Christmas 2011 on SD II

[CDreamer]

And, knock on wood, looks like weather gods will be in our favor this trip . . . hope it holds through Thursday when we leave for St. Thomas. FT

 

Have a wonderful time, FT! Will look forward to reading all about your next SD adventures. :D

 

Happy Holidays to you and to all our fellow CCers, both on land AND on sea!

The CDreamers

[zqvol]

and since both FT and I are going to have to haul laptops, I guess you guys will get regular updates.

[DisneyJen]

and since both FT and I are going to have to haul laptops, I guess you guys will get regular updates.

 

We like dual (or should I say duel) reporting!:p

 

Safe travels tomorrow. DJ's DH is in the air, winging his way home after a month in Allentown.

 

Let the reporting begin!

[frequent traveler]

3 of us are packed and ready to go and one hasn't even done his laundry . . .so we will see what our son leaves behind. Hope he is suitably attired for dinner but at 20+, if he has to eat in the cabin every night, his problem ... .

 

Good friend is staying on St. Bart's for the week so I guess I will actually get off the yacht and face the hoards as she has offered to drive us to a beach .. .Oh well, off to water the plants and do one last packing check.

 

FT

[mimito4]

Oooooh, so excited for you! Bon voyage, good people. I command you, in the name of fun, to post lots of pictures and inside scoops. Otherwise, you are just rubbing it in to us poor "left-behinds."

 

As for the fourth one who hasn't done laundry yet. . .life should be so tough that he has to eat room service on SeaDream. Boohoo. :p

 

Safe travels!

[ctbjr1309]

3 of us are packed and ready to go

FT

 

Have a great trip. We'll be thinking of you all.

[DisneyJen]

Bon voyage FT, ZQVol and family!

 

See from your youngest's FB post that you are on your way (evidently he found time to do laundry and pack:p)!

 

Wishing your fair winds and a following seas and of course a Merry Christmas!!

[knotheadusc]

Bon voyage! :)

[frequent traveler]

Have arrived ar The Cove. AtThe Marriott. Children or thieir parents who thinks its cute to let them roam the aisles should be banned from first class. No ban them from planes period when the parents have no concern whatsoever about turbulence and take off Nd landings! UCK!

 

Waiting for the family to arrive

[DisneyJen]

Have arrived ar The Cove. AtThe Marriott. Children or thieir parents who thinks its cute to let them roam the aisles should be banned from first class. No ban them from planes period when the parents have no concern whatsoever about turbulence and take off Nd landings! UCK!

 

Waiting for the family to arrive

 

At least you were in first:p Gathering you sent the family on another airline in coach:D

 

We have never stayed in the Cove part of the Marriott. We usually stay on the beach in the Morningstar section. How do you like the Cove?

[Spartanchurch]

Yes she did stick us in coach and coming back we've got a 12 seat puddle jumper back to San Juan.

 

And by the way I did get all my packing done at 1 am this morning. :P

 

So far the cove is very nice. The rooms are spacious but I have yet to see the rest of it your have to wait on my dad to post on that one.

[zqvol]

As son posted above we are all safely here. It is dangerous when you walk into the hotel at happy hour. The pain killers were not as good as at Jost, but what the heck.

 

FT. has already been to the beach.

 

As a side not on the cab to the resort we meet a couple and their 20 something daughter who will be sailing with us tomorrow.

 

Off to dinner. More later.

[DisneyJen]

Yes she did stick us in coach and coming back we've got a 12 seat puddle jumper back to San Juan.

 

And by the way I did get all my packing done at 1 am this morning. :P

 

So far the cove is very nice. The rooms are spacious but I have yet to see the rest of it your have to wait on my dad to post on that one.

 

Hey, at least you aren't paying for it:p You have to take what you get:p

 

I knew you would be ready to go ... you're young!

 

Will wait for zqvol's room resort report.

 

 

As son posted above we are all safely here. It is dangerous when you walk into the hotel at happy hour. The pain killers were not as good as at Jost, but what the heck.

 

FT. has already been to the beach.

 

As a side not on the cab to the resort we meet a couple and their 20 something daughter who will be sailing with us tomorrow.

 

Off to dinner. More later.

 

No Painkillers can match the ones we get on Jost:cool:

 

Knew FT would find the beach before your arrival.

 

Looking forward to more reporting.

[Jim Avery]

Have arrived ar The Cove. AtThe Marriott. Children or thieir parents who thinks its cute to let them roam the aisles should be banned from first class. No ban them from planes period when the parents have no concern whatsoever about turbulence and take off Nd landings! UCK!

