!!! SILHOUETTE !!! Western Caribbean- The Ultimate Review & Complete Pictorial Guide!

[gambee]

At around 1:30 the rooms opened up, I had my heavy carryon and I wanted to unload it really badly, so we headed that way. When we entered the room it seemed just about average size, with maybe little storage than I was used to. But overall a good room, I was also very happy with the location. Everything I had predicted was right there, almost perfect view downward and perfect view to the bridge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was right about then when we met our very wonderful neighbors, the first thing I though was that they were killing the kids that way they could cruise alone without the kids. I assumed they would take responsibility after the cruise was over, but I was wrong. I soon learned that the kids were very talented, they somehow learned a technique on how to jump from wall to wall without touching the floor. It should of been very nice to witness it, maybe they had some kind of special shoes that grip to the walls or something.

 

After the kids had done enough jumping on the walls, I heard a lady yelling really loud outside in balcony. Oh boy, now what? So I go outside to the balcony and what do I see? Well my wonderful neighbors not only had one room… They had 3 rooms!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and they all had had kids!!!!!!!!! The kids mainly took ownership of the corridor during the cruise running from room to room and doing tricks and what not. The parents you ask, well they took turns from yelling at the kids and from balcony to balcony to make dinner arrangements with their friends, they were going to make the most amazing neighbors ever.

 

Lets just say that these wonderful neighbors rode Gambee's patience to the max, the only good thing is that most of the day they stayed out of the room. But I did find myself sending messages on my own way during the cruise, not that it helped much. They had no concern for anyone around them, in their eyes they had chartered that deck! In Gambee eyes, he wanted to cry. At that point is when I wished I had taken the Concierge upgrade…

 

I can honestly say that I truly hope that this is the worst I will ever experience on a cruise ship… They were that bad….

 

 

[gambee]

Enough with that, not even the worse neighbors had an bad impact enough on this cruise.

 

Anyway, then I went to use the bathroom and I saw this little guy waiting in the counter.

 

 

For a quick second I thought it was the cruise line, then I said wait a minute. They have no idea who I am, it was mom! =). I used to love gumby as a kid, I guess it was her idea that I would start taking pictures of gumby all over the ship. But that was not my style, I think I got a total of the 3 pictures and back to the room he went. He was just too big to carry around and I had enough with the camera equipment already.

 

None the less it was a very nice gesture and one that got a big smile on my face, thank you mom! =)

 

 

I was eager to try out some of my new photo equipment, so I went to the balcony and tried out the gorilla pod that I bought and the new underwater camera. I was very impressed of how nice they worked together, it was going to be the beginning of a beautiful relationship between us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a short video from the view of our room that day.

 

 

 

 

While I played with my cameras my mom did some unpacking.

 

 

[gambee]

After a little time in the room and me having enough with our neighbors, we decided to go hit a bar. The idea was to hit molecular for the first time.

 

I took this pictures on the way there.

 

 

Elevator

 

 

We made a quick stop at the theater

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

 

Here is the theater drink menu, by the was several bars have this same menu.

 

 

 

 

Quick stop at the promenade outside (is that is called?) I wanted to spot out my sail away spot. And are you guys in for a great sail away, this was the best place for the best sail away EVER!!!!!!

 

 

 

[gambee]

 

 

These guys are everywhere! Good thing

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here is molecular, unfortunately they did not open until 5pm so we just headed to the martini bar (my favorite bar)

 

 

 

[Cruise a holic]

 

OK my friends, now I need sometime to unwind and start scanning documents. I also have to work today so I think that is all I will post for today. I will do another set tomorrow and on tuesday I will go full blast and try to get some really good stuff posted :D.

 

 

Looking forward to your pics. We are sailing on the Silhouette twice next year! But you made a big mistake not trying the Lawn Grill we did on the Reflection. We also were hesitant, but found it to be the best of the speciality restaurants, we dined their twice. You do not have to make your own food- if you want to-you can- it is really a photo opportunity and can be missed.

[micmacmissy]

Wow, beautiful ship! Do the Solstice class ships not have any kind of hydrotherapy pool at all? Those t-pools were the best part of the Millennium class, I liked having them in the Solarium. So is the solarium pool heated, at least?

 

I'm sure you'll get to this at the end of your review...but which ship did you overall like better...Allure or Silhouette? I'll also be curious to see which ship had better food, service, etc!

 

Thanks for all the hard work you've put into this!

[Lois R]

Gambee, omg:D:);)......your pictures are wonderful. I now understand

about the rave reviews you are receiving from past reviews.

Thank you for sharing your Silhouette cruise with us. I look forward

to reading more:)

And hi to your mom too:)

[Mapleleaf5]

Nice to have you back!

 

PS: if you need some advice about Bermuda like me know!

 

Thanks,

Joanne

[gambee]

 

So we kept on walking towards the martini bar and walked through here. I will talk about these two venues later on when I get to try them. =)

 

How can you not love this picture, I mean really? Just look at it in detail, so many many stories, so many questions, LOVE IT!

