Live Blog – Silhouette Nov 3 – Beaches to Broadway – Pull up a seat and Join

[Jim_Iain]

October 25^th, 2018 - Thursday

Welcome all Cruise Critic’s - come along on another Celebrity Cruise aboard the beautiful Silhouette. 

 

 

 

This will be our 9^th TransAtlantic and selected this specific cruise due to it’s unusual itinerary.   I am starting the Blog a week before we leave on the cruise so I can be caught up by the time we board the ship.   All are welcome and feel free to shoot questions at me and/or jump in and chat about anything Celebrity.   

 

 

First off a little background about us.   Iain and I have been together for 30 years.   We live in the Sunnyvale, CA which is in the middle of Silicon Valley, about 1 hour south of San Francisco.  We discovered cruising in 2001 with our first sailing on Celebrity Millennium.  At the time,  I was convinced I would hate cruising, but was instantly addicted.  

 

We qualified for Zenith a couple weeks ago, so this will also be our first cruising with the elevated status.   The free Premium Drink Package, Free Internet and unlimited free laundry are going to make us very happy.

  

Maybe it is where we live but I am hooked on technology and go into withdrawals when not connected to the internet.   Iain on the other hand is the polar opposite and enjoys listening to music and playing computer solitaire, poker etc.  We are now both retired, but I still do a bit of consulting work which is compatible with traveling (as long as we have internet).  

 

I will probably be posting a couple times a day and this post will have at least 20 pictures a day.   I try to fill all request and will be posting the Today Daily newsletters.   I also like to post information about our position and weather / temperatures.    I always find this helpful on other blogs to help plan my packing.   If you have any specific requests please feel free to ask and I will do my best to fulfill.

Edited October 25, 2018 by Jim_Iain
corrected formatting problems

[Mr. Boston]

I’ll be following along in your travels Jim.  As we’ll be sailing on the Silhouette in February for the first time, I can't wait for your impressions and commentary. If you have any questions about things to do while in Boston I’d be happy to try answer. 

[Jim_Iain]

14 minutes ago, Mr. Boston said:

I’ll be following along in your travels Jim.  As we’ll be sailing on the Silhouette in February for the first time, I can't wait for your impressions and commentary. If you have any questions about things to do while in Boston I’d be happy to try answer. 

Welcome aboard Mr Boston.  

 

I will also be interesting in seeing how Silhouette is faring.   We sailed her 2 years ago on a Transatlantic and loved her.   At that time she was in great condition and I expect she will be a little older but well maintained.   I'll be posting a bunch of pictures once aboard.

 

As for Boston would love to hear any advise on things to see or do.   I grew up in Longmeadow (Western Mass.) and visited Boston and The Cape quite often.   It has been 40+ years since I left that area of the country, so am sure nothing has changed....

😁

 

We haven't made any plans so far, but were thinking of doing the Hop on Hop off and just explore on our own.   If not that I was checking today and thought we might pick up an all day pass on the Subway and explore by Subway.

 

Jim

[tml]

Hi Jim,  I will be following as well! We are sailing in November on the Silhouette for the first time, and I am looking forward to your daily posts and pictures.  Have a great cruise!

[Jim_Iain]

56 minutes ago, tml said:

Hi Jim,  I will be following as well! We are sailing in November on the Silhouette for the first time, and I am looking forward to your daily posts and pictures.  Have a great cruise!

 

Happy to have you along TML.    I hope you enjoy and be sure to ask if you want additional information.   Reading other live blogs always excite me about my next cruise.   

[ecslady]

Following along.  I guess I would have to say Silhouette is my favorite S class ship, as I have been on her 6 times!  Enjoy!

[CruisersTimesThree]

Looking forward to keeping up with your travels!  We will be boarding Silhouette in March, our first time on S-class after 4 trips on the Summit!  

Enjoy every moment!

