noggy1980

we didn't get a cake but we had this on our bed on our 10th anniversary last month

Celebrity Silhouette - Med Cruise (48 of 92).jpg by Andrea & Tim Wilson, on Flickr

It does not make much sense that the Silhouette would leave Haifa at 4:00 p.m. rather than 10:00 p.m. to save fuel inasmuch as there are 2 sea days immediately following leaving Haifa. Surely adequate fuel and time could be made up on 2 sea days rather than shorting a port for six (6) hours. Aha, who knows? Besides, it seems only a handful of travel agents know about the change. Celebrity still has not notified my travel agent.

The fact there is 2 sea days compounds the lack of speed and increases how early you have to leave.

if for instance normally she can sail at 30mph but can only sail at 25mph. Then a 200mile trip takes 8 hours rather than 6hours 40. Which doesn't matter at all in most cases. If you have to travel 1400miles then the journey takes 56 rather than 46hours 40 mins and now you need to leave early. all made up numbers of course.

I don't think this is about saving fuel, I do think there is some sort of fault.

We were on the June 10th cruise that lost quite a few hours in venice to, if it hadn't been an overnight in venice I'd have been gutted but since it was it wasn't a huge deal, it meant you got to enjoy the sail in too without getting up super early.

It's clearly the ship can't go quite as fast and so it only affects journeys where going quickly is needed.

I just don't agree. Molecular has a specific menu to order from. They stock specific beverages and liquors, not a full bar. They don't even have Coke behind that bar as none of the menu drinks use it.

 

Why won't Martini Bar then make a Celebrity 20 year Martini?

 

Now if you ordered a Lucky Cat and asked to use strawberries instead of raspberries, then I'd accept your point :D My Molecular bartender did, and renamed it a Lucky Dog (they ran out of raspberries the final night).

 

They are there to sell expensive drinks and put on a show, not sell cheap drinks that are common and without a show.

That is what happens to alot of people though, the rules the molecular bar tenders are under seem to be very strict, if you want to try a cocktail without a certain ingredient or with a different one it isn't allowed. If you want something virgin or don't like x ingredient they can't change it. It seems like each drink has been carefully crafted and junior? isn't willing to allow guests to experience things differently to his intention. I'm disabled and need to drink through a straw and was even told they weren't supposed to let me have one because the drink was meant to be drunk through the foam, they did give me one with no arguments though and I've had no complaints there.

Now my experience of the molecular bar tenders is fantastic, we spent lots of time there, were treated brilliantly and they certainly didn't stick to the rules with us. we've had cocktails created for us, crafted around our favourite ingredients. But just because I've been treated brilliantly doesn't mean that it's not bad to tell a customer they can't have the drink without X because thats not how the drink is meant to be drunk.

This isn't black and white though, it's perfectly reasonable to say sorry we don't serve wine here I'm afraid you need to go to X bar to get it especially if they are busy and can't be sending someone to get it themselves. It's not so reasonable to say you can't have your dragonfly without the vodka.

 

Venice is harder as the flight maybe via an airlines hub. It took us 8hours with a four hour stop over in Frankfurt. I would ring Celebrity and check you have been allocated the best flight possible. There may be a charge. However the transfer was only 20 minutes.

wow thats ridiculous, it's a 2 hour flight from venice to uk. I'd have gone mad if they had given us that. Well it took us about 3 as we were sat on the runway waiting for a slot for quite a while but it was a very pleasant flight.

We just did it though ours was Birmingham to Rome, I'm in a wheelchair. we made sure we were fully packed so there was nothing to do the day before the trip, so we could relax, if you are busy packing just before bed its harder to sleep. We got up early the day before traveling to make sure we'd be tired early then went to bed about 8.30pm and then got up about 3.45am to travel.

It was fine though you don't get to see Rome this way.

Just spend the extra money when you get on to have a nice relaxing lunch in Bistro on 5/Porch to avoid the busy buffet and a relaxing afternoon in the sunshine at the sunset bar and then get an early night as if its the same as our itinerary the next day is Naples where there is lots to see and some of it physically demanding (Pompeii, Herculaneum)

Yeah thanks definatly worth asking, the crew are fantastic and always willing to go out of their way to help.

