MattInFLL

I would be posting more but internet speeds here are not Voom speed. You sorta hafta be in the exact right spot to get decent speeds.

But it actually costs more per day than surf and stream. Glad I have the 30% discount and glad I got an ATT package for Nassau tomorrow.

But all that aside this is a beautiful ship. Completely reminds me of a smaller Anthem and I wonder if they came from the same ship yard?

Sal - thanks for checking in and hope to see you and Tom soon!

Andrew - I think your relatives will love it. It's hard not to :)

I will have to check out the over the bed storage. Didn't notice it but may have had a few cocktails.

MDR was definitely better than Royal. Better service (because more servers it seems) and I thought a definite food upgrade.

But late night options are limited. The buffet area shuts down at 1 and no snacks after that other than room service. But just had a late night made to order pasta and it was quite tasty.

There's also pizza and a selection of fruit cheeses cold cuts and desserts.

But just when you think you're safe - the wash your hands cartoon is part of muster. Oh well. Everyone clapped along lol

Check in was in good old Terminal

25 at Port Everglades. There are signs everywhere for a "new" terminal. Can't come fast enough!

Almost time for muster.

By the way this is a 3 day to Nassau which Silhouette never does. That's why I jumped on it.

So I expect the crowd to be a little different than a regular longer Celebrity cruise.

Here's a standard cabin. I think Royal does drawer space better. Here there are 3 deep drawers and since there are no shelves in the closet they have to be useful for non hanging clothes and all your other "stuff".

One very welcome change. Your stateroom TV is not blaring that wash your hands song !

My D+ status gets me Elite on here. Which is sort of equal to Diamond. But not as many benefits but perhaps more useful. For instance, all spa services are about 25% off in port. I get another discount on top of that. I always use the spa so good for me.

And despite the 90 minute free internet listing I actually got an un advertised 30% off unlimited.

Hopefully there won't be an issue with me putting this on the Royal board, but it as meant as a comparison for loyal Royals.

I've not sailed Celebrity for a while and since everyone screams about cost cutting I thought I might be interesting to try the sister line that is still supposed to be a cut above.

You start off right- welcome glass of champagne :

Standard cabin amenities are also a bit better: upgraded toiletries, robes and a tote bag. Plus a larger bathroom

And while many of you don't like the mini bars, I always do. And I appreciate that they trust us with actually useful items like mini vodkas LOL

I was considering it for Silhouette, and it's $99 for 2 hours, and includes Galley, food storage/provisioning, engine control, i-95, laundry and bridge. I did the $150 4 hour tour on Allure of the Seas which included a lot of crew ares and included a little dessert snack in the galley and a free drink at one of the crew bars. It was really worth it and way more informative than the various single bridge and galley tours I've done over the years.

But I'm far more interested in the crew areas and those insights, so probably won't do it on Silhouette. But would definitely recommend such tours if you've never done one.

Three weeks is roughly when the survey arrives. The week before you sail is when you will hear from the Genie.

Wow. I'm always amazed when these older threads come back to life. :)

Thanks to the incomparable Royal IT dept you could get the questionnaire anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks out. I think ours was about 5, but we were in the first month of the program.

I strongly suggest using the questionnaire to tell them all of your preferences that you can. As I've said before - probably in this thread - I know from personal experience your Genie reads it. Even though the questions can be kind of bizarre, you can find a way to answer to clue them in to your expectations.

The "personal" email they should send to you one or two weeks out will cover your dining and show requests. (And give you a chance to reiterate anything special from the questionnaire.)

Unfortunately the Genies are really not butlers. Certainly not in the traditional sense.

They do not pick up after you and they do not serve you food or drink. They are not available 24/7. The Genies coordinate with your two room stewards and every other department to ensure you have the best cruise possible.

Rather than a butler, think of them as very personal assistants.

You can read my Royal Genie review from the link in my signature block.

Another vote for Nachi Cocum. We've been at least a half dozen times now, and always good food and service and a very relaxing day. It's not a party atmosphere.

Taking a taxi out of the port, and having him wait while you pick up new supplies and then bringing you back into port - no, a taxi won't mind that.

Ship to ship going a mile. They'll take you because they have to but probably not so happy about it.

