At Sea At Peace

Wrapping up the transfer of phones from iPhone (remember to go to settings, photos and select 'most compatible to export in non-iPhone high resolution format to a format acceptable on CC and most SM forums) and found a few more. DW has a windbreaker on quite often as some parts of ship and even venue are quite cold. 🥶 You'll notice there appears to be a glass of wine (red or white) from the camera source plate. That would be mine. Therefore, no windbreaker needed. 😏 Pear and Apple Salad Apple Tart with Ice Cream Beef Carpaccio - As good as at Tuscan (a tad smaller); just ask for two. 😉 Key Lime Pie Lunchtime Light Dish - Fried Chicken, FF's and Cole Slaw Tomato Soup, Bisque etc. with Cheese and Croutons

Tough call.

Yes. We just returned to Port Everglades this morning from 10N Southern Caribbean on Silhouette and the wind out of the east (against our aft heading into port) was wicked. Two pretty big tugs tied up bow and aft to assist with turn in Lake Mabel and docking. It's been like this for 2-days here per our Condo front desk (1-mile up from port on beach). All of our outdoor pool chairs, tables, umbrellas not just tied down but removed and placed inside. It's going to be an interest ride out of Port Everglades and until the captain can use the Bahama to shield some of the brunt of the wind. Good luck.

Well, leave you all with some pics of N9 Select main dining with lobster tail and beef wellington the most common choices. Place was packed early. The feed back on the lobster tail was 'all over the place' and the beef wellington pretty well received. DW said the inside of the pastry was 'doughy' so of course I liked it. I was trying to decide on the lobster tail or the beef wellington (being in New England in summer, fresh, live Maine Lobster is tough to beat). As our waiter (Kadec I believe) to choose, he gave me both. DW had the welly. Beef Wellington, hers then mine. Hiding in the background, the lobster tail.

Hope to update for Celebrity Select main dining last night. Big celebration of dining crew members, lobster and beef wellington night, etc. Having hard time with internet uploading anything so will try again later. It was a lot of fun, hectic, busy but fun. For us, as stated somewhere at the outset of the thread, Celebrity main dining quality of food and, especially, the service, has been better than all others.

You enjoy all of the offerings. We're just the two of us on this and we are not big volume eaters at all. So, for us to go from our normal diet to the The Lawn Club and even sample all of the offerings it would such a leap. SALAD BAR ALTERNATIVE Our thoughts on the salad bar are just opinions. With a salad bar as expansive as Ocean cafe up top it's tough to put in a small one competitive in a specialty dining venue with similar content. So, our thought would to be to pair to the concept of what is grilled and served there with a more parallel offering and style. Possibly one tin bin of mixed greens along with a cold bin of iceberg lettuce wedges (quarters or eighths) to start. Crispy fully bacon (beef and or turkey) and anchovies. Then "skewers" pre-prepared ~ 1. fresh vegetables 2. fresh cheeses and olives 3. fresh array of tomatoes etc. ALL with a "choice" if you want raw as is (with dressings or dips) or optionally walked over to be minute grilled. 4. cold pasta salad, multi-color, multi-pasta and potato in Ramekins. 😋

The Lawn Club It was a nice experience. Loved the early gang-searing of the tenderloins and rib eyes. Kind of being at a tailgate party at a big college or NFL game. Didn't do the Salad Bar * * More on that Concept * * Later Didn't do the Kebabs. Didn't do the Flatbread Starters * * So kind of an unfair or limited review * * DW had the filet mignon of course. It doesn't look that good in the picture but the "hot plate" that they put on your table plate so that it is served on such is huge! It was perfectly seared and 'fork tender' and she enjoyed most of it and I finished. Both agreed it was under-seasoned pre-sear, but very well cooked and rested. I had the marinated lamb chops. I have been on a mission searching for the double cut lamb chop posted every day on the Grand Cuvee Select Dining APP page. The 4th lamb, the 4th "nope, not it," although I was told I'd find it here. So, here is what is presented ~ Not very impressive, especially when compared with the other meat pre-sear and post cook and rest. It's cut singe, it's thin. It's cook quite well. With your eyes closed, there is no way in heck you'd guess it was lamb. Zero 'game.' Also under-seasoned pre-sear like filet. Chef, nice guy, was asked if on night 9 reservation could I get double cut, NO marinade? He said 'they come single cut, pre-marinade and frozen so there is nothing he can do. He was nice, knew what I wanted. My wife discussed how that particular marinade is specifically made to neuter the 'gamey taste' of the lamb. I'm not a 'no gamey taste' lamb eater. So, the SEARCH continues (I believe it is in the Retreat restaurant or Blu and I don't have access). Cream Corn a tad too soupy. Simply drained it. The desert were pretty good. DW had the warm chocolate chip cookie (good, no pic) I had the banana bread (Oooops Carrot Cake). Very good.

