SD2 Jan 28 Barbados-Barbados

[fpebbles]

Wishing you all a wonderful cruise and beautiful weather!

[vandrefalk]

WE ARE HERE!!! Capt Terje, the inimitable Christophe, Donatas, Pablo the sommelier, Zoltan, Jerry, Jeremy, Enes, Michael -- will add more names as I see/think of them! Tomacz is the chef! And Jeff is the CAD.

 

Boarded yesterday among some BIG ships as well as Wind Spirit and Royal Clipper. We were warned that there would be motion in the ocean and there was! I never made it to the piano bar, but the bonine worked and I was fine. Just figured I'd rather be prone than upright as long as I was going to sway! Could not get into our original port in Martinique because of swells and wind, so are at a tiny little village, which we may explore after lunch.

 

I had the duck breast last night; DH had beef tenderloin. I slept through breakfast and will go up for lunch in a few. St. Lucia tomorrow. Will do our best to take all of you along.

 

NOW -- A SPECIAL HUGE THANK YOU TO FPEPPLES AND DSNYSDRMR!!! You can be SURE we will toast you and the kids (more than once!) -- what a swell thing to do! And Fly Me to the Moon will definitely be on the songsheet!

 

Everyone take care!

Vandrefalk

[DSNYSDRMR]

It's the least we could do since we bailed....not by choice that's for sure! Please tell Tomasz that I have a GOT PIEROGI? tee shirt waiting for him.

[DisneyJen]

WE ARE HERE!!! Capt Terje, the inimitable Christophe, Donatas, Pablo the sommelier, Zoltan, Jerry, Jeremy, Enes, Michael -- will add more names as I see/think of them! Tomacz is the chef! And Jeff is the CAD.

 

Boarded yesterday among some BIG ships as well as Wind Spirit and Royal Clipper. We were warned that there would be motion in the ocean and there was! I never made it to the piano bar, but the bonine worked and I was fine. Just figured I'd rather be prone than upright as long as I was going to sway! Could not get into our original port in Martinique because of swells and wind, so are at a tiny little village, which we may explore after lunch.

 

I had the duck breast last night; DH had beef tenderloin. I slept through breakfast and will go up for lunch in a few. St. Lucia tomorrow. Will do our best to take all of you along.

 

NOW -- A SPECIAL HUGE THANK YOU TO FPEPPLES AND DSNYSDRMR!!! You can be SURE we will toast you and the kids (more than once!) -- what a swell thing to do! And Fly Me to the Moon will definitely be on the songsheet!

 

Everyone take care!

Vandrefalk

 

Sounds like you definitely have the "A" team ... although all of the crew and staff are the "A" team:D

 

Sailing by the Pitons of St. Lucia is beautiful.

 

By understanding from Jim Avery is that Gant was on the ship coming into Barbados and there was motion in the ocean!!!

 

It's the least we could do since we bailed....not by choice that's for sure! Please tell Tomasz that I have a GOT PIEROGI? tee shirt waiting for him.

 

Wow DSNYDRMR ... sounds like we have more in common than SD and Disney as I am 50 percent of his nationality!

 

Hopefully the seas will calm down ... although you have been on SD enough to know the drill!

[whatnot]

Just a quick addition or two! Having a great cruise as Vandrefalk said. FT we did have the mussels on Day1 for lunch and Boulliabase(SP) for lunch today. Last night (Sunday) we had lobster). And our Merry Band of sailors had an interesting and enjoyable dinner with the Captain last evening.

 

The winds are still kicking up so there has been a lot of motion.. Had to do a different stop in Martinique than planned because the waves would have made it dangerous to get on the tenders!

 

Fpebbles and dsnysdrmr we thank you so much! And we miss you!

[DisneyJen]

Just a quick addition or two! Having a great cruise as Vandrefalk said. FT we did have the mussels on Day1 for lunch and Boulliabase(SP) for lunch today. Last night (Sunday) we had lobster). And our Merry Band of sailors had an interesting and enjoyable dinner with the Captain last evening.

 

The winds are still kicking up so there has been a lot of motion.. Had to do a different stop in Martinique than planned because the waves would have made it dangerous to get on the tenders!

 

Fpebbles and dsnysdrmr we thank you so much! And we miss you!

