SDI December 16th thru 22nd St Thomas to St Thomas

[Zimmy]

We are off to St Thomas early tomorrow to spend a couple of days prior to boarding SDI on Sunday. It is just a six day voyage but we're looking forward to each of those days. We're planning on doing absolutely nothing, in contrast to our October Barcelona to Lisbon voyage where every minute was filled with sightseeing.

 

Based upon today's offer of "on the spot upgrades" I am expecting that this will be anything but a full ship.

 

We will be staying on in St Thomas for a few days following the cruise, and I thought that I'd make dinner reservations in advance since things get very crowded on a resort island during the Christmas season. And I was quite surprised that two of the restaurants we had been looking forward to returning to have closed - Craig & Sallys in Frenchtown, and Herve Wine Bar. Based upon my reading of guidebooks, I made reservations at three restaurants which will all be new to us - Banana Tree Grille (in Bluebeards Castle), Thirteen (on the Northside), and Oceana (in Frenchtown). If any of my SD friends have any other suggestions, or perhaps a comment on the places we have chosen (whether positive or negative) I'd love to hear from you.

 

I will post a review upon our return. I'd like to wish all of you a wonderful Christmas.

[knotheadusc]

Have a good time! :D

[Jim Avery]

Bon Voyage, Zimmy. Eagerly awaiting your review.:D

[CDreamer]

Zimmy, have a wonderful, wonderful time!

 

If you get a chance please post some updates along the way - or, if you are too busy relaxing and having too much fun, please feed us poor CC souls some crumbs and post a review after you get back! ;)

[Zimmy]

If you get a chance please post some updates along the way - or, if you are too busy relaxing and having too much fun, please feed us poor CC souls some crumbs and post a review after you get back! ;)

 

I'm not taking a computer but I will attempt to post from my iphone while onboard. I'm not exactly a techie (understatement), but I'll try.

 

Thank you all for the good wishes.

[abenaki]

The view at night from Bluebeards is wonderful and the outdoor setting quite perfect.... the food is nothing to match.... however it has been a few years and things change, could only be for the better. In any case you will have dined so well on SeaDream that you won't care as much.

My other dining experiences on St Thomas not stellar. Too bad about Craig & Sally's

 

No matter what it is like, it is better than being at home.

[Zimmy]

Thanks for the info. We have a reservation there tomorrow might, before SD. I'll let you know if it has changed.

[KirkNC]

Bon Voyage!

[Zimmy]

We are at the Marriott Morningstar resort, waiting to board SD tomorrow. The resort is ........OK. Not really an upscale experience, other than the prices. But the staff are friendly and welcoming, and it was pretty much the only game in town. When we booked, the two resorts in St John and the Ritz here all had a minimum ten day stay. Even counting both our stays, before and after SD, we won't be here ten days. And being all the way at the East End is not so appealing either. So, we're kind of counting the hours until 2 pm tomorrow.

[knotheadusc]

I'm certain we all know how you feel. Hope the hours pass quickly and when you approach the ship with your bags, it all turns into that intoxicating surreal experience that keeps us coming back. :D

[Mike in AR]

Have a nice trip Zimmy! We are actually boarding in St Thomas next Saturday.

 

Mike

[Zimmy]

Lucky for you Mike we're not heavy drinkers, so I can assure you that there will be something left for you. We are currently sitting in the TOY bar enjoying a BBC. We're all unpacked and settled and we feel like we're home. SD II is berthed right next to us, the weather is magnificent and life is good.

[Jim Avery]

Brings back great memories.:D Funny how the TOY Bar is the place to go as soon as settled in. Enjoy it, it is chilly and gloomy here in Podunk.:eek:

[Mike in AR]

Lucky for you Mike we're not heavy drinkers, so I can assure you that there will be something left for you. We are currently sitting in the TOY bar enjoying a BBC. We're all unpacked and settled and we feel like we're home. SD II is berthed right next to us, the weather is magnificent and life is good.

 

Outstanding Zimmy! We are certainly looking forward to sitting in the TOY bar area. Please say hi to Mickey and Xander...Have a great week! :)

[luvtojump]

We too are on this sailing. It's a glorious morning in St. John. Crew decorated two Christmas trees yesterday as we were boarding. Husband and son have an early tee time and needed to get to the ferry. "No problem" for SeaDream. "Tenders aren't ready yet so we'll take you in the zodiac". There is nothing like SD.

Haven't been on since 2005. My, how I have missed her.

Will try and post daily.

[Zimmy]

St John is glorious - and hot. For whatever reason the pool has been closed, and it makes it really difficult to sit out in the sun without the benifit is a dip to cool off. We went on a snorkeling excursion to Trunk Bay this morning. The water was quite rough.

 

Lunch was late today because of SD's twice yearly health inspection. I wonder whether the closing of the pool is connected to that. Apparently there are s kinds of weird rules when in US ports. Everyone who ordered a dish with poached eggs thisormimg was turned down because it isn't allowed in US ports.

[Jim Avery]

St John is glorious - and hot. For whatever reason the pool has been closed, and it makes it really difficult to sit out in the sun without the benifit is a dip to cool off. We went on a snorkeling excursion to Trunk Bay this morning. The water was quite rough.

 

Lunch was late today because of SD's twice yearly health inspection. I wonder whether the closing of the pool is connected to that. Apparently there are s kinds of weird rules when in US ports. Everyone who ordered a dish with poached eggs thisormimg was turned down because it isn't allowed in US ports.

 

We must save you from yourself, don't you know?:eek: Heaven help you if you eat a runny egg. How is it that you can go ashore and eat Eggs Bennie at any of the resorts but not on a ship in a US port? Makes no sense. If there is an inspection going on, the pool will have been tested and cleaned so they don't want any contamination before it is inspected. I have seen them test the pool every day. They really do keep that ship up well.:D:D

[Zimmy]

Yes, Jim, I have since found out that all the disruptions were due to the inspection, on which SD got 98 out of 100. The crew were up until 2 am the previous evening cleaning, and did not get lunch until 3 pm today when the inspection was over.

 

The captains cocktail party was this evening, held outside at the pool with dinner inside. There are 83 passengers on this voyage, 57 Americans with the others from quite a few different countries. 40% are repeaters.

 

They are doing something different this voyage. The repeaters cocktail party is going to be combined with SD II when we are both in St Bart's tomorrow night. It will be held on SDII.

[whatnot]

Thanks so much for your reports. That combined repeat cruiser party sounds like so much fun! Looking forward to hearing all about it. Wish I was there!

[CDreamer]

Yes, There are 83 passengers on this voyage....:::snip:::They are doing something different this voyage. The repeaters cocktail party is going to be combined with SD II when we are both in St Bart's tomorrow night. It will be held on SDII.

 

How fun!! Love that they are combining the two ships for the cocktail party and in St. Bart's, no less! Niiiice! :D

 

Congrats on your return to SD, Luvtojump! Who says you can't go home again? ;)

 

Thank you BOTH for checking in.... always love hearing all the details since we can't be there ourselves.

[Jim Avery]

Thanks for the posts. They really help on a chilly gloomy day up here. We anchored alongside SD1 in St. Barts also. Lots of back and forth between the crews but no combined party. That should be lots of fun. Keep up the good work.:D

[Zimmy]

It is just wonderful being docked together. We met some new friends in St Thomas prior to the cruise. We arranged for them to have dinner with us tonight on SD I. (They are on II). What fun! The combined repeaters party is tomorrow.

[Zimmy]

Only on SD. Last night we hosted our friends from SD II for dinner. Pierre was wonderful in helping to make that happen. Tonight at the joint repeaters party on SD II, Captain Bjarne walked over to us and asked us if we would like to stay on II for dinner with our friends. He arranged for a tender to pick us up and return us to SD I right before we sailed. I can't imagine something like this happening on any other cruise line.

 

When we returned to SD I, Sudesh was standing at reception. He had just arrived. What a great surprise!

[whatnot]

You are right! Only on Sea Dream! What a wonderful experience.

[CDreamer]

Only on SD. Last night we hosted our friends from SD II for dinner. Pierre was wonderful in helping to make that happen. Tonight at the joint repeaters party on SD II, Captain Bjarne walked over to us and asked us if we would like to stay on II for dinner with our friends. He arranged for a tender to pick us up and return us to SD I right before we sailed. I can't imagine something like this happening on any other cruise line. When we returned to SD I, Sudesh was standing at reception. He had just arrived. What a great surprise!

 

Pierre!! Capt Bjarne!! Sudesh!! Oh how we here all love - and miss - our SD family when we aren't with them!! :(

 

Zimmy, that is wonderful that you could stay on SDII and enjoy dinner with your friends -- and it really is a perfect example of how SD differs from all the rest!

 

Am really enjoying your updates, Zimmy. Thanks so much for checking in!