Review of Silhouette Nov 2016 Transatlantic

[tweetylori]

So after all our relaxing, it was time to help Husband out with some sustenance since he had also worked out hard in the fitness center. Tonight's menu in the Main Dining Room:

 

 

 

We both started with the BBQ Pork Spring Roll. Trust me...any kind of spring roll they do is a spring roll worth having! We both loved it!

 

[tweetylori]

Then there was the Maine Lobster Ravioli. Darn it looked great! Wish the taste matched. Not my fave. Would have preferred just one that tasted better, than two that were just so-so. Just my opinion. Sure looked great!

 

 

As you may remember, our table for two was next to a table for four who were AT the window. I'm looking out trying not to disturb them, but wondering what I'm seeing. :eek: We soon learned that not only were our neighbors super friendly (we became more and more close with them as the cruise went on), but one was kind enough to take this picture for me of the ROCK OF GIBRALTAR!

 

[tweetylori]

I realize that Husband has become quite predictable by now, so here it is, his Beef Brochette:

 

 

I, however, ordered something I would probably never do at home. The Braised Veal, wrapped in Phyllo, with Butternut Squash Puree and Crispy Brussels Sprouts. This was super rich and very good!

 

 

Every night we were faced with this tempting dessert liquor list. Certainly not something we would do at home, but darn it was hard to resist on the Premium Drink plan, and gee whiz we were on vacation on our dream trip we had waited so long for!

 

 

[Texed]

Tweety,

 

Thanks for posting. :)

[tweetylori]

Dessert with all that liquid? Why not?

 

 

Here was the apple dessert...Husband enjoyed it very much, and it looked spectacular!

 

 

I was stuffed, but Iskandar talked me into something, so I picked Chocolate Cake off the regular menu. It was very good. Moist. But I was so full I didn't do it justice.

 

Edited November 28, 2016 by tweetylori

[tweetylori]

Tweety,

 

Thanks for posting. :)

 

Thank YOU!

[tweetylori]

Our friends at the window vacated their seats (they are even earlier diners than us), and they quickly reset their table. Ready for the next guests!

 

 

This is where all the action takes place. We were seated next to it and let me tell you, all of them work their tails off to serve us. This was a rare moment where things were not crazy at this station!

 

[tweetylori]

Tonight's entertainment was Laura Broad who had been on Britain's Got Talent.

 

 

Husband & I went to the early show together and sat in the back. She was terrific!

 

 

I enjoyed her show so much that I went back for the second one by myself and sat in the front row. (Don't you just love the joy of being on a ship where you can each make those decisions for yourself!)

 

She was terrific from the back of the theater and up close!

 

 

[tweetylori]

Husband was once again having a karaoke night while I went to the second show. At some point I have the photo evidence that we ended up in the World Bar. Here is how Karla and George make the incredible Zacapa Above The Clouds drink:

 

 

We had to enjoy it now because later in the cruise more and more folks finally found this fabulous bar and it became difficult to get a seat. George also did Mixology classes here, but sadly we never caught one.

 

Cheers to the World Bar! Good luck finding a place like this in the States!

 

[tweetylori]

What a wonderful first day at sea, and so exciting to know we still had many more to look forward to! Just one more on this little stretch though before we landed in the Canary Islands, so Day 2 at Sea was Friday November 11th. Sunrise was 7:04am. Sunset 6:55pm. We also had a time change from the night before where we turned the clocks back an hour. This became a very favorable, highly likable theme on this cruise! :D

 

On this beautiful day, we happily woke up to this:

 

 

Hydration, hydration! Got these at the Oceanview:

 

 

This was also the first day that I found ARNOLD. Arnold is the most amazing Chef in the Oceanview. He is the egg lover's best friend! Arnold not only takes orders for whatever your egg loving heart desires, but remembers your name! I kid you not, after 2 days of visiting Arnold he started greeting me by name. This day, however, was my first and Arnold made sure my over-easy egg was PERFECT.

 

[tweetylori]

It was a late breakfast because I had been craving a good hamburger. Earlier in the cruise, my few attempts at good ground beef disappointed me entirely. For instance, I had a little shepherd's pie at the buffet when we first boarded. The quality of the beef really turned me off. Same thing with a later encounter with a meatball at the pasta station. I had read here on Cruise Critic that the Mast Bar on 14 was a great place to get a burger. I also read in our Daily that it didn't open until 11:30.

 

So we headed up around 11:15 and they were busy setting up. There aren't many seats in the immediate vicinity, so we were glad to get a table and wait the opening. We had refreshing drinks that we got from the bar around the corner to keep us hydrated:

 

 

So 11:30 arrived and folks were piling in waiting for them to open. They were certainly hustling, but didn't seem super organized. One early arrival gal made the mistake of asking for a veggie burger. That threw them into a bit of tizzy trying to find one (it looked frozen when they did), then had to cook it. Folks were lined up waiting for these beauties so I was getting ever more excited to be fulfilling my craving and finally getting some good ground beef!

