Christmas 2011 on SD II

Gulped big and bought airline tickets roundtrip to St. Thomas for Christmas on SD II this weekend. So its time for a new thread and "official countdown" has begun. ohmiss, are you and DH still on board for this week? Jim, no snarkiness about STT - you promised last year. Have never ever paid this much for airfare, but have exhausted all FF miles and airline seats are filling up fast. Christmas on SD --- can't wait. Itinerary looks like Splash may be on Christmas Day on Prickly Pear :)

FT

Hi FT. No snark here.:D Glad you did it. Should be a ball of a Christmas with your family. Way better than buying them a new sweater or tie.:eek: We are in some change processes that are making it a bit difficult to plan at this time but we still are lurking for a Nov/Dec SD. If not, we can travel vicariously with you. It will be here before you know it.

j.

Hi FT. No snark here.:D Glad you did it. Should be a ball of a Christmas with your family. Way better than buying them a new sweater or tie.:eek: We are in some change processes that are making it a bit difficult to plan at this time but we still are lurking for a Nov/Dec SD. If not, we can travel vicariously with you. It will be here before you know it.

j.

yep, no presents, no holiday decorations to take up or down and no cooking:D Well worth the extortion for airfare!

FT

Hey FT,

We'll be there. Doing the b2b the week before and Christmas week. Not that I want to rush away the end of summer and fall but ..... let the countdown begin! Given how time is flying it will be here before we know it.

Hey FT,

 

We'll be there. Doing the b2b the week before and Christmas week. Not that I want to rush away the end of summer and fall but ..... let the countdown begin! Given how time is flying it will be here before we know it.

BtB at year end? Oh, how I wish . . .this is the 1st time in 15 yrs I've taken the week between Christmas and New Year's off and I swear I'm leaving the laptop at home . . . we'll see how that well that objective goes;) Look forward to seeing you and DH again.

BtB at year end? Oh, how I wish . . .this is the 1st time in 15 yrs I've taken the week between Christmas and New Year's off and I swear I'm leaving the laptop at home . . . we'll see how that well that objective goes;) Look forward to seeing you and DH again.

If i had to bet I'd put money on the laptop making the trip ....;)

If i had to bet I'd put money on the laptop making the trip ....;)

Safe bet I think. Besides, she has to keep us all informed.

My money is on no laptop going, but the IPad will be there for sure.

It's amazing how attached I've become to the iPad but I do hate the automatic corrections it makes. Not sure I will post daily with it. Maybe all moot since it went missing on this trip:eek: hopefully I will find it in the car where the luggage took a spill. Btw what is it with all the timeshare peddlers in vegas? It's worse than the beach peddlers in Jamaica!

It's amazing how attached I've become to the iPad but I do hate the automatic corrections it makes.

FT, you NEED to find your IPad so you can take US along on your next SD cruise!! ;)

Re: the auto correction issue: I was complaining about this very thing to my DH last night so we did a little research and found out how to turn off the auto corrections:

Go to Settings, General, Keyboard and then turn off either the Auto Correction or Auto Spelling or both.

Can't tell you how relieved I was to find out those annoying auto fill ins could be turned OFF! :D

CDreamer, thanks for that tip!

I am a techo addict, and now I love how the ipad has allowed me to somewhat "down-size." Last December, when I became an official SeaDreamer, I left my lap top behind, taking only the ipad with me (well, OK, the iphone, too). If I recall I was able to entertain myself, and hopefully at least some of you, with all the SD goings on. So very handy!

Getting journey-proud. . .we leave Monday morning for our Regent Alaskan adventure. I'm hoping there has been improvement on the Navigator since your postings, Ft & zqvol. Regardless, we plan on having fun, and celebrating life's gifts in a big way. Our 30th anniversary occurs while we're on the trip.

Sorry for the mini-hijack. :o

CDreamer, thanks for that tip!

 

. .we leave Monday morning for our Regent Alaskan adventure. :::snip::: Our 30th anniversary occurs while we're on the trip. Sorry for the mini-hijack. :o

You're welcome, Teresa - and congrats on your 30th! We spent our 30th on St Barts followed by a week on SD, and there's just something very special about celebrating your anniversary while on board a ship. Enjoy! :::and now back to the original thread ;)::::

FT, you NEED to find your IPad so you can take US along on your next SD cruise!! ;)

 

Re: the auto correction issue: I was complaining about this very thing to my DH last night so we did a little research and found out how to turn off the auto corrections:

 

Go to Settings, General, Keyboard and then turn off either the Auto Correction or Auto Spelling or both.

