NeroliGirl

Actually we’re booked into the Lawn Club Grill tonight so we’ll probably be in a food coma for the next few days! 😂

Currently on the Silhouette, day 10 of a 13-night cruise. Mashed potatoes do feature heavily on the MDR menu, but there’s quite a wide choice of other options. Here’s a screenshot of tonight’s dinner menu (taken from the app).

Here’s a picture of the soot just now, and we’ve been in port all day

We’re currently on the Silhouette in a Sunset Veranda - on deck 10 they have reclassified them as Concierge Class. The veranda is no larger than a regular veranda cabin, so only just long enough for the recliner chairs and a tiny table. You could fit loungers but they’d need to be sideways to the balcony and you wouldn’t be able to pass around them. From memory the SVs on the lower decks were a little deeper. Incidentally we have had a real bad soot problem all cruise so far - huge lumps of soot on the veranda and even the OVC outdoor seating area is covered in it.

It’s Cruisemapper.com, and there’s also an app with the same name (as aaaaa mentioned) It’s slightly addictive! 😅

You also need to be aware that not all ports allow embarkation / disembarkation due to location immigration /customs rules. We once missed our embarkation at Barcelona due to missed flights, and we spent two days chasing the ship as we weren’t allowed to embark in Valencia. Eventually embarked in Ibiza.

Hi Ladylemondrop - we’re on the same cruise, we’ll look out for you! Sorry to hear you had a bad journey down - big accident on the A31 apparently which caused tailbacks back to Southampton. We’re enjoying the calm conditions across the Bay of Biscay. Here’s a picture of us (we’re the purple one) being closely followed by MSC Virtuosa which was docked behind us in Southampton. Enjoy your cruise!

** STOP PRESS ** Whole tomatoes spotted on the Silhouette today ……

We’re also on the Silhouette - heading across the Bay of Biscay and you’re following right behind us! We’re the purple ship in the attached image. Hope you’re enjoying your cruise!

Hi Lolou, thank you for your post - we are on the Silhouette in three weeks’ time so we are very reassured by your current experience. We hope the rest of your cruise remains fabulous - the fjords are majestic.

We've used ABP Parking at Southampton port many times. On every occasion, once you have been directed to a parking space and start unloading your luggage, porters appear at your vehicle and take your cases from you and load them on to their van. The next time you see your cases will be in your stateroom. It's all very smooth and well-organised. Just remember to have your travel documents in your carry-on. One word of warning - we are sailing on the Silhouette in September, and when I tried booking the parking some weeks ago the car park was completely full for that date, and even the waitlist was also totally full. So we're taking the train to Southampton - which will be a first for us. At least it will avoid any traffic congestion which can be very real on days when there are lots of ships in port. We've been delayed by nearly two hours in the past, owing to traffic congestion. Totally missed the concierge lunch!

We were told the same - the pairing wines (which were very nice by the way) were not covered by the Premium Package.

Thank you for all the replies - I’m feeling a bit more confident about booking flights now! Non-stop from LHR to FLL seems difficult to find so that may influence my choice. I like the sound of the hotel proximity to Publix! Thanks again!

We’re looking at booking a cruise departing Fort Lauderdale, and this would be our first US departure (we’ve only cruised Europe up to now). I’ve looked through this forum and I can see posts for Miami Airport and for Fort Lauderdale airport - which would be best for an international arrival from London? We’re planning on flying in the day before and finding a hotel for the night before embarkation. Any advice/suggestions gratefully received!

We did the tasting menu on Edge back in May. It was excellent but I would say that you need a very large appetite. We ran out of steam before the end so didn't have room left for the lovely desserts and petit-fours (see below)! But I would still recommend it for the sense of occasion. They also have a vegetarian version.

Oops - photos didn't upload - 2nd try! Geiranger Stavanger swords

We've done the fjords twice on Silhouette, both times in a sunset veranda (aft) which I can thoroughly recommend. The sailaways are spectacular - you get a panoramic view of the full fjord, not just one side or the other. And you can snuggle up on the balcony with a blanket and a hot chocolate from Cafe Al Bacio! It's a shame that neither itinerary included Geiranger which is beautiful - I've attached a photo from our last trip with the ship in the background (before she was revolutionised). Geiranger.HEIC When you go to Stavanger I'd recommend getting on a bus to the Stavanger swords - I think you can do an excursion where you drive by in a coach, but if you go independently you can walk all around them. It's only 10-15 minutes outside the port so little risk you'll not get back in time! I've attached a photo. Stavanger Swords.HEIC I hope you have a wonderful time!

