First X Cruise:SILHOUETTE JAN 17 2016

[Bimmer09]

Thank you! Thank you! Another Norris review!!

You don't know how much your Med/Emerald review meant to me as I sat beside my husband's hospital bed during some pretty long days!! Your review was always FIRST on my reading list! (I know I'd started it over the summer - but other issues popped up and interupted me!). It really helped me to drift away and day dream!

Had things gone better sooner, we would have been disembarking the Regal P while you drove by in your taxi on the way to your X-Silly!! But, alas, that was the first time we've had to cancel a cruise.

As it is, we are keeping fingers crossed we'll be up to embarking on our Emerald cruise in 37 days!! AND it's our 1st 'sweet' suite!!

In the mean time - I am anticipating enjoying your vivid descriptions and pictures of your "crossover' cruise! We'll be Elite after this trip (I hope, I hope, I REALLY hope!), and may begin to entertain other cruise lines, so I am very interested in your perspective of Celebrity. We're fortunate to be within driving distance of Cape Liberty where Celebrity provides more opportunities to cruise than Princess does. So, who knows?

Now - on with it!! :D

Barb

 

Barb, thanks for joining me again. I'm sorry to hear you had to cancel the Regal but the Emerald is a fine tub although when I was on her in September some of the dining staff must have bumped their head in a doorway.

 

Where is your suite located? Please say AFT. (biggest balconies)

 

Norris

[sajlm045]

Hi Norris, happy to have found your newest review with all the witty commentary, photos, and info. I have now curled up with a double espresso and a good shot of Sambuca looking forward to the rest of your chronicle.

[Bimmer09]

Hi Norris, happy to have found your newest review with all the witty commentary, photos, and info. I have now curled up with a double espresso and a good shot of Sambuca looking forward to the rest of your chronicle.

 

Hi and welcome!

 

I like the sound of that drink you're having.

 

The "Chronicle" ( I like to use the term Seafaring Gentleman's Journal) will continue tomorrow with Luminae then Sailaway where I had 2 video cameras running continuously (needs editing) and the DSRL.

 

Tonight I am cooking Indian food which requires (a) a clear head and (b) a lot of ingredients. I have the ingredients at least.

 

Thanks for finding me and for the compliments!

 

I am excited when I see all the photos and videos I have to work on-it just takes a lot of MacBooking (I was going to say "mouse work" but it's just tapping and dragging and with iMovie and Flickr in the mix a lot of praying and luck of the Irish.) It's a challenge and after a good curry it will be made easier.

 

Cheers!

 

Norris

[Pmorton3360]

I'm going on the Regal in 5 weeks. I've been fascinated by the Royal class since they started building her. We had to cancel last March. Now I try my first solo. Also booked the Harmony for the Med in October.

[Bo1953]

Thanks LC but what is reply notification email from CC?

 

I'll try just posting the URL without embedding it.

 

Fingers crossed...

 

Norris

 

 

I was able to see it on my television through YouTube with no problem... I liked watching it on my 42" set, just like as if I were actually there... Thanks!

[Bimmer09]

Not 2/18/17 by chance??

 

January 21 but of course that may change if we see another itinerary. We booked the same suite again-if it ain't broke..

Carol's mother was born in Jamaica and Carol hasn't been there since the 1960's so she might lean that way.

 

I have been to Ocho Rios 44 times, but I was so much older then-I'm younger than that now.

 

Norris

[nimiq]

Hello Norris,

 

Just a quick thank you for posting this review will have to wait to read the rest as we are going on a quick two day Constellation cruise as of tomorrow and no internet plan.

 

This will be our second time on Celebrity but the first one was like 14 years ago.

 

Sea ya

Eric

[Bimmer09]

Hello Norris,

 

Just a quick thank you for posting this review will have to wait to read the rest as we are going on a quick two day Constellation cruise as of tomorrow and no internet plan.

 

This will be our second time on Celebrity but the first one was like 14 years ago.

 

Sea ya

Eric

 

Have a great cruise Eric- I have a soft spot for the Connie .

 

Thanks for taking the time to pop in.

 

Norris

[ar1950]

Norris, enjoying this review. Great to see a new (to us) ship and cruise line through your eyes, and cameras. BTW, I lost track of your Emerald review due to travel and then some health issues at the end of October. So upsetting to see the "incident" that happened to you in November. Happy to see that you are mended and having another great cruise experience. You and Carol look happy and at home on the Silhouette. Looking forward to the rest.

[p0240]

Hi Norris

I also have an excuse letter for being late, however better late than never. So glad to be along for the ride, just love it. Now with cap in hand, I shall go back to page 3.

