Odyssey comments, photos, 12/22/18-1/5/19, eastern Caribbean

[Catlover54]

1. A comment on shared tables:

One of the things DH missed on this cruise was enough opportunities to join stranger pax at a communal table.  Between the large families dining together, the few nights we dined late, and the Thomas Keller nights, there were only a few nights where there was potential opportunity to join new people, but on all but one night  when we came early, the hostess said there were no people who were interested in sharing.  

We got an invite to join a certain crew member’s table our last night on board, but declined as we were busy packing and did not care for that person’s style,  either. However, we had not proactively sought to alert hostesses in advance as we never knew when we would get to the MDR and had not thought it would be necessary.

 

When a cruise has more couples and solos, rather than groups, odds are greater there will be people interested in sharing. The one night we joined was fun, met a couple interesting people, as we usually do.

 

We did a lot off the ship during the day as the area was new for us, and we like AC on the ship, and DH goes to the gym while I recover in the tub.  So we did not really have time or desire to  hang around in the daytime bars , which are only outdoor, though I did go and have some drinks solo in the shade on my own and people-watched, friendly bartenders.

 

2. I think I need to do a quiet cruise where all I do is hang out on the ship, instead of always being on the go trying to see things. DH is not fond of more than one sea day per week as he runs out of things to take new pictures of (though he often finds something, e.g.,one day he just took pictures of ship puddles and angles).

 

I enjoy the visuals on ships most early in the morning when I can quietly walk around or nibble on a croissant , or late at night when trying to work off a few kcal of  a chocolate souffle by going up and down to the deserted sundeck, or when most people are scurrying around indoors doing what they need to do to get ready for whatever they are getting ready for.  But then of course I do not want to miss out on experiencing the ports,  the talented performers, the special events, and people- watching, yes, even including the big groups of multigenerational families who travel and have fun together, cohesive units.

 

 I had a milestone birthday this cruise, and will probably also be retiring soon as health issues become more uncertain, so that may be the time to take a long, lazy, “just enjoy the luxury ship” cruise.

 

The forward hot tub on deck 6 and the two aft hottubs on deck 5 behind the club are lovely quiet and almost always uncrowded areas in the morning to warm up stiff muscles and joints.

 

 

 

 

[offtoalaska]

Catlover54,  thank you for the details on your departure experience at SXM.  We'll steel ourselves for a long day.

But as one unknown philosopher once said "if you set your expectations low enough you will never be disappointed."

Love your posts and photos.

[Catlover54]

Offtoalaska, I often post things blunter than most,  to help people set some expectations low, and thus faciliitate not being disappointed! 😎

 

Many people at SXM looked reasonably comfortable even when sitting on endtables or the floor .  The  rum drinks probably helped their mood, as did their younger ages and likely good health, but I did not want to use the rest rooms more often than medically necessary and needed a clear head for reroute strategies ( I travel more than DH so I am the one who knows more what to do when we have problems).

 

I have chronic health issues that make me sensitive to

prolonged times standing in lines,  hard chairs and  loud strident noises, ( the last hour, as the son was setting and the announcements continued blaring, I actually started getting dizzy and worried I would need to sample St. Martin’s health care system) , so may have been more picky than others, but I did see quite a few equally unhappy-looking seniors ( a couple in wheelchairs looked more miserable than I felt) and even relatively healthy and patient DH was also very, very unhappy with the venue.  Bring edible snacks, cushions, kleenex in case TP runs low, extra charger for phones and printed info to call airlines in case you need to reroute a connection, ear plugs or ear blocks, have extra essential meds on hand, and perhaps a paper book too. Get there early to get seats but not so early the checkin is closed ( Jet Blue has few flights, Delta and American have more so are open earlier).

