Live Blog – Silhouette Nov 3 – Beaches to Broadway – Pull up a seat and Join

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, DUTRAVEL said:

 

We were lucky enough to get a business saver rate on miles with Lufthansa (through United).

You should really enjoy.    In July we had a United Flight with an early departure at 7:00am at the last minute Lufthansa opened up a saver award out of San Jose and we switched.   You will love their service.   The also use Le Club (the only lounge at SJC) which is just across the hall from the gate.   Unfortunately the gate is in an awkward place and really packed at boarding time.

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, gordylad said:

will be following your posts....get your big warm coats ready for the crossing

Thanks for the recommendation.   We were on the fence if we should bring our winter jackets or just Puffers but earlier today decided to bring the winter jackets.  

[Jim_Iain]

27 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

We will see you in Michaels Club if it’s not too crowded.   We traveled in a CS when they shared the benefit of Michaels Club with the Suites above them.   On the Soltice Class, we found the CS small with a tiny bedroom and no dining table.

we did enjoy the much larger balcony but our balcony opened to the bow so we couldn’t use it when we were underway.   We are in a RS and that is a better suite but the balcony is small.   Guess it still includes the jetted bathtub so you can only have one lounger.    We have always cruised with Cunard and have recently enjoyed Seabourn sailing.    The prices are comparable.   See you on board, Karen and Jim

 

 

We've sailed in both CS and RS and will be in a CS for this cruise.   I have to agree with your synopsis of both.   It is incredible how much larger they are on an M-Class.  

 

We booked 1615 which is an Aft facing hump cabin so it has a larger angled balcony and is protected from the wind.  

 

It will be interesting to see how MC is.    We have been in it both prior to when they allowed SS and afterward and except for the Officers party wasn't bad at all.   With this being a repositioning cruise and no free drink packages it will have a tendency to be more busy with people dropping in to pick up drinks pre-dinner and pre-show.  

 

I am sure you will  find us in MC between 7:30 and 8:45.    We almost always go to dinner between 8:45 - 9:00 and have drinks prior to   dinner.   Besides that we sometimes make it down for Tea if we have been on a tour and get back after lunch.  

 

See ya aboard.   

[CruisersTimesThree]

13 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I'll try to post enough pictures to help keep your excitement growing.   I think the main thing I will enjoy most is the number of specialty restaurants.   My favorite is Murano's which is a French style cuisine.    The M-Class use to have a French inspired restaurant (Olympic, Ocean Liner, etc) but swapped them out for Tuscan Grill.  

 

 

Thank you!  The restaurants have us excited since there are so many more choices on S-class.  Very much looking forward to Muranos.  We were lucky enough to enjoy the Normandie on the Summit on 2 trips before they made the change to Tuscan Grill. Not as good, but enjoyed our meals there.

[CruisersTimesThree]

6 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

We've sailed in both CS and RS and will be in a CS for this cruise.   I have to agree with your synopsis of both.   It is incredible how much larger they are on an M-Class.  

 

We booked 1615 which is an Aft facing hump cabin so it has a larger angled balcony and is protected from the wind.  

 

It will be interesting to see how MC is.    We have been in it both prior to when they allowed SS and afterward and except for the Officers party wasn't bad at all.   With this being a repositioning cruise and no free drink packages it will have a tendency to be more busy with people dropping in to pick up drinks pre-dinner and pre-show.  

 

I am sure you will  find us in MC between 7:30 and 8:45.    We almost always go to dinner between 8:45 - 9:00 and have drinks prior to   dinner.   Besides that we sometimes make it down for Tea if we have been on a tour and get back after lunch.  

 

See ya aboard.   

We will be sailing in the Penthouse on our March cruise and can’t wait to compare it to the Summit penthouse!  I already know we will be missing the aft balcony and the butlers pantry, those features are so amazing on the M-class ships. 

Will be interested in your opinions on Silhouttes Michaels Club and Luminae.

Enjoy!

[pamkev]

Following along as we will be boarding on Nov 18th. Can't wait. Thanks for the postings.

[chamima]

 

18 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

Unfortunately that site has become very flaky of late.  Notice that the most recent update on your cruise was over 6 weeks ago.  The same thing has happened as I try to follow hoped-for price decreases on my January Edge cruise – there had been nothing for months, then suddenly a price update 10-15, but again nothing since then.  So I'm back to checking the Celebrity website every day.

 

I've noticed the same thing.

I wanted to follow 2 cruises I booked for next year and after 6 months (and really expecting that they were out of business) I got an email that they added them to their site.

