review of SeaDream I Oct 25th through November 1st

[Zimmy]

We arrived in Barcelona on Sunday, October 21st for our October 25th cruise. DH & I judge our pre-cruise experience based upon how much of our time we spend with an imaginary countdown clock in our heads telling us how much longer we have to wait until we can board the ship. By this criteria, Barcelona was a success for us. We had a wonderful four days and really didn’t think about SD much. The weather was amazing and we struck the right balance between sightseeing and relaxation. We had dinner at Cinc Sentits - the tasting menu with the wine pairings and it was wonderful. For seafood we dined at Botafumeiro and Barceloneta; both were good. For tapas, Bar Lobo in Hotel 1898 was outstanding. We had chocolate & churros at Petritxol. The chocolate & churros were wonderful and I can’t believe that we didn’t even know about this Spanish tradition previously.

 

Thursday, October 25th.

It’s time! From the moment we woke up today that countdown clock was going. We arrived at the port at 2 p.m. and joined the line of others who had arrived early. We quickly moved through the metal detectors and toward the ship. When we got to the canopy outside the ship, there was Doramas saying “hello Mr & Mrs Zimmy” and just like that, we were home. We proceeded to the lounge where we had snacks & champagne and met some of our fellow guests. They appeared to be a friendly group, more in their 50's & 60's, rather than 30's & 40's, and NO CHILDREN of any age. It appears to be mostly Americans. (While I am posting this review all at once on our return, I am writing contemporaneously so I don’t yet know the actual statistics of the cruise.) We went to our room on the third deck and met our adorable stewardess Mirabel. The port excursion talk was given by the club manager, Adrienn, and was well attended. People are signing up for the excursions and we are told that almost all of them should go. The sailaway party was on deck at 6 p.m. and although it had been kind of a rainy day in Barcelona the weather cleared and we were comfortable on the pool deck. Dinner was inside but Silvio told us that quite a few had opted to dine outside, but it was really kind of cold. Dinner was wonderful - Silvio said that we had to try the soups. I had lentil and DH had cream of asparagus - both outstanding. Silvio said to order the beef, and we did. It was a pepper encrusted filet on thinly sliced potatoes with spinach, in a bordelaise sauce with mushrooms. Perfect. For dessert I had sauteed strawberries and olives with olive oil ice cream. Certainly quite different, and good. We were tired so it was an early night for us, no piano bar. The TOY bar was closed today, they had varnished the stools, but it will be open tomorrow.

 

Friday, October 25th.

It was a somewhat rough sail last night. Cabinet doors kept opening in our room and waking us. When I opened our curtains at 7:40 it was still dark outside. But breakfast was outside, and I got to have my standard SD breakfast of eggs florentine. There was a walking tour of Old Town Ibiza offered, but we had not signed up for it because my iPhone showed rain forecasted. But luckily it is a beautiful day, so we set off on our own to tour the town. The port area had much of the feel of a resort town closed for the season, which it is. We climbed to the top of the fortress. There are signs in several languages explaining things, so we were fine on our own. Those who did go on the tour indicated that it was excellent. It was a long, steep climb, and we felt good about ourselves doing it to counteract those SD meals. And speaking of meals, lunch was mussels in cream sauce and they were as good as we all remember. There were crab legs on the buffet, and we were happy. Then it was off to a Bali bed to while away the afternoon, interrupted by hot chocolate and cookies passed around. No one is wearing bathing suits, but the weather really is beautiful - crisp, cool autumn weather. But something bad is on the way. We were supposed to have dinner outdoors and sail from Ibiza at 11 p.m. But it was announced that we will instead be sailing at 6 p.m due to inclement weather approaching. You just have to love SD. The weather looks bad, so they change their plans and take you to where the weather is good.

 

Tonight at cocktails the captain introduced the officers and gave the statistics. There are 87 passengers aboard, 63 of them Americans and 11 Norwegian. Of the remaining few, 1 or 2 are from Canada and the remainder are Europeans. We knew that the cruise was not completely full as they were trying to upsell a Commodore suite about a week before the cruise.

 

We were invited tonight to have dinner with Adrienn, the club director. We had not previously met her. She was on SDII for a while, and then moved over. She is a delightful person, warm and vivacious. We inquired about another ship. She indicated that they are definitely talking about a new build, but it is in the planning stages only. So I would assume that it is years away. Adrienn ordered the raw cuisine, which appeared on the menu for the first time tonight. So we got to see it; we really had no desire to eat it. Our dinner this evening was escargot followed by lobster, followed by a chocolate cherry torte that was even much better than it sounded. I had been looking at a dessert from the raw menu, a cocoa mud pie, but chickened out.

