Croatia cruise / first time questions?

[ylee1773]

Hello,

 

It'll be our first time on a SeaDream cruise. We will be on the cruise from Venice to Croatia and wondered if anyone had done the land excursions.  I wanted to book in advance to make sure we got spots and the 10% discount.  However, I understand that there may be some more modest activities (bike riding, going to the market with the chef) that are free so not sure which land activities to choose (aside from the ones where you sail around little islands).  What time do the excursions generally start?  Is there time to eat dinner in the city when there is a late evening departure?

 

In the ports, is there an opportunity to swim off the boat?

 

Is doing a hike in Zadar's Paklenica National Park going to be tough in the heat?

 

How bad is the seasickness in the Mediterranean?  Do we need to bring motion sickness pills?

 

Sorry for all of the simple questions, but would appreciate any responses.

 

Thank you!

[TrapperZimmy]

Since we haven't done that itinerary on SeaDream, the only question I can address is your last one.  Seasickness, or should I say rough seas, can occur anywhere and at any time.  We've been in water that is notoriously rough, e.g. Bay of Biscay, and felt nothing.  We've sailed all around the Med from Lisbon to Alexandria and the only rough water we have encountered was a short trip from Haifa to Ashdod (on Azamara).  And that was due to a storm.  SeaDream rides well, so being a small vessel is not really a factor.  That being said, we always bring enough Bonine for each day of the cruise.  I usually take one before embarkation and then only when it gets really choppy, which is rare.  After our first cruise on SeaDream, where just about everyone was sick coming out of San Juan, we've done over 20 sailings without incident.

[garysarah]

We've done Athens to Venice,  which included Dubrovnik,  Hvar, and Rovinj.  We didn't have a chef walk, unfortunately. We did an overnight in Dubrovnik where we could have eaten in town. It is unlikely you will stay late enough to eat out in the evening unless it is an overnight.  We did the Hvar Island discovery tour, which was good. They generally start around 9am.  You will be tendering in. I don't recall swimming on that particular trip.  Enjoy!

 

[js2x]

We have done Croatia on Seadream a few times. It is one of the very best itineraries. We had meals in a number of towns -probably in every port- and lots of the crew is Croatian so they had very good suggestions. I dont recall taking any excursions but everything is so walkable. (I personally have no desire to get on a bus when everything is so awesome the minute you get of the yacht. We have been on Seadream about 7 times, with 3 more booked, and we only take an excursion when we really want to experience something that we can’t get to on our own.) I also don’t recall any swims off the boat while in port but there are tons of beaches. You will have a spectacular time!

[stan01]

 

Croatia is Seadream at its best when they stop in places like Korcula, Rovinj, Hvar, or Trogir that bigger ships do not go to.  We just walked and explored in the historic centers of these coastal villages without organized tours.  If you let us know what your specific stops are you'll get better advice.

 

If you are prone to sea sickness I'd just plan to bring your usual supplies.  You won't know if you need it until you get there.  

 

Our experience on Seadream is that weather and itinerary permitting the Captain will always try to slow or stop the ship so that passengers can fully enjoy cocktails and dining outdoors in the evenings.  It's one of the things that makes Seadream different.

 

We haven't been on Seadream in a few years so I probably should let someone with more recent experience talk about the marina and how often they still use it for swimming in the ocean.  We were once on board with the owner (Mr. Brynestad) and his family in Croatia.  He likes to swim in the ocean so that was done several afternoons during the cruise.  On those occasions it was announced that we'd be leaving a little early to find a good spot for swimming.  They used to even stop in the middle of a transatlantic crossing to let passengers swim off the marina there, but again not sure if that is still done in 2024.

 

[CKforensic]

We sailed on SeaDream from Dubrovnik to Venice last summer and it was incredible. We had been to Croatia on Viking and Royal Caribbean in the past and SeaDream is the only way to experience it properly. I would assume that your itinerary would be very similar to ours and I can confirm that we were able to use the water toys and slide in Rovinj. I seem to recall that they put the toys out in another port too (possibly Korcula). There is enough to do in walking or bike-riding distance where it is not necessary to take formal excursions. The only one we took was a buggy one in Korcula. It was fun but Korcula is beautiful and would be fine just exploring on your own. 
 

SeaDream Activities Manager or Yacht Director often arranges informal group walks/hikes in some ports and these are great. We did one in Hvar up to the fortress and another in Rovinj to a beautiful park and small beach area. 
 

The itinerary was amazing and we prefer the Dalmatian Coast over the French or Italian Riviera. Enjoy!