Review of Silhouette Adriatic, Nov. 18 2013

[cruise kitty]

Thank you so much for writing such a great review and including your awesome pictures! We can't wait to get back to the Mediterranean on a cruise ship, but until then, we will just have to visit through other travellers...

 

Hi, :) you're very welcome, & thanks for your compliment! I do a lot of daydreaming over other people's reviews & photos too!

[cruise kitty]

Awesome pictures and great review.....thanks so much for sharing:)

 

Hi, thanks so much! :) It was a wonderful trip!

[cruisinskier]

Thanks for a great review and your awesome photos!! I was originally drawn to your review as we are booked on the Silhouette this coming December. Turns out in addition to seeing your photos of the ship, I also got to re-live some of the ports from our Med Cruise a few years back as well as the memories from a week we spent in Paris last year. Thanks for all the unique photos!! I know it takes time to put these reviews together and we all really appreciate it!

[cruise kitty]

Thanks for a great review and your awesome photos!! I was originally drawn to your review as we are booked on the Silhouette this coming December. Turns out in addition to seeing your photos of the ship, I also got to re-live some of the ports from our Med Cruise a few years back as well as the memories from a week we spent in Paris last year. Thanks for all the unique photos!! I know it takes time to put these reviews together and we all really appreciate it!

 

Hi, & thank you so much! I looked at your photo blog & really enjoyed it too!

 

The Silhouette is (in my opinion) a fantastic ship with a terrific crew, I think you''ll have a wonderful time on her!

 

BTW, I noticed on your blog that you just celebrated your 25th anniversary, congrats, we're going on 28 years this year :) How time flies!

[daniels5759]

Thank You. What a wonderful review. It amazes me the time and and effort put into these reviews. We are off on our cruise on the silhouette in less than 2 weeks. I loved reading about your adventures.

[cruise kitty]

Thank You. What a wonderful review. It amazes me the time and and effort put into these reviews. We are off on our cruise on the silhouette in less than 2 weeks. I loved reading about your adventures.

 

Hi, & thank you very much! I hope you have a wonderful time, it's a great ship, & a wonderful itinerary! :)

[PathfinderEss]

Great review and wonderful photo's, thanks for posting.:)

[theopup]

Thanks so much for talking the time to write such a great review. I thoroughly enjoyed it and thought your pictures were stunning.

 

We are heading to Italy for the first time next May for a non cruise trip, and then want to do a Mediterranean cruise for a special birthday and Anniversary in spring of 2016.

 

I have a couple of questions for you please.

 

When do the itineraries for the Mediterranean come out, and what Celebrity ships can now sail into Venice

 

Thanks so much

[cruise kitty]

Great review and wonderful photo's, thanks for posting.:)

 

Thank you so much!

 

Thanks so much for talking the time to write such a great review. I thoroughly enjoyed it and thought your pictures were stunning.

 

We are heading to Italy for the first time next May for a non cruise trip, and then want to do a Mediterranean cruise for a special birthday and Anniversary in spring of 2016.

 

I have a couple of questions for you please.

 

When do the itineraries for the Mediterranean come out, and what Celebrity ships can now sail into Venice

 

Thanks so much

 

Hi, the new Med itineraries are released each spring, usually March or April... there will be an announcement here on cruise critic, which is very helpful :)

 

As for what ships are allowed in? That seems to be changing constantly, sorry I'm not more help on that, but it seems like there's no way to guarantee a sail in. :)

[cruise kitty]

Looking forward to following along this great review! We will be on Silhouette in June, AQ. Wish we could do the Adriatic itinerary but kids' summer jobs make that impossible. But still interested in seeing your itinerary and pictures.

 

What cabin were you in?

 

Hi, very sorry, when I originally answered your question, I said we were in cabin 1525, we were actually in 1535 (I was doing laundry just now, & came across a laundry tag) :eek: shows you how much I pay attention to the ship :)

[xrayvin]

Thank you for linking your review on the Kotor question thread! I really enjoyed reading it and looking at your pictures.

 

We will be in Kotor in May! I read that you just got off the ship and found a taxi to take you up for some views. I was wondering if you remember seeing taxis that would be able to hold 7 people? Did you have any problems with motion going up into the mountains? About how long did you spend with the taxi? I love the idea of not having an official tour set up but if we decide to explore a little, we have that option!

 

My other question is about your HIKE :eek:

I am not sure I will make the trek all the way to the top, however; maybe I can make it part way up? Knowing I might not be able to get to the top, is it worth climbing at all? Would you do that climb again?

