First X Cruise:SILHOUETTE JAN 17 2016

[Bimmer09]

Loving the review so far! Making me look forward to my 3/27 sailing even more. Have you ever considered posting your photos on http://www.cruisedeckplans.com ? They could be very beneficial there...

 

I am not familiar with that site. I will look it over.

 

Thanks for the tip!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Norris, your review and pics are fantastic. I'm booked on the Silhouette next year on a 9 day Southern and you are making my mouth water.

 

Hi again and thanks for the compliments!

 

Anticipation is everything....how long do you have to wait?

 

Norris

[Miaminice]

Hi Norris,

 

just stumbled across your review and browsed through it.

Thanks for writing and posting it.

 

I am glad to see that you seem to have enjoyed X and the Silhouette. She is our favourite and the Holy Land cruise we did on her was one of the best cruises ever.

 

Would love to sit in the Sunset Bar right now... Great place.

Our next cruise will be on Eclipse to Iceland... Not sure if we will make much use of it there ;)

 

Thanks again!

Oliver

[Bimmer09]

Was wondering when BACON would make a guest appearance here on "Norris's Excellent Adventure". Great story line here. Making us anticipate our March West Caribbean trip next month.

 

Thanks for the insight!

Very much appreciated.

 

Glad you are enjoying, Your Countship!

 

Some more food photos coming later when we have dinner in Luminae.

 

One of my favorite Caribb trips was the Western (Roatan, Belize, Cozumel). See the Caribbean Princess review for some remarkable excursions.

 

March will soon be here...

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Hi Norris,

 

just stumbled across your review and browsed through it.

Thanks for writing and posting it.

 

I am glad to see that you seem to have enjoyed X and the Silhouette. She is our favourite and the Holy Land cruise we did on her was one of the best cruises ever.

 

Would love to sit in the Sunset Bar right now... Great place.

Our next cruise will be on Eclipse to Iceland... Not sure if we will make much use of it there ;)

 

Thanks again!

Oliver

 

Oliver-happy to see you here!

 

I dropped a link in this review somewhere to your S America review on the Infinity. For those who missed it here is that link again and it will also give you access to Oliver's Holy land review...

 

http://www.travelandcruise.net/travellove_en/Our-Trips/S-America/s-america.html

 

Look forward to your Iceland pics Oliver.

 

Thanks for stopping by and for letting me know you are reading this.

 

Tchuss!

 

Norris

[ClaudiaB]

For those contemplating an Alaska cruise --- be sure to check out the Alaska forum here on Cruise Critic. A great wealth of information and experience.

[Bimmer09]

You know you are a Ship Nerd when you get off your ship to take photos of the stern of your ship and any others that might be nearby.

 

I've got a fever and the only prescription (apart from more cowbell obviously) is more stern shots!

 

 

Eclipse

 

 

Silhouette

 

 

My Spidey sense tells me I am been watched..

 

 

 

It's the resident in 7309!

 

 

More...

[Bimmer09]

When I watched the Oosterdam docking earlier today I heard and saw one of the mooring lines they had just cast ashore go "boyoiiiii-nggggg" and saw the outer coating unravel. They pulled it back into the ship and replaced it. The wind was blowing across the dock on her port side and for the rest of the day they ran the stern thrusters to push her close to the dock. She was about to leave.

 

 

and she left

 

 

 

The wind is blowing the Magica against the dock (ditto the Silly) and you can see some of the lines are slack as the ship squeezes the huge inflatable fenders.

 

 

Time for me to get back on the ship

 

 



 

 

( The Sea chest is where they keep the golden doubloons and Pieces of Eight)

 

The last time I will step aboard the ship on this cruise. I have to be given smelling salts and be carried by 4 crew members. They stick one of those cold towels in my mouth to dampen the screaming.

 

 

See you onboard.

[Bimmer09]

While we are waiting for our own ship to sail off into the wild Blu yonder I'll show you a brief clip from our Blu breakfast this morning.

 

[YOUTUBE]HYRbRKyorSw[/YOUTUBE]

 

(with thanks to POA1)

 

My plan now was to go up to deck 15 and get some photos before we left. The aft elevators bring me out by the Art Studio on the port side. They had classes in here daily with up to a dozen participants.

 

 

 

Time to head forward...

