First X Cruise:SILHOUETTE JAN 17 2016

[scorchestra]

Loving you review and writing style! Looking forward to more...

[Bimmer09]

Quick question...you said you ate breakfast in Blu? Does that mean suite guests have breakfast access to Blu and do you have to book in advance?

We're doing a suite for the first time and I knew I would miss Blu's breakfast, especially the Meuslix.

I didn't realize we could go to Blu!

Also, I am enjoying your review.

 

Absolutely suites can dine in BLU-they will just ask for your cabin #.

 

No booking necessary. It was about 60% full at most for breakfast.

 

You will also be very welcome in Michael's Club.

 

Thanks for coming on board!

 

Norris

 

[Bimmer09]

Loving you review and writing style! Looking forward to more...

 

Thanks for the feedback. Much appreciated.

 

There's a ton more of course.

 

Are you an orchestra member?

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

My dinner tonight pales so far compared to this that it is absolutely ashen in colour. I' just imagining the tastes that both of you experienced.

 

Judy

 

Judy, I wish there had been better lighting to make the dishes really pop.

 

It was too much bother to shoot in manual mode and mess with aperture and shutter speed while my food was cooling so I left it on auto.

 

The food tasted better than it looks as a result.

 

My vote will always be to eat in Murano first night (or LCG)

 

Norris

[sawtooth]

I am reading your review with much interest.

Are you thinking of converting to Celebrity? Would love to see you in depth comparison with Princess.

I have priced this cruise line but Princess seems a little more affordable.

But, wow, this Celebrity ship really pops!!!

[5:00_Somewhere]

Loving the review and photos, Norris. Making me even more excited!

 

Yup! My BF, myself, and 2 of our good friends!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Fantastic! We'll look forward to seeing you on board. The hubby and I often travel with friends, but this time decided it'd just be the two of us for a change, as our last several vacations have been with others.

 

I noticed in one of your other posts you mentioned being a ship nerd (me too), and a possible interest in Princess. As I've mentioned, and as you can see below, we're Princess ... er ... "regulars" (doing my best to avoid the obvious puns); aficionados, if you will. ;) We would be more than happy to discuss the features of the ships and the line with you if you have any interest. We find Princess to be very comfortable for us, but are also excited to try something new. I've wanted to sail on an S-Class ship since I saw the first promo pics of the Solstice.

 

I'll look forward to seeing you around the ship. Can't believe we sail 2 weeks from today!!!

[Bimmer09]

I am reading your review with much interest.

Are you thinking of converting to Celebrity? Would love to see you in depth comparison with Princess.

I have priced this cruise line but Princess seems a little more affordable.

But, wow, this Celebrity ship really pops!!!

 

Hi sawtooth,

 

There's no need for me to convert to Celebrity when I can sail both happily as they are both top-notch experiences. I could have 10 cruise lines to sail on if I try some more and they match PCL and X.

 

I tried Princess once, for our first cruise together, not knowing much about them as I wasn't the researcher I am now (Knowledge is power) and that was so good we did P for our next one, and our next and so on. Princess is excellent for us. We are now Elite there.

 

I will do a head to head comparison after I write this- on the Princess Board-that way X people will get a taste of what P does well and vice versa...but it will purely be the opinion of one person=Me. I know people on P who have taken one X cruise, had issues and never went back even when the S class came out. So a fresh and very detailed review from a critic like me who tells the good,the bad and the ugly (if they exist) can only help. I pride myself on being fair-minded.

 

I hope this review will send some people over to my Princess reviews and if they do they'll see the ships and the food and the entertainment (as I videotaped some shows) and read my opinions and think- Princess isn't what I thought it was.

 

A lot of the people reading this now are cyber friends from the Princess board and so they will see what an X S Class cruise can offer. Some may book a cruise based on this.

 

Great question!

 

Thank you!

 

Norris

 

 

 

 

[GuinnessGal]

Hello Norris!

 

I am absolutely loving your fantastic review and photographs! Your writing style is just wonderful...truly enjoyable reading. I've been growing more curious about Princess, so will be journey over to the princess boards some time soon to read your various reviews.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to capture the details!

 

Karen

[scorchestra]

Thanks for the feedback. Much appreciated.

 

There's a ton more of course.

 

Are you an orchestra member?

 

Norris

 

Yes! I am. : )

 

We're taking our very first cruise this coming May to Alaska on Celebrity. Very excited to find reviews and fun writers like you. I'm going to check out your Princess reviews too.

[Bimmer09]

Hello Norris!

