Stem to Stern

On 4/22/2024 at 9:14 AM, CruisinShips said:

Thank you.  We booked the Seascape.

Enjoy!  We tried MSC Yacht Club on Seascape in December 2023.

We enjoyed the YC experience as well as the Gen Pop areas of the ship.

Although we did find the YC Restaurant food, service, and atmosphere subpar in comparison to Luminae. 

Others don't care for Luminae's culinary offerings, but we love them. 

So, if you can go with flow as far as meeting your expectations, I think you will like it. 

The YC pool deck and lounge are spacious, warm, inviting, and comfortably furnished. 

There was plenty of crew in the Yacht Club to take care of your every wish. 

We hope to give the Yacht Club another try again at some point in time.

I did a live report which can be found on the Celebrity boards if you search.  It is there because it was part of a side-by-side report along with our experience in The Retreat on board Celebrity Summit.

2 hours ago, GVM said:

To my surprise, I was able to cancel the premium drinks package and get a full refund. 1 minute later, I booked the new (flash sale) premium drinks package for just 360 USD.

 

Yes, you learned how to play the game.

Well played, fellow cruiser.

Enjoy those martinis.

3 hours ago, surfnsun said:

This is what happens after two drinks at the Martini bar.  Creativity at its best.  Michelangelo eat our dust.  😁

Creativity or ninja powers?

Your art kind of reminds me of a pepperoni pizza.  LOL.

Either way I am really enjoying the ninja powers in action during your live.

Someone on our last sailing scrawled "DUMP HIM" in the frost on the bar.

1 hour ago, retired dude said:

was praying for shower curtains to go overboard with DT

Who or what is DT ?!? 🙂

Ha ha.  But the “finish your booking” email reminder department is still functioning.

(Why I tend not to cruise shop while logged in.)

5 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Hmm...logging in with the new password is big!  Especially when you probably knew your old password by heart and also knew you hadn't changed it!  

 

Regarding no rooms available, my TA told me that when that happens, they've gone into their system and are usually about to change rates.  The glass half full gal in me wants to think those new rates will be better...

I was shocked that I actually remembered to put in my new password on the first try.

Thank you, morning coffee.

Yes, I am with you in hoping for a better rate on the suite I have on hold.  It was just above my comfort threshold, but about as affordable as it is going to get among current Retreat price offerings.  I know it has been stated here previously, but I forget which day of the week is supposedly the best priced one to make a booking on?

Apparently Celebrity doesn’t want to sell any cruises today.

I tried 3 random sailings on 3 different browsers on two different devices.

Or is it just me?

However, I was able to log in with my new password.

IT baby steps.🙄🤣

And since when are staterooms and suites on cruise ships referred to as “rooms” anyway?😂🤣😂
I checked another discount cruise vacation website and was unable to pull up availability on a Celebrity sailing there either.

• Ship:  Silhouette
• Length of Cruise:  4 nights
• Cruise Sail Date:  April 4, 2024
• Date email offer received:  January 23, 2024
• Captain’s Club Tier:   Elite
• Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA:  TA
• Current Cabin:  8252 (Deluxe Verandah DV)
• Bid?  Yes/No:  Yes

If YES -  Bidding Details:

• Cabin Category:
• Bid Offer:  Royal Suite $1020 pp, Celebrity Suite $670 pp, Aquaclass Sky Suite $820 pp, Sunset Sky Suite $770 pp, Horizon Suite - no bid (minimum bid was $1500 pp), Sky Suite $580 pp
• Notification Date:  April 2, 2024
• Accepted / Rejected:  REJECTED

General Comments (offer details, etc.)  

The original MoveUp email listed the cabin categories and bidding ranges in the following order:

Royal Suite $1000-5000

Celebrity Suite $550-2755

Aquaclass Sky Suite $800-4000

Sunset Sky Suite $750-3750

Horizon Suite $1500-7500

Sky Suite $300-1500

I have a feeling the ship sailed full.  Lots of VIPs on board since it was a partial charter (Tampa Bay Buccaneers Fan Cruise) and a Celebrity Cruises corporate presence including Laura Hodges Bethge.  Not sure if these factors contributed to a lack of availability in The Retreat.  

Or maybe weak bids are not given consideration.

Love your report.

Thank you so much.

Do you know by chance if Wiwid will be on board a while longer?

