Silhouette Picture Review: Eastern Caribbean April 2015

[Bimmer09]

Oh wow! I can't wait to see your pictures of the Sky Suite! We didn't have a cabin crawl, so the only cabins I saw were ours and a regular balcony. We thought the 123 Go promotion was great. Did you pick the beverage package? We thought it gave us a lot of extra freedom.

 

Do you have anything planned for the ports?

 

Also, I have zero objection to the longest, most epic review .... (END QUOTE)

 

Laurie, thanks for the stellar review!

 

I realize that I didn't answer your question above.

 

When we booked the Silhouette they were offering 3 perks- Free Classic Beverage

package/ Paid Gratuities/$300 OBC. So we have all three.

 

I was focusing on finding us a Princess Cruise that would make us Elite there but Carol stumbled on the X one. I made a spreadsheet to compare the two and X offered more for considerably less. The fact that I love the look of the Silhouette made me drop the Royal Princess like a hot potato. We'll get to Elite later.

 

Excursion-wise we haven't booked yet but are leaning towards a Segway tour of San Juan and an Island Train tour that uses a catamaran to get you back to the ship in St Kitts. St Maarten we have visited twice in the past 3 years so will take a taxi to Grand Case and dine on the water.

 

We wil book excursions once we return from Barcelona a month from today and hope there is still availability.

 

The X website is like some steam-driven thing from the Industrial Revolution compared to Princess.com and paying for excursions up front is not what we are used to. On Princess we pay the day before the excursion and the excursions have videos and break the excursion down to each stage- 45 mins on bus, walk 200 yards to boat, 20 mins on boat, 90 mins at site etc and lets you know if there are bathrooms at every stage, notifies you where there are stairs involved etc...very comprehensive Excursion Planning.

 

We are very much looking forward to living on the Silhouette for a week. Even though it is a much-photographed ship I'll be snapping away. I'll take a lot of aft suite pictures for sure.

 

Meantime thanks for all the work you put into this wonderful review!

 

My Emerald Princess review will show up mid October.

 

Norris

[MyDogRudy]

Oh wow! I can't wait to see your pictures of the Sky Suite! We didn't have a cabin crawl, so the only cabins I saw were ours and a regular balcony. We thought the 123 Go promotion was great. Did you pick the beverage package? We thought it gave us a lot of extra freedom.

 

Do you have anything planned for the ports?

 

Also, I have zero objection to the longest, most epic review .... (END QUOTE)

 

Laurie, thanks for the stellar review!

 

I realize that I didn't answer your question above.

 

When we booked the Silhouette they were offering 3 perks- Free Classic Beverage

package/ Paid Gratuities/$300 OBC. So we have all three.

 

I was focusing on finding us a Princess Cruise that would make us Elite there but Carol stumbled on the X one. I made a spreadsheet to compare the two and X offered more for considerably less. The fact that I love the look of the Silhouette made me drop the Royal Princess like a hot potato. We'll get to Elite later.

 

Excursion-wise we haven't booked yet but are leaning towards a Segway tour of San Juan and an Island Train tour that uses a catamaran to get you back to the ship in St Kitts. St Maarten we have visited twice in the past 3 years so will take a taxi to Grand Case and dine on the water.

 

We wil book excursions once we return from Barcelona a month from today and hope there is still availability.

 

The X website is like some steam-driven thing from the Industrial Revolution compared to Princess.com and paying for excursions up front is not what we are used to. On Princess we pay the day before the excursion and the excursions have videos and break the excursion down to each stage- 45 mins on bus, walk 200 yards to boat, 20 mins on boat, 90 mins at site etc and lets you know if there are bathrooms at every stage, notifies you where there are stairs involved etc...very comprehensive Excursion Planning.

 

We are very much looking forward to living on the Silhouette for a week. Even though it is a much-photographed ship I'll be snapping away. I'll take a lot of aft suite pictures for sure.

 

Meantime thanks for all the work you put into this wonderful review!

 

My Emerald Princess review will show up mid October.

