Silhouette Photo Review - Feb. 9-16 2014

[QE2_Fan]

Great review and a fresh and catchy sense of humour to finish it off! But as the title suggest, happy to see more, more, more photos! Love everyones different perspective of both ship and ports of call snapped thru the lens! Cheers!:D

[micmacmissy]

Who was your "Culinary Tour Guide" at Qsine, was it Mimi? She was great.. had a bit of an attitude but was a lot of fun. We had her for both of our visits there last week. The maitre'd even took me on a tour of their galley in the afternoon and I got pictures of where they stored all of the containers that the food is served on!

 

Ours was Yelena, who also had some attitude, but in a fun way. We really enjoyed her. The manager came over as well and spent a bit of time at our table. I noted them both on our survey as they really stood out!

[micmacmissy]

Day 4 - Grand Cayman

 

We've been to Grand Cayman twice before on other cruises, and both times did a snorkel/Stingray City trip. But the third time around we were looking for something new to do, preferably without 400 other cruise ship passengers and the chance of dying. (I know, I know, they're tame, but still.)

 

We love to kayak, but there were no kayak excursions to be found through the ship or on the Grand Cayman CC boards. So I googled and came up with Sea Elements Kayak. They do early morning kayak trips through the mangroves. I emailed them and asked them if they'd be willing to do a later trip for our group. Mike was very friendly and accommodating and arranged for us to be picked up at the port at 1030am.

 

The tender process is very easy. The ship does make it sound like it will take hours to get everyone off the ship, which leads lots of folks to panic and rush down to the tender area at 9:30am when the ship doesn't even drop anchor til 10. We lined up around 9:45am and had no problem getting the first tender off, which dropped us at the pier at 10:30 on the button. Loading tenders is quick and easy. But on the way back to the ship, unloading takes forever! So on the way back my advice is to sit on top of the tender so you're not stuck waiting down below for 20+ minutes (yes, really) while everyone upstairs does the grandma shuffle (sorry Grandma) off the tender and through security.

 

But I digress...tour guide Danielle picked us up at the port (she had a sign with our name on it) and we hopped in her van for a quick 10 minute ride to the yacht club. Nope, not that kind of yacht club, more just a dock area. She locked our stuff in her van, gave us each a bottle of water, signed some waivers, and off we went.

 

Kayaks are sit upons (more like an ocean kayak) and were 2 person, very comfy. Bring your towel and a camera- there is a dry bag on each kayak and there was lots to see! Now. normally I don't like 2 person kayaks (maybe because i'm usually in them with my daughter and she sits upfront and I'm in the back sweating my a** off, like i'm paddling Cleopatra up the Nile.) This time, however, with my husband in the back seat, I found I could stretch out my legs and enjoy the ride. (Faster, servant!) Who's Cleopatra now?!

 

So here we go...

 

It started out in the open bay area, and we paddled past some pretty sweet waterfront shacks. Soon we were in a cool mangrove forest:

 

 

Which got tighter and tighter as we went along...

 

Danielle was an awesome guide and really educated us about the different kinds of mangroves, how they grow, and all the cool stuff that lives in that ecosystem. We kept stopping and looking for all kinds of creatures, jellyfish, etc.

 

 

Spotting some crabs on the mangrove trunks. There were also barracudas and tarpon swimming below.

 

 

The other thing there was in the mangroves, which I was NOT a fan of, were green iguanas. Everywhere. Now, if you're a lizard person, good on you. But I think they are positively skeevy. Everyone was all "awww!" and "ohhh!" and snapping pictures right and left. I have no pictures of iguanas while kayaking, because I was too busy holding on to my paddle with a death grip in case I needed to bean one of these things in the head. Not only are they everywhere on land, but they can swim! I still get the willies thinking about seeing one of these things swim near me. Gross!

 

Oh, I got one shot from afar with the zoom.

 

 

This guy was about 3 feet long. Every six feet was another iguana, in the grass, in the trees...ewww! Danielle said that the lizard problem has gotten so bad in GC that the government will allow folks to kill, capture, or eat them. This inspired me to go back to Guest Relations on board and suggest a new shore excursion for Grand Cayman. They loved the idea, so on your next trip there, be sure to book:

 

Lizard Hunt and BBQ

No plans for Grand Cayman? We invite you to get up close and personal with Grand Cayman's green iguanas. Help the ecosystem by participating in a lizard shoot. Afterwards, we'll cook up our catch and have a beachfront lizard BBQ, Grand Cayman style! All guests will be provided with a pump action shotgun, eye protection, and a BBQ skewer. Souvenir "catch of the day" photo included.

