Greetings from Greece!!

[magooatsea]

Hey everyone! I am finally aboard ship. We started Sat in Dubrovnik. The weather was phenomenal. Next was Korcula, Croatia. A sleepy little town. My husband made me bike around the island to work off all this fabulous food. When we returned we were surprised by an invitation to the Captain's table. (Valter Berg) What a nice, funny guy! Monday was spent in Corfu, Greece. Again out with the bikes and around we went. And now we're in Katakolon, Greece to see where the Olympics started. Sorry to be so quick, but my $20 card got chowed down looking at my emails and the computer connection is beyond slow. We did do the excursion today. Thank God no bikes! But honestly the tour wasn't so great and my husband wished we would have cycled there.

 

There are 108 people aboard. No kids. 13 different countries with 69 from the States. Although 18 are from Puerto Rico and they would prefer to be mentioned separately! That's all for now. The Bar at the Top of the Deck is open for business!!

[ctbjr1309]

Greetings and thanks for the update. Glad to hear that you are enjoying yourselves. Sure do wish we were there with you. I'd be interested to know who some of the crew onboard with you are, in addition to Capt. Berg. I know that Tomasz is there. Please tell him that CTBJR says hello. We miss him and will try to stop by for a quick visit in Tenerife on Nov. 9.

 

I hope that you can continue to update us on our trip. I can sympathize with you about the slow internet connection. The only thing that makes it bearable is remembering the old days (not so long ago, actually) when there were no computers or internet available onboard cruise ships.

 

Looking forward to your next report.......

[ama22]

Please tell us more in the coming days about ship excursions. We are cruising Istanbul to Rome next Sept. and am trying to decide between ship excursions and private guides. Do the ship excursions have a lot of people on them? About how many? I've heard that they are lead by ship crew members, is this true? This is really a tough decision,hope you can help.

 

Mary Lou

[ctbjr1309]

Please tell us more in the coming days about ship excursions. We are cruising Istanbul to Rome next Sept. and am trying to decide between ship excursions and private guides. Do the ship excursions have a lot of people on them? About how many? I've heard that they are lead by ship crew members, is this true? This is really a tough decision,hope you can help.

 

Mary Lou

 

Mary Lou,

 

There is a minimum number of people for most SD shore excursions. If that number is not reached the excursion will be cancelled. That means if you absolutely, positively have to see something and want to be sure that you don't miss it you should sign up with a private guide. If a large number of people sign up, extra busses and guides are provided. The ship crew members often accompany tours but in every case a local guide leads each group from the ship.

 

Some of the ship excursions are better than others. It is just the luck of the draw. I must say though that I can say the same about private guides also.

 

I hope that helps.

[DisneyJen]

How wonderful to hear from you Magooatsea!!

 

Glad to hear that the weather is cooperating:D I am sure Capt. B will provide a smooth ride.

 

Sounds like a grear mix of passengers ... especially the no kids part:p

 

Put a round of drinks at Top of the Yacht on my tab.

[magooatsea]

Today we are in Zakynthos (I need to bring my guide with me for spelling next time) The weather turned very nasty yesterday afternoon and we stayed docked all night. With a very rough 2 hrs this morning. Breakfast and lunches are being served in the dining room and all watersports are cancelled. As for the excursions I must say they haven't been the greatest. Today most of the boat was supposed to go to the blue caves, accessible only by boat, and that was cancelled. Yesterday the excursion was to Mt. Olympus and the Mercouri wine estate. There was a small mutiny and a group of travelers left on taxis. It wasn't SD's fault Richard (the cruiese director) apparently had told the guide one thing and she decided that we needed to spend 20min in a T-shirt factory which really messed up the timing. SeaDreamers are not really t-shirt factory kind of people especially when there was a nice museum next door that we were told there was no time for. Many upset people.

 

As I said we were fortunate to stay in dock for the night, Norwegian Cruise Line had to rough it all night out in the seas. Our boat did get some damage to the side which they're repairing today.

 

On a brighter note, tomorrow we will go through the Corinth Canal. SD has also managed to get us into Hydra (again I need my guidebook) which was not on the original itinerary, so we are very excited about that. I hear that clock ticking, will try and log on tomorrow.

[ama22]

CBTJR: Thanks for the input on excursions. I posted a question a couple of weeks ago on my tentative excursion plans. I was wondering if you could comment on them for me? I'd appreciate it.

 

Mary Lou

[vandrefalk]

Hope your weather improves, Magooatsea! If you run into Cliff and Tracy from Florida, tell them "hi" from Bob and Karen!

Vandrefalk

[DisneyJen]

I must have spoken too soon Magooatsea!

 

The photos that I have seen from the Corinth Canal, courtesy of Ctbjr, were gorgeous! What a unique oportunity.

 

Thanks for checking in with us!

[wulicny]

If you run into Cliff and Tracy from Florida ...!

Vandrefalk

 

But try not to run into any other cliffs! :D

 

(Sorry, but the weather reports you gave made that an easy one.)

