Silhouette Maiden Caribbean Voyage 11/06 to 11/18

[pegasusa]

Have a great cruise, please tell Santos, the bar waiter on deck 3 lobby that the dancing Malibu and diet coke couple said a BIG HELLO!!!! And if you could find Bernard at table 350, please tell him we miss his singing!!

 

Vicki & Jerry

 

Ah, so Santos was on deck 3. I thought he would be at the Martini Bar and I'm sorry I missed him.

[Ocean Dancer]

Ah, so Santos was on deck 3. I thought he would be at the Martini Bar and I'm sorry I missed him.

 

He kept us very HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!:D

[jerseygirl3]

We are veteran Celebrity cruisers and I'm confused about some of the problems with sommeliers mentioned by some posters on this thread. In my past experiences, we used the services of a sommelier in the MDR when ordering bottles of wine. When ordering wine by the glass, cocktails, or even soda we were served by the dining room bar waiters.

 

People on this thread have complained that while using drink cards they have not received good service by the sommelier. Is it his job to serve people with drink cards or is that the job of the bar waiters?

 

When we were onboard the Eclipse this past February, we had purchased the Premium Alcohol Package. Our sommolier introduced himself to us the first night in the MDR and we told him we were relying on him to help us with our wine selections each evening. He pulled up a chair, listened intently to us, and was outstanding the rest of the week. He offered wine pairings dependent on what we ordered at each course, and was so attentive, there were times I had to ask him to stop pouring of he'd have to carry me out of the MDR after dinner.

 

Hope we have the same experience onboard Silhouette in March.

 

Jo-Ann

[njaloha]

I'm hoping that all this confusion experienced by some on the 11/6 cruise will iron itself out by February.

[New Hampshire]

Have a great cruise, please tell Santos, the bar waiter on deck 3 lobby that the dancing Malibu and diet coke couple said a BIG HELLO!!!! And if you could find Bernard at table 350, please tell him we miss his singing!!

 

Vicki & Jerry

 

We love Bernard and his opera serenades. He was our waiter on a Baltic cruise in 2008. He has been assigned to each new ship every time one comes out. We have seen him in 2009 on the Solstice, 2010 on the Eqionox, 2011 on the Eclipse and we will be sailing with him again in 2012 on the Silhoutte.

He is not just a grea waitwr but a wondeful person. He has always remembered our names and warmly welcomes us each year when he sees us.

[Ocean Dancer]

I'm hoping that all this confusion experienced by some on the 11/6 cruise will iron itself out by February.

 

And a Happy 20th anniversary to you!!!!!!!!!!!!:)

[njaloha]

And a Happy 20th anniversary to you!!!!!!!!!!!!:)

Why, thank you very much. How sweet of you to notice and mention. Our anniversary was in October but we'll be on the cruise for Valentine's Day!! ;)

[Ma Bell]

Hey, we just accepted a luncheon invite, we had nothing to do with the planning of it or the food. This is my thread that I started to relate MY/OUR experiences on this beautiful ship!!! I did not like the food that one meal. Why do you care so much? We had a wonderful time, but I make better meatloaf!!!!!!!!

 

Celebrity gives a meet and greet party to any sailing that 25 or more sign up for. The link is on this site under your sailing date, we had about 200 sign up. I do not make the rules, just follow them.:)

 

Happy Thanksgiving to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Strange, I thought you were the one who suggested the luncheon and contacted Celebrity to set it up.:confused: There was a period of time when we were considering this cruise and I was reading the roll call before booking. It didn't work out for us.

[Ocean Dancer]

Strange, I thought you were the one who suggested the luncheon and contacted Celebrity to set it up.:confused: There was a period of time when we were considering this cruise and I was reading the roll call before booking. It didn't work out for us.

 

No, I had NOTHING to do with the luncheon. I think I may have asked on the sailing thread if anyone knew if there would be one but no one knew the go between to contact. I would gladly have helped. That is one reason why I inquired about a message board for us to contact each other, but was met with glazed eyes at Guest Relations. We had a message board on the Summit and the Mercury, but not my doing.

