chemmo

Good luck to you! I think it is only when you are in our position that you realise that life does do on and you do need to move forwards…So much easier said than done. I wondered if you were ‘solo’. Let me know how you get on. I will be ‘semi solo’ on my Infinity cruise next year travelling with my son and fiancée. I am planning on being fairly independent once on board and as part of that I have joined the roll call for my cruise. It will be a ‘soft’ start for me…I plan on doing a few solo things in ports too. Keep up the excellent review, I am enjoying all aspects!

The taxi situation can be similar in most cities in Europe. We have found asking the hotel to get us one when going out and the restaurant when returning has had better results. In a city we don’t know in addition to looking at trip advisor we ask the staff at the hotel we are staying at for recommendations as to where to dine. We will describe what is important to us (local, fresh, view…) and go from there…Failing that we will stroll around and look where the locals are dining… Re speed of dining…We have found more of a “manana” approach in Greece and it’s islands than in Spain…I do think it is a cultural thing…you are guests in their restaurant…you are welcome to sit there for as long as you like…there is no rush to finish your food…if you are literally there tomorrow morning it doesn’t matter…After spending many happy holidays in Greece and the islands once we got our heads around the ‘No rush’ mentality we enjoyed our dining experiences…

Enjoy your day, thoroughly enjoying following along!

Rollie, it was something we would very occasionally request…maybe every other cruise and always at least 24 hours in advance… We would ‘Ask if it was possible…’, always avoid chic nights when we knew butlers would be extra busy in Michael’s/Retreat/theatre. Unfortunately, I think when many reasonable guests have reported this on CC, others have then boarded expecting in suite Speciality/Luminae dining as a ‘right’ not the ‘treat’ it always was. Demand has risen and frequently requests have been last minute. Quite simply if all RS and above start requesting this regularly, especially on the ships with more suites, then it puts pressure on the restaurants and butler service. It is not sustainable. Whilst 99% of the time I would agree with you there are occasions where your balcony has the advantage. Next year the ship doesn’t leave Santorini until 10pm…The thought of dining on the balcony (M PH) that night, watching the sun set and lights beginning to twinkle on the cliff side whilst sipping a drink or two is just too tempting. I will follow posts on CC. I am hoping that an ‘occasional special request’ may be accommodated. If not I will settle for the standard Room Service menu and that view on that night!

We have been told the same. On S class when we have pre booked we have never had a problem with date/time. However, we have known RS guests struggle to get Murano bookings after mid cruise. Other restaurants seem to be pretty well available. Friends of ours in a RS on Apex didn’t bother pre booking and on day two of their cruise decided to book in Eden and Fine Cut. They got the time they wanted in Eden but on a different day and the day they wanted but later in the evening in Fine Cut. Which goes to show they do try to accommodate suite guests! I guess there are still lots of guests travelling on E class for the first time and booking packages or booking on boarding. Hence my suggestion to Rollie to pre book or at least book immediately on boarding.

In our experience tours by coach or minibus are often listed sold out then reappear. I assume they initially book x coaches then add more depending on uptake. It is tours using sea planes, specific types of boats etc that seem to go and then rarely come back up. Understandable, there are finite number of these resources. Still worth checking as if people cancel then limited places will reappear. It might be worth looking at the roll call for your cruise and seeing what tours others have arranged and companies they would recommend. Some may be booking tours that have spaces on them you could join. If you are reluctant to book independently going through a roll call can be a great idea as many who do the arrangements are really well travelled and very experienced.

Sincere best wishes for a wonderful cruise. What is your itinerary? Like many others, very interested in your comparisons… We got to know Jamie quite well having cruised with him I think three times on the Eclipse…Perhaps staff as well as customers are considering alternative cruise lines…

Please do a review after you return. I am dithering with booking this tour if available next year. A bit put off by several of the reviews. I will also be doing it solo if I do it so interested in that aspect too.

Thank you both! I will be travelling with my son and his fiancée so ideally we would love a two bedroom suite or a one bedroom suite with lounge area with sofa bed…As my mobility is limited I would also love a balcony to savour the views whilst the younger generation enjoy the city which I fell in love with 40 years ago! Any more suggestions greatly appreciated!

