SD II November 29, ST. Maarten/San Juan, preview/review

[DisneyJen]

What a perfect way to prepare for the champagne and caviar splash Jim:D

 

Looking forward to your post trip report. Hopefully Gantt and rolltide will follow suit and post a review as well.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Hmmm, would be interesting to see Jim board the Zodiac, with a drink in-hand and a freshly missing thumb. I suspect he will use the good hand to hang on to the drink :D

[ganttc]

Okay....So today was out of this world....Words can't describe...you folks that have done it before know, but it really is hard to put into words. That being said, Jim is out of minutes. so I have a couple days to say stuff without him interrupting. Jim is just about the cutest thing ever. Lois not far behind. We've had lots 'o fun together. Great people.

Even a couple of suspect people that had been on the fringes during the trip all came together tonight to form a great group. As I have mentioned before, I've done Seabourn and now have done SeaDream. Both are fantastic products, but I'll have to say, I'm gonna be counting the MINUTES until the 5/29 sailing from Rome! I even wonder if i can eait that long? My poor empty checkbook. Cannot wait to be back and will miss my Jim more than he will ever know (sorry Lois, sometimes the truth has a tiny bit of sting attached). I'll be like Disney Jen and Carole....crying at the bottom of the gangplank tomorrow morning...BOO HOO....and hating (well, sort of) whoever is moving into cabin 408 tomorrow afternoon. Thanks to all the SeaDream staff (just wonderful people) for a great experience. It has been a trip that Ted and I will always cherish!

Gantt

[DisneyJen]

Thanks for checking in Gantt!

 

I agree that there is nothing like the champagne and caviar splash (and yes DJ's DH and I have done Seabourn in the Caribbean as well). I always say I would like the splash earlier in the voyage as it really does bring everyone together:D

 

When we disembarked in March of this year Capt. T had a full box of tissues waiting on the rail for me ... I kid you not ... and I used quite a few!

 

Looking forward to a full review! And of course you active participation in this little corner of CC.

 

Now you know why we talk about our SD addiction:p

[Cammiem]

I'll be like Disney Jen and Carole....crying at the bottom of the gangplank tomorrow morning...BOO HOO....and hating (well, sort of) whoever is moving into cabin 408 tomorrow afternoon. Thanks to all the SeaDream staff (just wonderful people) for a great experience. It has been a trip that Ted and I will always cherish!

Gantt

 

Welcome to the club, Gantt! DJ & I are glad to have you join us.

 

So very happy that you enjoyed the experience. It's truly amazing, isn't it? I relive it everytime I work on my blog. It's therapy, of sorts. ;)

 

Hope you & Ted, Meg & Phillip have a safe journey home. Shoot me an email when you arrive.

[DisneyJen]

Working on the review Jim:D

 

Can't wait for the first in-depth installment!!

[Jim Avery]

Good Morning All:

What a great trip. The weather was perfect every day in spite of the Weather.com gloomy forecasts. Ignore them. The seas were calm (at least where Capt. Tysse took us) in spite of large swells from a far off storm closing Anegada and the Baths. The passenger mix was outstanding and for only the second time, no children. It really makes a difference. Only one discernible group, 10 (5 couples) celebrating a 40th birthday. They were a bit rowdy from time to time and generated a few complaints on 2 deck but overall were sociable. There were, according to Meredith, 101 passengers on board. 4 Dutch, 4 Belgian, 12 from the UK, I believe 8 from Canada, and 4 from another European country that just escapes me at the moment. The rest from the US. Speaking of the moment, it is 42 degrees, windy, rainy, and yuck outside. I am drinking a Bloody Mary (not quite as good as on SD but better than those yesterday on Delta) and just had a frozen White Castle burger for breakfast.:eek: Not at all like my eggs bennie from Norbert. Which brings up the crew. Captain Tysse is excellent. Very capable (as are our other two favorite Captains, Captain Berg and Captain Smorawski) and always available. We now have 3 favorite Captains. In the crew, I just can't name any names as I would inevitably leave someone out. To a person, every crew member we came into contact with was excellent. The service on the pool deck was well done and we always had someone bringing us drinks, food, whatever. The lurking sunglass cleaner was seen often as was the water spritzer. A new twist is the spray bottle with icewater in it. I suppose you could request chilled Perrier or Pelligrino but we are ok with the plain stuff. A few pumps on the container and you get a full shot of COLD water all over. Very refreshing in the middle of a hard day of laying about.:p Sorry Gantt, you need much more training before you are in the Bali Bed division. So, I guess starting at the start is the best idea. As has been mentioned, exactly two weeks before departure, I did a stupid boy trick and cut off the end of my left thumb.:eek: I did not mention this earlier in case there is some law about importing reattached body parts and associated medical paraphernalia into a fun zone. All is well and since the Dr. likes the fact that it has feeling (boy, does it have feeling!) and it moves and has good color. Ragnar, I have had enough therapy to use it as the drink holder (it helps me keep it out of the water) so things are getting back to normal. So, end of story on the thumb. Additionally though, three days later, Lois & I ate lunch at one of our famous beachfront joints and she got food poisoning from a fish sandwich. I, luckily, ate the Jerk Chicken sandwich. (Go ahead, FT, say it:p). The two weeks leading up to this trip were, to say the least, a bit stressful. By go day, we were REALLY ready for a vacation. With the dog safely ensconced with a friend for a sleepover, we had our carryons packed and headed out at 4:00am for Podunk International Airport. We booked USAir outbound (best connections and a sale on first class) and actually pushed a few minutes early. Arrived in Charlotte, NC (Yep, from our little corner of the world, it is very common to have to go North to get South. And they wonder why they are losing money hand over fist). Actually arrived 10 minutes early in CLT. As briefly mentioned before, the inbound aircraft was broken. It took three hours for a replacement aircraft and crew so, naturally, we arrived in St. Maarten at 7:30pm instead of 4:00pm. The difference? Meant we would have likely missed SeaDream had this been embarkation day. Also, we missed seeing the famous landing at SXM. It was dark but I certainly saw a lot of lights on buildings that were above us! We had booked into the Sonesta Maho Bay Resort which is a 2 minute ($8) cab ride from SXM and were given an end room on the 6th floor. It was a nice room with a balcony overlooking the pool area, the Caribbean Sea, and the landing approach for the SXM runway which was approximately 200 yards from our room. Most people ask about noise being that close to the airport but it was not an issue as the hotel seems well insulated against noise. The airport has last flights before 10:00pm and first flights out (mostly small prop planes and a few private jets) don't start till 7:00am with the first large jets arriving around 9:00 or so. The resort is nice and very conveniently located for dining, shopping, beaches, and the famous Sunset Bar at the end of the runway. The hotel shows some age as I would guess it was built in the '80s and Caribbean maintenance takes some getting used to but, in all, we would stay there again. MeDimitri will probably add some to this as they stayed two nights there and we got to meet them there prior to sailing. Hope they are having fun as the lucky stiffs are doing a BTB and are still aboard.

More later,

Jim & Lois.

[DisneyJen]

Excellent start and overview Jim! Of course we will hold you to more reporting as you left off at the end of embarkation day:p

 

Glad to hear that the thumbs has feeling ... would give you a thumbs up but there is no smilie here for that emotion!

 

Awaiting more ... especially on this rainy and gray morning!

[Jim Avery]

Excellent start and overview Jim! Of course we will hold you to more reporting as you left off at the end of embarkation day:p

 

Glad to hear that the thumbs has feeling ... would give you a thumbs up but there is no smilie here for that emotion!

 

Awaiting more ... especially on this rainy and gray morning!