 

Waiting for the family to arrive

 

I have said it before, I will say it again, you are a Kid Magnet.:eek: Dont yell at the poor ole messinger, just have fun.:D

[Spartanchurch]

Hey, at least you aren't paying for it:p You have to take what you get:p

 

I knew you would be ready to go ... you're young!

 

Will wait for zqvol's room resort report.

 

 

 

 

No Painkillers can match the ones we get on Jost:cool:

 

Knew FT would find the beach before your arrival.

 

Looking forward to more reporting.

 

You're right I do have to take what I can get! My parents are awesome considering I'm about to be at 14 Sd II nights.

[frequent traveler]

more tomorrow but massive blackout tonights and we were asked to evacuate the MARIOTT

will update but we are fine and back at the room

[zqvol]

Power went off and on for about 3 or 4 hours last night island wide. When the power was off the night time sky was incredible.

 

Backing up, Ft flew down on Delta and put the kids and I on US Scareways, somehow she got bumped to first class, we were four rows from the back of the plane. I will say that the 757 that we were on was much more comfortable than Delta's version, and the nice thing about being in the back is that in St. Thomas since there are no jetways they disembark from both the front and rear of the plane so we were some of the first off. Luggage was the usual St. Thomas free for all, but all bags arrived safe and sound. If only spartanchurch could have stayed away from the pain killers and helped get the bags, instead of watching the ones that we already had, it would have been great!:D

 

IT was an interesting cab ride from the airport. As usual in STT there were multiple parties in the cab, no problem but rather funny. One group who spoke either Russian or one of the Slavic languages told the cab driver they wanted to go to town to get the ferry. When we got to town, it turns out they didn't want that ferry, they wanted the one in Red Hook, and wanted the one that left in 10 minutes. They got left in town!

 

The other group was a nice family of three who stayed at Frenchmen's Reef last night. We learned that they will be joining us on the yacht this afternoon. They are from Chicago and the young member of the three goes to a school known for academics in the south.

 

When we got to the Marriott Cove, which is a time share that I could be tempted to invest in, Ft was already at the beach enjoying happy hour. The bar tender made an acceptable pain killer and since they were two for one they were even better.

 

We decided to go to Frenchmen's Reef for dinner thinking that we could get in and out with relative ease. We took the hotel shuttle over and ended up attempting to eat at the main dining room. I say attempted because that is when the power outages started. We eventually managed to enjoy a nice dinner (though FTs hamburger was cooked much more than she prefers). The swordfish with key line aoli (sorry I have no idea how to spell it) was very nice as was the generous serving of key lime pie. The best thing about it turned out that because of the inconvenience the hotel comped the dinner!:)

 

We then tried to have after dinner drinks on the hotel terrace, but because of the power situation the hotel was evacuated, so we just came back to the Cove.

 

We have a very nice suite, and in this case I really should say villa. It is a two bed room two bath condo with a full kitchen, dining room, and living room, with two balconies overlooking the harbor! As I said, I could be tempted to invest in this time share, because as we all know this is not a bad place to use a a jumping off point for day trips all over the VIs.

 

This morning I watched Celebrity Summit sail into port. I believe that the QM2 is here too, but I suspect that she is at Crown Bay since I have not seen her. I also have not seen SDII so my guess is that we will board in Crown Bay this afternoon.

 

Now it is off to the gym, and then town with a lunch at Gladys before we head to the ship

 

More later!

[frequent traveler]

to supplement before I forget - the Cove is very nice, but is somewhat remote from the other Marriott facilities. If you dont mind that, I would recommend staying. Our villa has a beautiful view - great balcony with table and four chairs., accessible from the bedroom and living room. Dining room seats 8 and the full kitchen has a bar with stools for more. Bathroom in master bath has separate tub. 2nd bath opens to both 2nd bedroom and entry way which is tlle but bedrooms are carpeted. Cove has one restaurant, two "Markets" which are the Marriott standards, and a bar which closes at 10 If you have stayed at Frenchman's Reef before - the main indoor restaurant has changed its dinner menu dramatically - gone downscale and fewer choices. Not particularly impressed with selection, but impressed with the fact that once the generator was able to be operated, served in the dark, something to everyone for free!. Guests all took it very well - entire island was dark except for pockets with generators.

 

Marriott status is not getting us a late checkout today - island is completely full (what did I expect during the holidays). Have discovered a new beverage of choice - Mango Mojitos!. Bartender at the cove makes a mean one -and the two for one happy hour from 4 to 6 started the holiday off very nicely! Have to see what Zoltan can do on SD.

 

and wireless internet is included in rate at the Cove.

 

I am not disclipined like ZQ Vol - going to have coffee on the patio and watch the ocean. No gym review for me.