 

Can't tell you how relieved I was to find out those annoying auto fill ins could be turned OFF! :D

Found the IPad - so hopefully, it and not the Lap top will be making the next SD voyage. Thanks for the tip above. Still can't believe what airfare to STT cost us and will be really irritated if it drops now:rolleyes:

We are debating whether to take our snorkel gear. We usually do, but this makes this difference for me as to whether I go with just carry on or a checked bag. And since I know we are skipping the Baths excursion this trip - question -- is there worthy snorkeling at Prickly Pear or Anguilla? Not holding my breath on making Anguilla - haven't yet on all the other scheduled stops on SD, but just in case;)

FT

Found the IPad - so hopefully, it and not the Lap top will be making the next SD voyage. Thanks for the tip above. Still can't believe what airfare to STT cost us and will be really irritated if it drops now:rolleyes:

 

We are debating whether to take our snorkel gear. We usually do, but this makes this difference for me as to whether I go with just carry on or a checked bag. And since I know we are skipping the Baths excursion this trip - question -- is there worthy snorkeling at Prickly Pear or Anguilla? Not holding my breath on making Anguilla - haven't yet on all the other scheduled stops on SD, but just in case;)

 

FT

But if you do...... The beach and reefs at Shoal Bay East are way beautiful. Wished I had some gear.:D

But if you do...... The beach and reefs at Shoal Bay East are way beautiful. Wished I had some gear.:D

Agree with Jim.... Shoal Bay East is an amazingly beautiful beach.

Re: taking snorkeling gear along: guess it's kind of like what I say to my DH when he is thinking of taking his golf clubs on vacation - how much will you actually use them? If you think more than once then it's probably worth taking. Otherwise, rent when you get there or hang out under an umbrella w/ drink in hand and just play in the waves! :D

Just watch out where you eat on that beach - several of our CCers (including my DH) got VERY sick after eating at one of the beachside cafes! :eek:

several of our CCers got VERY sick after eating at one of the beachside cafes! :eek:

shudders at the memory

shudders at the memory

Pretty sure I know the beach bar you are talking about. Same happened to two on our stop there. I solve the problem by only drinking beer.:eek: No food.:D

I solve the problem by only drinking beer.

Suggest you BYOB.

But it IS a gorgeous beach. And contamination can happen anywhere. Heaven knows you're taking your chances in my kitchen.

And I get to look forward to my do-over cruise!

So I WOULD take the snorkel gear...and snorkel instead of eating or drinking. And take pictures with the Ipad so we can all be with you in spirit while we're hanging out with our crazy relatives at Christmas!

"one of the beachside cafes" . . . so that's supposed to help narrow it down? Is it obvious from looking at it? Will SD II staff know enough to warn us where not to eat? No one wants to publish the name?

I have the Ipad without the camera . . .but ZQ Vol takes thousands of pictures on a week trip (seriously). However, unless SD has sped up the internet, pictures go up after we return.

FT

"one of the beachside cafes" . . . so that's supposed to help narrow it down? Is it obvious from looking at it? Will SD II staff know enough to warn us where not to eat? No one wants to publish the name?

 

I have the Ipad without the camera . . .but ZQ Vol takes thousands of pictures on a week trip (seriously). However, unless SD has sped up the internet, pictures go up after we return.

 

FT

Hey, guessing which one is half the fun.:eek: Yall will have a blast.

No one wants to publish the name?

 

I'd be happy to "out" them if I remembered the name, as they have changed me from a "street-eater-anywhere" to "it doesn't matter which one it is, wait until you get back to the boat to eat." I know it can happen on the boat too--but at least they're trying. :)

Always appreciate your wonderful trip reports and ZQ Vol's beautiful pictures! Even if we have to wait until you get home.

Re: snorkel gear. I've snorkeled at Anguilla but not Prickly Pear. Shoal Bay East was absolutely the prettiest beach I've ever seen, but the snorkeling was marginal. There just wasn't that much to see, IMHO. Maybe I needed to be farther out?? And it doesn't look like Prickly Pear has much to offer as I recall. Soooooo, maybe just use SDs stuff?

The infamous beach bar is, I think, Madeariman. There were about three in a row and it had the most interesting menu (as it turned out, waaay more interesting than several of our group anticipated :eek:!!). Just looked it up on the web and I'm pretty sure that's it. Hamburgers and beer were good, but the salad/seafood was apparently the culprit. Gwen's is supposed to be good, but it's farther down the beach.

Vandrefalk

P.S. Thanks for the tip, CDreamer, on the auto correct feature -- Just turned mine off :D

Hi Karen. Thanks for the mind jog.:D Gwens was the place we were at and I could not remember the name. Old Timers.:eek: It was nice. Cold beer.

J.

All I remember is that when the taxi drops you off at Shoal Bay East, you walk down to the beach, and it is the one to the left facing the beach. Ernie's is on the opposite side. We SHOULD HAVE eaten there! It was a fairly good size open air restaurant, that did have a good sounding menu and it looked pretty nice. It also had a small gift shop on the side. It actually looked better than Ernie's Just can't remember the name, but Vandrefalk you are probably right! At any rate, the aftermath was quite bad!

Our usual option for the night before the cruise - Marriott on points is not available this time and hotel prices are ridiculous for what I consider 2 stars at the best. So, how bad is the Best Western Emerald Beach Resort? I got the best rate for all the equivalent starred hotels - but that close to the airport, I'm a bit nervous . .. . my other somewhat reasonable choices Secret Harbour and Sugar Bay are significantly more expensive and for just one night before when the next morning is usually spent wandering the streets of Charlotte - Amalie . . .

Traveling with the whole family so the dictator that I am has to consider other factors than my own preferences this time.;)

FT