kikki21

We just did the LCG on the Silhouette. Our booking was for 8.30pm but we turned up early & that was good. You would have thought May would be ok sailing out of Southampton. Wrong.

the food was great but it was really cold even with blankets & heaters - dress up warm or reserve a table early. The design doesn’t help as there are no doors as such & the wind blows right through the venue. 

1 hour ago, villauk said:

I feel your pain, Kikki, I know exactly what it’s like. It takes forever not to have the urge to want to tell them where you’ve been and what you’ve done 😘.

 

Moor House is fabulous; we’ve been to a few weddings there over the years - glad you enjoyed it.

Ah thank you 😊 yes it was very strange to come back & not go to the care home. Very odd indeed.

I’m glad you also know Moor House, we gave it a good review on Trip Advisor as well. 

Not had anything either! To be fair, I didn’t have much to complain about other than this situation & that I didn’t get my CC canapés apart from the first day & I told my stateroom attendant that we wanted them too! 

Thanks for posting the pics & the vids. She is starting to look like a cruise shop now. We sail on her at the end of June 2020 so it will be exciting to view progress!

Yes there is the switch in the stateroom in some ships or on others it is controlled by the TV - it was really strange almost like right you’ve had your fun, we’ve taken your money, now get off! 

These announcements were all over the ship though too - luggage tag announcements are fine but they made several final final announcements to get off while guests were eating breakfast & also while guests were in a queue at guest relations - bombarded was the word! Also guests who were back to back or took advantage of the extended stay option were being chivvied along to meeting areas, you were definitely out of luck if you wanted a lie in that day! 

Thank you all. I lost my mum to dementia but she loved looking through photos anyway especially when we went away & of our 2 cats. I did feel a bit wistful when we returned today as normally, we would have gone to see her at the care home & told her about our trip, shown her photos of where we had been. When she was still with us, I had to draw a diagram of where we were going & where for our last trip which involved sailing to the Channel Islands by ferry!

25 minutes ago, Ahainsby said:

I wish I had complained now but being that this was only my third cruise and it has happened before I just assumed that it was the norm. Now that I know it is unusual I will certainly call up reception next time and complain. However if others had complained surely the announcements would have then stopped? We couldn't have been the only ones?  It would be good to hear from fellow passengers on the same cruise too to see if they all received the same. We were in Aqua Class not that this should make any difference. 

If you were on the mini break cruise to Amsterdam then yes this happened to us too. We always switch off general announcements but it seems there must be a general override for this which is understandable but I’ve not experienced this either & cruised in double figures now. 

It seemed Celebrity were desperate to get us off ASAP & this was not a great experience to me either!

24 minutes ago, hcat said:

So beautiful a tribute to your Mom...

Thank you so much 

The Bakery on the Water is really good & has the  lightest scones! They are delicious so if you are ever there then go! 

We really enjoyed our stay at Moor House Hotel & Spa. Our room, service & food plus spa were all excellent so that was another bonus. 

So overall we enjoyed the cruise, short though it was. We have certainly had a very rough couple of months as my mother sadly passed away at the end of March this year. It’s also been over a year since we went away so the short break really did come at the right time for me. My mum loved to hear my travel tales so this review is dedicated to her memory & I would like to think that she was travelling with us ❤️

We just drove to the Mayflower Park to get our final pictures before driving off plus we had company last night in the form

of the Norwegian Getaway now parked up in the Ocean Terminal.

We still had another night in a hotel for the night to extend our break via a stop off in Bourton on the Water in the Cotswolds & then our night at the Moor House Hotel & Spa in Sutton Coldfield which was really good before coming home earlier this afternoon to a very happy welcome from our 2 cats! 

So back early morning in Southampton - you have no chance of lying in as you get announcements starting at 6.30am so up we went & decided on the MDR for breakfast. Our main luggage had gone out the night before ( was requested before 10pm) which seemed very early & it was clear, we were wanted off the ship ASAP! 

We decided to share a table for breakfast which gets you sat down far quicker. And our waiter was very pleasant indeed. 

We finally got off just after 9am but there were still people on board even though we had one of the last care in the parking area & so ended our short cruise! 

The cheesecake again - this time the chocolate version for me!

plus midnight snacks in the buffet later having had a few cocktails. I do really like the pizza they make on board but they never seem to have enough of it for everyone with the midnight munchies! 

