Silhouette Picture Review: Eastern Caribbean April 2015

[Papermouse17]

Hi Laurie,

I am thoroughly enjoying your review. Thank you. I am an avid reader and have ‘shelved’ my current novel to follow your escapades on the ship. I have laughed out loud on several occasions!

My husband and I are cruising on the Silhouette in January (same itinerary) so it was great to see the ship through your pictorial review.

 

Thanks so much. Looking forward to the next chapter!

Rachelle

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[HEINER]

Great review thanks so much for doing it!

 

Question does the Classic Beverage package cover Martinis?

 

Thanks

[triplett]

Wednesday, April 15th - Day 4, continued

The sauna was also very large with plenty of space to accommodate a wheelchair. Had I chosen to use it, I would have transferred and sat on one of the wooden benches.

 

The sauna was very inviting.

 



Let's just add that to the list of things I want to try during my next cruise.

 

Next on my list was the gym. I was curious to see if they had a handcycle cardio machine. I was a bit disappointed to see that they didn't. Not that I would have gone to the gym during that cruise, but I could see myself spending some time at the gym during a solo cruise. Now that I think of it, that's pretty much the best excuse not to do your cardio. They do, however, have a bunch of free weights and strength training machines that would have been easy to transfer onto. Oh, well. Maybe next time.

 

Oi! I can hear you laughing at my cruise newbie naïveté. Quit it!

 

Entering the gym.

 

From the gym, you can access the Spa Veranda at the front of the ship. I was excited to check it out, but it was so windy that I literally couldn't push myself, which made a few people in the gym chuckle. Needless to say I didn't linger. I don't have any pictures of the gym because it was extremely crowded when I went there and I'm not comfortable enough writing reviews and taking pictures to be that person taking pictures of all the motivated and sweaty people.

 

It was almost 7:00, so I headed back to Deck 14 to meet my travelling peeps. Mom and Aunt were already there, and Aunt was very excited about the lovely islands we were passing. Again, I ate all the bacon, this time with the tiny croissants they had. After breakfast, we went back to our cabins to watch us sail into St. Kitts.

 

Getting closer.

 

We could see another ship already in port and while I could see that it was Royal Caribbean, I couldn't see which one it was. It looked big, though. As we were pulling into port, I could see the yellow building that would be the meeting point for our tour, so it was reassuring to see that it would be very easy to find.

 

 

Unable to stand still, I decided to head up to Deck 14 to take a look at the other ship. It was BIG! I couldn't believe how close we were! I was a bit nosy for a while and had a look at what the people were doing on their balconies, hoping to catch someone picking their nose or scratching their butt. Sadly, everyone was very well behaved.

 

I can state from personal observation, that nose picking is a frequent event at red lights and stop signs....... just look in your rear view mirror.

[digital_curator]

Thank you so much for your excellent review. I haven't sailed this class of ship and your pictures make me anxious to try one!

 

Thanks also for the information about accessibility. It is eye-opening!

 

But the big question- what is in a French Caribbean?!? Sounds like something I need to try on my next cruise!:D

 

Cheers,

[cdncruiser84]

Bonjour Laurie!

 

Thank you for posting this magnifique review :cool: Originally from Ontario and family is bilingual! My mother has been a para from the age of 16 and we have planned a Baltic cruise on the Silhouette for her 50th anniversary of her accident. She is staying in 7139 and we are staying in 7137 so I am happy to hear about the room and your experience with the ship. You are VERY much how I saw my mom being at your age and have a similar joie de vivre outlook! Again thank you so much for showing that being disabled doesn't mean you can't live a happy life just things are done different then able body people........You are an inspiration!!!!

P.S: learned alot of curse words when I was younger from the carpets in the hallways on cruise ships hahaha

 

All the best, Paul

Edited August 15, 2015 by cdncruiser84

[laurieal]

Hi Laurie,

I am thoroughly enjoying your review. Thank you. I am an avid reader and have ‘shelved’ my current novel to follow your escapades on the ship. I have laughed out loud on several occasions!