If it's just the two of you and you're not carrying steamer trunks you could have an UberX pick you up in the port and drive you to the port of Miami for about $35 including tip. If you need a larger Uber XL then it would be about double that. But an easy ride door-to-door and not having as much of a hassle.

Fort Lauderdale airport is also spitting distance from the ships. So you could always take one of the shuttles to the airport and grab any of the other regular shuttles down to Miami. Another option is rent a car one way from Fort Lauderdale airport to Miami airport. And then they will shuttle you from Miami airport to the pier. One way rentals between Fort Lauderdale and Miami airport run about 30 bucks.

Traffic is not the real issue. Even when there are 8 ships in the traffic is not that bad inside the port (just backups at each terminal). It's a distance issue.

I used the google maps distance measuring device today since the claims on this post intrigued me. It's a mile walk from the pier 25 exit to the entrance of pier 18. It's almost 2 miles to SE 17th street - the shopping areas outside the port. If you can handle it those are certainly good workouts :)

If you do grab a cab - fair warning that the cabbie will probably be unhappy at such a short ride after waiting for a fare. But there are ways to soothe that. :)

Allure is only ever Pier 18. That's the Oasis class terminal. Assuming Silhouette is at 25 there's isn't a direct walking route to 18 even though it looks like there's one on the map. Unless you are in good shape and don't mind lugging everything with you for at least 3/4 of a mile I would also suggest a taxi. They also sometimes run a shuttle from the mid port garage to terminal 18.

Thanks for the scans Matt, especially the departure letter. That's very helpful to people.

No problem. I'm surprised I thought to take the pics given the situation :)

Andrew, thanks for the info on Frankie. In May it seemed like ship life was a bit of a wonder to him but maybe he settled in more. We do hope to see him again in May.

And I loved the Peterson. Especially the special Vault tour. Going to the LA auto show the next day I was in car heaven.

Too bad about the GT. That's one exciting vehicle. If the production Bronco looks anything like the concept, I'll be salivating :)

Also I am thankfully over my Indy induced illness. :)

ATT sent an email to me telling me about the addition. But frankly I could've just as easily have missed it because it looked like any other promotional email.

I called customer service and their billing people to confirm

Yes. Thank you. I am :)

Not for me. I have a 3 gb plan. They gave me Mexico (and my friends said the same thing) and they also gave me an extra 3 gb a month.

Maybe the offer was a one time thing but worth checking for it.

Hi Christa,

 

 

 

Frankie our Genie on Allure said that they have the same cabins for a few weeks (2-3) and then rotate.

 

 

 

As for my review I post the Compasses in a separate thread dedicated to just Compasses. I do this to made it easier for those that need the information and don't need or want to sort through my photos, musings and ramblings. I would suspect that some times and events will change from my sailing to yours but it will give you the jest of it.

 

 

 

If you have any more questions please ask.

 

Andrew

Ramblings? Andrew you don't ramble :)

I am hoping Frankie re-upped on a new contract and that he will be assigned to us again in May. It will be interesting to see how the program has evolved..

Day 2 plus Giovanni's Menu. No more fillet!

Thank you. Yes I seem to be all better. Just part of getting older. Ugh!

Here are Compasses.

So I will clearly wait until I'm onboard and not pre-pay. Thanks !

So is the discount hit or miss?

I am Elite thanks to being Diamond Plus on Royal. On Royal we get 2 free days or $39.95 towards the price of a package. It's part of the discounts loaded on to our sea pass cards.

Have not been on Celebrity for a while so my memory is fading on how they do things.

Before Royal brought out the VOOM internet (and Celebrity's Xcelerate) I would always buy the ATT Cruise Ship Package. There are 3 tiers. Calls only (discounted calling with some included minutes), Calls and Texts. And Calls, Texts and Data. Yes there are data limits, but the cost for extra data is the same as what you are paying in the package so it's not outrageous if you go over. One helpful thing is that it works off the ship in almost every Caribbean port, so you can stay connected when you are off the ship and not have to get a separate international calling plan.

Now with the faster internet, if there are not a lot of ports, I just use ship wifi and get the call and text package for emergencies and being able to get my "green text bubbles" :)

Also, if you have an ATT Family Share Value plan - you likely already have "free" calling, text and data in Mexico (and therefore Cozumel). They added it to most plans last year.