I tried emailing a question about what was going on but never received an answer.

[mmsJack]

Hi Jim & Lain

 

I'll be joining the others here as we follow along with you on your journey. Thank you so much for taking the time to journal your travels across the pond! My daughters, son-in-law and I will be on the 12/9 Silhouette sailing (along w/ Signman apparently 😎) & it will be fantastic to get your impressions and feedback before we board.  

 

Quite kind of you to take the time to share with the CC community!

[breezer]

I'm excited to follow along with you.   I'll be on Silhouette Nov 30...my first cruise with Celebrity.  I have a long way to go to reach Zenith!

[ACJV]

Hello Jim,

We are joining you on this TA.  Claude and Vicki Mason from Duluth, Ga.  We are elite+,  probably never make it to Zenith.  We enjoy transatlantic and this is our 6th.  Look forward to meeting you on the ship?

Vicki

[Jim_Iain]

19 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Thanks Jim.  I didn't know that, and it is a good shortcut for my daily Celebrity website price check!

 

 

Sometimes the links screw up so it is just a tool and not always perfect.  I tried my Transatlantic for next week today and it gave me a Hawaii cruise.  

 

[Jim_Iain]

11 hours ago, CruisersTimesThree said:

We will be sailing in the Penthouse on our March cruise and can’t wait to compare it to the Summit penthouse!  I already know we will be missing the aft balcony and the butlers pantry, those features are so amazing on the M-class ships. 

Will be interested in your opinions on Silhouttes Michaels Club and Luminae.

Enjoy!

I've sailed in the Penthouse on Millennium but never sailed in one in an S-Class.  We were invited to a party in the Penthouse on Silhouette  and found it to be smaller than the M-Class but still a very nice suite.   You will love the extra perks and the personalized checkin for RS and above suites. 

[Jim_Iain]

5 hours ago, pamkev said:

Following along as we will be boarding on Nov 18th. Can't wait. Thanks for the postings.

 

Thanks Pamkev -    Looks like there will be quite a number of folks joining the ship on Nov 18th.    We took the post Thanksgiving cruises many times in the past.   It is a great time to travel with good rates for both cruises and air and does not have as many children as on the Thanksgiving week cruise.   

[Jim_Iain]

5 hours ago, chamima said:

 

 

I've noticed the same thing.

I wanted to follow 2 cruises I booked for next year and after 6 months (and really expecting that they were out of business) I got an email that they added them to their site.

I tried emailing a question about what was going on but never received an answer.

 

Over the years they have varied in their reliability but still a good tool for many uses.    I also like to search the "Deals" tab that show recent price drops and percentage of drop.   

[upwarduk]

Celebrity goes to great lengths to make sure there are multiple things gong on all day.

 

Well, you will have Sue Denning as CD and she has plenty of practice adjusting the programme, if you don’t manage to get into port.

[gerelmx]

Hi Jim following your review, we are booked a Caribbean B2B In the Silhouette for next March 15, and planning my 2020 cruises this TA is my bucket list. Thank you for sharing.

 

Gerardo

[bluwes]

19 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Thanks for the recommendation.   We were on the fence if we should bring our winter jackets or just Puffers but earlier today decided to bring the winter jackets.  

Definite change in the weather today in the UK, certainly big coat weather

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, upwarduk said:

 

 

Well, you will have Sue Denning as CD and she has plenty of practice adjusting the programme, if you don’t manage to get into port.

I have heard so many good things about Sue Denning but have never sailed with her.   Look forward to having her as a CD.

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, gerelmx said:

Hi Jim following your review, we are booked a Caribbean B2B In the Silhouette for next March 15, and planning my 2020 cruises this TA is my bucket list. Thank you for sharing.

 

Gerardo

 

Thanks for following along.   It is amazing how many good things are shared here on CC.    I was reading your post about your Visa problems on your last cruise.    That must have been such a terrible experience, but happy to see that Celebrity refunded your wife's drink package since she was unable to take the cruise. 

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

50 minutes ago, bluwes said:

Definite change in the weather today in the UK, certainly big coat weather

 

Thanks for the update.    Winter jacket is in the pile to be packed (well maybe I'll wear it on the flight). 

 

After hearing from you, I asked Alexa and she said it was 39 F (3.8 C) in Southampton with scattered showers.   Brrrr as it is currently  70 F (21 C) here in "Sunny" Sunnyvale.   

[Jim_Iain]

October 27, 2018

 

Planning -   My next step in planning for this trip was to select a hotel for the overnight in Southampton prior to the cruise.  

