The BEST Crossing Thread - SD2: Tenerife - San Juan

To all our friends on SD1: Please dont take personally the title of this thread. We loved seeing you all Thursday night at dinner: starting with Capt. Bjarne, Tomasz, Donatus, Jose, Atilla, Richard (I'd name more of you if it wasn't after 3 AM!!). First of all to our friends on SD1, thanks ever so much for you hospitality last night. It was great to see you and we're lookng forward to seeing you all again in January in Rio (can you believe that??).

As you'll note from the other thread, we had a delightful dinner last night on SD1(thanks Capt. Bjarne, Tomasz and Sudesh) and retired to our Tenerife hotel. This afternoon we boarded SD2 and were pleased to see some old friends: Tomasz, Martijn (on his last cruise as Hotel Manager), Fabian (yes, Jen we'll give him your regards), Andre, Eric, Jorem, Jes, etc.

We settled into our stateroom, survived the lifeboat drill. K was extraordinarily disappointed to hear Capt. T. announce that no beverages could be brought to the lifeboat driff but she survived somehow. We have met and spoken with a number of other passengers, all of whom seem very pleasant. Many have previously been on SD and unlike us some have been on many crossings.

So far (9 hours into the trip) all is very smooth. K is sleeping extraordinarily soundly. The 2 of us even spent some time on Jen's Balinese bed as we were leaving port tonight. I knew that all was well when last night on SD1 Martijn stopped by and told me that my "office" was in good order and waiting for me! I'll certainly check it out tomorrow.

Seeing as it's now 3:30 AM, I'm about out of gas. If anybody has any questions, comments, compliments, etc. please send them along. I'll be checking in regularly as I'm very mindful of the need to keep up with alita and her very informative and interesting posts of the SD1 crossing to RIO.

P.S. To Alita: It was great meeting you last night. I know you'll have a great crossing. Let's see what we can do to keep everybody up to date on what we're up to. Also, fyi the Silver Wind was docked right in front of SD2 in Tenerife today. It's a nice looking ship but it's not SD. You know what I mean, don't you?

P.S.S. to Caddad: I'd appreciate a private email from you at ctbjr1309atgmaildotcom if you have a minute.

Over and Out for tonight.

Ahoy Ctbjr!

Glad to hear that you are underway ... and that the office is in order and my Bali bed is available for your use:p Thanks for sending my regards ... And I bet if Fabian sees mrs. ctbjr on the Bali bed drinking champagne with a Pelligrino on the side that he will think it is me ... or my sister:p

So do you have a regular or commodore stateroom for the crossing. The reason I ask is I think the extra space we would be nice on a crossing ... but then again with the office and a Bali bed it may be just fine.

Sounds like smooth sailing so far ... are you finding that there is noticeable motion in the ocean? Do you see any other ships on the horizon or in the distance?

Alita has surely set the bar for postings ... but I am sure you can reach it :D

I've just checked out the web blogs for the crossing ...

What champagne are they pouring this trip? More importantly, has mrs. ctbjr pronounced is satisfactory:p

Hello again. All is well so far on Day 1 at sea. Very smooth seas. I don't notice much motion at all. I'll check with Mrs. ctbjr when she returns from her spa appointment to get her take on the motion situation.

I haven't seen any ships on the horizon yet. Also, we seem to have steered clear of the icebergs out here in the Atlantic.

The champagne is Charles Lafitte and the word from my in room expert is that it is quite satisfactory. Phew!

This morning I attended a lecture by a former BA Concorde pilot. It was very interesting and entertaining. I understand that he's planning at least one more lecture and I'm looking forward to it. It was very well attended.

This afternoon is the first Team Trivia event. Should be interesting. The topic is Geography and I'd imagine that with all the well travelled passengers on board it should be quite an event.

More later....

Thanks for the update ctbjr!

Glad to hear that the champagne is "quite satisfactory." :p

Team Trivia should be interesting for sure ... How are teams created? How many on a team? How long will the contest last?

Inquiring minds need to know:eek:

Team Trivia should be interesting for sure ... How are teams created? How many on a team? How long will the contest last?

 

Inquiring minds need to know:eek:

Ah, more questions. Who'd have expected that??? Here are my responses:

1. I don't know.

2. I have no idea.

3. You got me.

I'm off to Deck 6 to make sure that they haven't run out of beer.

Great posts ctb... you may be right, this COULD be the BEST crossing

...the end of my post was cut off, it should read "the best crossing thread' NOT the best crossing!!!!

cheers!