My husband and I are cruising on the Silhouette in January (same itinerary) so it was great to see the ship through your pictorial review.

 

Thanks so much. Looking forward to the next chapter!

Rachelle

 

Wow, my review won over your novel for a while! I'm both impressed and flattered, thank you! :D

 

I'm so happy you enjoyed it and that it made you laugh, and I wish you a fantastic cruise aboard the Silhouette in January. I'm sure you will have a terrific time.

[laurieal]

Great review thanks so much for doing it!

 

Question does the Classic Beverage package cover Martinis?

 

Thanks

 

My pleasure! I had a great time reliving our trip!

 

I know there were a few martini-like drinks that were included in the Classic package, but the only one that comes to mind is the Cosmo. However, most of the Martini Bar's drinks are only included in the Premium package.

[laurieal]

I can state from personal observation, that nose picking is a frequent event at red lights and stop signs....... just look in your rear view mirror.

 

Hahaha yeah I know, but it's so much more exotic to catch someone doing it in the Caribbean ;)

[laurieal]

Thank you so much for your excellent review. I haven't sailed this class of ship and your pictures make me anxious to try one!

 

Thanks also for the information about accessibility. It is eye-opening!

 

But the big question- what is in a French Caribbean?!? Sounds like something I need to try on my next cruise!:D

 

Cheers,

 

I'm so happy you're enjoying my review so far! I hope you'll decide to try this class of ship one day :)

 

A French Caribbean has coconut rhum, black raspberry liqueur and passion fruit (or mango) purée. It's one of the most delicious fruity drinks I've ever had in my life; it tasted like vacation!

[laurieal]

Bonjour Laurie!

 

Thank you for posting this magnifique review :cool: Originally from Ontario and family is bilingual! My mother has been a para from the age of 16 and we have planned a Baltic cruise on the Silhouette for her 50th anniversary of her accident. She is staying in 7139 and we are staying in 7137 so I am happy to hear about the room and your experience with the ship.

 

Hi Paul! Thank you so much for your very nice comment. It warmed my heart :) What a great present for your mother's "paraversary"! My tenth was in early May, so we raised our glasses to those ten years one evening during the cruise.

 

Tell your mother to check the bible in her cabin. Who knows, maybe our unused vouchers will still be in it.

 

You are VERY much how I saw my mom being at your age and have a similar joie de vivre outlook! Again thank you so much for showing that being disabled doesn't mean you can't live a happy life just things are done different then able body people........You are an inspiration!!!!

P.S: learned alot of curse words when I was younger from the carpets in the hallways on cruise ships hahaha

 

All the best, Paul

 

Aaaw, your mother sounds great :) It's good that she taught you all those thick carpet curse words. One can never know enough, especially on those large ships with hallways that go on forever.

[laurieal]

Good afternoon to everyone following my review. I want to apologize that it took me so long to finish this. I have the most ridiculous excuse, too: I just got swamped up in summer and in planning my next cruise.

 

Now that all my pictures are ready to go, I should get this done during the weekend (if no one calls and invites me over to eat all the bacon).

 

Saturday, April 18th - Day 7

Someone in our cabin, I won't say who, but someone woke up a bit hung-over that morning. Someone in the other cabin, now I'm not saying who, but they also woke up hung-over. Seriously, I won't say who, but it may or may not be the two people who had Lemoncello. Man, what a couple of lightweights, am I right? ;-)

 

So we were all a bit slow that morning. Not only because of the hangover bit, but also because this was our last day and the next day, at the same time, we would be leaving the ship. At that point, if you had asked me, I would have said that a weeklong cruise was way too short. There were so many things I hadn't done! So many things I hadn't seen! I would refuse to get off the next day, simple as that!

