Seadream II June 4-11 Rome-Rome

[judithst]

Hello, anyone out there on the Seadream II out of Rome June 4 - June 11. Some from Seadream I have connected and I would love to hear from anyone on our cruise. We are arriving several days ahead to sightsee as my husband has never been to Italy. In fact, he has never been on a cruise, and I understand we are in for a real treat!! Hope to hear from someone.

[carlylecat]

You have not found your shipmates yet - you should extend your trip and hop over to sd1 when you return to rome on the 11th and meet up with helen, p55 and my crew....hope you have a great cruise though, we will sharing some of the same ports (sorrento, capri...), we should compare notes....have you done this trip before? are you staying in rome before or after...we are having a hard time agreeing on which hotel to stay in rome....we will be there 2 nights prior to sailing...

[judithst]

Hello Carlylecat, thanks for your post. Gee, it would be nice to extend the trip, bbbbut-----gotta get back. Actually this is our first Seadream cruise---so excited to be going. My husband has never traveled to Europe before, nor has he been on a cruise. I've only cruised twice, and it was just in the Caribbean. We will be in Rome for 3 nights before the cruise and 2 nights after the cruise. I wanted to experience different hotels, so I booked at two different places. We will be staying at Caesar House Residenza and Exedra Hotel. They were both in the top ten favorites on Trip Advisor - www.tripadvisor.com. If you could take a few minutes, would you tell me a little about what you are taking to wear. I'm also wondering if the water in the Med will be warm enough for water sports. Any comments you can make would be greatly appreciated. I am trying to plan my wardrobe for 2 weeks - both for the cruise and Rome. Thanks.

[lildan]

Hi Judithst

 

I see you have been chatting to carlylecat from SD1 ....thought you would like to know that I 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...gives details/costs of all the trips....definitely Pompeii for me.....also gives suggested guidelines for clothes on board for both on deck and dining ....

 

Med in June should be warm about 25 degrees during the day although it can get a lot hotter...so cool fabrics like linen or cotton are best...short sleeved or sleeveless tops and dresses for day time on shore but best to take a thin jacket or cardigan just in case...on deck I tend to wear swimwear (with a knee length coverup for wandering around) or shorts and top....in the evening I am one of those people that tends to wear evening trousers with dressy but casual tops....with a pashmina if dining on deck cause it can get cooler in the evenings....though I have been known to wear a short cocktail dress on occasion..usually during the first half of the cruise before the pounds pile on and I can still fit into it!!....remember that the inside dining room is airconditioned but we usually find they set that to suit the ladies mode of dress and the men have to suffer or remove their jackets!!

 

Hope that helps...best to be comfortable especially when you are going ashore...you can always take a few really dressy things and then either gauge the fashion bent of your fellow cruisers or set your own standard...

 

As Carlylecat said SD1 and SD11 may cross bows...if so I'll give you a wave!!

 

xxH

[carlylecat]

I see our hh, my newfound and lifelong friend/fashion diva, has assisted with your cruisewear...there is nothing much I can..I thought I would tackle the water issue....

 

This may be the only disappointment of your cruise....the med is not quite the cleanest body of water you will experience....I do not know if it is the lack of major surf or whatever but it just does not look good, especially if you are used to the Carribean or Hawaiin or even Florida waters....

 

I will caveat that both our ships are going to islands and ports I have not visited before, but the Amalfi Coast and most of mainland Italy I really would not put my head under the water (I am not that much of a clean freak but you will see what I mean)

 

The water temp is fine and we will bring swimwear....but the watertemp in the small pool on sea goddess was freezing, I don't know if sea dream has added or uses a pool heater but I will probably leave my swimming to hotel pools on the trip....

 

By the way excellent hotel choices.....

[judithst]

:) Thanks to carlylecat and helenlilhaynes for your comments. The fashion advice will help - I probably won't take a cocktail dress, but will make Chico's proud - I have their traveler's skirt, pants, and cropped pants with some of the pretty new "ponchos", and every style of black shells that they make - I will include a couple of pashminas also. Too bad about the water, but I'll try the hot tub if the pool is too cold. Carlylecat, you mentioned the Carribean, Hawaiian and Florida waters - our nearest coast is Galveston, Texas - and the beaches there aren't so wonderful. We did get our tickets in yesterday's mail - I haven't had time to go through all of it yet, but can say the "presentation" surely was nice. My DH and I haven't planned everything yet, but our approach will be to "relax and enjoy". I've still got some planning to do - need to get transportation booked from Rome to port and back to Rome. When SDI and SD II cross in the wind - I'll be the short blond waving!!:)

[Jim Avery]

Hi Carlylecat:

You mentioned the pool water temp. On SD I in the Caribbean and SD II in Mexico the temp was perfect to our tastes. Just chilly but soon very pleasant feeling. Crew told us the pool has sea water in it so that might not help in the water you described. I suspect they have the option of filling it with fresh. The only difference for us between SD I and SD II is that in March, SD I had a very strong vibration in the pool area. Reportedly from an engine mount issue. Hope they get that repaired as it was very uncomfortable to be in the pool more than a minute or two. Made your voice sound funny. Even more funny than several Blue Lagoons. Have a great cruise and be sure to post a review. Helps us all live vicariously when we are stuck in work mode.

Jim.

[carlylecat]

Thanks Jim...hope they repaired that mount as well....good to hear about the temp...must have changed in retrofit from sg 1, there is no way you could have swam in that back then....promise a detailed post on return....can not believe how close it is getting

[judithst]

Here's one last shot to see if there's anybody out there going on SDII June 4 out of Rome. I've been reading all the posts for the last several months - it has been very interesting and also entertaining. I know we're in for a trip of a lifetime and my excitement grows each day. I'll try to keep some kind of a journal to report back in when we return.

[cgkim]

Hello there,

 

My wife and I are on the June 4-11 Sea Dream II. We are celebrating our 25th anniversary. Leaving on the 31st with a couple of days in Venice and one day in Rome before leaving from the nearby port. This is our first Sea Dream experience and are very excited. Italy is one of our favorite places and we are really looking forward to experiencing the Amalfi coast and the other great ports.

 

We're from St. Louis, have three children and our biggest concern is that we are leaving our 21 year old in charge of our 17 and and 16 year olds. We have plenty of friends checking in on them.

 

I hope you check the message board again before departure. Look forward to meeting you.

[judithst]

Hello Cgkim, it was great to hear from you! My husband and I will celebrate our 30th anniversary on June 7th. Our children are grown and "on their own" (may be stretching that a bit), but our youngest (age 28) is flying in this morning from Colorado - she will be staying at our home while we are gone. I'm sure your children will be just fine - and your friends and neighbors will be there to back 'em up. We look forward to meeting you and your wife - we are James and Judy from the Houston area (Humble, Texas actually). We will be flying out of here on the 31st and will be in Rome for 3 nights. See you soon!

[DisneyJen]

Happy anniversaries and bon voyage to Judith and cgkim:D

 

I know you will have a wonderful time. Please check back with us after your return so we can hear all about your adventure!

[DisneyJen]

Wondering how our Sea Dreamers are doing after their cruise!

[judithst]

Just a short note - back from our wonderful cruise !!! - visiting with and helping my daughter get ready to fly Texas/Copenhagen tomorrow evening. I'll write later in the week to let you know just how fabulous everything was!!!!

[DisneyJen]

Welcome back Judith ... although it sounds like you are off again:p

 

Glad to hear that your cruise was wonderful. Looking forward to your review.