LegalE2010

I got it for our RCL cruise from February. I'm thinking they are considering dropping Nassau, based on some other information I've read.

The exchange rate is not set by Celebrity, but rather by the issuer of your card on the back end. Our bank refunds all ATM fees, and they even refunded the $6 fee from getting money on the ship.

Early dining. 5:30. Majority dressed, got worse as the week went on.

 

We did key west on our own, no issues. I do know they had an issue. They took two people away by ambulance in key west.

 

Second hand I was told a guy went down on the pool deck the night before, non responsive. Chest compressions and hit with the AED twice. Guy I spoke with says he was breathing on his own when he left the deck. Not sure if it ended well or not. That slowed things down in key west during the morning.

We went to bed early every night (traveling with a baby will do that!), but the night before Key West, sometime after I was sound asleep, I woke up to the Captain's "alpha alpha alpha Windjammer" announcement, so that seems to corroborate that medical emergency.

That being said, Key West was a cluster&@$! simply because they had no organization for lines to get onto the trolleys. We had a shore excursion for the conch train, and instead of allowing us off before people without excursions, they started calling muster stations, and people flooded off and cut into the line we had been waiting in. I'm sure everyone in charge had dealt with arrivals at the navy dock before, so there's no reason they shouldn't have known how to handle the flow of passengers better.

Just got off 8 nights on RCI Grandeur of the Seas and was pretty disappointed in the food. We had sailed on Celebrity Silhouette in December 2014 and all the food was excellent. I kept finding myself comparing the food on Grandeur to the Silhouette, but it wasn't just disappointing in comparison - there were several things on Grandeur that were just BAD. Standouts include fake "butter" being poured over my lobster tail, quesadillas made with disgusting American cheese, all commercial (rather than freshly made) salad dressings, and "creme anglaise" that was watery and slightly thickened with corn starch rather than egg yolks. I like REAL food, not processed crap, and it's clear that RCI cuts corners to save money by using crappy cheap food products. We did have a very good meal at the Chef's Table, and decent food at Giovanni's and Izumi, but the MDR and Windjammer left so much to be desired. Even the food on Carnival back in 2010 was better, and for some reason I expected RCI to be a step up from that.

I am interested in trying MSC, especially since I have read that they cater more to European palates, but other than that I plan to stick to Celebrity from here on out!

Call me crazy, but I think the OP completed the cruise on January 24.

If we're being honest, we are all a little crazy... I, for one, appreciate the continued posting on old threads such as this, since I still haven't sailed :)

there is usually a scale in the gym. I'm fairly sure you'll find one there. As for accuracy, that's anyones guess. I know when i weigh myself on a cruise the scale becomes less and less accurate as the days go on. Seems to continuously weigh heavy. Can't figure out why.

:d :d :d

Don't know yet, but will let you know when we return in 3 weeks from baby's first cruise! She is 8 months old and we plan to try out the nursery.

Oh and Congrats!

We went to the Blue Hole from Falmouth, and it was cool. We used Courtney Taylor Tours, and unfortunately I would not recommend them. They told us to meet them at the port between 9 and 9:30 and we showed up at 9:20 and they had left without us. Other tour companies helped us call them and track them down, and an employee of Peet Taylor Tours ended up driving us to meet them at the Blue Hole. The tour guide was not apologetic at all, and our excursion got cut short because of the delay. We were supposed to get to go to the beach, and that didn't happen. Lots of people recommend Peet Taylor, so I would try with them if you want to go to the Blue Hole!

Does the immigration check always occur in Key West after going to the Bahamas? I guess I would assume it has to occur at whichever the first port of entry into the US after being in non-US ports. Does that then mean there is no immigration check in Baltimore?

These are good things to know ahead of our February 13 cruise - thanks for your great review!

One more question - it's hard to tell from the deck plan, but do you have to walk through the Casino to get from forward to aft on deck 5? Is it super smoky? Hoping to avoid all smoke with our baby!

Do you know what photo package options are offered, and how much they are? Thanks!

We got off the Silhouette yesterday, and Mark is the cruise director, but the other entertainment acts were not what previous posters stated. We had a comedy juggler named Pete Matthews (who was hilarious and talented, but it seemed his stint on the ship was over after this week), former broadway singer Lindsay Hamilton, Sin City Comedy, and the Silhouette production shows Velocity, Silhouette The Show, and Broadway Nights. The Silhouette singers and dancers were pretty good, but they just ended their 7 months on the ship with this sailing, and were going home for vacation, so you will get a new cast on your sailing.

There was trivia twice a day most days, and I believe three times a day on certain days.

Hope this helps a little!

I think I noticed some in the gangway one day last week, but not at every port. Other days, they had a table set up at the entrance to Oceanview cafe and in the Silhouette theater where the shore excursions met.

Disruptive? Really? Could you explain how you believe the Pied Piper group was disruptive? I was on the same ship and although there were some private functions held by the PP group, I did not at all feel excluded from the ship because of their presence. Their functions moved from space to space - one time being on the pool deck, another in Quasar, another in Sky Lounge, etc. My husband and I were still able to enjoy the ship thoroughly, and had quite a nice babymoon :) I have a feeling, OP, that you have some ideological differences with the PP group that are causing you to feel "disrupted," and I imagine that Celebrity will not care how you felt in this case. In the future, if you want to know if a large group is booked on a cruise you plan to sail on, you should probably join the roll call for that sailing here on Cruise Critic. The fact that PP was going to be on this ship has been public knowledge in our roll call for well over six months, so a little due diligence on your part would have saved you the "headache" of having to be tolerant of others.