 

Norris

I'm on my phone so can't seem to edit this quote, but Bimmer, we did the Segway tour in San Juan and LOVED it!! You can book that one direct with the vendor for cheaper and I don't think you had to pre-pay, just left CC info to hold...I think. Very close to port so you just walk to the office. Splurge and take the longest tour...well worth it!

 

Sent from my SM-G900R4 using Tapatalk

[zoncom]

Laureial, Could you please also put your wonderful review here on the Disabled travel forum? My disbabled daughter and many others would really enjoy and benefit from it. Many Thanks.

[Bimmer09]

I'm on my phone so can't seem to edit this quote, but Bimmer, we did the Segway tour in San Juan and LOVED it!! You can book that one direct with the vendor for cheaper and I don't think you had to pre-pay, just left CC info to hold...I think. Very close to port so you just walk to the office. Splurge and take the longest tour...well worth it!

 

Sent from my SM-G900R4 using Tapatalk

 

Thanks for the recommendation!

 

My one concern is taking photos and videos- do you stop now and then to enable this?

 

How long is longest tour?

 

We also need time to visit one of the forts- on foot.

 

Norris

[MyDogRudy]

Thanks for the recommendation!

 

My one concern is taking photos and videos- do you stop now and then to enable this?

 

How long is longest tour?

 

We also need time to visit one of the forts- on foot.

 

Norris

I believe the longest tour was two hours? Seemed longer though. Part of the tour was a stop at El Morro where we got off the Segways and did the regular fort tour. There were also plenty of stops for photo opportunities and the guide will also take photos of you of you like to be in the picture. Great way to see Old San Juan up close without sweating through long walks up and down the hills. We did an overview of the area using the trolley the second time we visited SJ since my parents were with us, but definitely missed the up close feel of the Segway.

 

Sent from my SM-G900R4 using Tapatalk

[Bimmer09]

I believe the longest tour was two hours? Seemed longer though. Part of the tour was a stop at El Morro where we got off the Segways and did the regular fort tour. There were also plenty of stops for photo opportunities and the guide will also take photos of you of you like to be in the picture. Great way to see Old San Juan up close without sweating through long walks up and down the hills. We did an overview of the area using the trolley the second time we visited SJ since my parents were with us, but definitely missed the up close feel of the Segway.

 

Sent from my SM-G900R4 using Tapatalk

 

Thanks for the speedy response!

 

I have only been to San Juan once- to join the Carnival Celebration in 1990 for a cruise to S Caribbean ending up in Venezuela.

 

I see you have sailed on the Silly. Did you love that ship? The Solstice Class was certainly a home run and a great design.

 

Thanks again for your help.

 

Norris

[MyDogRudy]

Thanks for the speedy response!

 

I have only been to San Juan once- to join the Carnival Celebration in 1990 for a cruise to S Caribbean ending up in Venezuela.

 

I see you have sailed on the Silly. Did you love that ship? The Solstice Class was certainly a home run and a great design.

 

Thanks again for your help.

 

Norris

We really did enjoy the beautiful Silhouette. We have only done a few cruises and I like to try new things but I am happy to be repeating our voyage on her. In fact, if the dates had worked, I would have repeated the same eastern itinerary as well. Have a great time!

 

Sent from my SM-G900R4 using Tapatalk

[cindy1957]

I enjoyed your review. Thank for the effort.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[laurieal]

Fantastic photos, glad you are having a great cruise; great job Celebrity

 

Great job, indeed! We all had a fantastic times and, given the chance, we would embark again tomorrow. Glad you enjoyed the pictures, thanks for stopping by!

 

Laurie, thanks for the stellar review!

 

I realize that I didn't answer your question above.

 

When we booked the Silhouette they were offering 3 perks- Free Classic Beverage

package/ Paid Gratuities/$300 OBC. So we have all three.

 

I was focusing on finding us a Princess Cruise that would make us Elite there but Carol stumbled on the X one. I made a spreadsheet to compare the two and X offered more for considerably less. The fact that I love the look of the Silhouette made me drop the Royal Princess like a hot potato. We'll get to Elite later.

 

Excursion-wise we haven't booked yet but are leaning towards a Segway tour of San Juan and an Island Train tour that uses a catamaran to get you back to the ship in St Kitts. St Maarten we have visited twice in the past 3 years so will take a taxi to Grand Case and dine on the water.