4 minutes ago, RK-NC said:

Last night I put my Seabands on

Interesting, but I have never heard of these until now.

They are easily available and inexpensive at Target.

It might be worth picking up a pair and tossing them in the case.

This idea also makes me think my knit headband might go in also.

It might provide similar comfort as a Thundershirt does for a cat or dog.

Although it may seem strange to pack winter weather gear for a Caribbean cruise, hubs always brings his knit cap to keep his head warm and toasty while sleeping at night.

Again, we should not have to be having this conversation.

On 3/29/2024 at 9:58 AM, finoky said:

Our original cabin wasn't an HC cabin. Just a regular inside for 2 people.

Congrats! 

Sorry, but what is an HC cabin?

I hope you enjoyed your first time on Celebrity.

Ugh. Very frustrating indeed.

I will pack extra Benadryl for BEYOND.

I should NOT have to have this concern.

I will likely cancel my 2025 XCEL booking.

Fortunately, my XCEL deposit is refundable.

All my other bookings are on Millenium-class vessels.

Woo hoo!  

Each of our totals now reflect 3 more club points for the webinar.  

Coincidentally these points were received on the same day as the club points for our recent sailing we debarked from a week ago today. 

We also both received our additional day’s worth of points for participating in Celebrity's Go Green program.  
Today we also made a deposit on the Mardi Gras 2026 cruise.  Yay!

So, when is the next Power Up Points opportunity?🤣

I don’t think I ever saw a first step on board pic.

I presume that’s what that was and I lerve it.🤣

Bourbon and Peaches all day all day!!

Glad your bf made it in on that train in time.

Following.

Any Bug or Captain sightings?!?👀

8 hours ago, depplep said:

Are the Signature cocktails available anywhere on the ship? The Fresh From Tokyo sounds like something I would try.

FFT is lovely.😊 

7 hours ago, MattInFLL said:

- I tried.  I could not find pertinent information on this question.  Thanks!

Sorry, but I do not regularly read the Bahamas board.  I popped over there and saw that you posted your question there, but had no responses.

Prior to our stop there I really dug in deep into my research by searching the key word Bimini in Topics.  I just did this and found a lot of threads you could read through.  Some of them are found elsewhere besides the Bahamas board.

I also dug in deep on Trip Advisor.  It can take a significant amount of time to research a port especially when information seems scant.  Happy reading!

Here is a pic of the ship from one of the rustic beaches.  

Also the Beacon of Hope on the rooftop of Dolphin House Museum.

And finally the dock taken from the aft of the ship.  You can see the canopy on the far left where the tram pulls up.

I hope you find this all helpful.

The water is just gorgeous there.

Have fun!🤩 

The ship will back in along side the dock.  In 2021 we caught the free tram on the dock.  Stay on the tram loop all the way around until you are headed back toward the port.  The golf carts will be in a parking lot on your left along side the marina.  See far right on map below just above the traffic circle.  Aft of ship will be on far left on map.  This would have been a long walk from the ship for us, so we appreciated the free tram.  
 

When you take off on your cart check out how it drives.  Ours steered wonky.  Head south into the non-resort/local area.  Don’t be shocked by how rough the area looks.  Go all the way to the end, stopping along the way and on the way back.  Side streets will take you to the road that run along the shoreline where the local beaches and rustic food and beverage options are located.  View the ship from here.  Visit Dolphin House Museum for some local flavor.

We were not interested in Resorts World either.  We enjoyed our local self-exploration on the golf cart.  We started early and we’re back on board for lunch.

Enjoy!
 

Lawn Club Grill

This was our first time ever experiencing this venue.  Over the years I have enjoyed reading generally favorable reviews, even raves about various menu choices.  So we were excited to give it a try.

Menu.

We started with a sausage and pepper pizza.  DH has never met a pizza he did not like.  I found it just okay.  He ate his half, but I was reluctant to finish mine because I didn’t want to fill up before the main and dessert courses arrived.

After my underwhelming first course, we hit the salad bar.  I guess if this is what living my best salad bar life consists of, well meh.🫤 

At this point DH spotted Laura and my mood became elevated.  
After a brief photo op with her our steaks arrived.

Ribeye for DH.  
He enjoyed it.

Side of baked beans.

Filet with shrimp and scallop skewer for me.

Side of baked beans.  Meh.