[ryansmousehouse]

Looking forward to your next adventure. Loved the b2b2b report... This will be a test of celebrity WiFi because wife and I will be boarding Reflection  on Nov 5 for 11 night carribean... Hope I can follow along... Hoping to do the ta next year.. Same itinerary as this year...

[signman]

• Hi Jim.....Will be following every word and photo......I set sail on Silhouette December 9th.  I'll be spending most evenings in the Ensemble Lounge for the jazz.   Can you please try to find out if Ray Brown Jr and his group will still be onboard for Dec 9th.     Ella Fitzgerald was his mother.   Thanks, and I'm sure I'll have a few more questions for you.   It's a great itinerary with the day in Boston and overnight in New York.   I'm going now to check on next fall's repositioning cruises.

[signman]

49 minutes ago, ecslady said:

Following along.  I guess I would have to say Silhouette is my favorite S class ship, as I have been on her 6 times!  Enjoy!

 

Hi Nancy,    Trust you are well.  It's been a long time since we were on same cruise.   Let's wave at each other as I sail away on Silhouette while you are experiencing Edge December 9th.   This will be my first cruise in almost 10 years.   Would love for you to contact me at   hmw608 at aol dot com . 

[scanditaly]

Hello Jim and Iain;

 

Scanditaly here hailing from the West part of San Jose.  Love the Il Postale restaurant in your area.  Thanks for doing the "live from"; have read a few of your reports and really enjoy them.  Your SA trip was wonderful to follow.

 

We have used the car rental tip twice now, picking up a car at SJC the day before, and driving ourselves up at our convenience for the SFO takeoff.  Thank you.  

 

Enjoy the continued excitement as you prepare for your journey. 

Lisa

[Zigster]

Hi Jim (and Iain) - Really looking forward to your blog as we love Silhouette and are looking forward to our 3rd sailing on her in November.  Would love to do a TA one day, but not certain about all those sea days.

Congratulations on your Zenith status!  Nice perks along with access to Michael's Club.  

Thank you for taking us along on your journey!

Patty

 

Edited October 26, 2018 by Zigster

[cangelmd]

Hi, Jim (and Iain) we are sailing on this TA as well, our first! Looking forward to perhaps meeting you on board.

I do have a ? for an experienced TAer - what is the easiest way to know the ship's position (roughly) - is there a channel on the TV as on a long haul airline flight? Does the captain give the position in the morning announcement? Seems like a silly question, but we realized we had no idea how that worked.

[ecslady]

8 hours ago, signman said:

 

Hi Nancy,    Trust you are well.  It's been a long time since we were on same cruise.   Let's wave at each other as I sail away on Silhouette while you are experiencing Edge December 9th.   This will be my first cruise in almost 10 years.   Would love for you to contact me at   hmw608 at aol dot com . 

HI Glad to see you on the boards.  I saw your screen name and immediately recognized it.  I'll shoot you an email later today. And , yes I'm looking forward to experiencing the Edge!

Edited October 26, 2018 by ecslady

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, cangelmd said:

Hi, Jim (and Iain) we are sailing on this TA as well, our first! Looking forward to perhaps meeting you on board.

I do have a ? for an experienced TAer - what is the easiest way to know the ship's position (roughly) - is there a channel on the TV as on a long haul airline flight? Does the captain give the position in the morning announcement? Seems like a silly question, but we realized we had no idea how that worked.

Yes, turn on the TV.  There will be a nav channel showing where we are.  (I like to take periodic photos of the screen for later reference.) The Captain usually gives our position as well. 

 

See you you on board!

[effinaround]

Awesome Jim.  Looks like we'll pass in the Atlantic, albeit at different altitudes. I'm flying over on the 7th to catch the Eclipse on the 10th out of Barcelona.  This is only my third cruise and my first with Celebrity. Thoroughly enjoyed your last epic trip a few weeks back. 

[jimbri]

Looking forward to your review.  I hope to someday take a TA!

[h20cruzer]

WOW, can/t wait for your live blog. I'm with effinaround will be on the Eclipse 11/10 and 11/23.

