LIVE from Silhouette and Eclipse. OUR HOLIDAY ADVENTURE!!! Dec 14 to Jan 4th

Hello fellow cruise critic members and to our family and friends we have reading this. We have just settled in at the airport bar (yes it is not even 7am but hey, I'm on vacation!). We'd like to welcome your along our fun holiday journey of a B2B cruise (sorta) as we embark on the Silhouette on December 14th for a 7 night western Caribbean cruise and then hop to the Eclipse on the 21st for a 14 night southern caribbean holiday cruise!

I will do my best to live blog not only photos, but also YouTube videos of our trip! I love reading all the live threads on this site and thought I should give back! Cruise critic has always answered so many questions for us so please feel free to ask any questions you have about any of our sailings. Also, we figured this would be s great way to keep in touch and somewhat be with our family and friends during the holiday.

Our Background: I am Paul and I'm 27. My partner is Edward and he is 32. We are both from Chicago. This will be the longest trip to date we have taken. A total of 23 days between cruising and traveling. Our favorite cruise line is Celebrity and for the time being we cannot see us sailing any other line. Celebrity seems to fit our personalities perfect. However, I will do my best to be critical when need to be....but let's be honest. I'm on vacation, I'm in a great mood. It will take a lot to upset either of us!

We took a taxi to the airport this morning with way too much luggage. We can never seem to travel light! Thank goodness for Southwest and 2 bags fly free per person! We have now plopped ourselves down at a bar at the airport which is literally right next to our gate! Drinks have been ordered and I see a second in my very near future.

We are staying at The Westin FLL beach tonight and will arrive to the port early so we can get rid of our bags and just sit back and enjoy the ship. The ship is what we value most in crushing and I'm sure that will come out in my postings over the next three weeks.

We welcome any questions you have about the ships, who is on board, etc. we have an aft C1 on the Silhouette so I will be sure to take video of the infamous azipod issue! Haha

Cheers for now, I will check back shortly!

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Hello fellow cruise critic members and to our family and friends we have reading this. We have just settled in at the airport bar (yes it is not even 7am but hey, I'm on vacation!). We'd like to welcome your along our fun holiday journey of a B2B cruise (sorta) as we embark on the Silhouette on December 14th for a 7 night western Caribbean cruise and then hop to the Eclipse on the 21st for a 14 night southern caribbean holiday cruise!

 

I will do my best to live blog not only photos, but also YouTube videos of our trip! I love reading all the live threads on this site and thought I should give back! Cruise critic has always answered so many questions for us so please feel free to ask any questions you have about any of our sailings. Also, we figured this would be s great way to keep in touch and somewhat be with our family and friends during the holiday.

 

Our Background: I am Paul and I'm 27. My partner is Edward and he is 32. We are both from Chicago. This will be the longest trip to date we have taken. A total of 23 days between cruising and traveling. Our favorite cruise line is Celebrity and for the time being we cannot see us sailing any other line. Celebrity seems to fit our personalities perfect. However, I will do my best to be critical when need to be....but let's be honest. I'm on vacation, I'm in a great mood. It will take a lot to upset either of us!

 

We took a taxi to the airport this morning with way too much luggage. We can never seem to travel light! Thank goodness for Southwest and 2 bags fly free per person! We have now plopped ourselves down at a bar at the airport which is literally right next to our gate! Drinks have been ordered and I see a second in my very near future.

 

We are staying at The Westin FLL beach tonight and will arrive to the port early so we can get rid of our bags and just sit back and enjoy the ship. The ship is what we value most in crushing and I'm sure that will come out in my postings over the next three weeks.

 

We welcome any questions you have about the ships, who is on board, etc. we have an aft C1 on the Silhouette so I will be sure to take video of the infamous azipod issue! Haha

 

Cheers for now, I will check back shortly!

 

 

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Looking forward to your posts, I'm doing my first celebrity cruise next year!

Any information you can give on food (room service menus if poss) and great.cocktails to try much appreciated!

Have a great cruise

Louise

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How is the Internet(Wi-Fi)

Is there a difference in Internet speed between the ships, I hear it was dire on Eclipse for the Thanksgiving cruise.

Thanks for doing this. I'm excited for you (and with you - I could actually feel it as I read your first post!) We'll be on the Eclipse in February so really looking forward to lots of pictures and info on that. Enjoy your cruises!!