Guess they haven't run out of beer yet as ctbjr hasn't checked in with his post dinner post:p

I just finished looking at the SD2 website ... even interrupted DH's Penn State football game for him to look ... and I was so excited to see Eric and Henk. Ctbjr ... please pass along our regards. Ask Eric if he remembers my special Bloody Mary mix:D

Looks like smooth sailing.

Any spa reports?

Well, here I am. Back to the room for the evening. We get an hour back tonight so we're looking forward to that.

DJ, will definitely pass your regards along to Henk and Eric and will ask him about the Bloody Mary mix.

The afternoon was very nice and relaxing. A bit overcast and cool but smooth sailing and so far still no icebergs.

The spa report is generally positive but we may be revising our spa schedule in light of the impending and unexpected visit to St. Maarten next Saturday. We'll keep you posted on that.

Tonight was the Captain's Welcome Reception. The Capt. was his usual loquacious self and did a very nice job explaining how things played out with the small fire on board a couple weeks ago. I predict that a few years from now there will be 10,000+ people who will take credit for having been on that trip. Those of you who were should save your passenger tickets!!

Another item of note is the internet speed on board. It is MUCH (some say 8X) faster than last time we were on the ship. Until this trip, it would take me an hour plus to check office emails each night. Last night, I cleared 2 days worth of emails in less than 20 minutes!! Well done, SeaDream.

Dinner tonight was lobster which was delicious. Jes is the chef and he is doing his usual wonderful job. I learned last month that he and I share the same birthday so am looking for an opportunity to buy him a beer or something to celebrate.

All for now. My bed is calling. Stay tuned for further developments tomorrow everybody.

alita, we are thinking of you and hoping that all is well. Your friends on SD2 miss you. Jorem has been our waiter each night and he's doing his usual great job.

Sounds like a lovely evening on SD2 ctbjr. Hopefully there were no hecklers at the Capt's reception like we had last year:eek:

So have dinners been served in the dining room or on deck? Jes was the chef on our repositioning cruise and he made that incredible dinner of veal osso bucco and creme brulee with madelines (where is that sigh smilie when you need it?)

How did trivia turn out yesterday?

Indeed it was a lovely evening. While I wouldn't say that we had hecklers last night, I will tell you that the Capt. wasn't the only one speaking during his presentation.

So far, both dinners have been in the dining room but breakfast and lunch have been served topside. I asked Martijn if we'd have dinner outside this trip and he wasn't sure given the expected wind conditions.

Trivia yesterday was a good warm up for subsequent competitions. A very small turn out perhaps the topic was geography. Today's topic is sports and later we'll have SeaDream ports and SeaDream trivia as perhaps more popular topics.

Today is off to a good start. The time change was a great way to start the day. We had a lecture from a Norwegian expert on things maritime. He spoke about luxury liners of the past. His presentation was well attended and very interesting. I don't recall whether I mentioned that one of yesterday's lectures was by a BA Concorde pilot. That was fascinating and I understand that he'll be speaking again later in the week. I'm looking forward to that.

Just a few minutes ago we spotted some whales off the starboard side of the ship. Unfortunately, they were too far away for photos so you won't be seeing them on the SD2 Crossing website. The Capt. announced at noon today that we have travelled 600+ nautical miles from Tenerife, are in 16,000 ft. of water and have about 2,200 nm to go before reaching St. Martin.

That's it for the midday report from SD2 where all continues to be well.

Thanks for the reports !!!!

"I predict that a few years from now there will be 10,000+ people who will take credit for having been on that trip. Those of you who were should save your passenger tickets!!"

Great idea ctbjr..... I'll put mine away in my "save for ebay" box!

I keep trying to stay away from this board, because I know I won't be able to function if all I do is think about the SDII. Yet, here I am. An email from Captain Tysse was all it took!

It looks like everyone is having a wonderful time (from the crossing pictures).

I do have a favor, I need ammunition to convince my wife that crossing the Atlantic on the SD II is NOT considered an "extreme" sport. She keeps thinking that it is day after day of 8+ foot waves and rainstorm after rainstorm. The pictures will help, but some firsthand testimony would also be appreciated.

Thanks, and enjoy!

Bill

Great reports, CTB and Alita! Now, when can we expect to see your pictures on the respective web sites? It looks like so much fun -- but still not sure how I'd handle eight or more straight days at sea :confused:

At least I can look forward to our SD2 cruise in about 9 weeks :D

Sure is fun to see pictures of some of the crew I remember from both SD1 and 2 -- but new faces, too!

Keep those reports coming!

Vandrefalk

I keep trying to stay away from this board, because I know I won't be able to function if all I do is think about the SDII. Yet, here I am. An email from Captain Tysse was all it took!

 

It looks like everyone is having a wonderful time (from the crossing pictures).

