Silhouette Holy Land Review

[Gracie115]

The Dead Sea IS very interesting but one of the things that needs to be mentioned to anyone who has not been there before are the "holes" in the bottom of the sea as you walk out into it. I guess it's where people dig the mud out but if you have any mobility challenges at all it's very ease to fall into the water and since the salt content is so high it not only tastes bad if you get it in your mouth but it burns the eyes and can be dangerous if inhaled through the nose.

 

We enjoyed it but sure wish I had known about this before hand!!!

[OCA REP]

The Dead Sea IS very interesting but one of the things that needs to be mentioned to anyone who has not been there before are the "holes" in the bottom of the sea as you walk out into it. I guess it's where people dig the mud out but if you have any mobility challenges at all it's very ease to fall into the water and since the salt content is so high it not only tastes bad if you get it in your mouth but it burns the eyes and can be dangerous if inhaled through the nose.

 

We enjoyed it but sure wish I had known about this before hand!!!

 

I had problems with the "holes" as well... and I do not have any mobility issues. That is a very good point to share with everyone!

[Minoushka]

Hello Gonzo

 

WE also had Mickey from Guided tour and she was a Hoot I called her our Gazelle she moved so fast

Did you do lunch in TIBERIUS ...with the fish It was the BEST They prepared all fresh salads for me because I am allergic to GREEN PEPPERS THey were unbelievably nice and treated us so well.

I loved our visit to Israel but oh so short

RE food ...as a "joke" I suggested they get the executive chef to fix things because we did have issues with MDR dinners so you LUCKED out Good Silly will now be ,more like Millie

food on Millie was outstanding I'm glad Celebrity listened

 

Michele

[Gonzo70]

Hello Gonzo

 

WE also had Mickey from Guided tour and she was a Hoot I called her our Gazelle she moved so fast

Did you do lunch in TIBERIUS ...with the fish It was the BEST They prepared all fresh salads for me because I am allergic to GREEN PEPPERS THey were unbelievably nice and treated us so well.

I loved our visit to Israel but oh so short

RE food ...as a "joke" I suggested they get the executive chef to fix things because we did have issues with MDR dinners so you LUCKED out Good Silly will now be ,more like Millie

food on Millie was outstanding I'm glad Celebrity listened

 

Michele

 

Hi Michele,

 

Yes, we went to the restaurant with the St. Peter's fish in Tiberius. Good food, but a tad pricey. My favorite meal in Israel was at a little felafel restaurant in Jerusalem. Thanks for having the chef fix the food quality. Hopefully it will consistently be this good, but it is possible it had something to do with Jacques Van Staden being on board - I am sure all the chefs were working extremely hard to do their best with him around. Both my wife and I thought it was definitely the best main dining room food we have had on any of our cruises.

[Gonzo70]

Hi Erick,

You did a great job reviewing our cruise. I concur with everything you said. We really enjoyed meeting you and Jen. It is hard to believe we are now back at work and reality. Take care nad we hope to see you again on a future cruise.

 

Hi Cathy,

 

It was a pleasure meeting you and your daughter. You did an awesome job navigating us through Athens. This was such an amazing cruise; it is definitely tough getting back to the daily grind (I am still a tad jet lagged too). That would be nice if we cross paths again at some point. :)

[Minoushka]

Good for you

Who says it does not pay to BEYOTCH Obviously it did LOL :) ;)

[jspirit]

What a wonderful , thorough review, Gonzo. You have always contributed so much to these boards .Nice to see who you and your lovely wife are!

Did you miss having the Hot Glass Show on board?

[Gonzo70]

What a wonderful , thorough review, Gonzo. You have always contributed so much to these boards .Nice to see who you and your lovely wife are!

Did you miss having the Hot Glass Show on board?

 

Thanks for the kind words.

 

I did miss the Hot Glass Show; on Equinox we attended shows just about every day (often twice a day on sea days). This cruise was so port intensive compared to our transatlantic last year, so at least we were so busy we did not notice the absence of this venue as much as had there been more sea days. The Molecular Bar turned out to be our regular hang on this cruise; I think we were there all but two nights for a pre dinner cocktail.