 

Thanks for checking in whatnot. Skyped with my parents in Aruba today and they said that the weather pattern in that portion of the Caribbean has been unusual.

 

I'm sure FT will be glad to know about the mussels!

 

Hope Mother Ocean settles down!!

[fpebbles]

We're glad you all are having a great time despite the "motion of the ocean."

 

We certainly miss being with you all and hope we can cruise together again sometime!

[CDreamer]

Fpebbles and DSNYSDRMR: as Vandrefalk and whatnot have said, your generosity was very much appreciated by ALL of us! Thank you sooo much...we made a very special toast to you and the kids last night. And while you may not be HERE on board with us you are definitely with us all in spirit. :D

[frequent traveler]

FT we did have the mussels on Day1 for lunch and Boulliabase(SP) for lunch today. Last night (Sunday) we had lobster).

 

so glad to hear that tradition has not been lost . . . :)

 

FT

[vandrefalk]

Let's see, where are we? Oh, yes, Bequia! Did St Lucia yesterday -- Whatnot took the tour of the island and CDreamer and company wandered on their own. We pretty much stayed on board except for a brief foray around the Rodney Bay Marina. Most of us had prime rib last night, which was yummy. Tonight is dessert extravaganza!

 

Today, DH and I went to Mustique! Beautiful, but somewhat bumpy sail over, but drinks at Basil's and lunch at Cotton House. The royals left yesterday so the ban on photos and getting around the island was lifted. Others toured Bequia and CDreamer had lobster pizza!

 

Am enjoying watching the dancing and singing in the piano bar -- Fly Me to the Moon has been sung as has Sweet Caroline (Zoltan is getting better :)).

 

Tomorrow is Tobago Cays and Union Island -- the 9 days are passing quickly! Capt W has indicated there may be some changing around of ports depending on the weather. There has been a lot of swell -- made watching the dancing very interesting as folks more than swayed!!

 

Must go get ready for cocktails -- wish you were all here. Oh, talked to one woman today who said "you know that table of eight in the middle last night? They are the bloggers". Gee, guess who that table was? :D:D

 

Vandrefalk

[DisneyJen]

Let's see, where are we? Oh, yes, Bequia! Did St Lucia yesterday -- Whatnot took the tour of the island and CDreamer and company wandered on their own. We pretty much stayed on board except for a brief foray around the Rodney Bay Marina. Most of us had prime rib last night, which was yummy. Tonight is dessert extravaganza!

 

Today, DH and I went to Mustique! Beautiful, but somewhat bumpy sail over, but drinks at Basil's and lunch at Cotton House. The royals left yesterday so the ban on photos and getting around the island was lifted. Others toured Bequia and CDreamer had lobster pizza!

 

Am enjoying watching the dancing and singing in the piano bar -- Fly Me to the Moon has been sung as has Sweet Caroline (Zoltan is getting better :)).

 

Tomorrow is Tobago Cays and Union Island -- the 9 days are passing quickly! Capt W has indicated there may be some changing around of ports depending on the weather. There has been a lot of swell -- made watching the dancing very interesting as folks more than swayed!!

 

Must go get ready for cocktails -- wish you were all here. Oh, talked to one woman today who said "you know that table of eight in the middle last night? They are the bloggers". Gee, guess who that table was? :D:D

 

Vandrefalk

 

Glad to hear that Zoltie has been practicing Sweet Caroline. Did he bring out the props??? Certainly are enough of us from the Carolinas:p Maybe the next song we need to teach him is James Taylor's "Carolina In My Mind."

 

Too funny about "the bloggers." Makes it sounds like a bad thing;) If they only knew:p

 

So sorry you missed the Royals!

[vandrefalk]

Just another day in paradise! Yesterday was Tobago Cays and Union Island and today is Grenada. We took a tour around Grenada and I'm glad to see a lot of the devastation we saw in 2006 has been repaired. Still, there are a lot of houses with no roofs and the churches have not been repaired.

 

Dinner Topside last night -- several had Dover sole -- some had duck and I had canneloni. All excellent. Pablo is doing a very nice job with the nightly wines. Champagne is Jacqart (sp?) -- not bad at all!

 

It's been very relaxing with the usual superb service. Crew doesn't miss a beat!

 

Just a few days left, but we'll enjoy every minute of it!

 

Vandrefalk

[knotheadusc]

*Sigh* I miss Pablo. SD is posting shots from your cruise on Facebook! Looks stunning!