[ctbjr1309]

CBTJR: Thanks for the input on excursions. I posted a question a couple of weeks ago on my tentative excursion plans. I was wondering if you could comment on them for me? I'd appreciate it.

 

Mary Lou

 

Mary Lou,

 

I remember your post but can't quite locate it. If you'll point me to it with a link, I'll do my best to give you my input. Thanks.

[ama22]

CTBJR: I'm not sure how to do a link, but my post was entitled EXCURSIONS, and was Dated September 16, 2006. I'd really appreciate your input, and I'm really debating back and forth the whole idea of excursions

 

Mary Lou

[Host Dan]

CTBJR: I'm not sure how to do a link, but my post was entitled EXCURSIONS, and was Dated September 16, 2006. I'd really appreciate your input, and I'm really debating back and forth the whole idea of excursions

 

Mary Lou

Heres the link.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=413896

 

Host Dan

[ama22]

Dan: How do you find this information on the link. How do you go about doing it? It may help me in the future. Thanks

 

Mary Lou

[magooatsea]

I'm baaaaack:) Okay everyone it's time for round two on SDI. We started this time in Athens, picking up Mr. Pimentel and some of the other owners family (Sorry, don't know how to spell the name) We once again in Mykynos. The seas are quite rough, we were supposed to be at anchor all day for sea toys and had to come in. Capt. Berg managed quite well, but took almost an hour as the wind was pushing us off the dock. Since we were on this island last week, today Tracy (of Tracy and Cliff) and my husband and I did our own excursion to Delos. Wow is all I have to say. The ferry was quite rough, but worth the trip. Today there are a total of 6 cruise ships here, but it still does not seem that busy. Most SD seemed to take the jeeps out for their own private excursions. Tomorrow is Kusadasi. Tonight we are dining with Mr. Pimentel. Don't ask me how that happened, I have no clue. Will definitely ask about #3. CTBjr.Thomaz had a great smile when I mentioned you. He and Christophe have treated us wonderfully. We mostly have eaten outside as my husband was getting claustrophobic downstairs and they have been very accomodating. Maybe that's why they put us with the owner so we would finally eat downstairs!!! Wish me luck tonight, don't want to drink too much, must behave, now if I could only make sure my husband behaves!! Until tomorrow......

[ctbjr1309]

Thanks for the update. Glad to hear that all is well. Thanks for relaying my message to Tomasz and glad to hear that it generated a smile. I didn't realize that Christophe is on board SD1 currently. I hate to keep asking you to be my message delivery person but if you don't mind, please tell him that Charlie & Kim are looking forward to seeing him onboard SD2 next month for the Crossing. Last I heard, he was scheduled for that trip.

 

You're fortunate to have made it to Mykonos. We've not made it either of the last 2 years due to high winds, etc. One day.....

 

Good luck with the behavior situation. I happen to know just what you mean.

[Host Dan]

Dan: How do you find this information on the link. How do you go about doing it? It may help me in the future. Thanks

 

Mary Lou

Mary Lou,

Simply scroll down, find the thread, open it, right click on the address, select copy. When posting the link, click paste! Very easy.

If you specifically want to search a topic in general, use the "search this forum" tool at the top of the main forum page!

I hope this helps!

 

Host Dan

[magooatsea]

Well I'm pleased to report that #1 husband was fairly good. Also we did inquire into SD3. Apparently the company is thinking it will be on line in about 6months or so. So that's great news. Complaints were relatively few and mostly about the gym. It really is being used constantly now morning and afternoon with no air. Lots of people are complaining. SDII will have the go over in Nov, and SDI in March (or sometime in the spring) which will help, our mattress is quite out of shape so the back's is not holding up so well.

 

Yesterday we were in Kusadasi, and did the shopping go on. Epheseus was incredible. They did a great job with the excursions. And the concert in the library will never be matched in my mind. The moon was bright shining down on the ruins with the lights and the music, just memorable. That alone is worth the trip out here. Today we are in Bodrum. Clear blue skies, flat, flat, flat water a perfect day. We're off on the bikes to see the sights. Until later......

[CADDad]

please tell him that Charlie & Kim are looking forward to seeing him onboard SD2 next month for the Crossing. Last I heard, he was scheduled for that trip..

 

The crossing is about sold out so you should have a great time. Say hello to James and Christophe when you get there.

[DisneyJen]

Glad to hear that hubby was "fairly good";)

 

Thanks for sharing the info on SD3. I wonder if it will sail the Asian route ... while I selfishly hope that is spends more time in the Caribbean/South America so some of those fares will come down:p

 

Good news on the rennovations ... new bedding is always welcomed!

 

Your excursion to Epheseus sounds heavenly.

 

Not saying a word about the weather ... as I don't want to jinx you as I did last time:o

[magooatsea]

I'm well back into reality now. Amazing how 3 weeks can go by so fast. So much work to catch up on. Just a few last notes for everyone.

 

CBTJR: We had some amazing Croatian wine thanks to Christophe. He said it's been rolling around under his bed and he wanted to get rid of it! Just kidding. He's saving it for you. What a fabulous guy. He is so detail oriented just made everything perfect.

