I'm gonna cheat on SeaDream just once in 2012...

[DisneyJen]

Sounds like another adventure filled day!

 

Okay, I'll bite ... why did you get sick?:eek:

[Jim Avery]

Sounds like another adventure filled day!

 

Okay, I'll bite ... why did you get sick?:eek:

 

Good question, DJ. After Haggis, booze, and seasick, what's left??:eek::D

[knotheadusc]

Coffee is served in a French press. There were some grounds in a cup I drank and they somehow activated my gag reflex.

 

Just hiked Sanda Island and saw this little fellow and a few of his buddies/family members...

 

[CDreamer]

Good question, DJ. After Haggis, booze, and seasick, what's left??:eek::D

 

LOL exactly what I was thinking, Jim. You really crack me up!

 

Knot, sorry the coffee grounds didn't agree but at least coffee doesn't leave you with the much-dreaded, longer lasting hangover that you get from alcohol (not that I'd know anything about THAT, of course! :rolleyes:). Love the pic of the grey seal!

 

I've decided you can't come home, Knot. You must stay on board indefinitely and continue on with your daily reporting. ;)

[knotheadusc]

I'm familiar with hangovers myself! I switched to tea and now all is well again.

 

After the hike, Hebridean staff were waiting with coffee, tea, whisky, and cookies! I'm so glad I went on Sanda Island. I almost skipped it because it's cold and windy... Seeing the seals and amazing scenery made it totally worth the trip!:)

[DisneyJen]

Gorgeous shot of the seal! How cool!!

 

Glad to hear you are well!

[knotheadusc]

Today we're visiting Tighabruaich in the morning and Tarbert Castle ruins in the afternoon. I think we were supposed to do this during the previous cruise, but lost out because of the weather. I'm glad we opted for the back to back cruise. I feel like we're getting a good look at the area.

 

We went to bed early last night because we were pretty tired from the hike. I could have used a massage or a hot tub soak, but settled for a nice hot shower. By the way... The captain of this ship is quite a hottie...

[DisneyJen]

Appreciating the updates knot!

[frequent traveler]

Really enjoy catching up on this. The Internet on our ship was extremely slow so I wasn't able to check this page daily but Sanda sounds and looks like a great stop. Would you do this again in November ?

FT

[CDreamer]

Really enjoy catching up on this. The Internet on our ship was extremely slow so I wasn't able to check this page daily....FT

 

FT did you write a review yet? Would love to hear about your cruise.

 

:::snip::: I could have used a massage or a hot tub soak, but settled for a nice hot shower. By the way... The captain of this ship is quite a hottie...

 

Knot, I think you need to take a COLD shower then post a pic, just so we can judge for ourselves. ;)

 

I really like that there is such a wide variety of things to see/do on this cruise. Your trip just keeps getting better and better!

[Jim Avery]

CDreamer,

Today is go home day for them. Dont know what her wrap up schedule is. Have you been following her review over at Norwegian? Lots of info there.:D

J.

[CDreamer]

CDreamer,

Today is go home day for them. Dont know what her wrap up schedule is. Have you been following her review over at Norwegian? Lots of info there.:D

J.

 

No I haven't, Jim. Thanks for the heads up!

[knotheadusc]

You do take a chance when you book a Scottish cruise in November, but this trip has been very successful. I would book another November cruise if they offered a different itinerary and I could afford it. I don't know if you've seen Hebridean's prices, but they're pretty steep! Their summer cruises are usually too rich for my blood!

 

That being said, you get a lot or your money and are taken care of from start to finish... We haven't spent anything since we got on board except for souvenirs (scotch, perfume, and chocolate so far). Hebridean takes care of all transportation, entrance fees, and tea and coffee. The concierge/purser has even arranged a taxi to Edinburgh for us at a discount.