Yep. It's hard to compare NCL Haven to MSC Yacht Club just with the different Classes of ships of each as they are not the same on all of either. Celebrity Retreat looks nice. Again, much different on Silhouette than the Apex Class. Of note, it appears the the Retreat Lounge is down on Deck 5 next to Murano. Where is the restaurant? Screenshot of new Le Petit Chef menu. We did talk to several who, not satisfied with the limited offerings, were able to select something they wanted from Blu or Tuscan.

Tuscan Berkshire Pork Belly Beef Carpaccio *Awesome* Minestrone (OK, nothing special) Chicken Parmesan - Pretty good. Too big for us. We ate 2" of each side. Should have done the 1/2 order size. Short Rib Pappardelle Ragu - Very, very good.

A couple of really cool, very private spaces. The Hideaway and the Library. View from stairs outside dining.

It was the spicy tuna & shrimp tempora sushi roll with an eel hoisin sauce. Really good.

Sushi on 5 Hopped in there a couple of times and ordered small plates. Still not very busy, but noted the HR department, full uniform, enjoying two full tables at the back of the venue. Saw this go by, had to order one.😉 Transferring PICS from The Lawn Club last night. Will post later. Will be an interesting 'take' on the venue.

We have no idea re: the photo costs. Will take a look at today. We, in the past decade, have used our photos, public images (google ship and/or island) and use an ONLINE art store make a print, fabric or ceramic with or without frame after sending them the digital files.

The other item was a breaded pork chop with marshmallow sweet potato with green beans. Not a big deal, but as most do with pork, it was well more than the medium. 🤨 Safety 'cruise, public dining,' likely over 'at home' quality.

Le Petit Chef, was fun and innovative. The technology effect doesn't last long for adults, but fun. The food was very limited and we mixed and matched to sample the entire menu. NEW MENU OUT TODAY - Will post tomorrow The short rib, so far, was the best menu item of the trip in any dining venue so far. 👍 For two reasons. The cut was thick (stood tall, against the grain top and bottom) and when my DW touched the top with a fork it slid off, most and very tasty. Second, she didn't offer me a bite until the last piece. 🙄 NOTE Others tried to book Le Petit Chef and the APP indicated nothing was available. At our seating, the first, there were 5 other couples. Almost empty. Really odd, but not uncommon on this cruise. At Tuscan, the same, nothing available on the APP yet during our dinner, early, 2/3rds empty? 🤨 PICS Some have 'rays' in the image. Although not visible to the naked eye, the iPhone picks it up. It's the part of the table projections throughout the meal. The absolute winner so far on cruise.

The plates are huge. 😳 The Salmon was very good. I asked for 'glistening' and that is how it came. Skin still crisp, salt and pepper and like a potato chip. We could not do justice to that breakfast plate. To our shame, a single woman near us ate more than we did together. 😯 It was really good. There are 800+ Elite level eligible to have this at Tuscan from 8-10am. Appears to be about 10-15% take advantage of it. Although there is a limited offering it is a real comfortable environment, view and ambience. Good premium coffee also.

