cachouonacruise

Thank-you very much Jim for all the beautiful pictures of yourselves, the food and the visited areas. They really helped me re-discover a part of my own country, which I have not seen in a while! Bravo!

Strangely, when we asked for Lemon Tarts at Al Bacio on Silhouette in June, this is what we received. ( i guess we had the non-suite Lemon tarts🤣🤣🤣) Yours looked really delicious, indeed!

Bon voyage Jim and Lain, I wish you a wonderful experience, especially in our home town of Montreal! Enjoy!

We boarded Silhouette in June having in hands a Certificate of Recovery (COR) in addition to the official PCR test (positive) and then, an official negative Antigen test taken within 48 hours of cruising. We really had no problems. This said, prior to cruise, I did call a Celebrity representative to inquire about our situation, having tested positive on April 28, for a cruise departing June 11. The representative informed me then, that if our pre-boarding antigen test was positive, we could still board, the cruise, thanks to our COR and of course, if we tested negative, we would have no issues. So, I questioned the representative regarding the need for a pre-boarding antigen test, since we could board whether it was positive or negative. The answer I got was : Everyone has to be tested prior sailing. No exceptions. So, I understood that the pre-boarding testing was a regulatory requirement, and I proceeded as requested.

Celebrity provides on its web site information pertaining to overall length of excursion, how strenuous it is, if the lunch is included or not, areas visited, what to bring etc. For some excursions, Celebrity also mentions the duration of the bus ride to and from the excursion site. If you need more details that what is provided by Celebrity, your best bet, in my opinion, would be to post your questions about the specific excursions you're wondering about. Some Cruise Critics Members have travelled quite a bit, could have recently done that excursion or are on-board now about to do it. Members are often very generous about sharing helpful information. Good luck in your search!

It may also depends on your cabin category. We recently disembarked Silhouette (June 25), using the self debarkation process. To our surprise, one or two nights prior to the end of the cruise, we received an invitation for Concierge Class category, offering us to proceed to the MDR, level 4, I believe, to wait for disembarkation up to 8:30 AM. Coffees and croissants were offered while we waited.

Just a quick question, if I may. Were you able to upgrade your beverage package prior to make your final payment on the cruise or did you proceed with the final payment and then called Celebrity to upgrade? The reason for asking, I would be interested in upgrading our package for a cruise in 2023 and one in 2024. Upgrading early, would make it easier to budget and protect against future cost increases.

On our last cruise on Silhouette, we decided to try Sushi on 5 for lunch on a sea day. We really enjoyed our experience and a lot more than I had expected. I believe ordering a la carte, ended up costing us about $35. I will not hesitate to do this again!

We have done regular balcony on S Class, Concierge and Aqua on M Class. All are good options and you will enjoy your cruise, as long as you choose a cabin location that you like. Captain Club Points: As mention, 5 per night for Aqua and CC versus 3 for veranda. If planning to become a recurrent X cruiser, this could be something to consider. Concierge and Aqua on M Class ships: Slightly larger cabins, on higher decks. What we also enjoyed in CC: Embarkation lunch, one invitation per cruise (not guaranteed) for a sail in or sail away on Helipad, (bubbly included), little afternoon snack, one free bottle on bubbly in your room ( which, if asked nicely, I was able to change for white wine, and enjoyed the drink on our balcony). On one cruise, we were also invited to a cc slot tournament. Although it does not say so anywhere officially, as a CC passenger, you are the highest cabin class in the MDR. It may just be a coincidence, but I found that my table location requests while in CC, were always granted. In the MDR you can choose either traditional dining (same table, same staff) at one of the two set times or the open dining. What we enjoyed in Aqua: a cabin on top deck, right underneath the overhang. We were well protected from rain and wind during our Alaska cruise. Free access to the Persian gardens, which on our M class ship, had no windows. Access to Blu restaurant. Blu is managed on a first come first served basis. It's a small restaurant, so it does not take long for the staff to know you. Depending on your schedule or flexibility, you may or may not always have the same table and serving staff. The small restaurant atmosphere in Blu, however, at least pre Covid, only few inches separated our table from the next. The food in Blu was good, but in my recollection, I honestly cannot say that it was significantly better than the MDR. So I hope this will help you decide, if some of the benefits in each class are worth for you, the money Celebrity is asking for.

I just did a mocked booking for our booked 2023 Caribbean cruise and our booked 2024 Australia-New-Zealand cruise. In both cases, the obtained prices came out significantly higher, than our already booked cabin prices, despite the 60% off for the second passenger..so the extra OBC does not really help. I guess we were fortunate, having booked both cruises really early, we seem to have been issued really good fares.

We have tried a few martinis, and on our recent cruise, we discovered the Eurekatini, which is fresh and not too sweet, not too strong. My wife and I really enjoyed this "new for us" Martini. In my taste, the type of Martini that I choose, will depend of the moment of the day: mid-afternoon, immediately before dinner, after dinner or later in the evening. But, I have to admit that I have yet to taste at the Martini bar, a cocktail I did not enjoy!

My last group: My apologies for some upside down pictures...again.

Let's try another small group of pictures:

More pictures, if internet collaborates:

So sorry, technical difficulties. Second try at posting the promised pictures. I have separated them in smaller groups.

