Covepointcruiser

for Specialty Dining for every meal but breakfast.   When the Concierge contacts you get your reservations made.   Your childr n in the Sky Suite will need to pay extra fo Specialties so if they will eat with you you will want to get a Specialty Dining Package.

Hope the Edge looks better in person than in the renderings.   She is very boxy and has that huge wart on the side.    She carries more passengers and is smaller than the Solstice class ships.    Sounds like public space will be at a premium.

They offer no perks on transatlantic.    They are much cheaper than the usual two week cruise.    Perks are still included for the top suites but they always come with the rooms.   Michaels Clubs offers beverages included for all suites.   You will notice the Suite folks taking drinks and handfuls of sodas back to their cabins.   I don’t know if they share with their friends but it’s not policed.

We are still not receiving  any Specialist Restaurant hustles or coupons.   Guess they don’t like our looks.    Guess it is still the same with promotions, they don’t apply for repositioning.    The Edge made it to Freeport today.    Hope everyone liked the prices of drinks in Bermuda.   We don’t say it often but drinks are much less expensive on board.

we should see the Edge arrive on 11/19 as we are spending the night in FLL.  An ambulance came with a stretcher but left without anyone in the stretcher.    Should be good news for at least one passenger.

Tried to get a booking in Lawn Club tonight but they are fully booked until 9PM.   We like our pizza earlier than that so we have to settle for the Porch.   TPC was almost full at the first seating last night and everyone seemed to enjoy the show and the food.

Why would you have just a passport card?   Is it the expense of a full passport?

Why would you have just a passport card?   Is it the expense of a full passport?

Glad the weather cleared at 11am just as predicted.    We did Bryant Park with their Holiday Bazaar and free ice seating rink.   It was really beautiful last night and the hot cider drinks made it feel like Christmas.  Today was a great day for walking and not as cool as yesterday.   Had the oyster stew in Grand Central and it was as excellent as ever.

there are certainly no shortage of great, inexpensive places to eat in NYC.

its odd that you have had so much upsell for Specialty Restaurants.    Has this been while dining in Luminae?   We havn’t had dinner there but we didn’t notice upselling at breakfast or at the two lunches we endured.   For some strange reason they did not open the Porch for lunch yesterday.   It was not cold and it would have been a great spot to watch us sailing towards NYC.   We did go to the “exclusive” helipad experience sailing into NYC.   There were so many there it was hardly exclusive.   Las time we had about 40, this time it was closer to 150.   Couldn’t get near the rail so we took one bridge photo and left.

Have noticed the Christmas/Holiday street markets are in full swing in NYC.   Quite a few are in walking distance to the ship, Columbus Circle and Bryant Park.

The outdoor ones are open to 8 pm.    The one in Grand Central Station is indoors and open later.   I would imagine there won’t be many passengers on the ship this evening.    We have a favorite Italian restaurant on 48th St so we will be there tonight.    The weather services rare now saying the late evenings rains will end by 11 AM on Tuesday so we have a decent second day in NYC.

The classes are not actually “Spin” but are indoor cycling classes.    The classes are high intensity but watch the bikes.   They are older and not serviced as they should be.   Perhaps on the new ships they will get better bikes.

Surprised about your temperature reading this morning.   We were up at 0630 and our balcony thermometer read 37 degrees and it has been going up since then to 48 degrees without sun.   We walked across Deck 14 before 9 and found they had secured the doors to the Oceanview.   Didn’ see any ice.  They may have been washing the decks  with something slippery as they were getting ready for the coast guard inspection.

We will have rain tomorrow in NYC going up past 50 degrees.   Tuesday night it will drop to 30 and will only get up to 39 with 12 mph winds on Wednesday.    We definitely could see ice on Wednesday so be careful on the decks and gangway.

You don’t need “Go Best”in a Royal Suite.   Unlimited internet, Premium Beverage packages and unlimited Specialty Dining arealways included

As the washers are special commercial type, I would really discourage use of your own capsules.    The machines are much in demand and we can’t afford one out of order due to unauthorized detergent.    It does make quite a mess and can ruin the clothes of those using the washer after you!

How did you decide that you were “ highly desirable patrons”?    I would agree that this was a kind way of letting your group know it was time to dress for the evening.   Always found the Commodore Club to be one of the best and most elegant.    One cruise our cabin was next door to the conference room, easy to change for the evening.   Are there bars where you can get a drink even if you decide to do the buffet for dinner?    

There is always someone concerned about money.   I would guess if the cruise line was refunded the port fees than you would also receive a refund.   I wonder if a more expensive port was used if you would need to pay extra?   In addition, remaining in a port an extra day would certainly require an additional charge.