 

After breakfast, we headed over to the Photo Gallery because we wanted to beat the crowds as much as possible. There, we spoke with a guy who told us that he would absolutely give us all pictures from the two cabins, no problem at all! We were very pleased and decided to purchase the package. We even got a 25% discount because my mother had her Classic Member discount. We paid for our package, but we had to return that night after 21:00 in order to recuperate our CD.

 

The three other ladies wanted to catch some last sunrays and work on their tans a little, but I had had enough sun and I decided to go to the Solarium with my book. I found one of those very comfy looking shell-like nooks and I threw myself in it. I had a bunch of pillows, I had the best possible view, and I had a very interesting book. All the ingredients to enjoy a very peaceful moment with myself. Sometimes I stopped reading and almost dozed off… it was fantastic.

 

The shell-like chair thing in which I would spend a few hours.

 



My chair taking a break, too.

 



My view. It doesn't get any better than that.

 



While I was reading, the cruise director was enjoying a dip in one of the hot tubs. Looks refreshing!

 

Around lunchtime, Mom came over and asked whether I wanted to join them for lunch. We all went (guess where) to the Oceanview Café. It was extremely crowded. They had a chocolate fountain with plenty of dipping accessories, and now that I think about it, that chocolate fountain probably explains the crowd. One would think I would have dived headfirst into that chocolaty goodness, but we had a reservation at Qsine that evening and the plan was to eat a very light lunch. And when I say light, I mean a couple of slices of spicy cheese.

 

Dessert section at the Oceanview Café with a lot of things you could dip in chocolate.

 



Aforementioned chocolate fountain.

Edited August 29, 2015 by laurieal
can't tell the days of the week

[laurieal]

Saturday, April 18th - Day 7, continued

After lunch, we walked around for a bit. We took some pictures in the big chairs up on the lawn, and then we all went to the Sky Lounge because Mom wanted to show the great views to Aunt and Friend.

 

Passing the Martini Bar during our stroll. Definitely a change of ambiance from the night before.

 



Mandatory photo op on the Silhouette.

 

I went off on my own for a little while after that, and I decided to try looking for the sports courts. I ended up close to the kid's play area, decided to go outside, and managed to lock myself out. Thankfully, I wasn't there too long. Someone saw me and rescued me. My hero. So, lesson of the day, don't go outside from the arcade room if you can't use stairs.

 

On my way to the Sports Courts (hopefully), the pool seemed very busy. A lot of people putting the finishing touches to their tans.

 



Help! Damsel in distress over here!

 



At least the view was nice.

 

After that, I went back to our cabin to join the exciting activity of the afternoon: packing. While we were out, someone had left a birthday surprise for Mom: her boyfriend had ordered a bottle of sparkling wine and a cake! It was extremely nice of him, but if you're considering buying a similar surprise for someone who's celebrating their birthday on the last day of the cruise, maybe consider having it sent a bit earlier during the cruise, even if it's not their actual birthday. The bottle is pretty big and that cake's no pixie either; we couldn't really enjoy it to its full potential.

 

Packing was less than fun, but the later it got, the more I accepted that the vacation was coming to an end. When the packing was done, we got ready for dinner at Qsine.

While we were putting the finishing touches to our primping, the Captain made an announcement. The kind of announcement we could hear INSIDE the cabin. Due to a medical emergency, we were now heading to Fort Lauderdale at maximum speed and would arrive around 1:00 instead of the scheduled 6:00. However, due to a lack of available space at the port, we would have to dock elsewhere at first before returning to the regular pier at 6:00.

 

We decided to have pre-dinner drinks at the Sunset Bar where I had to hold my dress lest it flew up Marilyn Monroe-style. It was very classy. I had a glass of delicious white sangria, and while I was enjoying it, I saw the bride-to-be from the night before. We said hello, properly introduced ourselves and our travelling peeps, and we chatted for a bit about the impromptu photo shoot from the night before. She and her future husband were incredibly nice!