[SusieV]

Thank you so much for the detailed review! I've been waiting not-so-patiently to see the menus of the beer pub and the Porch and was very happy to see that you'd shared both. I can't wait until January!

 

Do you have any more details about the Wine Connoisseur dinner? Is it actually for folks who are somewhat knowledgeable about wine or do they pass off low end stuff as they do on other cruiselines when wine is included? Is the menu different from the usual Tuscan Grille offerings?

 

It looks like you had a lovely trip, thank you for posting your review.

[Gonzo70]

 

Do you have any more details about the Wine Connoisseur dinner? Is it actually for folks who are somewhat knowledgeable about wine or do they pass off low end stuff as they do on other cruiselines when wine is included? Is the menu different from the usual Tuscan Grille offerings?

 

It looks like you had a lovely trip, thank you for posting your review.

 

My wife and I are only recently getting into wines, so are not very knowledgeable about how high end the wines were that were part of the Connoisseur dinner. We did really like one of the wines and had the sommelier write down the name for us so we could purchase it at home (Chappellet Napa Valley 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon). When I googled it, it looks like it sells for about $45 per bottle at wine stores, so that might give you an idea as to the approximate quality (or at least price) of the wines they used (of course the other wines may have been less or more expensive; this was the only one I wrote the name down for). I believe the menu was the same as the general menu; there were two choices for each of the courses but they were OK subbing something else for one course for my wife. There may have been 1-2 items that were not on the regular menu, not sure. It was a bit pricey, but they did top off the wine glasses, so we definitely got our money's worth.

[Gonzo70]

Haifa Gardens

 

Not a sign I see often in Chicago

 

Atop Masada gazing towards the Dead Sea

 

Making friends with one of the IDF's finest

 

Jerusalem has lots of great non tourist trap shops; this was our favorite store where we purchased a dreidel that transforms into a menorah made by a local artist

 

The churches in Israel had some amazing artwork

[Gonzo70]

Shot of the poached fruit at the Aqua Spa Cafe; they have six different fruits soaking in spices and some in honey; such a great snack

 

Filet Mignon Dish at Qsine

 

Jacques Van Staden Dining at Qsine

 

Back Stage at the Theater - Make Up Room

 

Shot of the Overhang and Window Washing Equipment Impacting Some Aqua Class Staterooms

 

Bridge Officers Watching Us Join The Balcony Club

[Gonzo70]

My favorite art exhibit on the ship

 

Now that's a cocktail; Dragonfly from the Molecular Bar

 

Picking my cut of meat at the Lawn Club Grill

 

Dinner is served

 

Josip; our favorite barista at Cafe al Bacio; consider yourself lucky if he is on board your ship

 

Sipra - the Party Band; my favorite source of live music on board

[Gonzo70]

The Captain celebrating scoring a point in the Officers vs. Guest Volleyball Tournament

 

Don't miss the tasting event at the Molecular Bar - featuring four very tasty concoctions; the one featuring Pisco was my favortie

 

The lovely Suzana preparing Amuse Bouche; my wife's favorite cocktail

 

Not a drop was spilled

 

This was the first cruise where I purchased something in a shop; a watch from the Michael Kors shop; I guess my wife's shopping addiction is rubbing off on me

 

At least I did not purchase it here!

[The Big Booper]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sipra - the Party Band; my favorite source of live music on board

 

 

 

 

Sipra on the Solstice June 2010. Same group.

 

 

 

 

Funny thing, when they sang, no accents. When they talked, very accented English. Obviously they memorized the songs in English but when they spoke, they filtered from their native tongue and converted to English.

[Gonzo70]

Sipra on the Solstice June 2010. Same group.

 

 

Funny thing, when they sang, no accents. When they talked, very accented English. Obviously they memorized the songs in English but when they spoke, they filtered from their native tongue and converted to English.

 

Yes, definitely the same Sipra. :)

 

Interesting observation; I hadn't noticed that, but looking back you are spot on.

