Celebrity Silhouette, Norwegian Fjords Sept. 1 2019

Bimmer09 · September 19, 2019

Up at the Sunset Bar we take our seats for the wait to get into our rooms. It is 12.30 and we were dropped off at noon. A bar waiter comes by as we gaze out over the lawn. A ginger beer and a Stella please. He offers a beverage package but at $83 a day I don't see the value.

Until he brings me the bill and the Stella is $12.00! I ask him "what airport is this?" and then explain that in the real world where I live a six pack of Stella at retail is $9 making each bottle $1.50 in value. The 700% upcharge/margin (at retail, not wholesale) is a wee bit stiff. A Stella on Princess is $7 and change. Doing some quick math in my head and figuring-in espressos, cappuccinos and Sambucas plus glasses of wine at dinner I accepted the Premium package expense. Azamara included alcoholic drinks and I upgraded there for $22 a day which covered everything I needed. So I'll be factoring drinks prices into the price comparison when looking to book a future cruise and considering both lines. Celebrity take note.

Carol had a soft drinks package for $11 a day but would have to pay for her breakfast espressos

and we would laugh at the $6 for a double espresso (not a great one either) and $10.50 for a double cappuccino. I pay I think $4.60 at Starbucks for a QUAD espresso (not a great one either)

Luckily the ship is a corker and we are going to Norway so I refrained from tossing the wicker chairs over the side.

At 1.15 p.m it was announced by the Cruise Director that the rooms were ready....

I took a zoom shot of a P & O ship berthed way behind us before I left deck 15

We delayed our departure, figuring the elevators would be jammed (a safe bet)

Bimmer09 · September 19, 2019

14 minutes ago, Gordoncruickshank said:

Norris, is that you just reaching the ship after 7 pages!!

Indeed. I have been rushing along! LOL!

I won't be in any hurry on the ship, nor in Norway.

I am a man who likes to stop to smell the roses, sip the Guinness, stare at the waterfall etc

I rush during my work life, drive past the roses, chug down the coffee, stare at the alarm clock and in these reviews leave all that behind.

Thanks for reading along Gordon!

Norris

Onelung · September 19, 2019

But did you have tangerine skies?

reallyhooked · September 19, 2019

Pictures of London are awesome. Happy I got to see them.

Bimmer09 · September 19, 2019

It's a long schlep on a ship with no aft elevators to get to our cabin but we don't have any interest in not being fully aft-where the builders ran out of ship basically. We share a little quiet lobby at our door with the suite formerly known as Ours, 7358.

Please, do come in!

There is a tea kettle and all that goes with it on the desktop-a nod to the mostly British passengers but Carol will have that removed so we can use the desk for my computer.

(British readers are gasping!)

The screen that separates ours from 7362 has swung open but we get maintenance to fix the lock, which they do promptly. I closed it for the photo.

Ahhhhh....the view!

Bimmer09 · September 19, 2019

Carol rubs down all the likely-to-touch surfaces with Clorox wipes as is her custom in ships and hotels. We adjourn to the buffet for a spot of lunch as, unlike on Princess, the MDR isn't open to all.

Carol is not a buffet person or at least wasn't until she tried the Oceanview where she made up a Thai plate. I had been looking forward to the Indian station and scored a meat curry with poppadoms and rice but also hit the carvery for a big wedge of roast beef.

We took our food out to the open deck to enjoy in the sun. The meat in my Indian dish suffered from not being cooked long and slow to break down the fibers so it was a tough chew and a big disappointment. The roast beef was the same thing, a long chew and bone-dry from the heat lamps. Not off to a good start but I had something in my stomach until dinner. Carol was happy with her meal.

Our Muster Drill was station D3 which means Tuscan Grill and no lifejackets were needed to be brought down stairs. Luckily we were only 2 floors above.

At 4 p.m we let go of the mooring lines-we actually had nothing to do with it but were in agreement on principle. Let's get to Norway!

Without a webcam and well-wishers on the dock there was no point in waving as we do in Ft. Lauderdale. We slipped quietly away.

Clipper Chick · September 19, 2019

I am really enjoying your posts. I grew up in Surrey mostly around Purley but moved to Cornwall in 1986. You made me want to go back for a visit especially the Churchill War Rooms.

I will be on Silhouette for the 24 October transatlantic may have to be vegetarian in the buffet by the sound of it. Mostly sailed P&O where the drinks prices are reasonable their £40 per day pp drinks package would be well over my daily bill. Cocktails are around £6 no gratuities on top. Have the Classic Drinks Package included.

Which P&O ship did you photograph?

I am also reading your Cuba tale as I visited in 2017 doing a cruise on Star Flyer.