Ok,, I'm back. Actually, I have not gotten to the end of embarkation day-yet.:D. Where was I--Oh yeah, Maho Bay. I have been anticipating the famous beach with the jets ever since seeing the landings on YouTube. Lois has a video of a 757 landing right over some dope in black shorts and a yellow SeaDream shirt but we have'nt even started messing with the pictures. Will post some in a few days but want to get this review going quickly as there will be several more from this trip, Artlee is onboard and already posting, and FT and ZQVOL will be on in a week. I anticipate lots of activity here for a few weeks. Ok, embarcation day. After hitting the sack early (I think a pattern will develop here) we are up early to a glorious Caribbean sunrise. The view from our balcony is spectacular but it gets even better when SeaDream II, right on cue, steams by just offshore. Cant wait for those interlopers on board to clear off. After coffee, we explore the area. Need medical supples and a pharmacy happens to be right past the casino. Found a nice cafe and had a light breakfast while waiting for the Sunset Bar to open at 10am. Had to do some shopping as Lois had not found new flip flops prior to leaving home. Not to worry, she now has some with the Caribbean islands all over them.;). I found the perfect shirt. Black with skull and crossbones and the words: "scars are tattoos with better stories". Muy appropriate. We opened the Sunset Bar and started our embarkation countdown with a frosty Carib beer. This prototypical beach bar has clientele from all over the planet. People show up with suitcases and drink beer till their planes land over their heads then toddle off to the airport. What a great plan. Sure beats hanging out in ATL. At the bar, the large planes landing schedules are in chalk on a surfboard and changed daily. Just before landing, you can hear the radio traffic over the bar sound system so everyone troops out to the center of the runway for fun and games. It is actually pretty scary the first time one of these big planes takes aim at your nose and screams in, apparently to be the first to crash on top of nutty tourists, but manages to just clear the fence (and your head). The immediate wake turbulence and jet wash that hits you is a hot, sudden strong blast so you better be ready or you will lose a camera or your hat. Not quite as extreme as it appeared on Pushing Tin with Billy Bob Thornton and John Cusack but a strong hit nonetheless. After a couple of hours doing this, IT'S TIME! As arranged, we meet Mr. & Mrs. Me_Dimitri (Jim & Maria) to share a cab to the Philipsburg Cruise Terminal. The Dimitris are a well travelled good looking couple who can tell you their ages themselves. :eek: We shared a cab with no springs and took the scenic route to the docks. Took about 15 minutes and we arrived a few minutes before 2:00pm so had to wait outside the gates but under a tented area. While waiting, up walked a Dutch couple we had sailed with in '07, Case and Mariot. Lots of hugs and excitement to run into old travel friends. While we were doing this, the Dimitris spotted a UK couple they had previously sailed with and who have been aboard SDII since early October! Lots of fun reunion and now its 2:00. SeaDream crew was there to check us through port security hassle free and we simply left our carry ons at the gangway, stuck the right hand in a sanitizer mist, ascended the gangway to meet Captain Tyssee (shaking all those sanitized right hands--don't blame him on the sanitizer these days) Meredith, the CAD this trip, and the rest of the crew. The champagne and chilled towel just let us know we really were home again. The new format for checking in takes a few minutes more but, instead of being at a table on the dock, we were seated in the main salon with plenty of snacks available along with the never ending glass of champagne. In maybe 3 minutes, we were escorted to the lobby and seated in front of a digital camera. In a minute or less, we both had our photo ID/room key cards, surrendered our Passports, and were escorted to our Suite, number 309, or as they refer to it: The Disney Jen Suite. As usual, well appointed and spotless. Will take a break now. More later.

J.

[frequent traveler]

thank you thank you thank you. Brightening a raining cold day here in the Triad and heightening the anticipation for next Saturday's departure.

 

FT

[DisneyJen]

Sounds like the Sunset Bar is quite an interesting venue.:p

 

Please give my thanks to Lois for scoping out shopping on SXM!!

 

Glad you enjoyed my suite:p (oh how I wish it were really my suite! Actually any suite on SD could be my suite!)

 

More please ...