Side of lobster Mac n cheese.  Meh.

Sides were luke warm temperature.

Cookie.

Smaller and mushier than I expected.

Looking across the Lawn Club toward the restaurant.

Across the lawn is a large video screen creating a less than ambient mood when looking toward it from inside the LCG.  

You can see how extraordinarily bright it is shining on the restaurant.

Entrance walk to LCG.

The overall experience was fine.  

The service was fine.  
We had the Unlimited Speciality Dining Package, so no better time to try them all.  Would the experience be worth Celebrity’s normal asking price?

IMHO no.

I much prefer Luminae and Murano.

@Georgia_Peaches Thanks!🙏😊

I only use an Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max.

We do not upgrade our phones often. 

We both upgraded our matching iPhone 7S+ models before the MSC Yacht Club cruise last year.

(And then we ended up missing Ocean Cay.)

😭😭😭

So I totally get your home button angst.

It has been a very easy transition.

At the time Verizon offered us something like $10 or $20 for our old phones.  
We said, See ya later Verizon!

Switched to T-Mobile which we have had before, so we were prepared for any potential idiosyncrasies.

So far so good.😁

9 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

I am seeing Rigitoni Arrabbiata, Potato Mezzaluna Pasta, Spicy Crab Spaghetti, Fresh Homemade Fettuiccine, Beef ricotta Ravioli, Ricotta Cavatetti, Lignuine-Atle Vongole, Spaghetti Carbonara, and Bucatini Roasted Turbot all on the menu.

You are making me hungry, John.

All I ever thought to special order in Luminae was onion rings.  In hind sight what was I thinking?!?  But with 24 hours notice those Luminae onion rings came out damn good.👍 

IMHO if afforded the opportunity to sail in The Retreat on M and S class ships I will skip the specialties and stick with Luminae.

On 4/8/2024 at 8:40 AM, jerrib said:

I am going to be sailing on the Silhouette the end of May on a Scandinavian cruise.  Any chance that Captain Kirk will still be on the ship when she goes to Europe?

I am not sure about his schedule.

If he is still on board for your sailing, enjoy the show!!🥳

13 minutes ago, ICANTWAITTOCRUISE said:

I think we'll go there when we are in key west in a couple of weeks on the apex! Do you mind telling me how you got there from the ship? 

Hogfish Bar

(Ask for Mariluz, tell her Glenda’s friends recommended, and order a Dragonfruit Mojito.)🍹

Hogfish is located on Stock Island very far off the beaten path.  This would give you a taste of how the real Key West used to be - trailer parks and all.😂

If you wake up in KW and your view is this, then these are the best directions I can offer.

By car it is about a 20 minute drive from the Opal Key Resort sign pictured here.  

This is where our friends collected us.  They have lived in Key West for 30+ years.  We saw cabs collecting and dropping off here as well.  But I really can’t speak to the cab or Uber or Lyft situation in KW.  This sign is located on Front Street at the end of the path between these two buildings.

Another remote possibility might be to ask the guy that drives this three-wheeled electric bike, but I doubt he would want to go that far.  Although this would make a cool tours-by-locals way to go.  I am sure he knows all of the off-map points of interest.

But I digress.😂

We were content in our friends’ air-conditioned Toyota Forerunner.😂

I had the Hogfish Sliders and they were delish.  I did not go food porn crazy in front of our friends.

On 4/8/2024 at 8:33 PM, buzz031 said:

We have had two great transatlantic sailings on the Silhouette (Fall 2022, Fall 2023)!

 

Thanks for sharing! 

You are most welcome.😃
This was our third sailing on her.

She is still beautiful and one of our favorite vessels.

I see we will be on the same Summit sailing embarking on my birthday next year.🥳

On 4/7/2024 at 12:32 AM, PinkSandGirl said:

It was neat the first time I went up and made a pizza and my boyfriend helped on the grill, everyone else watched as we worked.  Hehe.  It's not like we never made a pizza or grilled but to do it at sea, that was a first. 😉  Do they still allow that? 

We were not offered the opportunity to partake in the preparation of our food at LCG.

I was okay with this.😂🤣😂

We disembarked Silhouette this morning and are home.

DH filmed Captain Kirk’s performance.

He composed this video of the captain’s final cut of the evening followed by Laura’s reaction and her presentation of a floral bouquet to him.

Enjoy!😃