 

 

Eclipse has a party going on the Helicopter winching deck. Lucky stiffs!

 

 

We have Bupkuss, Zilch, Nada, Nowt...

 

 

Coming soon- Horn Battle # 2

[Bimmer09]

I was at my sail away perch. I took a photo in the windbreak glass that shows an upside-down port area.

 



 

(with apologies to Vertigo sufferers)

 

I take a last look around the harbor

 

 

 

Eclipse will leave before us. We will be held up for 15 minutes beyond our 6 p.m schedule. A call goes out for a couple of passengers to report to Guest Relations.

No one is running down the pier but an ambulance appears with it's blue lights flashing and drives towards the gangway.

 

As the Eclipse is backing out she says buh-bye....

 

[YOUTUBE]-7113EbBL6k[/YOUTUBE]

 

Like teens revving their cars at a traffic light it's a show of Machismo. Enjoy. The Eclipse has the lower-pitched horn.

 

Norris

[G&Gcruisers]

Glad you are enjoying, Your Countship!

 

Some more food photos coming later when we have dinner in Luminae.

 

One of my favorite Caribb trips was the Western (Roatan, Belize, Cozumel). See the Caribbean Princess review for some remarkable excursions.

 

March will soon be here...

 

Norris

One of my favorite Caribb trips was the Western (Roatan, Belize, Cozumel). See the Caribbean Princess review for some remarkable excursions.

 

Norris,

We are on doing this same itinerary in Dec with friends. We have been on this ship before so, we know what we like about the ship. I will have to go back and re-read your review and watch the videos to see which excursions you enjoyed. Our friends want to see ruins. DH and I have been to Tulum so, we would prefer another site.

Once again I want to comment on your enjoyable photos. They alone tell the story. I also enjoy your writings.

Mj

Edited February 7, 2016 by G&Gcruisers
Please delete duplicate post

[G&Gcruisers]

Glad you are enjoying, Your Countship!

 

Some more food photos coming later when we have dinner in Luminae.

 

One of my favorite Caribb trips was the Western (Roatan, Belize, Cozumel). See the Caribbean Princess review for some remarkable excursions.

 

March will soon be here...

 

Norris

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bimmer09

Glad you are enjoying, Your Countship!

 

Some more food photos coming later when we have dinner in Luminae.

 

One of my favorite Caribb trips was the Western (Roatan, Belize, Cozumel). See the Caribbean Princess review for some remarkable excursions.

 

March will soon be here...

 

Norris

One of my favorite Caribb trips was the Western (Roatan, Belize, Cozumel). See the Caribbean Princess review for some remarkable excursions.

 

Norris,

We are on doing this same itinerary in Dec with friends. We have been on this ship before so, we know what we like about the ship. I will have to go back and re-read your review and watch the videos to see which excursions you enjoyed. Our friends want to see ruins. DH and I have been to Tulum so, we would prefer another site.

Once again I want to comment on your enjoyable photos. They alone tell the story. I also enjoy your writings.

Mj

[deliver42]

Hi Norris, to answer your question, our cruise is Dec8,2017 to Antigua, St Lucia,St Maartin, and Barbados. The only island we've been to is St. Maartin.

 

 

Mel

[Bimmer09]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bimmer09

Glad you are enjoying, Your Countship!

 

Some more food photos coming later when we have dinner in Luminae.

 

One of my favorite Caribb trips was the Western (Roatan, Belize, Cozumel). See the Caribbean Princess review for some remarkable excursions.

 

March will soon be here...

 

Norris

One of my favorite Caribb trips was the Western (Roatan, Belize, Cozumel). See the Caribbean Princess review for some remarkable excursions.

 

Norris,

We are on doing this same itinerary in Dec with friends. We have been on this ship before so, we know what we like about the ship. I will have to go back and re-read your review and watch the videos to see which excursions you enjoyed. Our friends want to see ruins. DH and I have been to Tulum so, we would prefer another site.

Once again I want to comment on your enjoyable photos. They alone tell the story. I also enjoy your writings.

Mj

 

MJ, thanks for the compliments! I'm glad you're sticking with it.

 

I hope you enjoy the Caribbean Princess review-we sailed from Houston which was a new experience for us.