 

Today's excursions were fun. We took a bus to Argyll's Secret Coast and saw a lovely view, then had tea. We walked back to the pier after picking up a couple of magnets at the Life Boat charity store, then cruised to Tarbert for a hike to the castle ruins and around the harbor. When we were finished, the purser had a pot full of hot toddies for us.

[knotheadusc]

Today's morning excursion is to Kelburn Castle. We went there last week and had a very strange tour led by a woman who seemed to be faking it. Since we've already been to the castle, my husband and I will walk around Largs. Later, we're going back to Benmore Botanical Gardens. We'll probably do that again, since we only saw a small part of it the other day.

 

Tomorrow, we disembark and head to Edinburgh.

[DisneyJen]

You sure are covering a lot of ground knot!!

[BeignetBoy]

Having just returned from our third SDII cruise and the second crossing, I am sitting here thinking about where our next cruise will be. Knot, I have enjoyed your comments about your recent "Cheat" on SD, and am wondering if anything even approaches SD in terms of service? What we appreciate most about SD is their approach and service. We also love the fact about not worrying about a bill for drinks when we leave.

 

Is there anything that anyone could recommend that even comes close -- in terms of the level of service and the all inclusive aspects to SD? And the small ship is perfect for us. We don't need shows, etc. We just love the service and feeling that we get on SD.

 

I understand why SDII is expanding to the Far East, but that trip is a bit much for us and will miss not being able to enjoy SD for a while. We might book the eastbound crossing, or something in the BVIs, or Costa Rica. Or perhaps something on SDI.

 

But reading the some of the reviews on Seabourn in this tread and other reviews on other lines, I am concerned that we will be disappointed if we venture from SD.

 

Any recommendations on another line that comes close so that we could consider "cheating"??? But as was pointed out earlier, "cheaters never win."

[Jim Avery]

We had a very good experience on Seabourn on one of the small ships but it has been 2 years ago. Others have said Windstar rang their bell.:D Alaska Dream Cruises is a reportedly similar size and product but I have no personal experience there. We have had great cruises on numerous lines and really enjoy SeaDream when they are on their game. Fully half of our trips have been diminished somewhat by the kids on board problem well discussed elsewhere on this board. It is a good problem to have, looking for new cruise lines.:eek::D

[Zimmy]

We had hoped to have an experience similar to SD on Paul Gauguin. It wasn't. Not that it wasn't a nice experience, but no comparison. Now PG is launching a ship in the Caribbean similar in size to SD, so who knows? I believe that their first cruise is around New Year's. The will do the Caribbean in winter and the Med in summer just like SD. I'm looking forward to reading the reviews, although I'll take them with a grain of salt. The reviews on the PG board are always fantastic, and compared to a large ship I can understand that. But I suspect that most of the people writing the reviews are comparing PG only to larger ships.

 

We were on one of the larger Seabourn ships for a 16 day cruise, and we loved it. But it is a totally different experience from SD for many reasons.

[dutchies47]

SD will be always be our nr 1 even though on the last crossing there was some stuff we did not like but that is just minor We have been on the small sisters of Seabourn and on the bigger ship All very good in food,service etc and also all inclusive but not the feeling like you get on SD Also have been on Azamara which is a totally different concept but very good They are going all inclusive next summer We did them for the itinerariesThe food, service etc is great but you cannot compare it with SD It is a totally different concept We do not care for shows either but nice for people that like that and you do not have to go. We are going on AZ Dec 8th-Jan 6th in Asia

[BeignetBoy]

Fully half of our trips have been diminished somewhat by the kids on board problem well discussed elsewhere on this board. It is a good problem to have, looking for new cruise lines.:eek::D

 

Thanks for your comments. We have been lucky in terms of kids on board on all of our SD cruises in that we have had none.. But SD needs to understand its market. I'd guess that allowing kids on board takes away more revenue than it gives them...