Edited February 20, 2014 by micmacmissy

[micmacmissy]

So, after 90 minutes of paddling ($40/pp, which seemed like a bargain), Danielle dropped us off at a restaurant across from Seven Mile Beach. We asked her for something authentic and not packed with tourists. She brought us to Dukes, and it was great! We had local beer, BBQ, jerk chicken, and it was delicious. Only locals in there. No, it wasn't beachfront, but it was lovely.

 

Prices on the menu were very reasonable- about $20 per entree and $5 per beer, but somehow when the bill came for the four of us it was like $200US. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't do math on vacation (okay, I don't do math ever), so I can't tell you what the exchange rate was. We just slapped down some plastic and headed out of the restaurant.

 

We crossed the street (dodging more lizards) and there was access to Seven Mile Beach. This is the nicest water/beach ever! It felt amazing, and our "quick swim" turned into the four of us floating there (not sure how any of us floated after all that food) for about an hour. Then we walked up to the main road and caught the local bus back to port.

 

 

 

Grand Cayman is a great place to explore- locals are so friendly and helpful! If you're on the street and a bus beeps at you, he's asking if you want a ride. Just wave at him and he'll pick you up. Ride from Seven Mile back to the port was $3US per person. But if your bus driver runs over a green iguana, you should tip him an extra $20.

 

So....back on the ship for our strenuous afternoon routine: hot tub, ice cream, nap, balcony. Tried to get some cell service to check on the kids but none to be found. I was devastated as I missed my kids terribly and totally regretted the decision to leave them home. Ha!

 

That night dinner was at Murano. Service was really lovely and attentive there. I can't remember much of what we ate, although everything was good. I think I expected the food to be a little more....fancy? But the ambiance was really nice, the wine was good, and it was great not to have to cross the iron curtain (our new nickname for scary podium lady) and fight the masses at the MDR to get a table.

 

That night I caught a very cool sky:

 

See, sometimes us losers with the cheap old cameras get a good one! (And don't you dare tell me my white balance is off or I'll sic a green iguana on you.)

 

Next stop: Jamaica!

Edited February 20, 2014 by micmacmissy
typos galore!

[beachjulie]

Loving your review. Can you tell me how easy the tender is to get on and off? I will be in an air cast for our cruise :mad::mad::mad::mad:and wondering if the tender will be difficult, stairs etc.

[micmacmissy]

Loving your review. Can you tell me how easy the tender is to get on and off? I will be in an air cast for our cruise :mad::mad::mad::mad:and wondering if the tender will be difficult, stairs etc.

 

They put a metal walkway from the ship to the tender. The tender is swaying a little, but there are handrails and plenty of crew standing by if you need to hang on to someone. I would suggest sitting at the top so you don't have to navigate the stairs into the lower level. You should be fine!

[lubiya]

Love your review, can't wait to read the rest of it.

[Goldenms]

Loving reading your review...very funny lady. Looking forward to reading more!

[micmacmissy]

Day 5 - Falmouth, Jamaica

or: Stay on the ship!

 

This was our 2nd trip to Falmouth; we were there last February on a RCCL ship. Difference this year was that on Celebrity, the cruise director actually warned passengers not to leave the port area unless you're with an organized cruise.

 

Last year we went to Chukka Beach, which is no longer a listed excursion. And honestly, we wouldn't have gone back. If I wanted to hang around with 80 stray dogs covered in fleas, I'd go to my local pet shelter. Seriously, there was a stray dog problem at that beach...which wound up leading to a very uncomfortable birds-and-bees lesson with my 9 year old, who was fascinated with the dog...um, errrr...anatomy on display. So we weren't in a rush to go back there. (Now that I think about it, though, i'll take the stray dogs over the stray lizards any day!)

 

Approaching Falmouth. You can see the protected port area is built up and fenced in. If you bring your binoculars you can see the slums just outside the port area.

 

 

After two days of sun and excursions, my husband and I decided to hit the protected port area for a little shopping, and then hang out on the ship and enjoy some peace and quiet. Our friends figured they would leave the port, rent scooters (lots of folks did this in Cozumel), and see Jamaica on their own. Well, they talked to a few crew members and guests and decided that since they left their mace and flak jackets home, they'd stay in the port area after all. And no, you can't even rent scooters in Jamaica, at least not at this port.

 

You can, however, saddle up a stray dog and ride him around if you're brave enough.

 

 

Once you're in the port area, there are plenty of stores where you can buy all sorts of souvenirs. You can bargain in both the stores and in the market/craft area, which is fun! We picked up a carving of a dog (ironic, I know, but i'm pretty sure the carved dog is neutered) and some Blue Mountain Coffee, which runs about $15 per half pound.

