CruisinNewb

We always prefer the rear angled portion of the hump. We try for the 1st and 3rd bigger balconies. Great central location, mid ship for those of us who don't love motion. We get plenty of walking in even there because we are usually in the Sky lounge until late evening.

Thanks for the positive review. It is nice to read something that isn't a complaint. Yes there are always things to complain about but there are also (usually) positive things to praise. While we never travel in suites we always enjoy our cruise. We will be on the Millennium for the first time in 2025 for a Best of Japan cruise and are looking forward to both the itinerary and the ship. Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

The fact is that cruise lines are a for profit industry. Despite their marketing that says otherwise, the only thing that really counts to the company is generating revenue and profit. If their loyalty programs add to that bottom line then they will provide whatever "perks" they need for that to continue. When they stop producing that profit then they cut them. After the pandemic, the cruise lines were basically closed for an extended period. Those dollar losses have to be recouped and those loans need to be paid back. As in any consumer product, the two primary ways to do that is reduce expenses and increase product cost. The mainstream cruise product of the past is gone, just like the 32 oz. jar of spaghetti sauce that is now 24 oz. They will continue to cut and trim until it adversely affects their profits. When and if they reach that point they will reintroduce those items that they cut, usually to loud trumpets and bells ringing and how they "listened" to their loyal guests. To compare Celebrity to Oceania or Viking is an unreasonable comparison. While the costs may be comparable in the higher end cabin or suites they are not for a balcony cabin. My experience has been that they are at least 25% costlier if not more. Of course when you pay more, you can expect more. We cruised on the Silhouette last summer and had a very enjoyable time. There were definitely shortages of personnel in Cafe' al Bacio as we saw officers helping out there. The martini bar was more crowded than usual and it was harder to get a cocktail and the bartenders weren't as good. But the servers in the MDR were the best we have ever had. The food and service in the specialty resturants were great. The buffet selections were always varied, plentiful and tasty. The musicians were great as were the aerialists during the shows. One of our friends from CC recently left Celebrity and is now a Viking fan. He will be missed on the Celebrity board but I am glad he found a new home that he enjoys. Sorry to see the OP leave but I hope he finds another line that gives him enjoyment at whatever price/value combination he decides on.

We love the variety of all the bars. We tried the WC bar but it wasn't our thing. I usually prefer bourbon or vodka straight and my wife enjoys her different flavored martinis. The bartenders you get on your specific cruise can really make or break the experience in my opinion. The martini bar has always been our overall favorite for a pre or post dinner drink or two. We loved the bartenders on the Eclipse and the Summit when we last cruised on them in 2018. The bartenders on the Silhouette last year weren't as good in our experience. The vibe that we loved on the Eclipse and the Summit were not there for us so we spent more time at some of the other bars onboard. Perhaps part of it was the post pandemic restaffing. We are hoping when we return to the Eclipse next year we get to experience that same vibe we missed at the martini bar. It really turned what was a great cruise into an amazing one.

Many thanks for the info.

Hello all 🙂 I've recently booked out first cruise with Princess (British Isles - 12 nighter). We booked a midship mini suite in one of the angled balconies on Deck 10 on the Regal Princess. We've pretty much sailed with Celebrity up till now and are excited to give Princess a try. I have been reading through the Princess forums trying to pick up as much information as we really don't know anything about the ship, bars, entertainment, etc. There are two questions I couldn't find the answers to and I thought I'd ask here. 1) Is there any place onboard where they have ballroom dancing in the evening? On Celebrity they has a lounge on one of the upper decks which had a sizable dance floor and a DJ several evenings during the cruise. From reading old threads it looks like on Princess most of the dancing occurs during dance parties on the promenade or by the pools. Are there any lounges where there is dancing? 2) We purchased the Princess Plus package and understand that covers alcoholic drinks up to $15. I'm a bourbon and vodka drinker, usually drinking them straight. My wife enjoys craft beers, lemon drops and chocolate type martinis. Would they be covered under this package or do you think it would pay to upgrade to the Premium package? Thanks for your help and if there are any other suggestions or advice you can give to a Princess newbie it would be greatly appreciated.

