Jump to content

And the winner is ...... Antigua


Tiki_Man
 Share

Recommended Posts

Good morning. We received a phone call direct from SeaDream (actually Mrs Tiki got the call) that SeaDream has moved out Departure and Arrival Port for the Nov 20th sailing of SD1 to Antigua in place of St. Maarten. We were told our itinerary would not change (although Anguilla is listed as a port of call, that is just not going to happen). St. Barths, Nevis, and St. Kitts are other ports for our itinerary.

 

Antigua makes sense. Good port with 2 piers, plus a commercial area to re-provision. Was not as affected by either Irma or Maria. Still a northern port with a good airport for arrivals and departures. Close to other ports of call that should be functioning well by November (St. Barths, Nevis, St. Kitts, etc). Decent port area for Customs and Longshoreman issues.

 

No idea if SD will keep Antigua in the rotation, but just my guess, it will replace St. Maarten and quite possibly San Juan as a Northern Caribbean "jumping off" port for a while. San Juan may get back sooner, but with so much chaos on that island and the dramatic cut back in Air Routes, they may have to use an alternative.

 

From a selfish standpoint this works out great for us. We were able to change our flight to Antigua in place of St. Maarten yesterday. We get to spend an extra day in Antigua AND we get to go to Shirley Heights on a Sunday night (prior to the cruise departure on Monday). For those of you that have not experienced a Sunday night at Shirley Heights, if the weather is good, it is an amazing sunset.

 

Again, not sure if any other itinerary will use Antigua, but wanted to pass this info along. If anyone knows of a wonderful hotel in Antigua (maybe Blue Waters Hotel?) we would love to hear of any recommendations

 

Cheers

 

Tiki

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good morning. We received a phone call direct from SeaDream (actually Mrs Tiki got the call) that SeaDream has moved out Departure and Arrival Port for the Nov 20th sailing of SD1 to Antigua in place of St. Maarten. We were told our itinerary would not change (although Anguilla is listed as a port of call, that is just not going to happen). St. Barths, Nevis, and St. Kitts are other ports for our itinerary.

 

 

 

Antigua makes sense. Good port with 2 piers, plus a commercial area to re-provision. Was not as affected by either Irma or Maria. Still a northern port with a good airport for arrivals and departures. Close to other ports of call that should be functioning well by November (St. Barths, Nevis, St. Kitts, etc). Decent port area for Customs and Longshoreman issues.

 

 

 

No idea if SD will keep Antigua in the rotation, but just my guess, it will replace St. Maarten and quite possibly San Juan as a Northern Caribbean "jumping off" port for a while. San Juan may get back sooner, but with so much chaos on that island and the dramatic cut back in Air Routes, they may have to use an alternative.

 

 

 

From a selfish standpoint this works out great for us. We were able to change our flight to Antigua in place of St. Maarten yesterday. We get to spend an extra day in Antigua AND we get to go to Shirley Heights on a Sunday night (prior to the cruise departure on Monday). For those of you that have not experienced a Sunday night at Shirley Heights, if the weather is good, it is an amazing sunset.

 

 

 

Again, not sure if any other itinerary will use Antigua, but wanted to pass this info along. If anyone knows of a wonderful hotel in Antigua (maybe Blue Waters Hotel?) we would love to hear of any recommendations

 

 

 

Cheers

 

 

 

Tiki

 

 

 

Tiki,

Thank so much for the update. I was guessing Antigua would be the new port as their damage seems to be minimal in comparison to others- (Our January cruise had a scheduled stop in Barbuda which I guess is out, however).

We've been watching the Anguilla web site and I wouldn't be surprised to see it back in rotation sooner than might have been expected. We spent a week there in July, at Zemi Beach, and they are reporting little damage to their location (Shoal Bay East). SD tenders in at Sandy Ground, which was heavily damaged, but their economy so depends on tourism I am confident they will find a way to get visitors in. ( Also, those money-making beach bars can go up quite quickly).

I am more worried about the BVIs which we are scheduled for (Tortola, Jost, VG). Have heard that Soggy Dollar may be ok, no word on Foxy's yet. Yes , we spend our shore time in beach bars!!

Well, guess I just send in my final payment and hope for the best. Good luck to you in November and please keep up the valuable info. CC seems to be the place for SD news updates.

Btw, we stayed at the Trade Winds in Antigua. It's quaint, Caribbean, small, good restaurant, up in the hills with ocean views ( its above Sandals), quiet and off the beaten path. Pool but no beach. Antigua has many hotels so it depends on what you're looking for. We were only here for one day but found it nice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tiki Man - be careful on Shirley Heights! I happened to skid on a pebble up there and break my leg — the day before an SD cruise! But SD took great care of me.

Consider the Copper and Lumber hotel in Nelson’s Dockyard. Very charming.