[laurieal]

Saturday, April 18th - Day 7, continued

We knew what to expect from Qsine because we had read reviews and seen videos online, but we were still pretty excited to experience it. Soon after we were seated, our culinary tour guide came over to introduce herself and explain how our iPads/menus worked.

 

Qsine menu.

 

We had some fun looking at drinks and I ended up ordering their version of a Mojito. She also brought us some bread that was, honestly, the best bread I've ever had in a restaurant in my entire life. We all loved it.

 

My mojito was very refreshing and tasty.

 



Delicious bread of deliciousness.

 

We were looking at the menu, trying to decide what we wanted to order, when our culinary tour guide was back to ask what we wanted.

 

There's one thing I didn't really like about Qsine, and that's how rushed I felt. We were still trying to decide what we wanted to order, but she insisted to start taking our order right away, even though we hadn't looked at all the offerings yet. And we weren't dawdling! There's just so much stuff on the menu and we wanted to get things all four of us would enjoy. I would have been happy with just an extra ten minutes to look at everything.

 

Throughout the meal, we had:

 

Sushi Lollipops.

 



Disco Shrimp.

 



Crunchy Munchies.

[laurieal]

Saturday, April 18th - Day 7, continued

Painter's Mignon.

 



Lobster Escargots.

 

Also eaten, but not pictured: Spring Rolls and Lava Crab (which looks really unappealing once they cut it open).

 

Everything was absolutely delicious, but I was completely blown away by the Lava Crab. Another favourite of mine was the Disco Shrimp. Oh, and the Painter's Mignon was so tender it practically sliced itself open when I looked at it.

 

For dessert, they brought a special birthday surprise for Mom: a cupcake with two pots of caramel and strawberry creams (almost like icing, but not quite), with sprinkles covered strawberries. Mom (and Friend) also got some beignets, while Aunt picked the Silver bullet (gelato and fruits) and I got the Cheesecake.

 

Birthday surprise!

 



My cheesecake (with cotton candy underneath it).

 

Overall, I think Qsine was a great experience and I'm very happy we went. However, between the four of us, I don't think we had enough appetite to really enjoy it to the fullest. I think I might have been a bit disappointed if we had paid full price, but I was happy with the value I got for the discounted price. Everything I tasted ranged from good to "Oh My God, how can I replace my organs with this?", so really, I'm happy with my dinner.

 

We asked ourselves if we would do it again, and although we were all very happy with out meal, Mom and Friend said they wouldn't repeat the experience. Aunt and I would do it again, but with a much bigger group. We all felt the portions were too big for a degustation experience, and there's probably an insane amount of waste, which is always a bit sad.

 

With very full bellies, we headed to the Photo Gallery to pick up our CD, and then went straight to our cabins to put the last touches to our splendid packing jobs. We went outside for a little while, and I don't know where we were, but there were several cruise ships around us. Probably all making their way back to different Florida ports. It was a very pretty sight, like a sea Christmas tree, and I didn't even take a picture so I'm just taunting you with the image. Sorry about that.

 

I thought I'd have a hard time reaching our cabin with all the luggage in the corridor, but somehow I managed and I didn't even swear once. It could be very challenging to someone in a larger "vehicle", though. We were a bit naughty and only got our luggage out by 23:02. We'd have to be up pretty early the next day, so we didn't goof around too much and went to bed.

[cdncruiser84]

Hi Paul! Thank you so much for your very nice comment. It warmed my heart :) What a great present for your mother's "paraversary"! My tenth was in early May, so we raised our glasses to those ten years one evening during the cruise.

 

Tell your mother to check the bible in her cabin. Who knows, maybe our unused vouchers will still be in it.

 

 

 

Aaaw, your mother sounds great :) It's good that she taught you all those thick carpet curse words. One can never know enough, especially on those large ships with hallways that go on forever.

 

No the thanks all go to you for your amazing review!

