First X Cruise:SILHOUETTE JAN 17 2016

[Jasperdo]

I really like the look of the Silhouette Theater. One of my few complaints about Princess is how crowded the Princess Theater gets. You pretty much have to get there a half hour before showtime to get a decent seat. I also miss the multi tiered theaters that most other cruise lines have. I enjoy sitting in the balcony section. I feel you get a better perspective of the whole performance that way. The Princess Theater is just one gently sloping level. The Silhouette Theater is much more to my liking.

[landj999]

Hi Norris, greetings from a fellow Irish (originally from Dublin, now living in Galway) person. I can hear on your videos that you have retained some of your Northern Irish lilt :).

 

I've just finished reading your review to date and was already enjoying it immensely when you absolutely made my day by posting the "Don't Stop Believing" video. It's a very special song to me so to have that pop up while I was happily reliving my Celebrity Solstice class experiences was a wonderful surprise. Thank you so much for your review, I am greatly looking forward to the rest of it.

 

Eloise

But who is the guy with the Tambourine? American Idol wannabe??

[Bimmer09]

Hi Norris, greetings from a fellow Irish (originally from Dublin, now living in Galway) person. I can hear on your videos that you have retained some of your Northern Irish lilt :).

 

I've just finished reading your review to date and was already enjoying it immensely when you absolutely made my day by posting the "Don't Stop Believing" video. It's a very special song to me so to have that pop up while I was happily reliving my Celebrity Solstice class experiences was a wonderful surprise. Thank you so much for your review, I am greatly looking forward to the rest of it.

 

Eloise

 

Hello Eloise, top of the morning to you! A pint of Guinness? Thanks- I don't mind if I do! Very kind of you.

 

I always come off a cruise with a list of "why didn't I do that/go there/eat that?

and on my list is why didn't I find out where that band was playing and hear a set from stem to stern?

 

Why didn't I have a burger and fries at the Mast Grill?

 

Why didn't I swim in the Solarium?

 

Why did I only use the gym once? and so on....

 

The band I might not hear again but all the others can be rectified in the future.

 

It's a great song sung by a great singer in his heyday.

 

Glad you like it and are enjoying the review!

 

Norris

[littlelulu01]

Thank you for sharing such a detailed review with humor. Question: We have 2155 sky suite reserved which is on resort deck aft. Was there any stairs aft to get up to pool deck and lawn club or did you need to walk to midship? Love aft rooms but debating on whether to switch to sky suite further down hallway. it seems to me like it might be a little claustrophobic with such a long walk down a narrow hallway each time I want to go to room. Kim

[Bimmer09]

The short story first-The Murano Dinner was for me the best restaurant meal I have had on a ship to date. This does not include Princess' Ultimate Balcony Dinner for obvious reasons.

 

$50 a head isn't crazy for a dining experience of this quality.

 

It's not just the food-serve the same thing in a brightly lit, noisy trendy place with high stools and no tablecloths and it wouldn't be the same experience.

In Murano, it begins with the warm welcome and escort, the beauty of the room, the cosy ambiance of the lighting and the conversation-friendly music. It's the friendly and efficient waiters oozing personality and charm, the flowers, the table settings on a white tablecloth (done away with on Carnival). Then it's good food for every course. A treat for my senses in every way.

 

The table side preparation was something I meant to have so I didn't even need to look at the menu. I wanted lobster and that was that.

 

The menu was of course a big thing

 

 

To make it readable for you I photographed each half

 

 

 

A complimentary glass of Cassis was offered

 

 

Carol had her usual Tonic water (shaken not stirred) while I whipped out the card for a generous glass of New Zealand Malbec in a good quality, big-bowl wine glass. We were offered our choice of water; Sparkling, tap or from the washers in the ship's laundry. We chose tap.

 

An amuse bouche was brought forth-chilled celery soup with hidden pieces of bacon. I want a big bowl of this, please!! Superb morsel. Celery like I imagine it-must have come from California.

 

Here it is

 

 

[Bimmer09]

Great bread and butter

 

 

 

Lobster bisque for me

 

 

Carol's smoked salmon, peeky-toe crab, salmon roe caviar and avocado

 

 

View from the table

 

 

Another table service taking place nearby

 

 

More.....hopefully all in focus

[Bimmer09]

Thank you for sharing such a detailed review with humor. Question: We have 2155 sky suite reserved which is on resort deck aft. Was there any stairs aft to get up to pool deck and lawn club or did you need to walk to midship? Love aft rooms but debating on whether to switch to sky suite further down hallway. it seems to me like it might be a little claustrophobic with such a long walk down a narrow hallway each time I want to go to room. Kim

 

For us the stairs didn't appear until the aft elevators which meant a lot of walking so I don't think you'll find a short-cut.

