seadream 1 - june 4th to june 18th 2005

[lildan]

Hi everyone

 

have just been reading all your comments on the SD.....our last cruise with SD was when she was the sea goddess 1 (we did singapore to calcutta...Tom & Sydney were the cabaret if you were on that cruise) and it was an experience we will never forget..in fact we still talk about it now....all I can say is yes it will spoil you and small ships will become the norm...I don't think we could fault the cruise at all...everybody was so friendly, I think we knew nearly all the guests by the end of the first week (and are still in touch with some after all this time)....we would meet up for drinks before dinner or dine together or even have champagne parties in the hot tub....or we could be alone...our choice.

 

we did the seabourn legend xmas/new year caribbean cruise 2 years ago and although it was a great ship and we had a super time it did not come up to the sea goddess standards....the SB pool on the legend was awful...it's tucked away, out of the sun and there's no way it can be a focal point for guests, in fact on our cruise only two or three people used it during the whole two weeks. Also the entertainment was poor and had an organised "butlins" feel about it. On the plus side the food and service were superb and we had a great mix of guests. The staterooms were bigger than on the SD and we did have a bath.....

 

yes a bath....the one mistake maybe that SD have made....taking the bath out of the staterooms....on the sea goddess I used to love a glass of champagne while lazying in a bath full of very expensive bubbles...luxury indeed.

 

we have booked a back to back med cruise on the SD1 for june this year (Nice to Nice) and for once I am counting the days of my life away...I can hardly wait to be back...if any of you cruisers are joining us on these dates say hi...or have any advice on the changes from Sea Goddess to SeaDream please let me know....

 

oh yes and if anyone has booked the owners suite....please can I have a bath !!!

 

xxH

[carlylecat]

but will catch up to you in rome, my wife and two great friends will be on your rome to nice portion....have not been on ship since sg I as well...we did a trip from venice to montecarlo that had my wife in tears as we watched the ship sail off without us from our balcony at The Hotel de Paris....we will look for you aboard....

[lildan]

Hi Carlylecat

 

Thanks for the reply ....was beginning to think we were the only ones on that cruise !!!

 

Are you a fellow Brit or from further afield ??....will look forward to meeting you and your wife and friends....allowing that we are not planning to go ashore for the change over day you will probably find us hogging the pool/hot tub on the sun deck....and pretending that it's our own private yacht for just a few hours...

 

If not we are planning to be at the top of the yacht bar every evening at about 6.00pm for cocktails (straight from the sun deck so not yet "dressed" as such....just shorts or casual) ....see you there if not before...

 

xxH

[carlylecat]

no we are yanks - dont worry, not boorish ones

 

pretty inexperienced cruisers though, two for my wife and I, just one for our friends, the one togteher was on seven seas, the one alone was sea goddess I - venice to monte carlo

 

we are in our 40's our friends in 50's and 60's

 

we live in New Jersey in a suburb of nyc, our friends in scottsdale arizona where we used to live for 10 years...my wife and i are full time execs, my male friend is as well, his wife a volunteer in theater organizations and charity groups in scottsdale and is usually the life of the party

 

as to the trip I am really looking forward to the amalfi coast, especially getting back to ravello where we had a great time in 1999...

 

look forward to champagne and caviar on embarkation....lets meet then...

[paradise55]

Sorry Helen, we may have to burst your bubble concerning having the yacht all to yourselfs at the turnaround point. My wife and I plan on staying onboard that day as well with perhaps just a short walk onshore. But I'm sure the boat will be large enough for the four of us. Cheers.

[lildan]

so now there are 8 of us.....enough for a party!!

 

Paradise55...Hi to you and your wife....ok we'll share the yacht with you ....will have had a week to get to know you (and visa versa) by then so no probs....if you can put up with our querky Brit humour then you deserve a glass of champers in the tub..on us of course...

 

Carlylecat.....Hi again...must say I'm fascinated by your moniker....is it "carly the cat" or "carlyle cat" or ...shouldn't I ask... ok you yanks... really looking forward to meeting you in 7 weeks...wow it's coming round fast now...my partner and me are both in our early (very early) 50's...but as they say we are definitely going on 40 !!...seems we refuse to grow up when we are having so much fun...

 

Pompeii looks like being the one to see for me....but as we have never visited any of the ports of call it is going to be one big adventure....

 

we are travelling out a day early and staying overnight in Nice (just in case there is a flight delay and we arrived to see the SD1 sailing away without us!!) better safe than sorry and it means we get "to do" Nice as well...

 

xxH

[carlylecat]

Must say I am envious of both of you "round trippers", welcome to our thread P55. Just think we now know 8+% of all the passengers on our cruise!

 

I save the moniker mystery for on board, my cruise partners (wife and friends) have no idea I use it and will end up ribbing me to death for it.