 

A child did come on board today. Claus, the first officer, was joined by his wife and four year old son. The little boy is adorable, and his mother supervises him every minute. We were glad to see Claus have his family on board; this is not an easy life for those who work here and have husbands/wives and children at home.

 

Saturday, October 27th

We arrived in Cartagena about 11 a.m. I was surprised that it was this late, since we left Ibiza five hours earlier than scheduled and were originally scheduled to arrive in Cartagena at noon. I suspect that the captain was avoiding weather, and he did a good job.

 

We again passed on the walking tour and did the city on our own. There is a castle, and a Roman amphitheater which has been restored. The weather is so beautiful that we were able to be at the pool, in bathing suits, this afternoon.

 

The crew is so wonderful - Adrienn, Doramus, Brian, Hendrick, Mikee, Job, Mirabel, Olivier, Frud. They just want to make the voyage good for you. And it is. We truly have not had one complaint, voiced or unvoiced. Tonight was the club members party. It was held in the library and was for club members only, even though over 50% of the passengers are return cruisers. A couple with 10 SD cruises seem to be the ones with the most cruises.

 

For dinner tonight, I had a mushroom veloute and prime rib. DH started with a lobster bisque; he insists it is because they served lobster yesterday and had leftovers - maybe he’s right. Dessert was Grand Marnier souffle.

 

We gain an hour tonight and it’s a good thing. Our excursion to the Alhambra tomorrow leaves at 8:15. There is a show tonight with Brenda and Rojhon singing. We’ve never heard either of them before but opted to an early return to our cabin instead.

 

Sunday, October 28th

Of the 87 passengers on this ship, 63 went on the Alhambra excursion. The remaining 24 had a private yacht, although I heard that a group of travel agents were on board in the afternoon. We were gone from the ship for 9 hours, but it was worth it to see the magnificent palaces.

Again tonight, dinner had to be moved indoors. It is not raining, but the evening is just too cold to be outside for extended periods. For dinner tonight, we had cream of mushroom soup followed by scallopine of grouper. I’m finding that we are best off when we ask Silvio what to order and then just listen to him. He’s been right on. Dessert was a buffet in the lounge, including bananas foster made to order. Then it was disco night.

 

Tomorrow morning we are to pass Gibralter. The captain tried to get permission from the local authorities to sail close to the rock, but he was denied. So we will have to see the rock in the dark from a distance of 2 nautical miles. Nevertheless many of us are going to be there. We have left wake up calls to give us 15 minutes notice to get on deck. It should be between 6:30 and 7:30 a.m. tomorrow. There are going to be a lot of people on deck wearing SD pajamas tomorrow morning, and I hope to be one of them.

 

Monday, October 29th

Our day began with a wakeup call at 5:55 telling us that we would be sailing by Gibralter at 6:10. Many passengers went up to the TOY bar, but we headed for the bridge. Along with a few other passengers, we watched as we navigated the Rock, and listened to the captain’s descriptions and stories. While it was way before sunrise, we got to within a mile of the Rock and had a great view of Gibraltar and Spain on one side, with Morocco and Tangiers on the other side. It was worth waking early.

 

This day spanned all four seasons. We had everything but rain. It was cold, then it was warm & sunny, then it was cold again. No sooner did you adjust your clothing to the weather than the weather changed. The afternoon was scenic navigation of the Guafdalquivir River, the only navigable river in Spain. It was an activity ideally suited to viewing from a Bali bed, and it ended with a set of locks which took us to Seville.

 

Dinner was again scheduled for outside but moved indoors. It was unfortunate, but we count ourselves lucky that the days have been mostly warm enough for comfortable touring and sitting on deck. Our dinner tonight was tuna carpaccio and steak Diane, followed by the 24 carat gold warm chocolate fondant.

 

Many passengers are understandably worried about the hurricane threatening the East coast, and it is a common topic of conversation here. Some have children and/or elderly parents at home. At least we have not been at sea so we have had communications available.

 

Tuesday, October 30th

Our first rainy day. Breakfast began early, inside in the dining room, to accommodate the tour of Seville which left at 8:30. The tour was excellent, even if we did walk between the raindrops. Seville is an absolutely beautiful city, and had we not scheduled this tour, we might not have left the yacht and ventured into the city. Lunch was also indoors, and even though they did have bouillabaisse, it just isn’t the same. SD is a fair weather destination.