Is Celebrity still offering power up points for watching destination videos and completing questionnaires? I haven't received one in several months. Thanks.

Some photos of dinner at the Lawn Club Grill.

Red Church & White Church.

Briksdal Glacier

Olden We booked an excursion here again through Norway Excursions. This tour was to the Briksdal Glacier. We met the bus right outside the ship. Norway Excursion personnel usually wear these bright yellow jackets that are hard to miss. Unlike our last excursion, this one was very full and almost every seat in the bus was taken. The bus made several stops on the way for photo ops of Olden lake and the surrounding countryside. The hike itself was enjoyable. The bus dropped us off at the base where there is a small shop for food and shopping. The hike is steep in the beginning but then flattens out to a very easy climb.

Reviews of Olden and Stavanger excursions with photos to follow.

Thanks. I did exactly what I tried before and this time it worked. No rhyme or reason lol.

Any Buffalo trace products are allocated where I live and very hard to find. E.H. Taylor and Stagg Jr. are two of my favorites from the BT line. More accessible for me and two favorites are Old Ezra No. 7 and Old Forester 1920 if you like higher proof bourbons.

Our excursion in Alesund was with Norway Excursions. We met our guide and bus right outside the port and we were fortunate that the bus was only 1/4 full. We took a ride to Sunnmore museum which is primarily an outdoor museum where there are many old historic houses that depict life in coastal Norway from medieval times to the present. There are also replicas of Viking ships. We were able to see inside the grass roofed house, see a church and walk around the grounds. We then drove to the island of Giske through several underwater tunnels and then to Godoy and climbed the lighthouse for a nice view. We went to the top of Mount Aksla which give you a good view of the city and finally drove through the town before heading back to the ship. It was an enjoyable excursion and well worth the price. Our tour guide was a young man from the Netherlands whose name escapes me but he was very knowledgeable and informative. I've tried to post photos here but they keep getting rejected. Is there a maximum size restriction? I'll post more about the other ports and excursions soon.

Buffalo Trace is an ok bourbon for its price point. I would have it as part of a cocktail like an old fashioned rather than have it neat or on ice. Elijah Craig(see above) Four Roses Single Barrel is a good lower proof bourbon that is enjoyable by itself. I don't care for Knob Creek or flavored bourbons. I don't like regular Woodford but their double baked is one of my favorites. At the end of the day it doesn't really matter what anyone else likes. I suggest that if you are interested in a particular bourbon, you find a bar or restaurant that has it and try it there before you commit to a bottle.

Just returned from the Silhouette. Unfortunately the bourbon selection was poor. Makers Mark and Woodford Reserve (the regular, not the Double Oaked). No Amarena cherries for an old fashioned either. Had a conversation with a bartender from the Ensemble bar who seemed to know his bourbon about the lack of quality bourbons onboard. I was hoping he had a secret stash but alas that was not the case. I had to drink vodka most of the cruise as the selection was better and I couldn't stomach WR after the first two nights. They have Chopin, Bellevedere and Ciroc. They also had Stoli Elit but only at the Sunset Bar.

