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

[Jim_Iain]

3 minutes ago, benemac said:

 

I'm sharing some pics showing location and sea heights (First one is current and then noon daily through the 9th).  You're being followed by the Edge.  Hope they catch up.  But it's a good test of their capabilities through these seas.  It does look like both captains are attempting to steer south of the rougher weather/seas.  

 

Thanks for the pictures.   Captain George did a presentation on the first day of the cruise which is on TV showing the storms and overlays of what our original route would have been and the modified routes.   After watching it everyone on board is happy with the decisions 

 

How excited to see Edge behind us.  I hadn't heard anything about that until you posted. 

[Jim_Iain]

21 hours ago, chrissie p said:

Thanks. If she is on the Silhouette in December, I will definitely introduce myself, should the accent not give me away!!! I have had a lot of Australians and Americans pull me up on my accent on previous cruises 🙂 Let's just say in Blackpool we don't quite sound like William and Harry!

 

She should be on through the end of the year.  

 

 

[gerelmx]

11 minutes ago, benemac said:

I'm sharing some pics showing location and sea heights (First one is current and then noon daily through the 9th).  You're being followed by the Edge.  Hope they catch up.  But it's a good test of their capabilities through these seas.  It does look like both captains are attempting to steer south of the rougher weather/seas.  

MarineTraffic shows Edge going to Ponta Delgada (Nov/7 at 12:00) and she is ahead of Silhouette going to Boston (Nov/11 at 4:30)

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, effinaround said:

Thanks for this, Jim. Can't imagine I will ever hit this level of cruising.  Currently at zero points, although that changes starting Saturday when I board the Eclipse!

It is incredibly how quickly the points accumulate.  It really helps that after retirement we are finally able to do B2B's.   We American's get so little vacation.   

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, Turtles06 said:

My wife and I are aboard this TA as well.  We have a 6-night specialty dining package. So far, we’ve had dinner at Tuscan. Unfortunately, the service we received was poor (we were either completely ignored or rushed), and the food was mediocre at best.  This was very disappointing, particularly because Tuscan was our favorite restaurant the last time we sailed on the Silhouette a few years ago; the service and food then were both superb.  I have read here on CC that some folks think Tuscan has declined; based on my personal experience, I have to agree.  We’ve cancelled the two other reservations we had there.

 

We were supposed to eat at the Lawn Club tonight, but I checked with them because of the weather, and while they said they are serving, they advised us to move our reservation to later in the cruise, which we did (working around the two other dinners we planned to have there later on 😀).  And of course we plan to eat at Murano.

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with Tuscan Grill.   Your description matches our experience on 3 out of the 4 times we have eaten there. 

 

Last month we ate at Tuscan on Millennium, because we won a dinner for 2 at a lottery for the B2B cruisers.  We were pleasantly surprised because the Service  and food was exceptional.   

 

Murano's is my favorite restaurant so looking forward to our dinner there.   

 

Hopefully the Lawn Club will open once we get past this bad weather.  Might be nice to make a reservation for the day before or after Bermuda.    I think I mentioned that I was on a walk today and walked past it.   Everything is tied down.   

[Turtles06]

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

   Hopefully the Lawn Club will open once we get past this bad weather.  Might be nice to make a reservation for the day before or after Bermuda.    I think I mentioned that I was on a walk today and walked past it.   Everything is tied down.   

Agreed, we made those reservations as soon as we boarded. But we enjoy Lawn Club so much we were hoping to eat there sooner as well.

 

Congrats to you and Iain on making Zenith. 

[JoePDX]

2 hours ago, effinaround said:

Thanks for this, Jim. Can't imagine I will ever hit this level of cruising.  Currently at zero points, although that changes starting Saturday when I board the Eclipse!

 It took us five cruises on X to get to Elite.   Based on our typical cruise of approx. 14 days I calculate only 60 more to Zenith.   :-)

 

Joe  

 

[workingtocruise-59]

12 hours ago, upwarduk said:

Never realised that Sue had been on Azamara. Was she CD or enteertainment staff?

Her vlog on Instagram this summer told how she went on various cruise ships with her husband, Jimmy, when she was on vacation.

Hi

Yes, she was a Cruise Director on Quest in the early days (possibly 2009 and 2010).

[Luckynana]

Congratulations, Jim and Iain on making Zenith!  My DH and I are Select....I hadn't realized that points were earned by cabin selection, but found that out just last year.  We've booked Balconies or Oceanview depending on whether our cruise was port-intensive or not.  Now we know better!!! 🙂

 

Enjoy your cruise....I'm enjoying following along!!!!  🙂

 

 

 

 

[KikisDad]

We have been on several cruise lines and, in my opinion, you are not missing out on too much sticking with Celebrity, especially now that you get the extra value of Go Best on every trip. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

3 hours ago, KikisDad said:

We have been on several cruise lines and, in my opinion, you are not missing out on too much sticking with Celebrity, especially now that you get the extra value of Go Best on every trip. 

There is a lot to like about Celebrity, especially in Suite class – but as Celebrity's suite prices go up, it is often possible to find similar prices on true luxury cruise lines where (unless you really like big production shows) every else is better.  Azamara also offers a real choice: none of the cabins can price-match to Celebrity [but CW is really nice if you can afford it or get a good deal], but the main dining room food is Luminae quality, the ambience is so much more serene, and the itineraries are so adventuresome.  Choice is good!

[Turtles06]

9 hours ago, KikisDad said:

We have been on several cruise lines and, in my opinion, you are not missing out on too much sticking with Celebrity, especially now that you get the extra value of Go Best on every trip. 

