vandrefalk

Interesting. We managed to do waaaay better with SS than on our own for our Aug RT London -- business class no less! Guess your mileage may vary!

Vandrefalk

Yes, they are on I -- unusual for them, I guess, as I thought they usually did II.

Jim, have thoroughly enjoyed your commentary on the Viking WC! Part of it I've seen -- part of it I've no interest in -- but your descriptions are great! Now that you've discovered you like sea days, think about joining BB and us on the April 2019 SD II crossing to Lisbon!

Are you really going to see HH in London? We'll be there in august (being unfaithful on Silversea) but don"t think we'll see them.

Vandrefalk

Katbird93, this is the "worst" trip in terms of changing itineraries we've had in years. Usually, it's because of crowds or too many ships. I think this was unusual because of the weather effects from the huge storms in the northeast. In Italy, we had to change our Cinque Terre excursion because of seas -- but we went by land instead. Flexibility is the key!!

SWFLAOK, we heard II was having similar issues and sorry you had to miss the splash onshore as well! I have to say this was the smallest on board account bill we've ever had:D

And, yes, I'm sure you figured out the Brit.......

Jealous of those boarding today!

Vandrefalk

And the changes continue! Capt Steiner says it’s the worst he’s seen in 14 years. We did make it to St Kitts and did the tour and then on to St Barths. DH did the walk with Matt and reported back to me, so I didn’t go in. Shell Beach is good and the restaurant replacing Dos Brazil seems to be doing a good business.

We also made it to Anguilla, but anchored at Blowing Point rather than Sandy Ground. Zimmy, we’ve always been able to get in to Anguilla but never Anegada! Anyway, SD set up a tour where we went to Shoal Bay and had chairs and umbrellas. We’ve always taken a cab but I was just as happy to have SD take care of it. Water was very rough (though beautiful) so no one snorkeled and few went into the water. Announced last evening that BVI still closed so we came over to St Martin. They tried tendering from starboard this morning but it was just too rough. Oddly, the water doesn’t look that bad (no whitecaps, for example) and not much wind, but the swells are brutal! Tenders now leaving from deck 2 Portside but it still looks sporty to me! So no visit to Phillipsburg — there are two big ships in and folks who did go said it was a crowd. SD 1 is at St Barths and I understand

they’ve had lot of changes as well.

So back to STT in the morning — bags already partially packed :-(

Good news is we booked the spring 2019 crossing from Barbados to Lisbon and then the following week. Bad news is it is 13 months away! Oh, well.

Ship looks good — passenger mix was good — no complaints except for the swells! Now back to reality!

Vandrefalk

Correction — Jamie is HM and Silvio is MD, not the other way around. Duh.

More changes! Last night we were all set up for the Captain’s welcome reception at the pool when some rather large swells came through as well as some rather large rain drops. Hot tub overflowed, even though they had lowered it earlier. Seems the large swells in the BVI are finding their way to us. We even had a waterspout on the horizon. Caviar stayed outside but everyone (including the Captain) moved into the lounge. Poor Sammy wasn’t sure where he was supposed to play, LOL! Still managed to have dinner topside.

Today, they sent a tender around to Chrishi, but too rough to manage the beach party. We had the splash on board, which was fine. Still getting lots of roll — we’ve been told that we’re on the way to St Kitts to see what conditions are there. Supposed to be there for prt of the day tomorrow — would like that as it’s one island we haven’t seen and we were going to take a tour. However, one thing you learn early on on SD is to be flexible! Safety first. So we may go to St Barts or who knows. Also have heard that Anguilla may be dicey, so we’ll just hang loose and see where we end up. Only sure thing is that we’ll be back in STT on Saturday. Crew is amazingly adaptable!

Casino is getting some action and the piano bar was busier as well — have not heard any great singers yet this trip, but did win a few dollars so I can afford the taxi back to the hotel!

All for now!

Vandrefalk

Cover-ups are fine for lunch — yoga pants as well, I think. Daytime dress is pretty casual. Nice of you to sk!

Vandrefalk

Lots to report! We stayed at Emerald Beach, which was perfectly acceptable. Some folks went to Lindbergh Bay and immediately left! EB was clean, pretty, room was great, restaurant and bar had great views. We’ve only stayed in St Thomas a couple of times and some 80% of the hotels are still closed. So EB was just fine and we’ll stay for one more night at the end of the cruise — normally go straight home, but differences in air fare made staying another night cost effective!

Got to Crown Bay an hour early, thinking shops would be open — nope! So we just hung out and talked to the iguanas who were enjoying the sun. Boarded right at 2 pm (first on board!) and were first to check in and first to get front bali bed! Was unpacked and back in the. lounge by 2:45 — a record. Ship looks good, but they still haven’t fixed the scrawled looking logo on port side. Didn’t see any of the issues we saw in Lisbon, although one guest said they had sealed the tile in the bathroom and it had a terrible odor. Our AC works fine and no other issues we’ve seen.