We just returned from a 7 night cruise to the Norwegian Fjords onboard Celebrity Silhouette. I originally planned to do a live review but the wifi on board was so horrible I would have spent hours every night and that wasn't the way I wanted to spend my trip. I'll give a summary of the trip here and if you have any questions about the ship or cruise I will do my best to answer. We arrived in London a few days before the cruise with friends we had made from a prior cruise. The flights went smoothly and we and our luggage arrived at Heathrow on time. We had prearranged a ride with Blackberry cabs and the driver was on time and we had a nice ride to Southampton. We stayed at the Moxy Hotel which is located a 5 -10 minute walk from the cruise terminal. It is possible to walk it but we decided to get a cab and it was a 5 minute ride. Southampton was fun for a few days. We went to the Titanic museum, walked around the area and visited West Quay Shopping Centre which is right across the street. It has several chain type restaurants. The Platform Tavern Pub was about a 10 minute walk and was very good. Rita's was about 15 minutes and also very good. The boarding procedure was effortless for our friends. We had proof of a positive PCR test from 4 months prior and a Certificate of Recovery from our physician. The woman who we presented to didn't know what to do with it and said she'd be right back. 20 minutes later she directed us to another waiting area while her supervisor and a ship's officer debated on what to do. The original person told me a COR was only good for 90 days. Fortunately I was prepared and had printed out a copy of Celebrity's policy from their website showing that it was 180 days for European cruises. She brought them over to the supervisor who made copies of it and then they told me we could board. SMH. We boarded the ship and went to our stateroom, a midship balcony cabin on the angle on deck 8. Our sea pass cards were outside the room and we dropped off our carry on there before heading to the Oceanview Cafe for lunch. Overall we had a great time on this cruise. The crew was how I remembered it on our last ocean cruise. Friendly, helpful and working hard. There seemed to be plenty of staff in the Oceanview cafe and in the main dining room at dinner. The only possible staff shortage I noticed was in the coffee shop on deck 5 as one of the officers seemed to be helping as an additional waitress.The meals seemed to be on par or slightly better than what I had remembered from 2018 during our last cruise. Our waiter and assistant were probably the best ones we have ever had in seven cruises with Celebrity. We visited several specialty restaurants: The Lawn Club Grill, Murano and The Porch and all were very good. The activities staff was high energy and did a good job keeping us entertained. The live music was much improved as was the the choice of music that the DJ played. Lots of people dancing even late at night. The stage performers were fair to good. The aerialists were very good as has been our past experience. Service in all the bars was very good but their selection of bourbon, which is my drink of choice, left a lot to be desired. Woodford Reserve and Makers Mark seemed to be it. For those who want to know, there was no mask requirement, neither during embarkation, in the theatre or at the casino. I'd say about 5% of the passengers were masked. The crew wore masks all the time with the exception of the singers and performers while they were performing. We arranged our own excursions in Alesund, Olden and Stavanger. In Kristiansund we walked around town on our own. The weather which had called for rain at pretty much every port pleasantly surprised us with usually dry skies if mostly cloudy. I was hoping to get better photos but the cloudy skies didn't lend themselves to the dramatic fjord photos I have seen from others. I will try and post a few in a day or two. Disembarkation went smoothly, we met our rider from Blackberry cabs and went back to Heathrow. The ride took about 1 hr 20 minutes on a Saturday morning. Our flights and our friends got cancelled and delayed through various airports and our friend got home about 7 hours late and we didn't get home till the following evening. It was good to be back on a cruise ship after an almost 4 year absence. The Silhouette is in great shape. Her crew is among the best. Any questions please feel free to ask.

Thanks JB.

So far so good. The rooms are small at least compared to those in the US but I feel that is the norm here, although clean and well kept. Bed was very comfortable. Room was quiet. There is multi level shopping center within a 5 minute walk. There are several eateries there and also on the street. The breakfast menu at the hotel is very limited so if you can venture out, I would.

We are staying at the Moxy and boarding the Silhouette on Saturday. We took a stroll down to the terminal figuring we'd walk from the hotel to the port on Saturday. We strolled by Gate 8 which was closed and it said to enter via Gate 10. How can you get through to the terminal or is it easier to take a taxi from the hotel? Many thanks.

We will be on the Silhouette this weekend and I'll give a report on what's available there. I'm hoping they at least have the Woodford Reserve Double Oaked. I prefer my bourbon neat and while Buffalo Trace is ok in an old fashioned, I wouldn't want to drink it neat every night for a week. Is the selection of ryes any better?

I was waiting patiently but never received PowerUp points for two webinars that we watched In April and May. Who can I contact to get credited for these?

My dw loves the lemon drop, followed by the decadence. I prefer my vodka lonely, in a glass by itself.