Cruise Kay

Absolutely!

Beautiful sunrise this morning and a happy surprise. I came up to the pool deck just as a towboat went by, carrying the Space X rocket.

Today I ran into a lady in the gym who was there for her second workout of the day. She said, "honestly, I'm just trying to find things to fill up the day." She said she and her husband were on their 1st cruise ever with extended family. She said they were bored out of their minds because they don't do casino or drink. She said there is nothing to do on the ship. She said she was very disappointed in the quality and portions of the food. Since her main complaint was there was nothing to do on the ship, I started to tell her about the Oasis class ships. She cut me off with, "we will never cruise again." tonight the casino was packed, and the bars were hopping with various live music. I listened to a live jazz ensemble in Boleros for a long time and there was an adorable elderly couple shuffling around the dance floor very elegantly together. They got a round of applause when they finished dancing. there was a lively looking game show on the books this evening in the atrium but I missed it.

Tomorrow night is "Mexican night" in the dining room. Here's a few screenshots of the menu.

PS, internet is super!

We had another sea day today and it warmed up considerably. Yesterday was quite cold in the pools are closed, today was nice and warm . It was a beautiful, gorgeous day to be outside. The pools were all open and full of families and kids all day long. Hot tubs were packed. Saw lots of exhausted kids (and parents) this afternoon but at least they had a full day of getting to swim and be outdoors. Went to the spa for two hours this morning… Had an acupuncture session and then got my hair cut. Really like the spa here. The staff has a sassy attitude and the place has a fun vibe. Went for several walks up on the pool deck, sat outside for a while, had lunch in the Windjammer. Went to the communal puzzle table and there were two women working a puzzle. I tried to join them and got frosted out so I left. Ended up sitting with a few other ladies and chatting and having a really nice time. At 1:30, they had the worlds sexiest man competition on the pool deck. They were begging for volunteers and nobody was really up for it. I did not stick around. (I've seen many of those competitions on other Royal ships and it's just not that interesting to me.) The rest of the day was typical sea day stuff. Reading, naps, hanging out in a quiet chair by window in Boleros and texting family and friends, playing trivia in the Schooner bar. The 3 PM Tribond trivia contest was standing room only. If you want to do trivia and you want to sit down, make sure you get there very early. The sewage smell remains very heavy in my bathroom, even though I poured water down the drain several times. I caught a couple of waves of it in the atrium today but it's not as bad as it has been. at 4 o'clock I came back to the atrium and watched a lively dance class which was shoulder to shoulder crammed full of people. They all had a great time. Then they opened it up to karaoke and lo and behold, the gentleman who cut my hair this morning got on stage and belted out three tunes and he absolutely crushed it. lots of jewelry sales today, lots of pushes to come get port shopping maps and things like that. tonight is British night on the menu. I'm not planning to go. But I'll attach some photos of the menu. There's also a show in the theater tonight, it's called can't stop the rock. It looks like a song and dance show featuring songs from movies. tomorrow is my busiest day of the cruise. I'm taking the shuttle over to universal studios for a mad dash around, then the ride back, then I hope to catch the tail end of the Bengals game. (Who Dey! 🐯🐯)

We had a beautiful day at sea. It was freezing cold with an icy wind, so the pools were closed, but it was still a beautiful day. They did open up the solarium pool to families so that the kids could swim today. They had a lot of activities in the centrum today, one after the other. Stretching classes, line dancing, name that tune, a really big family festival with face painting and games, things like that. The shops and casino opened early this morning and will be open until late tonight. The shops are tiny but they have a nice selection of merchandise. Don't expect a huge variety of T-shirts and caps to choose from but they do have some. there was the usual push to come to a port shopping talk, and to buy high-end diamonds, but nothing too aggressive. Lots of people on the ship spent lots of time surrounding the centrum today. I spent some time with a couple working on a communal puzzle next to café latitudes, looked through the shops, went to some seminars at the spa, and then I had to work for a couple of hours on my laptop. I spent a lot of time watching everybody have lots of fun at the family festival and things like that. Didn't want to go to the main dining room because it's French night and I could not find anything on the menu I wanted. Came to windjammer to night for salad. The Viking Crown lounge is a really nice spot to hang out in during the day. It gets kind of messy because it's unstaffed so people leave behind plates and cups and glasses and things and no one comes to gather them. But it's not a big deal. Lots of seating and spectacular views of the water. At some point today, we had dolphins swimming and jumping alongside the ship. We passed Virginia Beach around 830 this morning. I don't really know where we are right now because I haven't checked the TV map but I will. they had the Crown and anchor loyalty event today where they congratulated all of their top people and such and passed out free champagne and mimosas. Tonight is a impressionist and all of the usual live music and activities. Another sea day tomorrow!

i'll try that, thanks

I did not catch the hotel directors name today although he was introduced. The cruise Director is Carly B. Activities director is Moe. The captain is Ivo.