 

Husband meanwhile was not feeling tip top (had had a rough night), so he sat while I got us both a burger. This was mine:

 

 

Looks great, huh? Well, honestly it was just okay. Not worth the drumroll anticipation. Didn't quite fulfill the craving I had had, but it was good. Filled the belly. Not worth going back for another one later in the cruise though. :(

[njaloha]

Tweetylori:

I recognize George from our January cruise on the Silhouette when the Molecular Bar was closing down. I think our cruise was either the last sailing with the Molecular Bar or second to last. :(

But where was Helena!!!! She was the best.

Awesome review by the way. I'm seriously considering that itinerary.

Edited November 28, 2016 by njaloha
addt'l info

[4cats4me]

This trip turned me into a huge fan of espresso!

 

 

 

 

 

 

In need of a restroom I went inside this restaurant, down the stairs (they seem to always be downstairs in Europe) only to run into this dilemma! I took my best guest that F stood for female or something like it, and went in!

 

 

 

 

 

 

F is for Femmes, (women) H is for Hommes [emoji3] (men)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited November 28, 2016 by 4cats4me

[tweetylori]

I decided to lay out in the pool area for awhile for the first time on this voyage. Not something I do much at home (not into hanging out in the sun), but it was so enticing that I took a book and found a place to land. It was hot in the sun, so I did what a girl with a Premium Drink Package needed to do, ordered a Pina Colada:

 

 

 

So where in the world were we? Good question! Love answers!

 

 

Later in the day after a lot of relaxation, we had some more together. There were some super comfy seats on the decks in the main area.

 

 

 

[tweetylori]

Tweetylori:

I recognize George from our January cruise on the Silhouette when the Molecular Bar was closing down. I think our cruise was either the last sailing with the Molecular Bar or second to last. :(

But where was Helena!!!! She was the best.

Awesome review by the way. I'm seriously considering that itinerary.

 

I believe they changed the name from Molecular Bar to World Bar? That's what we heard. I don't recall meeting anyone named Helena. Maybe it was time for her vacation? We sure enjoyed Karla and George. And thank you! It was a fabulous itinerary!

[tweetylori]

F is for Femmes, (women) H is for Hommes [emoji3] (men)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Thank you 4cats4me! Good to know I went in the right one!

[59impala]

What a fabulous review! I can almost taste that food and those drinks, mmmmm. You have certainly made us feel like we are there. Keep it coming, it is lovely "living" your cruise.

[tweetylori]

What a fabulous review! I can almost taste that food and those drinks, mmmmm. You have certainly made us feel like we are there. Keep it coming, it is lovely "living" your cruise.

 

Thank you so much...it really means the world to me to hear of anyone that is appreciating this review as it's taking me way longer to upload all the pics and organize it all than I anticipated. Could sure use one of George's drinks about now to help me do it! :D

[tweetylori]

I know this is hard to believe for me but I did go to the fitness center on this afternoon! I hit a treadmill, a couple machines and was only a tad proud of myself, as I was no where doing what I used to be able to do. Sadly, both of us had had a rough year and all the working out we had done before had been put on hold. I was (am) bound and determined to get back to the level I was doing two years ago, but this was not it. At least it was SOMETHING. :p

 

Especially since we had 6:00 reservations at Qsine. :eek: Yes indeed, we had stopped to talk to the gentleman outside the Oceanview Cafe at some point and were talked into (actually I had been hoping we would be offered a deal) reservations at both Qsine and Tuscan Grille for $25 each. I knew before we boarded that I had to try Qsine, and wanted to try Tuscan as well.

 

So we got cleaned up and headed to our Qsine reservation. The restaurant is gorgeous and the ipad menu is whimsical, as is much of this unique experience!

 

 

One of our first items:

 

Our Server brought this one and divided it up. Plopped my half in front of me. This wasn't my favorite dish, but it was okay:

 

[tweetylori]

Just wasn't what I expected based on the description. I would have liked to see some Alaskan Crab chunks. Anyway, it was served with our Disco Shrimp:

 

 

[Mickey22]

What a wonderful review! You make us feel as though we are on the ship with you. We are on this cruise next year and I can't wait.

 

Jane

[tweetylori]

Meanwhile, this was our incredible view:

 

 

And here comes more! (all our choice, of course)

 

 

Lobster Escargot is super delicious!

 

 

Yet the best was about to come:

 

 

OMG this was one of the best things we had on the entire cruise...the filet was perfectly cooked, the teeny accompaniments were awesome...the only mac and cheese we got on the whole cruise, the creamed spinach, the mashed taters...this was all amazing! I'm drooling now remembering this!

 

 

[tweetylori]

What a wonderful review! You make us feel as though we are on the ship with you. We are on this cruise next year and I can't wait.

 

Jane

 

Thank you, I am so excited for you!!

[tweetylori]

This would have all been good enough but we had been ipad happy and had ordered more things including this assortment of fried goodies that was served with the steak:

 

 

 

These were accompanied by these cute squeeze bottle sauces:

 

Edited November 28, 2016 by tweetylori

[tweetylori]

Now mind you we had already ordered more:

 

 

Despite being quite full we still thought the two of us could handle three tiny meatballs. And then these monsters showed up! :eek:

 

 

 

Had these been a quarter of their size we might have enjoyed this, but both of us were intimidated by the quantity. I can't even say that they were terrific because we were so scared of how big they were. Suggestion to Chefs at Qsine...make these way SMALLER.