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Day 4 of our SeaDream cruise… Taormina, Sicily

First view

We woke up on Tuesday, May 14th in Taormina…  Actually, we weren’t in Taormina, but a coastal town near Taormina.  SeaDream was running a free shuttle bus to take cruisers to Taormina.  A lot of people also went on the excursion to Mount Etna, which I understand was pretty strenuous.  Some people were ill-prepared for the colder temperatures on the mountain.  One couple described the excursion and said they’d actually brought coats with them and they really needed them.

Sun was very welcome…

Bill and I went to the coastal town, but never made it on the shuttle bus to Taormina because I was still feeling pretty sick and was very tired.  The defining characteristic of my cold this time was overwhelming fatigue, and I ended up sleeping a lot on this cruise.  I wish I could have gotten up early as we sailed into Sicily, though.  I would have liked to have seen some of the scenery.  I had never been to Sicily before.

The coastal town wasn’t all that nice.  We walked around near the waterfront and were hustled by a couple of cab drivers looking to make some money.  One guy stopped us and gave his opinions about President Obama.  I also noticed a museum that looked like it might be interesting, but I didn’t have the patience to visit it.  If I had been feeling better, I definitely would have taken the shuttle SeaDream had arranged.

Etna is in the distance…

Beach… I probably would have enjoyed lying there for awhile.

As it was, we came back to the yacht and I had another long hot tub soak.  Job brought me more prosecco and I basked in the pleasant sunshine for awhile.  Once again, I really wanted to go swimming, but the water was very cold and I don’t think SeaDream opened the marina for swimming that day.

I really wanted to swim with these fishies…

SeaDream did allow water sports and I noticed a few people using the Wave Runners.  One guy even changed his shorts while on deck.  From my vantage point in the hot tub, I managed to see his bare butt for a second or two, even though he had sort of covered himself with a towel.  It was kind of shocking.  Later, another passenger mentioned to me that she had also seen what I saw.  We both wondered why he hadn’t gone to a restroom or his cabin to change.  But hell, people in Europe aren’t nearly as shy about nudity as a lot of Americans are.

I seem to remember having flounder for lunch, which I paired with an order of fries.  One of the waiters told me that we would be offered fish and chips later in the week.

Handsome devil…  I think that’s our favorite place to sit.

I’d have to say I was feeling the yuckiest on Tuesday, so once again, I went to bed early and skipped the piano bar.  I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

 Mount Etna

One of Manuel’s best margaritas…

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Day 3 on SeaDream… Amalfi!

We woke up Monday morning with a lovely view of Amalfi, another coastal Italian town.  I remember watching an episode of Passport to Europe with Samantha Brown when she visited Amalfi and talked about the beauty of doing nothing…

First view of Amalfi…

Nothing was pretty much what I felt like doing, thanks to my cold.  Nevertheless, we did venture ashore and were rewarded with yet another stroll in a very cute and tourist friendly Italian town.  We ate breakfast in the dining salon that morning.  I had oatmeal and asked for a “wee dram” of scotch.  I noticed a couple of passengers watching curiously as Olivier brought me a shot of scotch to pour into my oatmeal.  I really only needed a few drops.  I learned during our Scottish Isles cruise on Hebridean Princess that a little scotch can be heavenly in oatmeal.  Besides, Bill enjoyed drinking what I didn’t use.

After breakfast, my Nikon was suitably charged, so I was able to take it with me into Amalfi, which also has steep pathways but none I felt like I had to climb to get somewhere cool.  In fact, compared to Capri, Amalfi seemed very laid-back.

The center of town…

The sun kept coming in and going out that day and it was still a bit too chilly to think about swimming, even though the water was so blue and inviting.  Somehow, we ended up in a pedestrian tunnel which spit us out on the other side of the town, where I was able to get a few nice shots of the coast.  Unfortunately, I was still really fatigued from the cold and craving a massage from one of the tiny Thai ladies in the SeaDream spa.

Mmm… fresh fish!

Bill poses after asking about batteries for my camera.  I think we gave up on that after Amalfi.

We ran into this cool little display in Amalfi.  I was gratified to see an Italian school girl taking a photo as well…

BIG lemons!  Almost as big as my melons!

 
 

Beautiful shoreline…

After a couple of hours walking around, we boarded the somewhat treacherous tender and headed back to the yacht, where I made a beeline to the fourth deck.  I made a spa appointment for an Asian Fusion treatment for 2:00 that afternoon.  Then, I slipped into my bathing suit and sat in the hot tub for awhile, while Job the waiter kept me supplied with plastic flutes full of prosecco.  I couldn’t help but notice a much larger Silversea cruise ship was also in port.  I had seen two of them when we were in Venice, and I’m pretty sure this one was not one of the two we’d seen previously.  If I’m right, that means at least three Silversea ships were in Italy.  I think there was also a Le Ponant ship in port, too.  Bill and I couldn’t help but notice how much it was listing.  I was definitely glad I wasn’t onboard that rocking vessel, even though I’m kind of curious about Le Ponant.

