Saturngrl

I only know of one Pancho's Backyard and it's about a mile from the pier by taxi on the main road by the pier. Definitely make reservations for you and your group---it's a wonderful spot to enjoy lunch, mariachi music then shop afterwards....

Has Carnival started conducting Muster drills indoors now, as opposed to lining passengers up on deck in the heat?

Mr. Sancho's Beach Club...the BEST massages ever!

My friends and I did the Romance package, plus individual AI for three of the five of us. We arrived early enough to be assigned two adjoining cabana beds (neither of which were used), a large table for us and time for us to claim seaside loungers down by the water.

The massages were the BEST we have ever experienced! Service was stellar, the swim up bars awesome and I can't say enough nice things about Mr. Sancho's!

Move the muster drill to interior areas instead of lining everyone up on deck like sardines in the heat.

I agree with the previous posters. Plan on self-disembarkation and a 75 minute drive to WDW. Take Beachline 428 to Hwy 417 (Toll Road) to I-4 West.

The Silly is my all-time favorite ship, having sailed her twice! Not to miss:

-The Lawn Club Grill for dinner

-Lunch on the Porch

-Martini Bar

-Silent Disco

-Mixology Class

-Drinks at the Sunset Bar

-English Bacon in the Oceanview Café, accompanied by mimosas from Café Al Bacio II located by the Buffet

-Sipping tea in the Library while reading a good book

-Taking the Stretch and Relax morning class in the Fitness Center

-Massage in the Canyon Ranch Spa

I could go on....enjoy your cruise!

Corrrect! Aqua Class gets Blu for meals, except on embarkation day. If you're Aqua class, you may want to do the Mast Grill or Spa Café instead of the Oceanview Café. Another option for embarkation day dining is Sushi on 5 (for an upcharge).

On the Silhouette and the Summit, they offered butternut squash soup or Caeser salad, grilled chicken and fries, salmon or whole wheat penne pasta with veggies (my friend, Lynn LOVED it). Desserts are apple pie or chocolate something.

I highly recommend this perk for Concierge passengers! It goes from 11:30 to 1:00 on embarkation day.

In addition to the above recommendations (giving yourself at least 4 hours drive time between Kissimmee and Port of Miami via the Florida Turnpike), you may also want to get the Waze app for your smart phone. It will guide you through the best and quickest routes to your destination with real-time traffic information.

Our beach massages at Mr. Sancho's in February 2017 were the BEST massages EVER! Well worth the upcharge to 60 minutes! I definitely plan to do this again on my next visit there in 2019!

My friends and I sailed the Summit last month. We LOVED Concierge Class! Reasons:

1. the huge aft balconies

2. Embarkation lunch in the MDR

3. Welcome bubbly and daily canapes

4. Sailaway from Bermuda on the helipad (nice surprise!) with bubbly and ship's officers

5. Although we didn't use it because we took the Manhattan highlights tour, the disembarkation lounge

As other posters have mentioned, the Persian garden on the Summit is nothing to write home about. We liked the food in the MDR; no complaints there. We did do a Specialty Dining package, so my opinion of the MDR is a little biased.

Recently returned (seems like a lifetime ago) from Connie. Every day meetings were advertised, but that’s the good point, Initially they were advertised to take place in the Library, on the face of it a sensible venue, but when the Library has 4/5 people in it happily reading, were we supposed to share the venue or ask the readers to vacate. Not ideal. We took it upon ourselves to put a sign on the window of the Library and changed the venue to a private setting utilising Qsine. Told customer services of the issue and the exact nature of these meetings and the need for them to be a private space. They agreed and next day the meeting was advertised in Qsine at 2pm, we turned up and of course Lunch was coming to an end so went away and reconvened at 4pm. We then ignored what was in the daily planner and met at 4pm. For anybody who doesn’t know or may have seen it in their daily planner and thought to themselves that Bill W has lots of friends it is actually code for Alcoholics Anonymous. People who are in recovery or even just starting their journey, it is a place to meet other like minded individuals, and in an environment that can be Alcohol Intensive it can be a safe place to meet up. My point is surely whoever organises the daily planner should have some knowledge of the various events and meetings taking place, and each events requirements. You wouldn’t see them holding a Sunday service at The Martini Bar or would you.[/quote

 

I'm a licensed psychotherapist and it never ceases to amaze me how many people don't know what "Friends of Bill W." is, nor the importance of these meetings on a cruise ship. I have to explain this to my friends, who cruise with me, EVERY cruise! I also stress this name is to protect the anonymity of the members of this group and how we must honor every person's choice of beverage on the ship. Some people just flat out don't drink alcohol, others of us do so in moderation and others to excess on ships. Personally, I'm allergic to white sugar and have a heck of time explaining to people why I can't eat or drink sugary stuff. It's a challenge but it beats my nausea and vomiting when I ingest sugar.

What would be the best time to get there?

We just sailed the Summit the week of April 29th. Our limo dropped us off at the cruise terminal just after 10:30, when they reportedly open. Based upon this experience, plan to arrive around 10:15 to be among the earliest people to go through the process. You will probably have to wait to board the ship, but you will beat the crowds to get your luggage tags and boarding docs done. Happy sailing!

We were on the Summit the week before last. Only Tuscan Grille was open for lunch on the last sea day for $30. Hope this helps.

My friend and I did the Concierge Lunch on the Silly last November. We were seated with a delightful group from Canada and had a roaring good time. I believe we were all seated at the same time, so no waiting to order. We all had the Premium Drink Package and enjoyed to recommended wine pairings with our lunches. Looking forward to a similar experience on the Summit in 2 weeks....

Zazzle does mine. I give them out to my friends for each cruise as cruise gifts.

It's a crab cake with a wonderful remoulade sauce drizzled around it. One of my favorites at QSine!

Bring Downy Wrinkle Release on board with you. It works very well for getting creases out of your clothes. Your cabin steward will be happy to empty your mini bar fridge for you. Happy sailing!

I prefer Western for several reasons. The primary reason is Mr. Sancho's Beach Club in Cozumel It's all-inclusive, has the best massages EVER, swim up pool bars, fabulous service and clean restrooms. The other ports are okay and I do like Labadee and CocoCay. There are smoother seas to sail in the Western Caribbean, versus out in the Atlantic to Eastern or Southern.

Definitely Silhouette! Lawn Club Grill, the Porch and the Alcoves are fabulous! May I also mention Café Al Bacio Ii adjacent to the Oceanview Café? (Early morning Mimosas!) I also seriously love QSine. However, I'm excited to sail on the Equinox next year to experience Silk Harvest and the other features.

On a Silhouette cruise in 2016, a group of us had connecting Concierge cabins and were thus able to open the partitions on our balconies. We spent one afternoon on a sea day enjoying a HUGE lunch and cocktail party! We tipped the stewards very well for bringing us 8 shrimp cocktails, nachos, sandwiches, hot dogs, snacks and desserts. The eight of us enjoyed our time on the balcony immensely!

Also, I share the same love of tea and breakfast on the balcony on a sea day. Niiiice.....

Thx for the info !!

 

 

Ps. Never tried a silent disco... Looking forward to trying it! How many times do they have it per 7 day cruise?

On the Silhouette last November, they did the Silent Disco twice on a 7-night cruise. Both times it was amazingly fun!!!

Park n' Go. They are the BEST in Ft. Lauderdale!

I booked us through the Celebrity website for the Cape Liberty to NYC tour to EWR to help us spend time before our flight home. Has anyone done this tour? Hints for a fun four hours on this tour?