Currently on Sillhoette until September 9 2024…have questions? Just ask

[Ellis1138]

This might sound an odd question, but if you know anyone in a regular veranda/balcony cabin, can you ask what the sofa material is? From current videos, it almost seems like a smooth vinyl/naugahyde kind of thing and not like a cloth or fuzzy fabric. TIA

[Stem to Stern]

I had to go look at a photo to remember.

Our seat cushion was vinyl on Silhouette back in April.  Not sure about the backrest cushions.

 

 

28 minutes ago, Ellis1138 said:

 

Edited September 2, 2024 by Stem to Stern

[maggieq]

Any silent disco in the sky lounge or around the Martini bar?

[Ellis1138]

42 minutes ago, Stem to Stern said:

I had to go look at a photo to remember.

Our seat cushion was vinyl on Silhouette back in April.  Not sure about the backrest cushions.

 

 

 

Thanks. The vinyl makes it easier to clean. I can bring allergy covers for the backrests, I think. (Severe allergies to dust and fragrances, so fuzzy or fabric upholstery is a challenge when I stay somewhere.)

[cruisestitch]

16 minutes ago, maggieq said:

Any silent disco in the sky lounge or around the Martini bar?

Yes, there has been a couple silent discos on each itinerary

[39august]

Where were t hey held?

[cruisestitch]

Grand Foyer

[whitbob]

7 hours ago, Ellis1138 said:

This might sound an odd question, but if you know anyone in a regular veranda/balcony cabin, can you ask what the sofa material is? From current videos, it almost seems like a smooth vinyl/naugahyde kind of thing and not like a cloth or fuzzy fabric. TIA

The back cushions are a white vinyl.  There are two blue cloth pillows on the sofa/bench and one larger cloth pillow with an X on it that they put on the bed daily.  
 

Oddly, the brown circle throw pillows that used to be on the bench have been recycled to other places on the ship.  I see them on the two large benches in Blu.  

[Ellis1138]

4 minutes ago, whitbob said:

The back cushions are a white vinyl.  There are two blue cloth pillows on the sofa/bench and one larger cloth pillow with an X on it that they put on the bed daily.  
 

Oddly, the brown circle throw pillows that used to be on the bench have been recycled to other places on the ship.  I see them on the two large benches in Blu.  

 

Thank you so much. While I have enough allergy pillow covers for normal and square pillows, it's nice to know the large rectangle sofa backing ones don't need to be covered.

[Beamafar]

I wonder if they’ll have USB ports installed in cabins during dry dock.  It seems that Princess managed to do this on their older ships by inserting them in the bed lamps.
 

OP - hope you’re thoroughly enjoying your cruise. 

[dreamer321]

4 hours ago, Beamafar said:

I wonder if they’ll have USB ports installed in cabins during dry dock.  It seems that Princess managed to do this on their older ships by inserting them in the bed lamps.
 

OP - hope you’re thoroughly enjoying your cruise. 

I'll defer to @cruisestitch for the final answer but it's my understanding that Silhouette has been revolutionized and that additional USB-A sockets were added at that time.

Edited September 3, 2024 by dreamer321

[OysterD]

4 minutes ago, dreamer321 said:

I'll defer to @cruisestitch for the final answer but it's my understanding that Silhouette has been revolutionized and that additional USB-A sockets were added at that time.

Actually yes please, that would be great to know...I'm on Silhouette in 2 weeks and would be very handy if the bed side lamps had USB sockets in them.

[cruisestitch]

59 minutes ago, dreamer321 said:

I'll defer to @cruisestitch for the final answer but it's my understanding that Silhouette has been revolutionized and that additional USB-A sockets were added at that time.

As I understand it, some phones have a USB socket in them. Mine does not. I have also been told that during the two week dry dock some more USB ports may be added to some rooms, but it is likely that not all of the rooms will get them.

[cruisestitch]

56 minutes ago, OysterD said:

Actually yes please, that would be great to know...I'm on Silhouette in 2 weeks and would be very handy if the bed side lamps had USB sockets in them.

My room does not have a bedside lamp on a nightstand, just wall-mounted light fixtures.  I will ask around to see how other rooms are equipped.