 

We once flew into Heathrow the day of a cruise out of Dover.   We actually had really heavy tail winds and arrived about 1 1/2 early and had to circle for about 45 minutes before Heathrow opened for arriving flights.    Of course arriving at 6:00 AM there wasn't any representatives from the cruise line for the airport transfer.    About 7:30 or 8:00 Celebrity Reps arrived and took care of our luggage and gave us a sticker.   Hanging out at Terminal 1 for 2 hours was a real pain as their was virtually no place to sit down.    By the time we arrived at the ship and given access to our room we were exhausted and ended up napping for much of the afternoon.   After that we swore off of same day arrivals and also swore off Celebrity transfers.  

 

Not knowing much about Southampton, I settled on the Novotel on W Quay Road for $140.00 per night including taxes.  

 

Next I started working on getting to Southampton from Heathrow.   I looked into taking a train and bus but eventually settled on taking a private  car.    A number of folks on our Roll Call recommended Smiths.   After getting a  number of quotes from other agencies I settled on them at a rate of 75 Pounds + 8 Pound airport parking fee.   They have a requirement that reservations can only be made 6 months before travel.   

 

All of our travel plans were locked in 6 months ago.    

[JoePDX]

Hi Jim and Iain -

 

Have a great time!   We love a TA too!   And your cruise blogs are always a great diversion as I count the days until our next cruise.   Hopefully you will have less adventure than you did on the Transpacific....  🤠

 

We hAve our third TA booked on Edge in April, leaving from Ft. Lauderdale and going to Southampton.    Will be curious to hear about your take on these two cruise terminals even though we will be doing them in reverse.   I assume you will be ending at the new Terminal 25 in Port Everglades.

 

Bon voyage and congratulations on reaching Zenith.   We have two dear friends who we met our first X cruise in 2002 on the brand new Constellation.   It was their first X cruise too and they are now Zenith....alas we have along way to go.   BTW they live in Milpitas.

 

Cheers,

Joe & Jeff

[nikel]

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Thanks for the update.    Winter jacket is in the pile to be packed (well maybe I'll wear it on the flight). 

 

After hearing from you, I asked Alexa and she said it was 39 F (3.8 C) in Southampton with scattered showers.   Brrrr as it is currently  70 F (21 C) here in "Sunny" Sunnyvale.   

 

According to the weather app on my phone, it is in fact very cold now but will be warming up by Wednesday. Friday should be 55 -60 and Saturday 55, but rain.  ope its right.

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, JoePDX said:

Hi Jim and Iain -

 

Have a great time!   We love a TA too!   And your cruise blogs are always a great diversion as I count the days until our next cruise.   Hopefully you will have less adventure than you did on the Transpacific....  🤠

 

We hAve our third TA booked on Edge in April, leaving from Ft. Lauderdale and going to Southampton.    Will be curious to hear about your take on these two cruise terminals even though we will be doing them in reverse.   I assume you will be ending at the new Terminal 25 in Port Everglades.

 

Bon voyage and congratulations on reaching Zenith.   We have two dear friends who we met our first X cruise in 2002 on the brand new Constellation.   It was their first X cruise too and they are now Zenith....alas we have along way to go.   BTW they live in Milpitas.

 

Cheers,

Joe & Jeff

Thanks Joe and Jeff -

 

Today we were reviewing the weather after hearing from @bluwes that the weather had turned cold in Southampton.  I remarked to Iain that we should be ok unless we get hit by a hurricane.  After being hit with 2 Typhoons on our last cruise the weather gods should protect us on this one. 

 

Your TA on the Edge in April really looks exciting and I look forward to hearing about it.   We booked the Edge on her first West Bound TA next year so had a big hole in our travel plans.   While aboard our last cruise we booked our first East bound TA for April on Infinity.   Iain has always fought the idea of an east bound due to loosing an hour every night as oppose to gaining the extra hour.   

[Jim_Iain]

32 minutes ago, nikel said:

 

According to the weather app on my phone, it is in fact very cold now but will be warming up by Wednesday. Friday should be 55 -60 and Saturday 55, but rain.  ope its right.

 

Those temperature sure look good to us.    It would be nice if it's dry so we can take a walk from our hotel down to the Southampton City Cruise Terminal on Friday afternoon.   From what I can see our hotel is only a mile away.   I have never been to Southampton so would be nice to explore it a little.      I have always found that if we can stay up  and not take a nap on the arrival day that we survive jet lag better.    Sitting around on a ben in a hotel on the day of arrival makes it so tempting to take a "short nap" that can turn into a LONG snooze.