Thanks, unfortunately I need a proper table to eat from, not a coffee table type thing.

It's not like there is a shortage of great places to eat though so not the end of the world, just an addition I was looking forward too so a bit disappointing.

As someone in a wheelchair who needs a table for eating there is no way I'm able to eat in that venue, disappointing this was an addition I was looking forward to.:(

The weather really was stunning, we'd been on the ship 8 or 9 days before we saw the sun going behind the clouds and a day later before I even felt the ship move.

I felt the meats were more overcooked for convenience and to lower the amount of work. We are only going to cook these dishes 1 specific way and they seem to have chosen well done so that everyone is willing to eat it. This just means though the meat is ruined for everyone to cater to the few fussy people who don't like blood in their meat (not that it is blood at all)

Our waiter at the formal night advised us not to have lobster as while it's great when its fresh the frozen ones are not good and get lots of complaints. I was unclear weather he meant he didn't know if they were fresh or frozen this time, or if some were fresh and some were frozen, or if he was saying they are all frozen.

The MDR was disappointing to us this cruise and our waiter wasn't great, one couple left the table as they disliked him so much. We ended up eating in speciality restaurants alot more than we had planned. 6 times.

What class of cabin did you have? How was the food in the MDR?

I'm not the op but we just back from the same cruise and had an accessible balcony cabin, the room was great, the ship was stunning, the crew were friendly and we had a great trip.

For us the food in the MDR was a mixed bag, some dishes were delicious but some were poor, The slow cooked meats were all fantastic but some of the roasted meats were disappointing, I'll have the veal please, medium rare, sorry sir it only comes well done, err no ty. Next day I'll have the duck breast please, medium rare, sorry sir it only comes well done. shame. The rack of lamb came medium rare though and that was fabulous.

The specialty restaurants though were all spectacular. the filet steak in the lawn club grill was soo good we went back for it again, the lobster in murano was stunning and so tender, beautifully cooked and I really enjoyed the tuscan grill too. Qsine was decent but its alot more fun with a bigger group and we were just a couple.

I was the youngish guy in the wheelchair normally with a big smile on my face if you saw me around the ship.

We loved the silhouette.

At night, is there a place for drinks, music, and perhaps even some dancing?

There are multiple bars, some of them can be very quiet some are busy with loud music and dancing. The martini bar is alot of fun and there are 2 djs playing there from 10pm (i think) to 1pm with plenty of people dancing, the bartenders are fun too doing tricks.

I much prefer the drinks in the molecular bar though but in our experience this bar can be very quiet.

There is a nightclub but I have no real experience of this.

There will also be parties some evenings and they will generally start with a short 20 or 30 minute mini show with the silhouette cast who will be dressed up and dance which will end with them getting the people watching to get up and dance with them, they will hang around for a while dancing untill the party is in full swing and they will leave. Once this party quiets down those who wish to continue head to the martini bar.

It's really a stunning ship, with great service. weather you want the extra entertainment of a big RCL ship though is up to you, we've only been on 2 cruises both celebrity so can't fairly comment, we were hoping our next cruise would be with a different line but everyone we spoke too on the ship who were trying celebrity for the first time after cruiseing elsewhere said this was the best they had experienced so we booked again.

Do people actually use the lawn? Do they ever have events or music on the lawn?

We just got back from a med cruise on the silhouette, on at least 3 occasions in the evenings there was music on the lawn, there was blankets and pillows two of the occasions served wine and cheese (included in beverage package) and one served sangria. There might well have been more than 3.

The lawns are generally a quiet place though with few people using them.

The sunset bar on the back of the ship by the lawns is one of our favourite spots on the ship and the lawn club grill speciality restaurant by the lawn is another favourite spot (extra charge to eat here $40 I think) serves the most amazing filet mignon and the shrimp and scallop skewers are fantastic too.