Pat

[kasijab]

UK? Me too. Which city/town/village/hamlet/shire etc?

 

Connie is a pretty ship....but no grass! Oh! The Humanity!

 

Thanks for letting me know you are reading and enjoying.

 

Norris

 

We live in Cleethorpes on the East Coast ....I know there is no grass but love the ambience of the smaller ships ...but have been on the bigger ones too and would never turn them down :D

[dramirez]

Norris,

 

So happy that you are back posting. The pole next to the bed is for all the fridge magnets that you and Carol buy in the ports of call. I'm truly surprised you didn't figure that out!

 

Take care.

 

Diane

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

January 21 but of course that may change if we see another itinerary. We booked the same suite again-if it ain't broke..

Carol's mother was born in Jamaica and Carol hasn't been there since the 1960's so she might lean that way.

 

I have been to Ocho Rios 44 times, but I was so much older then-I'm younger than that now.

 

Norris

 

Gotcha. Sadly I'm limited by school breaks. Still, it will be nice to get away from NYC in the Winter!

[Bimmer09]

Norris, enjoying this review. Great to see a new (to us) ship and cruise line through your eyes, and cameras. BTW, I lost track of your Emerald review due to travel and then some health issues at the end of October. You and Carol look happy and at home on the Silhouette. Looking forward to the rest.

 

AR-sorry to hear you had health issues in October. Hope all is well now.

 

Yes- a new ship and as this unfolds you might see why we like it so much.

 

Norris

 

Hi Norris

I also have an excuse letter for being late, however better late than never. So glad to be along for the ride, just love it. Now with cap in hand, I shall go back to page 3.

Pat

 

Pat, welcome aboard! As you know I am the only reviewer on CC that offers a Cyber Bar with unlimited refills. All spirits are top shelf (which makes them harder to reach without a stepstool). Also a fully stocked Cyber fridge and Pantry. I have muffins and cupcakes baked fresh each day too (they are in the oven right now)

 

Thanks for being my guest once again.

 

Norris

 

Kasijab wrote.....We live in Cleethorpes on the East Coast ....I know there is no grass but love the ambience of the smaller ships ...but have been on the bigger ones too and would never turn them down

 

Cleethorpes- got it. NO grass on the Connie but grass isn't a deal-breaker for me as we've been on 8 cruises without it and loved them all. I've enjoyed looking at Connie on Beyondships.com, many times. I always take photos of her in port.

 

Norris

 

Norris,

 

So happy that you are back posting. The pole next to the bed is for all the fridge magnets that you and Carol buy in the ports of call. I'm truly surprised you didn't figure that out!

 

Take care.

 

Diane

 

Diane- so it's a stripper pole and a fridge magnet board? Good multi-use design then!

 

Only 4 magnets bought this trip-we need to get back to Italy and hit some more ports and ancient sites!

 

Norris

 

Beth wrote.....Gotcha. Sadly I'm limited by school breaks. Still, it will be nice to get away from NYC in the Winter!

 

We escape Chicago in January for the same reason Beth.

 

Norris

[emelle]

Well Norris....so enjoying your review. We were on the same cruise, although since we are cruising newbies, we had no real idea where to go on the ship at first, which hotel to choose pre-cruise, etc.

 

We did meet, and you may remember us. I remember you with your camera on your wrist, your "dancing shoes" shirt and talking to your lovely wife Carol in San Juan on our first, but limited and brief, shore excursion. You may remember my husband with the subsequent black arm sling, which definitely made our attempts at dancing interesting. :eek:

 

Although now back at home, he is going to require a "day with the orthopedic surgeon" to hopefully put all aright, we still had a marvelous time on the Silhouette and Celebrity and have other cruises booked.

 

Loving your photos and review and now I see why you are so famous on CC!

[Bimmer09]

We went to Luminae for lunch due to their generous serving hours from 11.30 to 2 pm. Just a few diners there so we got a table by a window. Beautiful room.

 

Service, from the smiling hostess to each of the waiters that came to the table, bringing water and bread and drinks from the bar was impeccable. Warm and friendly people. The Maitre 'd came over to introduce himself and ask if there was anything he could do. I asked him to make a reservation for us in Murano that evening. He said he was the MD for all the specialty restaurants and we were impressed.

 

The menu was large in form (2 waiters had to carry it) but small in selections.

 

We both ordered Lobster Bisque to start. If I see the word Lobster on a menu then I am having it regardless of preparation. If the waiter was to say "We only serve lobster than was run over in the street by a garbage truck in the snow at least 3 days ago" I'd hand him back the menu and say "sounds great-I'll have that please".

