SeaDream 2 Transatlantic

We are doing a 3 day pre-cruise in Lisbon with Lisbon/Sintra tour, then TVG to Porto. Board there for 7 night cruise, seeing vineyards (including Mateus gardens) and a trip to Salimanca (sp?). Back to Porto and then back to Lisbon to board SD! AMA is not all inclusive (as is Uniworld), but wine at dinner and lunch. Looked at Uniworld (did them on the Rhine) but dates worked better on AMA! Were in Porto on the Dover-Lisbon SD cruise in 2015 and were intriqued so looking forward to this! Have friends who did AMA and liked it, so we will see! Thanks for the input! What are you doing in 2018? We are doing Silverseas around UK in Aug but haven't figured out how to work in SD yet!

Vandrefalk

Hi Karen. Sounds like a great plan. How's Col. Clint? We have a stop in Porto next Spring so leave it in good shape, Ok? All the best to you and the Col.:cool:

Hi Karen. Sounds like a great plan. How's Col. Clint? We have a stop in Porto next Spring (on Viking Oceans) so leave it in good shape, Ok? All the best to you and the Col.:cool:

We are doing a 3 day pre-cruise in Lisbon with Lisbon/Sintra tour, then TVG to Porto. Board there for 7 night cruise, seeing vineyards (including Mateus gardens) and a trip to Salimanca (sp?). Back to Porto and then back to Lisbon to board SD! AMA is not all inclusive (as is Uniworld), but wine at dinner and lunch. Looked at Uniworld (did them on the Rhine) but dates worked better on AMA! Were in Porto on the Dover-Lisbon SD cruise in 2015 and were intriqued so looking forward to this! Have friends who did AMA and liked it, so we will see! Thanks for the input! What are you doing in 2018? We are doing Silverseas around UK in Aug but haven't figured out how to work in SD yet!

Vandrefalk

I have heard that AMA is very good. Sintra is a great day trip from Lisbon. I'm sure it will all be wonderful, and I look forward to hearing all about it.

We are on SD twice in 2018. A nine day on the II St Thomas to Bridgetown on January 4th, and a seven day round trip Rome on the I on June 9th.

Hello -

I posted a separate thread for a solo traveler on this particular itinerary. I didn't get any feedback. I haven't yet signed up for this cruise - but am very interested - and may pull the trigger by this weekend. This will be my first cruise on SD. I have done a solo TA on Princess before (going East to West). Just wondering how this smaller yacht is for solo travelers. Food/Drinks/Company is usually my first objective - but never having been on a small ship - and being that this is Transatlantic - I don't know what I don't know! Any general comments welcomed! Few specific questions:

- are there any solo travelers on this TA

- have never been prone to sea sickness - but being a small yacht, is this of particular concern - especially that time of the year crossing the atlantic

Thanking you all in advance.

Cheers...

-Tushar

I have never been on a Transatlantic, and I have never sailed solo. So I can't help you with anything related to that. But we are veterans of 15 or 20 SD cruises, so I can tell you that the food and drink are outstanding - really not comparable to any other line we've sailed, and we've sailed many. Regarding seasickness, my husband is prone to it. He does not find it to be worse on SD than on other, larger ships. The ship sits well in the water. I hope this helps you a little with your decision.

We are on the October crossing on SD I and this will be our 2nd. We actually encounter rougher seas in the Caribbean than on the crossing we took. In our case, what we learned is that they build in a lot of flexibility in time and actually altered the route across to avoid storms and rough seas (the Captain even showed us a site that displays sea hight and how he was moving farther south to avoid some of it). That's not to say it will be smooth as glass all the way (although I have seen pics of it looking just like that) but they do try their best to avoid it. So, I'd say I'd be as worried about rough seas on the crossing as with any other cruise on SD. And same rules apply as with the big ships - best to get a cabin amidships if possible to reduce the rocking at night.

As Zimmy notes, food is AMAZING, you will never be unhappy with anything you get. And of course all is included so order what you want when you want it in food and drink, in most cases (unless you want to dive into the wine cellar but I've never felt I needed to do that).

We had other solo cruisers on our trip although one was part of a larger group. I find the SD guests to be very welcoming and diverse so would think you'll find some folks to join up with. In fact, that's one of the best things about SD, those who sail on them. We always meet some wonderful new people on each voyage and bet you would do the same.

Let us know if you decide to join the October crossing, me and my DW would be happy to meet you!