 

We had Conde Nast on the ship for most of the last week. They took pictures from the Santorini view, and then many days on board. So be warned, more people are definitely going to know about SD. Seemed like they were always taking pictures of George at the Top of the Yacht Bar. So we started calling him Pretty Boy George. He does have a great smile.

 

For the last week we stayed in Mykonos, Kusadasi, Bodrum, Santorini, Crete, and Rhodes. In Kusadasi we shopped quite freely as there are many shops that have a guarantee with the ships, if the customer is not happy (found out they were overcharged when they returned home for instance) that the items can be returned for refunds. Larry explained in great detail how the cruise lines worked hard for this perk so the passengers could shop with peace of mind. I must say he did do his part in shopping there. (Lots of nice carpet and jewelry stores). In Bodrum some people were bored, sleepy fishing village. Those of us who rented the popular Bodrum style sail boats and cruised for the day were more than thrilled. We rented right at the pier for $200 for the day, four of us sailed, (motor-cruised) snorkeled and swam in private coves along the Turkish coast. Our boat was 50' and included a grilled fish (caught that morning) or chicken lunch. Wonderful.

Santorini is exactly how the pictures look. We rented a car for 35E for the day and saw the entire island. We wanted to spend more time in Ia than the excursion gave. There was another excursion that was lunch at a private facility. I believe it was $125/pp. We didn't go, but those that did, did enjoy it. Iraklion, Greece (Crete) was a total waste. The ship docked on the container side so was quite industrial. The town wasn't very exciting either. Most of the ship stayed on board. We watched them load and unload container ships all day. Very disappointing. Next was Rhodes. We all agreed that is where we should have stayed longer. As it was we had to leave at 16:00. If you took the excursion to Lindos, you only had a couple of hours in this wonderful medieval walled city. It looked like it would have been fun at night as well. We all wished that we skipped Crete and stayed overnight in Rhodes.

 

Another comment for those interested was the age of this week of passengers went up dramatically. The average age was 65. We were quite surprised. Many canes and people with difficulties walking etc... this really only affected some of the excursions (they had to stay behind) and the party atmosphere on board. This was not a party week, especially compared to last weeks 16 Puerto Ricans!!

 

As for SDIII, Larry did mention opening up an Asian route. Also in the plans is a SD Discovery. Somehow tied into the Discovery channel and they'll do more things like Amazon cruises, Antartica etc... Have lecturers and stuff like that. Sounds Cool.

 

They're really pushing the South American voyages so be warned when you're on board. It must work. #1 hubby signed on for crossing plus 2 weeks next year. (3weeks total!!! EEEK!) Larry and Richard (Our ship director) promised the crossing is a not to miss voyage. (We see some islands not often seen, and at most 3 days at sea.) Plus they've promised when the seas are flat they take the jet skiis off and play in the ocean.

Somehow #1 hubby thinks jet skiing in the middle of the Atlantic is a great thing. That's all for now. Hope everyone has a Bon Voyage!!

[ctbjr1309]

CBTJR: We had some amazing Croatian wine thanks to Christophe. He said it's been rolling around under his bed and he wanted to get rid of it! Just kidding. He's saving it for you. What a fabulous guy. He is so detail oriented just made everything perfect.

 

Magooatsea,

 

Thanks so much for the wrap up report and for the good news quoted above. Mrs. CTBjr is the family wine connoisseur and has been raving about some wine she had in Croatia on SD in July, 2005. She gave the label to Sean who was Hotel Manager on SD1 a few months ago and I guess that she will reap the benefits next month.

 

This thoughtfulness, attention to detail and teamwork is one of many reasons that we return to SD again and again.

[DisneyJen]

Thanks for the last part of your cruise review Magoo!

 

Interesting about Conde Nast being on board ... I hope that SD doesn't become so much in demand that prices are driven up so high that we mere mortals can't afford to sail:p

 

The jet skiing in the Atlantic might be the ticket to getting DH to do a crossing ... that and an upgrade in wifi would seal the deal:p

[magooatsea]

It must be a "guy" thing. Last night at dinner with 2 other couples all the guys agreed jet skiing in the middle of the Atlantic would be the coolest thing. I don't get it. But hey if it gets me another week I'm all for it.

 

As for the prices, what they've told us is book 'em early. The later it gets the more they'll cost. Plus if you book on board it's cheaper and refundable up to 90 days ahead. I do know that we had one cabin available for the second week we did, another couple decided to stay on. I would have thought the rate would be better as the cabin would have gone empty. I was wrong. They were charged the going rate. So I guess that's the way it goes. They're also doing a lot of charters. Both weeks we had travel people on board to work with the staff for their upcoming charters. Larry said that wasn't their main target, but it seems like it's going that way. Plus I know they get more money for a charter than booking it out to us mere mortals. Again I thought it would have been less, but apparently it's a lot more work, so they charge accordingly. Oh well, maybe in my next life! :)