Excuse the yucky bathing suit shot, but this is how I enjoyed Amalfi…

After lunch, I went to the spa and sat in the sauna and steam room, which helped soothe me somewhat.  Then, a very tiny and cute massage therapist worked some of the knots out of my body.  After an hour on the massage table, I was feeling very relaxed and needed another nap.

I noticed during lunch that SeaDream had changed out their china.  Instead of the blue and white plates with little anchors on them, they had black and white plates that looked very modern.  I kind of missed the old plates.  It seems silly to notice it, but I did.

I made it to the piano bar on Monday night, but was a bit hoarse and couldn’t sing worth a damn.  I left early and hit the sack.  Our stewardess, Antonette, left us breath mints.  No, it wasn’t a hint.  SeaDream usually leaves little gifts at night and breath mints are what they give on the third night, I think.

Beautiful scenery…

I could get used to Amalfi…

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Our third SeaDream cruise…

May 11th… the day Bill and I had been looking forward to for many months had finally arrived.  We had arranged for a private taxi, courtesy of RomeCabs.  I booked RomeCabs on the advice of several Cruise Critic regulars, most notably Jim Avery.  I am not at all sorry I booked with RomeCabs, though it would have been cheaper to take the train.  Our driver, Marco, took outstanding care of us and picked us up a little bit early with a small, clean, Mercedes van.  As he drove us out of Rome, he pointed out some of the sites and made a point of reminding us that RomeCabs was ranked #1 on TripAdvisor.  I told him I knew about that and, in fact, booked his company due to RomeCabs’ many fans on Cruise Critic.  Bill later told me that Marco had encouraged us to write a review and Bill was happy to tell him that I always review things.  I’m pleased to note that I will be writing a very positive review of RomeCabs.

We arrived at the Civitavecchia pier at the stroke of 2:00pm, which anyone who has ever sailed with SeaDream Yacht Club is the magical hour at which guests can board.  Marco pulled up right next to the tent where we dropped our bags.  After very briefly stopping to arrange for our bags to be delivered, we were waved aboard one of our favorite vessels.  It’s truly a breeze to board SeaDream.  There’s no standing in line to speak of.

We climbed the gangway and were greeted by Captain Bjarne Smorawski and his crew, which included new club director Nat Green, and several Thai spa ladies passing out chilled washcloths and glasses of bubbly.  We made our way into the salon, where a very nice spread of finger foods was laid out for us.  George the pianist and the guitar player, whose name I never managed to catch, were playing tunes on the baby grand piano on the stage.

A couple of passengers immediately recognized me from Cruise Critic, which kind of made me feel like  a celebrity.  It’s nice to know I still look like my photo.  We were quickly issued ID cards and shown to our stateroom, which was room 212.  On our two previous voyages, we stayed on the third deck.  The only difference between deck 2 and decks 3 and 4 is that deck two has portholes instead of a picture window.  Other than that, I didn’t notice a difference and can honestly say I wouldn’t pay extra for a room on a higher deck.

First view of SeaDream I

Half bottle of chilled champagne…

Traditional shot of Bill in his life vest.  I do this every time we cruise.

 

Bill and I immediately met a couple who had recognized me from Cruise Critic and we chatted for awhile as people were checking in.  I always enjoy looking around on the first day, checking out the people with whom we will be spending the next week.  As usual, the folks cruising on SeaDream mostly fit a certain well-to-do segment of society.  Bill and I are far from wealthy; he is an Army officer and I make a pittance from my writing.  But we save and plan so we can be fancy for a week out of every year or so.  And on each of the three cruises we’ve taken on SeaDream, we have met some very nice people.  This cruise was no exception.

Of course, some of the very nicest people on SeaDream are staff members.  Bill and I were glad to see some of our favorites were still onboard, smiling and welcoming as always.  The one exception was Felix, a German waiter from Hamburg who was on our first two cruises.  His dry wit and consummate professionalism had won us over.  Alas, Felix went to work for the passengers on Seabourn Legend.  I had heard from a couple of sources that he hoped to come back to SeaDream someday.  Now that Legend has been sold to Windstar Cruise Line, who knows what the future holds for Felix?  Hopefully, we’ll see him again.  I know I wasn’t the only one who missed him.

But anyway, though Felix was not onboard, many other favorite staff members were.  I could list them all here, but in reality, everyone we ran into was excellent this time.  I can’t complain about anyone, though we interacted with some staff members more than others.

After an excellent dinner, Bill and I headed for the piano bar, which is really my favorite place to be when the sun goes down on SeaDream I.  I did lots of singing with George, the pianist, and enjoyed way too much prosecco poured by chief bartender, Manuel.  The prosecco gave me a slight hangover, which I dutifully reported on the Internet.  I was glad to see the price of Internet had gone down significantly since our last voyage.  It went from $35 a day to $99 for the week.  It’s still a lot of money, but $99 beats the hell out of $35 a day.

When it was time for bed, there was a lovely rose waiting for us.  Our stewardess, Antonette, put it in a vase for us to enjoy all week.  Having taken a Bonine earlier to ward off my customary seasickness, I was feeling fine after a nice, hot shower in the three headed shower stall.  I slept well my first night as we headed for our first port of call on the Island of Capri.

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