LIVE from Silhouette 1/14/18 12 night Ultimate Caribbean

[WonderMan3]

So after we came back from The Boatyard we relaxed in our cabin. After showering I ran down to the Gelateria to grab a couple gelato sandwiches which were quite tasty. Mike had nodded off on the balcony so I took a nap in the bedroom. I had gotten a bit pink at the beach and was feeling tired and a bit chilled. I still wanted to nap a bit after Mike woke up and showered so he went down to the casino. We decided to skip eating at Luminae as we were both tired from the sun and wanted to wear shorts so we headed up to Oceanview. We met up with Cindy and John there. John was very excited as The Patriots won their playoff game. He had been watching it at Celebrity Central. After we ate we headed down to the casino for some play. Not much luck there tonight but I did win one of those Swarovski raffles. I’ll give the prize to Cindy when I see her tomorrow.

 

 

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[Mark.Jules]

Adam,

Thank you so much for taking time from your vacation to serve us with your posts. I am enjoying your review and the photos.

Mark

[WonderMan3]

Slept in a bit this morning and had breakfast sent to the cabin.

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

Here is today’s Daily

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

And port shopping info

 

 

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[mystone99]

Hi Adam.

 

Thanks for the review of the ship and your cruise. DF and I will be getting on the Silhouette when you guys are getting off and your review as heightened our anticipation of the cruise.

Keep up the good woork

[ArubaGal]

Enjoying your posts. We too board on Friday.

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

For our day in St. Lucia we chose a ship excursion called Exotic Garden and Beach Tour. This went to the north part of the island where we had never been before as the past several years we had done tours near the Pitons in the south. There were a good number of people booked on this tour so there were 3 buses total. The tour guide for our bus was nice but a bit scatterbrained; we couldn’t hear her clearly through the microphone on the bus as it was full of static, but she didn’t seem to hear it, and towards the end of the tour she wanted us to fill out surveys but didn’t provide any pens or pencils. The bus itself had very small seats so it was cramped and the A/C was poor. The first part of the tour after a 30 minute ride, was visiting a beautiful estate up on a hill with a gorgeous view of St. Lucia. There were lovely gardens to stroll through and they offered some refreshments and snacks featuring local food and drink. We were given a short introduction and then basically given free time to wander the gardens and the house for about 30 minutes. Then it was on to the beach which was another 20-30 minute ride. The beach we visited was at Pigeon Island. It photographs well and is essentially a sandy beach (and not black sand like many of St. Lucia’s beaches) but it was a bit disappointing. First, while there were chairs available all the umbrellas were taken by the time we arrived as the beach was full of other tourists from other excursions. The local vendor set up umbrellas but then there was controversy over whether umbrellas were included or not. A woman in our group had a paper from Celebrity which she claimed said in writing that we would get a chair and umbrella as part of the tour, but the tour operator and the beach vendor said we had to pay for it, $10. We didn’t want to argue and just paid but the other woman went on and on with them and didn’t back down. The beach area was not that clean. There was some broken glass on the shore and lots of bottle caps. The area just behind the beach where there were some retail shacks had even more broken glass and lots of horse poop. And there were a number of creepy vendors walking around, some of them screaming at the top of their lungs to get your attention. Another vendor floated up to the beach in his own boat blasting loud music and selling coconuts full of liquor. With all of that and the beach chairs on top of each other it just made for an unpleasant setting. The water was nice. There is sharp drop off just after you enter the water and a number of rocks there so we wore water shoes. Once you get past that it was a hard packed sandy bottom. We only had 90 minutes at the beach which was fine as we weren’t thrilled with it in the first place. Then it was a 30 minute ride back to the ship. It was supposed to be a 4 hour tour but we were back by at least 3hrs 45min of elapsed time. Overall I wouldn’t really recommend this tour as it wasn’t worth the price. There are much more interesting things to do on St. Lucia.

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

After returning to the port we did a little shopping at the stores near the ship. The shops at Pointe Seraphine are some of my favorite of the islands. They have some great t-shirt selections; I picked up about 10 of them! Afterward we got back on the ship and grabbed a quick bite at the Mast Grill since our tour ran from 11 to 3 with no lunch included. Then we went back to the room to shower and get ready for our special invite to a helipad sailaway. We were invited either because we are Elite Plus or are in a Royal Suite and Cindy and John got invited by their wedding coordinator. A few of the ship’s officers were there along with Niko, the concierge, and Erick, the Suites Manager and they offered some rum punch and had a photographer available for photos. It was a nice way to end our day in St. Lucia.

