Live-ish from Silhouette Dec 24 - Jan 4

[zaxanon6]

Hi, all

Before leaving on this sailing, I really appreciated the information others had posted about holiday cruises and recent experiences onboard Silhouette. Hopefully I can also help others who have questions.

 

Thank you very much to @Stealthdogfor mentioning the Hotel Maren; it's beautiful and the staff was fantastic. They arranged a car service to the port and check in was very fast and smooth. The ship wasn't ready until nearly 11a, so we did have to wait in the terminal a bit but there was a ton of staff on hand (surprising for Christmas Eve) and they were trying to space everyone out. We set sail at almost exactly 4pm, and got a bit of a "show" as the police herded a few dumb boaters out of the way of our significantly larger ship.

 

The ship is decorated beautifully decorated for the holidays; Celebrity always does a great job with this. The string duo was playing Christmas music as we came onboard; they were very good. The navigation channel on the TV also has Christmas music on a loop, if you're hanging out in your stateroom. Four performers sang a medley of carols in the foyer last night, and this morning there was a parade through the ship following Santa and a jazz band. There are more holiday activities scheduled today (crafts, themed trivia and games, sales at the shops, a show, etc.) 

 

It was announced at the show last night that there are a little over 1000 passengers onboard, so less than 40% full. A lot of people are wearing masks in the public areas. Definitely not everyone, but many more than my cruise in early November.

 

Merry Christmas!!

[Stealthdog]

Definitely following.  Its like im on a B2B!  Have a wonderful sailing!

Edited December 25, 2021 by Stealthdog

[Jim_Iain]

I just pulled up a stool and anxiously awaiting your next installment. 

 

Curious about the 3rd picture down.    Seemed strange to see so many people with kids so closely together.   Was this something special or just a random picture?

 

[Turtles06]

2 hours ago, zaxanon6 said:

We set sail at almost exactly 4pm, and got a bit of a "show" as the police herded a few dumb boaters out of the way of our significantly larger ship.

 

Merry Christmas, and thanks for taking the time to share your cruise with us.   My wife and I were on the sailing two before yours (Dec. 3-13), so with @Stealthdog's thread and now yours, and to paraphrase him above, it's like a B2B2B.  😉

We'd never sailed out of Port Everglades before, and were surprised to see two Coast Guard gunboats driving all around our ship before we sailed, and then out in front once we did, barking at small boats to get out of the way.   A crew member told us this was standard for Port Everglades.  Welcome to South Florida!  🙃

 

 

(photo by turtles06)

[parrothead33]

Following along. Enjoy your cruise.

[zaxanon6]

35 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

I just pulled up a stool and anxiously awaiting your next installment. 

 

Curious about the 3rd picture down.    Seemed strange to see so many people with kids so closely together.   Was this something special or just a random picture?

 

That was the Santa parade. While there was not a precise 6ft spacing between each group, shots from behind always make spacing look worse than it was. Most were masked, including the kiddos, and folks weren't uncomfortably close together. We started in the Sky Lounge and immediately went outside to the track above the pool deck. There was a quick trip through the front of Oceanview (where about 1/3 of the group went, "ooh, breakfast!" and left the parade), then back outside and downstairs for a lap around the pool. The final destination was the Grand Foyer, but once the group went back inside for a staircase, we broke off and returned to our cabins.

 

There's a math/physics professor onboard giving Beyond the Podium lectures. The one this morning on exoplanets was fantastic. I work in STEM and it's a rare thing when really smart people can easily explain complicated topics in simple terms. 'Professor A' is also very obviously passionate about his subjects. I applaud Celebrity for allowing passengers to learn about a variety of subjects while onboard. I'd never been to a lecture onboard before my Alaska cruise this past August but will always look for them in the future.

 

For anyone wondering about wifi calling from onboard, it does work very well with the Stream internet. (with Android devices; I can't speak for iPhones) We had no difficulties calling several relatives this morning to wish them a Merry Christmas.

[Turtles06]

5 minutes ago, zaxanon6 said:

For anyone wondering about wifi calling from onboard, it does work very well with the Stream internet. (with Android devices; I can't speak for iPhones)

 
I have an iPhone and WiFi calling worked well enough with Stream a couple of weeks ago that I got car warranty calls. (Not making that up.)

[Jim_Iain]

4 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Merry Christmas, and thanks for taking the time to share your cruise with us.   My wife and I were on the sailing two before yours (Dec. 3-13), so with @Stealthdog's thread and now yours, and to paraphrase him above, it's like a B2B2B.  😉

We'd never sailed out of Port Everglades before, and were surprised to see two Coast Guard gunboats driving all around our ship before we sailed, and then out in front once we did, barking at small boats to get out of the way.   A crew member told us this was standard for Port Everglades.  Welcome to South Florida!  🙃

 

 

 

(photo by turtles06)

 

We also saw that on our last cruise.   A pleasure boat with a party crowd aboard took a dive in toward the ship.   The Coast Guard took immediate attach route with siren and flashers and guns pointed at the boat.    They change course really quickly.

 

 

[zaxanon6]

The little boat in Port Everglades was BLASTING music and decided it was going to beat Silhouette out to sea even though it was starting from behind us. The police had lights and sirens and was yelling in a megaphone something like, "get behind the buoy; did you not see the big cruise ship?" They got put in the 'sin bin' (shallower area behind the buoys) with two other small boats until we had made the turn and headed out.

 

My family mainly spent the afternoon relaxing. They had a Christmas tree origami class but it involved a lot of people crowded together around the bar in Quasar so I passed. Saw a BEAUTIFUL sunset over Cuba; this is why I love life at sea. Dinner was 'elegant chic', though most focused on festive (Santa hats, reindeer headbands, etc.) over fancy. It's a very joyous mood onboard and I'm glad the passenger count is still low. Our waiter had a few minutes during dessert to stop and chat. They are sort-of social distancing in the MDR; they'll fill the window tables (2-tops) and then skip the table beside it (2-top) and fill the next table over (usually a 4-top), etc. If it starts getting busy, they'll fill the empty tables in-between but the other surrounding tables will be nearly finished eating by that point. It's not perfect but could be worse. They only have so much space.

[zaxanon6]

Celebrity Today for Christmas Eve (embarkation day)

[zaxanon6]

Celebrity Today for Christmas Day

[isdoo]

1440 onboard

[countess5]

Jumping on board to follow, Thanks for posting.

We will take this route on our second leg January 24th! 

 

Cheers! 🍸

[zaxanon6]

1 hour ago, isdoo said:

1440 onboard

Thanks for that update. Thankfully, there's been nothing said yet [knocking on wood] in the morning announcements about COVID cases or itinerary issues with the ABC islands. I like our planned destinations but am open to whatever comes. Just enjoying being on vacation.

[Yvonne]

Excited to read your review, as we are to get on the Silhouette when you get off🙂

[lovetocruisee]

1 minute ago, Yvonne said:

Excited to read your review, as we are to get on the Silhouette when you get off🙂

Same here!! 🚢😬

[Lucky Smash]

2 hours ago, Yvonne said:

Excited to read your review, as we are to get on the Silhouette when you get off🙂

Ditto

[ronmar22]

Ditto once again

[daydreamer16]

Thanks for posting your live updates! We join the Silhouette 1/24/22!

[TeaBag]

Thank you so much OP for taking time to clue us all in.  I watched you leave and saw those morons sailing so close to the Silhouette.  Do you know if they get ticketed for this crazy behaviour?

Your pictures are lovely and that meal with the Lobster and Beef Wellington nearly had me drooling on the keyboard!

I do hope the ABC islands will open for you.

[asnaleah]

1 hour ago, daydreamer16 said:

Thanks for posting your live updates! We join the Silhouette 1/24/22!

 

[zaxanon6]

It's been a perfect vacation day so far. Seaweed wrap spa treatment at 8, followed by a bit of breakfast and another Beyond the Podium lecture (on what Star Wars, Star Trek, and other sci-fi movies get right and wrong about science). We watched the sea go by from our balconies for a while (the space is fantastic with the divider open), and now I'm keeping track of how my fantasy football team is faring in the playoffs. I remember the days when cruising meant being totally cut off from the real world, but it's nice to be able to connect if you want to now.

 

It has taken 7 cruises, but I have finally encountered a genuinely bad food item on Celebrity. I'm sure some will say it's my own fault for going to Oceanview 😉, but I normally enjoy their food, especially the Indian dishes. Anyway, they had roast beef sandwiches which included a single slice of meat (that was half fat/gristle and had been cooked to the point where it could be used to sole shoes) and bread that had grill marks but was completely soggy and cold. One of the waiters saw it left on my plate barely touched and agreed it was not up to par (I'm not sure why they were still serving them if they already knew that, but still appreciated his honesty). A bad sandwich really is the only problem we've encountered onboard, and it's a very minor one. Still feeling very blessed to be here and hoping we all stay safe and healthy.

[miched]

On 12/25/2021 at 12:17 PM, Turtles06 said:

 

Merry Christmas, and thanks for taking the time to share your cruise with us.   My wife and I were on the sailing two before yours (Dec. 3-13), so with @Stealthdog's thread and now yours, and to paraphrase him above, it's like a B2B2B.  😉

We'd never sailed out of Port Everglades before, and were surprised to see two Coast Guard gunboats driving all around our ship before we sailed, and then out in front once we did, barking at small boats to get out of the way.   A crew member told us this was standard for Port Everglades.  Welcome to South Florida!  🙃

 

 

(photo by turtles06)

It is look all about me and look at me.  I am the most important person in the world and I have a boat.    
 

50 years ago we were on the Bob Lo boat,  a 3 or 4 deck  boat that took the passengers down the Detroit River to Bob Lo island that had an amusement park.   
 

On the way there a speed boat came along the side of us  pulling a water skier.   They were going to give us a thrill showing off.   The skier was looking at us, waving and not paying attention  hit a black buoy that is basically a large round can.  He hit it and stuck to it like a wet paper wad.     

 

Hey!  Look at me.
 

Yes we did look and seen you and the  passengers went into a uproar laughing their tails off until we got to the  island.   It was one of the high lights of the trip, but the thrill of the rides was much better.  
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Edited December 26, 2021 by miched

[zaxanon6]

Dinner tonight was again in the MDR. We dine early (5:30 or 6-ish) with select seating (up on deck 4). It was much emptier than the previous two nights, maybe only 30-40% of the people. I'm not sure if everyone was dining later or in the specialty restaurants. It was also nice to see the dining room with the sun still out. We switched from Eastern Time to Atlantic Time today (very glad they didn't wait until tonight since we have an early excursion) but since we're not much further east than yesterday, sunset is about an hour later.

 

I was in Luminae on Summit a month and a half ago, and tonight the MDR felt like Luminae. Glasses didn't go empty, multiple people stopped by to check on how we were doing multiple times, extra desserts were brought out 'just to try'... We're feeling so spoiled with the incredible service. Our waiter and sommelier also had some more time to chat tonight. Learning about their schedules and families reminds you how hard they work and how much they sacrifice. Our waiter works dinner and then goes to bed because he also works room service starting at 5am. Then he'll get a nap before starting to prepare for dinner again at 3p. Our sommelier talked about how his wife and young daughter had celebrated Christmas with his family in Kenya (obviously, without him). I feel for anyone who was separated from their loved ones this (or any) holiday season. 

 

After dinner, we took the advice of 'Professor A' (the Beyond the Podium lecturer) and tried stargazing. We could see and photograph Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus, but there were too many clouds to make out Comet Leonard. It's interesting to think about how small we are in the grand scheme of things - and how much were still have to learn about the universe.

[chucknmarilyn]

I appreciate the posts. Can't wait to be on in a few weeks.

Can you tell me who is Captain? And CD?