I would suggest grabbing the airfare you like right away.    It is often much less expensive to book business class air through choice air but there are a limited number of seats.   Make sure it is an airline you would be okay to fly.

They had a wonderful event for Remembrance Day in the theater at 10:45, standing room only.   Patriotism is definitely not dead on the Silhouette as it seems to be in many places today.   Tomorrow is 11/11.   In Maryland we were asked to ring our church bells at 11 am.    It will be amazing if they do this is Boston with so many old church bells.   It’s good to remember once a year why we have all the freedoms we enjoy and the many sacrifices that were made.

I am more than a little concerned that you were able to board a ship without having your hand baggage scanned.   Surely this is a security violation of the highest order!!!   Good thing no one was bringing any bombs, handguns, knives, etc on board.   I would not feel safe on the ship after witnessing such a flagrant violation.

We were offered a bid up for the Penthouse Category three separate times for the Silhouette Transatlantic.    Because we were already in a RS, there was no incentive to move to the higher category.   You would get a larger room but no additional benefits other than the piano.   I still prefer Cunard’s “upgrade fairy”.   No extra payment is required and you receive a nice surprise.   I have heard that some passengers have a favorite cabin and are able to say “no upgrade” so they are not visited by the fairy.  We don’t mind and have always been pleased with the upgrade.

We just finished having lunch on the Porch.   Dressed for the cold but our table was not in the wind.   Change in menu from the Reflection, they no longer serve a burger but they had a wrap sandwich and a chicken dish for non seafood diners. Charge was $30 and included all dishes on the menu.   Lobster was no additional charge and available on seafood tower, in lobster roll and in lobster bisque.   A family cam in after us dressed in shorts and tee shirts.   We are still in the North Atlantic on the way to Boston, air temperature 64 degrees and dropping.    The father figure went in search of blankets shortly after and had them turn on the overhead heaters.    Hope they ended up having a nice lunch.

Ship:   Silhouette

Cabin# 1239

Deck#10

Class #. Royal Suite

Area# Midship Port

Bed#. Near balcony

Quiet# yes

Balcony View #.  Unobstructed

Balcony size#.  Typical RS, jetted bathtub taking up lots of space

Wind Problem#.  Transatlantic so windy and furniture tied up

Problems#.  No electric adjustable bed as promised in brochure.   No DVD player. Fresh flowers consisted of 4 short roses in a square vase.   A CC rose came later.   No newspapers, no menus offered.   MC Concierge is very good but is also very busy with Zenith passengers.    Standard menus for Specialties are in MC.     Escort to MC on boarding, no escort to cabin.   Cabin was ready when all cabins were available.

Summary#.  No special treatment for RS.   Really miss the promised bed!

I believe Virgin will be most costly than Seabourn and that line includes all restaurants, beverages and gratuities.    You may have to pay for high end wines or very expensive hard liquors.   At least Celebrity is less costly when you are not in a Suite and frequently includes beverage packages, internet, gratuities in your fare.     You have the option of eating in a Specialty Restaurant or just the buffet.    Also, don't forget the "complete" lack of a dress code on Celebrity.    There are some standards on Seabourn, no jeans after 6 pm.

I cannot imagine dismissing a whole town as others on the thread have done!    Perhaps if you were docking in a container port but this is a nice small town, very walkable, with museums and quaint pubs.   It also has a well equipped shopping mall if you find you have forgotten anything.    There is plenty to do for 8-12 hours.   In our walks we did not run into any sketchy areas as we have done in larger cities or any of the nasty hawking you receive in some tropical areas.   I also recommend the large book store in the West Quay shopping mall.

We have received plastic straws at breakfast in Luminae with juice and with smoothies.  We did not request them.   They are already opened and in the drink.

I have migraine related sensitivity and had no problems with LPC.    We thought the food there was excellent and wish they offered the food without the video show once you have seen it.

Speaking of special needs, we have been sailing with Celebrity since 2000.    We have complained on every cruise about the lack of closed captioning on the TVs.   This time you can select it, however, you do not receive it.   The music is also very loud especially for those with hearing aids.    Celebrity has done great things to accommodate food allergies and folks with limited mobility but very little for those with hearing disabilities.

We also have global entry and hope to use it in Fort Lauderdale.    Thanks for the heads up about eating in Murano with Captain tonight.   We have an early time for dinner so we should be almost through before the big table moves in.  It’s difficult for the staff to give the captains table adequate service without compromising the rest of the restaurant.   

Have you made reservations at Tuscans for the NYC sailaway?    We did that last time and the view of the Manhattan skyline was fantastic.