 

Going against the grain doesn't always work and shoulders don't get any better as time goes on sadly. So we would find the easiest route possible mainly upper decks/tile'd and work our way down to where we were going with the elevators as Dear mother refused to be pushed .......got to love her.......I will def. pass it on to look when she get's to the room for the vouchers :) well instead of filling up your amazing review is there any way possible to reach you outside of this?

Edited August 30, 2015 by cdncruiser84

[laurieal]

Sunday, April 19th - Day 8

Last day of the cruise! How? Why? No, seriously, why? Somehow, that morning seemed a lot less magical than all the previous ones. As promised by our handsome captain, we were now docked at Port Everglades and we woke up early enough to watch beautiful Allure coming back. It reminded me of being back home and watching the Port Everglades webcam early in the morning while getting ready for work.

 

So graceful and quiet in the early morning.

 

We decided to visit the Oceanview Café one last time. The mood was strange around the bacon that morning. People were wearing their "going back home" clothes and the energy was definitely different. Still, we were treated to a beautiful sunrise and I could already feel a sort of soft nostalgia settling in. We were in our breakfast spot for the last time. I was having a tiny croissant for the last time. I was saying good morning to the nice breakfast people for the last time… Yet, I was now okay with the fact that our vacation was coming to an end. Seven days is a good length for a cruise after all, although more would be fantastic.

 

The sun is rising in Fort Lauderdale.

 

We had chosen not to do self-disembark, which Mom usually does, because I couldn't be trusted to carry my luggage off the ship. Our flight from Fort Lauderdale airport was scheduled to leave at 11:30 and we got a disembarking time of somewhere between 8:00 and 8:30, I can't remember exactly.

 

We had booked a transfer with Celebrity through our travel agent and they had confirmed that Mom and I would get an accessible vehicle, but they couldn't guarantee that we would be paired with Aunt and Friend. No big deal, we were all going to the same place.

 

I had asked Guest Services if I had to go to the meeting place for people with disability or not, and they had told me that, since I had people with me who were willing and able to help me, I had to go to the Dining Room with all the other people. When we got there, it was a bit chaotic. We didn't want to go too deep into the Dining Room for fear of not hearing our number being called, so we stayed close to the entrance.

 

It soon became obvious that every time a number was called, people had to go down the stairs. We found someone with a clipboard (people with clipboards always know what's going on – I wish I had a clipboard) and she told us to go down to another deck using the elevator. We thought we'd need to do the whole "what wants to go down must go all the way up" routine, but we managed to squeeze into an elevator going down. Success.

 

I wasn't in the best mood that morning. First, I thought we were cutting it a bit short with our disembarking time; I usually like to be at a "strange" airport three hours before my flight time. It was now passed that and we were nowhere close to the airport. Second, there were people everywhere and I didn't have an ounce of alcohol in me. So…yeah, just setting the mood here.

 

Out of the elevator, we found where we were supposed to go and we slowly made our way off the ship. Finding our luggage and going through customs was a breeze, and it felt like no time at all before we were out of the terminal. There were a few buses in front of the terminal with a few people with clipboards directing all the ex-cruisers to the proper bus depending on their destination (Fort Lauderdale or Miami airport).

 

There was one accessible bus, but it was going to Miami. And it's a good thing I speak English, because people with clipboards kept telling us to get in that one. Eventually, it became obvious to everyone that we were going to Fort Lauderdale and we were asked to stand in line. Which we did. FOR AGES. Every passing minute was ebbing away at my already depleted patience. Not that we were late and at risk of missing our flight, but it was so much later than I would have liked it to be. Meanwhile, taxis kept coming and going. We even saw our taxi driver friend!

 

Lo and behold, an accessible bus arrived around 9:15. They had to use one of the Royal Caribbean buses from the Allure terminal. It looked a lot like the bus we had been on for our San Juan excursion, a regular bus with a lift on the side.

 

The Royal Caribbean bus that would take us to the airport.

 



The bus had a door on its side that opened and a lift.