Main dining, upper floor (walk-in, no reservations, no fixed time) first night. Same location, first breakfast. Breakfast for 'Elite' level at Tuscan (there are 800+ 'Elite' level on cruise; only 30 or so people here for breakfast each day. Will post 'Le Petit Chef' later. TECH NOTE On iPhone, switch setting on Photos to 'most compatible' so that when transferring to PC the high resolution iPhone image is converted to CruiseCritic acceptable formats. 🤨

First Topic - Cleanliness Seriously, after being stateside during and post Covid and experiencing the working habits of, well, every sector, watching and noting the Crew on this ship is rewarding. At the outset, it appears the demographics are roughly 25-35% 'each' Indonesia, India and Philippines in that order. Every aspect of the ship, dining, common areas, bars, pool decks, Solarium, everywhere, is spot-free almost all day and night lone. They are not just deep cleaning at night and dawn, they are at it 'live' all day. The work as a team, use technology (ear pieces and phone) and operate like a 'well oiled machine' in the hardest areas servicing the main dining, top select main dining and the Ocean Cafe. They are professional, engaged with smiles, welcomes, needs, etc. Equipment, tables, food islands, etc. are kept clean 'during' service. Really, really impressive. The ship, although 'getting up there, is 95% quality rated in all regards IMO.

The ship looked decent upon boarding, which is always a hectic time. Stateroom was ready. Pretty nice holiday decor around the ship.

The WIFI is location dependent. Found that in the Ocean Cafe in the morning it is the best for my laptop. Should be able to do some PICS today on a catch up basis.

We're having a really good time. We have a lot of pics of the ship, our food etc. The WIFI has been pretty tough, but we've seemed to be at the overcome point. Will post more tomorrow. Generally, the Celebrity passenger mix is more 'us.' We're RCCL for the big ships with families as we have GKs. We're MSC big for the Yacht Club 'because we like it.' NCL for certain features on the Breakaway and Quantum Classes. There is younger, more 'city' crowd, but nice. A sneak refresher, Celebrity Main Dining (the last time we ate main dining was 2012 on Celebrity) is better than each and every one of the other lines. From service, organization, quality of food, very nice. We probably didn't need to book 6 Specialty reservations. Thanks for the input and inquiries. Will work on the pics and comments tomorrow.

Just a note. The WIFI 'premium' has been an issue for us. Not all, but for us. Seems to be improving, but a work in progress. The APP is really good, once you get downloaded. Like a 'circular reference' error that you can't resolve yourself, despite capabilities, without the IT lounge kids on Deck 5 😉 Go well before opening the lines will amaze. - - - - - - Agree on the 'group disclosure' as a fairness to the 'non group passengers.' On Equinox, our special group was, per as told, almost 800. Didn't mind the 'group' in any way, shape or form. However, we had early dining (at the time after decades of owning a business we're up a 5-6am and down at 8-or so. The group decided to all switch to early. We had the 8:30-9 reassigned. A no go for us. They offered same meal at room service, just not arrived until 10-10:30 at night. It happens. But the company line was 'we have a large group the we must accommodate.' That didn't cut it for us or hundreds or others. Several areas of the ship were commandeered as they changes their plans at will. Ugh.

Nice Dave. Hope to have a great time. We have also have had a lot of Celebrity Cruises that were nothing short of simply perfect. Just had one bad one and it really was due to a large group that we were not informed of prior to or during the sailing.

Will do. 😎 Well, not up early enough to get a snapshot of her coming into to port this morning. Can see her on the port webcam. She appears to have backed in, so when we leave 'Lake Mabel" it will be one turn and a straight shot out. We have a late boarding slot 2-2:30 which was appropriate as we booked last minute. All packed and ready to go. Probably head over @ 1PM or so after the drawbridge closes. Port Everglades is getting huge with development. I guess it's natural as FLL has gotten huge. Old Lake Mabel and FLL from times gone bye.

Well, we've been there done that as per this thread title. However, 10-years, 4 grandkids, 1 grand dog and life events might change that as it has done for us. 😉 In 2013 when we had a truly unacceptable experience (the only one ever on all our cruises) on Equinox, we said - and meant - the same thing. Even when Celebrity was hyping the new E Class, with a tractor trailer traveling demo (impressive) at a big TA in NH near our home, we told the Sales guy our story and that we wouldn't even go on the new ship (looked great) even if it was for free. He took our name and story and verified it (lots of emails). He actually offered us really special arrangements on the first E Class. We said no. He was befuddled. But, time sometimes heals . . . We'll definitely let all know. Tomorrow Silhouette comes into FLL in the early AM. I'm not up, but DW usually is. Hope she takes a couple of snaps of her from our condo a mile up the beach and I can post. We're going to try to do daily updates and photos. CC members (posts, photos, reviews) have been the top source of everything cruising for us since we started in 2008.