All good things must come to an end, and this will be my last posting of pictures of our port of calls, since Belfast, today, was our last stop, prior to return and disembark in Southampton on Saturday. Strangely, in this area of the world, known for rainy days, we experienced a mix of sunshine and clouds at all our ports on this cruise! However, the price to pay, was on sea days, where we met : strong winds, heavy seas, cold temperatures, fog and rain. Sadly, as we left Belfast, the ship was again prepared for rough conditions, for our last sea days. A few comments about this cruise: Staff performance was excellent! Our cabin attendant, our dining staff at table 230, waiters at The Porch, Murano, Sushi on 5, all exceeded our expectations. Our experiences at the Martini Bar and World Class Bar were really enjoyable. Of course, staff and service at Cafe al Bacio, excellent as usual! On the entertainment side, for the most part, we enjoyed activities, and musical performance, in particular, the following: Uptown, Our Lady Valentine, Ben Richards and Bristol Fashion. And, as you can see, we also enjoyed our excursions: All Celebrity Excursions, with the exception of the walking tour in Guernsey, where Annette Henry, offered us an exceptional performance. So, the promised pictures: A few from Belfast Harbour, Most from the Giant Causeway And the last few from the city if Belfast! In closing, thank-you very much for following this thread and for your support! Enjoy the pictures!

Hi Chemmo, There is definitely a lot to do, see and learn in Iceland. We really enjoyed our visit in this unique kingdom. Regarding the concept of Land Trip versus Cruise, I would highly suggest to check prices very carefully. Everything being sooo expensive in Iceland. For example, a simple deck of cards, cost us $17 CDN (at home it would be $4), a key chain ($ 9 CDN), a T-shirt was $50 CDN etc. We were told that car renting prices were really high too... So, definitely worth, checking in details, prior to make your final choice, to ensure you're not negatively surprised. On the tours we did, we did not have to do any strenuous walking. A couple of walking tours were on gravel, for relatively short distances. For example, the visit to the First Parliament Area, involved a 700 meters walk on a slope, between two parking areas. It's easier to choose to walk down the slope rather to walk it up. You just have to choose your correct point of departure, and ideally, have a driver that will drop you at one end and pick you up at the other end. The crossing...Weather is...changing all the times... Our crossing from Liverpool to Reykjavik was pretty rough with waves 15 to 20 feet, while the captain guided us around a fairly powerful weather system. Returning from Reykjavik to Belfast, ....it was similar, if not a tad worse, because the waves hit the ship, from left to right, generating quite a bit if rocking.... I'm sure though, that crossing conditions will vary from time of the year and from cruise to cruise... Good luck in planning your trip and enjoy!!!

Thanks to Jim's suggestion, I was finally able to find and taste the famous Al Bacio's Lemon tarts! Delicious indeed!!!

I am not giving up. After talking with an Al Bacio server, I learned that my timing was off... So, I am still hoping to taste them!

Sadly, I have been to Al Bacio a few times and looked for these "famous" lemon tarts and have not seen them yet. I will try to look again and even ask for them next time. I will post a picture of them, if I finally am able to put my hands on this delicassy.

We went very early this morning. Left the ship at 08h00 AM and entered the lagoon at about 09h00 AM The air was chilly in the morning and we needed a light jacket to walk from the bus, to the building, where the changing rooms and shower are. They are extremely well organized. Body soap, shampoo, conditioners, lockers with a locking bracelet are provided. Once you're shower and in your bathing suit, you can access the lagoon, from inside the building. In the water, it's very comfortable, and you have access to a bar, without going out of the water... So, for us it went really well and the rain only started after our return to the ship.

So, we are leaving Iceland in a similar fashion than we arrived: rain, fog, strong winds and heavy seas. But, we did have a nice opportunity this morning to enjoy a beautiful experience this morning at the Blue Lagoon. Enjoy the images from our perspective: P.s. My next post on this thread, will be on Thursday, from Belfast.

So, thank-you for your interest in my pictures. Yesterday was a fabulous day in Iceland. We really enjoyed the Ring of Fire excursion. So, I will share some of our best moment. Of note, the last two pictures were taken from our cabin's balcony after 23h PM. I hope you will enjoy! This morning we went to the Blue Lagoon, and I will post these pictures in my next post.

I am on the Silhouette now, crossing in the North Atlantic from England to Iceland. There is a storm in the vicinity of Iceland and we are experiencing strong winds and good waves. The Premium wi-fi is slow. Able to communicate via Messenger (text), Cruise Critics, etc. Unable to access the website for my bank. Unable to open a short video clip on Messenger. Did not try yet, to do a video chat, but my hopes are not too high.

On Silhouette now, and so far, we took 5 excursions, one private. They were all very, very nice with the exception of one in Scotland. For our Scotland excursion, the boarding process with a meeting point on the pier was chaotic. Multiple groups going on different excursions were standing in the vicinity of a chained gate, calling tours individually. People had no numbers on them and there were no visual clues. Celebrity staff really did their best, but, they did not have the tools to properly handle the situation. Luckily, although we almost missed our tour, we made it. Then during our one hour drive in a warm/hot bus, ( it took almost 40 minutes to feel the air conditioning), our guide was mute, besides three or four instructions, he gave us at the beginning. Not a word about Scotland, nor about the areas we drove through. This said, our experience at the destination was very, very nice. The local guides were dynamic and we enjoyed that aspect. The return bus trip was similar to our way there....Dreadful. I promised myself, prior to go on this cruise, being so happy to cruise again, that I would not complain about anything.... I made an exception for this tour, and Celebrity personnel at Guess Relations ( shore excursions desk hours being limited), were very kind, professional and listened to the info, and provided us a 30% refund. The refund was a kind gesture from Celebrity validating my issue (in my case, this was not a money issue), I was just so disappointed for my first and likely only day in my life in Scotland, to have experienced such a missed opportunity.... By mentioning it to Celebrity, I am hoping that corrective action could be taken, to enhance the value of this tour in the future. But, more importantly, all our other excursions were really enjoyable. And when a port of call was cancelled due to weather, our refunds were applied almost immediately, without any action required from us.