 

Port has one of these which seemed to be popular:

 

More of the port area:

 

We were in port that day with Liberty:

[micmacmissy]

Sad thing about this port area are the food options: Dairy Queen, Subway, Nathans Hot Dogs? Ugh, come on! Depressing to see. After maybe an hour poking around the shops in the port area, we headed back to the ship and hit the pool. It was blissfully quiet and empty. The old lady in me rejoiced that there were no whippersnappers doing Zumba and no loud music. Ahhh...

 

 

Thankfully, all the chair hogs seemed to be exploring Falmouth. We spent the morning relaxed and reading. And then I smelled something delicious...the mast grill! They have the most juicy and delicious burgers, with fried onions or mushrooms or cheese...earlier in the week I wanted to try one but the line was crazy. I hate waiting in line in real life, I'm certainly not doing it on vacation! (Said the spoiled American.) But today it was just me and grill guy. I took my burger back to my seat and all was good in the world.

 

The ship started to fill back up around 3pm. Now, they said there were only 65 kids on the ship this week. Of course, half of them were in the pool that day. Now, don't get me wrong, I have kids, I love kids, but for the love of relaxing vacation, go away kids! I sat on the side of the pool and the most adorably precocious little 5 year old swam up to me and said, "Hey lady! Look! I'm a mermaid!" She was the cutest ever. For half a second, I missed my daughter. Then I snapped out of it and moved into the solarium where they don't allow anyone under the age of 60. I mean, 16.

 

After the hot tub and afternoon ice cream run, we got ready for dinner at the Lawn Club Grill. When we were getting back on the ship from Grand Cayman they had a guy with a laptop set up right as you got back on the ship, hustling specialty restaurant reservations. He sucked us in with a 20% discount, so we signed up.

 

Lawn Club Grill is on Deck 15 and is exposed to some wind. Ladies, let me do you a solid: don't bother with a cute hairdo if you're eating here. In fact, slap it up in a ponytail and call it a day. Because by the time I walked from the elevator to our table, I looked like I just came out of a wind tunnel. Sigh. But on to the Lawn Club. It was very windy and smoky in there. Our waiter left us with menus for awhile. Like, a long time. Then he came up and asked us why we didn't get salad bar yet. Salad bar? There's a salad bar? Let's just say this was not an attentive waiter. Salad bar was meh, and then we had flatbreads.

 

At Lawn Club you have the option to cook your own dinner. Look, let's get something straight here. I don't want to cook dinner when I'm at home, and I certainly don't want to cook while i'm on vacation. So I politely declined making my own dinner...I'm sure they can do it better than me, anyway. Flatbreads were really good, we had the BBQ chicken and the veggie. The entrees were grilled. Just like in your backyard. Nothing special, but not terrible. Their famous dessert, the warm chocolate chip cookie, was really good and gooey- yum!

 

After leaving the Lawn Club there was only one thing I wanted: my hairbrush. Ha. Actually I think we wound up at another wonderful Celebrity production. You can only imagine my level of excitement. I was dragging my husband into the theatre. :rolleyes:

 

The headliner was Joel Mason, an Elton John impersonator/comedian. So you can imagine my great surprise when I actually found him to be...sorta funny. And a good singer. Yes, I did just say that. Ladies and gentlemen, the first show EVER on a cruise ship that I didn't want to walk out on! We have a winner!

 

He did another show later in the week that we went to which was also mildly amusing, and i'm just going to go ahead and mark that in the "success" column.

 

Next up: Haiti! Also known as, "Oh no, they ruined Labadee."

Edited February 20, 2014 by micmacmissy

[Choozin Croozin]

Great review and love your sense of humor. Your good. Thanks so much for your review. Will be leaving in a little over 2 weeks.:D

[Sarbear1681]

I am loving your review! I don't think you give your photography skills enough credit, by the way.

 

Thanks for sharing!

[yvonneh]

Love this review… and your pictures, sense of humor and honesty!!

You are awesome!!

[aimeewarren4514]

Love your review, funny and best Ive ever read.....about anything!

[poolwife]

Again I love your review also and your pictures too. What do you mean they ruined Labadee? How was it changed since you were there last? We went there and enjoyed our day and the BBQ they provided for lunch.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[micmacmissy]

Day 6 - Haiti

Or: Oh no, they've ruined Labadee!