 

 

 

 

And here is the martini bar

 

 

This bar is so much fun! I think this bar is one huge selling point for me, I simply love it. I got a bunch of wonderful pictures that I will post as the review goes by.

 

 

 

Edited April 2, 2013 by gambee

[gambee]

 

 

Almond joy, This one was good I guess, but not a favorite. I don't think I repeated it.

 

20 year martini without the foam (they did not have it) It was FANTASTIC!!!!

 

The ice is so much fun, but be careful your glass will get stuck to it if you do not place it on the napkin.

 

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! The bartenders there!

 

 

[gambee]

Ok one thing just crossed my mind, please if there is a pic you want deleted email me and I will make sure to take care of it. No questions about it, please let me know.

 

 

 

We were all having a great time, at one point one of the bartenders broke a glass and everyone "wow" him, it was funny,he was laughing together with us. It is really odd to happen, I mean with all the show that goes into this bar, I was actually surprised it did not happen more often. Entertainment in this bar is top notch, definitely my kind of place :D.

 

In the mist of mom taking pictures with her iPad, I am not sure what happened, but she somehow managed to spill her martini all over her iPad and the bar. I rushed to get it out of the case and get it dried up really fast, no worries the device is ok, thank God we rushed to it. Her case was a really crappy one, I am not really sure why she is using that one when she owns some really good ones.

 

Drying the ipad

 

After you spill a drink on the counter top it takes a lot of time for the liquor to dissipate, before the ice forms again. it remains wet like that for sometime. Straw anyone, that is alcohol abuse!

 

I also ordered a pellegrino water to take some meeds.

 

 

 

[gambee]

We replaced my moms drink with a banana split, this drink my friends IS BEYOND UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!! my mom hates bananas and loved this drink. Some of you know that I mostly drink long islands and Dirty martinis, but this drink is just amazing. We ordered it several times during the cruise.

 

How incredible that does look?!?!

 

And guess what????

 

My mom spilled that one too, this time all over her pants and my shoes. Thank God for the drink package! I felt really bad for the bartenders. It is a good thing that tip extra with every drink that I order, I usually gave them $1 per drink or order, depending on attention and entertainment factor. But I always tipped extra. There was a big debate saying that it was cheesy to carry $1 bills and giving them like that, but honestly I don't care. These guys work hard and I think they are getting screwed with this 1,2,3 promotion, so I do what I can to help them out. I have been also know for over tipping at the specialty restaurants.

 

Anyway here is where the banana split rested :D. That was it, it was time to cut off my mom, NO MORE DRINKS! LOL

 

 

Then we headed up to the room to get ready for the drill.

 

going up

 

 

 

Edited April 2, 2013 by gambee

[gambee]

Back in the room,

 

Mom did this to prevent us from catching something, but as you can imagine that did not last long. I took the remote out of the bag by night fall. She had the right idea, it was just slightly annoying =)

 

 

What was left of the banana split.

 

 

Our bags were waiting outside of the room already, so mom changed herself really quick so we could head down for the drill.

 

 

Our spot for the drill was on the theater, a great place to be if an emergency occurs :rolleyes:, I thought. But what could I do I was assigned there

 

Moms attempt at carrying gumby everywhere.

 

The drill is the longest that I have been in, I think a little under 20 minutes, pretty boring as they play a bunch of stuff in different languages. Not to mention that half of the people were taking a nap, I kid you not!

 

[raerom]

Good thing you had the “All you can drink Package" to deal with your crazy neighbours with the kids. As a mom with 3 children I find this behaviour unacceptable! Just because parents are on vacation with their kids does not mean parents can take a vacation from parenting!!

Edited April 2, 2013 by raerom

[shoelover536]

Oh my! RIP banana split martini. :( lol. Good thing you had the drink pacakage. That and the 20 year were my two favs last cruise. I also really liked the smoke and ginger in Quasar. Love the drink package!

[gambee]

Looking forward to your pics. We are sailing on the Silhouette twice next year! But you made a big mistake not trying the Lawn Grill we did on the Reflection. We also were hesitant, but found it to be the best of the speciality restaurants, we dined their twice. You do not have to make your own food- if you want to-you can- it is really a photo opportunity and can be missed.

 

We did go to the Lawn Grill, I bought the the package of 4 restaurants. I will get into that later on =)

 

Wow, beautiful ship! Do the Solstice class ships not have any kind of hydrotherapy pool at all? Those t-pools were the best part of the Millennium class, I liked having them in the Solarium. So is the solarium pool heated, at least?

 

I'm sure you'll get to this at the end of your review...but which ship did you overall like better...Allure or Silhouette? I'll also be curious to see which ship had better food, service, etc!

 

Thanks for all the hard work you've put into this!