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

For dinner tonight we went back to Luminae. Unfortunately we were not able to sit in the section with our normal waiter Rozi as they were very busy and didn’t want to overload his section. On this cruise Luminae has been packed from 6pm to 7pm and then gets quieter until by 8pm the place is half empty. This is the opposite of other cruises we’ve done where they peak from 7-8pm. Photos show the Kataifi Shrimp, Melon Soup, Baby Spinach Salad, Fettucine (I had them add chicken to it), Braised Lamb Shank, Chicken Vadouvan, Passion Fruit Soufflé and Milk Chocolate Brownie.

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

 

 

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[tartan cruiser]

Have enjoyed reading your experiences as we will be on the ship Friday 1/26. We also have the Exotic Garden tour booked through the ship. Was looking forward to it but now not so sure. It does say a complimentary umbrella is provided along with a chair. Might have to get some clarification from the shore excursion desk. Thanks for the heads up.

[helen haywood]

So, in regards to the letter about the noro onboard, have you noticed any differences on the ship? Or was that just a reminder to be vigilant?

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

So, in regards to the letter about the noro onboard, have you noticed any differences on the ship? Or was that just a reminder to be vigilant?

 

 

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I made some comments about this in response to the same question further up the thread.

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

Made it to Luminae for breakfast this morning. Enjoyed some Eggs Benedict, scrambled eggs and pancakes and some nice pastries. Menu is the same each day for breakfast. You can see it earlier up the thread.

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

We are in St. Kitts! Starting the day off with a rainbow is always a good sign.

 

 

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[njaloha]

We are in St. Kitts! Starting the day off with a rainbow is always a good sign.

 

 

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St Kitts too??!!![emoji2] such an awesome itinerary

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

Here is today’s Daily

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

And port shopping info

 

 

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[Keith1010]

Enjoying this thread.

 

Keith

[Perky1]

Do you edit your photos, they are really nice. If you use an app, what one do you use?

[WonderMan3]

Catching up with yesterday’s activities as my phone battery ran low yesterday afternoon. We left the ship around 9:30 and grabbed a taxi at the port. Note, the taxi and your drivers will inundate you as you walk past the security gates. Go right past them and say “no thanks” and head towards the official taxi dispatch at the back of the shopping area. If you don’t you will likely get overcharged. We took a taxi to the Marriott Resort ($12 total for 4 of us) where I had pre-reserved a day pass through Resort For A Day. It is recommended that you pre-reserve as they often limit the number of day passes they offer and if you just show up they might be sold out. It cost $59pp which gave you full access to the resort including the beach and three pools and use of any beach huts and chairs and any pool chairs. You have to bring your own towels though. Food and drink are extra but they give you a 10% discount with your day pass. WiFi is also included. The beach is massive but the water is tougher than most Caribbean beaches you might visit due to the wind creating high surf; they face the Atlantic Ocean side. They have created several breakwaters that stop the huge waves so you can swim there but it’s still very choppy so I would not recommend for young children. It’s a sandy bottom in the water so no water shoes needed. It was kind of cool to be swimming and seeing these gigantic waves approaching you only to have them smash against the breakwater and come at you with minimal volume. The beach is vast with huts spread out all over. As long as you get there at a reasonable time you probably won’t have trouble getting one. Most people seemed to be hanging by the pool on this day. It was harder to find chairs there (we wanted four together) that faced away from the sun. They do not have umbrellas due to the wind so all the chairs have those movable shades on top. We only visited the largest of the three pools which was refreshing as the sun was hot. They will provide food and drink service right to your pool chair but not out to the beach. Service was friendly and the food was good; I had some excellent fish and chips, Mike had the conch fritters. You can also go and sit down and eat at several outdoor cafes and there is a swim up bar at the pool. There is a casino on-site too which Mike and I checked out but the slots were the tightest I’ve ever encountered so I would not recommend. Overall we had a great day and we felt it was worth the price. We left at 3:30 to make our 4:30 all aboard, and a taxi was easily found at the hotel entrance. I would definitely recommend this as an option for a day in St. Kitts.

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

 

 

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[WonderMan3]

Continuing with yesterday’s adventures. After returning to the port we did a little shopping and then headed back to the ship to relax before dinner. It was a beautiful sailaway. St. Kitts is always one of the most scenic islands to sail from.

 

 

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