 

The (formerly) unspoiled Labadee:

 

We woke up once again to sunny skies and a predicted high of 94 on Haiti. Yay! Now, let me preface this by saying our first trip to Labadee was in 2008, and it was wonderful. Back then, there was no dock, so you had to tender in. Once there, they had chairs, and some palapa type shade things, a couple restrooms, and a BBQ area. They had a small market area where you could haggle with the locals as well. The zip line was there, but that was it in the way of action.

 

And it was bliss! It was quiet, peaceful, plenty of room to spread out. But I guess the folks at RCI decided it wasn't enough. So they set about turning it into Disneyland Haiti.

 

Welcome to Disneyland! Right this way for your fast pass....

 

When we went back with our kids last year, we noticed tremendous changes. Okay, the dock was necessary and makes disembarking so much easier. And they added a water park, which my kids enjoyed. And okay, maybe you add a dragon coaster to take up the hillside that is otherwise going unused. But...where is that nice beach we went to last time? Hideaway? Where it was us and about 20 other passengers relaxing with plenty of room to spread out? Now they've "monetized" this area and crammed wooden cabanas on every rock, nook, and ledge. (On our first trip, we had run climbing the rocks and taking pictures). These cabanas totally block the water views from further inland. So we made our way down to Columbus Cove, where they've built another dock, and enlarged the water park, and added jet skis, and a tour boat, and parasailing......ahhhh! It's no longer quiet. Or peaceful.

 

So this year there were still more changes. When you walk in, there is a big sign pointing you every which way. (Hmmm, sort of like Main Street Disneyland). Now we noticed they've built low walls around some of the beaches, so you can't even walk through them. Nope, you losers (hey, I'm one of you) can't get into the area where folks have shelled out $200 to sit in a cabana.

 

As a result, the beaches that are left over are MUCH more crowded. But that's not all, folks! If you act now, you can get a giant blue clamshell to cram your lounge chairs in, thereby blocking the water view from everyone behind you! (Amazing the rude passengers who drag their chairs and try to cram them in between you and the water's edge.) Oh, and did I mention the lovely trash cans at the water's edge? I don't know about you, but I just love relaxing next to a trash can while on a lovely Caribbean beach.

 

Now let's talk about vendors. Look, I used to live in NYC, and I love meeting different kinds of people and I love to bargain. On our first trip to Labadee, there was one market, and the vendors were fairly aggressive, but not too bad. Last year, the market expanded. They added an indoor one (no haggling, no pushy vendors) but they expanded the outdoor vendor areas. So now instead of 20 guys selling stuff, there were 80. Which made them more desperate, more pushy, and let's face it: more creepy. My daughter was terrified last year when some guy grabbed her and pulled her into his booth...not cool, dude, not cool at all. Another guy took my $20 and tried to give me $8 back instead of $18- luckily I speak enough French to have heard him tell the guy "huit" (eight) and I said, "Non, dix-huit!" (eighteen!) The guy looked shocked and peeled the extra 10 off his stash and handed it over. (Who said you'll never use your high school French?) And don't even get me started on our other bad experience last year on Labadee- my cell phone was stolen. (Long story short, I pitched a fit, cruise line was no help, so I bribed a local guy, miraculously, he "found" it and I got it back.)

 

So anyway...this year...somehow...there are even more vendors! Now they've built a sort of boardwalk along the hillside with booths all along it. So, once you walk up there, you are totally trapped, and now you have to walk down a long lane of booths with people harrassing you. It is not for the faint of heart. I would caution you not to call out to your spouse, either, like this: "Hey Dave, come look over here..." because then suddenly a hundred vendors are yelling, "Dave! Dave! Hey Dave! Bargain for you Dave! Daaaave!" Whoops. Sorry, dear.

 

And the sad thing is, these guys are just trying to make a buck. But it's nearly impossible, because the cruise line has packed in so many vendors, selling all the same stuff, they hardly stand a chance. So at the end of the day, you wind up feeling very sorry for these people, and you feel guilty, and you feel like a jerk for then getting back on the ship and sitting in the hot tub and stuffing your face with ice cream. Sigh.

 

I will say this: the indoor market had some fair trade items, like Haitian coffee, pot holders, etc, that benefit local causes. Buy some! Look for the fair trade/non-profit labels.

 

See those stupid blue clamshells???

 

Every year we find at least one hermit crab. (He must not be a suite passenger because we found him on the losers beach.)

 

This used to be a lovely hillside...now it's more dock:

 

Yeah, it's pretty crowded. And sometimes there are TWO ships in port here! <shaking head in disgust>

[micmacmissy]

This photo was taken at the end of the day, when 75% of the people headed back to the ship. It was still crowded!

 

 

Hey, at least the view UP is nice!

 

Another view at the end of the day at Columbus Cove.