 



The driver obviously had some experience with that lift. It took no time at all setting it up.

 



Some seats had been pushed aside to make room for my wheelchair.

 

Overall, my experience with the Celebrity transfer wasn't a great one. I didn't like how not in control I felt. The next time I'm in a similar situation, I will self disembark and book an accessible taxi like we did to get to the port. But in the end, no harm was done, our transfer was there and we would all be riding together.

 

We had to wait for a bit while the clipboard people filled the bus and stored everyone's luggage, but it wasn't too long before we were on our way. The bus makes a few stops at the Fort Lauderdale airport and our terminal was the last, but the stops are very close to one another and it wasn't as bad as I expected when I was told we would get off last.

[laurieal]

Sunday, April 19th - Day 8, continued

Thankfully, the check-in line at the airport was pretty much inexistent and we were directed to security around 10:00. Not too bad, but a bit late for me. Keep in mind that, being disabled and in need of the Hannibal Lecter chair, the airport people want me to board before everyone else does, because it's so much easier to manoeuvre the aisle chair when no one else is around.

 

While speed running in Fort Lauderdale airport.

 

Security was uneventful, but I only had time to quickly use the restroom before an airport person came looking for me. They weren't ready for me to board yet, but I guess they wanted to keep an eye on me and make sure I was there and ready to board when they would be. My travelling peeps soon joined me and a few minutes later we were boarding.

 

We could still see the ships in the distance.

 



I found it very impressive to see those huge ships from the plane.They looked like toys!

 



My last sight of the Silhouette where the grass is always greener :)

 

The flight was INSANE. I counted at least twenty infants and toddlers before I stopped counting, assuming that it probably wouldn't be the most peaceful and relaxing flight. It ended up being the understatement of the year. The flight was a complete zoo. Not really because of the young kids on board, it was mostly the adults being incredibly loud and way too festive. Mom, who has flown the most out of the four of us, had never seen anything like it. But hey, what could we do, it's not like we wanted to sleep or anything. We bid our time watching our pictures and dealing with alcohol withdrawal.

 

Once we were close to Quebec City, one of the flight attendants announced that eighteen people had requested wheelchair assistance to debark the plane. EIGHTEEN!!! The highest I have ever seen is one (plus me, but I bring my own wheelchair so shortage is never an issue). Quebec City has a tiny airport that has far from eighteen wheelchairs, so the flight attendant let those people know that it would take longer to get off and that if they felt a miraculous urge to stand up and walk, they could do so. I think there were twelve miracle walkers that day. I suppose that's what happens when the snowbirds are flying back.

 

It wasn't great seeing snow again, but I always get excited when I see bits of Quebec City I recognize from the plane. I was home.

 

At the airport, Friend got brought into one of those little rooms where they open your luggage and look at your undies. She was bringing back some soap that you can't find over here anymore, so that raised some eyebrows, but it only took about five minutes before she was released for good hygiene or something. Mom's partner was waiting for us at the door, and he had brought our winter coats with him.

 

Ew. Winter coats.

 

So that was it. The end of a fantastic first cruise. It was time for me to go home, but before that, I had to go to that place where Canadians pick up their citizenship after leaving the country ;-)

 

Home, at last.

 

Stay tuned for the last episodes of my review: Laurie goes back to work and Laurie needs one full week to unpack and do all the laundry.

 

...or not. Thank you for embarking on this adventure with me. Again, if you were following this thread, I'm sorry it took ages to get it done. If you have any questions (regarding the accessibility or not), feel free to ask! If you're sailing on the Silhouette soon, I wish you a wonderful cruise!

[asmith19]

Thank you so much for the great review! We sailed the Reflection in Jan/ Feb and are booked on the Silhoutte in January 2016. It was great to see the photos so we could compare!

[3red7s]

Laurie....love your review....we are Diamond Plus (24 cruises) with RC & just booked our 1st Celebrity Cruise for 2016. It is the intinary that you are currently sailing...looking forward to more pics!!

