SD 1 - Jan 2012

The Splash!

As usual, Seadream did not disappoint. We had the most amazing 9 days I've ever had at sea. From the moment we boarded and were handed our welcome champagne, to our final good byes to the crew (bye Job & Felix - miss you!) it was sheer bliss!

Day 1 - San Juan

We arrived on a red eye in San Juan and went straight to the ship. We celebrated my friends big 50 that night and it was lovely. The crew had arranged for a private cocktail party in the Admirals suite for all 14 of us. Martinis + jet lag = wild night. After a fantastic dinner we all went to the TOY bar and danced till the wee hours.

Day 2 - Culebrita

SD I sailed the short distance to the outer San Juan island and we all made our way slowly over to the beach. There was an abandoned tank on the sand that was left over from the military days. Strange juxtaposition seeing the beautiful Caribbean sea & a tank...

QV - Feb 2011

Queen Victoria- Mexican Getaway  - Feb, 2011

The good:
It was great spending time with family & friends.

The cabins are nice, although the storage is terrible.

The bad:
Entertainment - Ugh, just awful. The show about colors which looked like it might be some sort of homage to Pageant of the Masters was especially vile.

Spa -Facilities were okay, but spa staff just wanted to sell product.  There's no better way to ruin a relaxing massage or pedicure than to have someone tell you that you must buy an overpriced lotion.

Crowds - Everything was crowded.  Lines for the shows, the pub, the pool bar.  On a ship this size I don't expect to feel crowded.  It was very confining I thought, although other guests said they thought it was "intimate"

The so-so:
Food - It was mostly fair to good.. 
     MDR was pretty good, service was just okay, no bonding with the staff (maybe because it was a short 4 day cruise?)
    Lido Buffet -Okay, nothing special.
    Golden Lion Pub - Very good.  Best food I had on board.  Too bad they aren't open for dinner.
    Queens Room for Tea - Scones were some of the best I'd ever had.

Conclusion:

All in all I don't think I'll sail on QV again.  While I love the QM 2, the QV left me cold.  It's hard to believe that they are both Cunard ships.  Oh well, different strokes....

Celebrity Century - December 2010

I just got back from my first cruise with Celebrity Cruises, on the Century.  First of all I'd like to say it's probably a very nice product, but I've been spoiled terribly by SeaDream Yacht Club.

The good. Celebrity did try hard to please:

1. Free Champagne on embarkation and for New Years
2. Cool towels and drinks when returning to the ship
3. Free tote-bags  - very nice!  (SD, are you listening?)
4. Cheese & crackers in the afternoon delivered to your cabin
5. Very extensive room service menu - Loved the eggs with asparagus
6. Balconies. 

There was lots to love.  And I did - mostly.

Now for the not so good.

1. Loud music all day long at the pool.  I like to listen to my iPod, or read quietly - not easy to do with the same soundtrack playing the same songs over & over.  I still have them stuck in my head - ugh!

2. Bartenders who could not make a decent drink , even at the martini bar.  I had a cosmo that I had to throw away and I'm not that picky! Same for a mojito I had on Coco Cay - it was vile!  We did have the drinks package so we had pre-paid for all inclusive drinks.  That meant I could reorder drinks if necessary, but I do hate being wasteful.

3.  Hard sell of products after my massage (I WAS relaxed before the spa therapist tried to force me to buy some gel that I had no use for).

Some things surprised me.

1. I LOVED the fake-o private island of Coco Cay.  Lots of chairs for everyone, plenty of quiet spots and BBQ lunch was included.  Very nice indeed!

2. The number of passengers, 1600 (including lots of kids) or so, was not that big of a deal either.  My group seemed to have no trouble finding venues that we liked that were not crowded at all. And by not crowded, I mean 20 people or less.  There were lots of cozy places to hang out. 

3. The artwork was fantastic!  It was like going to a very select private museum.  Warhol's, Hockney's, very artsy & edgy B&W photos from the 30's & 40's - great art!

Conclusion

All in all, I might sail on Celebrity again, but only if I were travelling with friends with children.  If it's just us adults - It's SD for me baby!  Celebrity offered a nice holiday and I feel like a churl for being such a snob, but SD really cannot be beat in the Caribbean.  At least, not yet!

Sea Dream Yacht Club 2010

We just got back from the October 31st 7-day cruise and it was fantastic!  Relaxing, eating drinking - all of my favorite things!  There were a few hiccups, mostly due to hurricane Earl. The captain had to change the order of the ports of call (no big deal to me) and we had some very rough seas in St. Barts (it took one tender 1 ½ hrs to get in) and we could only spend one day there.

I had the scariest ride of my life on the last tender in from St Barts. The tender was jumping 3-4 feet in the air and the stairs were swinging back and forth in a most alarming way. The SD crew was AMAZING! They got all 5 passengers back on board safely. My hands were shaking when I got back to the cabin, but I was so impressed by the way the crew handled the situation that I quickly settled down. OK, maybe the cocktails I had once back on board helped!