Every time we read about people saying we are flying in at x hours, the journey takes y hours and expect to be boarding at z hours I put a post on to say travel in the UK is not predictable! We live about 3 and 1/2 hours from Southampton but have never been brave enough to drive down on the day. Between football matches, boat shows and other miscellaneous events to say nothing for strikes and the weather journeys to Southampton are rarely simple… So pleased you are now on board, have a wonderful cruise!

Fantastic! I will continue to follow. We cruise from Athens next September and looking for a hotel in the Plaka area. Ideally with a view like yours….Your opinions, please!

Sincere best wishes for a wonderful cruise, Rollie. I will be interested to hear your views on the E class RS. We have been put off by the tiny balcony. However, with E class in Southampton from next year we will have to decide on a room type… We did get pj’s on one cruise but not on another so hit and miss. Personally I found the sizing odd…I ordered small and the sleeves dangled! Definitely the best perks of the suite are the bar set up and the included speciality dining. I strongly suggest you pre book your speciality dining before boarding to ensure you get the times you want. Enjoy your cruise and RS experience!

Sincere thanks for a wonderful vicarious cruise holiday. I have enjoyed your adventures daily with my morning coffee! Enjoy Athens, it really is a lovely city. My favourite area to sit, eat and drink watching the world go by is Plaka…I had the best moussaka ever there! I also enjoyed the local brandy Metaxa (not sure on the spelling) with coffee…

Last time we booked a bar set up it came with six mixers and some sort of mixed nut pack. If you explain to the shoreside concierge/concierge on board that the reason you have booked the bar set up is because of your medical issues, despite having a premium drinks package I hope they would top up as necessary. I know the bar set up isn’t cheap but once you have medical issues it is often worth paying a few $/£ for convenience…. Sincere best wishes for a wonderful cruise…

Hi there, I also have some issues making it hard for me to carry drinks, snacks back to my room. This has been one of the reasons that booking a RS or PH has appealed to us. We have enjoyed having the stocked sodas, beers, and 2 litres of spirits. One option open to you could be to purchase the in suite bar set up for your regular afternoon tipple or nightcap… I also suggest you contact the shoreside concierge a couple of weeks before your cruise and explain you know that an in suite minibar is not included with a SS but you have some medical issues and would be grateful if they could arrange for your room to be stocked with x, y, z…If the message doesn’t get through you could have the same conversation with the Retreat Concierge. There is a big difference between providing a guest with disabilities a service and providing everyone with a service…I would be hopeful that your request would be met. However, bringing mixed drinks to your suite is not a perk for any suite. Even in the PH we do not usually request that. I will occasionally totter back to my suite from the Retreat Lounge with a Baileys in a larger glass end of night to reduce spillage rather than phone the butler and expect him to bring me one!

Your room attendant will bring you ice twice daily. People have reported being able to have their fridges emptied (or if not just empty yourself and let your room attendant know you have done so and where you have put the contents). First few days of your cruise simply pick up a couple of cans or bottles to take to your room, you will I am sure, find neither of these things an issue big enough to take the glow off your retirement cruise! The Silhouette is a beautiful ship and the Retreat Deck is lovely as is the Retreat Lounge…Sincere best wishes for a wonderful cruise!

“I really like Rhodes, Greece so far. It’s really beautiful and there’s nice shopping, great food, it’s definitely a place that I didn’t expect that much from, but I’m glad we visited”… Stockjock, so glad you have have enjoyed your first taste of Greece. We love Greece! Over the years we have enjoyed spending full holidays on some of the islands. Enjoying their history, beauty and wonderful hospitality. Crete and Rhodes being two of our favourites. In the evening they really become special…

Before drinks packages I was really cautious about trying new cocktails…A lot of money to spend if you don’t like it when it comes. Since we have had a package I have worked my way through the menus! Another vote for spicy mangotini! Love it!

Reliably inconsistent seems to be the answer! I can only ask when I board!