[Jim Avery]

After checking in to our Suite and quickly freshening up a bit, its off to the TOY Bar. In less than 2 minutes, we had met Ganttc, partner Ted, friends Meg and Philip and several other non CCers. The start of Gantt & Ted's Excellent Adventure was underway. Mr. Social Butterfly, Gantt, was loads of fun and appeared to meet everyone on board in the first few hours. Reminded me a bit of matchmaker Dolly Levi--with a shaved head wearing Speedos.:eek: And so the day went. Cocktails at the Top of the Yacht. To the cabin for cleanup for dinner and then the Welcome Aboard Cocktail party. What an outgoing group. Very easy to meet people on this trip. Dinner in the Main Dining Room tonight and we are seated next to the 40th birthday group. Quite noisy and it appeared to slow service. As Ragnar pointed out, service could be hit or miss. When it was the same the next time in the Dining Room, I think I figured it out. When dinner was Topside, the service was very good as it was at each Breakfast and lunch. When the main dining room is used, there are more and more people requesting "private dining al fresco". Aft on 4 deck was full and aft on 5 deck was in use some night also. This is, logistically, a strain. It leaves the main dining room feeling understaffed and finished courses can take a while to be cleared away for the next course. Just one person's observation. As long as we are nitpicking here, I might as well get them all out. The pajamas have been significantly cheapened and did not have names on them. We compared them to sets from 2 or 3 years ago and they are considerably smaller, the fabric is much thinner, and the logo embroidery much less quality. As with eliminating the day planners in favor of the simpler (and, I assume cheaper) travel folders, I do understand the need to cut costs. I, for one would rather eliminate the pajamas as well as I plan to use the e ticket option so as to have more money to retain good crew. The only other "complaint" is from the farewell cocktail party where the CAD, Meredith made an overt pitch for us to contribute to the crew fund. The European couples standing near to us were appalled at such a pitch. Lois and I thought it reminiscent of "Super Shopper" Chrissy on the Carnival Holiday. Tacky maybe. At the least it goes against SeaDream's published policy of tipping is neither required or expected. We all give to the crew fund and other passengers ask about it and we tell them it is totally optional but the crew is what makes the trips so special. To make a pitch like that makes us not want to give at all or at least not as much. Again, just one opinion but voiced by several around us at the time. Ok, that's it for the complaint department. Pretty minor compared to some of my other reviews. :D Sailaway was beautiful and we slept like babes with just a gentle motion. Awoke on Monday anchoring off Saba. The seas allowed us to anchor and use the large mooring as a stern line so there was no swinging around the anchor. Breakfast was the inevitable Eggs Benedict and they were as good as always. As we have done the Saba tour before, we elected to declare this a "sea day" and stay aboard. Have to admit, the view of Saba from the port area is rather bleak. It certainly does not give one the impression of a pretty, lush tropical island which it actually is. After a hard morning on the Bali Beds, we had a nice lunch and proceeded to the pool deck. As it turned out, we spent most of our outdoor time a la Frequent Traveler, on the pool deck. The bar service was excellent, the companionship great and the views wonderful. I think it was the passenger makeup that led us to spend more time aft. The more sociable the mix, the better the pool deck is. For more privacy, the Bali Beds work better. This trip it was sociability. Early afternoon and its time to sail to St. Barts, arriving off Gustavia at 1700. We anchor directly next to SeaDream I on which we have sailed 4 previous times. This is our first time with the twins together and it is quite the nice view. As there are several inter ship romances/engagements going on, the tenders were busy back and forth. Also nice, both ship's tenders would deliver passengers to either ship. In other words, we did not have to wait for the SDII tender to get back to our ship. Very nice. Captain Berg was aboard SDI and came over to visit with Captain Tysse. As this was a "sea day" we did not go ashore in St. Barts this evening. We had to get ready for the cocktail party and dinner with Captain Tysse! Dinner was Topside and the sunset/evening was tropical perfect. Hard to imagine a more pretty scene than what we had. As the evening darkened and the lights came up on St. Barts and all the large yachts, we were dining with the Captain, Mr. & Mrs. Dimitri, Ganttc, Ted, Meg, and Philip. At this point, none of us or the Captain had figured out who Mr. & Mrs Rolltide1 were. As we were to find out, they were hiding in the Owner's Suite. Woo Hoo! Dinner was a riot. Never a dull moment or pause in the flow of conversation. Captain appeared to have a good time and dinner went on till about 2300. And Gantt says we don't stay up.:D More to come.