 

We wil book excursions once we return from Barcelona a month from today and hope there is still availability.

 

The X website is like some steam-driven thing from the Industrial Revolution compared to Princess.com and paying for excursions up front is not what we are used to. On Princess we pay the day before the excursion and the excursions have videos and break the excursion down to each stage- 45 mins on bus, walk 200 yards to boat, 20 mins on boat, 90 mins at site etc and lets you know if there are bathrooms at every stage, notifies you where there are stairs involved etc...very comprehensive Excursion Planning.

 

We are very much looking forward to living on the Silhouette for a week. Even though it is a much-photographed ship I'll be snapping away. I'll take a lot of aft suite pictures for sure.

 

Meantime thanks for all the work you put into this wonderful review!

 

My Emerald Princess review will show up mid October.

 

Norris

Oh yes, I had forgotten that you got all three perks with a suite. Fun! And with paid gratuities, you can use the OBC for interesting things!

 

My mother went on a Segway tour of San Juan yesterday and she loved it. She says they had plenty of stops and she took loads of pictures. She'd do it again in a heartbeat.

 

I agree about the Celebrity website. Half the times I needed to do something on it, I couldn't because it was down. Good to know about Princess and their Excursion Planning…I really hope I get to sail on Princess one day (don't know why, but I'd like to do Alaska on Princess).

 

Still looking forward to your next review! I will be visiting Rome for the first time next year and will be taking notes!

 

Laureial, Could you please also put your wonderful review here on the Disabled travel forum? My disbabled daughter and many others would really enjoy and benefit from it. Many Thanks.

 

That's a very good idea! I can't believe it never crossed my mind… I created a new thread linking to my review on the Disabled Cruise Travel forum. Thank you!

 

I enjoyed your review. Thank for the effort.

I'm glad to hear it, thank you!

[b7440]

Thank you for taking the time to write this detailed review. I will be going on the silhouette next April out of Southhampton England. I use a scotter to get around the ship since I can't walk long distance.

Did you find any part of the ship that you could not get to? Any tips for a scotter user? I have never used the lifts to get into the pool, after you got in, how did the attendant know when you wanted to get out?

Once again, thks for your review

[Bimmer09]

Laurieal said...<<I agree about the Celebrity website. Half the times I needed to do something on it, I couldn't because it was down. Good to know about Princess and their Excursion Planning…I really hope I get to sail on Princess one day (don't know why, but I'd like to do Alaska on Princess).

 

Still looking forward to your next review! I will be visiting Rome for the first time next year and will be taking notes!>>

 

4 weeks from now I will be returning from my 8th Princess Cruise in 4 years...

so that should tell you something.

 

First cruise was Alaska. Returned there a year later-so I have 2 Alaska reviews that could be helpful-lots of excursions and videos. One going South from Anchorage, the other going North from Vancouver.

 

I know you followed along on my Med cruise last year where I had 2 days after the cruise in Rome-about 300 photos and half a dozen videos there (if you go back to the Ocean Princess one and it says "Photo not available" just click on the X and it will take you to the photo on Flickr.) Then you can toggle between screens. I will be taking a posse of Rome photos on the next trip even though there is nothing to see in Rome

Alaska- been there twice but simply not done yet. Even on a sea day you are not staring at the horizon-you are looking at snow capped mountains in August and watching out for whales and eagles. Princess has it's own lodges near Denali and it's own liveried trains that pull up beside the ship in Whittier if you want to do a land tour before or after your cruise. Book something! My 2 reviews are in my signature below. The long winter nights are up ahead....something to read by a crackling fire.

 

If you have any questions the Princess board is super-active and full of helpful folks- if you have any specifically for me then you can use the comments section on my blog-only I see those before I upload them (or not if they are death threats) If you leave me an e mail address I can respond via e mail.

 

Norris

[510picker]

Excellent review! I am 44 and a full time wheelchair user as well due to a spinal cord injury. My wife and I typically cruise with Holland America and want to try Celebrity in the future.