However, the schedule has changed considerably! There are 12-15’ swells coming into the BVI, so we missed Virgin Gorda. I understand it’s a mess anyway and Bitter End basically doesn’t exist. We did see a lot of damage in STT and a LOT of blue tarps. So we are at Charleston, Nevis today. Several excursions went off but we’ve stayed on board (been here several times — and it’s Sunday, so nothing open). Seas are deceptively rough even here. The tender is bouncing around a lot and banging into the ship — one woman fell on the platform and scraped her leg, but seemed to be ok and went ahead and got on the tender. They are doing water sports, however.

Tomorrow is the beach party at Chrishi Beach (we were there last fall). Jost apparently isn’t ready for a beach party but we will be there on Friday — to spend money at Soggy, I guess! Happy to do that :-)

Tuesday, we are in St Kitts — then to St Barths, Anguilla, and Jost and back to St Thomas. SD I is going from Barbados to St Thomas, so the Brits will jump ship and take II back to Barbados. We, on the other hand, will have to head back to reality.

Capt Steiner is the master — first officer MacLeod is onboard! We haven’t seen him in several years. Silvio is hotman; Jaime MD; Eric sommelier; Matt club director; Greg activities. Gareth, Tudor are two of the bartenders. Waiters Jerry, Jasper will be familiar to many. Sammy and Ray are music. Alistair is chef — last nights pepper crusted filet was one of the best I’ve had. Mussels for lunch today, of course. And Sudesh is on board! 90 guests on board, many of whom seem to be new. One of the very few times we haven’t known someone on board — WhatNot and CDreamer, Zimmy, et al — wish you were here! Will be interesting to see how the club members party goes.

So that’s it for now!

Vandrefalk

Right on, Trapper! Although bed location varies even on one side of the ship. On the crossing, we were deck 4 port and I was next to the window. This trip, we are 3 port and the bed is opposite! Can be disconcerting in the middle of the night :-)

We always use a TA. I haven’t seen prices come down in a long time, but several years ago, we were able to get the reduction. Not sure it happens often now!

Vandrefalk

The Brit is on the other ship and jumping to ours after. We’ll wave in passing and try to leave some bubbles for them!

Vandrefalk

Head to STT on Friday! Anyone else joining? Be interesting to see how far some of the islands have come since we were there last fall. We are supposed to go to Chrishi Beach, but the splash should be at Jost. Also supposed to go to North Sound, Virgin Gorda, so will be able to see what is left of Bitter End and Saba Rock.

Will report as I can!

Vandrefalk

That's the same definition I found for bali beds -- will be on one in just a couple of days!

Jim, still enjoying your trip reports on the Viking site -- bored yet?

Vandrefalk

Ragnar,

DH almost had an assignment to Bovington back in the day, so he is really looking forward to it. Suggestions welcome!

Not sure we’ll make it to Samur any time soon, but will keep it in mind!

Vandrefalk

Jim

FINALLY have had time to catch up with your great adventures! Been busy, including a trip to Cocoa Beach where we actually saw a launch — not the big one by Musk but impressive nevertheless.

Am thinking part of a WC might be the only way I get to AUS and NZ. Ship is much larger than I am used to so how does it feel? You’ve done large ships before but since we swore off mass market, largest we’ve done

is regent navigator at 490. Doing Silversea (at 296) around UK in August — Ragnar, guess who is going to Bovington!

Have also noted that the owner’s mother’s name is the same as my middle name ! Good Norwegian name!

I loved the sea days on SD on the fall crossing and seriously thinking about the westbound crossing in spring 2019. Will be back on SD in 2+ weeks.

So what is the best part so far? People, food ,location, ship? Can you make it til May?

Hope Lois is feeling much better — give her our best!

Vandrefalk

Put your carry on bags inside your suitcases — they should fit. Then you can put everything under the bed!

Vandrefalk

BB

We did Copper & Lumber back in 2008 (when I broke my leg:eek:) and took a cab to St John. Not a bad ride at all and easily doable. English Harbour is delightful!

Vandrefalk

ok - I know a lot of hotels aren’t open yet (witness Zimmy and Trapper having to stay in Miami) but we are sailing in early March. Does anyone know anything about Mafolie? Or Emerald Beach? Those look like the most likely for pre and post stays. Suggestions welcome!

Vandrefalk

Jim,

Will be interested in following you! I can't quite imagine being gone for 4 months so will look forward to your comments and feelings about it. Think 3 or 4 weeks is probably about all I could handle -- and the bill-paying/mail issues would likely overwhelm me! Anyway, have a wonderful time and keep us posted! Best to Lois!

vandrefalk

Our latest pajamas! Most of you should "get it" :-)

I'm not but I had heard there were several applicants both from within and outside the company. If he is on Zimmy's cruise, she'll have to give us a full report.