Looking forward to viewing your photos and YouTube videos over the next three+ weeks! Have Fun!!!

Can't wait to read and see what you experience. Hope it's a great trip.

- Joel

Paul -- Bon Voyage to you and Edward! We'll see you on Eclipse. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy reading your "live" reports from Silhouette!

Have a great cruise........cruises......lol. My wife and I will be on the Reflection Jan 24. We have the classic beverage package and are trying to find out if there are any by the glass Riesling or Moscato wine that would work with the package......if you could post a by the glass wine menu/price list it would be much appreciated or specifically info on the Reisling and Moscato by the glass prices.........have a great time.

Looking forward to following you on your cruising journey. We will be on Eclipse in January. Take care of the beautiful Eclipse for us!!

Happy Sailing, Paul and Edward. We loved the Eclipse last year at New Years and will be on her again in March. We have never tried the Silhouette, can wait to read about your experiences. :). Bon Voyage !!!

I have subscribed and will be joining you on the Eclipse. I leave for Florida on Thursday and am so excited to be joining my friends! Looking forward to reading about the first leg of your cruise. Bon Voyage!

Linda

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23 days! how wonderful! I live in Ft Lauderdale. If I can be of any help during your brief stay, just ask. BTW, big doings here tonight! The annual Winterfest Boat Parade. Ask the concierge about it immediately. Tickets are $20 for grandstand viewing and free all along the route. Boats sail up the intracoastal all decked out in Christmas lights and decorations. Small boats to corporate yachts to barges!! It's not to be missed. Your timing is superb. heads up... it's cold down here (for us). Be prepared for the mid 50's tonight.

I can't wait to hear about your cruises. We will be on the constellation for new years.

Safe travels and welcome to Florida!

Bon Voyage, Paul and Edward!!! Celebrity is our favourite line, and Silhouette is our favourite ship. I was on her in October for a magnificent itinerary that took in three stops in Israel.

Food and service in the MDR was some of the best that we have had to date, so I hope that you have the same experience.

I would be interested to hear who the main staff members are on board. Also, how is the service in Café al Bacio? It was great when we were there in October. Is Violet still serving there? She was lovely.

If Chiko Pineda is still aboard (he was Activities Host), ask him if he is going to do any performances. He is a very talented singer and a really lovely person. If he is going to perform, ask him to do his Andrea Bocelli duet. It was the highlight of the entertainment on our October cruise.

I will be travelling along with you, and look forward to your posts and videos!!

Fair winds and following seas. :)

Any day on land when I can read about anothers grand adventure on ship is wonderful! Thanks for taking time from your journey to do this for us!

EW

Hi everyone! Well we have checked into the Westin and have ordered some lunch and a drink of course.

I've read all the comments and questions above and will work to get answers to all of them for you. We had a wonderful flight. We were on one of Southwests newer planes which is always good but most importantly we had an awesome flight crew. I always swear by southwest but now even more so. The weather here is a little cool by Florida standards....it is probably 70ish. But I'm not complaining. It is beautiful!

We've ordered some popcorn shrimp and fish tacos (mahi) by the pool.

Cheers all!

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Hope you guys have a great trip. We're on the next Western cruise after you (Dec 28th) so I'll be curious to hear what time the Silhouette is actually getting into ports with her current speed issues.

Bon voyage

Look forward to your posts ! Have a wonderful time.

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Have a great cruise. We're on Eclipse March 1st for the same cruise. I look forward to your updates. See if you can check out the karaoke for me one night. Thanks. Have fun.

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Paul and Edward, have a fabulous vacation. If you haven't sailed her before, the Silhouette is a magnificent ship. We did the Eastern Caribbean itinerary last year and are doing the Western in February. Looking forward to reading about your adventures! Thanks in advance!

Thank you for all the nice posts and the additional questions. I will be sure to update tomorrow with a photo of the daily so everyone knows who is on board. I'll update with the status of the Internet on board and I will check out the wine list over the next couple of days and get that posted. I've sailed other S Class, but this will be our first time on the Silhouette.

I will keep everyone posted on the port times as well since I know this is a concern for many.