 

I love your idea about getting a spice/sauce ect at each stop! Out of the items you purchased, what were your favorites? I also am planning to send a postcard home at each stop. How hard was it to find stamps and a place to mail them? Were you able to research that ahead of time so you knew where to go or did you just search when you got there?

 

Thank you again for all your information!

[xrayvin]

OK I will admit I read multiple reviews at the same time! I just reread your Kotor adventure and realized YOU did not do the taxi....sorry. Please disregard that portion of my questions. (it was too late to edit the post)

[cruise kitty]

OK I will admit I read multiple reviews at the same time! I just reread your Kotor adventure and realized YOU did not do the taxi....sorry. Please disregard that portion of my questions. (it was too late to edit the post)

 

Hi, ok in regards to the hike, even if you can't make it to the top, there's a little church about half way up, & I'd definitely do that... the entire hike would have been easy if it hadn't been for the rain storm,

 

I think my favorite spice/food item we picked up was a tiny salt grinder from Capri, it was salt mixed with local herbs/spices...fantastic!

 

Favorite all time though was not on this trip, it was a salt permeated with bordeaux wine, "Sel de Chateau"

 

Enjoy Kotor, the sail in has to be one of the most beautiful things I've ever experienced. :)

[notsodesperatehousewife]

Thank you for your review. You achieved just the right balance with detail. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with the number of pictures that get displayed on some reviews.

 

When I was a kid my dad used to take us to Europe in the off season (Nov.-Dec.) when he had business trips there. I remember the cold and gray and lesser crowds fondly.

 

Finally, I am around your age and you and your husband look fabulous! And stylish. I can see why you might have been mistaken for Europeans.

[sunshine nana]

Loved your review and reliving our Adriatic cruise this past Sept. We had no problem and saw no protestors in Venice. We were in Venice in May of 2010 and it was cold and rainy, but this time it was nice until all of a sudden at 7pm it poured hard! We gave ourselves a sea day in Ravenna and didn't think we missed much. We loved Kotor also. We stopped in Koper and it was the only day it was cold and rainy. We loved Split also. Our cruise stopped in Malta which we really liked. Thanks!

[ptrpanpens]

Loved your review and reliving our Adriatic cruise this past Sept. We had no problem and saw no protestors in Venice. We were in Venice in May of 2010 and it was cold and rainy, but this time it was nice until all of a sudden at 7pm it poured hard! We gave ourselves a sea day in Ravenna and didn't think we missed much. We loved Kotor also. We stopped in Koper and it was the only day it was cold and rainy. We loved Split also. Our cruise stopped in Malta which we really liked. Thanks!

 

Wow! big mistake missing the fabulous Ravenna mosaics which are more impressive even than in Hagia Sophia or St. marks in venice IMO. There are eight world heritage sights in this small city with glimmering and mind blowing mosaics all over the walls and ceilings of the churches and other monuments. I highly recommend anyone not missing them if you have the chance. It is unbelievable the amount of detail and workmanship that has been perfectly preserved since the 6th century and everything looks exactly the same as on the day they were created with no deterioration at all. And the scenes of Jesus and biblical tales all around are amazingly detailed with gold shimmering everywhere through the light from the windows.

 

Upon entering the churches, you could hear gasps everywhere from people who had no idea of the beauty inside the plain brick buildings. It was every bit as impressive to me as the Sistine Ceiling, although in a different way and obviously not done by Michaelangelo, so less well known for that reason. I am not religious in any way but had tears in my eyes from the beauty of these mosaics, so please do NOT pass them over if you have another opportunity.

 

Unfortunately, we missed Ravenna on the November 2013 Adriatic cruise due to bad weather, but I made a point of visiting the city on my own the next year after the Reflection TA. In over 40 years of visiting Europe it was definitely one of the highlights and I intend to return to get another look in the near future.

Edited February 8, 2015 by ptrpanpens

[cruise kitty]

Thank you for your review. You achieved just the right balance with detail. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with the number of pictures that get displayed on some reviews.

 

When I was a kid my dad used to take us to Europe in the off season (Nov.-Dec.) when he had business trips there. I remember the cold and gray and lesser crowds fondly.

 

Finally, I am around your age and you and your husband look fabulous! And stylish. I can see why you might have been mistaken for Europeans.

 

Hi, thank you for your kind words, & how wonderful to have grown up visiting Europe! Our vacations growing up were camping in an RV at the beach. :) , not exactly high class, but still, happy memories!