[The Big Booper]

Yes, definitely the same Sipra. :)

 

Interesting observation; I hadn't noticed that, but looking back you are spot on.

 

Slightly off topic, I noticed your location is Chicago via Boston. Looks like Theo is following in your footsteps, unless you follow the ChiSox.

[Gonzo70]

Slightly off topic, I noticed your location is Chicago via Boston. Looks like Theo is following in your footsteps, unless you follow the ChiSox.

 

I am still loyal to the Boston teams, but the Cubs are my second favorite baseball team. Hopefully Theo can bring them a long awaited World Series. The Cubs have been really inept of late, so they need a big shake up. Theo might just be what they need.

[lais]

Civitavecchia is a beautiful area and a nice place to stay pre-cruise if one wants to relax versus take in the sights of Rome. I highly recommend the hotel where we stayed: http://www.tenutadellargento.com/

 

The hotel is a working ranch with large rooms (for Europe), a great restaurant, wonderful views of the mountains, sea and port as well as outstanding service.

 

Outdoor pool with view of mountains:

 

View of port at sunset from the hotel's outdoor patio; we were enjoying a carafe of Italian wine during the sunset the night before our cruise:

 

We missed our cat terrible while gone, but befriended the hotel's cat, "Meow":

 

The hotel is an active ranch and has cattle (hence very fresh beef at their restaurant), bulls, horses and cowboys as well cowgirls). Depending on the time of year they offer activities such as horseback riding.

 

What is your wife holding in the pic with the cat? It looks too small to be an Ipad and I am just wondering if it is some kind of wireless device. I am always looking for a small wireless device I can take on a trip with me that will work.

These are all fabulous pics and your review is fantastic. Thank you!

[Gonzo70]

Thanks for the compliment.

 

My wife is holding an Ipad-2. Came in handy while in ports (and our precruise hotel) for utilizing wifi.

[lais]

Thanks for the compliment.

 

My wife is holding an Ipad-2. Came in handy while in ports (and our precruise hotel) for utilizing wifi.

Thanks. I thought the Ipad's were bigger. Maybe I can put that on my Christmas list and then I can add another electronic device to the x-tra suitcase I will need to carry all the cords and extra batteries, Kindle, cell phone, ipod speakers, camera, ect. ect........

 

Glad to hear the good review on Guided tours israel as I am booked with them for next May for the Dead Sea. Loved the Dead Sea pics and can't wait to float. Regina

[Lois R]

Hi Gonzo, thanks for the review. As usual, very informative:).

Sounds like you both had a marvelous cruise.:DHopefully one day I will

have the pleasure of meeting you and Jen.

 

Question...would you know or maybe have heard, besides the

European sailings, are they now offering the Wine Connessiour Dinner

on other ships/itineraries once again? I went to one a couple of years

ago and if available I would splurge and do it again;). I will be

on Eclipse next month (Caribbean) and wondering if they will

offer it on her as well. I know I can ask after I board the ship but

was just curious if you had any first hand knowledge.

 

Again, the photos are terrific and thank you for sharing them

with us:)

[Gonzo70]

Thanks Lois,

 

I am not sure about the status of what ships are currently holding the wine connoisseur dinner. Hopefully there will be one on your sailing. :)

[Lois R]

Thanks Lois,

 

I am not sure about the status of what ships are currently holding the wine connoisseur dinner. Hopefully there will be one on your sailing. :)

 

Oh, ok....thanks anyway:) and I love the Molecular Bar too:D

I know when I was on Solstice they ran out of the (can't remember

the name) where it causes the smoke in the drink? Oh...I want

say laughing gas but it is not that LOL..so the Dragon Fly was not

smokin'..........

Liquid Nitrogen...thats it! They ran out of it when I sailed Solstice

last year!

[aqua]

Gonzo, Do you have any suggestions of where to buy Christmas ornaments or crosses? Is the store in Bethlehem a good place? We will also be in Jerusalem and Haifa. I would like to bring some gifts back. Thanks!