First Cruise: Celebrity Sillhouette to Rome

[rhw2014]

My wife and I will be taking our first cruise on the Celebrity Silhouette from Ft. Lauderdale to Rome in April. We have traveled extensively around the world, but never on a cruise ship before. So here are my initial questions:

 

1) My birthday falls on the trip. I've heard that they do something special for birthdays. What might I expect?

 

2) I haven't seen anyone posting about laundry. What do people do on such a long cruise? Are the laundry prices as exorbitant as I expect them to be? Is it possible to wash things in the sink in your cabin?

 

3) If I don't want to pack a suit or sport jacket to drag around Europe, am I condemned to the buffet or room service on formal nights?

[hopeless holiday booker]

I'll try to answer.

1. I don't think celebrity to anything special usually the person you're travelling with does something for you - I could be wrong.

2. No laundry on board. There has been discussions on taking a special kind of line to put in the shower or if you have a balcony to thread things through the chair - or you could just smell and where your undies inside out!

3. you may get some looks but as long as you are smart you will not be turned away on formal night.

 

Hope this helps.

[Onelung]

Firstly, welcome to cruise critic:)

 

I celebrated my birthday on board a few years ago. While they didn't go overboard they did give me some discount vouchers for the spa etc. We had dinner booked in one of the speciality restaurants that night and the waiters all came to the table and sang Happy Birthday to me! There was also a lovely cake which we arranged to have sent back to our stateroom to eat later as we were so full! There were no decorations of the stateroom or flowers etc, although these can be arranged if you pay for them.

 

Laundry on board is suprisingly affordable. They usual do an offer a few days into the cruise which is something like fill a bag (which will be provided in your stateroom) for a set amount. I think it was about $25 but I could be wrong. If you do a search on these boards I'm pretty sure there will be someone who's posted prices.

 

I think they do require at least a jacket on formal nights in the main restaurant but someone else could probably answer that better than I.

 

Hope that helps and have a fabulous cruise, Silhouette is a great ship.

 

Frankie

[Ex-Airbalancer]

I got a little cake in Blu, that was it

[gek]

1) I've seen a few people getting little cakes and Happy Birthday sung to them in Blu.

 

2) Laundry prices aren't too expensive. Hanging up your own washing can be a pain but it seems to dry fast.

 

3) On formal nights go to a Specialty Restaurant. No jacket required. You may or may not get away without one in the MDR but it seems many people frown upon this practice. Or upgrade to Aqua class so you can eat in Blu every night and go jacket-free for the whole cruise.

[Tommy3putts]

My wife and I will be taking our first cruise on the Celebrity Silhouette from Ft. Lauderdale to Rome in April. We have traveled extensively around the world, but never on a cruise ship before. So here are my initial questions:

 

 

2) I haven't seen anyone posting about laundry. What do people do on such a long cruise? Are the laundry prices as exorbitant as I expect them to be? Is it possible to wash things in the sink in your cabin?

 

Hi rwo, I'm a newbie also. Have travelled on business and leisure extensively tho. I'm a "one bag" fan. Traveling light is the way to go. On several multi week trips I have gotten by just fine with a couple pairs of shorts(pants) two-three shirts and a two pairs of shoes. Buy wrinkle free blend clothes and do laundry in the sink every night. The clothes will be dry by morning. There are many sites on the "one bag movement" check them out.

[gek]

Hi rwo, I'm a newbie also. Have travelled on business and leisure extensively tho. I'm a "one bag" fan. Traveling light is the way to go. On several multi week trips I have gotten by just fine with a couple pairs of shorts(pants) two-three shirts and a two pairs of shoes. Buy wrinkle free blend clothes and do laundry in the sink every night. The clothes will be dry by morning. There are many sites on the "one bag movement" check them out.

 

Two pairs of shoes! That seems a trifle extravagant.

[Tommy3putts]

Two pairs of shoes! That seems a trifle extravagant.

 

I'd only bring (wear) one if flip-flops were allowed in the MDR! I once did a 10 mile hike in the Grand Canyon with a guy who was wearing Teva Flip-flops.

[CathyCruises]

DH and I do a lot of traveling, and the past few cruises we have each brought a 24' (medium size) rolling suitcase and been able to fit everything we need, incuding clothes for formal night. Last year we turned a two week TA into a 6 week trip with 4 weeks on land in Europe--all with one suitcase each. It is totally doable with a little planning, and obviously I don't bring an evening gown worthy of the Academy Awards! DH wears his suit coat on the plane and wears the pants for half the 'smart casual' dinners along with a second pair of slacks. We are lucky to be Elite and have the laundry coupons but even without them we would do a bag of laundry half way. I do a lot of mix and match, and I always have an eye out for clothing that packs small, does not wrinkle, and can be worn at least on three separate occasions. Believe me, if we can do this, anybody can. There is no need to avoid formal nights unless you want to!