 

I am absolutely loving your fantastic review and photographs! Your writing style is just wonderful...truly enjoyable reading. I've been growing more curious about Princess, so will be journey over to the princess boards some time soon to read your various reviews.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to capture the details!

 

Karen

 

Karen- great screen name!

 

Thanks for the compliments.

 

Yes, read some Princess reviews if you get a chance, and if you have any questions that the reviews don't answer, don't hesitate to ask.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Yes! I am. : )

 

We're taking our very first cruise this coming May to Alaska on Celebrity. Very excited to find reviews and fun writers like you. I'm going to check out your Princess reviews too.

 

Glad you like the writing and thanks for saying so.

 

Alaska will be a great first cruise-unforgettable scenery and wildlife.

 

Which ship? The Summit?

 

I have 2 Alaska reviews which might help you choose excursions. Any questions please ask.

 

I listen to Orchestral and vocal music a lot and have heard many of the major orchestras live. Always thrilling. HVK and the Berlin Phil I never tire of, almost regardless of the music (but not quite!!)

 

Which instrument (s)?

 

Norris, knowing that the first cruise is the first of many.

[rdsqrl]

Carol's sole Vernoique put me into a swoon from which I have only just recovered, or I would have posted sooner. It's delightful to see new and different food porn. Oh, and seeing a different ship is nice, too, I guess! Looking forward to seeing more.

 

I seriously like the looks of the pool deck on this ship -- very sophisticated and high-end-resort sleek. Fresh water or salt? Was there an oceanview from that promenade deck, perhaps a peek of blue between the lifeboats?

 

[scorchestra]

Glad you like the writing and thanks for saying so.

 

Alaska will be a great first cruise-unforgettable scenery and wildlife.

 

Which ship? The Summit?

 

I have 2 Alaska reviews which might help you choose excursions. Any questions please ask.

 

I listen to Orchestral and vocal music a lot and have heard many of the major orchestras live. Always thrilling. HVK and the Berlin Phil I never tire of, almost regardless of the music (but not quite!!)Norris, knowing that the first cruise is the first of many.

 

Which instrument (s)? Baton :)

 

We'll be on the Millennium, I'll check out your Alaska reviews, thanks!

[ar1950]

..........................

A lot of the people reading this now are cyber friends from the Princess board and so they will see what an X S Class cruise can offer. Some may book a cruise based on this.

Great question!

 

Thank you!

 

Norris

 

Your review is certainly giving us cause for considering it. Thanks for all of the great info and photos, btw.

Edited February 1, 2016 by ar1950

[p0240]

Hi Norris

Just a query, is the Leumiere dining room the main dining room that is free, while all the others that you have quoted are an additional charge and/or only available to suites?

Thanks heaps, totally enjoying following along. We are total Princess too, but this year are doing the new HAL Koningsdam, Amsterdam to Rome cruise, very much looking forward to that.

Pat

[tigerbeth]

Norris ,

Loving your review as usual !

As I am not a 'ship nerd' are you able to explain what an S class ship is?

I have no idea what this means !

 

Thanks Beth

[Bimmer09]

Carol's sole Vernoique put me into a swoon from which I have only just recovered, or I would have posted sooner. It's delightful to see new and different food porn. Oh, and seeing a different ship is nice, too, I guess! Looking forward to seeing more.

 

I seriously like the looks of the pool deck on this ship -- very sophisticated and high-end-resort sleek. Fresh water or salt? Was there an oceanview from that promenade deck, perhaps a peek of blue between the lifeboats?

 

 

Annie!

 

I agree on the pool area and love the shade provided. The pools are fresh water and besides the two you've seen there is another indoor one in the Solarium which will knock your socks off when I get around to showing it in my timeline.

 

The ship is a brilliant exercise in design from top to bottom. The shade "canvasses" around the ship (pool and lawn) are such a great idea....and don't get me started on the grass!

 

As for the food, yes it was good to see different foods/dishes on the menus and you will get to see all that we ate. We liked having multiple Specialty restaurants rather than the usual two. We didn't get to them all but said "Next time" as we knew we would sail X again and already have a booking.

 

Having two Private Suites (Luminae) and Aqua class/Suites (BLU) only restaurants meant we had breakfast choices besides the MDR and the seriously good buffet. We also had the use of Michael's Club- A concierge service with open bar and 24/7 access to bottled water/sodas etc. Staffed by European fashion models. It featured a heavy duty Nespresso machine....

 

Re the Promenade deck, deck 5....there will be a video later of me walking the whole thing. On each side where the elevators let you off there is a 30 foot open section where the deck is about 15 feet deep, otherwise it runs 3/4 the length of the ship and is 8 ft wide all the way (so nothing like Royal Princess)

The deck is covered so rain or shine doesn't matter. There are lots of chairs to sit and stare at the sea.

