Silhouette Review - 18 Nov out of Rome - Med and Adriatic Seas (13 Nights)

[Iluvcruising2]

I found these pieces of art very beautiful. There were quite a number of these vases, near the Silhouette theatre.

 

Tonight was "Silhouette the Show". The Cruise Director said that this show was created just for the Silhouette. That left be wondering what shows the other Solistice class ships have.

 

Here are some still photos I took -

http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2013/12/celebrity-silhouette-silhouette-show.html

[Iluvcruising2]

Next port of call, Catania, Sicily. This was Mt Etna.

 

Ship's position, 7:07am in the morning.

 

We were on a private tour today, so we have to make sure that we got back to the ship on time.

 

Please go my blog for the rest of the pictures for this day.

http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2013/12/catania-taormina.html

 

We met the private tour guide quite easily, once we got out of port. There were many other private vans like us. Once onboard, the driver cum guide informed us that it was not possible to go up to Mt Etna today, because she erupted the night before! The roads were filled with ash, as we would soon see. Also, the roads were likely to be closed and the mountain was also snowing.

 

Well, this was a disappointment. However, we had to make the best of the situation. For the rest of the day, we visited some sights as well as Taormina. Taormina felt like a tourist trap! Well, at least we have been there and done that.

[Iluvcruising2]

Our last and final port of call would be Naples. Sob. The cruise was really coming to and end, at least for us, but not for more than 700 pax who were doing a B2B and going back to the USA on the Silhouette.

 

This was the ship's position at 8:02pm.

 

However, we had to go through the Straits of Messina. Very intruiging. I was on the balcony, taking in the sights and many photographs. Here is the blog post on sailing through Straits of Messina on the way to Naples - http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2013/12/sailing-through-straits-of-messina-on.html

[Iluvcruising2]

Naples! The view from our balcony. Many private vans waiting. The ship docked at 7am.

 

The ship from the pick-up point for the vans. We found our driver very easily and it was time to go. A long day ahead.

 

Being in a small van, we could stop frequently to take photos. This was Mt Vesuvius.

 

On the beach in Positano. It was way too cold to go swimming.

 

Today, we would first drive to Positano and explore the Amalfi coast. Thereafter, we would head over to Sorrento, where we would have some lunch. Finally, we go to Pompeii where we would spend a couple of hours exploring, before returning back to the ship in good time. It was a long day, with a lot of walking, sometimes in the rain, but it was fun and fulfilling. There was a lot to see here.

 

I have created a three part blog post.

Part 1 - Positano, Amalfi Cost - http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2013/12/naples-italy-amalfi-coast-positano-part.html

Part 2 - Sorrento - http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2013/12/naples-italy-part-2-sorrento.html

Part 3 - Pompeii - http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2013/12/naples-pompeii-part-3.html

 

Enjoy!

[tampadee]

Wonderful review! Thanks!

 

We just got off Millennium. I agree that the brunch is not advertised at all. Someone mentioned it to us AFTER we had breakfast. Not to be detered, we went anyway, 1-1/2 hours after breakfast. There was only a mention of the time change in the daily which we missed. We are used to having a note on the bed as a reminder. (that was on a Holland cruise). We are going on Silouette in April and I will be more thorough in reading the daily activity thing.

[suntan]

More pictures of the ship here - http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2013/12/celebrity-silhouette-more-ship-pictures.html

 

Including this shot of the pool area at night.

 

Great picture of the pool at night. I have a question about the food pictures you were taking. In some of the pictures it looks like a little bit of food served on big plates (one even looks like a tray instead of a dinner plate). Is this correct or just the way the picture presents itself?

[Iluvcruising2]

Great picture of the pool at night. I have a question about the food pictures you were taking. In some of the pictures it looks like a little bit of food served on big plates (one even looks like a tray instead of a dinner plate). Is this correct or just the way the picture presents itself?

 

I assume you are referring to the food pictures from the Main Dining Room.

 

Yes, the plates were larger than those I have seen on Royal Caribbean ships. Therefore, there is the optical effect, of making the food look less than it actually was.

 

That said, the servings, especially for the starters, were not overly sized. In my opinion, this serving size was good as I do not want to over-eat any particular dish.

 

There was always more than enough food on a cruise ship!

[riclop]

What a fantastic review thanks for taking the time.

[Iluvcruising2]

What a fantastic review thanks for taking the time.

 

Thanks for letting me know and thanks for reading.

[Iluvcruising2]

After a most productive day in Naples, it was back on the ship and this was to be our final MDR dinner for this cruise. Dinner menu.

 

Starter - Poached Anjou Pear

 

Mesclun Greens

 

Crispy chicken roulade, which my kids enjoyed. It was stuffed with mushrooms, but my kids just took those out.

[Iluvcruising2]

Broiled Australian Sea Bass

 

Steak - "Surf & Turf style"

 

The pasta dish.

 

Alright, that was dinner! My kids wanted to go straight to the Fun Factory for the last time, so we skipped dessert and made off to the Fun Factory. My wife and I would attend the final show. There was a male singer who had a very deep voice and sang hits from a long time ago. Yeah, given our age, we didn't really know those songs, other than the Lion King stuff. That said, the crowd enjoyed this performer very much. Good for him!

[KiwiFunCruiser]

Thanks for the latest post. Hope that "Surf & Turf" steak is on the Solstice.