 

I love getting up before the sun rises and exploring the ship. It's almost like you are on an entirely different ship. I figure my time is limited on the ship, so getting up early maximizes my vacation! Thanks again for the well written, informative review.

[dorisis]

It is now 2:30 AM and I have finally read all of your fab revue. best ever.

[laurieal]

Thank you for taking the time to write this detailed review. I will be going on the silhouette next April out of Southhampton England. I use a scotter to get around the ship since I can't walk long distance.

Did you find any part of the ship that you could not get to? Any tips for a scotter user? I have never used the lifts to get into the pool, after you got in, how did the attendant know when you wanted to get out?

Once again, thks for your review

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed my review!

 

There is no place on the ship where I wanted to go, but couldn't. The Celebrity website states that Deck 16 isn't accessible by elevator, but I never even tried going there. I tried going to the basketball court, but I locked myself outside the video arcade and that put an end to my project, but I wasn't really interested in the basketball court. Now, looking at the deck plan, I see where I went wrong and I think I could have gotten there.

 

As for tips for a scooter user, nothing comes to mind other than my general advice about the elevators: if you need to go down during rush hour (like when everyone wants to disembark at the same time), I recommend going up (we usually went to Deck 15 or Deck 14) and then go down. Otherwise, you'll see a lot of full elevators pass you by. Oh, and don't wait until the very last minute to go to your muster station. Apparently, the elevators are shut down during Muster (I didn't try using them until after Muster was over, so I can't confirm). And if you need to park your scooter outside, make sure you park as close to the wall as possible so other people using scooters or wheelchairs can still circulate.

 

Now about the pool…that's a very good question, and one I have been asking myself a lot lately (my next cruise will be a solo one). On the Silhouette, one of my travelling partners was usually not too far, so I could ask them to fetch a Pool Butler. My strategy for my upcoming cruise is probably to ask a stranger to fetch a Butler or maybe make animal noises until one of them approaches.

 

I will be boarding my next cruise in Southampton (and spending several days in London prior), so if you have any questions about those places, let me know and I'll try my best to bring back some answers.

 

First cruise was Alaska. Returned there a year later-so I have 2 Alaska reviews that could be helpful-lots of excursions and videos. One going South from Anchorage, the other going North from Vancouver.

 

I know you followed along on my Med cruise last year where I had 2 days after the cruise in Rome-about 300 photos and half a dozen videos there (if you go back to the Ocean Princess one and it says "Photo not available" just click on the X and it will take you to the photo on Flickr.) Then you can toggle between screens. I will be taking a posse of Rome photos on the next trip even though there is nothing to see in Rome

I have your Alaska reviews bookmarked for future use, and I have taken all the notes I could take from your Rome review. Thanks for the tip about the pictures, I'll have to go back because I had assumed those were lost forever. Can't wait to see all the new pictures of all the nothing there is to see in Rome ;)

 

Excellent review! I am 44 and a full time wheelchair user as well due to a spinal cord injury. My wife and I typically cruise with Holland America and want to try Celebrity in the future.

 

I love getting up before the sun rises and exploring the ship. It's almost like you are on an entirely different ship. I figure my time is limited on the ship, so getting up early maximizes my vacation! Thanks again for the well written, informative review.

Hey, glad you found my review! I agree about the getting up early part, it was a lot of fun having such a big ship all to myself. Also, I can sleep when I'm home :)

 

It is now 2:30 AM and I have finally read all of your fab revue. best ever.

Hahaha thank you! I'm flattered! Hopefully you didn't have to be up too early the next day!

[Baatman]

Enjoying the photos...very nice.

[Darkwolfe]

Great aerial shots on the way out of FLL. It is fun to see places you have been through other eyes at times.

[HeatherC430]

Nothing like a great photo review! Beautiful pictures!

 

I'm saving to go through and re-read when I have some time. I'll be on the Silhouette in February! Thanks for taking the time to post - I know how time-consuming these photo reviews can be! :)

[cruise47]

Thanks for sharing your review with some outstanding pictures.

