SunshinesJ

... I haven't read any of the Harry Potter series....would you recommend it?

I recommend the Harry Potter series. I’m an adult, and enjoyed them very much. Super easy reads and feel written well that you get immersed quickly. I couldn’t put a few down until I was finished! I was fortunate to read some before they hit the big screen; I also recommend that if you have not seen the movies yet wait and read the books first 😊

Thanks for everyone’s replies! The pricing was my bad; I found the one I was looking at was for the dining experience not just the Alcove reservation for the day. Alas the ones you rent for the day are sold out on my cruise. Super bummed but I’ll for sure look into reserving sooner next sail! Thanks again and happy sailing!

Thank you OP for this post! Though a little old, it has been helpful while trying to decide if we wanted to try the Alcoves. I was a little hesitant where they are now from $249 at sea and from $99 at port, but a dedicated spot just for us to enjoy peace and quiet in the sun or shade for the day sounds like bliss. Do you still get a breeze while at sea? Can you move your chair(s) onto the lawn i.e. if one of us wants the shade and the other sun? Thanks in advance for anything you can share.

Flipped my numbers, so deleted post - whoops >.<

Thank you for taking the time to share your review; I wrote a few notes down! Looking forward to our first Silhouette cruise coming up fast!

The menus for 7-night cruises are pretty widely available but I've attached them here for reference. These are "lettered" according to another poster's experience, in the order in which they were served on her 14-night cruise. The seven that are normally served on 7-night cruises are attached to this post - I'll attach the others to another post. The letters on 7-nighters, for clarity's sake, are A, B, C, D, E, G and H, but according to most reports they are served in the following order on 7-night cruises: A, B, C, D G, H, E.

Thank you very much for sharing these!

You can usually purchase the dining package on board. Be aware that there are often a maximum number of packages available.

 

There are usually discounted Specialty Restaurant dinners, especially on the first night. However, on one of our cruises, there were no discounts available on any night. Supply and demand laws at work, I guess. Book early if you have a set time in mind. Otherwise, you may only have a choice of 6 or 9 pm.

Thanks for the review, your info is very helpful being a first time cruiser on the Silhouette, and overall 3rd time cruising. Thanks for this dining tip too! It is so hard to choose Specialty Restaurants etc.; I admire all the cruising pros! What dining reservation time would be recommended at the various Specialty Restaurants? I realize it can hinge on personal preference but appreciate any tips/feedback for the various restaurants. Thanks in advance.

I plan to take my husband on a cruise for our 10th anniversary in September 2018. I'm thinking a four day cruise out of Florida, the gulf coast or perhaps LA. I've only been on one cruise and that was 13 years ago in college. He has never been on a cruise and really wants to go on one. Any tips for planning a surprise cruise?

Planning was so fun; I’ll echo be conscience of emails/confirmations and things which may get mailed to the house! I did let him know with enough time that he could request his own PTO, which he appreciated vs. me reaching out to his boss. (His boss is great and would have been fine but he can’t keep secrets ha-ha!)

For the surprise part, I ended up surprising my hubby by doing an unveiling through a puzzle that he had to piece together for clues over a few days (custom made through shutterfly), then at the end he opened up a gift with cruise line paraphernalia my TA sent me, plane tickets, our itinerary etc. He was super surprised and thrilled with the gift of an amazing cruise! His face was priceless when he realized what it was!

Good luck with your plans – happy sailing!!

we are booked in march and are sure based on the hurricanes our itinerary will change. I know the cruise lines are busy with fall schedules. Has anyone heard when the spring itinerary will be updated?

If you have not seen it yet, Itinerary Modifications are posted at https://www.celebritycruises.com/travel-alert

Hope this is helpful; happy sailing!

... I think the surprise things would work better on a guy. ;p

Hi, all:

I agree, it would be a challenge if I were surprised with a cruise and hope! it will work better on my guy!

I am asking a similar question so adding onto this thread -

Looking for some creative ideas on how to reveal a surprise birthday cruise for my husband. He has not done much traveling yet, and never has been on a cruise -so- I booked us an amazing week-long cruise to celebrate. I’ve kept this secret for almost six! months now – I cannot wait to surprise him!

His birthday is coming up soon, and the cruise is a couple months later, so would like to start the reveal on his birthday to at least give him a little notice given the length away so he is able to plan what he needs to; I do not want to reveal the cruise part right away though. I had mixed feelings about reaching out to his boss to pre-arrange his time out of the office, and in the end felt it best to let my husband do this (that and I do not think the boss will be able to keep my secret!).

The ship leaves out of Florida, so planning to use flying to FL as the initial surprise trip destination. This will help too as he will pack just about all the same stuff. He will not know about the -real- trip until our limo from the airport pulls up for him to see the huge cruise liner – gosh the look on his face will be priceless!

I would like the reveal to be creative and fun! I’ve read a lot on reveal ideas and so far a scavenger hunt or hangman reveal are front-runners but feel there is something better out there which I am just not thinking of - more "wow," ya know? So, reaching out to all the creative cruise minds out there! Any wow reveals you can think of? I will be so grateful for all suggestions.

This will be only my third cruise, so hoping cruising catches on with the hubby so we can enjoy many more cruises in the future!

Thanks in advance!

we are booked in march and are sure based on the hurricanes our itinerary will change. I know the cruise lines are busy with fall schedules. Has anyone heard when the spring itinerary will be updated?

My travel agent advised me 9/25 that “…the cruise lines are evaluating the damage done on some of the islands and creating new itineraries for those they expect not to be ports to visit. They are adjusting from the most recent forward so are through the beginning of December. Given March, 2018 sail date you have the chance of not being affected since it is still a ways out…” She is keeping me posted as she is receiving updates daily, I am also watching my Celebrity “dashboard” where I expect they would also post notice(s) too. If I hear anything more from my agent, I will try to come back and share.

These CruiseCritic articles had information as well:

After the 2017 Hurricanes: Where Will Caribbean Cruise Ships Go?

Hurricane Season 2017: Which Caribbean Cruise Ports Are Open?

Hope that is helpful.

My heart and prayers go out to those impacted by these awful storms. A lot of people on these islands have lost everything; I cannot even imagine what they are going through...