 

I am not really sure, I never saw any and that is why I did not consider the spa access. Maybe I missed it? But I don't think so.

 

That is very hard question and one that cannot be answered so simply. Each ship excels in different categories. I want to refrain from comparing ships until the end, to avoid issues. But I promise I will get to it.

 

 

Gambee, omg......your pictures are wonderful. I now understand

about the rave reviews you are receiving from past reviews.

Thank you for sharing your Silhouette cruise with us. I look forward

to reading more:)

And hi to your mom too:)

 

Glad to have you here Lois =), I notice between you and Sandy you both dominate the X boards =).

 

Nice to have you back!

 

PS: if you need some advice about Bermuda like me know!

 

Thanks,

Joanne

 

Oh my Bermuda, my brain is going crazy with everything I have to do, lol. I did do some research before and had everything pretty much figured out. I just now have to remember where I put that info. Thanks for offering, I might ask some specifics later on.

[gambee]

Good thing you had the “All you can drink Package" to deal with your crazy neighbours with the kids. As a mom of 3 children I find this behaviour unacceptable! Just because parents are on vacation with their kids does not mean parents can take a vacation from parenting!!

 

Yeah right, it was pretty bad, but what can one do but put a smile on their face and move on.

 

Oh my! RIP banana split martini. :( lol. Good thing you had the drink pacakage. That and the 20 year were my two favs last cruise. I also really liked the smoke and ginger in Quasar. Love the drink package!

 

Nooooooooooo, that is another bar menu I missed... Crap, I thought it would be the same as the theater one. I still have a lot of menus :D

[chamima]

Enough with that, not even the worse neighbors had an bad impact enough on this cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was eager to try out some of my new photo equipment, so I went to the balcony and tried out the gorilla pod that I bought and the new underwater camera. I was very impressed of how nice they worked together, it was going to be the beginning of a beautiful relationship between us.

 

 

 

 

 

While I played with my cameras my mom did some unpacking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK - I'll bite.

How did you do this???????

(Helicopter hovering over the side of the ship?)

 

We were on the Solstice this last winter and our muster station was also in the theater but we had the MOST creative staff in the world. One guy (must have been on the entertainment staff) stood on stage and pantomimed how each nationality would have delivered their part of the drill. (ex: the Japanese presentation included a lot of bowing) It was really entertaining and the BEST emergency drill we've ever been to!!!! :p

 

LOVING your review and your fabulous pictures.

Thanks for taking the time to share your cruise with us.

Edited April 2, 2013 by chamima

[drarill]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gambee!! your pictures are amazing!! I'm having so much fun reading your review. I just realized that my daughter and son are going to be in different groups on our next cruise. My 15 y/o son will have a lot of fun with the senior teens and my 14 y/o daughter is not going to be happy as a junior teen. :D:D She is going to be so mad!!!:D:D

Thanks for this wonderful review!!

[gambee]

OK - I'll bite.

How did you do this???????

(Helicopter hovering over the side of the ship?)

 

We were on the Solstice this last winter and our muster station was also in the theater but we had the MOST creative staff in the world. One guy (must have been on the entertainment staff) stood on stage and pantomimed how each nationality would have delivered their part of the drill. (ex: the Japanese presentation included a lot of bowing) It was really entertaining and the BEST emergency drill we've ever been to!!!! :p

 

LOVING your review and your fabulous pictures.

Thanks for taking the time to share your cruise with us.

 

my mom surprised my and spend the months rent money chartering a heli for the day :D.

 

Nah just messing with you, that was with the super wide lens at 10mm. It creates the effect of stretching distances, all I did was stand in the corner and stretch my hand over the balcony and shoot. Not hard at all, you just need the equipment for it.

 

Yeah our muster was pretty dull, nothing really exciting to write about.

[gambee]

Gambee!! your pictures are amazing!! I'm having so much fun reading your review. I just realized that my daughter and son are going to be in different groups on our next cruise. My 15 y/o son will have a lot of fun with the senior teens and my 14 y/o daughter is not going to be happy as a junior teen. :D:D She is going to be so mad!!!:D:D

Thanks for this wonderful review!!

 

Oh that's not good for her, but that said those two groups share the same area. I am not entire sure if they are there at the same time, but they do share that space. She might be able to enjoy sometime with the older kids.

[gambee]

 

 

Amazing Sail Away!!!!!!!

 

Well folks, welcome to the most amazing sail away ever. I am going to beg you to watch this video, I know it a little long, but you have to see it. This sail away was absolutely amazing, so much energy, we loved it!!!! The coast guard made an amazing experience for us and the added bonus were the surfers on the FLOWRIDER!!!

 

If you don't want to watch the entire thing, PLEASE!!! do me a favor and fast forward to minute 9:20 and watch it from there. But i highly recommend watching it in its entirety.

 

 

 

Here is a short video of some kids in the flowrider

 

 

 

 

After watching the video now you can follow with the pictures, they greatly add to the story!