 

Time to head back

 

Local dancers performing:

 

So, the other thing I noticed on this visit were the amount of (off duty) locals that were hanging around. There were a group of them in the ladies' bathroom, sitting on the counters talking (?), and several of them swimming at the beach. (You can tell they aren't cruise ship passengers because the men were swimming in shorts and tshirts, and the women were in <gulp> bras or camisoles and shorts.) I sort of wondered what that was all about. I also noticed a local guy in full camo with a sidearm- Haitian army? He was walking around the buffet area, and I found that to be a little off putting.

[micmacmissy]

So, the positives about Labadee is that it's a beautiful place, and if you're willing to get off the ship EARLY and hustle to a beach, you can find a lovely spot to relax and not spend any money on excursions. You can still have a cheap and easy beach day there, you just have to work a little harder for it. $30 will cover any little tchotchkes you might want to buy in the marketplace.

 

And if you're super active and can't sit still for five minutes, then you'll love all the changes here.

 

Bye bye Labadee...I'm not as eager to return as I used to be!

 

Pretty sunset:

 

Tonight was Valentine's Day, so we thought we'd hit up Cellar Masters for some wine before dinner. It's nice and cozy and dark in here (ha, like I could read that wine menu in the dark with no reading glasses?!) and the wine was good.

 

We didn't have any specialty reservations that night, so we approached the MDR and the iron curtain gingerly at 8:30pm and asked for a table for 4. Iron curtain must have loosened her bun because she was smiling and happy and gave each of the ladies a red rose and handed us off for our table right away. But I knew she didn't like us: the table was right next to the waiter station. Sigh. It was a rushed dinner with a full view of the slop bucket where they dumped used utensils. Romantic!

 

No towel animals on Celebrity usually, but for Valentine's Day:

 

Next up: our last sea day (yay!) and back home (boo!)

[MKellyUtah]

On a forum filled with great reviews, this is absolutely one of the best & most entertaining I have ever read. As someone who has written a couple of reviews, I am humbled. Your humor ... great photos ... and honesty (ie., Labadee --- prepare for a minor backlash!) are exceptional. Thanks for taking the time to educate & entertain us.

[micmacmissy]

On a forum filled with great reviews, this is absolutely one of the best & most entertaining I have ever read. As someone who has written a couple of reviews, I am humbled. Your humor ... great photos ... and honesty (ie., Labadee --- prepare for a minor backlash!) are exceptional. Thanks for taking the time to educate & entertain us.

 

Aww, that's so nice, thanks! :)

 

(PS- I am buckled up for the backlash!)

[surus]

My husband is trying to follow weather reports on his iPad (tornado watch, yada yada) but I keep interrupting him to read aloud parts of your hilarious review. We take our first Silhouette cruise in September. Thanks for making me laugh out loud!

[micmacmissy]

My husband is trying to follow weather reports on his iPad (tornado watch, yada yada) but I keep interrupting him to read aloud parts of your hilarious review. We take our first Silhouette cruise in September. Thanks for making me laugh out loud!

 

You're welcome! Hey, if you buy me a ticket, I'll go with you and interrupt him with hilarious marks throughout the cruise! :D

[KY Deb]

:eek: I did find out that indeed the Reflection will be at Labadee the same time we are - which Celebrity told me they rarely do. The young lady said there is a $10 or $15 pass fee to go to their new facility there - you just don't walk in. But that means with the other ship there will be about 4800 people in port at once.:eek:

 

 

I just read the above on a post at my roll call from someone who had spoken to a rep from Celebrity today. Our cruise will have two ships in port that day, Celebrity Constellation And Reflection. However, has anyone heard that they are starting to charge to go to Labadee??

[Despegue]

A question: Does the MDR hostess look like Hilary Swank? We used to call her Drill Sergeant but we did find her very effective although indeed a bit "direct", especially towards new waitstaff:eek:

[micmacmissy]

:eek: I did find out that indeed the Reflection will be at Labadee the same time we are - which Celebrity told me they rarely do. The young lady said there is a $10 or $15 pass fee to go to their new facility there - you just don't walk in. But that means with the other ship there will be about 4800 people in port at once.:eek:

 

 

I just read the above on a post at my roll call from someone who had spoken to a rep from Celebrity today. Our cruise will have two ships in port that day, Celebrity Constellation And Reflection. However, has anyone heard that they are starting to charge to go to Labadee??

 

I didn't hear anything about a $10 or $15 pass fee...I wonder what new facility they're referring to? If I were you, I'd just plan to get off the ship as soon as possible so you can find a spot and hunker down. And if you want to do something there (zipline, etc), book it ahead of time.