Looking forward to the next instalment.

Mandy

Bimmer09 · September 20, 2019

3 hours ago, Clipper Chick said:

I am really enjoying your posts. I grew up in Surrey mostly around Purley but moved to Cornwall in 1986. You made me want to go back for a visit especially the Churchill War Rooms.

I will be on Silhouette for the 24 October transatlantic may have to be vegetarian in the buffet by the sound of it. Mostly sailed P&O where the drinks prices are reasonable their £40 per day pp drinks package would be well over my daily bill. Cocktails are around £6 no gratuities on top. Have the Classic Drinks Package included.

Which P&O ship did you photograph?

I am also reading your Cuba tale as I visited in 2017 doing a cruise on Star Flyer.

Looking forward to the next instalment.

Mandy

Hi, Mandy the P & O ship was Aurora, setting off for 30 nights to the USA and Canada.

That first day buffet meal was the only one that was very poor. I could have pushed the plate aside or switched it with someone else's while they weren't looking-"hey look at that whale doing the backstroke over there" but it was the only Indian meat entree and the only carvery beef on offer. Disappointing though as I love the Indian station on X.

The drinks pricing is simply gouging a captive audience. The price of a beer on Princess, which I will be cruising in January is comparable to a restaurant beer in Chicago so I am ok with that.

Thanks for reading the Cuba review. It was a highlight cruise for us as we loved Cuba and loved Azamara.

Norris

Bimmer09 · September 20, 2019

SAILAWAY

We are always on our balcony for sailaway even if there is a CruiseCritic Roll Call group to join at the Sunset Bar. We have an uninterrupted view

We have cleared the pier and are saying cheerio to Southampton

A Roll On Roll Off transporter

Cruise ship stalkers

another RoRo

A castle in the woods

A fast ferry

Bimmer09 · September 20, 2019

We like long sailaways where there is something to see as opposed to Ft Lauderdale sailing where it is over in 10 minutes and there is nothing but sea ahead. Venice of course is a stunner.

Industrial ports we love

A haven for seafarers

perfect match · September 20, 2019

I’m loving the journey, Norris. I think that I need to time my reading a bit better, though. By the time I see your song references, someone else has already claimed the prize! I guess that’s the price I pay for being such a night owl 🦉.

I love your aft balcony room. I think DH and I would be very happy there. 😍

CruiserRob · September 20, 2019

20 hours ago, Bimmer09 said:

We like long sailaways where there is something to see

Norris, recommend the sailaway through the Stockholm archipelago. Long and very scenic.

Robert

Edited September 20, 2019 by CruiserRob

MisterMet · September 21, 2019

On 9/10/2019 at 7:01 AM, Bimmer09 said:

It's about time for another Gentleman's Seafaring Journal and luckily I have something to report - a Cruise to the Norwegian Fjords on my favorite ship. Here's the itinerary (well almost as gremlins have been at work since we (Norris and Carol- not the Royal "we") arrived home from London yesterday afternoon.

There was a sea day to get back to Southampton and then a day spent in London before flying home to Chicago Monday September 9th- yesterday if my math is correct. Photos from those days will be seen once I can free up space on my laptop.

So that's where we will be going as this unwinds day after day....

Norris

Norris

I’m terribly late to this shin dig, but better late than never. I totally forgot you were headed across the pond for this adventure. I’m ready to be thoroughly entertained and as always, looking forward to this fine journal of yours.

Just got back from my first solo cruise. Treated myself to four days on the Navigator of the Seas. Had fun, but guessing nothing like jaunt you and Carol experienced.

Hope all is well,

Trip

Walt fan · September 21, 2019

I have never seen the Southampton port in so much detail. Such a busy and beautiful port. I like the look of the castle tucked away. It would make for a nice summer home haha.

Thank you for all of your details like the cost of a Stella. That is highway robbery for one beer.

Bimmer09 · September 21, 2019

14 hours ago, CruiserRob said:

Norris, recommend the sailaway through the Stockholm archipelago. Long and very scenic.

Robert

Robert, yes I've heard that but know that some bigger ships stop way out from the city. No doubt Azamara goes all the way. The Baltic cruises are very city intense but we chose Norway this time for the Fjords and the small cities/towns. I have a friend and a niece (Treacle Scone Julie)

who did the Baltic cities this year on different lines ( Regent and X) and both enjoyed immensely.

Did you take pics you could share and which ship did you sail?

Thanks for the comment!

Norris

CruiserRob · September 21, 2019

28 minutes ago, Bimmer09 said:

Robert, yes I've heard that but know that some bigger ships stop way out from the city. No doubt Azamara goes all the way. The Baltic cruises are very city intense but we chose Norway this time for the Fjords and the small cities/towns. I have a friend and a niece (Treacle Scone Julie)

who did the Baltic cities this year on different lines ( Regent and X) and both enjoyed immensely.

