“LIVE” Iceland & Ireland on Silhouette - The Suite Life - 11th August 2019

[groryjm]

For many years cruising vicariously with fellow CC's around the world has given me so much pleasure 😎 so it is now it is pay back time.

 

We booked this cruise in December 2017 some mere 600 days ago so as you can imagine I have been building up the excitement for a while and in a little more than 24 hours we will be walking up the gangplank......

 

I am travelling with my DW and DD (20) in a Royal suite on the hump of deck 10, the same suite in fact that we had last year for 8 days to the Fjords. We will be joined by my wonderful MiL who has an aft corner Sky suite on deck 9.

 

I experimented last year with my GoPro to get some speeded up videos of the journeys in and out of the fjords and plan to try the same as we go up to Iceland and perhaps catch the Northern Lights. I know it is still early but the lights occur all year round but can only been seen when it is dark which it may just be enough as we cross the Arctic Circle.

 

Suit cases are down and packing has commenced 😎, though to be honest the “Cruise Box” has been on the kitchen table and filling up for weeks now. My DD brought her things down yesterday as she is abandoning that chore (pleasure) to us and spending the day before sailing at Surrey Pride with her girlfriend

 

I will try to post our experiences and insights as they happen and answer any questions about the cruise I can... (and of course lay back and enjoy the cruise 🍾🥂🍹🍸🍷 )

 

For those interested I have counted down the last twelve days to sailaway in cocktails here - Countdown to a cruise in cocktails

 

1 day 9 hours and 17 mins until boarding commences 

 

[RICCruisers]

Looking forward to your report. We have the Ireland/Iceland cruise booked for May 2020 on Silhouette. I’m not sure it’s the same itinerary, but it’s probably very similar. I’ll be especially interested in any of the excursions you book. We usually do not take ship excursions and book independently with Roll Call members. 

 

Have a great cruise. We are headed to Venice in 12 days to board Infinity for 12 nights. 

[Olive1950]

Have a fabulous cruise!!!!

 

I'll be doing the NJ-Dublin-Boston in August, 2020, on Summit.  There will be three of us, hoping we can get some bucket list items knocked off our lists....  We will get a double dose of Iceland and Greenland.  I will follow your journey closely.

 

We are all excited; and our cruise is still a year away.

 

[chemmo]

Have a fantastic cruise...

 

It is perhaps as well your countdown cocktail post has finished, some of us have enjoyed one or two too many beverages over recent days!

 

Five weeks today until we fly! Can’t wait. With the present ‘unseasonal’ weather in the U.K. the North Sea may be calm in comparison! We have been considering this itinerary for some time so will be following closely.

 

Bon Voyage!

[groryjm]

21 minutes ago, chemmo said:

.......It is perhaps as well your countdown cocktail post has finished, some of us have enjoyed one or two too many beverages over recent days!.......

Don't write it off yet..... There is still one last night before we cruise😉

[chemmo]

2 minutes ago, groryjm said:

Don't write it off yet..... There is still one last night before we cruise😉

 

We will have a drink to you and your family’s good health! It would be rude not to!

Edited August 10, 2019 by chemmo

[amcwaterfalls]

Hi groryjm

 

Silhouette is coming safely back to you across a rocky Bay of Biscay. She seems in great shape with lots of re varnishing and general upkeep going on even with the big refit looming.

 

We have had the best butler ever - very proactive. A lot of new crew aboard apparently but also a lot of old favourites, particularly in the Martini bar 🤪🍸🍸🍸

 

Have a great cruise

 

 

[jimbri]

Looking forward to your review and photos.  Loved your cocktail countdown.

[groryjm]

DW has now been slaving over a hot iron for what seems like days…..

 

 

 

 The cases are packed and we’ve sent the cat to the Pussy Hotel .....

 

 

Just a few more hours and it’s time to load the Landy and collect my MiL for our short drive down to Southampton Dock.

 

Being in an RS we get “special delivery” which should get our bags straight to the room before we get to it. As I have ABP parking sorted I intend to drop DW, DD and MiL at the VIP drop off with our bags and then park the car with MiLs Sky suite bags and we will see which arrives in the rooms quicker.

