REVIEW: Silhouette May 22-JUne3rd

[flames9]

This could be a rather long review, so in short—We had an excellent cruise and no real complaints!! I almost feel like one of those Celebrity cheerleaders and wonder how anyone can say anything negative, lol Then again we have sailed on 2 other cruises—Carnival and RCCL and had no complaints either.

 

Everyone’s experiences differ and everyone’s expectations differ. My wife and I are very laid back on holidays and we are probably the opposite of many cruisers—as we do not go on a cruise to be super socialable,lol We enjoy going on excursions and then just relaxing, quite often in our room or going to a show. You will not find us at the bar. Yes we may sound like we are in our 90’s, but I’m actually 40 and my wife is years younger. So you wil not find any reviews from any of the bars, as we really did not use them. People that we chatted with in BLU were great, as wel on our excursions that I self organized our organized by other CC members! If you do not know about the Roll Call here on CC, you really should as it’s the people sailing on your cruise and some take the initiative and organize tours, meet and greets, etc etc.

 

Embarkation: We arrived at the ship around 1130 via taxi. Dropped off at the drop off luggage area, and since we had the room stickers on our luggage, we simply dropped them off! There were 3-5 couples filling out the forms as they did NOT do that ahead of time. Not sure why not- you can print them off yourself or get them mailed to you, but not a big deal.

We walked the 30 meters to the area we had to check in—no line ups anywhere!! We were Aqua, so walked to that line and a few minutes later, with Seapass cards in hand, and were on the ship!! It was super easy, and no stress at all!

 

We then walked around and had planned to have lunch at Bistro 5, but it was not open till noon! We went to the buffet and it was not busy at all, so ended up having lunch there and breaking in our Classing Drink pkg (free as part of the 1,2,3 Go promo—more on that later)

 

ROOM: We were told around 1315 rooms may be ready and sure enough at 1315 they announced which decks were ready! We were on deck 11, Aqua 1648! Nice cabin, nothing super special about it to be honest. It was clean, nice balcony, nothing blocking our view! There were lifeboats way down on deck 5, but they did not block anything. Bottle of champagne was there (we ended up giving that to our attendant to do as he pleased) The Shower with its 5 jets was fine! If you used the jets, then the main head nozzle flow was a lot weaker! 1 had shampoo, conditioner, body cream, and body gel. The cold tea you received in the room each day was very, very weak! I did not like it at all!!

 

In short, in my opinion, one does NOT book an Aqua class for the cabin as it is not that special, one probably books it for BLU, maybe the extra cruising point

BLU(had to make sure I spelled it correctly to keep up my cred on the streets) We LOVED Blu!! The attention one receives is top notch!! The staff ensured we had a great experience! Thanks to cruise critic, I knew I could get a Caesar salad every night (which I did) or French Onion soup or if you wanted, shrimp cocktail! The menu was ok, was only a few nights that I did not find any of the main entrees to my liking. But there was always a fish, airline chicken (why would you call something airline”?? Airline food is not that good!!) and a steak! So I was happy.

 

The staffs in BLU were top notch!! I mean they were on the ball, very friendly. More or less if you want it—just ask! I asked for a larger portion of Caesar salad, wham, it appeared, only had to ask that 1 time! If you wanted a mixture of main courses—just ask!! My rum and coke always seemed to be full! I truly can’t say enough of how great the service was.

 

There are 5 tables right by the window, and if you wanted 1 of those 5, you had to show up around 1750!! And yes it was the same people showing up each night at those times! So if you want a window table—show up early! And yes one has to wait to be seated—the person at the desk does print off a slip that states which table your assigned to—so before they print it off, just ask. I only mention that as the couple in front of us one night figured they would just sit where they wanted, not to the table the waiter was taking them to, which put a bit of a crinkle into things.

 

The breakfasts did not disappoint! The menu never changed, but there was a large selection and it tasted great! The Muesli was very nice! Again service was great and actually very fast, one could have breakfast in about 20 minutes from start to finish!

 

Never saw it fully packed, but did see a few people wait for a better table. Yes most tables were for 2, but saw people combine them. And they had a few bigger tables and saw the same people sitting at those!

As already stated we loved BLU, loved that we could eat at any time with no hassles, service was super and always found something great to eat. Enjoyed it much more than Quisine.