Wouldn’t it be nice if from Southampton there was a two way Mediterranean cruise focusing mainly on islands and including a taste of North Africa. One fourteen night leg Southampton to Cyprus and then reverse but with a totally different itinerary. Just a few suggestions…. Southampton, Le Havre, Gibraltar, Ibiza, Corsica, Elba, Sicily, Corfu, Santorini (overnight), (another island if time) Cyprus. Cyprus, Alexandra, Crete, Malta (overnight), Tunisia, Morocco, Lisbon, Vigo, Southampton. You could go one way and enjoy a week either in Cyprus or in UK or both or simply join the two cruises and have a month at sea!

I am also an iffy sailor, I take sea sickness tablets from the day before I cruise until day three when I will take or not take depending on the forecast. I don’t know how much is psychological that I feel if I have taken the tablets I will be OK but since I got into this routine I have been fine…even when cruising from Southampton! We really made the most of the speciality restaurants on Silhouette. We did enjoy lunch in the Porch on sea days. Much as every cruise is different we were aware that a ‘free’ Porch lunch was one of the offers when booking a speciality package on board. It may be worth chatting after boarding… Looking forward to following along!

Friends of ours are just off Silhouette and loved it. They were new to Celebrity usually being Cunard cruisers. I had been nagging them for years to try Celebrity then was worried to find they had booked a short cruise that had been described as ‘rowdy’ last year and then I read about the MDR menu changes….As two of them had had health issues recently I really didn’t want them to be disappointed Following posts on here I was especially concerned that they would be disappointed with the food. However, they really enjoyed. I had warned them that veggie selection had received a bad press and they simply ordered two of the starter salads to be delivered as side salads for their mains to share between the four of them. They soon got into the habit of double ordering the prawn cocktail! It was the staff and the ambiance they really enjoyed, they would look at cruising Celebrity again. What didn’t go down so well was the cost of drinks. They had decided, not being big drinkers and with planned excursions to simply buy drinks as they went along. They found (as many of us do) that once you add coffee, water etc to bar bill it does make a package more viable.

It is an unfortunate fact that sometimes bending rules in good faith can have repercussions. I remember when free laundry was first introduced for RS and PH guests. It was listed as ‘unlimited’ and then just before our cruise became twice per cruise. We queried this on board and were told it was because many guests in higher suites are travelling with extended family and some were simply sending in the full family wash. In reality now whilst the ‘twice per cruise’ rule is there as long as the quantity sent in is reasonable there is no problem. From a recent post ordering room service in a top suite from a specialty restaurant or Luminae is no longer allowed. Much as this disappoints me I am not in the least surprised. We would occasionally (perhaps once per cruise) request an in suite dinner 24 hours in advance from our butler. We would discuss what we wanted and it would be arranged. Sometimes our butler would offer something not even on any menu. However, in recent years there have been more guests reporting on CC they have ordered room service from Luminae and the speciality restaurants without pre planning and have been accommodated. I totally understand if many guests are doing this and frequently that this would put pressure on Luminae, the speciality restaurants and the butler service. What we had always seen as a ‘treat’ not a right in un upper suite had become to some an expectation and then becomes non sustainable…The inevitable consequence is the ‘reasonable’ guest only requesting occasionally and giving 24 hours warning has lost a much valued treat. On our next cruise in an upper suite I will discuss with the butler possibilities for one special meal and see what they can do…If they can’t I will sadly accept it…It is a treat not a perk attached to the room.

I really worry about the Retreat Team members being overwhelmed with requests for fridge emptying and restocking by guests who don’t know about the changes…They will be at the hard end of complaints too. Wouldn’t it be better to leave the fridges empty with a card on top saying something like…. ”The mini fridge is left empty for you to stock with items of your choice. If you would like it stocked with pay for items please phone……” Surely this must be more hygienic too? I wouldn’t want to drink from a can that moves weekly in and out a fridge! The room attendant would not need to check and report usage at the end of the cruise, nor re-fill… This would also, perhaps allow the Retreat Team some discretion in perhaps offering to get water, soda etc for guests with mobility issues or are elderly and can’t carry a bag full of drinks to their room…On reflection, however, the basket on the front of those mobility scooters may be ideal.

Murano for the food Tuscan for the views!