 

I will try to post our experiences and insights as they happen and answer any questions about the cruise I can... (and of course lay back and enjoy the cruise 🍸 )

[HAM]

Have a wonderful cruise, I'm looking forward to your review. I have been enjoying (very much) your cocktail countdown; a great idea !!

[TeaBag]

Looking forward to your review as this cruise is on our bucket list too.  Silhouette is my favorite Celebrity ship.  Enjoy your cruise.

[KAE27]

I'm going to miss the cocktail countdown, but I'm excited to follow along in this thread, too!

[Olive1950]

You will enjoy that RS on Silhouette.  It has a guest bathroom.  Plenty of storage too.

 

If you get Dharma as your butler, he is fabulous.  I had him in November when I was in the starboard side PH.  

 

And if Richard is the Suites Manager, he's fantastic too....

 

Unfortunately I will be doing my Iceland/Greenland/Dublin B2B on Summit; but in the PH, which has an 1150 sq ft veranda.

 

Also unfortunate that Kelly Hoppin has destroyed that beautiful interior with her minimalistic design.

 

I look forward to following your journey as I plan mine....

[parrothead33]

Looking forward to reading your review.  Have a wonderful cruise!

[groryjm]

Landy Loaded....🍾😎🍸🍹...Southampton here we come..

 

 

[plucasana]

Thank you for taking us along with you! I love live reviews !!!

 

[cinnamon]

I love Live blogs too. As a fellow Surrey resident I’ll happily travel along with you, vicariously, although the Suite Life is beyond our budget it will be great to experience it through you. 

I wish you Blue Skies and Fair Winds. 

[Suite Susie]

I love them too and will be particularly interested in your blog as we will be on Board the Silhouette in 3 weeks time in a CS.  Have a great time and hope the seas are calm.

[HelenREMfan]

4 weeks for us before Silhouette and the Western Med.... in a Sky suite. What will we do with a butler ?

 

 

[groryjm]

Arrived at the port 10.30am dropped my passengers at the special drop-off then parked the car. We sent my MiL's luggage the ordinary way and ours went off on its own special trolly😎 so the race is on

 

 

..... Reached Michael's by10.50...

Relax

 

 

Luminae by 11.45

 

The debauch has begun 

 

[groryjm]

Lunch as always was wonderful and then straight up to the room at 1pm. I escorted my MiL to her suite at the back, as any dutiful son-in-law should, and low an behold one of her two bags had already arrived. On catching up with my DW and DD in our suite...... THERE WERE NO BAGS.

 

As I type this at 2pm we still have no bags and have yet to meet our butler. To be honest this is not a problem but I think we can say that while special delivery with relation to dropping off and being escorted works well the actual bag delivery component is not a whole hearted success. 

 

on another note we have two full loungers on our balcony😎 but with the table three chairs and a hot tub as well does make it a little crowed

 

 

Also of interest to some.... We still have Bvlgari in the bathroom 

 

 

 

the butler Jacky has arrived as I type and introduced himself. Very apologetic about the luggage but a fail is a fail.

 

Surprisingly the CC meet and Mingle is 5.15 today which is great if you know but not if you don't. I posted this on our roll call as we had an invite but not every one had received theirs so hopefully many will attend

 

[TeeRick]

I will follow this.  We are doing a very similar itinerary on Reflection next July.

[amcwaterfalls]

1 hour ago, groryjm said:

Lunch as always was wonderful and then straight up to the room at 1pm. I escorted my MiL to her suite at the back, as any dutiful son-in-law should, and low an behold one of her two bags had already arrived. On catching up with my DW and DD in our suite...... THERE WERE NO BAGS.

 

As I type this at 2pm we still have no bags and have yet to meet our butler. To be honest this is not a problem but I think we can say that while special delivery with relation to dropping off and being escorted works well the actual bag delivery component is not a whole hearted success. 

 

After using the special delivery last year and still not receiving our bags until late afternoon, we decided to give it a miss this cruise. When we drove past the stand at around 11.30 there was no one there to accept them anyway. We had them collected from the car park and received them in the RS at around 2pm. That was at the same time the butler Walter arrived also so your experience there isn’t unusual.

[Nanjen]

 Thanks doing this. Will be following as others have mentioned we’ll be on the Summit next year, can hardly wait!

[groryjm]

lovely sail away past Cowes and the tail end of today's racing,

 

 

 

.....will write more in then morning