 

Specialty Restaurants:

First night on the cruise we in Aqua got 50% off any Specialty restaurant. (I think those in a regular cabin may have gotten 20% off, but I may be wrong) So we choose Quisine! We went at 1800, and it was not busy, never did get that busy. Our waiter was great; he recommended we choose 6 from the Ipad menu! We were full after 4, wanted to cancel #5, but it was on the way, so cancelled #6! Anything that had to be deep fried was super greasy!! We enjoyed it, but we would never pay $45 each for it!

 

1 complaint about Quisine—music level! It was fine at first, and then it went up! And they quickly turned it down! Then a big group came in and this numpty officer walked in and turned up the music! So guess what, this big group had to talk louder—the waiters asked to turn it back down as customers were not happy, but no, he would not! Luckily our meal was almost over! Really ticked me off, sorry, but being a NCM in the military, seen too many Officers like him that do not listen to the troops! Really irked me,lol

But I stayed in my happy place with my rum and coke! Saw the naval officer mentality again 1 day waiting for a coffee at Caffe al Bacio----people in line waiting for coffee—high ranking officer sits down—guess who gets served first—the officer! That stuff irks me, sorry!

 

We talked to a few other couples who ate in the specialty restaurants and there was a common theme—it was ok, but NOT worth the prices they charged! After hearing that, we decided to just stick with BLU

I know during 1 port, think it was on day 4, they were offering 50% off to anyone to Quisine. When we walked by the Specialty restaurants in the evenings—they did not seem that busy

 

Bistro 5. We enjoyed it during our 1 sea day! It was fine, not sure if it was worth $5. Yes it is not a lot of $$, but just seemed like one was being nickel and dimed for this crepe!! And I know a few others felt the same way. But was a nice Crepe. And at 1245 we had the place pretty much to ourselves

 

PORTS:

I will just cover some of the excursions we went on.

 

Koper: Arranged via another cc member: http://www.slovenia-transfers-tours.com a great tour of Ljubljana city centre, and then off to Bled! Helena was a great guide. Didn’t go up to the castle due to SNOW!! Yep may 24th and it was snowing! Instead we went for lunch at the place Helena recommended it was great! Huge portions, should have split it with my wife!! Great tour!!

 

Ravenna: I was sick with a cold, so stayed back on the ship and the wife explored on her own! The ship did offer a $$ shuttle. Can’t recall how much, I think $14 for a day’s use.

 

Split: The day started off bad, and ended that way! Was a Tendering port and the weather sucked! So they could only use the starboard side of the boat. We were on Tender #3 –that is AFTER all the Celebrity excursions have gone ashore----We waited and waited and around 0930 our # was called! I think there were some worried people that had set up private tours and now they were going to miss their arranged pick up point! The day was miserable, rainy and cold! We walked around for a few hours and then we were back on the boat around 1230—about the same time as they were calling the last assigned tenders—then it was open to anyone!! Lesson learned: On a tendering point you may not want to organize a private tour, OR ensure everyone gets down early and gets their tickets! They were allowing 1 person to pick up as many as they needed for a group.

 

Dubrovnik. A celebrity $$ shuttle was again available--$12. A very nice port, We walked around, did the cable car up to the top of a hill, then walked around the fort. We rented one of those walking stereos they put on Ipod like device—it was very good! It was 1 of the ones that had actual ear phones and was like $10 a person. The fort was very busy—I can’t imagine going there in the middle of the summer when it is super hot and super crowded—no thank you. I think it took just over an hour to do the whole walk.

 

Kotor: Again, arranged by the same CC member—another home run!! Went from 0900 to noon which was nice as it gave us time to do stuff back in Koter on our own! Nice boat ride to Lady of the Rocks (approx 45 min), then a short boat ride to Peaster and then back to the docking area! Sorry I do not know ther company, but the owners name was Mirko and he was awesome! To get the best view—get up on the foscle (front) of the boat and sit down and relax

 

Bari: toursofpuglia.com Was a tour I arranged. Very easy to do, they were great in replying to my emails. I had a group of 10, in a 14 passenger mini bus, very comfortable and the price was very reasonable as well. Gianna was our guide and she was superb!! Really knew her stuff! Only bad thing was that the microphone was not working (I emailed the company and they stated they would have it fixed) I believe another CC member used this same tour company, but their guide was terrible! She was from Dallas texas! But I can’t say for sure she was with this company! You just may want to make sure you request a “local” guide. We did their Alberobello/Turri tour. Everyone stated they really enjoyed it