 

FT

[frequent traveler]

on board, and first night dinner was interesting . . . due to weather and captain's decision to make the run to Tortola over rough seas from 7 to 9 p.m. Some people missed dinner, DD included and I stuck with ginger ale - a first I believe. However, broccoli soup was excellent. I had wonderful appetizer - just can't spell it, consisting of prawns, noodles, mushrooms and seasonings. Son loved tuna medium rare for entree and gnocchi - I had one bite and hope to see it again on the menu. Dessert was Grand Marnie Souffle. Best part of dinner though was having wonderful Goran and Jun provide fantastic service. A sqaull blew up just as we arrived in Tortola, though waters calmed - the Captain was putting us in a calm place for the evening (why he didn't wait until after dinner mystifies me, but then I'm sure he had a good reason - just wished he had announced it sooner so we all could have medicated sooner). Some of the parties dining outside got a bit wet and evacuated. So we soon a private table on Deck 4 . . . but Goran had to work both the Dining room and room service and and Deck 4 but you would never know from his smile, and smooth unflustered service. He even made sure to bring another souffle we could take back to DD. So sweet.

 

Several new faces in the staff, made my mandatory visits to the spa for a pedicure and a massage. Excellent as usual. Bartender Shaun (From South Africa and was on SD I in 2009 and 2010 before taking some time off for the World Cup Games) makes an excellent mojito (try without the sugar for a really refreshing drink). Also caught a glance of Louie. Jaime is looking foward to his vacation in a couple of weeks and Christophe is magnificent as usual - remembered everything about our preferences without saying a word.

 

While a number of the "usual" SD guests are on board, quite a number of first timers, including a couple of large family groups - so yes, to confirm, dynamics of Christmas may be different from others.

 

Yacht is decorated quite nicely - Christmas trees in a couple of locations and large gingerbread houses appeared in the lobby and outside the dining room last night.

 

And oh, do I love the new pajamas. Dark blue, with white piping around the hems, light weight cotton, so comfortable, another reason to do a back to back - to get two pairs. Outside towels are now grey - very chic. DS wants to take one to his new job in Orlando - the Mouse World, so I can see my boutique bill adding up. New shelves in the lobby for boutique goods.

 

And the menu has gotten quite healthy - is possible to be very good if you so choose without trying very hard.

 

have a hike on Norman island this morning . . . signed up for a snorkel trip this p.m. but the seas don't look particularly good. St. Barts was closed to ships yesterday . .. . uh oh -not counting on making Anguilla this trip either!.

 

just realized i forgot any type of windbreaker - what an idiot.

 

off to see the sun between the clouds.

[DisneyJen]

Thanks reporting in spartanchurch, zqvol and FT!

 

Sounds like you are having quite the adventure!

 

Awfully windy here on the beach in Florida but quite beautiful. Those Christmas winds always make life interesting.

 

We have talked about investing in the Marriott Cove but of course I want more points at Disney's Vacation Club. We haven't stayed at the Cove but have heard wonderful things about it.

 

Please wish all of our friends on SD a very Merry Christmas! Can't wait to hear about your special holiday dinners!

 

Enjoy!!

[CDreamer]

FT, thanks for the update. Hopefully you have experienced the storm before the calm and much smoother seas will lie ahead of you!

 

Who is your captain this time - Capt Lund? I am wondering if we will have Capt Willassen in January?

 

Re: needing a windbreaker - sounds to me like a very good excuse for a nice new purchase! ;)

[zqvol]

FT, thanks for the update. Hopefully you have experienced the storm before the calm and much smoother seas will lie ahead of you!

 

Who is your captain this time - Capt Lund? I am wondering if we will have Capt Willassen in January?

 

Re: needing a windbreaker - sounds to me like a very good excuse for a nice new purchase! ;)

 

We do have captain Lund. It is a mystery to everyone why he sailed from St. Thomas last night when he did. We were docked next to the QM2 and as they left we could hear their captain making a weather announce,ent about 3 - 4 meter seas, so se conditions were known. It was really an unpleasant 2.5 hour sail that could have been delayed even if we had to anchor in the harbor at Charlotte Amalie.

 

Today we are at Norman Island. FT and I did the shoreside casual hike which was about an hour long, the first half uphill, and we covered about 2.5 miles. No mussels for lunch, and just as we finished we got hit witha massive Carribbean rain storm. We are actually leaving in 45 minutes for. Snorkeling excursion to Treasure Island.

 

Other than the sail last night everything has been wonderful.

[frequent traveler]

enjoying a break before cocktail hour - supposed to be held outside and dining outside but have had two squalls and a rainbow today so who knows what the weather will actually be?