If you can have Luggage Forward or similar get your luggage to and from the ship, even better, you will feel more mobile and liberated

 

Also, the  ship had mindfulness etc. trainer Andrew Weil on board, if you want to learn deep breathing and relaxation techniques to prepare 

 

 

 

[dbackus]

My wife and I were on the Barbados to St. Martin half of Catlover54's cruise. We enjoyed the cruise immensely, however that being said, this being our second Seabourn cruise, we were somewhat taken aback to see the amount of children on board. Our first Seabourn cruise (Sept 2016, Mediterranean) had no children on board.  On this cruise, unfortunately there were many occasions were the atmosphere around the two pools and three of the four hot tubs was more resembling summer camp, with children jumping in the pools and out to the hot tubs with little regard as to whom was around.  Perhaps if the parents paid attention to their children's behavior rather than sitting back with other parents enjoying their peace and quite, it would not have been quite as bad. We also found that the bow hot tub was used primarily by teenagers.  Please do not take this that I am anti-child, I have four of my own (all now in their 20's) and cruised with them on Royal Caribbean and Princess and we all had a great time. Nor do I particularly blame the kids as Seabourn is not really a cruise line tailored toward the youngsters. 

The only other issue we had was that due to the size of some of the families on board, service suffered if you were seated near their tables as the waitstaff was overwhelmed by the amount of people sitting at those tables.  If you were not seated near these tables, the service was excellent.

All that being said, we had a great time, the staff was terrific. We enjoyed the comedian and the "mentalist".   I still cannot figure out how he made my ring and the rings of two other gents join together to become a chain and then apart again.  The New Year's Eve dance party in the Grand Salon was a blast.  

We will definitely cruise again on Seabourn.

[Isklaar]

12 minutes ago, dbackus said:

My wife and I were on the Barbados to St. Martin half of Catlover54's cruise. We enjoyed the cruise immensely, however that being said, this being our second Seabourn cruise, we were somewhat taken aback to see the amount of children on board. Our first Seabourn cruise (Sept 2016, Mediterranean) had no children on board.  On this cruise, unfortunately there were many occasions were the atmosphere around the two pools and three of the four hot tubs was more resembling summer camp, with children jumping in the pools and out to the hot tubs with little regard as to whom was around.  Perhaps if the parents paid attention to their children's behavior rather than sitting back with other parents enjoying their peace and quite, it would not have been quite as bad. We also found that the bow hot tub was used primarily by teenagers.  Please do not take this that I am anti-child, I have four of my own (all now in their 20's) and cruised with them on Royal Caribbean and Princess and we all had a great time. Nor do I particularly blame the kids as Seabourn is not really a cruise line tailored toward the youngsters. 

 

 

 

 

 

We take a holiday cruise on Seabourn most years, and there are always a number of children on board. We would prefer to sail at a different time of year when there are likely to be fewer kids around, but for the next few years we're stuck to taking our main annual holiday at Christmas because of work commitments. As you say, the rest of the year there are few or none.

We were on Ovation this time and had 27 kids on the cruise.  Completely agree with you that the parents should be paying more attention to how the kids are behaving. You're quite right, it's not the fault of the kids. There's very little else for them to do on a Seabourn cruise.  

[wripro]

Why is anyone surprised that there are children aboard during a Christmas cruise? That is why the most important rule to me is NEVER  cruise during the holidays or in July and August.

[jdk-atlga]

We were on the Odyssey the week before: Barbados to SXM. There were two babies on board and that was it. For kids (at least that I saw). So, like wripro said, it was the holiday, not SB.

[dbackus]

I was not blaming Seabourn or the kids, as I mentioned in my post. I tried to outthink the general public.  Since the cruise did not end until 5 January, I thought that all the kids would need to be back in school on 2 January as in my town. Sigh, live and learn.

[wripro]

2 hours ago, dbackus said:

I was not blaming Seabourn or the kids, as I mentioned in my post. I tried to outthink the general public.  Since the cruise did not end until 5 January, I thought that all the kids would need to be back in school on 2 January as in my town. Sigh, live and learn.

Parents who are selfish enough to bring kids on to Seabourn will  not hesitate to keep their kids out of school for a couple of extra days. After all, it is their own interest which motivates them rather than that of their kids. Otherwise they'd be on Disney or RC.