Thanks for your recommendations on restaurants in BA.

Please remember your passports.  Love the Silhouette.

Safe travels to Southhampton and the TA.

Norma

[Orator]

Have a great time as a new Zenith. There should be quite a few Zeniths onboard to welcome you into the ranks. Thinking about that cruise for next November.

[kpark895]

Looking forward to this next review.  I so enjoyed your last one.

[Jim_Iain]

13 hours ago, ecslady said:

Following along.  I guess I would have to say Silhouette is my favorite S class ship, as I have been on her 6 times!  Enjoy!

 

I'm looking forward to Silhouette again myself.   We haven't been on an S-Class in a couple years.    The last was Silhouette and I really enjoyed her.   

 

Are there any specific items that you can point to that makes her more special than her sisters or is it just a general feel.    I know I dislike Reflections due to the increased passenger load and especially the extra Sky Suites that makes Luminea very crazy. 

 

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

Yes, turn on the TV.  There will be a nav channel showing where we are.  (I like to take periodic photos of the screen for later reference.) The Captain usually gives our position as well. 

 

See you you on board!

 

I do the same thing.   It really helps keeping my family informed as to where we are.   Especially when on a cruise with lots of sea days with no point of reference by other means.    

 

The bridge cam can also be a good reference to sea conditions and temperatures.  I also write down on a sheet of paper the channel number so I can quickly change to that channel to hear the Captains morning announcements.  

[Jim_Iain]

12 hours ago, CruisersTimesThree said:

Looking forward to keeping up with your travels!  We will be boarding Silhouette in March, our first time on S-class after 4 trips on the Summit!  

Enjoy every moment!

 

I'll try to post enough pictures to help keep your excitement growing.   I think the main thing I will enjoy most is the number of specialty restaurants.   My favorite is Murano's which is a French style cuisine.    The M-Class use to have a French inspired restaurant (Olympic, Ocean Liner, etc) but swapped them out for Tuscan Grill.  

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

12 hours ago, ryansmousehouse said:

Looking forward to your next adventure. Loved the b2b2b report... This will be a test of celebrity WiFi because wife and I will be boarding Reflection  on Nov 5 for 11 night carribean... Hope I can follow along... Hoping to do the ta next year.. Same itinerary as this year...

I think you will be pleasantly impressed with the Wifi.   While it is no way like being at home the speed is enough to comfortably browse the internet and CC.    Their can be a lag but you get used to it quickly.    

 

On the b2b2b cruise the internet was pretty good except in some ports the signal was being blocked.   The only problem I had was that on occasion I would have problems uploading all the pictures I had.   On CC the upload using the Tapatalk application it would time out before the picture was fully uploaded.   Anxious to see how the new software handles picture uploads. 

[Jim_Iain]

12 hours ago, signman said:

• Hi Jim.....Will be following every word and photo......I set sail on Silhouette December 9th.  I'll be spending most evenings in the Ensemble Lounge for the jazz.   Can you please try to find out if Ray Brown Jr and his group will still be onboard for Dec 9th.     Ella Fitzgerald was his mother.   Thanks, and I'm sure I'll have a few more questions for you.   It's a great itinerary with the day in Boston and overnight in New York.   I'm going now to check on next fall's repositioning cruises.

 

Sigman -   Glad to have you along again.  I'll certainly try to find out if Ray Brown Jr and his group will still be aboard.  If I forget please remind me.   Interesting to know that Ella Fitzgerald was his mother. 

 

I'm certainly interested in  visiting New York and Boston.    I grew up in the North East in and around New York and Massachusetts but have only been back a couple times in the past 50 years...

 

I joined Iain on a business trip to NYC a couple years  ago.   Our hotel was across the street from the World Trade Center and they were putting the last tower on the building the day we were there.   Was amazing to see.    We had the opportunity to visit the World Trade Center Memorial and really recommend it to others.   It is very impactful and moving.    Leaving with dry eyes is almost an impossibility.