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SD 2 TA 8 Nov


vandrefalk
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Know there a few other CCers on board. Looks like the ship is fairly full so guess this getting more and more popular. We saw SD in drydock last week as we are already in Portugal and at the tail end of a Douro River cruise. Take the train back to Lisbon and board SD on Wed! Since this is our first TA, have no idea what internet will be like. However, will report as I can! Wish for calm seas!

Vandrefalk

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Know there a few other CCers on board. Looks like the ship is fairly full so guess this getting more and more popular. We saw SD in drydock last week as we are already in Portugal and at the tail end of a Douro River cruise. Take the train back to Lisbon and board SD on Wed! Since this is our first TA, have no idea what internet will be like. However, will report as I can! Wish for calm seas!

Vandrefalk

Bon Voyage Karen. All the best to you and the Col.:cool:

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Jim , the Col appreciates your good wishes! Also, had dinner with the Commodore last week in Porto — he sends his regards!

Vandrefalk

That's great. Thanks so much. Is Porto the Commodore's home now? We are supposed to dock there sometime late April or early May, I forget. Anyway, great to hear about him. Looking forward to your posts. Take care of H-H and Blondie.:cool:

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Karen, have you heard any rumors about cameras or housekeeping??

 

 

 

Just checking if SD2 is departing Lisbon on time after the two week dry dock. We were on a most enjoyable voyage from Barcelona to Lisbon that ended just prior to the dry dock. We certainly hope all went well on the dry dock. Bon voyage to all fortunate to be traveling on this TA cruise. Please keep in touch and report when you can!

 

 

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According to vessel tracking, they left Lisbon a bit after schedule but are now SW of Lisbon making approximately 15 knots. Near full speed for SD. On the way to Funchal. I suspect the wi-fi is as crummy as ever since none of the happy band has posted a word.

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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

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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

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Glad you are having fun! Also glad the seas have calmed down and hope they stay that way!

 

Keep reporting when you can. How are you spending your days when you can't get off the boat and I know you are not a sit at the pool person? Are there planned activities?

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Vandrefalk, glad the seas have calmed down.

 

Like you had mentioned, I remember a bit of cleanup up work post dry dock on that particular cruise we were all on, but certainly not to the point where it was all that noticeable. I think Ho Hum mentioned a lot of work was being done during their last Crossing. I wonder if more extensive repairs are scheduled during that particular time frame due to all the passengers staying put??

 

Was Sudesh finally able to join you all on board? Lucky of you to have him AND Christophe on your voyage! Please give them both our best.

Like WhatNot, will be interested to hear about the various activities going on during your cruise that will (hopefully!) keep you all out of trouble! ;)

Edited by CDreamer
Spacing between paragraphs seemed off but it's fixed now. Thanks.
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My first posting, though far from first TA. Yes, things have calmed down a lot, though today has some gentle rolling and some sprinkles. Screecher is an apt name - though “Drunken Screecher” possibly more exacting. Ah, well, something to write home about! Have to say that Alistair has followed well in Tomasz’s footsteps. Hard act to follow, but he’s up to the task, it seems. Technical glitches seem to be the new normal on TA. But they’re slowly being remedied. Jeff & Anna are awesome team. Fred is a delight on the ivories - patience of a saint!

Edited by Bobby’sGirl
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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

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Well if Bobby’sGirl is coming out of the shadow, I guess I’ll stop lurking and make my first post as well.

It was a great crossing, despite the usual little “after dry dock” surprises. The crew was (and still is) fantastic, and so were our fellow passengers, both the usual suspects and new faces.

 

We are now enjoying a few more days on board before going back to reality, and already looking forward to next years’s TA, albeit on November this time. Of course she’ll be coming out of dry dock, so we do like living dangerously!

 

 

 

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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

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Hmmmmm..... seems I’ve been re-christened with a name starting with “S”, LOL. No worries.

 

Sounds like great fun after we had to come home, but Thanksgiving was awesome as usual. I think I counted 39 of us.

 

And, yes, SD has to address the issues you mentioned, or they will start to lose their “regulars “. Many are already talking about other options. Hope pt never comes to that.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Vandrefalk.. Nice to meet you and the Colonel on the TA, and we look forward to seeing you on another TA Crossing soon. BTW, we just received a notice that the Spring 2019 TA crossing has been shortened a bit. It is now departing on 4/22/19. Still showing as Marigot to Lisbon and disembarking in Lisbon on the same date (5/04/19).

 

I also agree with your comments on the ship departing from Dry Dock... they apparently tried to get too much done in Dry Dock. Our comments were the most negative that we have ever written. This is the second trip in a row that they departed from Dry Dock with issues; although, these were less than the prior one. The appearance of the ship was not what we expected, and having AC problems during the trip made for a few uncomfortable days. The staff did a remarkable job as usual. But as you pointed out, the problems are all fixable and we do plan on returning. We currently have three more TA's booked. Hopefully they get things resolved on future voyages. They seem to happen on departures from the Lisbon Dry Dock. Perhaps they should schedule less work, or pick another location for Dry Dock.

 

Interesting that you had KIDS on the second part -- perhaps that was because it was a major holiday period in the US. Good thing that they were well behaved.

Edited by BeignetBoy
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We had a really bad experience on SD 1 post-dry dock in 2014. My comments on that disaster are in another thread - but it was a truly awful experience as a first-timer on SD. How disappointing to hear that they still don’t have their act together. Makes me feel so sorry for the crew who have to endure such poor program management time and time again.

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