[BunnyLebowski]

Thanks for this review Laurie- it's literally the most enjoyable one I have ever read. Love your dry sense of humor. Hope you consider writing another for your next cruise (itinerary sounds amazing!)

 

Gigi

[kpkcruiser]

Awesome review!!!!!!!

[MyDogRudy]

This review was the best! I was on this same ship and itinerary last year and will do the western leg on Silhouette in January and seeing your review has finally gotten me psyched. (I know, how can one not be psyched about their upcoming cruise, but I've been busy and it's been hot here).

 

I loved your writing style balanced by just enough pictures. You are very funny! I loved the last entry about having to be around people sans alcohol, the miracle walkers and the Tim Horton's...hilarious! Very enjoyable read and this review will be so helpful for those looking for accessibility information as well as reminding others about some of the things we take for granted.

 

Thanks for taking us with you on your cruise...it was a real joy and I look forward to reading another review from you after another fabulous trip!

 

Sent from my SM-G900R4 using Tapatalk

[laurieal]

No the thanks all go to you for your amazing review!

 

Going against the grain doesn't always work and shoulders don't get any better as time goes on sadly. So we would find the easiest route possible mainly upper decks/tile'd and work our way down to where we were going with the elevators as Dear mother refused to be pushed .......got to love her.......I will def. pass it on to look when she get's to the room for the vouchers :) well instead of filling up your amazing review is there any way possible to reach you outside of this?

 

Finding alternative routes was definitely the key to keeping the swearing to a minimum. Still, by the end of the week, I could definitely feel it in the shoulders. I have no trouble believing that they will hate me in forty years.

 

Where to reach me? That depends! While on a cruise, I can usually be found around the crispy bacon. If not travelling, email is probably the best way to reach me.

[laurieal]

Thank you so much for the great review! We sailed the Reflection in Jan/ Feb and are booked on the Silhoutte in January 2016. It was great to see the photos so we could compare!

 

I'm glad you liked my review! I'm sure you will love the Silhouette :)

 

Laurie....love your review....we are Diamond Plus (24 cruises) with RC & just booked our 1st Celebrity Cruise for 2016. It is the intinary that you are currently sailing...looking forward to more pics!!

 

So happy you loved my review! I hope you'll have a wonderful time on the Silhouette sailing that itinerary. I'm taking my first Royal Caribbean cruise in early October and I'm looking forward to being Diamond Plus' date=' too ;)

 

Thanks for this review Laurie- it's literally the most enjoyable one I have ever read. Love your dry sense of humor. Hope you consider writing another for your next cruise (itinerary sounds amazing!)

 

Gigi

 

My pleasure! I had a lot of fun writing it and sorting through my pictures (it was almost like cruising again). I will definitely do another review for the Explorer, so look for me in the Royal Caribbean board in (probably) November.

 

Awesome review!!!!!!!

 

Awesome comment!!!! Thank you :)

 

This review was the best! I was on this same ship and itinerary last year and will do the western leg on Silhouette in January and seeing your review has finally gotten me psyched. (I know, how can one not be psyched about their upcoming cruise, but I've been busy and it's been hot here).

 

I loved your writing style balanced by just enough pictures. You are very funny! I loved the last entry about having to be around people sans alcohol, the miracle walkers and the Tim Horton's...hilarious! Very enjoyable read and this review will be so helpful for those looking for accessibility information as well as reminding others about some of the things we take for granted.

 

Thanks for taking us with you on your cruise...it was a real joy and I look forward to reading another review from you after another fabulous trip!

 

Wow, thank you so much for your nice comment! I'm blushing and fanning myself, here! I completely understand what you mean about not being psyched for a trip straight away. But when you finally start getting psyched, it's the best feeling in the world!

 

Thank you for reading!

[Pickels]

Fantastic photos, glad you are having a great cruise; great job Celebrity