 

All will be revealed as this goes along.

 

I'm glad you are here!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Norris ,

Loving your review as usual !

As I am not a 'ship nerd' are you able to explain what an S class ship is?

I have no idea what this means !

 

Thanks Beth

 

Beth it's S Class because the Solstice was the first ship in the series of 5;

Solstice (2008)

Equinox (2009)

Eclipse (2010)

Silhouette (2011)

Reflection (2012)

 

They are long and sleek and identifiable in profile by having two funnels set apart

(unlike HAL's two) with a grass lawn in between. The forward funnel has a giant X on it.

 

They followed the M class (e.g Millennium, Summit, Constellation etc) which are smaller and more traditionally designed-and grassless.

 

You'll see many things that set them apart as this winds along. I covered the whole ship in photos and am sitting on the Motherlode.

 

They were all built by Meyer Werft in Germany and being German means there wasn't a bucket of mystery bolts left over at the end.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Norris

[JF - retired RRT]

We're doing a suite for the first time and I knew I would miss Blu's breakfast, especially the Meuslix.

Is that the brand name Meuslix?

We discovered that the Meuslix that is available on Princess ships is Kellogg's Meuslix. We buy it at the grocery store and feel like we are on the ship for breakfast.

[Bimmer09]

Hi Norris

Just a query, is the Leumiere dining room the main dining room that is free, while all the others that you have quoted are an additional charge and/or only available to suites?

Thanks heaps, totally enjoying following along. We are total Princess too, but this year are doing the new HAL Koningsdam, Amsterdam to Rome cruise, very much looking forward to that.

Pat

 

Pat, Luminae is suites only, breakfast lunch and dinner. No charge.

BLU is Aqua class and Suites only. No charge.

 

You've already seen us in Bistro on 5 ($10 cover) and Murano ($50 cover)

 

We will eat also in Tuscan Grille ($45) and Lawn Club Grill ($45)

 

We didn't eat in The Porch (next time) for $30 nor Quisine ($40 I think?) Next time.

 

If you buy a coffee in Cafe al Baccio the pastries are free. Our Beverage package covered the cost of coffees. Gelato was about $2 a scoop there.

 

There's burgers and fries available (free) above the pool and Aqua Spa Cafe in the indoor pool.

 

The buffet is fantastic. I ate there for lunch each day and skipped BLU and Luminae.

 

I will be very interested in reading about Koningsdam. She looks good.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Norris

 

[Bimmer09]

Is that the brand name Meuslix?

We discovered that the Meuslix that is available on Princess ships is Kellogg's Meuslix. We buy it at the grocery store and feel like we are on the ship for breakfast.

 

JF- in BLU they have a cart that comes around where a waiter has all the ingredients for Muesli. You can pick and choose what goes into it. I never tried it and don't know what brand the base might be. A nice touch though.

 

Norris

[AngelKappie]

Hi Norris, :)

I am LOVING your review! We sail the Silhouette the end of the month. I really hope we arrive to San Juan 2 hours early also! We love Old San Juan. Thank you for taking the time to do this AWESOME review! I am looking forward to the rest of it. :D

[Bimmer09]

Which instrument (s)? Baton :)

 

We'll be on the Millennium, I'll check out your Alaska reviews, thanks!

 

Baton? Best one! Certainly the easiest to carry around.

 

I prefer to see a baton than someone waving his arms around.

 

I am a huge HVK and Claudio Abbado "fan" (RIP both) I have heard James Levine and Sir Andrew Davis mostly due to Opera subscriptions. Both rejuvenated their orchestras into World-class ensembles. I just wish tape recorders had been around in Wagner's day....sigh. Bayreuth Festspeil Orchestra is my favorite as it means I am in Bayreuth!!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Hi Norris, :)

I am LOVING your review! We sail the Silhouette the end of the month. I really hope we arrive to San Juan 2 hours early also! We love Old San Juan. Thank you for taking the time to do this AWESOME review! I am looking forward to the rest of it. :D

 

Thanks for your enthusiasm Kathy!

 

Today we are going Segway riding to El Morro fortress-you can come along!!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Your review is certainly giving us cause for considering it. Thanks for all of the great info and photos, btw.

 

More to come.

 

I haven't shown you much of the ship yet but I have the photos of just about everywhere.

 

By the end of this I predict you will hit the X website to look for a cruise on an S Class ship. But I've been wrong before...we'll see!

 

Norris