[LynandBill]

Well, back to reality, I have NOT read any other thread to influence my veiws, and this is my opinion only. DH and I are seasoned cruisers, this being #28, but the first time on a new ship and our 3rd on Celebrity.

 

The Silhouette is a beautiful ship, 12 days were not enough to explore her in depth. We loved the quirkyness of the art like the bird photos on camera in cages on deck 5. We loved the privacy nooks and crannies of the Hideaway on deck 7 and we enjoyed the egg chairs where you could crawl in and read or do the puzzle or even nap. Actually the coffee was MUCH better there than in the Ocean View Cafe on deck 14. Speaking of coffee, we found out that if you added hot water to your coffee, it tasted MUCH better.

 

But all is not perfect. We found that the entertainment noises drifted up to the quiet areas, like the Hideaway and the library, bad planning. Most of the elavators were glass sided making a lovely view for your lift if you could find one to stop. The elevators were extremely slow, 10 to 20 minutes were not uncommom. This cruise was also very geriatric, many scooters, walkers, canes and elderly. Most were a delight and very polite, but many elderly were rude, like getting on an elevator before you could get off, or playing cards, and talking so loud, we could not converse in the Ocean Cafe while others were looking for a table to eat.

 

Another design flaw was the seating in the MDR. The chairs were huge and heavy making it impossible to ajust yourself to the table, or get out.

The theatre seating was also a problem. The seats were too tight, and all the little tables were missing. You had a slot and a hole in your arm seat where you could slide in a stemmed glass, or place a soda/beer. All glasses did not fit making you forced to hold your drink. There was NO PLACE to put straw trash, cherry stems, napkins etc. Also I was afraid to stand to give any standing ovations to the shows for fear of spilling my drink or my neighbors. We enjoyed all the entertainment, but Slhouette the show was a smaller version of Cirque de Solie Nubia that we saw in Florida last year. There was more entertainment and something for everyone on this wonderful ship.

 

We had a drink card and had to check daily the account on our tv as we were charged many times for drinks, the charges were politely removed, and we stuck to certain bartenders who took excellent care of us and had our number memorized. Santoes was our favorite on deck 3!!!!!!!!!!!! Our sommilier totally ignored us at dinner. He was way too interested in people buying bottles than me with my card. Every night our tablemates would help me get his attention, it was very irratating to finally get your wine half way through dinner, and forget a second glass. He was NOT trained and finally caught on around day 7 or 8!!!!!!! Our waiter Bernard was A gem, and sang to us each night.

 

The ships temperature was a bit warm catering to the eldery, I never wore a sweater, and the first night leaving Bayonne, it was 46 degrees. We slept with our balcony door open as the A/C would not come on. This problem was only the first night. We had no toilet problems and there was a bar in the shower to help in shaving your legs, a real plus. The storage in our cabin was different, but we found OK, less drawers but we made it work. For a new ship, she was never vaccuumed under the deck and behind the night stands. Way too many dust bunnies!!!!!!!!!!!! Our cabin was very quiet, we heard no snoring or our neighbors tv, just them slamming the door. They got the message pretty quick.

 

This ship does NOT like Cruise Crittic. I had inquired about a message board for all 200 of us to leave notes as we had activies planned, This was denied and most of our CC plans fell through. Our CC luncheon was horrible. They served us meatloaf that was on the level as dog food, and no chocolate sufflee, very disapointing. A lot of us were spoiled by the Mercury and we would have had a better lunch in a section of the Ocean View Cafe picking out our own food!!!!!!!!! And please Celebrity, CUT down on the SALT!!!!!!!!!!! I never saw so many swollen legs and feet!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Paul, the CD was a delight, the crew was very friendly and the entertaiment and dancers were quite talented. All in all we had a wonderful time and would sail her again!!!!!!!!!!!! That is if she returns in Bayonne!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I will be happy to answer any questions any of you may have.:)

Thank you for reading.

Vicki

 

Thanks so much for taking time to write your review. We have a few questions as we are going on the Silhouette January 5th. I know it will be much colder in January but is the 2nd sea day a pool day? I realize our itinerary is different but the sea days are similar. When were the formal nights? How was embarkation out of Bayonne? Do you know who the Captain’s Club Hostess was?