 

May 30th—our 1 and only day at sea! We spent most of it in the Hideway lounge reading! Would have been happier with more sea days

 

Valletta Malta: Touringmalta.com Another tour I organized and was very easy to set up. Only 6 of us in an 8 passenger van. Our Guider Was Audbrey B and she was probably the most knowledgeable guide I have ever had! Simply awesome! I believe this company is rather large, so they have many guides and I think she is sort of a free agent and works for others. We did the Full day Valletta,Mdina, Haga Temples and Marsaxlokk tour. All went fairly well except some traffic issues, so where we had lunch, we just had lunch, did not get time to see the shops around the fishing village! Most of that was due to traffic (2 accidents and high construction) and partly due to very slow service at the restaurant!! But it was still a great tour.

 

Sicily: http://sicilylife.com My last tour I organized and we all had a great time. Again very easy to set up. Our guide was great, 6 of us in an 8 passenger van. We did the Unknown Sicily around Etna & the highlites of Taormina! A great tour, and our guide drove us all around the Taormina area, then dropped us off! We were gald he drove us all around it as the main area of Taormina is truly just a tourist trap filled with shops and shops and shops and restaurants. Again, everyone stated they had a great tour

 

Naples: http://www.aldolimos.com/ organized by another CC member and was awesome! We actually had the owner—Aldo—as our driver and guide. Simply an awesome gentlemen who made sure we had a great tour. We did their Pompeii, Positano and Sorrento tour! We went as far as we could first and then worked our way back to the ship! Probably the best way to do it because of traffic!! Yes the road is VERY windy! But he took it easy and no one felt car sick! We had the option of finding our own place to eat or for 25 Euro he would take us to a place he would take his family, and it was pretty much all you could eat and drink,lol More importantly is was extremely good! And 99.99% of tourists would never find it. Another great tour in the books!

 

Very happy we did private excursions, as the groups were small, guides were super and cost less than what the ship charged.

 

Entertainment: We took in a few shows and we thought they were fine, mind you, we did not have high expectations! 1 comic was pretty good, actually had seen him on TV. We walked away entertained. Part of that was due to 1 couple though,lol—People in front of us were saving like 5 seats for their use, but an older couple wanted to sit there! He was ticked! So he sat on our row, but I guess he just could not let it go and got up and left—not before he threw a little childish tantrum and said something to the guys holding the seats,lol And yes their spouses/friends did come down! I did find this rude though—30 min into the performance people were still walking down the aisles trying to find closer seats—and of course they have to just stand there and block you view—there were seats available in the rear. My 2 cents is if you come late, you stay in the back! Oh well, I had my rum and coke and was happy!

 

DRESS CODE: One cannot write a review without a dress review,lol We ate in BLU and people dressed nicely, and yes saw people in Blue Jeans. Formal nights, some remained smart casual, some wore suits, ands some wore tuxes, no wrong way to go! I wore a suit—well carried my jacket, lol and a person ina tux, still talked to me! Crazy!!

 

Around the ship during the day, the dress varied, saw people in sweats, Jorts (jean shorts) with holes, Pretty sure it did not ruin anyones cruise!

 

Ashore: Again the dress varied, saw people going ashore in sweats, work out shorts, casual, etc etc! So, one can pretty much dress how they want! Just keep in mind some religious places may require you in pants!

 

YES!!! I did see 1 person turned away from BLU at breakfast—He was in shorts and a SLEEVELESS work out shirt! Reason given was because of the sleeveless shirt!

 

TIPPING: Again, another popular topic here on CC. I did not hang out at the bars much, just to purchase my drink on our Classic pkg—and what I saw with people with the drink pkgs, not a lot of extra tipping. Not saying it does not happen—just I did not see it! I asked a bartender about people with pkgs if he got a gratuity from it and he said yes.

 

The last night and morning in BLU saw people giving envelopes to the staff! We did that as well as the service was top notch! One could goto Guest services and they gave you a slip and you could jot down their name and amount of tip—OR they can give you an envelope with paper and go the traditional route—we went that route as I wanted to ensure they got the $$. I just don’t feel comfortable about giving a big corporation $$ to spread out, that is just me!

 

Again, tip more, tip less, leave it the same, no one knows but you! I will say they work long days, 7 days a week and do not get any days off during their contract and they have to pay the airfare back to their home country! Just like us, they work very hard day in and day out! Living in Nicaragua, I see how poor people live every single day, so maybe I can relate! Plus during my Canadian Armed Forces days, I have been to many of these countries, so I can relate in a small way! A few extra $$ means a lot.