 

Pompeii is awesome, I think you will really enjoy it, we were fascinated last time. However I must prepare you the ladies in our group will be focused on shopping in the Amalfi coast for ceramics, it will border on obsession.

 

I hope you enjoy Nice. It is an interesting town...if you have time I would highly recommend heading to Eze, and lunch by the pool at at Chateau Chevre D'or, just one of my favorite places in the world

[lildan]

Hi Carlylecat

 

...ok I can wait....hope the story is worth the telling....

 

thanks for the info on Eze and the Chateau Chevre D'or....I looked it up on the net and can see why it's one of your favorite places in the world....not sure we'll make it there on 3rd June but when we leave the SD1 on the 18th June we have about 4 hours to kill before our flight home so a leisurely lunch somewhere could be just the ticket....more sight-seeing is out as we will have "my" mountains of luggage to tag along....

 

xxH

[carlylecat]

It really always amazes me how much we all take...we are as guilty as you claim to be....I was looking at your routing before we join you and my, you will really have enough amalfi coast...capri sorrento, capri sorrento....that will be fun....look forward to meeting you and p55...maybe we can find some others here as well.....

[lildan]

Have just received our tickets...well piece of paper actually....in a really posh leather wallet....gives loads of info about the cruise..ports of call/maps/places of interest...damn all that downloading from the internet now seems superfluous....also gives details/costs of all the trips....definitely Pompeii for me.....

 

Really seems that we are nearly there now...don't want to wish my life away but if I could condense all the stuff I need to do at work before end of May into just a few days then I would say roll on 3rd June!!

 

See y'all soon

 

xxH

[carlylecat]

Work? I thought all of you back to back cruisers lived lives of pure luxury and were of "independant means".....

 

it is no where near as much fun if we don't have to work up to it a bit....my entire group is starting to feel the pressure as well....anyway please don't work too hard, we need you to be well rested to lead us on all of our adventures....

 

Glad to see you have received paper work, we have not yet but it sounds like it is forthcoming......besides pompeii anything else look like a must do? Do they list/mention trips at Giglio, I have never been there or even heard of it before I saw the itinerary....

[lildan]

Hi Carlylecat

 

Independent means would be great...if only I could win the lottery!!...before 3rd June if possible 'cause then I could upgrade to the owners suite and nab that bath!!

 

Anyway back to the serious stuff...did you know that Giglio is the Greek word for Goat ?....well neither did I until I read the SD1 blurb....no organised land adventures offered but I would suggest it could be the perfect place for caviar and champers in the surf....well in the gently lapping waters....anyway the island doesn't look that big - about 3 miles by 2 miles at widest points...so not too energetic a time if you and your party are into hiking....but please don't expect to see us on your "yomping" as we'll either be resting on a sunbed ashore or partying in the hot tub...especially if the SD1 pool is as cold as you said to Judithst on another thread...

 

as to other land adventures...they're doing the Blue Grotto at Capri but I expect you've already done that being an Amalfi Coast aficionado....and then there's a sort of cookery lesson and lunch at the Hotel Splendido or more yomping to Santa Margherita in Portofino....we might visit the Hotel for coffee and views but as far as I'm concerned the food on SD1 is as good as it gets and it's already paid for....

 

Positano looks interesting but SD recommend it is done independently which suits us as not really into organised tours unless there's lots of travelling involved as we Brits rarely speak the lingo...but we can order beer/lager in several languages.!!

 

xxH

[lildan]

We're here....had a super day in Nice and that will be somewhere we will definitely comeback to for a long weekend....SD1 is everything we hoped and more...joined the ship at 2.30 and disposed of a bottle of champagne very quickly...Monte Carlo was fabulous..my better half suggested we walk the F1 circuit..literally....took us a lot longer than the 1 minute 30 secs in a F1 car...glad to get back to SD1 and chill by the pool....Carlylecat the water temp in the pool is fine..bit of a shock at first but then it's great...have met up with P55 and now waiting for you to get here...don't go breaking anything else....hope it wasn't your drinking arm....

 

Off to Calvi now...catch up again soon

 

xxH

[DisneyJen]

Sounds like a wonderful start Helen! Glad to hear all is well on SD1:D

 

So what brand of champagne were you greeted with upon your arrival on SD?

[carlylecat]

Thanks for checking in, arm is much better and I drink right handed and broke the left....

 

I feel so out of it, our friends from Scottsdale who are joining all of us on the cruise just wrote from Venice, you are routing F1's in Monaco and I am stuck in my office vetting sales contracts at 8 pm at night...oh well, the glamour will have to wait....see you in Roma!!!