Did you take pics you could share and which ship did you sail?

Thanks for the comment!

Norris

Norris, I was on the Celebrity Constellation about 10 or 11 years ago - so long ago that I was shooting film!, so not many pictures. We are in the process of slowly moving and all of my prints are in the other house. Our cruise started in Stockholm and the first thing I had to do when I got there was find a store that sold the last Harry Potter book for my daughter as it was published that day. She had been used to going to the midnight releases in the book store for the previous volumes as she had grown up with the books - strange how things like that stick in you mind.

Robert

scubacruiserx2 · September 21, 2019

1 hour ago, Bimmer09 said:

Robert, yes I've heard that but know that some bigger ships stop way out from the city. No doubt Azamara goes all the way. The Baltic cruises are very city intense but we chose Norway this time for the Fjords and the small cities/towns. I have a friend and a niece (Treacle Scone Julie)

who did the Baltic cities this year on different lines ( Regent and X) and both enjoyed immensely.

Did you take pics you could share and which ship did you sail?

Thanks for the comment!

Norris

Would you like to see some of our Pics from the Stockholm sail out in June ?

Bimmer09 · September 21, 2019

19 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

Would you like to see some of our Pics from the Stockholm sail out in June ?

Sure Joe!

Bimmer09 · September 21, 2019

Woe is me

First the good news is that my Flickr woes which didn't allow me to upload iPhone photos (widget was caught in the flange capacitor or something) have been fixed thanks to the good customer service at Flickr.

Right about now you should be watching a sail away video from Southampton. I clicked "Upload to Youtube" yesterday at noon and it showed 6 minutes for the task. Excellent. Then it stalled halfway. As I was going to work I left it to do its thing. I came home at 11.30 to find no progress. Carol said she had heard that Youtube were having issues and today I Googled to find large parts of the globe had the same issue so I will have to press on until Youtube sorts itself out or brings me a note from its Mother.

The Editor

scubacruiserx2 · September 21, 2019

43 minutes ago, Bimmer09 said:

Woe is me

First the good news is that my Flickr woes which didn't allow me to upload iPhone photos (widget was caught in the flange capacitor or something) have been fixed thanks to the good customer service at Flickr.

Right about now you should be watching a sail away video from Southampton. I clicked "Upload to Youtube" yesterday at noon and it showed 6 minutes for the task. Excellent. Then it stalled halfway. As I was going to work I left it to do its thing. I came home at 11.30 to find no progress. Carol said she had heard that Youtube were having issues and today I Googled to find large parts of the globe had the same issue so I will have to press on until Youtube sorts itself out or brings me a note from its Mother.

The Editor

Sorry about that Chief . I wonder if Flickr and Photobucket are related ?

Bimmer09 · September 21, 2019

The Saga Continues

We were fast running out of the "Sights of Southampton" waters

That round fort is Calshot Castle built by Henry VIII when there was no Home Depot!

Anyone know which city this is?

Once in open water the ship sped out to sea to get the shops and the casino open for business

and so with nothing to gaze at we did what comes naturally-a nice two hour nap with the sound of the wake being our white noise.

We were in no rush as our dinner was booked on line on the thing Celebrity jokingly call a website. They were offering a discount on our favorite restaurant-Lawn Club Grill. $30 instead of $45 each if booked on shore. However they only offered a 10 pm seating which is the last possible. Yikes, must be busy! We eat late in Chicago anyway so not a big issue.

When we awoke we went up to the Sunset bar hoping it lived up to its name.

The ship's funnel lets me know that this is a smoking section...

We are wearing jackets as it is cooler and windier

Crescent moon

We passed the White Cliffs of Dover but far out to sea (likely 12 miles) that this was the best shot I could get hand-held.

Not round and sunken like the Reflection

Cheery bartender Alex

Next a 9 p.m show then a much anticipated dinner

Edited September 21, 2019 by Bimmer09
spelling

scubacruiserx2 · September 21, 2019

1 hour ago, Bimmer09 said:

Sure Joe!

The sail in to Stockholm takes several hours through the Swedish Archipelago and you get pretty close to some of the islands and houses

It was still very early but the bow was open

Tigrou · September 21, 2019

39 minutes ago, Bimmer09 said:

Anyone know which city this is?

It is Gosport and Portsmouth, they are west and east respectively of the channel which goes from the Solent into Portsmouth Harbour. The tall structure is the Spinnaker Tower which is in Portsmouth. Both are naval towns.