 

As well take the time to email/write Celebrity about anyone who exceeded your expectations! Takes only a few minutes, but could mean a promotion to them!

 

Drink Package Thanks to the 1,2,3 GO promotion our classic drink pkg was free! And thanks to Lsimon, we decided to wait onboard if we choose to upgrade—which we never did. I’m a boring rum/coke and any cold beer kind of guy, so the classic was enough! We found ourselves just ordering drinks because we had the pkg—NOT because we needed one. So not sure in the future we would buy a drink package! But again that is just us! Sure it was nice not to have a drink bill at the end, but if we had to buy the drink pkg, we would probably never drink enough to make it worthwhile. And I must say the coffee (latte’s) were hit and miss at Caffe Al Bacio on deck 5, a fair bit of the time they tasted very burnt. And yes I could have said something (instead I come to CC and complain,lol) and they would have fixed it! I just do not like to complain—unless it is truly bad!

 

Disembarkation: We never received that letter asking for flights/travel plans! A few days before the end we received a letter stating we were group 65, meeting in the theatre at 0815! I asked customer service when we would be off the ship and they stated around 0845! On disembarkation day we hung out on deck 3 by Customer service and around 0835 group 65 was called! Was a simple walk down to deck 2, off the ship into the big enclosed dome, found our luggage and off we went—no customs/immigration. It does NOT get any easier! By 0845 we were in our Arranged van with another CC couple I set up with Fattori Car services. They were excellent and a fair price of 145 Euro to Rome

 

MISC:

 

Our cruise ended on Monday June 3rd—On Sat June 1st they advertised the Laundry special--$35 on whatever you could fit into the bag! Of course I handed in our laundry on Thursdsay!

 

They did not always announce the gangway was open! Or at least we never heard it. And a few others stated the same

 

ASK!! If you want something, just ask! The staffs are super! If you have a complaint—say something, and they will look into it. I read posts here on CC with people complaining, yet they do not do anything except wait for their cruise to be over—and then complain on CC! I think it was around day 4 or 5, we received a card asking if we had any problems! I said no, everything was great and I received a reply back thanking me

 

COLD MEDS: I brought Lysol wipes to wipe down the room, my vitamins, sea sickness tabs for wife, BUT I forgot meds for a cold! And of course I got a cold! So I highly recommend packing stuff for runny noises, sore throat, etc etc!

 

We are not super social people, we go on a cruise to chill and one can do that! Never felt forced to chat with people! We had some nice conversations during meal times. Staff went out of the way to make one happy! Smiles on their faces, said hello, we thought they were great!

 

GYM. Was great, always found a treadmill or elliptical to work out on. Of course I had a cold for 90% of the trip, so didn’t work out as much as I wanted to

 

Are we a huge Celebrity cheerleader? Probably not! Yes we had a super time, but we had a super time on a very cheesy 3 night Carnival cruise in 2006, a great Alaskan cruise in 2009 on RCCL! Maybe it is because we do not expect much, but more than likely it is because we base it more on the ports, than the ship. And we use it more like a hotel—we did not use the ship to its full advantage

 

As stated we had a great cruise, no real complaints, crew was superb, BLU was superb. Of course we would sail Celebrity again, the only question for us, is if we would do Aqua again. And I think that depends on the price. I’m pretty sure we would prefer BLU over any of the specialty restaurants, as we enjoyed having the same waiter most of the nights, was great chatting with them and building a relationship.

 

Maybe it is because we do not interact a lot with others, but I found people on the cruise respect your boundaries and let you be you—which if you read these forums at times, you think the fashion and the newly formed tipping police are at every corner and bar—I found that not to be true! One can be themselves and have a great time.

 

That is my 2 cents! I apologize for all the grammar mistakes.

Edited June 8, 2013 by flames9

[luvtravel88]

Thanks for your review! We like to travel in the same manner as you. We will be social but Hubby and I tend to spend a lot of time alone together just relaxing. Often we'll stay on our balcony all afternoon and leave in time for dinner.

You have a very nice outlook on your vacation. Again, we feel the same. Don't sweat the small stuff. When you're with thousands of people all doing basically the same things, everything is not always going to go as planned.