 

And disneyjen, I want to know what brand they are pouring as well, please let us know - and HH, only one bottle? :)

[lildan]

Hi back again...sorry I didn't reply sooner but there is so much to see and do and of course drink..

 

champagne on the first week was Pomeray or some such name...too gassy...so this week we have one called Germane ??...sorry hopeless on names...much better...welcome half (!!) bottle in cabin was Mumm...

 

no beach party in Med as there are no private beaches and so can't take food and drink ashore...also no pool party as owner does not like them...bit of a let down as we weren't told before....also no endless caviar...if not on menu that day or at cocktail hour you have to buy it....luckily for partners bank balance I am off caviar.....

 

but weather is great ..places superb...fellow cruisers good fun and I am loving every minute...in positano this morning and about to go ashore now...will try and catch up again before the end of this cruise...

 

xxH

[DisneyJen]

No need to apologize Helen as you are on holiday:D Do so appreciate your taking time to fill us in on your voyage.

 

Sorry to hear that there was no beach party. That was one of the highlights of our Caribbean voyage last December as well as one of things that we look forward to on our November trip. So where are they holding the champagne and caviar splash?

 

Sounds like a glorious time:D

[NASCAB]

Hi back again...sorry I didn't reply sooner but there is so much to see and do and of course drink..

 

champagne on the first week was Pomeray or some such name...too gassy...so this week we have one called Germane ??...sorry hopeless on names...much better...welcome half (!!) bottle in cabin was Mumm...

 

no beach party in Med as there are no private beaches and so can't take food and drink ashore...also no pool party as owner does not like them...bit of a let down as we weren't told before....also no endless caviar...if not on menu that day or at cocktail hour you have to buy it....luckily for partners bank balance I am off caviar.....

 

but weather is great ..places superb...fellow cruisers good fun and I am loving every minute...in positano this morning and about to go ashore now...will try and catch up again before the end of this cruise...

 

xxH

 

It sounds like you are having a great time, you have the best cruise destinations. Enjoy your cruise and give a friendly hello to James, the Activities Director. Can't wait to read your review.

[lildan]

I'm back...change of plan after yesterdays post so it looks like someone at SD does read these threads....we are now having a champagne and caviar pool party...with Jimmie and his dolphins serving...unfortunately we woke up to rain this morning but the sun is beginning to break through now so keep your fingers crossed for us...we really want this pool party....

 

will say hello to James for you...

 

also sad news...Christophe has been promoted and has left the ship...he will no longer be front of house but behind the scenes as a manager....good for him but a sad day for us...Richard has taken over at the top of the yacht bar and doing a fab job....

 

must go ...sun has just come out...

 

xxH

[Sea-hawk]

Please say hello to James also for us. Rock and Bobby. We sailed with him in March and enjoyed visiting with him a lot. WE hope maybe to see him later this summer.

[DisneyJen]

Hope that the weather cooperated for your champagne and caviar splash! It is quite a treat, isn't it?

 

I am presuming that it is young Christophe from the Top of the Yacht who was promoted ... he took wonderful care of us in December.

[lildan]

yes..weather was perfect and champagne splash really brought the guests together...we have a large group on board this week ...27...they are great but obviously are content with their own company so it has effected the dynamics of the cruise compared with last week....have met up with Carlylecat and P55 and now know the moniker stories....sorry promised not to tell....

 

yes it was Christophe the younger who has been promoted....good luck Christophe...

 

just arrived in Portofino so will be going ashore soon...coffee in the Splendido would be nice but the best view is from the ship...as always...

 

home tomorrow and will get my writing cap on to put together a review....warts and all....!!

 

xxH

[DisneyJen]

So glad to hear that the weather cooperated for the splash!

 

Some secrets, like the stories behind the monikers, will stay on board I guess;)

 

Have a wonderful and safe trip home. Will look forward to your review. I am interested in the itinerary you just did for our 2006 trip.

 

Safe travels!

[lildan]

Thanks DisneyJen...had a good trip home and now have to get back to the realities of everyday life....the itinerary was the best but I don't think they are doing it in 2006..at least not on SD1....could be SD2's turn....

 

Have loads of work to catch up on...always the downside of 2 weeks away from the office..but will try and put a review together asap....

 

xxH

[lildan]

Hi fellow Dreamers...Sorry ...still no review yet....and I'll have to go some to even match the excellent review of Carlylecat (see other thread)...but it will happen I promise...

 

Just thought I'd let you know that we received a lovely pressie from Atle (the owner of SeaDream) this morning....a beautiful bound book called "The Art of SeaDream" ....as he says he hopes it will bring pleasant memories of our trip with SeaDream....it certainly will...the photography is beautiful..it will make a great coffee table book which means I can talk about our wonderful cruise to all who pick it up for a gander....(that's "a look" in British slang!!)...

 

xxH