No, nothing further was done and AFAIK Mr Hog continued to occupy all four sunbeds for the rest of the day. I day speak to the Retreat concierge and he agreed that the behaviour was inconsiderate and that he would speak to the guest, but I have no way of knowing if that was done. This particular guest was in a party of eight in Luminae most nights and they were similarly noisy there. We just chose to sit elsewhere.

So this chair hog story will make you smile (or not). We were on the Retreat Sundeck, lucky enough to bag two sunbeds under a parasol (not a lot of shade on the Sundeck so these beds were very popular). We noticed the two beds next to us had towels and belongings, but no occupants. Three hours went by - no sign of any occupants returning so I mentioned to the attendants that the beds should be cleared for other guests to use (who had been eyeing them enviously). However when the attendant started to clear the belongings, cue loud howls from the hog in the row behind us (you know the type, very loud, likes to share his conversations and opinions with everyone else on the deck) - he had been keeping those for himself and his partner for the afternoon so they could 'lie in the shade and not get sunburned', having been laying out on two other beds (in the sun) all morning. He and his partner then proceeded to move to his 'reserved' beds, leaving all their belongings strewn across the beds they had been using all morning. Clearly this greedy hog believed that as a Suite guest he was entitled to as many beds as he liked. I'm not sure what is worse - reserving chairs and then not returning, or using two chairs and reserving two more for use later.

When we got back to Civi there were plentiful taxis at the station (there was an MSC cruise embarking that day so lots of passengers with lots of luggage!). There is also the port shuttle bus which we took - €6 pp one way (cash only though). Very easy Taxis in Rome also seemed plentiful, but you can only get one from dedicated taxi stops - you can’t just hail one in the street. But we saw several taxi ranks during our walk - they are at all the usual locations of interest. We’ll be back in Civi in September (on the Silhouette) and we’re planning to do this trip again on our own, the trains are quite easy to navigate, and only €4.60 one way, so it will work out cheaper (albeit with the small risk that if the trains get messed up we are on our own!)

Hi Chris We did this tour yesterday. You’re right about the actual journey duration, but there’s a bit of dwell time at the dock while you wait for everyone to board the coach, so we departed at around 8.30am. Then around 10 minutes shuttle to the station, more waiting around to board the train which was scheduled to leave at 9.07 but was 10 minutes delayed. So we eventually arrived in Rome St Pietro station around 10am. Then a walk to Vatican City before we were left to our own devices. We had to be back at the station by 4.20pm, so we did have around 6 hours on our own. we walked to the Colosseum (long walk!!) but were there by 12. You could also get a taxi. There were very long lines to get in to the Vatican so I don’t think you’d be able to do the Vatican in the morning and then the Colosseum in the afternoon. In the end (after our very long walk) we got back to the station around 3pm and bought a ticket for an earlier train (we had the tour guide’s number so we could let her know we were leaving the tour). Let me know if you have any other questions!

Thank you both for your replies - I'll get Googling!

We are booked on the Edge on the 20th May sailing (that might be one of the cruises you were looking at). I've just looked at availability for excursions - there are 83 excursions listed in Plan my Cruise, and of those 16 are sold out and 14 have limited availability (ie between 1 and 8 spots left). That still leaves over 50 excursions with availability (although admittedly they are probably towards the pricier end). Availability for the Speciality restaurants is also looking good - I did a few mock bookings and there was availability across most nights and most times. So I think even booking this close to sailing you won't be missing out on too much. The 20th sailing will close for bookings on Thursday I believe. Your difficulty might be getting flights to Barcelona this close to the date. The following week would be worse as it's school half term. Good luck with your choosing!

We will be disembarking our cruise at Barcelona at 8am Saturday morning, and our flight back to London is at 6pm later that day. We'd like to spend some time exploring Las Ramblas and the city, maybe find a tapas bar. Or perhaps find a short day tour somewhere? Does anyone have any recommendations on what we can do with our luggage? We don't want to be carting it around with us all day!

The Silhouette is a lovely ship, you have chosen well for your first ever cruise! I agree with what others have said - Murano is best in class, and I would recommend early bookin as it is extremely popular. Tuscan Grill is at the back of the ship and has panoramic views so is a good choice for sail-aways and views of the wake. Much more casual than Murano - be warned, portions are huuge! Most casual of all (eg drinking out of jam jars!) is the Lawn Club Grill. It is outdoors (although covered) so can get windy. There's also a cinema screen on the other side of the lawn showing mainly sports items which can be a bit distracting. But the food is excellent, with a build-your-own salad bar, and the warm chocolate brownie dessert is not to be missed! Enjoy your cruise!