 

Norris

[valeep]

Hi Norris-

 

I have finally caught up on your journey. We last went on the Reflection in the Mediterranean and is nice to see that the Silhouette is identical with the things we love....although note to self...watch other people order martinis to keep seeing the flair show. whoops! :)

 

We will be on the Silhouette in April and reading through your stories has made me look forward even more although I am not sure how the Lawn Club will be since we will be near Denmark/Norway/Sweden and may be fairly cold. I do remember heaters and blankets.

 

Looking forward to your thoughts on Qsine. Agree with your comments on Tuscan Grille although they never did get a fair shot since our cruise started in Rome and visited several other Italian locations....

 

Kind Regards,

 

Valerie

[Meadet]

Welcome Tracey! I see you don't post often so that's a double welcome!

 

I'm glad you are reading along and are enjoying.

 

Someone from the Disney organization needs to show the St Maarten taxi guys how to handle crowds.

 

It looks like you are due for another cruise!

 

Norris

 

Hi Norris,

yes well and truly bitten by the cruising bug, I'm a frequent lurker or drooler over the RCCL and Celebrity boards, alas since our last cruise we've had a 2 yr old and another baba due any day now so our holidays have been geared towards more family friendly resorts in Spain and Italy.

As you can guess fly/cruise is quite costly anywhere from Ireland, especially as a family, so we want to ensure the next cruise we embark on our children will be old enough to avail of the amenities and remember the trip

 

Probably Disney come to think of it !!!!

Edited February 7, 2016 by Meadet

[Bimmer09]

Hi Norris-

 

I have finally caught up on your journey. We last went on the Reflection in the Mediterranean and is nice to see that the Silhouette is identical with the things we love....although note to self...watch other people order martinis to keep seeing the flair show. whoops! :)

 

We will be on the Silhouette in April and reading through your stories has made me look forward even more although I am not sure how the Lawn Club will be since we will be near Denmark/Norway/Sweden and may be fairly cold. I do remember heaters and blankets.

 

Looking forward to your thoughts on Qsine. Agree with your comments on Tuscan Grille although they never did get a fair shot since our cruise started in Rome and visited several other Italian locations....

 

Kind Regards,

 

Valerie

 

Welcome Valerie and thanks for coming aboard.

 

I will go to the Martini bar and maybe order one (chocolate sounds good or maybe there's a bacon-flavored one?) and I'll take video of the crazy skills the bartenders have.

 

I haven't eaten in Qsine YET but sure will.

 

My previous cruise started in Rome and we usually have our first comp meal on Princess in the Italian restaurant Sabatini's. We agreed it would be unfair to them after eating Roman food for 2 days-no way could we not be disappointed. We ate in the steakhouse for dinner twice that week (which is superb) and skipped Sabatini's. Both Tuscan Grille and Sabatini's need an Italian chef in the kitchen.

 

I know there are exceptions to the rule (Rick Bayliss for one when it comes to Mexican cooking) but if entering a Mexican restaurant I hope to see a few Mexican faces in the staffing, Chinese in a Chinese restaurant and so on.

 

I ate at some pretty basic restaurants in Rome and the food was very simply prepared and unfussy-but tasted so good. In one kitchen a 76 year old Italian lady was cooking up a storm (Carol was taken to meet her).

 

Norris

[CoatRackOfDoom]

Ed, great screen name, or is that your last name? One never knows.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

I don't think it appropriate to tip the ladies in Michael's-the pampering and helpfulness is part of the Suite experience and makes you glad you booked a suite. They lead a rarified life there as they are not rushed off their feet.

 

Our gratuities were included (1,2,3 Go! booking) but we still tipped our room stewards and our butler cash and I tipped Bojan the bartender at Sunset each time I went up there. These were the people who hustled on our behalf daily.

 

Regarding Alaska, Princess would be my first choice as they have access to Glacier Bay. I have two Alaska reviews that might help you.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Norris

 

Norris, thanks - screen name is based on a game involving animated and combative objects in a closet. I laugh every time i think of it. Anyway, great advice on tipping (an area that occasionally creates anxiety for many of us).

 

Glacier bay? When i read those reviews i'll pay particular attention to that!

 

Cheers and stay warm in Chicago,

Ed

[Bimmer09]

Norris, thanks - screen name is based on a game involving animated and combative objects in a closet. I laugh every time i think of it. Anyway, great advice on tipping (an area that occasionally creates anxiety for many of us).