[BeignetBoy]

SD will be always be our nr 1 even though on the last crossing there was some stuff we did not like but that is just minor We have been on the small sisters of Seabourn and on the bigger ship All very good in food,service etc and also all inclusive but not the feeling like you get on SD Also have been on Azamara which is a totally different concept but very good They are going all inclusive next summer We did them for the itinerariesThe food, service etc is great but you cannot compare it with SD It is a totally different concept We do not care for shows either but nice for people that like that and you do not have to go. We are going on AZ Dec 8th-Jan 6th in Asia

 

It was nice seeing you guys on the crossing a few weeks ago. Keep us posted on your December cruise...

 

We are just wanting something to look forward to on our next cruise. We might consider something else, but as of now, I haven't seen anything that I fear wouldn't disappoint us. I didn't realize that Seabourn was all inclusive, so that might be a possibility.

 

Itinearies aren't that important to us at this point, that is why we like the crossing. We are also considering the Westbound crossing next year with the Eclipse Charter...

 

And although Itinearies aren't too important, we are also considering a barge or river cruise --- So who knows..

[Jim Avery]

It was nice seeing you guys on the crossing a few weeks ago. Keep us posted on your December cruise...

 

We are just wanting something to look forward to on our next cruise. We might consider something else, but as of now, I haven't seen anything that I fear wouldn't disappoint us. I didn't realize that Seabourn was all inclusive, so that might be a possibility.

 

Itinearies aren't that important to us at this point, that is why we like the crossing. We are also considering the Westbound crossing next year with the Eclipse Charter...

 

And although Itinearies aren't too important, we are also considering a barge or river cruise --- So who knows..

 

For a river cruise in Europe you might look at Hebridean. Knothead is aboard the ocean going ship of that line but they also have an all inclusive very nice looking river boat. There is a link on their website.:D

[dutchies47]

We like crossings too our favorite is being at sea. SB has a lot of them with lots of seadays so does AZ. all what you prefer. You can never beat SD AZ is as big as we will go. Never did a river cruise but lots of friends did and like it but different then a normal cruise There is something out there for everybody all depends what you prefer and what you want and what money you want to spend

[southseas]

Even though we've booked one of the Asia cruises for next year, add us to the list of those who are going to miss the crossing. There is just something special about all those sea days, the mix of fun & interesting people, and of course the unparalleled service/crew.

 

That said, I've been following Knot's reports with great interest and now the French guy informs me that he is seriously looking at an Antarctic (!!!) cruise on SilverSea. Given how much I whined about the 'cold' weather on the last crossing I'm not sure how well I'd handle that latter voyage but after reading one passenger's blog I am definitely intrigued!

 

P.S. I have to 'out' myself to BeignetBoy since when he very nicely introduced himself and mentioned where he was from I blurted out "you're BeignetBoy!" Because I'm just suave that way. ;)

[knotheadusc]

We are disembarking today. As I wrote before, I will be posting a comprehensive review when I get back home. For now, I will say that this experience was for us on par with and occasionally even surpassed our experiences on SeaDream. But it is a very different kind of cruise that caters to an older crowd.

 

Last night, we had several disasters occur of a personal nature. First, we went to the botanical garden and I ended up taking a fall and skinning my knees. The stewardess was helpful in providing first aid.

 

Then, we got back to the ship and found urgent emails from our kennel. Our older dog had what we thought was disc disease but it turns out there is a mass on his neck that is affecting his ability to walk. Our vet changed his meds, but I think we will be saying goodbye to him soon. So we are sad about that. Then I lost dinner because I had a coughing fit. And finally, Aunt Flow showed up early and I was not prepared.

 

I will say the crew on the ship was helpful there, too. My husband asked the assistant purser for help and she brought me the necessary items.

 

My husband went to settle our on board account, but we didn't owe anything. They didn't even charge us for laundry. That was a pleasant surprise.

 

So anyway, despite the disasters on the last night, we a very pleased with Hebridean and would definitely recommend and cruise with them again. However, I am still really looking forward to SeaDream in May.