 

It seems that we enjoy our vacations more when we don't stress out about something that isn't really to our liking.

[flames9]

Thanks for your review! We like to travel in the same manner as you. We will be social but Hubby and I tend to spend a lot of time alone together just relaxing. Often we'll stay on our balcony all afternoon and leave in time for dinner.

You have a very nice outlook on your vacation. Again, we feel the same. Don't sweat the small stuff. When you're with thousands of people all doing basically the same things, everything is not always going to go as planned.

 

It seems that we enjoy our vacations more when we don't stress out about something that isn't really to our liking.

 

Thanks! I guess if ones only complaint is some burnt coffee, life is pretty good! And Like I stated-I know id I had mentioned it, they would have made me another cup.

 

Silhouette was a very nice ship!!

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review.

[Keith1010]

Thank you for your review.

 

Keith

[JayGee2]

Thanks for the great review,Its nice to see a couple,just going to chill out and have a good time together

[I-Cruiser]

Thank you for taking the time to write the review.

 

We did almost the same itinerary on the Silhouette last October. Loved the ship and the ports.

[drarill]

Thanks for your review!! :):)

[TroubleT]

flames9,

 

Thank you for taking your time and writing such a detailed review!

[flames9]

Thanks all!

 

Laundry soap! Bring it,as they did not sell it on the ship! No line to hang up clothes, so we bought those hangers that had clips at the end to hod the clothes, bough on amazon for $7.22 for 10

 

cheers

[flames9]

LANYARDS Oh yes, another subject--to wear or not to wear! I would the say majority did not, but of course some did! Some had fancy pouches, some just had plain pouches to hold their sea pass card in! I didn't see anyone beating them up, so I gather they are accepted

 

And I was disappointed--we did not see any scooter races! In fact only saw 1 scooter. Was a mixed crowd, yes many older folks, many around our age and many much younger! Saw a total of 2 ambulances picking up passengers and I believe on the last night there was a medical emergency in 1 cabin

Edited June 8, 2013 by flames9

[Texed]

Thanks for posting. :)

[Iamthesea]

Great review, Flames9! :)

 

We were on one tour together. You sat up in the front of the boat in Montenegro, and we sat up there on the way back from Peaster. I respected your Roll Call postings about being a private person and did not initiate a conversation. ;) However, when I saw you checking in at Hotel Canada, I just had to say "hi"! :D Did you like the hotel?

 

And I was disappointed--we did not see any scooter races! In fact only saw 1 scooter. Was a mixed crowd, yes many older folks, many around our age and many much younger! Saw a total of 2 ambulances picking up passengers and I believe on the last night there was a medical emergency in 1 cabin

 

I forgot all about the last night distress call. We were in the dining room when the call went out to go to a cabin number. Wonder what it was? I cannot remember the distress call name.

Edited June 8, 2013 by Iamthesea

[helenb]

Thank you for the review!

 

We're going on the same (well, almost the same) itinerary on June 26. Could you tell me when the Connections Party was, and when they held the formal nights?

 

Thank you!

[Happy2cruise]

Thanks for the great review,Its nice to see a couple,just going to chill out and have a good time together

Totally agree about a couple enjoying a good time together:):)

[flames9]

Great review, Flames9! :)

 

We were on one tour together. You sat up in the front of the boat in Montenegro, and we sat up there on the way back from Peaster. I respected your Roll Call postings about being a private person and did not initiate a conversation. ;) However, when I saw you checking in at Hotel Canada, I just had to say "hi"! :D Did you like the hotel?

 

 

 

I forgot all about the last night distress call. We were in the dining room when the call went out to go to a cabin number. Wonder what it was? I cannot remember the distress call name.

 

I just try and stay out of other peoples business,lol I'm very much an introvert in public,lol Only time when I'm not is online and at work. patients find it hard to believe I'm not a social person, as I am with them. but that's just me!

 

Yes we enjoyed Hotel Canada in Rome. The rooms were extremely well finished, very detailed. Our only 1 problem was the room was a bit warm, as the AC didnt appear to be on, but wasn't that bad. if it had been July, different story---but I'm sure they would have had the AC on then.

 

The other Best Western we stayed at was in Venice--Hotel Bologna and it was great as well, more modern and had an IKEA feel to it, but ti served its purpose. 40 Euro can ride to Cruise terminal.

 

I'm guessing it was some kind of emergency, maybe not medical.

 

Hope your sister is doing better.