Today was a great day. Unfortunately, the sewage smell hung around the atrium and boleros all day long so I stayed clear of that area. There is also quite a pungent sewage smell in my bathroom that seems to be here to stay. As long as I keep the door shut it's not a problem in the room but it is weird. The furniture and the carpets on the ship all look great. Nothing is worn or has holes in it or anything like that. The ship has some really beautiful areas. It really does have a classic cruising feel here, not a theme park on wheels like some of the other ships I like to go on. It's a nice change. Staff has been super friendly. as has been on the case on the last several cruises I've been on, pot smoking is a thing here. I walked through clouds of pot in the hallway several times today and it still away, there was someone walking around on pool deck blatantly smoking weed. There were no crewmembers in sight so I guess he thought, why not? I'm not judging people who smoke pot but I don't like to smell it on the ship. I'm starting to think that if I have a problem with the smell of pot, I need to just quit cruising. It's not going away. No one is going to address it and it seems to be part of some people's vacations. So I think that either just expecting it to be here is the way to go or to just quit cruising all together. I couldn't get hungry in time for dining in the main dining room at 5:30 so I ended up at windjammers. It was Tex-Mex night and I had nachos and cookies. Everything was good. Our sail away was really nice. It had been cold and windy and dark all day but as we sailed away the clouds parted in the sunset came out and everything was beautiful. We had an amazing sunset and it was really fun to sell underneath the bridge. I spent the evening in spotlight lounge, which is pretty much the prettiest place in the whole ship. We played name that tune, and follow that up with majority rules game show. Then came karaoke. I lasted a while but left early, took one last wander around the ship, and went to bed. it's 1030 in the night is young, there's tons of live music still to come and there are plenty of people lined up for pizza at Park Café and coffee and ice cream at Café latitudes. Due to our position in the water, the casino in the shops could not open at all today but they will be open starting tomorrow. We have two days at sea coming up and it should be fun.

I will see if I can find out

Onboard! The ride back to the empty Baltimore airport was uneventful and I quickly found the long line of taxis sitting there waiting for somebody to come along. The ride to the cruise port took about 15 minutes and cost a little over $40 in cab fare, plus tip. My giant, somewhat intimidating driver never asked me which cruise line or ship I was on, so I assumed we were the only ship in Port today and I was right about that. It is a cold grey day so everybody is inside wearing their coats. boarding was easy. I arrived at five minutes after 11 and I was on board by 1130. Just as I was stepping onto the ship the smell of sewage hit me. It hit me so powerfully I thought for a moment the guy in front of me had an accident in his pants. It was quite bad. It's faded inside but it's very prevalent in the centrum area. I'm hoping that will pass once we get out to sea. it didn't take long to explore the ship. Yes, she is small and dated as I knew she would be, but she is in very nice condition and has beautiful touches and lovely art all throughout. I did muster drill, then got sandwiches and coffee at Café latitudes, but discovered that all of the sandwiches have mayonnaise on them, which I am allergic to. I came up to the solarium for a salad and pizza and pretty soon this place filled up. There's not a single table available in sight. Just for kicks I did take a peek in Windjammer and my goodness. What a zoo. There was literally not one single seat to be had, not even the single seats barstool style facing the windows. And even though all of the tables were full there was tons and tons of people wandering around filling up their plates so I have no idea where they intended to sit. The pools are currently empty and being scrubbed or worked on in someway by several crewmembers down in their depths working with some sort of tools. There is one hot tub on deck bubbling away just daring anyone to get in it but it's awfully cold out there and nobody is jumping in. Down here in the solarium, the two indoor hot tubs are chock full of people. My lunchtime salad was crisp and fresh and made to order, and the pizza is hot and delicious. If you like your pizza extra cheesey and extra greasy, this is the place for you. Rooms are ready (1 pm!) but I'm in no hurry to get down there and start the unpacking process. We have a full schedule of events today, including shopping, free gaming lessons in the casino, trivia, a comedian this evening, and of course tons of live music. I saw the Schooner bar and it is beautiful, though it was occupied by two parties of three women each and they were all just shrieking at the top of their lungs and slamming down the drinks. So far the most beautiful place on ship is the spotlight lounge on deck six. It is just gorgeous and it's right at the end of the ship so you have lovely views looking out.

I arrived in Baltimore last night, where it was freezing cold and pouring rain. I caught a shuttle to the hotel and had a quiet night. I'm staying at the Hilton Garden Inn BWI airport. Room is very nice, shuttle was very nice, and the room ran about $150. They have a small area downstairs where you can buy a very limited selection of snacks and drinks and for an extra charge you can get a little grilled breakfast like eggs or toast or whatever. Today is sunny and cold and the weatherman on TV says it's going to be super windy all day long, especially if you're out on the water. Probably will be doing sailaway from the solarium! But we'll see. I'm not afraid of cold or wind and it looks like a gorgeous day. Leaving soon to head over for my boarding time at 11. I've answered my health questionnaire and done all of the things I need to do on the app so I'm ready to go. Whoo hoo! 🚢 More soon!

I just scored a studio cabin on celebrity silhouette 10 night Caribbean cruise in January 2024 for $1050. Standard inside room for one or two people would be double that. There are only four on the ship, and two are now gone.

Excited by this review. I will be sailing first time on Silhouette next year. I snagged a tiny solo cabin for a greatly reduced fare.

Great advice, thank you! I have selected a one-day pass to Universal. I would love to see both, but there really isn't time. And I will not be riding any roller coasters, that is for sure. 🙂 A butter beer is most definitely on the agenda!

Lots of kids and young families...but yes, generally, less kids than usual because of the length of the cruise and timing. The passengers were the usual mix--lots of seniors, lots of families, several solo adults, childless adult couples of all ages--30's to 80's, a few newlyweds. I would guess the biggest percentage were families with teens, I'd say.