Living in the UK we are used to, shall we say. 'cool' temps - (except for today which has been blissfully warm!). BUT we (me and my OH at least!) are not used to living in air conditioned environments and I therefore have to agree that we do find some areas on board uncomfortably cool. I was surprised at how cold the select dining area of the MDR was on the Solstice, on our first cruise, and we were not the only ones to comment on this. Several people, ourselves included asked to be moved, as the air conditioning was spoiling our enjoyment of the meal. We of course learnt after the first few nights, and dressed accordingly. I now make sure that I always take a cover-up with me wherever we go in the evenings. The point being - if you are not used to living in an air conditioned environment, then you may well be surprised at how cool the surroundings are in the public areas.

We are Brits and you certainly are right and thats part of it, we are used to it being warmer inside than out for the vast majority of the year.

The other 3 couples on our table were American though and all had the same issue.

I was not on your cruise so am not in a position to judge if the temperature on your particular cruise is representative of what I've experienced on my cruises. Every cruise is different. There may be unseen problems on a particular cruise that influences elements of the experience. I've been on ships that were too hot for my comfort and some that were too cold. I know on one Connie cruise there were major problems with air conditioning system in my cabin location. They spent almost 3 days trying to get it to work properly. On one Century cruise the air system broke down completely. Evening programming was moved outdoors.We were offered a OBC based on cabin category. The problem I have is when someone reports a problem that was cruise specific and then generalizes it to be a fleet wide problem. Sometimes it might be, usually not. I appreciate your observation, just wished you said: "On my cruise I found the ship too cold for me". That would be a factual statement.

The thread title was meant to have a question mark, I appear to have mistyped sorry about that. I did say on my first post that I might be wrong and my opinion didn't represent the majority and I acknowledged that temperatures are subjective.

So for a factual statement, on my cruise my wife, the ladies at my table and many people I spoke to found the temperature too cold for being completely comfortable wearing dresses in many areas on the ship. Didn't stop them doing it of course just they would have been happier with a couple more degrees.

I would expect to be very comfortable at 68f in trousers and shirt and not feel a bit cool so I suspect it was significantly below that in certain areas but of course I don't know for certain.

HA HA!!

 

I've always said you can always put more on.....there's only so much you can take off...

 

Would much rather have it too cold, than too hot.....a little shivering is much preferred to profuse sweating.....

 

but it is a very subjective thing and sorry that the OP found it uncomfortable!

I was a little cool but it wasn't me I was thinking about, I'm a guy, I wore a shirt and trousers every evening and a tux for the formal nights. It was the ladies that were too cold, it was every lady at our table and I heard many people saying how cold it was in the theatre too and talking outside the lifts. Even one of the entertainers commented about how cold the ensemble lounge was. I wasn't exaggerating when I said I heard dozens of people comment on it.

I agree with you that it's better to be too cool than too hot especially as its hot outside during the day I just feel they go to far.

It certainly is true that you can just put more clothes on but thats a shame, dressing up all pretty is a big part of the formal nights and so its a bit of a bummer if you have to chose between being uncomfortable and looking your best.

Like I say though we had a fantastic trip, I just filled in the e-mail survey and gave them a 9 out of 10. This was just the most significant downside of the experience and so wanted to discuss it.

If they were doing it to cut back on costs, I would think that all the rooms would be to warm not to cold.

yeah thats what I was saying, perhaps I didn't explain what I meant, I wasn't saying it was cold because they were cutting costs, I was saying I wondered if it was cold for health reasons since they have cut costs in other areas and yet havn't tried to do so here and here seems to be an easy place to cut costs.

I agree that areas should be cool for dancing and the areas where significant dancing is expected the current temperatures are appropriate. The strange thing is though the areas that are most used for dancing are not the very cold ones, the martini bar and the grand foyer are both significantly warmer than the ensemble lounge (I didn't go in quasar so can't comment on that).