Hi,

I've been lurking a little bit on the SeaDream threads and have found this thread interesting. My partner & I traveled on Seabourn back in the mid 90's when they owned the Seadream yachts. Since then we have traveled on many different cruise lines in suites, no other cruise line has come close to that experience regardless of the size of your suite. We are on our first SeaDream Yacht Club sailing (I just can't say cruise) on the October TA and are so looking forward to the true experience that big ships can't offer and I'm really happy to hear that the guests are still very diverse and accepting. WB57 I think this will be a much more personal experience and it will be better for a solo sailor, you actually get to know some of your fellow guests. That's why we are back to true boutique sailings.

To DupontCruiser2, I'll look forward to meeting you onboard. Also maybe WB57 ? I like my martinis straight up with a twist ! I think we're going to love SeaDream and the Topside bar.

Nice to hear they skirt the rough weather but we love the motion of the ocean.

Thumper69, looking forward to meeting up! Top of Yacht Bar (or TOYBAR as it is affectionately known) is a wonderful place no matter the time of day or night! We sailed on the Seaborne "triplets" (since sold to Windstar) a couple of times to compare with SeaDream. The physical product of the cabins was a little better (walk in closets, tub) but the pool was horrible and the service and food was not a match at all. October 16th can't get here soon enough!!!

Is anyone else here still on this transatlantic cruise?

Hello - well I pulled the trigger and I am officially now on this Nov TA cruise from Lisbon to San Juan. Anyone else on board this cruise besides you and vanderefalk? I am planning on getting in the day before. Any recommendations on hotels in Lisbon? Looking forward to my first SD experience ! Cheers...

-Tushar

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Hello - well I pulled the trigger and I am officially now on this Nov TA cruise from Lisbon to San Juan. Anyone else on board this cruise besides you and vanderefalk? I am planning on getting in the day before. Any recommendations on hotels in Lisbon? Looking forward to my first SD experience ! Cheers...

 

-Tushar

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Happy you decided to join this sailing. I always enjoy visiting Lisbon (and Porto), so plan to stay for 3 nights before my cruise (which also helps in getting over the jet lag from the West Coast). There are any number of good hotels, though I usually stay at the Sofitel.

Happy you decided to join this sailing. I always enjoy visiting Lisbon (and Porto), so plan to stay for 3 nights before my cruise (which also helps in getting over the jet lag from the West Coast). There are any number of good hotels, though I usually stay at the Sofitel.

Do we know which Lisbon port we will be embarking at? It seems Santa Apolonia has been used in the past. Based on this answer, I will likely find a hotel reasonably close by. Have you heard if there are any large groups on this trip? Enough questions for now. I will now start on getting my 'resort casual' wear in order :) Looking forward to meeting you (and others) ! Cheers...

We are on the TA this fall but on SD I this year. We usually are partial to SD II but due to schedule and itinerary (have been to Lisbon, want to see Barcelona), we opted for SD I this time..

Erm, yes - Barcelona is fantastic, but I rather think the departure port is Malaga. I hope so, otherwise I'm flying to the wrong place!

Do we know which Lisbon port we will be embarking at? It seems Santa Apolonia has been used in the past. Based on this answer, I will likely find a hotel reasonably close by. Have you heard if there are any large groups on this trip? Enough questions for now. I will now start on getting my 'resort casual' wear in order :) Looking forward to meeting you (and others) ! Cheers...

We will be on the crossing from Lisbon to San Juan, unless Sea Dream cancels or significantly changes the trip due to the hurricane damage in San Juan.

Years ago, we discovered an excellent B&B a short distance (5 minutes by cab) from the port in the beautiful Old Town Alfama area of Lisbon. http://www.chafarizdelrei.com/chafariz-del-rei.html. We have stayed there on every trip since, and this will probably be our 5th stay at this facility. It only has a few suites, and may be booked up, but if not, Jude and I highly recommend this place. The service and atmosphere is fantastic. We plan on arriving on November 6th. Please let us know if anyone on these boards books here, as we can have a glass of wine or two before the trip.

I will be saving this link!

Erm, yes - Barcelona is fantastic, but I rather think the departure port is Malaga. I hope so, otherwise I'm flying to the wrong place!

Yes, you are correct. We are spending a few days in Barcelona before arriving in Malaga to meet up with SD.

Hello folks -

Now that the hurricane-related itinerary changes seem to be settling down, how many folks are on the SD2 TA this November? If I have read the posts accurately, here is what I show: Beignetboy, Vandrefalk, Fieldstone eagle, and me. Anyone else? I am looking forward to the crossing and meeting new folks. Cheers...

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We’ll be there! The French guy and I plus Cousin Julie & Bill for those who remember us from the TOY and piano bars, backgammon, puzzles, trivia, etc. :).

Sent from my iPhone using Forums