I guess that depends on what matters to you in terms of a cruise.  For us, the itinerary is an important factor. We love Celebrity, but sailed with Holland America for the first time a couple of months ago because of their incredible “Viking Passage” itinerary.  It was a fantastic cruise, and it did not matter that, being HAL newbies, we had no loyalty club status.  HAL has a number of fairly unique itineraries, and I imagine other cruise lines do as well.  

[Jim_Iain]

17 hours ago, UKPete71 said:

Oh dear. We booked a four dining package a few days before we sailed and have a reservation for Tuscan Grille next week.

 

We ate in Murano last night. The food was good and service very attentive. It wasn’t very busy in there. We have another reservation to go back next week. 

 

We have Lawn Club Grill booked for Wednesday evening. Hopefully it’ll be calmer by then.

 

Pete 

 

It will be interesting to hear how Tuscan is once you eat there.   

 

You may just be rewarded with nice weather tomorrow.   It feels much calmer today and the seas are looking much smoother.   

[Jim_Iain]

15 hours ago, JoePDX said:

 It took us five cruises on X to get to Elite.   Based on our typical cruise of approx. 14 days I calculate only 60 more to Zenith.   🙂

 

Joe  

 

 

I was saying to Iain after we hit Zenith.   Watch them come out with a level between Elite+ and Zenith now that we hit Zenith.  

[Jim_Iain]

11 hours ago, Luckynana said:

Congratulations, Jim and Iain on making Zenith!  My DH and I are Select....I hadn't realized that points were earned by cabin selection, but found that out just last year.  We've booked Balconies or Oceanview depending on whether our cruise was port-intensive or not.  Now we know better!!! 🙂

 

Enjoy your cruise....I'm enjoying following along!!!!  🙂

 

 

 

 

Once we started getting closer I created a spreadsheet to figure out when we would hit the Level.   Yesterday Captain Gorge asked us how many cruises we had taken and I was embarrassed to respond that I didn't know.  

[Jim_Iain]

7 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

There is a lot to like about Celebrity, especially in Suite class – but as Celebrity's suite prices go up, it is often possible to find similar prices on true luxury cruise lines where (unless you really like big production shows) every else is better.  Azamara also offers a real choice: none of the cabins can price-match to Celebrity [but CW is really nice if you can afford it or get a good deal], but the main dining room food is Luminae quality, the ambience is so much more serene, and the itineraries are so adventuresome.  Choice is good!

We have been talking about taking an Azamara cruise.   We know many that have cruised them and speak of them positively.   

 

[Jim_Iain]

4 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

I guess that depends on what matters to you in terms of a cruise.  For us, the itinerary is an important factor. We love Celebrity, but sailed with Holland America for the first time a couple of months ago because of their incredible “Viking Passage” itinerary.  It was a fantastic cruise, and it did not matter that, being HAL newbies, we had no loyalty club status.  HAL has a number of fairly unique itineraries, and I imagine other cruise lines do as well.  

We will have to look at their itineraries.    Iain has been wanting to do a River Cruise and I am a bit reluctant.   

[Jim_Iain]

Nivember 6 Today

 

 

 

 

[excitedofharpenden]

17 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

It is incredibly how quickly the points accumulate.  It really helps that after retirement we are finally able to do B2B's.   We American's get so little vacation.   

Am I right in saying you normally book the larger suites?  That makes quite a difference.  

 

Phil

[Covepointcruiser]

 We ate in Lawn Club the first night.   It was cold but the food good.   We brought winter coats, gloves, hats for Boston and NYC and used them in the Lawn Club.   We found the beef and lamb there to be much better than on the transatlantic from Rome on the Reflection last year.    We enjoyed the Murano and pre ordered Steak Dianne.   The sauce is to die for, the filet mignon was not of the same quality as the Lawn Club or TPC.    Lunch has been good in Sushi on 5.   It’s a great place for a lighter lunch and they have quick service.

 

Congratulations on becoming Zenith!

 

Karen and Jim

[verizon]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

Once we started getting closer I created a spreadsheet to figure out when we would hit the Level.   Yesterday Captain Gorge asked us how many cruises we had taken and I was embarrassed to respond that I didn't know.  

Don't be embarrassed,I heard someone did reach Zenith less than 15 cruises.

[excitedofharpenden]

51 minutes ago, verizon said:

Don't be embarrassed,I heard someone did reach Zenith less than 15 cruises.

The mathematical minimum is 84 days on the ship, so 15 cruises and they were slacking. Lol

 

Phil

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Am I right in saying you normally book the larger suites?  That makes quite a difference.  

 

Phil

We book CS and RS.   I logged on and checked.  We have done 28 cruises.   I list my cruises in signature more for my own reference.  Iain of asks when was the last time we were on a specific ship.   Maybe it is growing old but st times they all merge together. 

 

Edited November 6, 2018 by Jim_Iain

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, Covepointcruiser said:

 We ate in Lawn Club the first night.   It was cold but the food good.   We brought winter coats, gloves, hats for Boston and NYC and used them in the Lawn Club.   We found the beef and lamb there to be much better than on the transatlantic from Rome on the Reflection last year.    We enjoyed the Murano and pre ordered Steak Dianne.   The sauce is to die for, the filet mignon was not of the same quality as the Lawn Club or TPC.    Lunch has been good in Sushi on 5.   It’s a great place for a lighter lunch and they have quick service.

 

Congratulations on becoming Zenith!

 

Karen and Jim

Sounds nice.  Didn’t realize they had opened.  We are trying petite Chef tonight. Not sure what to expect. 

[verizon]

3 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

We book CS and RS.   I logged on and checked.  We have done 28 cruises.   I list my cruises in signature more for my own reference.  Iain of asks when was the last time we were on a specific ship.   Maybe it is growing old but st times they all merge together. 

 

If you do Solo you only need 14 cruises to be Zenith.