, as we are about to embark on our second and third cruises, I remembered this and decided to see if I could get any other talented contributors to add a verse. Arrrrgghhh, it's getting late and I have so much to do! See you on the other side!

I called RC today and chatted with a helpful young woman. I asked her if she had any updated info on whether Chef's Table was a go or not. She asked why I would think that and I explained what I've been reading on this thread; she said, "Oh, you know that anyone can write anything on there." I then asked her to check out the fact that Chef's Table was no longer bookable on line. She put me on hold for a moment and came back saying, "hmmm, that's concerning." I then asked to cancel Chef's Table and reserve 150 Central Park with wine pairing, which she agreed was the next best offering. She promised to email "management" with my concerns.

So it's all good. I'm sure my birthday celebration will be just fine and I'm glad I got wind of this issue in plenty of time to resolve it. I guess I just have to get in more practice being a cranky old lady!

They have! It is not bookable any-more...

Only have not cancelled all the purchased reservations yet....

Worse yet, they are still officially saying it's on! Here is a portion of the email I finally received from Customer Service two days ago:

"Our records show that you are booked for Chef’s Table on October 11, 2016 at 8:30 pm. No notifications of cancellation have been issued on this sailing for this dining venue but this information is subject to change. The latest updates on your booking regarding your Cruise Planner reservations will be emailed to you in the event that a dining reservation has to be rescheduled or cancelled. We apologize for any confusion caused by the Cruise Planner section of our website."

I certainly see the clause, "...but this information is subject to change." Should I cancel and book something else, but what if Chef's Table is really on after all? Should I double book (would I even be able to?) I so like to believe in things like scheduled events - PAID FOR scheduled events.

I just spoke to RC Customer Service (they haven't replied to my email in 48+ hours), and the reason why you can't see Chef's Table as an option any longer is that it's totally sold out for the cruise. PHEW! Birthday dinner ON!

We're on Harmony in October and are going to dock in La Spezia from which I'm determined to get into Florence for the day. I went ahead and booked the ship's excursion "A Taste of Florence" which includes a 2-1/2 hour highlights guided tour, then three hours on your own (plus a mandatory stop at a leather factory - boo.) I'm thinking of skipping the guided tour and catching up with the group when they're ready to depart. I'm much more of a DIY shore tour person, but the cost of this tour cost was less than any other transfer-only options I found, plus the distance to/from Florence is concerning in case of delay.

I can't find any reviews of this excursion. Has anyone just used a tour for transportation in this manner? Any reason this wouldn't be a good idea? Thanks.

As we have to we have to wait six more weeks til our embarkation day! Thanks for your offer. My question is, if you see any super convenient places to buy wine (prosecco actually) between the Civi train station and the port, please let me know. Any grocery store should have some. Grazie!

I'll be so mad if they've cancelled Chef's Table on my birthday! I checked my cruise calendar and it still shows up, but it's disappeared from the dining options. Why in the world doesn't RC let people know this (mass emails shouldn't be too difficult!) I assume RC will keep the money, of course, for OBC. What is the next best alternative? This is a big birthday for me, so I want the best!

Both comedians perform at each show.

Oh, that's how it works... so no reason to reserve it more than once?

We'll be on the 6 October sailing and I just checked out the comedy show reservations. It seems there are two different comedians, but no indication on the reservation form who's doing which show (just day/time.) We'd want to go to both shows; how can we tell which shows are different?

Wonderful cruise report, Jay! You're a great photographer and reporter. I've subscribed to your blog to get the next installments. Thanks for making my next two months unbearable with anticipation!

The schedule shows that the ship docks in Marseille at 9:00 am. I know history is no guarantee of future performance, but how early have any recent cruisers been able to disembark at the port? There's a lot I want to do on this day and I need to set a time for our driver to pick us up. Also, will we have to take the shuttle to the port entrance to reach our driver, or can he get closer? Is there some landmark I should mention where we should meet? Merci!

We're on this cruise out of Rome departing October 6. I asked the same question on this board when I discovered that Barcelona was embark/debark point. One of the replies I got: "You will not notice... Your seapass card will have a different color. When dock in BCN for everyone that embarked in Civi is a normal day..." Someone else replied that he didn't like the concept because you might just get to know someone when they have to depart. I don't know how you can find out how many on your cruise are BCN or Rome embarkees. I'd never heard of interporting before booking this cruise, but I don't think it will have a profound impact on our cruise experience.

I'm on Harmony in October (more than six months out) and just noticed that they're offering Chef's Table reservations now. I definitely want to go there on my birthday, but right now, the price is $104.50 pp, which seems a lot more than many of you have paid on different cruises. Of course, I don't want to wait to see if the price drops if we might lose a rez on that particular date. If I reserve and price drops, will the lower price be charged? Does one actually pay in advance, or is it charged to our on board account? Thanks.

My husband and I (almost seniors) are booked on a seven-night Greek cruise this September with Variety on a 32-passenger ship, Callisto. It was one of the less expensive small ship options. Our cruise was originally supposed to sail on another ship, a beautiful sailing yacht called Panorama II, but several months after our booking, Variety decided to keep that ship in the Caribbean and replace it with this vessel, which I think is not nearly as attractive. However, my TA was able to get our cabin upgraded at no additional charge, which made me feel better. I've read mostly good reviews about Variety and their itinerary was just what I was looking for. Worth a look, I'd say.

When you say you are sailing Close to shoreline and will want to know where you are, please don´t expect to sail along the shoreline and being able to see land, as it won´t happen. The ship will sail out to open sea and will mostly be beyond the distance to see the shoreline.

 

On most ships I've been on so far there is one spot onboard where a Chart of the ships Course is on Display. It´s a good old papre Chart and you can at least an idea about roughly where you will be at what time and what´s around.

Thanks, all, for your input. Good to know, funcruiser, because I did envision being able to see the shoreline, mostly between Barcelona and northern Italy. But I suppose with a ship as large as Harmony, it needs some room to move! Plus, my DH reminded me that we'll be sailing more at night than during the day. I will definitely inquire as to where I can find the chart of the ship's course.

We've got a Western Mediterranean cruise planned on Harmony in October. Because the ship will be sailing close to the coast on most of the cruise, I'm sure I'll be curious where we are, what island or city is that, etc. Is there any kind of cruise tracker available via the on-ship TV system? I love maps and charts - when I'm flying, I usually prefer to watch the real-time flight locator on the screen! Any other wanna-be navigators out there?

What is the experience like to embark on a cruise that already has passengers on a cruise in progress? We’ll be on Harmony, West Med cruise, embarking in Civitavecchia on October 6. However, on our Roll Call, I learned that there will be passengers who embarked in Barcelona on October 2, and we’ll pick up a different contingent when we dock in Barcelona on October 9 before the end of “our” cruise.

Does the mid-cruise rotation of embarking and disembarking passengers have an impact to any aspect of the trip? Will the disembarking passengers in Barcelona be given priority, so that continuing passengers have to wait to get off for their port activities? What else might be different (better or worse) about this scenario? Thanks!