Jim.

[DisneyJen]

you are on a roll Jim! Keep writing:D

 

Interesting indeed about the pitch to contribute to the Crew Welfare Fund. In more than 30 nights of sailing I have never heard any of the crew or staff mention the fund. We last sailed in March 09 and there was no mention of it. Strange indeed.

 

Our SD jammies from our March 09 trip were not monogrammed either. I didn't notice a difference in quality but now I will have to compare them against jammies from the past!

 

Glad you enjoyed your dinner with Capt. T. I have it on good authority that he enjoyed it as much as you all did:p

 

I love seeing the sisters together! How nice that the tender service was such to either yacht.

[Jim Avery]

Tuesday dawned sunny with clear blue tropical skies full of puffy white clouds. Again, perfect. Blueberry pancakes for brekkie today and then a trip ashore. The economy is even affecting the very rich. There were actually open spaces at the megayacht dock, front row, center. Unheard of in the Winter. The Revlon yacht that practically lives in St. Barts was absent. Not to say there were not plenty of large beautiful yachts because they were there. Each time we have walked St. Barts, we come away with the wish that they would make the central Gustavia area pedestrian traffic only. Similar to many European villages. St. Barts is clogged with vehicles and it makes walkabout unpleasant. They could be so much more if they just got rid of the cars in town. We wandered the streets, bought a few souvenirs, had a Carib at Le Select and returned to our home on SDII for lunch. After lunch I did something I had never done before--visited the Ships Medical Officer. I had been having sinus problems since arriving in SXM (maybe the air filters on the old, dirty USAir Airbus 319?) and was beginning to get a scratchy throat.:eek: Neither I nor the other passengers needed that. I did'nt think it was anything serious as we have had our flu shots and I had been on large quantities of antibiotics due to my construction project. The Medical Officer is a very pleasant professional gentleman and the Medical Office (on 5 deck, starboard side just forward of the salad bar) is small but very well equipped, lacking only xray facilities (has a surgical table). The Doctor diagnosed sinus irritation causing the scratchy throat. No fever, clear lungs, Woo hoo. He gave me decongestant/antihistamine tabs and said to drink plenty of fluids. Off to the pool deck to comply. After a hard afternoon of medical proceedures in the sun, time to clean up for cocktails and dinner. We were due to sail at 2100 but that time came and went. We soon went to our cabin and a good nights sleep. Due to swells, Anegada was cancelled and we were due to sail for North Sound, Virgin Gorda. We were looking forward to seeing Anegada as we had not previously been there but the anchorage at Virgin Gorda is one of the most gorgeous anywhere. And, as was the case all week, the weather was perfect--except it rained--for at least 3 minutes--then it was perfect again. See, it always rains somewhere. Unfortunately the Spanishtown side, with The Baths, was under the swells and the Baths were closed. This day started with much scuttlebutt about "the incident" the night before. "Scuttlebutt" is defined by my copy of The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea as a cask or barrel containing the daily drinking water supplies for the crew. In short, the office water fountain. The place for gossip. So, according to the scuttlebutt, the reason we did not depart St. Barts on time is that some passengers on Tuesday night got into some type of dispute at the forward Bali Bed which, at the time was occupied by the party that reserved it. Apparently the other party did not like the roped off area with the privacy please sign and stepped over the rope. Reports say that a shoving match ensued and the "trespassing" person sustained a wrist injury needing xrays taken ashore. Now, further scuttlebutt says that at breakfast Wednesday, the pushees wife began berating the Captain over the incident. Not smart. I was not in attendance but another of our merry band was so maybe the eyewitness will expand on this. We were, however, in attendance on the pool deck (this one time, at band camp--see a pattern here?) when the injured party and wife, with bags, was escorted ashore never to be seen again. Surprisingly, this couple seemed to be late 60s, possibly 70s. Just no accounting for good taste. :p So, with the excitement over, we resumed our sea day in North Sound, Virgin Gorda. We sail at 1700 and are enroute to Great Harbor, Jost van Dyke for a date at Foxy's. As usual, the grueling schedule included cocktails and a 5 course dinner. A brief word about the food. The evening meals are nicely presented as usual and quantities are whatever you might need/want. The chef aboard SDII is schooled in French cuisine and the evening meals are heavily influenced by that. Food is such a subjective thing, as Ragnar has noted. We are not too into French food. We find it to be a bit too over the top and actually prefer the menu on SDI with Sudesh's Indian influences. This is highly a personal opinion and in no way should reflect poorly on the quality or skill of the food staff. Breakfasts and Lunches are more standard fare and are nicely done with plenty of choices. So, on to Foxy's. We didn't make it. Gantt will have to fill in the blanks. We have been before and just ate too much. Time for bed. Tomorrow is a BIG day with the Splash, among much more. Back soon.