Thanks,

Bill and Lyn

[Ocean Dancer]

Thanks so much for taking time to write your review. We have a few questions as we are going on the Silhouette January 5th. I know it will be much colder in January but is the 2nd sea day a pool day? I realize our itinerary is different but the sea days are similar. When were the formal nights? How was embarkation out of Bayonne? Do you know who the Captain’s Club Hostess was?

Thanks,

Bill and Lyn

 

HI Bill & Lyn,

 

Pool day? Maybe, but later in the day. There is a Solarium enclosed pool but it was not heated. The hot tubs were great!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Formal nights were night 2, 7 and 10.

 

We have sailed from Bayonne many times and both on and off the ship were a breeze. We arrived at the port around 10:30 and were on the ship in about an hour. Finding a porter at the end was difficult though, but customs was easy, I was even sniffed by a yellow lab drug/bomb dog while DH was finding a porter.

 

I'm sorry, I don't know who the Hostess was. We actually slept through the Captions Club Brunch.

[SusieV]

Reading this review has been a little disappointing, to say the least. I hope the service bugs are worked out shortly.

 

I must confess, part of me wonders if these minor issues (being "out" of things if they really are not, or not getting the correct beverage like decaf) are a result of gratuities being prepaid. I can't imagine a server giving this type of service if they thought their tip was going to be based on it.

 

Do we have any information on Barefoot Beach yet? I'd like to rent a cabana there and I'm trying to determine who to contact to be put on the waitlist.

[Ocean Dancer]

Reading this review has been a little disappointing, to say the least. I hope the service bugs are worked out shortly.

 

I must confess, part of me wonders if these minor issues (being "out" of things if they really are not, or not getting the correct beverage like decaf) are a result of gratuities being prepaid. I can't imagine a server giving this type of service if they thought their tip was going to be based on it.

 

Do we have any information on Barefoot Beach yet? I'd like to rent a cabana there and I'm trying to determine who to contact to be put on the waitlist.

 

SusieV, I think you are on the wrong thread as I never said anything in my review about being out of anything, or maybe it was another poster. They did run out of half and half on day 10, and some of the bar crew did not speak much English resulting in drink screw ups. The ones we encountered were very polite and apoligetic.

 

We had a drink package, but usually tried to keep with a few bartenders. We tipped Santos in advance and he took excellent care of us. He worked at the lobby bar on deck 3.

 

I'm sure your cruise will be wonderful!!!!!!!!!!:)

[LynandBill]

HI Bill & Lyn,

 

Pool day? Maybe, but later in the day. There is a Solarium enclosed pool but it was not heated. The hot tubs were great!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Formal nights were night 2, 7 and 10.

 

We have sailed from Bayonne many times and both on and off the ship were a breeze. We arrived at the port around 10:30 and were on the ship in about an hour. Finding a porter at the end was difficult though, but customs was easy, I was even sniffed by a yellow lab drug/bomb dog while DH was finding a porter.

 

I'm sorry, I don't know who the Hostess was. We actually slept through the Captions Club Brunch.

 

Thanks!

[Milo_27]

Shock horror people who's first language isn't English make a few mistakes with drink orders given in English. If you are wanting your bar staff and waiters to have their first language as English (ie Americans, British, Australians ect) then expect your cruise costs to go through the roof as many of the nationalities mentioned above simply would not work for the wage paid by the cruise line.

 

I think a lot of people pay these people gratuities so giving them carte Blanche to treat the staff with total contempt and like personal slaves, bark orders at them and berate them if they get something wrong.

 

When I have been on a cruise the attitude and hardwork of the crew put a lot of people in better paid people in other carrers to shame.

[njaloha]

. . . . . . . .. And please Celebrity, CUT down on the SALT!!!!!!!!!!! I never saw so many swollen legs and feet!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

. . . . .

Vicki

 

I've heard the tap water can cause this problem as well as it may be a little saltier than normal.

[derf5585]

Strange, I thought you were the one who suggested the luncheon and contacted Celebrity to set it up.:confused: There was a period of time when we were considering this cruise and I was reading the roll call before booking. It didn't work out for us.