[1SMURFF99A]

Sunday, April 19th - Day 8, continued

Thankfully, the check-in line at the airport was pretty much inexistent and we were directed to security around 10:00. Not too bad, but a bit late for me. Keep in mind that, being disabled and in need of the Hannibal Lecter chair, the airport people want me to board before everyone else does, because it's so much easier to manoeuvre the aisle chair when no one else is around.

 

While speed running in Fort Lauderdale airport.

 

Security was uneventful, but I only had time to quickly use the restroom before an airport person came looking for me. They weren't ready for me to board yet, but I guess they wanted to keep an eye on me and make sure I was there and ready to board when they would be. My travelling peeps soon joined me and a few minutes later we were boarding.

 

We could still see the ships in the distance.

 



I found it very impressive to see those huge ships from the plane.They looked like toys!

 



My last sight of the Silhouette where the grass is always greener :)

 

The flight was INSANE. I counted at least twenty infants and toddlers before I stopped counting, assuming that it probably wouldn't be the most peaceful and relaxing flight. It ended up being the understatement of the year. The flight was a complete zoo. Not really because of the young kids on board, it was mostly the adults being incredibly loud and way too festive. Mom, who has flown the most out of the four of us, had never seen anything like it. But hey, what could we do, it's not like we wanted to sleep or anything. We bid our time watching our pictures and dealing with alcohol withdrawal.

 

Once we were close to Quebec City, one of the flight attendants announced that eighteen people had requested wheelchair assistance to debark the plane. EIGHTEEN!!! The highest I have ever seen is one (plus me, but I bring my own wheelchair so shortage is never an issue). Quebec City has a tiny airport that has far from eighteen wheelchairs, so the flight attendant let those people know that it would take longer to get off and that if they felt a miraculous urge to stand up and walk, they could do so. I think there were twelve miracle walkers that day. I suppose that's what happens when the snowbirds are flying back.

 

It wasn't great seeing snow again, but I always get excited when I see bits of Quebec City I recognize from the plane. I was home.

 

At the airport, Friend got brought into one of those little rooms where they open your luggage and look at your undies. She was bringing back some soap that you can't find over here anymore, so that raised some eyebrows, but it only took about five minutes before she was released for good hygiene or something. Mom's partner was waiting for us at the door, and he had brought our winter coats with him.

 

Ew. Winter coats.

 

So that was it. The end of a fantastic first cruise. It was time for me to go home, but before that, I had to go to that place where Canadians pick up their citizenship after leaving the country ;-)

 

Home, at last.

 

Stay tuned for the last episodes of my review: Laurie goes back to work and Laurie needs one full week to unpack and do all the laundry.

 

...or not. Thank you for embarking on this adventure with me. Again, if you were following this thread, I'm sorry it took ages to get it done. If you have any questions (regarding the accessibility or not), feel free to ask! If you're sailing on the Silhouette soon, I wish you a wonderful cruise!

 

Thanks for your great review. We are going to be on her Oct 31st for a Trans Atlantic leaving Rome back to Ft Lauderdale. It's a 15 day trip. I love the long trips. We have been on the Summit but not the Silhoutte. Seeing the boat was great. We were just in San Juan, St Kitts, St Maarten and several other islands in March, doing a back to back on the Summit. You will continue to cruise now that you have experienced one.

[Keensurfer]

Thank you for giving us a fun, in-depth look at your cruise, and for writing it up beautifully, with such great photos.

I'll be on the same ship and same itinerary in December and I'll be revisiting your posts lots between now and then.

 

Also: I keep telling myself I'm going to stick with that Classic Beverage Package they gave us, 'cause really, do I need the frou-frou?......but your martini photos and French Caribbean descriptions have tempted me.

If I do upgrade, you should get a commission!

Ellen

[gsb]

Thank you for giving us a fun, in-depth look at your cruise, and for writing it up beautifully, with such great photos.

I'll be on the same ship and same itinerary in December and I'll be revisiting your posts lots between now and then.

 

Also: I keep telling myself I'm going to stick with that Classic Beverage Package they gave us, 'cause really, do I need the frou-frou?......but your martini photos and French Caribbean descriptions have tempted me.

If I do upgrade, you should get a commission!

Ellen

 

If you don't drink the good beers and the real Martinis at the Martini Bar, you

can get by with the Classic.:cool: