Jim_Iain – Silhouette Live Post April 8, 21, 30 - B3B - TransAtlantic, Portugal Spain, France and the Norwegian Fjords

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, az4ship said:

On the TA, I noticed my assistant waiter working the mast grill when it was windy and cold.  He told me he was so happy just to be outside as he hasn’t been out in a few months nor had been off the ship in 6 months.  He just kept smiling thru his mask.😀

 

I'm wondering if that was Ananas.    He worked the Mast bar for the TA and took over in Retreat when the Downstairs Anthony went home at the end of the TA.   He's a really nice man.    I will try to  snap a picture of him.    Tall and slender man from near Sri Lanka. 

Edited April 25, 2022 by Jim_Iain

[TowandaUK]

41 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Thanks much.   I was rewarded with Iain coming into my life 32 years ago.    I consider myself the luckiest man in the world.

So sorry to hear about your loss so long ago. I was fortunate not to have had personal experience of that time. I have recently watched the British drama series It’s a sin. It’s a powerful poignant drama of that time. It gave me a little insight into what so many went through then. Sending you a big hug. 
so glad you and Iain have each other in your lives. 
Thanks so much for all your generous posts, it really helps us to plan ahead for when we are in Silhouette in the summer. 

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

It took me awhile to find al Bacio empty but had been checking every time I patched and their has never been a white server there.    The staff have been so busy they had 8-9 behind the bar working and has been chaos.    When I asked they said they"believe" she has gone home but couldn't be certain.  

 

Going from 50% capacity to full capacity overnight has forced them to pull people everywhere and reassign to other locations.    Many of the staff are ending their contracts and going home.    We just found out our second waiter in Luminae will be going home at the end of this cruise.   He said our new waiter, who he hasn't met yet, joined the ship in Southampton and will be coming out of quarantine today so will introduce him to us tonight. 

 

Thanks for trying. Just for fun you could hand over all your and Iain's vouchers for the free gelato in one go. Even if you had only done 1 cruise a year that would be 40 which should give you a whole tub full. With your cruising record you could take over the whole counter😂

[Benthayer Gonbak]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I'm wondering about how transparent they are and how protective.    Last night our waiter said the Sommelier had pulled a muscle in his leg, which is the reason for the Sommelier disappearance.  

 

Find it hard to believe he would be gone for 3+ days with a leg muscle sprain.   The new one was really flustered on the first night.   He has really turned out to be a much better sommelier.    He said they pulled him from MDR with 15 minutes notice and is new to the ship.     I noticed last night that he had a constant eye on every glass in the room to make sure they were taken care of..... the other we would often ask our waiter to find him.

 

Covid has changed a lot of things, and there are reasons not to release certain kinds of information like what happen to the guy that had a heart attack just outside the Captain club door!  We got only that they didn’t think he was doing all that well.  His friends did say that he had heart issues and he went down suddenly. 

in the area near Somalia we were told we wold get more stories about incidents after we left the area, the cruise director had been on an attacked cruise.  We were however told about the safety measures and encouraged that if we ran into problems to call everyone we knew to get help etc!  Of course, that wasn’t necessary their point was that phones were actually a bit better than guns anyway! 

 

 

On Azamara just before lock down we had a new waiter who said he was new to ship.  I pushed a bit and found his last contract had been Seabourne, it showed!  
 

i do wish they’d give you numbers but since percentages get you banned from a port that may be a better choice.  
 

We leave in one week for Venice, I’m hoping that these port intense  cruises don’t end up having too many crowded buses!  We know masks are required in Italian ports. Italy is requiring them indoors on the ship too! 
 

 

[Jim_Iain]

For this interested in home testing. This came out today.  Lots of good information.  

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, the penguins said:

Thanks for trying. Just for fun you could hand over all your and Iain's vouchers for the free gelato in one go. Even if you had only done 1 cruise a year that would be 40 which should give you a whole tub full. With your cruising record you could take over the whole counter😂

 

Actually I believe, but could be wrong, it falls under the free specialty dining and we can have unlimited.

[Benthayer Gonbak]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

David, We definitely are more diligent on this cruise.   I'm sure I am being inappropriate in saying I came out in the '70s.   After loosing my first love who, I still can't talk about without breaking down to Aids (HIV)  I often envision  people without masks as those at the time that chose to indulge in unprotected sex. 

 

Your thread was a Godsend and I'm sure you created as much awareness as Magic Johnson 

 

If you have a moment if you could e-mail (address in the click button in my signature) I would like to pass on some information that I wouldn't want to post as the information came from an undisclosed crew member.  

i had a square dance friend, in DC, who worked hard, in the 80s to get the bath houses to close down or at least get the younger generation to be more careful.  I learned a lot about how the attempts to get good info out to the community was saving lives.  We lost way too many to AIDS.  As I understand it the research that has provided better drugs for HIV was instrumental in getting us our current vaccines that help the immune system.  Keep up the fight to protect yourself, and others. 

[groryjm]

2 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Actually I believe, but could be wrong, it falls under the free specialty dining and we can have unlimited.

It most certainly does..... So you can have three scoops in a tub each every day😁

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, TowandaUK said:

So sorry to hear about your loss so long ago. I was fortunate not to have had personal experience of that time. I have recently watched the British drama series It’s a sin. It’s a powerful poignant drama of that time. It gave me a little insight into what so many went through then. Sending you a big hug. 
so glad you and Iain have each other in your lives. 
Thanks so much for all your generous posts, it really helps us to plan ahead for when we are in Silhouette in the summer. 

 

It was a terrible time.   Initially there was no known treatments and those that were infected were given a death sentence of less than a year.    The main tabloid of the Gay Community -  The Bay Area reporter usually had 4-5 obituaries a day.      As the epidemic grew the obituary section grew to 20 - 40 pages.   Each week everyone would look to see what friends  had succumbed.

 

Unfortunately it was called the Gay Disease and straights thought they were immune.   In the 70's age of "free love" many later succumbed by not taking the advise of "Safe Sex".   

 

[groryjm]

Jim Have the bar Tarrifs gone up this cruise to include the 20% tip ? Are the package limits now $11 for clasic and $18 for Premium? 

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, Benthayer Gonbak said:

i had a square dance friend, in DC, who worked hard, in the 80s to get the bath houses to close down or at least get the younger generation to be more careful.  I learned a lot about how the attempts to get good info out to the community was saving lives.  We lost way too many to AIDS.  As I understand it the research that has provided better drugs for HIV was instrumental in getting us our current vaccines that help the immune system.  Keep up the fight to protect yourself, and others. 

 

It is amazing how research in many areas are now bring forth cures and treatment to many diseases.  

 

We have some friends that are Long Term Survivors and for some strange reason survived for 35 years.   They were paid for many studies to examine their blood for explanations.  

 

I'm heavy into Forensic Genealogy and also find it interesting how unraveling the DNA map of the human genome is leading to many medical breakthroughs.     The speed they were to produce a vaccine for Covid is a real time example.    They hope to come out with a Cancer Vaccine which would be a major achievement. 

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, groryjm said:

Jim Have the bar Tarrifs gone up this cruise to include the 20% tip ? Are the package limits now $11 for clasic and $18 for Premium? 

 

Since the UK is not part of the EC I guess we are exempt from VAT.     The 20% tips are in place for bottles of wine and I presume drinks.  I believe the limits are as you specified but will confirm.   As a Zenith we get a 20% discount on bottles of wine but then they add it back on for gratuities.

 

[Jim_Iain]

Sitting in room waiting for Iain to return from a smoke break -  

 

Star Code  - Star Code - Star Code Stateroom 1627 on deck 11.    It is on port and we are close by but don't want to be a gauker

[Benthayer Gonbak]

8 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

It is amazing how research in many areas are now bring forth cures and treatment to many diseases.  

 

We have some friends that are Long Term Survivors and for some strange reason survived for 35 years.   They were paid for many studies to examine their blood for explanations.  

 

I'm heavy into Forensic Genealogy and also find it interesting how unraveling the DNA map of the human genome is leading to many medical breakthroughs.     The speed they were to produce a vaccine for Covid is a real time example.    They hope to come out with a Cancer Vaccine which would be a major achievement. 

I’ve have had the pleasure of meeting, in a forum, a long term survivor who now works to save others.  He is probably in his late 20s or 30s now but became positive in his late teens because of drugs etc.  His father, a fundamentalistic church pastor, and he have reconciled, at least to a point.  He, like you, is a gentle soul.  I mention him too, because he was the next generation and seems to have picked up the drumbeat to keep others safe.  
 

Tell me more about forensic genealogy.  I can’t seem to email you, but will post an email if you’d rather take this off line. 

Edited April 25, 2022 by Benthayer Gonbak

[Benthayer Gonbak]

13 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Since the UK is not part of the EC I guess we are exempt from VAT.     The 20% tips are in place for bottles of wine and I presume drinks.  I believe the limits are as you specified but will confirm.   As a Zenith we get a 20% discount on bottles of wine but then they add it back on for gratuities.

 

i would have thought your % would have been higher.  I remember at Select or barely Elite we got 20% off.  

[upwarduk]

2 hours ago, groryjm said:

Jim Have the bar Tarrifs gone up this cruise to include the 20% tip ? Are the package limits now $11 for clasic and $18 for Premium? 

Wasn’t it the UK 20% VAT that caused the increase on last years staycations?

Edited April 25, 2022 by upwarduk

[BigTorino]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

For this interested in home testing. This came out today.  Lots of good information.  

 

Thank you very much for posting this! Interesting how the eMed test will be distributed first in the terminal after debark, and how X specifically directs cruisers to test away from the ship. In your opinion, is the internet connection not reliable enough to do it on the ship? We had planned to bring our own eMed tests. Thanks for all your valuable information and pictures!

[the penguins]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Actually I believe, but could be wrong, it falls under the free specialty dining and we can have unlimited.

For us humble souls in a standard balcony we can only dream. Actually a nightmare as I can't  stand the stuff. However the boss (Anita) likes it and is happy to consume my "free" scoop on every cruise.

[Jim_Iain]

5 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Sitting in room waiting for Iain to return from a smoke break -  

 

Star Code  - Star Code - Star Code Stateroom 1627 on deck 11.    It is on port and we are close by but don't want to be a gauker

 

I did a little Googling this afternoon about Cruise Ship Calls Signals

 

Kilo - Kilo - Kilo                    Medical Emergance report to specified area
Bravo - Bravo -                     Bravo Fire report to stations
Charlie - Charlie - Charlie   Security Threat
PVI 0r 30-30                        Public Vomit to be cleaned up
Alpha or Sierra                     Stretcher required
Operation Bright Star - or Operating Rising Star -  signifies severe emergency or death

[Jim_Iain]

5 hours ago, Benthayer Gonbak said:

I’ve have had the pleasure of meeting, in a forum, a long term survivor who now works to save others.  He is probably in his late 20s or 30s now but became positive in his late teens because of drugs etc.  His father, a fundamentalistic church pastor, and he have reconciled, at least to a point.  He, like you, is a gentle soul.  I mention him too, because he was the next generation and seems to have picked up the drumbeat to keep others safe.  
 

Tell me more about forensic genealogy.  I can’t seem to email you, but will post an email if you’d rather take this off line. 

 

Not sure if you have ever heard of CeCe Moore -   She has used DNA and linked to Genealogy and has been able to solve about 30 or Dead Case Murders including the Golden State Killer who was unsolved for over 30 years.    She has been on TV numerous time and has some great YouTube tutorials.

 

She initially used her expertise to assist adopted children to find their natural parents.   

 

Basically with DNA and some of the public data bases you can find an ancestor possibly at the Grandparent or Great Grandparent level then you build a Genealogical tree based on the number of markers.    Quickly you may find the parents and discover they have 2 son's and a daughter for example.  From there research is done to find the one son that tied to the area or dates of a crime.   Then the police follow the person until the can find something like a cigarette or a coffee cup they leave behind and match to the DNA from a crime decades ago. 

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, BigTorino said:

 

Thank you very much for posting this! Interesting how the eMed test will be distributed first in the terminal after debark, and how X specifically directs cruisers to test away from the ship. In your opinion, is the internet connection not reliable enough to do it on the ship? We had planned to bring our own eMed tests. Thanks for all your valuable information and pictures!

 

On the last cruise they also sold them aboard a couple days prior to the end of the cruise.  I believe this is for those that didn't book and sail by certain dates.   On last cruise we were asked if we need one a couple days prior to the end of the cruise and said it was free for us. Of course as a B2B it was irrelevant. 

[groryjm]

52 minutes ago, upwarduk said:

Wasn’t it the UK 20% VAT that caused the increase on last years staycations?

Although VAT was technically added on UK staycations it is only a requirement if no forign ports are included on a Southampton to Southampton cruise of which I don't belive there are any. I understood that for the staycations Celebrity absorbed the VAT. For cruises out of Southampton however I believe it is the UK consumer laws that require prices to be displayed including any conpulsory service charge. Any additional gratuity must be volantry and down to consumer choice. It may not be law but certainly as long as we have been taking cruiises out of Southampton the pack age limits have increased and bar tariffs also nolonger list additional 20% gratuity to be added to the bill  

 

I think the same happens in Australia

 

These are from Silhouette 2019. The first two pre the transatlantic and second two from the summer out of Southampton

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a note that for the American sailings that a 20% gratuity will be added to the check but for us Briits we are merely asked to drink resposibly 🤣🤣

 

I asked as some one asked on another board and I was hoping Jim could confirm

Edited April 25, 2022 by groryjm

[the penguins]

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Sitting in room waiting for Iain to return from a smoke break -  

 

Star Code  - Star Code - Star Code Stateroom 1627 on deck 11.    It is on port and we are close by but don't want to be a gauker

Hi Jim, another favour please.

I am trying to email Lisa Plutoff Celebrity Chief Exec and I thought I had taken the address you posted earlier down correctly but clearly not. The address I wrote is:  ilutoff-perlo@celebritycruises.com or perhaps the letter is really an l (l for London) making it " llutoff-perlo@celebritycruises.com".

I hope you Star Code was a drill. Geoff

[Benthayer Gonbak]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Not sure if you have ever heard of CeCe Moore -   She has used DNA and linked to Genealogy and has been able to solve about 30 or Dead Case Murders including the Golden State Killer who was unsolved for over 30 years.    She has been on TV numerous time and has some great YouTube tutorials.

 

She initially used her expertise to assist adopted children to find their natural parents.   

 

Basically with DNA and some of the public data bases you can find an ancestor possibly at the Grandparent or Great Grandparent level then you build a Genealogical tree based on the number of markers.    Quickly you may find the parents and discover they have 2 son's and a daughter for example.  From there research is done to find the one son that tied to the area or dates of a crime.   Then the police follow the person until the can find something like a cigarette or a coffee cup they leave behind and match to the DNA from a crime decades ago. 

im not good with names but there was a beyond the podium speaker that did forensic lectures on the Equinox or Silhouette.  On a Trans Atlantic we had a lecturer that did a better explanation of how the markers evolved and related the improvements to known cases.  Both were excellent.   For what it is worth, I work with the patent office on a program for processing and evaluating genetic patents.  Fortunately I didn’t have to totally understand all the science, my boss held that phd!  I learned there is a lot to learn!  It was fun though.  Berkeley High School had a biology course that introduced DNA/RNA as part of the class, I wish there had been more to that info.  
 

i have seen several shows that cover using ancestry and 23andMe data to solve different things.  Thanks. 

Edited April 25, 2022 by Benthayer Gonbak

[Jim_Iain]

42 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Hi Jim, another favour please.

I am trying to email Lisa Plutoff Celebrity Chief Exec and I thought I had taken the address you posted earlier down correctly but clearly not. The address I wrote is:  ilutoff-perlo@celebritycruises.com or perhaps the letter is really an l (l for London) making it " llutoff-perlo@celebritycruises.com".

I hope you Star Code was a drill. Geoff

Basically.  First initial L no space last name. 
 

Star code wasn’t a drill.  Full response. Of about 20.   No word what it was but figured either a fall or a heart problem.