I fully agree that temperatures are subjective and I'm not suggesting they make the ship warm, just that they don't make it cold. I know that ladies can wear a pretty wrap or scarf if they get chilly but if the vast majority of them feel they need to do so isn't the temperature too cold? I realise of course that the times the ladies are wearing the least the men are wearing the most which is a little difficult, I was fine if a little cool in my tux but none of the ladies were warm enough.

while you can of course go and get a jumper it is a shame you need to do so.

I did wonder if the temperatures had anything to do with keeping sickness low as with celebrity cutting back in a few areas this is an area where they could easily cut back on a cost while making just as many people happier (or more imo) than they make unhappier.

While this is a negative thread I thought I'd just say at the outset that we just got back from a wonderful cruise with celebrity and we are very happy with them and booked onboard for another trip.

While our cruise was fantastic there was one major negative and that was the ship inside was much too cold, some areas were only slightly cooler than I'd chose, some were significantly cooler and a few areas were outright very cold (the Ensemble lounge being the most guilty)

I heard one person comment on how nice and cool it was yet I heard dozens (not exaggerating) comment on it being cold or freezing. It's not so bad as a man but it's such a shame when the ladies dress up in their pretty dresses for formal night and then 10 minutes into dinner all 4 ladies at the table have put on cardigans.

There was a party on deck with lots of people sat around outside wrapped in multiple towels, yet you come inside and it was significantly cooler.

It seems to me that celebrity could save money, be better for the environment and produce a nicer area for the majority of guests by slightly turning down the air conditioning. Obviously what temperature you prefer is subjective but at least from what I heard I think a couple of degrees in the cooler areas would be almost universally welcomed.

but maybe I'm wrong and I don't' speak for the majority so I'd love to hear your thoughts.

We loved our first cruise (on the Eclipse) in an inside room, it was an accessible one though so a little bigger but we had a hoist and things for me (in a wheelchair) so I bet it was more cramped than a normal cabin. Half way through the cruise we booked another one (which is in 7 days Woowhoo!)

We went for a balcony second time though as thats what we wanted originally but they were sold out.

I don't see any reason to worry on their behalf.

The different restaurants thing is a shame but perhaps you can go to Murano and Normandie together.

Absolutely if it makes you feel better , or even just more relaxed then great. Who cares what the reason is. It's amazing how the mind works and placebos are fascinating, 2 sugar pills work better than 1 sugar pill but a saline injection is even better even though they all do nothing and placebos can even work when you know they are placebo (though not as well)

That product she was inquiring about is $225 and lasts only a week, can irritate the skin and will give you a tingling sensation while you use it, so if it is just a placebo I don't feel so generous as I do towards sea bands.

I am getting a Reletex band for my husband, who can't take anything with an antihistamine which all motion sickness meds have. I've been told Reletex really works. Does anybody have experience with it?

Just from reading their website you can see it's almost certainly not going to work (any better than placebo and admittedly this is probably quite a strong placebo).

There is no medical evidence on their website, no studies, they don't even know how it's meant to work.

The closest they get to saying it works is " has been demonstrated to alleviate nausea when used as an adjunct to anti-emetics."

So we've demonstrated people feel less sick wearing our watch AND! using anti sickness drugs. oh I wonder which one of the 2 is doing the job?

It looks to me like "adjunct to anti-emetics" that line is written to not be obvious what it means to the layman.

While seasickness is of course a real thing imo alot of people who don't actually experience it give it to themselves with worry. Nerves, stress and worrying often brings about nausea. It's easy to think especially on your first cruise, what if I get sick? I could spoil the entire trip for myself and my loved ones, this makes you worry, the worrying makes you feel a little sick, now you are starting to feel sick so your worrying is coming true, which makes you worry which makes you more sick. To me I think this is why some people are ill for a few hours really early on and then get their sea legs.

If you can't take proper anti sickness medication there is nothing wrong with buying something that is probably only placebo, but don't spend too much doing it because while they "work" they are probably all worse than taking a couple of sugar pills that you think are anti sickness drugs. if there is no proper study that shows something works then for the most part it's because it doesn't work.