 

Yes, Captain Lund is on board now - at least I think he is. He was on the gangway when we boarded but we haven't seen him since and Jeff, the Activities Director has made the announcments about rough water, arrivals, etc.

 

I know that Captain Terio is coming back for the Brazil trip - he was really looking forward to it the last time we spoke personally, but I don't know when he is back on board. Its not very transparent here - so you should probably contact Miami.

 

The hike on Norman Island was nice - no butterflies like last time, ZQ Vol says they haven't migrated yet. It amazes me how those teeny tiny wings can cross the Sir Frances Drake Channel - much less come down from the continental US.

 

Can't belive there was no First Day Mussels - while I love the Navy or dark blue towels pool side (saw a few of the old baby blue) and the sand (not grey as posted earlier) towels - this is one change I don't like!

 

The Christmas tree in the library is my absolute favorite - has a purple theme and is beautiful - hard to believe its Christmas Eve - so happy holidays all.

 

I know I will not mention everyone, but had Peter at breakfast and lunch - great guy - this after Goran beats me to my table at breakfast with a cappucino (got to figure how to stuff him in my luggage).

 

A new Michael from South Africa at the bar - also very attentive and a very good "skinny Mojito" - learned that phrase from a lovely couple from California.

 

lunch entrees covered a broad range - two kinds of pasta- red sauce and white sauce, lasagna and pasta alfredo, a fish, tuna sandwich, chef salad but as I mentioned above -NO FIRST DAY MUSSELS.

 

Highly recommend snorkel trip to the "Caves" - due to the chop - first stop was at the 7 Ocean Club - not that great, but crew did make a mean rum punch. The Caves are great - and a relatively cheap excursion -$59 per person.

 

We came back early - guest choice and just beat another rain squall back - 2nd of the day. 1st came at the end of lunch and drove the British contingency from the Office.

 

Saved up calories from lunch. So dinner should be great. Snorkel trip tomorrow morning just got cancelled - what no one wants to snorkel at the Dogs on Christmas Day? So I can stay up late and sleep in. Uh OH!

 

Jho Jo is our cabin attendant-works miracles before we can even ask. Couldn't ask for more. Really wish SD would do Croatia in May 2012 - not July.

 

FT

 

p.s

 

wi fi did not work on first Bali Bed outside TOY today. Tried - but did not pick up network on I pad.

works great in room.

[DisneyJen]

Merry Christmas Eve FT/ZQ Vol family (as well as our SD family!)

 

I remember Ocean's Seven from our vow renewal trip as that is where we had our champagne and caviar splash. We snorkeled the caves at Norman Island years ago when we bareboated out of Tortola. Pretty cool!

 

Sorry to hear that you are dealing with the dreaded Christmas winds:mad: I suspect the reason the Captain made the run last night is that the weather was supposed to build this morning and into the afternoon. Kind of surprised that he didn't do it after midnight but it could have something to do with dockage fees but who knows:confused:

 

Can't wait to see the new towels in less than two months!!

 

I bet the trees are lovely. Can't wait to hear what special treats await you today and tomorrow.

 

We had lunch on the beach at a place recommended by ctbjr today ... it wasn't the Caribbean but DJ's DH said that it is part of his new SD3!:p

[frequent traveler]

Christmas in Prickly Pear - we are lucky. Happy Holiday. Last night, was Chrismas caroling tableside. Tonight is a special crew show after the officer introduction before dinner. Today Santa waterskied by at the C&C splash. Very good to see Daniel -the activities director on SD I and others, but beach seemed a wee bit crowded. However, had two surfboards with C&C set up, so all went well. a quick afternoon shower lasted all of 5 minutes. Had live music and all the kayaks, etc out.

 

Last night's entree was lobster and the forest truffle mushroom soup. Zoltan took very good care in substituting a red wine for me (yes, I occasionally try something besides champagne) when I didn't like the standard pour. The sommelier Pablo stopped by too, even though we weren't purchasing upgrades. Very personable. Of course everyone is - from the security to the engineers. Just can't help smiling everytime I pass as SD crew member. We really appreciate all that they are doing for us today when they are away from their families.

 

Looking forward to the Sea Dream dessert extravanganza tonight!

 

Mr. LePisto is traveling on SD I and he doesn't think we can make Anguilla tomorrow so it will be interesting to see if a replacement is announced tonight. The seas are "going down" so it looks like St. Barts is on - but for seeing good friends there, I wouldn't care if we skipped that port - as long as we didn't substitute St. Marten.

 

I could swear the color of the lounge has been toned down - but ZQ Vol tells me it hasn't changed - it seems less pink to me now - I am going to have to investigate further.

 

FT