Sea Dream makes it's position clear in it's brand name - Sea Dream Yacht club. It's not a cruise, but a yachting experience with people who would be on their own yacht except for the pressures and costs of modern day life. I remember that when I sailed a day sailer out of the Tarrytown Yacht Club on the Hudson River, that our boat was one of the few that ever left the dock. Lawrence Rockefeller often cruised the Hudson past our house as part of his commute to Manhattan. The rest of them left their boats generally untouched. Owning a yacht is truly like owning a hole in the water into which one pours money. While SeaDream is a luxury experience, and is not cheap, It's just a fraction of the cost of doing it yourself, and someone else has to get it pullled, scraped and painted each year. Besides, you deserve more than "cheap"!
At SeaDream, your yacht and it's polished and professional 95 person crew are in sharp contrast to the ragtag crews that one often has to hire for a private yacht. We spent an wonderful afternoon aboard the SeaDream II in the Southern Caribbean a few years ago, and found every cabin to be a suite, but that none of them had balconies. Most items, including alcohol, water toys, and gratuities are included in your fare. If this were your yacht, you'd probably not have all of the facilites that you and your "109 best new friends" will find aboard: golf simulator, casino, spa, medical facility with doctor, 1200 volume library, piano bar, pool, and fold-down water sports "Marina".
You may be thinking "If he's only been on the ship for one afternoon, how can he write a review?" Well, the review is only starting. Patti and I will be giving these #1 rated ships the acid test on April 27th, and we hope to bring you along via this blog.
Most Seadream itineraries include frequent stops at ports that cater to yachtsmen rather than cruisers. To reposition their ship to Europe for the 2008 summer season, they must make a non-stop transatlantic crossing. If there are any weaknesses in the shipboard experience, 12 consecutive days at sea will definitely expose them. That's why I call this the acid test.
Let me put this into perspective. Patti and I have done over 30 cruises spanning the globe. We love to stand on the deck in rough weather and look at the awsome power and beauty of the waves. We've often said "Who need ports of call? - The ocean covers 70% of the earth, and we want to see 100% of it. We do love to visit new places, and at the end of the cruise, we'll spend a couple of days in Madrid. While we lived in Europe for 3 years, we never got to visit Madrid.
Seadream promises that internet coverage is sufficient to bring you daily updates. Even if we have problems, we'll upload the status of our adventure as soon as we get net access. Stay Tuned!
Dick leaves Vancouver for Alaska
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Saturday, April 5, 2008
"Final" requiremens for cruise I.D. - Our View
Hello to all you Bloggers. This writer and Blog have been inactive for a month due to serious illness. I just want to assure you that we're back on the air, and that you can keep up to date with the latest cruise developments on this Blog. Additional cruise news is always available on our website at http://www.MyNextCruise.com/
The Departments of Homeland Security and of State has issued the "FINAL" rulemaking concerning the requirements of passports for land and sea border crossings under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. After years of development following 9/11, this ruling is the end of the process and can be considered FINAL when helping your clients ensure they have the proper identification when traveling. Note: Final is an optomistic word in a world where a single terrorist incident could change all the rules in one day- R.M.
Effective June 1, 2009, the following rules take effect for cruise passengers:
U.S. citizens on cruise voyages that begin and end at the same U.S. port (closed-loop itineraries) must show proof of citizenship* and government-issued photo ID (such as a driver’s license). A passport will not be required for passengers that fall into this category.
*Documents include: Original or certified copy of birth certificate; Naturalization papers; Consular Report of Birth Abroad issued by Department of State
All other passengers and/or itineraries (such as cruises which begin in one U.S. port and return to a different U.S. port or any cruise that begins or ends in a foreign port) will require a passport or other recognized document. (Think Alaska, Hawaii, Panama Canal, etc! - R.M.). For a list of accepted documents, see http://www.travel.state.gov/.
The good news for a majority of cruise passengers – American citizens that leave and return on their cruise from the same U.S. port – is that the travel document requirements will remain largely unchanged from how the industry is operating today.
The bad news is that those unfortunate enought to become ill or injured on a cruise will not be allowed to return home by air, or at best will experience long delays. Being ill is enough to handle at one time. R.M.
My advice to all travellers is to get a passport now. for only about $10 per year, you can have the best I.D., and stop watching my blog for the next set of "final" regulations. Meanwhile, healthy passengers without passports can cruise roundtrip with "birth certificate and driver's license" I.D.'s. Since vacations are all about relaxing and letting go of stress, even these people should get that Passport NOW!
The Departments of Homeland Security and of State has issued the "FINAL" rulemaking concerning the requirements of passports for land and sea border crossings under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. After years of development following 9/11, this ruling is the end of the process and can be considered FINAL when helping your clients ensure they have the proper identification when traveling. Note: Final is an optomistic word in a world where a single terrorist incident could change all the rules in one day- R.M.
Effective June 1, 2009, the following rules take effect for cruise passengers:
U.S. citizens on cruise voyages that begin and end at the same U.S. port (closed-loop itineraries) must show proof of citizenship* and government-issued photo ID (such as a driver’s license). A passport will not be required for passengers that fall into this category.
*Documents include: Original or certified copy of birth certificate; Naturalization papers; Consular Report of Birth Abroad issued by Department of State
All other passengers and/or itineraries (such as cruises which begin in one U.S. port and return to a different U.S. port or any cruise that begins or ends in a foreign port) will require a passport or other recognized document. (Think Alaska, Hawaii, Panama Canal, etc! - R.M.). For a list of accepted documents, see http://www.travel.state.gov/.
The good news for a majority of cruise passengers – American citizens that leave and return on their cruise from the same U.S. port – is that the travel document requirements will remain largely unchanged from how the industry is operating today.
The bad news is that those unfortunate enought to become ill or injured on a cruise will not be allowed to return home by air, or at best will experience long delays. Being ill is enough to handle at one time. R.M.
My advice to all travellers is to get a passport now. for only about $10 per year, you can have the best I.D., and stop watching my blog for the next set of "final" regulations. Meanwhile, healthy passengers without passports can cruise roundtrip with "birth certificate and driver's license" I.D.'s. Since vacations are all about relaxing and letting go of stress, even these people should get that Passport NOW!
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