 

BeignetBoy — eastbound crossing?

Vandrefalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Piratelooksat45,

 

We are also on the 1/27/18 trip that is now leaving from Antigua. Will this also be returning to Antigua on 2/3/18 or to San Juan as originally scheduled?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Glad to hear that we will hopefully still disembark in San Juan on 2/3. This will make it easier to only have to change flight from ORD to SXM to ORD to ANU

 

We have not received a call or email from SeaDream yet (thank goodness we looked at CruiseCritic today), but we will call SeaDream tomorrow morning

 

Although we feel terrible for people in the Caribbean and can't even begin to imagine how it is in places that were devastated by the hurricanes, this is the second trip we've had to rearrange.

 

We were originally going to St. John, USVI for a week at the end of October, but this has been rebooked to Florida.

 

Looking forward to seeing everyone on 1/27

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our January 27th also got changed to embarking from Antigua. Anyone have a good hotel/resort to stay at on Antigua for a few nights before the cruise?

 

 

 

Please take a look at The Inn at English Harbour. It is well located within the English Harbour area and is a wonderful place to stay for a few days pre or post cruise.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tiki Man - be careful on Shirley Heights! I happened to skid on a pebble up there and break my leg — the day before an SD cruise! But SD took great care of me.

Consider the Copper and Lumber hotel in Nelson’s Dockyard. Very charming.

 

BeignetBoy — eastbound crossing?

Vandrefalk

 

Yep.. we are already booked on the Eastbound Crossing.. Looking for a hotel recommendation as we have never been to Antigua... any recommendations?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

We are sailing in 2/18 and we just made a reservation at Sugar Ridge in Antigua....it looks lovely.

Good morning. We received a phone call direct from SeaDream (actually Mrs Tiki got the call) that SeaDream has moved out Departure and Arrival Port for the Nov 20th sailing of SD1 to Antigua in place of St. Maarten. We were told our itinerary would not change (although Anguilla is listed as a port of call, that is just not going to happen). St. Barths, Nevis, and St. Kitts are other ports for our itinerary.

 

Antigua makes sense. Good port with 2 piers, plus a commercial area to re-provision. Was not as affected by either Irma or Maria. Still a northern port with a good airport for arrivals and departures. Close to other ports of call that should be functioning well by November (St. Barths, Nevis, St. Kitts, etc). Decent port area for Customs and Longshoreman issues.

 

No idea if SD will keep Antigua in the rotation, but just my guess, it will replace St. Maarten and quite possibly San Juan as a Northern Caribbean "jumping off" port for a while. San Juan may get back sooner, but with so much chaos on that island and the dramatic cut back in Air Routes, they may have to use an alternative.

 

From a selfish standpoint this works out great for us. We were able to change our flight to Antigua in place of St. Maarten yesterday. We get to spend an extra day in Antigua AND we get to go to Shirley Heights on a Sunday night (prior to the cruise departure on Monday). For those of you that have not experienced a Sunday night at Shirley Heights, if the weather is good, it is an amazing sunset.

 

Again, not sure if any other itinerary will use Antigua, but wanted to pass this info along. If anyone knows of a wonderful hotel in Antigua (maybe Blue Waters Hotel?) we would love to hear of any recommendations

 

Cheers

 

Tiki

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

 

 

We are in Barcelona about to embark SD2 today. Yesterday we had drinks with friends on SD1 while in Barcelona for the day. Senior staff confirmed that Antigua is indeed being substituted for Marigot on St. Maarten for this upcoming season, the implication being this will be the case for all voyages this coming Caribbean season 2017-2018.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We are in Barcelona about to embark SD2 today. Yesterday we had drinks with friends on SD1 while in Barcelona for the day. Senior staff confirmed that Antigua is indeed being substituted for Marigot on St. Maarten for this upcoming season, the implication being this will be the case for all voyages this coming Caribbean season 2017-2018.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

That will make Antiguans happy. I remember when we sailed SD1 out of Antigua in 2011 and we took a Segueway tour. The lady was surprised the ship was leaving out of Antigua and happy to hear it, since it would be good for her business. I would like to go back there myself. It's a beautiful island.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We are in Barcelona about to embark SD2 today. Yesterday we had drinks with friends on SD1 while in Barcelona for the day. Senior staff confirmed that Antigua is indeed being substituted for Marigot on St. Maarten for this upcoming season, the implication being this will be the case for all voyages this coming Caribbean season 2017-2018.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

 

 

Hello -

 

I am going to be on SD2 transatlantic from Lisbon this November. One of the stops on the TA is Marigot. Would you kindly inquire with SD2 staff if they will anchor off-shore at Marigot - or - will they substitute another Island (Antigua) perhaps. Thanks and enjoy your cruise.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...