Now if you DO want to complain about the trip being disrupted, might I suggest you take issue with the fact that the propulsion issues ACTUALLY affected the trip? The shortened port times, late arrival into Labadee, etc., were truly disappointing, especially given that Celebrity has known about this issue for months and is not managing to fix it until January. We were quite disappointed by a cancelled tour in Cozumel, shortened alternative tour, and the extremely short port time in Labadee.

There's a decent possibility that someone who had an AQ guarantee got placed in one of the Aqua accessible staterooms, and if you call Celebrity, they may be able to swap you with the people with the guarantee. I would give them a call to see what they can do. The accessible cabins appear (from photos, as I've never been) to be much wider and more accommodating for a scooter.

Depends if you're exhibitionists or not.:p

Lol! I can't decide... ;)

Been on the Silhouette 3 times. A friend stayed in 1002 and don't believe there were any issues. Actually, I went into the cabin and it was kind of neat to see the officers on the bridge wings going in and out of port from the balcony.

 

Cabin 1042 should not present a problem by the elevators either. I've stayed in cabins by the aft elevators and no noise issues.

 

If it matters to you, from the deck plans cabin 1002 will have the bed by the balcony and cabin 1042 will have it by the bathroom.

Both have their good points as listed by yourself & ECSLADY

 

"Might be" cool to watch happenings on the Bridge if you are so inclined even inspite of perceived lack of privacy.

 

Mind you the Bridge wing being so close is also going to block views of the scenery

 

And there may be more noticeable hall traffic I would think outside of 1002 with The Bridge being right next door

 

We have had a cabin on The Solstice near the Midship Elevators, and it was very quiet... Never noticed the hall traffic in that situation.

 

If I was in your shoes, think I would opt for 1042

 

Cheers!

Thanks for your input! When I originally booked, I thought it would be cool to be able to look into the bridge, and I didn't think the obstruction would bother me. When I figured out today that the bed is by the balcony, I started to reconsider... decisions, decisions.

I know some of the prices have dropped. Are you able to upgrade to a C2?

Depends on the time of day - the prices keep changing every few hours! Unfortunately, today C2 seems to be a bit more than what we paid, and it doesn't seem worth it to pay to "upgrade." I will keep checking!

OP: I was just going through my photos and came across this shot of the starboard bow, which will give you an even better view of the bridge wing and its proximity to 1002:

 

(photo by turtles06)

Thanks so much for both awesome photos! That definitely gives me some perspective I wasn't able to find anywhere online.

We're sailing on the Silhouette on 11/30, and it will be our first time on Celebrity. We are booked in concierge class stateroom 1002. Upon reading more about this stateroom, I see that because it is right behind the bridge, crew members can see into the stateroom. The only other C3 available is 1042, which is right by the forward elevators/stairs. Should we try to switch to 1042, or stay in 1002? Although I imagine noise could be a concern by the elevators, I sleep with earplugs so I'm not too worried about that. Could you experienced Celebrity-philes help me decide whether to move or stay? Thanks!

The website is abysmal. I have sent them two complaints about it - one several weeks ago, and one 3 days ago - and despite the fact that their contact form says they will respond within 48 hours, I have yet to hear anything from them. This will be our first Celebrity cruise, and even if I like the onboard experience, I will be hesitant to book with them again without some reassurance that the website is improved. While calling them to book excursions/dining/etc. is certainly an option, and something I will resort to out of sheer necessity, I hate making phone calls, and will always pick a company I can deal with on the internet over one I have to call.

Does the "priority check-in" benefit that Concierge class touts mean that Concierge guests would get an earlier embarkation window?

Several weeks ago, I saw on the Celebrity website a requirement that pregnant women obtain from their doctor, and fax to Celebrity, a "fit to travel" letter, stating how far along their pregnancy will be as of the date of sailing and that the woman is fit to travel. With this requirement in mind, I obtained such a note at my doctor's appointment last week. Now, I went back to the Celebrity website to find the information on where to fax the letter, and the information is nowhere to be found! Is the letter no longer a requirement? I will, of course, take my note with me on embarkation day, but I wanted to go ahead and fax it if it is required. Hopefully a Celebrity rep can weigh in on this!

And now I'm drooling! In 24 days, I board the Silhouette for the first time. In 25 days, therefore, I fully expect to have a least one almond and one chocolate croissant in my pregnant little belly! Gotta expose baby to such delicacies as early as possible, you know ;)

Glad to see it inspired you.

 

Toad in the hole should be your next recipe :)

I showed my husband a recipe for Toad in the Hole and he wants to be your new BFF! ;)

Saw this thread yesterday and it inspired me to try my hand at making one last night. I had short ribs that I had slow roasted the day before but didn't get around to eating. Skimmed the beef tallow off the top and used it to grease my pan (though I think I went a little overboard) and baked up a puffy, divine Yorkshire pudding that perfectly complemented our short ribs, creamy polenta, and roasted root vegetables. It was SO easy - I will be making it any time I have some beef drippings :)

Thanks for the inspiration!