[cruise kitty]

Loved your review and reliving our Adriatic cruise this past Sept. We had no problem and saw no protestors in Venice. We were in Venice in May of 2010 and it was cold and rainy, but this time it was nice until all of a sudden at 7pm it poured hard! We gave ourselves a sea day in Ravenna and didn't think we missed much. We loved Kotor also. We stopped in Koper and it was the only day it was cold and rainy. We loved Split also. Our cruise stopped in Malta which we really liked. Thanks!

 

Hi, thanks, Koper & Split are definitely on my list of places I really want to visit someday... next time we do an Adriatic I would go about 6 weeks earlier, in October rather than late Nov/Dec... but this trip was really timed so we'd have the Paris Christmas markets.

[cruise kitty]

Wow! big mistake missing the fabulous Ravenna mosaics which are more impressive even than in Hagia Sophia or St. marks in venice IMO. There are eight world heritage sights in this small city with glimmering and mind blowing mosaics all over the walls and ceilings of the churches and other monuments. I highly recommend anyone not missing them if you have the chance. It is unbelievable the amount of detail and workmanship that has been perfectly preserved since the 6th century and everything looks exactly the same as on the day they were created with no deterioration at all. And the scenes of Jesus and biblical tales all around are amazingly detailed with gold shimmering everywhere through the light from the windows.

<snip>

 

Hi Anne, I know, I'm still sad we had to miss Ravenna, someday I plan on getting there, for me, I feel like my visits to Rome & Istanbul aren't complete without seeing Ravenna, that final Roman capital, someday :)

[DavyJoneses]

Loving your review and your pictures!

 

A small tip for you. I noticed that you had all your magnets on the cabin door. The cabin walls also work with magnets.

 

Great tip!

[ptrpanpens]

Hi Anne, I know, I'm still sad we had to miss Ravenna, someday I plan on getting there, for me, I feel like my visits to Rome & Istanbul aren't complete without seeing Ravenna, that final Roman capital, someday :)

 

Hi Debbie'

 

Since I took the Adriatic cruise with Ravenna as my number one priority I was devastated when we missed it. However, where there is a will, there's a way and it was easy to get there by train from Bologna last May, where I stayed for three nights after the TA before heading to Paris for several days. It is also very easy to do by train from Rome and worth staying in Bologna at least overnight as it is interesting there, reasonable with great food and not touristy.

 

Here are my photos from that trip with Ravenna near the end so you can see what you missed. Hope to meet you on another cruise.

 

Anne

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/117120496601879777314/April262014ReflectionTAPlusBolognaRavennaAndParis

[cruise kitty]

Hi Debbie'

 

Since I took the Adriatic cruise with Ravenna as my number one priority I was devastated when we missed it. However, where there is a will, there's a way and it was easy to get there by train from Bologna last May, where I stayed for three nights after the TA before heading to Paris for several days. It is also very easy to do by train from Rome and worth staying in Bologna at least overnight as it is interesting there, reasonable with great food and not touristy.

 

Here are my photos from that trip with Ravenna near the end so you can see what you missed. Hope to meet you on another cruise.

 

Anne

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/117120496601879777314/April262014ReflectionTAPlusBolognaRavennaAndParis

 

Absolutely stunning Anne! thanks for sharing, & I see the weather on your TA was a little sunnier than ours was for that Silhouette cruise ;) remember the hail storm?

 

We're going again next May, & I'm looking forward to longer, sunnier days this time :)

 

Hopefully will cruise together again someday. :)

[ptrpanpens]

Absolutely stunning Anne! thanks for sharing, & I see the weather on your TA was a little sunnier than ours was for that Silhouette cruise ;) remember the hail storm?

 

We're going again next May, & I'm looking forward to longer, sunnier days this time :)

 

Hopefully will cruise together again someday. :)

 

Debbie, you should have great weather in May. Last year I was in Europe for almost a month including the crossing, and we only had one day of light drizzle near Tenerife. The captain said it was the smoothest crossing he ever had. People were sunbathing every day. Personally I wouldnt have minded it being about 10 degrees cooler but loved that there was no rain.

 

Overall we were pretty lucky in November, though, except for Ravenna.:mad:

 

Anne

[cardcrafter]

Reading your review and seeing your brilliant photos has brightened a dull winters day. We have been to a lot of the places you visited and the memories came flooding back. One question: you mentioned buying a nope passage. Tell me more. We are in the UK and haven't come across it for cruises?

 

Thanks again. Kath

[cardcrafter]

Reading your review and seeing your brilliant photos has brightened a dull winters day. We have been to a lot of the places you visited and the memories came flooding back. One question: you mentioned buying a nope passage. Tell me more. We are in the UK and haven't come across it for cruises?

 

Thanks again. Kath

 

I should have previewed the post! I meant. 'Open passage'