Jim.

[Jim Avery]

Awoke, again, to a picture perfect Caribbean day. Breakfast was the eggie thing and then off for a massage. We have always enjoyed the spa staff and the spa facility, though small as is everything on SD compared to the giant ships, is nicely done and comfortable. An hour later, I'm like an oiled noodle. Very relaxed. Back to the pool deck.:p While awaiting the start of the Zodiac ferry to the beach, we had a chance to talk with *****, the Security Chief aboard. He has been at the gangway of every one of our trips, no matter which ship. Get the message? He is very efficient and is not a man I would want to mess with. I feel good having him aboard. Ok, 1045 and we are on the first Zodiac. Easy landing on White Bay Beach and the conditions are perfect for the beach party. First order of business, the Soggy Dollar Bar for a painkiller. This funky little open air bar/guest house is a Caribbean tradition since the 70s. Don't think they have changed a thing. Fresh grated nutmeg is the perfect rum drink topper here. Also had to renew my t shirt collection (new t shirts are considered formal wear in Destin). After the painkiller, we wandered slowly back toward the beach party facility pausing at Seddy Callwood's (Foxy Calwood's relative) One Love Bar. Lois talks to Seddy's wife about their kids who we met on earlier trips while I drink a very frosty Carib and pick out more formal wear. After this brief but beachy charming stop (who would not like an overstuffed couch sitting on a sand floor?) we head next door to our party, get a beer and join our new friends chest deep in the ever mentioned gin clear Caribbean Sea. What a tough duty spot. While soaking in the sea, I took Doctor Gantt's advice and soaked my thumb. After the initial salt sting, it began feeling better. Possibly Philip's runs to the beer cooler helped but I am giving credit to Doctor Feelgood (Gantt). The next day, it showed very marked improvement--thanks Gantt. The only slight hitch in the beach party/splash were the flies! Never saw so many before. Just lucky I guess showing up at a hatching. They had smoke pots all around but it didn't seem to bother them much. No flies on the beach or in the water, just under cover where the tables were. Oh well, the food was good anyway. As do Disney Jen & DJ's DH, we went back to the ship early. Just about had the pool deck to ourselves and did the pool thing, ordered a cheese tray and a cheeseburger and had a BBC. It became our job to welcome everyone back aboard. We all took our time leaving to clean up as it was our last afternoon and absolutely perfect weather again. Most of us were heading back to homes in colder to much colder climes. Tonight is packing. Bummer. After another cocktail party/dinner, we turned in resigned to our fate of having to leave soon. Appropriately, Friday dawned with a few rain showers. They soon cleared and we saw the Pilot come aboard. Entering San Juan is a beautiful experience passing so close to El Morro fortress and soon inside, the docks. As usual, SeaDream arrived on time--in fact a bit early as we and a few others had early flights. Way too quickly good byes were said, Passports picked up and suddenly we are no longer passengers. The ride to the airport took 15 minutes, we already printed boarding passes on board, security was a breeze and there we were, just 2 more people sitting on hard airport seats. As bad as the trip down was, we were dreading the return. The only connections that worked this date to return us to Podunk International Airport were on Delta.:eek: Through Atlanta.:eek: A combination that has not been good to us in the past. So here we go. We boarded nearly on time. The jet pushed back just a few minutes late and stopped! Then it was pulled back to the gate. They could only start one engine (757-it had two). Needed to pull back to the jump start cart to start the other one.:eek::eek: Here we go again. But, the travel gods smiled this time and we took off. Service in Business was good and, lo and behold, we arrived ATL a bit early and even more miraculously, there was a flight to Podunk leaving soon that would save us 2 hours and they got us into 2C & 2D! Thank you. Arrived home safely, no one had stolen the car, picked up our baby who was very happy to see us and were home by 4:00 pm. Quick meal, a few cocktails and crashed. After 10 hours in the ol TempurPedic, felt like a new human and decided to knock out a review. I have to say, and Lois agrees, this is every bit as good as our first SD trip with only 59 passengers on board in Mexico. Absoultely wonderful. Is 5 days too short, you bet. Is 7 days too short, absolutely. Can't wait for the next one. Ok, gang. It is time for Ganttc, Mr. & Mrs. Dimitri, Mr. & Mrs. Rolltide1 to jump in here.