[jdk-atlga]

Agreed - but (at least in a large part of the South) most schools didn't start back until Jan 7. With the balanced school calendars seemingly in favor (School year starts first week of August), you can expect vacation/holiday weeks anywhere from Sept through May. It's not like the old days...

[Catlover54]

On 1/9/2019 at 11:57 AM, dbackus said:

My wife and I were on the Barbados to St. Martin half of Catlover54's cruise. We enjoyed the cruise immensely, however that being said, this being our second Seabourn cruise, we were somewhat taken aback to see the amount of children on board. Our first Seabourn cruise (Sept 2016, Mediterranean) had no children on board.  On this cruise, unfortunately there were many occasions were the atmosphere around the two pools and three of the four hot tubs was more resembling summer camp, with children jumping in the pools and out to the hot tubs with little regard as to whom was around.  Perhaps if the parents paid attention to their children's behavior rather than sitting back with other parents enjoying their peace and quite, it would not have been quite as bad. We also found that the bow hot tub was used primarily by teenagers.  Please do not take this that I am anti-child, I have four of my own (all now in their 20's) and cruised with them on Royal Caribbean and Princess and we all had a great time. Nor do I particularly blame the kids as Seabourn is not really a cruise line tailored toward the youngsters. 

The only other issue we had was that due to the size of some of the families on board, service suffered if you were seated near their tables as the waitstaff was overwhelmed by the amount of people sitting at those tables.  If you were not seated near these tables, the service was excellent.

All that being said, we had a great time, the staff was terrific. We enjoyed the comedian and the "mentalist".   I still cannot figure out how he made my ring and the rings of two other gents join together to become a chain and then apart again.  The New Year's Eve dance party in the Grand Salon was a blast.  

We will definitely cruise again on Seabourn.

 

Yes, I agree with the “summer camp” descriptions many times, but in the early morning, when the kids were sleeping in, the hot tubs were usually empty.  DH would look at the bow bridge view from the TV ( when it worked, blurry) to see if anyone was in the bow tub before heading for it.

 

Some of the groups were indeed huge, and we experienced the same thing you did at dinner regarding service several times, other times was ok even near a big table. I think some groups tend to get on a  “strength in numbers” power trip and let their usual concern for others around them evaporate as they try to have a good time, imbibe, and let it all hang out, which slows up existing staff work.

 

Many families were not from U.S. so that might explain not being back in school, and at least one family I overheard talking had private tutors for their very privileged offspring, so they have more flexibility.

 

Another issue was difficulty with balcony sitting ( weather was usually perfect for it) only very early morning and very late worked for me ( we were on the go most AMs in port)  as we were surrounded be families who regularly ate and talked loudly about mundane things  on the deck in the morning,  and later in the day drank out there too, a couple times also dropping dishes ( I heard the shattering glass) and then giggling about it. The worst was when three families were out at once, quite a multilingual multidirectional cacophony to take in while I was still uncaffeinated!

 

I would rather be next to a couple ancient smokers, who would ( before the ban) often silently get their nicotine fix outside, the breeze would whisky the smoke away quickly, and there was not much talk, or only subdued talk.

 

We also enjoyed the comedian that leg of the cruise ( Brad Upton), and the mentalist.  Had I known you were a CC guy, after the show we would have come to say hello!

DH was frustrated he could not figure out the trick, as he always needs to know how things work.

[Catlover54]

A few more from Iles des Saintes:

( I am not sure how the white bird got stuck under the stick, or how he felt about it — do birds need “safe spaces” the same way cats do?)

 

 

[Catlover54]

 

Day 6, Bequoia

This is a port in a beautiful setting that is promising, but needs more cruise ship infrastructure ( i.e., it is not as inviting for strolling and upscale lunching as the Iles  were)  .

I awoke to see a guy in a little rowboat fiercely rowing away, not sure where he was going.