[DisneyJen]

Sounds like all is well on our beloved SD2!

 

The photos knotheadusc mentioned are just BEAUTIFUL!!!

 

Thanks for reporting in:D

[Jim Avery]

OK, where did everyone go???? Inquiring minds want to know.:eek:

[CDreamer]

OK, where did everyone go???? Inquiring minds want to know.:eek:

 

In transit, Jim. I'm sure everyone will be checking in soon! ;)

[Jim Avery]

Now?????:D:D

[CDreamer]

Now?????:D:D

 

OK, I'll bite! :p Am still trying to catch up here at home, so please excuse any typos, and apologies if I happened to leave anyone out or misspell their name... I am working off my feeble memory; not notes!

 

I went with my usual pro/con list:

 

Pros: Being back on SDII and seeing/being with so many familiar faces: other SD friends whom we have come to know throughout the years, Capt Terje Willassen, Tomasz, Garfield, Christophe, Donatas, Zandra, Jeff, Zoltan, Pablo, Sean, Louie, Goran, June, Jojo, etc.... and meeting some new ones (to us): our wonderful cabin stewardess, Rowena, Chrisina, Enes, and so many others who helped make our 8th SD trip so very, very memorable.

 

Food: Tomasz and Garfield never disappoint, but they really outdid themselves this cruise! (For the record, Mr. CDreamer and I gained a record number of pounds on this trip which of course I will NOT reveal here! :eek:). The presentation of food was still jawdroppingly beautiful and I'm always impressed at how Tomasz eagle eye inspects all the food coming out of the kitchen. The delicious soups and entrees were to die for, and - of all things - a simple, freshly baked Croissant sandwich stuffed with ham and cheese was simply OUT OF THIS WORLD so I ordered it 2 days in a row! Garfield: wow.... those sinfully rich desserts knocked our socks off (and I'm not really a dessert eater).... I am STILL on a diet after consuming all those wonderfully decadent treats!

 

Islands: We loved this new (to us) itinerary, mainly because it was a big departure from some of the other Caribbean islands we have been to numerous times on previous SD cruises. Vegetation is much more lush and green in the Southern Caribbean, there is less population with a bit more 'laid back' lifestyle, and the intense blue/green ocean water colors seriously rival those found in French Polynesia.

 

Land Excursions: We, along with my brother and his wife, explored mostly on our own. Hired taxis to take us into the interior of the islands and give us a "local's" tour so we could see and learn a bit more of what each island had to offer.

 

Two highlight shore excursions that we did arrange through SDII were: an inner tube ride down river rapids in Grenada. While it was very exciting we never felt it was too much to handle. Staff, with fun nicknames like "911", "Rescue", and "Emergency" made sure we were all properly fitted with helmets and life vests and were there every step of the way to make sure everyone was OK (then they would spin your individual inner tube around right before you hit a small waterfall! :eek::D). We all had a great time and everyone was disappointed when the thrill ride came to an end because we wanted to do it all over again!! One piece of advice: take tip money. We weren't sure whether we could leave anything behind in the taxi/van, so most of us didn't bring any valuables. They also charged a small fee for a pic of your "float" and it would have been fun to have that memento. Thankfully, due to the generosity of another SDII passenger who lent us some money, we pooled enough $ to tip the guides.

 

Catamaran snorkel/sail to Tobago Cays: DO NOT miss this!!! The Cat is huge, stable, and easily accommodates a large group comfortably. You can snorkel with the turtles on one side of the reef or colorful fish on the other (or both) - OR you can tender by Zodiac and walk along the sand that splits the two preserves. The color of the water in this area is simply jaw dropping and I just couldn't stop taking pics. Rum punch was served afterwards... a nice way to start the day before the infamous Splash.

 

Champagne and Caviar Splash: 'nough said, really. It is always an amazing treat at the end of a SD cruise. Loved the beach on Mayreau....my favorite so far. The lounge chairs/towels were all out on the sand but there were also several large picnic tables under the shade of the trees where everyone could congregate. The beach was nice and clean and it was a great place just to wade out and take an easy swim. And the food.... need I say it again? It was amazingly good, and as usual we ate waaaay too much since we HAD to try everything! What an incredible day.

 

Cons: We had to pack up after the Splash and leave the ship the next day.