 

Derfette set up the luncheon. She talked to the CD and CruiseCritic host.

[derf5585]

I think the sense of power and entitlement assumed by some Cruise Critic roll call groups is almost embarrassing.

 

Most roll calls organize some events on their own, such as cabin crawls, slot pulls, party games, etc. It's up to the group to notify each other of times and places, but occasionally a staff member will help. I think problems arise when a group gets a little too impressed with themselves and " expects" special treatment.

 

This thread is under "Celebrity "Connections" Roll Calls" the Connections name can only be used for RCCL and Celebrity cruise lines. And are the only cruise lines that can use the term "Meet and Mingle" for some consideration to CruiseCritic (what it is they will not say what it is).

This gives Cruise Critic a leg up for groups.

 

IMHO

In My HAUTY opinion

 

PS I realize "Leg Up" is a sexist term.;)

[derf5585]

 

Our CC luncheon was horrible. They served us meatloaf that was on the level as dog food,

 

There was a service dog aboard. Maybe they got the got the food confused.:D

[derf5585]

I've heard the tap water can cause this problem as well as it may be a little saltier than normal.

 

So this is what causes all the weight gain on a cruise. It is not your fault the weight is gained.;)

 

Note to self

Pack Salt meter

[pegasusa]

There was a service dog aboard. Maybe they got the got the food confused.:D

 

And speaking of service dog........that was our first cruise with one on board and my DH and I wondered where the dog was 'walked' if you know what I mean:confused: Maybe they are just paper trained.

[derf5585]

And speaking of service dog........that was our first cruise with one on board and my DH and I wondered where the dog was 'walked' if you know what I mean:confused: Maybe they are just paper trained.

 

Maybe "lawn Club"

We cruised with another couple with a service dog. Got seasick. Wouldn't go on the AstroTurf they put on the balcony. Finally crapped out in the casino.:D

[derf5585]

CC Video

 

Rory Bolton (Keyboard for the stage band)

[Mur-cruiser]

And speaking of service dog........that was our first cruise with one on board and my DH and I wondered where the dog was 'walked' if you know what I mean:confused: Maybe they are just paper trained.

 

I wondered also, ask one of the officers as we were leaving and he said there was a special litter box(or what ever they call it for dogs) for the dog on deck 5, where he was trained to go. Thought that was pretty neat!:D

[Hlitner]

Since we will be on the Silly next week we really enjoyed the review and comments. But the review also reminded us why we no longer have any interest in attending Meet and Greets or related CC events on cruises. When it was just a friendly social gathering we thought it was fun, but in the past few years it has often become a bit clubby and too many have an attitude that they are entitled to special things (why?). Regarding the comment about salt causing swelling...DW has found this an issue on just about any cruise and seems to handle the problem by forcing herself to drink lots of liquids on the ship (helps flush the salt through your body). Its the unfortunate thing that comes with professonal chefs and banquet cooking (that is what they do on ships) where they add salt to everything because it makes food taste better.

 

The showroom drink holders are an issue we have encountered on other ships...and our solution is to generally not order drinks in the showroom. The "once a cruise" large luncheon buffet is a problem on any of the larger X ships and we cannot imagine a solution. The problem is that too many passengers want to go to that buffet within the first thirty minutes and the dining room cannot handle thousands of passengers at the same time. We have found that if we wait until near the end of the buffet cycle it is much easier. In fact that is our solution to many queues on any ship....we just never go during the first hour. DW and I are "queue adverse" which simply means we have developed strategies to avoid nasty lines.

 

And as a happy "Senior" we could not ignore the commends about the "elderly" made by the OP. Sadly, we agree that it can be a problem and we find rudeness to be inexcusable whether it be a senior, child, teen, or a drunk. I should mention that even thought we are "seniors" we have learned to minimize the use of elevators on any cruise ship. How often do you see a perfectly healthy person waiting a long time for an elevator to take them 1,2 or 3 floors. They do have stairs and using them is good exercise!

 

We were glad to hear that disemarkation went well (this seems to be a rarity in Bayonne) and hope we also get lucky :)

 

Hank