All the best,

Jim & Lois.

[Jim Avery]

Already, I am remembering things I forgot to mention. Too many Painkillers. The Past Passengers Party. Unusually, new passengers outnumbered repeaters. Only 40 repeaters on board. I thought, hey, 6 trips, I would be up there in days aboard SeaDream. Not even close. One UK couple, with only 5 cruises had over 175 days and had been aboard since the beginning of October! They were not it. Another couple had over 250 days but the Big Kahuna on this trip was another UK couple with over 370 days on SeaDream. Wow! Now you know what your targets are. Go for it.

Jim.

[rolltide1]

I have now posted two seven-paragraph reviews, both of which ended up in cyberspace when I tried to post. I am going to give it another try.

[DisneyJen]

Thanks for a great and balanced report (okay Jim I almost said fair and balanced like the Fox report):p And so timely ... I think you set a new record for promptness.

 

Sounds like it was a wonderful trip even though it was way too short ... heck we sailed 9 nights in March and that was too short!! Can't imagine having logged 300 nights!

 

Interesting observations about the differences in terms of the chefs and their cooking influences. I never really thought about it until you mentioned it.

 

Getting ready to turn the channel to watch your Tide!

[DisneyJen]

I have now posted two seven-paragraph reviews, both of which ended up in cyberspace when I tried to post. I am going to give it another try.

 

Yikes rolltide!!

 

Are you posting on this thread or starting a new thread?

[rolltide1]

DisneyJen:

I was trying to post on this thread with a Nov. 29 review. Not sure what happened! Jim is doing a great job of telling all about the cruise, for sure. I, too, am now turning thoughts and eyes to "THE GAME."

 

RTR!

[DisneyJen]

Sometimes the boards act a little quirky and eat posts.

 

Will look for a post from you after "THE GAME":p

 

One of the things that I find helpful when writing a review or a length post is to compose it in Word (or whatever word processing program you use) and then copy and paste here in CC. I have lost too many reviews to compose just in CC:D

 

What to go Tide!

[Jim Avery]

Roll Tide!!! Yay us!!!. Almost as good as being on SD.

Jim. (maybe better:eek:)

[rolltide1]

Roll Tide!!! Yay us!!!. Almost as good as being on SD.

Jim. (maybe better:eek:)

Wow, that was great! RTR!!!

 

Jim, I am enjoying your review of the voyage. I will try to post a little something as well, but you have covered all the bases so nicely. Glad you and Lois had a safe trip home.

[Jim Avery]

Wow, that was great! RTR!!!

 

Jim, I am enjoying your review of the voyage. I will try to post a little something as well, but you have covered all the bases so nicely. Glad you and Lois had a safe trip home.

 

thanks and RTR! Stick your 2 cents in. All the rest of us do.

J&L

[Jim Avery]

Mrs. Rolltide1. Please send me an email or post your email address. Mine is earlier in this thread. Have a picture to send you.

Jim & Lois.