 

Back on Barbados: After we dropped our bags off at our hotel (Marriott, which was fine, though if you want to be on a nice beach w/ full facilities go with the Hilton), our taxi driver drove us around the island. Didn't have my notes with me (BAD CDreamer!) so I asked him about the chocolate factory, of which he had no knowledge. So I asked local people at every stop but no one had even heard of it. Here is the name in case you want to Google the factory since it DOES exist (thanks Knot!): Agapey Chocolate Factory. You do need advance reservations before you go, so keep that in mind.

 

Where we DID go -and what I highly recommend seeing- is Harrison Caves, where you take a tram (or hike, if you don't mind getting wet/muddy) through the enormous limestone cave. It is a well conducted tour with plenty of ventilation and lighting throughout so we never felt the least bit claustrophobic. Definitely worth a visit, and the limestone formations are amazingly colorful.

 

So there's my summation! Hopefully some of the others will chime in soon as well.

 

CDreamer

[knotheadusc]

Great review!

 

I have a funny anecdote about the chocolate factory. Two or three weeks after our cruise, I got an email from Alex at Agapey Chocolate Factory letting us know that he could accommodate us on December 21st. I had to write him back and let him know that was great, but we had wanted a tour on November 21st! I give him a pass because they had just started offering the tours in November.

 

I loved Mayreau, too. It was there that I just stood there on the pier and marveled at what a wonderful vacation we had. I'm glad you had a similar experience, CDreamer! :)

[Jim Avery]

Ditto. Loved the review. Many of your islands are on "our list".

[vandrefalk]

CDreamer did an excellent job summarizing the cruise! Think we should make her our official reporter :D

 

In addition to our little group, there were about 10-12 other people we've sailed with before -- 75 total Club members on this trip! It's always nice to see folks you've sailed with before -- the Scots (hello, Alice!), the Norwegians, and others from UK and US. But it's really about the crew. I was in serious need of laid-back time and they made sure I got it!

 

We did have some rough nights -- next to last in particular. It was so rocky that I had to get dressed in stages! Fortunately, our wonderful Captain slowed us down so I could at least get to the Lounge without looking like I was in the middle of a major drunk! :)

 

As always, I can't leave without having the next one booked -- 2 weeks in October to celebrate our 25th -- can't wait!

 

I think DJ and her crew are going next so we'll need reports from you to feed our addiction!

 

Vandrefalk

[CDreamer]

CDreamer did an excellent job summarizing the cruise! Think we should make her our official reporter :D Vandrefalk

 

Um.... I think YOU have the title of "Official Blogger", Vandrefalk! I'm just sitting at the table. ;)

 

Knot, funny story about the Chocolate Factory mixing up the dates. I remember you saying it was new, so figured that's why no one really knew about it yet.

 

One last thing.... does anyone (Vandrefalk, whatnot, etc) remember the name of our first stop in Martinique, where we were diverted to because of the high swells? Cute little place but I can't remember the name.

[Jim Avery]

Karen,

Are your 2 weeks in October the TA or in the Med??:D

Jim.

[whatnot]

Great reporting! I'm still trying to get caught up after coming home with a bad cold. Think I'm about to get back to normal.

 

Just a couple of things to add. It was great to see Loving Life and her Toronto group again. And it was also fun to meet Baskis and the other Swedes that were on board this trip. Hope all had good trips home.

 

These southern Caribbean islands have the most beautiful colored waters I have ever seen. As CDreamer said the Cat Sail in the Tobago Cays was fabulous, but the glass bottom boat excursion with snorkeling and swimming in the Bucco Reef Marine Preserve off of Scarborough, Tobago was also outstanding. On Bequia, we did the island tour which went to the Turtle Sanctuary. It was quite interesting to see the baby turtles being raised to return to the sea and the injured turtles being rehabed.

 

It was another great Sea Dream cruise with great friends and a great crew! Our next is the Black Sea in September.

 

And CDreamer I can not think of the name of that pretty little bay in Martinique!

[DisneyJen]

Thanks for the reports CDreamer and Karen:D

 

DJ's DH and I head to SJU on Thursday and board SD1 on Saturday.

 

I do love the Southern Caribbean as well. The photos posted on FB did not do it justice.

 

I wonder if this itinerary will become part of the SD repertoire?