 

Glad you like the review. Thanks for saying so!

 

Norris

 

[Bimmer09]

The Cognac flambe warm water Lobster with mashed potato

 

 

Carol's Dover Sole Veronique with mashed potato

 

 

The ridiculously tasty, greatest dessert ever

 

 

Carol had a small cheese plate from a cheese cart with amazing varieties. I love cheese to death but I was at bursting point by now. Then the chocolates came to finish the meal but we couldn't eat them so they wrapped them up for us.

 

 

We had a great evening in Murano and will visit it again whichever X ship we are on.

 

As we were in a Suite tonight's meal was comped. From here on we would pay for the Specialty Restaurants.

 

Norris

[debbie2000]

14feb sailing?

 

Us too!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Yes, 02/14/16. There are 6 in our group. Four from Atlanta area & two from Jacksonville. Maybe we will meet you at sailaway or Connections.

[Pmorton3360]

Alright than. We've got some serious food porn here. Great pictures as always. Pam

[debbie2000]

Hello again Mj,

 

Those scones on the Princess ships Afternoon Tea are sublime!

 

I was a Beatles fan even before Love me Do as a tv news show filmed a short clip of them in the Cavern (where they played 292 lunchtime gigs!)on August 22, 1962. I was a big Elvis fan prior to that.

 

My dad was a ship's Captain and docked in Liverpool regularly and brought me back a local paper called Mersey Beat which mentioned the Beatles. I sailed with him a few times as a kid and walked from the docks to find Ringo's home in Admiral Grove and just stared at it for a while (1963)

 

My pocket money was enough to buy the singles when they came out and I joined the fan club as soon as I heard about it and had all those floppy Xmas records with them goofing around. I had Beatles wallpaper, Cuban Heeled boots, the Lennon cap etc etc. I was and still am a fan.

 

Thanks for the response!

 

Norris

We did a British Isles cruise a few years ago & due to a huge storm, our entire schedule was changed. The only port that was cancelled was Northern Belfast & we went to Liverpool instead. We were quite happy with the change & did an extensive Beatles excurision. Loved touring the Beatles Experience & also seeing all the Beatles related sites around Liverpool & hearing stories. Looking forward to the Beatles show, although will try not to be too critical.

[awhfy]

Glad you're enjoying your stay on Celebrity. After viewing your pictures I think we need to book a tour on Silly (we've done -or are doing shortly - 2 Solstice, 3 Equinox & Eclipse which have the hot glass shows instead of Lawn Club Grill). Next time you're on an X ship be sure to try the Mast Grill for a burger & dog, ok throw in some fries & onion rings. Really enjoying your review & I'll go peruse your Princess reviews. We've been considering a Pacific Coastal on Princess. I await more pictures with baited breath [emoji6] & a glass of wine [emoji485]. Melody

[Deck Chair Queen]

Carol here aka Deck Chair Queen. To the person who feared long walks down claustrophobic corridors fear not. I never felt claustrophobic in these corridors not even when the service carts were in the hall. It's worth the walk to be alone and unmolested in the aft section. Also let's be specific about the components in the best dessert ever at Murano: dark chocolate mousse, rose water vanilla creme brûlée, apple walnut cake mousse, strawberries in red wine, mint gelato, and white chocolate mousse with raspberry coulis. Rather than fight over whom gets what, let each person eat half of each dish! The chocolates were another amuse and they insisted we take ANOTHER plate's worth back to the cabin for later!

Edited January 31, 2016 by Deck Chair Queen

[travelling8]

The short story first-The Murano Dinner was for me the best restaurant meal I have had on a ship to date.

 

It's not just the food-serve the same thing in a brightly lit, noisy trendy place with high stools and no tablecloths and it wouldn't be the same experience.

In Murano, it begins with the warm welcome and escort, the beauty of the room, the cosy ambiance of the lighting and the conversation-friendly music. It's the friendly and efficient waiters oozing personality and charm, the flowers, the table settings on a white tablecloth (done away with on Carnival). Then it's good food for every course. A treat for my senses in every way.

 

The table side preparation was something I meant to have so I didn't even need to look at the menu. I wanted lobster and that was that.

 

The Murano and the Olympic (on Celebrity Millennium) are two of the best restaurants! Like you indicated above, every fine detail was a treat, including synchronizing the removal of the cloche when serving (even for a party of 4, which we had). The Murano is a must on this ship!

 

Kim :)

[mickeysgal]

Loving this review; we sailed Silhouette out of Venice two years ago and will be on her again for the Baltics this June. Great review...bringing back lots of memories.