 

We then rode in a caravan of open air truck style taxis on an excursion called “Beautiful Bequoia” through residential areas and near a fish market,  up to various view spots,  where three happy-appearing, enthusiastic and hard-working tour ladies open-air serenaded us, harmonizing with the sky and the sea below.

 

Roads were a bit tight and twisty.

 

 

 

[2SailingNomads]

Your picture of the roads and taxi reminds me of St. John's - my favorite island in the Caribbean. 

[Catlover54]

 

Late on the Bequoia excursion, 

 

We also visited a turtle sanctuary on the Atlantic side with rough waves and winds, accompanied by narrations from the 83-year-old enthusiastic founder who has been running the place over twenty years. He does love these strange beasts.  Most of the babies die.

 

We ended back in town with the beloved brightly colored crayon houses, clothing, and boats and benches,

 

[Catlover54]

 

 

Later,  back on board, a geologist professor enrichment speaker, spent 45 minutes talking about sand and beach composition structure and showing us pictures of black, white, and pink beaches around the world.  He emphasized the importance of parrot fish excreta in creating 85% of local beach sand (!).  He had previously talked about volcanoes. Unfortunately his attempts at humor and coolness fell flat, but  it was obvious he loves his subject of expertise. Some pax had a bit of trouble keeping up with the scientific aspects of the talk, though they did try to concentrate.

 

 

.                                               

Entertainment in the evening  included a second performance by a ventriloquist with a wise-cracking, off-color “Jamaican” puppet named “Mathilda”, very politically incorrect and not for those who are easily offended.

 

People were beautifully dressed and listened intently:

[Catlover54]

 

Day 7  St. Lucia, Castries

 

We enjoyed an enchanting  “Aerial Tramway” excursion through the rain forest, which included a half hour moderately strenuous uphill, invigorating shaded hike, highly recommended if you are fit enough to slowly walk uphill a few flights.  One of the passengers had her baby with her.

It is in the same location as the ziplining excursion. 

 

[Catlover54]

The facility also offers a very strenuous 3-hour hike. .  Fortunately we did not see any of the four kinds of snakes on the island, and they are rarely seen.

We did encounter luminscent birds:

 

 

The only downside was that drivers and guides talked a lot, and loudly, as is the regional style, about everything you did and did not want to hear while trying to enjoy the serene ride in nature.

[Catlover54]

 

 Local color included heavy traffic on tight and twisty roads with close  vehicle passes; an airport runway right near a cemetery (per the driver, where you ‘check in but don’t check out’); colorful pastel houses dotting the hillsides (many modest but immaculately maintained, others falling apart with people sitting in front of them surrounded by loose trash they appeared oblivious to); and assorted small businesses selling everything from human hair to computers and general practice services in the same venue.

 

 

Here and there were  signs advertising wifi services and beauty supplies interspersed with public service announcements, e.g., signs encouraging a crackdown on child abuse, how to avoid getting HIV, and anti-littering.

[Catlover54]

 

We returned at 1:45, i.e., 15 minutes before the Colonnade would close.  We headed  straight over to the Patio Grill to order a Yountville  sausage dog, but there were no tables that weren’t in the blazing sun.  So back to the Colonnade we went, where there was a frenetic scrum for seating, with no assistance from overwhelmed staff.  The final blow to potential seating came when it started pouring outside, so outdoor diners scrambled inside.  

 

I had meanwhile put some tasty looking meatloaf and cauliflower au gratin on my plate, but DH was looking irritated with the seating (or non-seating) arrangements. So I suggested we take plates and eat in our suite. He did not want to queue up for food,  and there were no trays, so  we just tried to find a second set of silverware  from him, but there were no available staff to ask (they were running ragged) and no extra silverware was  openly available.  We finally  grabbed some from the bar style seating area where the area already needed cleaning up and resupply, and fled from the din to our suite, scooping up “Christmas pudding” ( Stollen) slices from the display on the way out.  I poured myself a long vodka based foofy drink, ordered a room service hot dog for DH, and while he waited, I tided him over with an emergency small can of Pringles I keep handy on cruises for such occasions.  Our mood got better fairly quickly 🙂

 

The MDR had been closed for lunch every day, including that day, ( except for a Galley lunch day) which aggravated the problem, and was  also closed for breakfast, though we cared less about that as we either order small room service or I would get croissants from the Observation lounge with my early morning coffee.