 

*The lobster bisque will appear in a short video

following

Entrees- For Carol the Seafood Brochette skewer dish

 

 

Short of choices that leapt out at me I had the Signature Burger with Truffle Fries

 

The burger was a tad over the medium requested and needed a little more seasoning when cooking. Carol had the same comment about her dish. But our hunger was satisfied and were good to go relax before muster drill which was at 3.45 pm.

 

Lovely room

 

 

Here's the short video clip of our appetizer

 

 

 

** I tried embedding the video but got a fail as before, so please just click on the

link.

 

Norris

[LPYRCRUISER]

This is so exciting. DH and I will be onboard Silhouette the last week of February. I love reviews like yours, with lots of detail. We are also smokers, and try to be very careful not to invade anyone's personal space. I would be interested in knowing what your experience was like with finding areas to smoke that don't infringe on other people. I know it's an unpopular stance and I respect other's feelings, but I would like to not feel like I'm sneaking a smoke. Keep up with your great review!!

[vplsh]

Hi Norris,

 

So happy to have found a review of yours here on the Celebrity boards. I've followed your Princess reviews faithfully.

We sailed Silhouette last spring and have her booked again for July to Scandinavia and Russia. Beautiful ship! Looking forward to reading your specialty restaurant reviews.

 

Thanks again!!

 

Lisa

[Bimmer09]

This is so exciting. DH and I will be onboard Silhouette the last week of February. I love reviews like yours, with lots of detail. We are also smokers, and try to be very careful not to invade anyone's personal space. I would be interested in knowing what your experience was like with finding areas to smoke that don't infringe on other people. I know it's an unpopular stance and I respect other's feelings, but I would like to not feel like I'm sneaking a smoke. Keep up with your great review!!

 

Hi and thanks for the comments.

 

Re the Smoking I was more than happy with the areas and comforts X provided.

Comfy chairs everywhere there is designated smoking.More smoker- considerate than PCL in fact.

 

I prefer to smoke outside where there are trillions of acres of air above to dilute the smoke and not offend anyone who is used to inhaling only the pristine diesel air of our cities. That's sarcastic and is only directed at those people who have the fake coughing attacks when walking past a person who is legitimately puffing in a "smoking section". I heard the words "Goddam smokers" from an old geezer walking through the smoking section at the Sunset Bar while using the path as a walking track.

 

My smoking was enjoyed by the Sunset bar ( Port) Promenade (deck5) aft and fwd port side and the Mast Bar (fwd Starboard) and when super windy in the a.m before the ship awoke I smoked by the pool in the smoking section.

 

Besides those I smoked in the elevators, the restaurants and in bed. Oh-and in the shower but it was hard to stay lit.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Hi Norris,

 

So happy to have found a review of yours here on the Celebrity boards. I've followed your Princess reviews faithfully.

We sailed Silhouette last spring and have her booked again for July to Scandinavia and Russia. Beautiful ship! Looking forward to reading your specialty restaurant reviews.

 

Thanks again!!

 

Lisa

 

Hi, Lisa.

 

I am always happy to see someone who has read my Princess things.Welcome indeed! I'm baking some cyber scones with raisins incase you were wondering about the smell.

 

I have really enjoyed our PCL cruises and I think the reviews do the line justice.

The rich beauty of the Princess interiors spurred me to upgrade to a better camera. I think that the criticisms I voice in those reviews are all fair and valid and no-one has ever said otherwise in print. I roll with the punches as I know nothing is perfect but there are some failings in standards I won't accept and I am not shy about respectfully challenging someone or some process that fails in my eyes. I have a very even temper.

 

I have been voted "least needy and friendliest passenger" by Princess on 8 cruises. Sometimes I have been asked "do you work here?" after helping people find their cabins or giving them useful info when they seem to be confused.

 

I preach CC as a resource so that people can find the answers for themselves before they go cruising. Few of the people I spoke to on the ship knew of CC.

 

One friend I met (from N Ireland) on the ship, by the name of Ronald was unhappy with cabin 6385 (if memory serves) during the first week of his B2B but a wonderful CC member and many others have already compiled reviews of X cabins that would have alerted him to the noise below in the kitchens.

 

I just posted pics and video of 7309...so anyone on CC who thinks of booking that can check it out.

 

I surf every CC cruise and river cruise board, even of lines I wouldn't dream of sailing on. Knowledge is power. I do the research and when we cruise we are armed to the teeth with info.

 

Norris

[Tommy3putts]

Hi and thanks for the comments.