 

I do have a favor, I need ammunition to convince my wife that crossing the Atlantic on the SD II is NOT considered an "extreme" sport. She keeps thinking that it is day after day of 8+ foot waves and rainstorm after rainstorm. The pictures will help, but some firsthand testimony would also be appreciated.

 

Thanks, and enjoy!

 

Bill

Bill you know SD2 is an addiction:p

My DH is the one who has voiced "concerns" over a crossing ... mainly it has to do with being at sea for several days as vandrefalk has expressed ... and crossing the Atlantic on a "small" ship. Mind you this is the man whose dream is to sail one leg of the Volvo Ocean Race on a 70M sailboat:rolleyes:

I am waiting for the verdict from Mrs. Ctbjr as she and I have the same tolerances for lots of things ... days without shopping, motion in the ocean ... all of which can be offset with champagne and spa treatments I am sure!

Now, when can we expect to see your pictures on the respective web sites? It looks like so much fun -- but still not sure how I'd handle eight or more straight days at sea :confused:

Our pictures are prominently displayed on the SD2 crossing website. I haven't spotted alita yet on the SD1 website, however.

I do have a favor, I need ammunition to convince my wife that crossing the Atlantic on the SD II is NOT considered an "extreme" sport. She keeps thinking that it is day after day of 8+ foot waves and rainstorm after rainstorm. The pictures will help, but some firsthand testimony would also be appreciated.

Mrs. CTBjr reports that "It's better than the Caribbean" motionwise. Tonight at dinner outside on Deck 4 aft we were discussing whether or not she'd return and the answer was a resounding "yes". So far, so good. We have 4 more days at sea so check back later.

Today was another unevenful day. Slept in a bit (sorry, Cecille) and awoke to another beautiful day with smooth seas. Had a delicious meal of Plaice (it's a fish like flounder for those of you like me who had never heard of it) for lunch, finished my book while I reclined on a Balinese bed and headed down to the Main Salon for Team Trivia where I learned how little I knew about Musicals. The guest team beat the crew team who were correct when they explained their loss by saying that none of them were older than 65! Enough said.

After Trivia, we had another lecture from the former Concorde pilot that was absolutely fascinating. He spoke to a large crowd in the Main Salon.

Tonight was the reception for repeat SeaDream guests and as there were nearly 70 of us onboard, everybody was invited. As the Captain said tonight, "what could we do, send 15 guests up to the Piano Bar for cocktails?"

Dinner was delicious, as always.

I was very proud of myself as for the first time in history I had the Oriental Wellness menu which featured several delicious Thai dishes. Others had halibut, duck or lamb and all seemed pleased with their meals.

Tonight is another time change so we're looking forward to that. Tomorrow will be another difficult day, I would imagine. Stay tuned for details.

Sounds like another outstanding day on SD2! From the photos on the blog it looks like everyone is enjoying the voyage!

One of the many things that I appreciate about SD (and Capt. T is particular) is how the crew and staff go out of there way to make their guests feel special. Kudos on inviting those newbies to the reception. Actually, the question about inviting newbies when the return guest number is so high was just asked on the SB thread ("Around the Watercooler" thread). I of course chimed in with my usual $.02 that and cited this thread to support my answer:p

Glad to hear you enjoyed the Wellness Menu ctbjr! Does it change every day like the main menu?

Yes, the Wellness Menu does change daily. Not that I've ever ordered off it 2 days in a row, however.

On another note, DJ you'll be shocked to learn that I just left the fitness facility. It's amazing the things one finds to do with a week at sea......

There must be something in that sea air Ctbjr:p:eek::p First the wellness menu then the fitness facility. Next thing you know you will be telling me that you had reflexology at the spa:D

Have you seen any movies this week? I guess Movies Under the Stars would be a bit difficult in the middle of the Atlantic.

There must be something in that sea air Ctbjr:p:eek::p First the wellness menu then the fitness facility. Next thing you know you will be telling me that you had reflexology at the spa:D

 

Have you seen any movies this week? I guess Movies Under the Stars would be a bit difficult in the middle of the Atlantic.

I do believe that I'll be drawing the line with reflexology, DJ. They've shown movies each afternoon (this afternoon, it's Under the Tuscan Sun) in the Main Salon. We are also scheduled for a Rod Stewart DVD tonight after dinner on the Pool Deck but it's a bit blustery today so I'm not betting that will happen.

Our pictures are prominently displayed on the SD2 crossing website. I haven't spotted alita yet on the SD1 website, however.

Can we assume it is you and Mrs. CTBjr relaxing on the balinese beds? Or perhaps waiting for a red stripe and checking out the spa? Only two guesses I can make!

Vandrefalk