 

Tonight was the degustation dinner, which was served indoors in the dining room. It began with the usual caviar/egg creation, followed by a lobster appertizer. The choice of soups were pumpkin and white tomato. Both sounded fabulous, but Olivier steered me toward the pumpkin. I can’t remember what the sorbet was, but it was good and not overly sweet. Our entree choices were dover sole and chateaubriand. Both were wonderful. The cheese course was a mourbier, and the dessert was a white chocolate souffle with Bailey’s ice cream. There was another dessert, some kind of fruit. I didn’t see anyone order it.

 

Rutzie did her show tonight. It was well received, and we were impressed with how much poise and confidence she has gained since we last saw her perform a year ago.

 

Wednesday, October 31st

Last day. It is a sea day as we are sailing to Lisbon, which we are scheduled to reach at 6 p.m. It is Halloween, but it is not a big deal here, nor does it seem to be in any of the ports we visited. Much more focus is placed on November 1st and 2nd, All Saints’ Day and the day of the dead. There are crowds in each cemetery we see. On board, there are a few carved pumpkins, but that is it.

 

It is a beautiful day, and after the rain in Seville, everyone is ready for it. We spent the day on a Bali bed and it could not have been a nicer day. We were scheduled to have cocktails outside and dinner in, but when we reached Lisbon the air cooled and cocktails were moved indoors. However, DH and I could not stand the fact that we had not had dinner outside this voyage, so we asked Silvio for a table on the balcony overlooking the pool. Some new friends joined us, and it was terrific - absolutely no wind so very comfortable with just a light wrap. We had caprese salad, aubergine soup and surf and turf. Another magnificent dinner.

 

Adrienn was kept quite busy with new bookings. These open bookings are kind of a no brainer, and made even more attractive by the change in the length of the deposit rules. Previously, one had to book a voyage within a year of deposit. Now that has been changed and there is no time limit. And with interest rates near zero, one doesn’t lose much by having SD hold the money rather than a bank.

 

Thursday, November 1st

Well, it had to happen. We must leave the yacht. While there were a few staying on for the crossing, most were leaving. It was so hard saying goodbye to the staff. While we will be taking a Caribbean voyage next month, some of the SD people are going on vacation after the crossing. Adrienn & Silvio are going on vacation, and Hendrik is getting married. Doramas and Olivier assure us that they will be there in December, so there will be some friendly faces.

 

Summary

It was another wonderful SD voyage. No aggravations, decent if not wonderful weather, new friends and familiar faces in the crew. We left the yacht thinking about how much we love SD, and the ways in which it is superior to other cruiselines we have been on.

[Jim Avery]

Thanks for taking the time to review your voyage. It sounds great. SeaDream is such a good thing when it works as it should. :D

[CDreamer]

Zimmy, excellent detailed review - thanks!!

 

You mentioned some old favorites: Doramus, Brian, Mikee (who always has such a big smile on his face!), Olivier, and a special favorite of ours - even though I know we shouldn't play favorites ;) - Frud. Was Pierre also on board?

 

Sounds like you had a wonderful time and it won't be long until you are back on board.

 

Thanks again for a really nice recap of your cruise.

[Zimmy]

Yes, CDreamer, Pierre was on board. I knew that I would miss a name, or names.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review!

[DisneyJen]

Thanks for such a thorough review Zimmy!

[MDR-DAN]

My wife and I were also aboard SeaDream's October 25th cruise from Barcelona to Lisbon. All of the best of SeaDream were apparent from the staff recognition and service to the wonderful cuisine and advantages of being on a smaller cruise ship. We were fortunate to have Mikee as our MDR waiter and often Olivier upstairs for breakfast and lunch. I must also say Pierre is very impressive. Always on the move with eyes open to what needs to be done. We also enjoyed the extra suite space afforded by being in The Admiral's Suite.

 

Great review Zimmy. It made we want to hit "Rewind" and do it all over again. A special thanks to DisneyJen. Without you, we may have never made it aboard our first time and now, five SD cruises later, we are still smiling.

[DisneyJen]

So nice to remember and mention me MDR-DAN!

 

DJ's DH and I often talk about what a wonderful week we had with you and your lovely wife! We need a reunion cruise!

[Keith1010]

Thank you for writing this review.

 

Keith