 

 

 

 

 

Besides those I smoked in the elevators, the restaurants and in bed. Oh-and in the shower but it was hard to stay lit.

 

 

 

Norris

 

 

Well thank goodness you didn't smoke on the balcony or in the casino.

[Bimmer09]

After our lunch in Luminae Carol returned to our cabin to check on the luggage while I got to know the Sunset Bar fully.

 

The luggage was sitting in the corridor and Carol had to drag it in to the room.

Our room was in a private corridor so she had to go through one heavy door into a vestibule where there were 2 cabin doors. She hauled it through the second door into our room.

 

The room steward Andrew came by to introduce himself soon after and was embarrassed that she had to carry the suitcases in herself.

 

After he left our butler Stoyan came to introduce himself.

 

Muster drill/cluster drill was the next event. I say cluster because I am a firm believer in taking lifejackets to drills and learning to put them on yourself.

Videos are easy to watch (if you're not yakking like one idiot who had to be shushed) but when the ship is on fire and listing to port isn't the best time to figure out how to don the life jacket. I could actually do it under those conditions and help others too-because I was required to do so 8 times already. I'd suggest trying the lifejacket on when you go back to your cabin.

 

We took the elevator to the Muster in Tuscan Grill...but those might not be running during a real emergency...we're used to having to go down the crew stairs which are fireproof so it would have been prudent to have us become familiar with those stairways.

 

The drill was overlong so by the time we got to our balcony the ship was already moving! Luckily I had set up my two "remote" camcorders in advance, both on tripods so I just had to switch them on. I was denied my usual pleasure in watching the mooring lines being pulled aboard (ship nerd, don't forget!)

 

Here we are on the balcony waving to the Port Everglades webcam. I had asked them for a close-up as I do on every PE cruise we take.

You can see the GoPro (Hero3+) attached to the railing next to me and behind Carol is a Sony HD camcorder on a tripod standing on a table.

 

 

And here's the aft-facing footage from the Sony camcorder. Have your sound turned on**

 

** Before I run the movie let me tell you that I can't use the soundtrack I added for copyright reasons (Andrea Bocelli/Sarah Brightman "Time to say Goodbye") I have removed that glorious soundtrack.

So what you'll get is the natural sound.

 

Even though I have a good computer (the best I have owned) some of the programs like iMovie and sites like Flickr are frustrating and if you were sitting near me when I am on the computer you would hear these phrases uttered;

 

OH, COME ON!

REALLY??

WHAT THE H...!!?

YOU'RE KIDDING ME, RIGHT?

 

So here again is an exercise in frustration-the video

 

 

 

Enjoy!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Well Norris....so enjoying your review. We were on the same cruise, although since we are cruising newbies, we had no real idea where to go on the ship at first, which hotel to choose pre-cruise, etc.

 

We did meet, and you may remember us. I remember you with your camera on your wrist, your "dancing shoes" shirt and talking to your lovely wife Carol in San Juan on our first, but limited and brief, shore excursion. You may remember my husband with the subsequent black arm sling, which definitely made our attempts at dancing interesting. :eek:

 

Although now back at home, he is going to require a "day with the orthopedic surgeon" to hopefully put all aright, we still had a marvelous time on the Silhouette and Celebrity and have other cruises booked.

 

Loving your photos and review and now I see why you are so famous on CC!

 

Hi and thanks for joining us! Indeed I remember you and your husband.

 

I was the closest person to him, maybe 8 feet away when he was crashed into and his Segway knocked over-he was lucky to avoid a serious head injury from the brick wall. I tried to get the Segway off him but it was so heavy I had to get Jorge the trainer to help me.

 

Even though we all had to go ahead with the ride to the Fort we were all thinking about the accident and how your husband was faring. Did you walk back to the ship to see the Doctor? I didn't see you again so didn't know if his shoulder was dislocated. Please wish him our best.

 

I'll have photos and video (from the GoPro on my wrist) of the Segway ride. I don't know if I have any photos from the Segway Shop that you might be in. I only look at the photos when I need them for the review and have to edit (In Adobe Lightroom5 if anyone is interested) them before I put them on line.

 

My "dancing shoes" shirt got some attention. It's a fun shirt. It's for people who can't remember dance moves....just look down and the steps are on the shirt.

 

Thanks for the compliments on the photos- I had fun taking them.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Some stills I took while the camcorders were running....

 

 

 

 

 

 

The web-cam is on the third floor extreme left balcony in this building

 

[Bimmer09]

 

 

I have stood on these rocks many times to take photos and wave at ships

 

 

The Marriott is the big hotel sticking up through the distant trees in the photo above