There were plenty of dressed up people tonight but dress ranged from smart casual to dressed to the nines & everything in between!

It was a longer wait for dinner tonight & we had the dreaded pager! The duck starter was delicious but the beef sadly was chewy in places which was a shame.

12 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

I had friends onboard for this short cruise.  I heard that there were still diners in the MDR at 1am, drinking and chatting and crew had to be back on duty at 6am.  This may go some way toward explaining the less than happy faces on the waiters.  I understand that aside from hen and stag parties there was a travel agent conference and cruiseline staff on a jolly.  My friends said it sure wasn’t the usual Celebrity experience,  but short cruises you stand a fair chance of it being like this.  

 

Phil

 

 

Yes there was a Royal Caribbean conference on board as we talked to a lady that was on it! 

So we waved goodbye to Holland & hello to the North Sea & going back to Southampton. At least the sea tonight was far less choppy. We looked round the shops as they cleared to open at 2pm & we went to the casino for our free 5 dollars to donate back to the casino - we only play the slots though nothing fancy.

We got ready for dinner tonight & ready for the show as well which tonight was Cosmopolitan which I enjoyed. 

So I decided on another snooze before lunchtime 😳 as you do as today was relaxation day! 

We decided on another MDR luncheon just as we were getting to the lock! Looking down from the MDR, you do wonder how on Earth the ship fits in!!! 

Mmmm Mexican Eggs Benedict were delicious & in case you were wondering if the river/canal can take 2 cruise ships travelling in opposite directions then yes it is wide enough as the Columbus passed us the other way plus there was another ship in a dry dock as well. 

It’s not the prettiest of journeys as you go past some very heavy industry but it was still interesting in places! 

We slept in for a bit the next morning & planned go get breakfast/brunch of some sorts - actually my fiancé went to get me breakfast from the buffet to eat on our balcony which was great! My legs were still tired! 

The Kentucky Calling was the yuck cocktail - my fiancé loves his whisky but not in that cocktail!

We now had the Viking Jupiter for company this morning albeit briefly! Good horn battle though! 

The cheesecake tonight was very yummy! We had a walk around the shop & decided to have some cocktails in the Passport bar. My cocktail was lovely but my fiancé chose one & it was to be honest nasty... the bar tender said he could have another one which was good service on his part! 

We were pretty famished for dinner but didn’t have much of a wait for a table in the MDR as I guess some people went out for dinner in Amsterdam or were out all night - those days are past us so we were happy to get back on board & dinner tonight was really good. The lamb in filo pastry was very tasty indeed & the lamb was soft & tender. 

My fiancé enjoyed his sea bass too. I was wearing my new trinket. Even though I sell jewellery, I have been after an anchor/sailing pendant for ages & couldn’t quite find one I liked until I found one in Amsterdam & I love to buy jewellery from around the globe as well! 

2 minutes ago, villauk said:

 

 

It was very noticeable, but to be expected I suppose.

 

Well done on the photos - great job!

I’m pretty sensitive to smells & it was over powering to me but yes this is the city for it plus magic mushrooms & all sorts! 

Thank you re the photos, I do love to take them & took over 400 on this short break alone! 🤦‍♀️

After 5 hrs plus of walking round, we had had enough & walked back to the ship, we were both pretty tired by now & wanted some food & a rest. We had a lovely rainbow greet us as we entered the passenger terminal & a nice sunset too as we were getting ready for dinner. Yes that’s what a sunset view balcony is all about! 

Next up on the food quest, we did Chocomel & bitterballen - basically croquettes. We should have gone to the Foodhallen apparently but never mind, it was enjoyable doing what we did. 

We did go into. Traditional coffee shop but I couldn’t take the stink of cannabis, it was very, very heavy - possibly why people here are chilled out & mellow! 

Next up on the food quest, we did Chocomel & bitterballen - basically croquettes. We should have gone to the Foodhallen apparently but never mind, it was enjoyable doing what we did. 

We did go into. Traditional coffee shop but I couldn’t take the stink of cannabis, it was very, very heavy - possibly why people here are chilled out & mellow! 

6 minutes ago, hcat said:

Sounds like a cruise to be skipped in the future...real high class fun!

It seemed worse on the P&O Cruise we did to Bruges!