[rhw2014]

Thanks for those helpful replies, everyone. We try to travel as light as possible, and we are used to washing our own clothes during travel. My only problem with a jacket is that it would only be useful during the three formal nights, so I may just avoid the MDR on those nights.

[Gracie115]

Thanks for those helpful replies, everyone. We try to travel as light as possible, and we are used to washing our own clothes during travel. My only problem with a jacket is that it would only be useful during the three formal nights, so I may just avoid the MDR on those nights.

 

 

I would think a jacket might be helpful on those cool nights on a TA too....if you like walking the decks at all you may well find the jacket very useful.....the Med area gives no guarantee at all that you will be warm enough without a jacket...we were there in May last year and many nights needed a jacket...so maybe a sports coat would be appropriate and I suspect you would use it on more that "formal night".....check the average temps out for that time of year....can be quite cool....wear it on the plane....won't have to worry about packing it then....

[rhw2014]

Thanks, Gracie. That's a very good point. I will have a sweater and a casual jacket, since we plan to spend some time in Italy. But the sport jacket is also functional for warmth, not just a decoration. The problem is that we try to keep our luggage as light as possible, since we are always wrestling it onto trains and buses. Staying put for so long in one place is going to be a new experience for us. We tend to travel "par hazard," as the French say. :)

[d4m]

My wife and I will be taking our first cruise on the Celebrity Silhouette from Ft. Lauderdale to Rome in April. We have traveled extensively around the world, but never on a cruise ship before. So here are my initial questions:

 

1) My birthday falls on the trip. I've heard that they do something special for birthdays. What might I expect?

 

They often don't do anything if not aware of the birthday. Last year at dinner our waiter got the drift when tablemates were discussing my sister's birthday. The waiter winked, the next night he served a small cake and a few waiters sang. They just don't tend to keep track of birth dates for that many passengers. Let the waiter know or let your wife tell them & they may "surprise" you!

 

Rwojcik, if you don't bring a jacket, the MDR usually has spare jackets you can use for dinner. One of our tablemates didn't bring one, they gave him one and he carried it in and placed it on the back of the chair.

 

Have a great time! We love TA's!

[midwestchick]

DH and I do a lot of traveling, and the past few cruises we have each brought a 24' (medium size) rolling suitcase and been able to fit everything we need, incuding clothes for formal night. Last year we turned a two week TA into a 6 week trip with 4 weeks on land in Europe--all with one suitcase each. It is totally doable with a little planning, and obviously I don't bring an evening gown worthy of the Academy Awards! DH wears his suit coat on the plane and wears the pants for half the 'smart casual' dinners along with a second pair of slacks. We are lucky to be Elite and have the laundry coupons but even without them we would do a bag of laundry half way. I do a lot of mix and match, and I always have an eye out for clothing that packs small, does not wrinkle, and can be worn at least on three separate occasions. Believe me, if we can do this, anybody can. There is no need to avoid formal nights unless you want to!

 

I could use your help....lol. Do you have some sort of packing list? We cruise 12 nights this time which won't be a problem...it's the 5 night pre-cruise and living out of a suitcase tour I'm worried about. I'm sure the clothes (which I pack very carefully in tissue paper) will be a wrinkled mess by the time we board the ship :eek:....and will have no way of pressing them or steaming them. :eek:

[gelo7]

Very nice first cruise.

[rhw2014]

Thanks for the help. I've got another question. The Silhouette will be traveling east, and we noticed that the staterooms on the starboard side (facing south) filled up more quickly than those on the port side. Is that because the starboard side gets more sun, or does it really matter which side of the ship you are on? We reserved one on the starboard side, but there may be better choices still left on the port side. (Ours has a balcony, but it is in the middle recessed section next to the bulge.)

[vickykay]

We had the ship do laundry during a two week Baltic cruise (just basics). Quick turn around. Thought was not overly expensive esp when considering what a cruise costs. Was well worth the hassle of not doing it ourselves. Enjoy your cruise, sounds wonderful!

[Gracie115]

Thanks for the help. I've got another question. The Silhouette will be traveling east, and we noticed that the staterooms on the starboard side (facing south) filled up more quickly than those on the port side. Is that because the starboard side gets more sun, or does it really matter which side of the ship you are on? We reserved one on the starboard side, but there may be better choices still left on the port side. (Ours has a balcony, but it is in the middle recessed section next to the bulge.)

 

 

I would stay on the starboard side for sure. You WILL get more sun but more importantly you won't get the north breeze or WINDS on your balcony. The time of year could have some fairly cold air while crossing the Atlantic and being on the south side you will be protected from wind/rain coming out of the north. I'm quite sure that's why the south side has filled up more quickly! Enjoy!!:)

[Ex-Airbalancer]

DH wears his suit coat on the plane and wears the pants for half the 'smart casual' dinner

 

I am scared to ask what does he wear for the second half of the dinner:eek:

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Here is some lite reading for you, there is a test at the end

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1612161