[flames9]

Thank you for the review!

 

We're going on the same (well, almost the same) itinerary on June 26. Could you tell me when the Connections Party was, and when they held the formal nights?

 

Thank you!

 

Connections party was on the very first day of the cruise on May 22nd from 4-5 pm I think---The ship did not sail Until May 23rd at 1700--we missed the party as we were out in Venice.

 

Formal nights. May 24, May 28 and June 1st!! I thought it was odd that they did NOT have formal night during the 1 full day at sea on May 30th

 

No Embarkation glass of wine---they did that on Sail away on May 23

[dog]

Thank you. great info here. I am on this cruise next May.

When did you have muster drill?

 

dog:)

Edited June 8, 2013 by dog

[wallie5446]

Now that is a great recap of your trip! Well described, and well said, Thank You very much.

Edited June 8, 2013 by wallie5446

[flames9]

Thank you. great info here. I am on this cruise next May.

When did you have muster drill?

 

dog:)

 

The day we actually sailed (may 23), I believe it was around 4 pm. No lifejackets required. Went very smoothly.

[Iamthesea]

I just try and stay out of other peoples business,lol I'm very much an introvert in public,lol Only time when I'm not is online and at work. patients find it hard to believe I'm not a social person, as I am with them. but that's just me!

 

Yes we enjoyed Hotel Canada in Rome. The rooms were extremely well finished, very detailed. Our only 1 problem was the room was a bit warm, as the AC didnt appear to be on, but wasn't that bad. if it had been July, different story---but I'm sure they would have had the AC on then.

 

The other Best Western we stayed at was in Venice--Hotel Bologna and it was great as well, more modern and had an IKEA feel to it, but ti served its purpose. 40 Euro can ride to Cruise terminal.

 

I'm guessing it was some kind of emergency, maybe not medical.

 

Hope your sister is doing better.

 

We also had air trouble. We have stayed at Hotel Canada twice before without any problems. It seems that they recently changed systems to be more efficient. the air will not work unless your key is in the light slot. Therefore, when not in room, the air does not come on. I was not happy as I stayed hot most of the stay. The room did cool down during the night and we slept well. The next visit, we will ask for 2 keys and leave one in the slot when going out.:)

[flames9]

We also had air trouble. We have stayed at Hotel Canada twice before without any problems. It seems that they recently changed systems to be more efficient. the air will not work unless your key is in the light slot. Therefore, when not in room, the air does not come on. I was not happy as I stayed hot most of the stay. The room did cool down during the night and we slept well. The next visit, we will ask for 2 keys and leave one in the slot when going out.:)

 

When we first left the hotel to site see we told the front desk dude and he said that the AC was ON, but maybe because the windows had been open for cleaning, it had warmed up.

 

When we checked out in the morning at 0400--the new front desk dude told us that the AC was not on in the whole building--as it was not warm enough outside yet. Our room never got any cooler during the night.

 

So not sure what the correct answer is.

Edited June 8, 2013 by flames9

[Iamthesea]

It was definitely on. We could hear and feel it running. If we took the card out, or opened the widow or balcony door, it would stop. I complained to Vincenzo at the front desk and he said he would have someone check it to make sure it was working correctly. We were gone all day that second day to Florence, so it really didn't matter.

 

In case you missed it, I made a post on the Roll Call.

[dog]

re: air conditioning Italy.

This is typical in Italy. Leave the key in wall slot by door to get a/c to work. Doors and windows open may cause it to go off.

They try to be energy efficient by asking you to turn off a/c & lights when room is not in use.

Also, many places do not turn the a/c on until it heats up, after May.

 

Again, thanks so much for the information. I've printed out the info. I will want to refer back to.

dog:)

[helenb]

Connections party was on the very first day of the cruise on May 22nd from 4-5 pm I think---The ship did not sail Until May 23rd at 1700--we missed the party as we were out in Venice.

 

Formal nights. May 24, May 28 and June 1st!! I thought it was odd that they did NOT have formal night during the 1 full day at sea on May 30th

 

No Embarkation glass of wine---they did that on Sail away on May 23

 

 

Thanks for the information! I agree, it's very odd that there was no formal night on the sea day. It seems like the obvious choice. I'm guessing there wasn't a lot of participation in formal nights, seeing as everyone was in port the same day, on all 3! It's weird, very rarely have I experienced a formal night on a full port day, and this cruise seems like it will have 3 of them!