We just awoke from a short nap and my head is killing me. Apparently I am now paying for all the screw drivers and margaritas I had earlier. There is a slight cool in the air so I will likely out on a light sweater before we head out. For dinner we may just do Shula's which is here in the hotel or we may go to Casablanca which is not too far and is on the water.

Hotel: We are staying at the Westin on the beach in FLL. We got s great deal. After tax it was about $170 and this was directly through the hotel. Can't beat the price. Hotel is nice. We ate at Waves cafe for lunch. Very good service. Typical hotel priced food and drink. Overall the hotel is very nice, but it's just that nice. For a quick one night stay it is perfect. For anything longer I would definitely commend moving one step up to the W or something along those lines. The rooms and bathrooms have been updated though and are quite spacious....even with all of our luggage! I'd also like to add that the front desk staff was very nice and informative upon checking in. But fit and finish wise I am longing for the W or my favorites in south beach (dare I say the Loews or Delano?).

But I cannot complain as we are in paradise! Cheers all! I will update again shortly.

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Thanks for paying it forward with your live review". I can already tell you are wonderfully upbeat folks...your fellow passengers are lucky to have you along:). I look forward to reading of your fun.

We just had a great dinner at Casablanca which is right on the water, only a block or two from the Westin and right next to the Ritz in FLL. Well priced wine and excellent food. We met up with a great friend. I had the sea bass and Edward had the filet. Both were very good. Service was excellent. We had a great table on the second floor on their balcony. Prior to this we went to Rock Bar for a quick drink. I ordered a kettle on the rocks and it was a full tall glass of kettle....not complaining!

We've headed back to the hotel to quickly refresh and we are headed out to a couple bars in Pompano Beach. Hopefully we are not out too late. Our goal is to grab a cab around 10:45 and be at the port early. Today I heard there were protests around the port disrupting traffic so we want to get there early in the event that is happening again.

Again thank you for all the positive feedback. We cannot wait to board the ship tomorrow. I will post photos of the dailys as soon as I can.

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Dinner at Casablanca

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Hello fellow cruise critic members and to our family and friends we have reading this. We have just settled in at the airport bar (yes it is not even 7am but hey, I'm on vacation!). We'd like to welcome your along our fun holiday journey of a B2B cruise (sorta) as we embark on the Silhouette on December 14th for a 7 night western Caribbean cruise and then hop to the Eclipse on the 21st for a 14 night southern caribbean holiday cruise!

 

I will do my best to live blog not only photos, but also YouTube videos of our trip! I love reading all the live threads on this site and thought I should give back! Cruise critic has always answered so many questions for us so please feel free to ask any questions you have about any of our sailings. Also, we figured this would be s great way to keep in touch and somewhat be with our family and friends during the holiday.

 

Our Background: I am Paul and I'm 27. My partner is Edward and he is 32. We are both from Chicago. This will be the longest trip to date we have taken. A total of 23 days between cruising and traveling. Our favorite cruise line is Celebrity and for the time being we cannot see us sailing any other line. Celebrity seems to fit our personalities perfect. However, I will do my best to be critical when need to be....but let's be honest. I'm on vacation, I'm in a great mood. It will take a lot to upset either of us!

 

We took a taxi to the airport this morning with way too much luggage. We can never seem to travel light! Thank goodness for Southwest and 2 bags fly free per person! We have now plopped ourselves down at a bar at the airport which is literally right next to our gate! Drinks have been ordered and I see a second in my very near future.

 

We are staying at The Westin FLL beach tonight and will arrive to the port early so we can get rid of our bags and just sit back and enjoy the ship. The ship is what we value most in crushing and I'm sure that will come out in my postings over the next three weeks.

 

We welcome any questions you have about the ships, who is on board, etc. we have an aft C1 on the Silhouette so I will be sure to take video of the infamous azipod issue! Haha

 

Cheers for now, I will check back shortly!

 

 

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Did you guys get a boarding schedule email and if so, how will handle that Unless you are scheduled to board at 12 and not 2:30?

Paul and Edward,

I can't tell you how much I appreciate your taking us on this trip. Our next cruise is not until April, so this is a great Christmas gift. It is so nice of you to take some of your precious vacation time to make others' lives happier.

God bless you and I anxiously await your reports. Jerry of Jerry and Lady Kathryn