 

Glacier bay? When i read those reviews i'll pay particular attention to that!

 

Cheers and stay warm in Chicago,

Ed

 

Ed, looks like we share the same closet...mine is out to get me.

 

To add to the tipping Question- we also tipped the waiters in the Specialty restaurants, 3 of whom were among the best we've ever had- 2 in Murano and Dr V in LCG. Laughing and bantering is part of a good dinner for us.

 

I can' recall if I tipped the Serbian Sourpuss in Tuscan. Probably did out of habit.

And while on TG I don't want anyone to think we had a poor meal there-not the case, but it was an unmemorable meal which the other restaurants I laud can't be accused of serving (to our taste).

 

Thanks for reading along....still more to come!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

I found myself back on the X website today. Reason being we did not get tickets for this year's Bayreuth Festival in Germany (we were there last in 2013 so not surprised....the waiting list has been known to be 10 years long).

 

Carol considered and costed out a trip to Santa Fe a beautiful city we have been to 7 times already. When she tallied up resort lodgings, Opera tickets, eats and car rental she said " we could get a cruise for that price!" and the research ball started rolling.

 

So I have been looking at Princess, X and HAL Alaska cruises for part of the day.

Looking first at suites on each (Neptune on HAL and Sky on Millie if they exist)

 

Best X itinerary for us is on the Millennium-but there's no grass.

 

Will let you know as thing develop. Solstice is an option if we have to have grass.

 

Anyone sailed Millennium? Since Solstice-ization?

 

Norris

 

[perfect match]

I found myself back on the X website today. Reason being we did not get tickets for this year's Bayreuth Festival in Germany (we were there last in 2013 so not surprised....the waiting list has been known to be 10 years long).

 

Carol considered and costed out a trip to Santa Fe a beautiful city we have been to 7 times already. When she tallied up resort lodgings, Opera tickets, eats and car rental she said " we could get a cruise for that price!" and the research ball started rolling.

 

So I have been looking at Princess, X and HAL Alaska cruises for part of the day.

Looking first at suites on each (Neptune on HAL and Sky on Millie if they exist)

 

Best X itinerary for us is on the Millennium-but there's no grass.

 

Will let you know as thing develop. Solstice is an option if we have to have grass.

 

Anyone sailed Millennium? Since Solstice-ization?

 

Norris

 

 

Norris, sorry you and Carol did not get tickets to Bayreuth. Sounds like you already have a great alternative plan in the works. Can't go wring with another cruise, I'm thinking. :D

 

I did check St Maarten for our upcoming cruise. Looks at least at this point like we will be the only ship there, so we shouldn't have any problems getting a taxi. If we do, there's always the water taxi to downtown and grab a taxi from there.

[Bimmer09]

At 5.15 January 21 2016 we back out of our berth-destination Ft. Lauderdale, words that chill the blood.

 

[YOUTUBE]akpyMpLYX6U[/YOUTUBE]

 

 

 

 

The sun will be setting soon. We will follow the Eclipse and then lose her in the dark.

 

 

Edited February 8, 2016 by Bimmer09

[Bimmer09]

Singer Michael Redden entertains from an Alcove at the Wine and Cheese sail away on the lawn.

 

 

 

The fading sun paints the clouds

 

 

 

We relax on our balcony and pop the cork on our sail away from Port Everglades gift. The cookies and sandwiches are from today's Afternoon tea delivery.

 

[dramirez]

Norris,

 

You answered the question I was about to ask - sorry you and Carol will not be going to Germany this summer but it looks like you are planning a nice alternative. I had to cancel my June 2nd cruise on Oceania's Riviera - Barcelona to Rome because my husband has to have his knee replaced (again). Here's hoping we can take a vacation at least twice a decade! He owes me a big one once he's well. In the meantime I enjoy your cruises so thank you so much for your awesome reviews.

 

Diane

[jlf1]

Singer Michael Redden entertains from an Alcove at the Wine and Cheese sail away on the lawn.

 

 

 

The fading sun paints the clouds

 

 

 

We relax on our balcony and pop the cork on our sail away from Port Everglades gift. The cookies and sandwiches are from today's Afternoon tea delivery.

 

 

Norris,

 

Is that avocado that I see. My favourite.....Yummy!!!

 

Judy