Edited September 3, 2024 by cruisestitch

[catspaw1]

two weeks is a really short dry dock unless they have a million people working 24/7 to get everything finished. Anyone know exactly what's being done? We are on the TA after the dry dock so hope it gets relaunched in time.

[cruisestitch]

 All I have been told so far is replacement of tiles on decks four and five, and replacement of cloudy windows in sky lounge, gym, and Tuscan.  Additionally, there may be some USB port added in some rooms, but probably not all of them

[Cruiscs]

2 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

 All I have been told so far is replacement of tiles on decks four and five, and replacement of cloudy windows in sky lounge, gym, and Tuscan.  Additionally, there may be some USB port added in some rooms, but probably not all of them

Are the broken tiles noticeable?

[cruisestitch]

Not visible but every once in a while when I cross one I hear a tapping sound.  None appear to be cracked, though

[cruisestitch]

The subject of refunded port charges is a complicated one.

 

since I have a few minutes I will explain what I know

 

port Charges go up and down all the time. The port taxes and fees on your booking represent the cruise line’s best guess of what will actually be charged the day the ship visits that port of call.  
 

Now, the port charges can be different for different passengers on the very same cruise who booked on the very same day:  if, for example, one is a resident of the US and another is a resident of the Netherlands, then their Aruba port taxes might be different.

 

And in another scenario, a US citizen books on Monday and pays a certain port tax while another US passenger books on Tuesday and is quoted a higher tax. The tax has gone up, but they (the cruise line) don’t go to the person who booked on Monday and ask for extra money.  Similarly if the taxes go down, they don’t create a refund to the booked fare.
 

similar scenarios will take place for every port on the itinerary— sometimes the taxes go up and sometimes sometimes they go down.

 

now say that one port of call is missed. Will there be a refund? Well, maybe the aggregate taxes for that itinerary for that passenger all went up. There will be no refund for the missed port.  But maybe the total paid for all the ports exceeds the current amounts the ports would be charging at that moment.  Then there might be a refund for the missed port.

 

Maybe people who booked in January might get a refund of their port tax, but people who booked in February won’t and maybe people who live in one country would get a refund of their port taxes, but people who live in another country would not.  It’s just incredibly complicated. It’s a pleasant little surprise when a port tax refund does come through.  I won’t be holding my breath.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 3, 2024 by cruisestitch

[d9704011]

1 hour ago, cruisestitch said:

It’s just incredibly complicated.

The way you've described it... indeed!!  The supercomputers are kept busy keeping track of the port fees.

 

Me, I think they're levied by the port based primarily on the gross tonnage of the ship and the amount of dock space it will require along with any port infrastructure charges (pretty much like your airline ticket).   The cruise line then splits this up evenly among the number of passengers it expects to have onboard the ship.  There may be some to-ing and fro-ing along the way but I don't believe it has much to do with individual passenger nationality, colour of their eyes or weight.

[dreamer321]

I missed a port call on my most recent cruise due to weather making tendering unsafe.  I got $1.13 refunded back to my  shipboard account.  I spent way more than that on additional tips to the bartenders.

[Cruiscs]

Do you have 3 days in Lisbon now?

[cruisestitch]

2 hours ago, d9704011 said:

The way you've described it... indeed!!  The supercomputers are kept busy keeping track of the port fees.

 

Me, I think they're levied by the port based primarily on the gross tonnage of the ship and the amount of dock space it will require along with any port infrastructure charges (pretty much like your airline ticket).   The cruise line then splits this up evenly among the number of passengers it expects to have onboard the ship.  There may be some to-ing and fro-ing along the way but I don't believe it has much to do with individual passenger nationality, colour of their eyes or weight.

A few years ago, we missed a port. My friends from Austria received a refund for their port tax while I did not.  At that time, it was questioning the reason that led me to learn what I know about port tax issues.

[cruisestitch]

1 hour ago, Cruiscs said:

Do you have 3 days in Lisbon now?

We arrived at 4 PM yesterday. We had that night, all day today and tonight, and we will leave in the afternoon tomorrow.

[catspaw1]

I would encourage you to uber to Belem. That's our favorite part of Lisbon. Unfortunately when our cruise ship arrives on a Monday, all the attractions are closes for the day. The pastel de nata there- served hot- is outstanding