We missed Saba because of the heavy swells so we went to St Martin instead - better shopping so I was happy although I'm not sure my husband would say the same!

The saddest thing on this cruise was that there was no "Splash" at Jost Van Dyke because of the swells caused by the hurricane. We had to have the Splash on board. Crew was fantastic, but it's really not the same, is it?

We were traveling with some SD first timers and it would have been great if we could have made it to Jost. Captain tried to hold the splash at other locations, but it just was not possible. Oh, well BBQ was fantastic and served Topside.

We booked the Bali beds for our 2nd night on board and it was really lovely gazing up at the stars and drifting off to sleep after polishing off a night cap of Bailey's & milk.  We decided that the Bali beds are a great place to fall asleep, but not such a great to wake up so we ended up back in the cabin at about 3am.

The food was one of the highlights of the trip. Chef Tomasz is very talented. Do they ever give Michelin stars for a ship?  Maybe they should start.  I loved all the food on board and thought it was even better than last year. Do not miss all of the delicious soups that they serve.  The pumpkin soup and the soup with truffles are not to be missed.  I also really enjoyed the Indian specials that they offer on one night.  There's a potato and pea dish that is to die for. The wine selection served with dinners was a bit hit or miss so we ordered a couple of very nice bottles from the cellar.  The prices were actually very reasonable and we were able to try some wines that are just too expensive at home.

The wait staff was outstanding. We had a lot of fun with Felix and really enjoyed his dry sense of humor. We were also served by old friends, Brian, Jose and Mikey.  One of the best things about a SD cruise is how great the crew is. They all seem to be very happy - try to find a happy crew member on one of the mega-ships. It's not impossible, just very, very hard.

We did something that we have never done on any of our 10+ cruises.  We had dinner with Captain Bjarne Smorawski one night and cruise director Natalie another night.  We had a lot of fun both nights and it was wonderful getting some insight into how SD goes about selecting itineraries, tendering vs. docking and how they can change plans depending on what the weather is doing.

Housekeeping staff, especially Fatima, were wonderful as always.  She was able to clean our room very quickly so we never had that displaced feeling that you can get on the larger cruise ships.  That's another plus of the high crew to guest ratio - you never have to wait long for anything whether it be a clean room or a fresh drink.

I also can't say enough good things about the spa ladies.  I had another first on this cruise.  I actually fell asleep during my massage.  I love a relaxing, not invigorating massage, and boy did I get it!  It was sheer bliss.  I also had a great foot reflexology treatment with Ahn (sp?) that was the best I had ever had.  I felt like all of my aches just disappeared after she was done working on my feet.  It was great!

Rose at the concierge desk also made sure that they did some lovely things for our anniversary that were much appreciated, especially since we didn't give them any prior notice.  They decorated our cabin with balloons, rose petals and streamers and brought us an anniversary cake too.  It made us feel very special indeed.

There were only 48 passengers on our SD I sailing and 2 of them left part way thru, so then we were 46. It was a different dynamic than when we sailed last year with 100+ passengers on board. It was much quieter and the TOY bar had only 5-10 people each night after dinner.  Disco night was very quiet.  Only 6 of us listening to the music and no dancers at all.

Both cruises were very enjoyable and I'd be happy to sail again with 100 new friends or 48 new friends. It's just a different experience.

The trip was so wonderful in fact that all 4 of us made an open booking for next year. All in all a great time had by all and it's comforting to know that SD will do everything in their power to make your trip the best it can possibly be even if a nasty hurricane blows in.

Luxury Cruising



Cabin on the QM2



Cunard - I believe that the QM2 is the best ship out there for Trans-Atlantic crossings.  I think of it as the cheapest first class seat to Europe you could ever buy.  I honestly don't know if I'll ever fly east to Europe again.  Why, when I can take the QM2 and arrive in Southampton refreshed & ready to go?

SeaDream Yacht Club - Tops in the Caribbean.  No one does it better!  Bali beds, delish food, water toys, never waiting for a tender, small ports.  Probably my fav line to date.  See my November 2010 review for more details. 



Silversea - Silver Whisper

Silversea - First thing that pops into mind?  Luxury suites.  Some of the best staterooms at sea.  Every room has a bath tub.  A bath tub at sea? L.U.X.U.R.Y. The crowd was a little staid, but hey, I'll be old(er) one day and maybe I'll be back.  The food was fantastic too.



Celebrity - Very nice, maybe the one of best of the mainstream lines, but.... I just didn't love it.  Wish I had, the prices are great, cabins are decent and the service is wonderful.  I just felt underwhelmed at the end.  I may still try it again, if I travel with friends with kids. 

Princess - OK - not a luxury line but.....If you are travelling with a large group & don't want to spend tons of money, Princess delivers a pleasant holiday.  Not luxury, but ok.

Princess Cruises