[Bimmer09]

Glad you're enjoying your stay on Celebrity. After viewing your pictures I think we need to book a tour on Silly (we've done -or are doing shortly - 2 Solstice, 3 Equinox & Eclipse which have the hot glass shows instead of Lawn Club Grill). Next time you're on an X ship be sure to try the Mast Grill for a burger & dog, ok throw in some fries & onion rings. Really enjoying your review & I'll go peruse your Princess reviews. We've been considering a Pacific Coastal on Princess. I await more pictures with baited breath [emoji6] & a glass of wine [emoji485]. Melody

 

Thanks for joining us here Melody.

 

We were docked by the Eclipse twice and I noticed their lawn deck was lacking the Alcoves, big Adirondacks and hammocks.

 

I hear you on the Mast grill-good beer food. Smelled great when I walked past.

 

THE LCG is a better use of space and revenue generator that the Hot glass Show remarkable as that may be. You'll see why I say that when you see our evenings there.

 

Princess...there are many reasons why we took 8 cruises in 4 years.The reviews will tell you why.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Loving this review; we sailed Silhouette out of Venice two years ago and will be on her again for the Baltics this June. Great review...bringing back lots of memories.

 

Venice?

 

Don't get me started....magical. I'm at a loss for words (not really LOL)

 

Baltics=on bucket list.

 

Thanks for stopping in.

 

See my Venice at 5 a.m video on youtube...Norris Adair channel

 

Norris

[Texed]

Norris,

 

Thanks for posting. :)

[Bimmer09]

Coming up soon once the editing is done

 

Getting to Puerto Rico 2 hours early

 

Docking in San Juan in photos and video

 

Learning to ride a Segway video

 

Segway accident/passenger injured

 

Segway tour to El Morro fort in photos and multiple videos

 

Leaving San Juan at night

 

Dinner in the Lawn Club Grill in photos and video

 

How to toss pizza dough video featuring Puta from the LCG

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Norris,

 

Thanks for posting. :)

 

Jacquie-nice to see you again!

 

FYI we are in Houston in May for some opera so that will be another Houston blog and our 3rd consecutive year in that great city.

 

Pappas Bros steaks here we come!

 

Cheers,

 

Norris

[TeaBag]

Norris, you have to take the Baltics off the bucket list by going on the cruise!! We did the Eclipse last May and it was a very close second to our first trip down under (Mercury) when we hadn't done as much cruising and were wowed by everything. We will be repeating this in Mar on Millennium, (going the other way).

 

Your Murano dinner looked very good.

Edited January 31, 2016 by TeaBag

[littlelulu01]

Carol here aka Deck Chair Queen. To the person who feared long walks down claustrophobic corridors fear not. I never felt claustrophobic in these corridors not even when the service carts were in the hall. It's worth the walk to be alone and unmolested in the aft section. Also let's be specific about the components in the best dessert ever at Murano: dark chocolate mousse, rose water vanilla creme brûlée, apple walnut cake mousse, strawberries in red wine, mint gelato, and white chocolate mousse with raspberry coulis. Rather than fight over whom gets what, let each person eat half of each dish! The chocolates were another amuse and they insisted we take ANOTHER plate's worth back to the cabin for later!

 

Thanks. This will also be our first Celebrity cruise. Was initially just planning to eat mostly at luminae but after seeing your pics and descriptions definitely want to try some speciality dining. Will need the extra walking. Glad to hear you didn't feel claustrophobic in the long hall. Will keep our aft room. It was the last one available. Kim

[Bimmer09]

Norris, you have to take the Baltics off the bucket list by going on the cruise!! We did the Eclipse last May and it was a very close second to our first trip down under (Mercury) when we hadn't done as much cruising and were wowed by everything. We will be repeating this in Mar on Millennium, (going the other way).

 

Your Murano dinner looked very good.[/Quote]

 

Baltics were brought up by Carol just a couple of days ago. Would be handy if it began in Southampton as I haven't been in London since 1994 and I lived there for 12 years.

 

Norway is the big draw for me, not so much the St Petersburg Palaces and such.

I like natural beauty...Alesund, Fjords. Flam railway calls to me too. Gold leaves me cold as does ostentation. I always think of the people outside the palace walls eating raw turnips, or each other, to survive.

 

Sometimes revolutions have to happen-but Communism stank up the planet there for a long time.

 

Excuse me one moment....sorry, there was a knock on my door...KGB. I thought it was Avon calling...

 

Gotta run!

 

Norris

[TeaBag]

Yes, I agree with you on the ostentation. "Shall we eat in the pink dining room tonight, or the green one? Definitely lots of gold, so you might want to stay on the ship in St P. or go to the ballet.

 

We loved Stockholm, Tallinn, Gdansk, Warnemunde etc.... more like our style.

 

Hope the KGB didn't take you away so you can finish this great review. Thanks for the laugh.

[dibati2]

One last quick question before we sail.....

 

On this trip which side of the ship faced land when in port?

 

"I'm leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again..."