 

We dined in The Restaurant again in the evening, as Earth and Ocean was again  full very early. Good food, good service on this evening.

 

 

 

[Catlover54]

The evening show was new to the Odyssey, “Latin Quarter”, a high energy performance by the four  SB singers and two dancers.   I don’t know where the  90-pound Ukrainian  born dancer, Anastasia Mesentseva, with her extremely thin legs and Audrey Hepburn physique generates enough ergs to keep up her part of the performances. She looked very much the delicate ballerina suffering from croissant deficiency, and was my favorite performer this cruise.

I saw this show twice, primarily to watch her a second time ( her partner Philip, from Belorus, was also very good). My aunt had been a prima ballerina in the Soviet Union,  and  I thought of her life a bit when I watched Anastasia and her vibrant dancing .  The aunt had had to dance government approved conventional ballets like Swan Lake, and I suspect she would have enjoyed smiling and  flaunting a sexy and innovative “Latin Quarter” style number in front of some grim-looking apparatchiks.

 

Anastasia and Philip:

 

 

 

[Catlover54]

Day 8, Barbados ( end of first leg of cruise, start of second)

 

Many people were disembarking, many others like us were staying on.  

 

It was very crowded at the cruise terminal that morning, which led to some pre-excursion confusion. Our tickets said we were to gather in the pier terminal, so when we disembarked the ship and went outside, we were not surprised when a SB rep smilingly waved us onto a shuttle bus “to the terminal” after DH and I told her we were on the “Discover Barbados” excursion and showed her our tickets.  We realized something was wrong when we noticed some pax pulling rollaboards onto the bus and the ‘boss people around with authority  whether or not I know what I am doing’  local bus driver drove a short distance and then commanded that “the two with tickets” get off the bus  at another part of the port.  

 

Several of us said we also had tickets, not just “two” , and he just kept repeating himself even when there was clearly confusion about who was to go where.  Our lost group of half a dozen got off, and then tried to find out where to go.  Port authority personnel kept trying to ask us if we had our “luggage”, to direct us to the airport.  An elderly British lady in our group affirmed “I’m not ready to go yet! “ 

 

Finally, after we protested in chorus and tried to explain our problem,  our group was walked  and bussed by the same driver back to exactly where we had started, and joined the patiently waiting remaining people on a mini-bus in a parking lot around a corner from where we had disembarked.  No one from SB was accompanying this excursion, and it was the misdirection by SB when we disembarked which had caused the confusion.

So, though you can usually rely on easy location of where your tour leaves from after you get off the ship, you need to be alert and not shy and repeatedly check and doublecheck that where you are being told to go makes sense.

[Catlover54]

The “Discover Barbados” tour is fine for a first-timer. 

 

It started on the crowded and glitzy west side of the island ( not my favorite), where the guide pointed out a golf course, Rhianna’s condo building, and very expensive luxury hotels before stops at Bathsheba beach, St. John’s parish church (which has a beautiful graveyard looking over the sea  behind it), and an unfortunately rushed tour and quick but tasty lunch stop at the 300-year-old Sunbury Plantation House.  This  was previously a sugar estate and is now a museum with period furnishings and an interesting collection of photography and optical equipment.

 

The east side of the island ( less populated due to lack of fresh water and more difficult weather, wilder waves not as good for swimming) was to us the most beautiful and where we would head if we returned.

 

 

 

 

[Catlover54]

Both the Silver Spirit and the Silver Wind were in port and we shared our crowded plantation tour and luncheon sitdown to flavorful ham and fish with some of their pax.

 

[PAULINELESLEY]

Again thank you Catlover for the photos and your information on your ports of call it sounds chaotic in Barbados I hope it is all sorted by the time we join the ship. Looking forward to your next port of calll.