Jim -- email me please -- need to ask you something. screennameatlivedotcom

Vandrefalk

Yes, Bobby’sGirl, his name starts with an “S”!

Tomorrow we head home — although I suspect there will be a glitch with our reservations…….

Remainder of the TA was great — good bunch of folks and everyone seemed to get along just fine! As is always the case, the dynamics totally change when a new group boards. 31 of us stayed but another 59 joined us for the 4 days — and we have KIDS!!! Probably about 10 of them but the good news is that they are extremely well behaved and one (who just celebrated his 18th birthday) has a fabulous voice! Fred is happy.

The food and service have been wonderful as always. The appearance of the ship — not so much. Those of you who have had issues in the past will understand, but they have expanded exponentially on this cruise. The simple fact is that they scheduled too much work for too short a time in dry dock. Add to that poor program management and a laissez-faire attitude on the part of portuguese workers and you have a recipe for unhappy guests. I have too many things to say to Miami to use the comment card this time — it will be the worst review I have ever given SD in terms of the appearance of the yacht. We had few problems with AC, etc. but the ship is just not up to the standard we are used to. Won’t keep us away and it’s all fixable but it is annoying.

Splash was great — new location on Nevis (Tiki was there today, I think). Nice set-up although I could have wished for a few more trees! A little extra work for the crew as the facilities were not quite as extensive as Jost or Prickley Pear, but a good substitute! Water sports today in St Bart’s and lunch at Le Select!

Must go pack and back to “normal” life!

Vandrefalk

See my response on activities on the latest thread — certainly no reason to be bored! However, I have been under the weather and finally saw the doctor yesterday so let’s hope his magic pills work! I am enjoying music trivia, but not doing very well at it — Blondie knows all the lyrics! Afternoon trivia is more my style and my team (Who Cares?) is doing quite well. Still no check in from Fieldstone Eagle. WB57 has gone over to the crafty side! Was adopted by a number of ladies from TX complete with needlepoint canvas holders and all the paraphernalia — they sit alongside the lounge by the bar, where presumably they get good light. They are teaching WB57 and he’s doing quite nicely with his first effort. Someone else started a 3000 piece puzzle, which I don’t think will be finished by the end of this cruise!

Yes, Suddesh is back on board. Menus have changed a bit in format, but many familiar dishes.

Today is a beautiful day — not much sea, beautiful sun and light winds.

Still a lot of work going on but they try to stay out of our way and we try to stay out of theirs.

Almost time for afternoon trivia!

BTW, we booked 3-10 March on 2 just to keep our hand in. Seriously looking at the crossing in spring 2019 as we’ve discovered we really do like the days at sea.

Vandrefalk

Good answers, guys! We have two speakers — one is a former astronaut and the other talking about UNESCO and aborigines and prisoners in Australia. All quite interesting. Music trivia in the morning — then time for lunch. Maybe some time for reading (or a nap) before trivia in the afternoon. Then time to get ready for cocktails, dinner and the Piano Bar! Have found days to be as full or lazy as you like.

Vandrefalk

DW not FE!

Was busily typing my report in the library when it threw me out — :-(. High points since I’m now doing this with one finger. New nav system, new ac system — more, I’m sure. Was on SD1 after a drydock once and don’t remember so many things not finished. Some contractors have left but will rejoin us in St Bart’s and a couple still on board. Seas have calmed down quite a bit and temp is a bit warmer, but cloudy today. Yes, going to St Bart’s instead of Marigot and not Antigua as I had thought.

Have met Beignet Boy — turns out his FE and I have been keeping Fred busy at the piano bar, along with someone we’ll call screech😫. Wb57 has checked in — Fieldstone, where are you?

All is good — any questions, let me know!

Vandrefalk

So who is your little birdie, Jim? Yes, we left late — about 16 hours. Also got held in the terminal for 1 1/2 hours before boarding, but at least had soft drinks and canapés to pass the time. Lots of work still going on but expect the contract workers to get off in Funchal. Suddesh was in Lisbon but got kicked off because of the contract workers. He is expected to rejoin us in Funchal — whenever we get there!. Ship is nearly ful - HH and Blondie are here as is CoCoyote — don’t know if any other CCrs as yet. Nicholas is MD, Reul and Fred are music— severin is bartender, alistsir is chef. And Christophe— who told me he never does the crossing! AC issues for some and parts of the ship are still kind of a mess but they are working hard to clean everything up. Internet is $179 for the cruise but only for one device. Haven’t tried the computer in the library yet so this is from the phone.

We have BIG seas — really rocking and rolling. Following sea I’ve been told which is probably why our speed is high. Hope it smooths out as I don’t have my sea legs and I’m crashing into everything even stone cold sober!.

All for now!

Vandrefalk