[Iluvcruising2]

So, here we are, disembarkation morning, at the end of our 13 N cruise on the Celebrity Silhouette. An AIDA ship in port. I have never taken this line before.

 

Goodbye, our wonderful 3-in-1 balcony!

 

The hall where we would collect our luggage. We heard one woman, who was very upset that she could not find her luggage. Staff were assisting her. She claimed that somebody else must have taken her bag, probably by mistake. It did strike me that honest mistakes could occur. Some cruise passengers could have retrieved the wrong bag and left the port. I wonder how often this happens. Is there any way to prevent it? I was telling my wife that going forward, we need to do something to our big bags and make them so blatantly obvious that it is ours. This is to minimize the chances of other passengers taking our bag by mistake.

 

A view of the Silhouette from the port. Good bye!

 

On our private pick-up, on the way to Rome. We would stay one more night in Rome, before making our way back to Singapore.

[Iluvcruising2]

All good things have to come to an end. Even life! We saw so much, ate so much, learnt so much. It was just fantastic, not just the ship but also the ports. Of course, nothing is ever perfect. We faced some rocky seas, we missed Mt Etna, my MDR food pictures turned out to be too dark... the list can go on and on, but only if you allow it to go on. Cherish what you have, especially the time with your friends, family and loved ones. You never know when the equivalent of AD.79 would happen again.

 

We humans like to think that we are very smart and capable. But once the winds blow a little, even the mighty Silhouette rocks. For me, it is often during a cruise, on a sea day, when I stare out at the open seas, that I am again reminded that we are sojourners on this Earth. Reading up the history and visiting places like Rome, Venice, Positano and the many other ports during this cruise re-emphasized for me that our lifetimes are short, and not always sweet.

 

This cruise has allowed my family and me to marvel at God's creation, the mountains rising out of the sea, the valleys, the largest Bay in Europe.... all very breathtaking. This is a special treat, coming from the tiny island of Singapore where our highest hill is merely 163.63M.

 

God bless all of you and best wishes for 2014!!

[librarylady19]

Thanks for an excellent review and photos. I know how time consuming reviews are and appreciate all the care you took to share your special moments with us. We are taking our first European cruise in May- can't wait!!

[IrishLassie]

Thank you for such an excellent review & pictures. We will be sailing on her in March & can hardly wait. I think the Captain that is on her is the same Captain we had when we sailed on Solstice, at least I hope so. :) I remember him as being very funny at times. Thank you again & Happy New Year to you & your family.

[Iluvcruising2]

Thanks for an excellent review and photos. I know how time consuming reviews are and appreciate all the care you took to share your special moments with us. We are taking our first European cruise in May- can't wait!!

 

Thanks for letting me know that you liked my review.

 

I am sure you will love your European cruise. It pays to read up in advance. There is so much history there.

[Iluvcruising2]

Thank you for such an excellent review & pictures. We will be sailing on her in March & can hardly wait. I think the Captain that is on her is the same Captain we had when we sailed on Solstice, at least I hope so. :) I remember him as being very funny at times. Thank you again & Happy New Year to you & your family.

 

Have a great cruise and Happy New Year!

[Iluvcruising2]

I have updated my blog with some pictures of what we did pre-cruise in Rome as well as the B&B we stayed in called Quod Libet.

 

Here are the links:

 

Quod Libet

http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2013/12/rome-quod-libet-bed-breakfast-near.html

 

Rome Pre-cruise Day 1

http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2013/12/rome-part-1-arrival-and-vatican-city.html

 

Rome Pre-cruise Day 2

http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2013/12/rome-part-2-day-2-colosseum.html

[dancebluecat]

Thank you so much for the great review and pictures - we cant wait for our August 2014 Adriatic cruise

[Iluvcruising2]

Thank you so much for the great review and pictures - we cant wait for our August 2014 Adriatic cruise

 

How did your cruise go? I hope you had a good time.

[Iluvcruising2]

Updated with a movie clip of us walking around the historic town of Kotor Montenegro.

 

This clip is from the private van hire, driving down the mountains back towards Kotor.

[KorrunaKanuck]

Thanks for a great review. Pictures were amazing

[kborth]

Thank you for your comment.

 

Yes, I think this trip has left a very deep impression on them. They keep talking about it. I am busy arranging my pictures and videos for easy reference. I hope when they are grown, they will look back at cruises like these and remember the times.

 

Thank you for posting! This brings back a lot of happy memories of when we sailed from Rome in June.it was so hot then!

[Iluvcruising2]

I just learnt how to embed videos! A cool new feature for cruise critic. Let me embed some videos from this Silhouette cruise for easy reference.

 

Ocean View cafe dinner buffet

[YOUTUBE]Ceq2U8CtNPk[/YOUTUBE]

 

Main Dining Room - Twirling the napkins. The lighting made the place look like a disco.

[YOUTUBE]STsetZ_seN4[/YOUTUBE]

 

Brunch in the Main Dining Room. This is usually held once per cruise.

[YOUTUBE]FfhOGoKN3DQ[/YOUTUBE]

 

Celebrity Silhouette entering Dubrovnik, sailing round a small ship, very close!

[YOUTUBE]_oIDR9H6ECc[/YOUTUBE]

 

Kotor, Montenegro. Historic city, walking around.

[YOUTUBE]sOqjgJs7LVs[/YOUTUBE]

 

Kotor, Montenegro. Drive and awesome views.

[YOUTUBE]3qcutrGmScg[/YOUTUBE]

 

Enjoy!