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

[little britain]

On 8/15/2019 at 8:36 AM, groryjm said:

I haven't said where it is 😉

Can you at least give a clue as to the deck?! 

Our avatars match....! 

[groryjm]

1 hour ago, little britain said:

Can you at least give a clue as to the deck?! 

Our avatars match....! 

11 forward but shhhhhh😎

[Redking]

35 minutes ago, groryjm said:

11 forward but shhhhhh😎

And no snoring in there if you find it!

[little britain]

1 hour ago, Redking said:

And no snoring in there if you find it!

Kitty Soft Paws would never snore.....

[Georgia_Peaches]

Great review!  I love the pictures and the commentary.  Will be in Silhouette in November in your exact suite!  Can't wait.  I noticed that all of your meals to this point have been in Luminae.  Do you have plans to take advantage of the included specialty dining?  It is still included with the RS, right?

[groryjm]

30 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Great review!  I love the pictures and the commentary.  Will be in Silhouette in November in your exact suite!  Can't wait.  I noticed that all of your meals to this point have been in Luminae.  Do you have plans to take advantage of the included specialty dining?  It is still included with the RS, right?

yes still included. Generally we're not fans of Tuscan or Murano and qsine is fun but really only for the surprise. Porch and Sushi we like but really only for lunch. We will try Qsine for the second performance next week which we haven't seen yet. We do like Luminae but on the nights we fail to find choices we will try a specialty. We leave those decisions until the night before and have never had a problem booking last minute.  

[groryjm]

Our view from the balcony

 

Friday 16th .... We rose a bit latter this morning and I feel much better for a longer sleep and Breakfast was duly delivered by the wonderful Jacky. Over the years we have got used to an interesting interpretation of our breakfast orders. It is not in way Jacky or any of our previous butlers faults but merely a result of a single order form for 3 people each with different tastes that vary daily. We rarely get the right things on the right plate and always seem to get potatoes mushrooms and for some reason a tomato. It can be a bit of an adventure and some times a great discovery made . For Instance on the first night my DW ordered a Granola Berry Parfait and 3 arrived. It is now a regular favourite.

 

we again took the shuttle to Dublin but this time had a 25 minute walk to our first stop of the day and the rain held back until after we had reached our destination. Today's bit of Irish culture was to be delivered at the Vaults Dublin

 

......... Dublin’s best new tourist attraction. Vaults Live is open all weekend and is suitable for individuals and groups of all shapes and sizes. We look forward to hosting you through a truly Irish journey full of stories you’ll love and never forget.

 

This was a great series of little histories potrayed by actors playing characters .......

Vaults live on Youtube

 

We all really enjoyed the hour and a half show then head back to find another pub for lunch. There is no shortage of pubs in Dublin and suitably lunched we prowled the shops for a suitable souvenir. Now over various holidays we have collected little trinkets to mark our trips but occasionally we find a local duck to add to my DDs collection....

 

 

on our return bot DD and DW took advantage of the hot tub on our deck while I typed. Once changed and refreshed we headed down to MC to meet my MiL before going down to Luminae. Food and service from Floyd was excellent however I wouldn't recommend the chilled velouté from the Daniel Bould every day signature menu. If I had been a little more observant the word chilled would have clicked but it didn't. I do like some cold soups but this is not one of them. I also failed to attract Carlos, our sommelier, again and while the other three's orders were taken this time he choose to ignore me. I eventually asked Floyd for my  chosen cocktail and he said he would as Carlos to stop by. Ten minutes latter and no sight of Carlos and Floyd returned apologising for him and said he would sort it and ask for my choice. A mere minute or two later it arrived. Luminae was a bit busy tonight but that shouldn't be an excuse. The rest of the Luminae's staff are amazing and I guess if I liked wine it might be different. I'll have to see how it pans out tomorrow. Tonight we hit the sack early after brandy Alexanders in MC and the end of Charlie's set in the Ensemble Lounge

 

[BigAl94]

On 8/13/2019 at 12:30 AM, groryjm said:

Having spent a lovely evening after Luminae between the martini bar and Michael's with a brief dance in the foyer to some rock n roll until I had dance DW out of her shoes, literally, we headed for bed. We met and chatted to a lovely zenith couple in the Martini bar who we had met earlier  in Michael''s and are also going to be on the same cruise with us again on 13th October to the  Canaries and Azores 

 

I woke and looked out to see the of tenders getting ready outside and nipped down to grab a coffee at Cafe al Bacio 

then headed to Sushi on 5 to meet the rest of the group. The planned tour was a short walking to with a guide by the name of Annette Henry.this had been put together with a member of our roll call.

 

We managed to walk straight on to a tender at 8.15 and met Annette by 8.30. My DD and DW who had opted to shop rather than tour had a leisurely breakfast delivered by Jacky then tried for a 9.30 tender and were glad of the help of the Michaels club concierge Britton to avoid the long lines and need for tickets. 

 

The tour was fun and informative and highly to be recommended. Annette has a wealth of knowledge about her island and an excellent way of presenting it.

 

 

 

 

Having completed the tour and met up with the family we covered a couple more jewelry shops before heading back to the ship. To those Brits now used to using their phone plan minutes and data in Europe be warned that while Ireland and Iceland are usually included Guernsey is not so switch off your data.

 

 

leaving enough time for a leisurely lunch in the Ocean view before sail away. 

 

Guernsey is included by most operators, certainly is with EE

[little britain]

3 hours ago, BigAl94 said:

Guernsey is included by most operators, certainly is with EE

Channel Islands also included with O2.

And depending what side of the island you are on, you may switch to a French signal and get Welcome to France messages. 

[groryjm]

45 minutes ago, little britain said:

Channel Islands also included with O2.

And depending what side of the island you are on, you may switch to a French signal and get Welcome to France messages. 

This is from GiffGaff who we use and I know they tag onto O2's network

 

 

Switzerland, Gurnsey, Jersey and the Isle of man are not covered by included data and minutes but on a preferential rest of the world rate. 

[KayJay4]

Okay, well I’m up for a Japanese Slipper in the Ensemble in October for sure! 

[groryjm]

 

Saturday 17th ...... I awoke this morning to the sight of Islay off our starboard bow the seas had been relatively calm in the Irish sea but as we moved into sea are Malin things got a little choppy. I checked the BBC forecast for sea area Malin and there was a gale warning''''

 

"Southwesterly 6 to 8 occasional gale force 9 cyclonic,  Northerly or northwesterly 5 to 7 later

Rough or very rough.

Rain

Moderate, occasionally poor"

 

The captain closed the outside access on deck 5 and Sue warned us to careful.  We had decided to have a lie in so all that was available for breakfast was the OV. We took our plates back to our room and had a very lazy morning reading books and playing games in the suite.

 

We gathered in Michael's at 12.30 and decided to go to the Porch for lunch which was fun. The food was very good. Mainly due to my SiLs recommendation none of use ordered the Sea Food Tower. We did see a group of officers up there who did and by the looks we made the right decision.

 

WARNING food porn.... 

 

Garlic bred to share

 

Hamachi crudo

 

and a lobster roll

 

I did video through the cracks in the window to highlight the weather....

 

 

 

 

00008.MTS

[groryjm]

Slight posting glitch when the WiFi hiccuped.  Because of the rough weather uploads are being a little slow and I got timed out uploading an edit.  I'll replace the end of the last post here.

 

After lunch we popped down to Michaels to watch a presentation on the Vikings which was ok and better for the intimate venue, though we did miss our high tea as the talk was at 3pm

 

This evening Emanuel pulled out the stops, and made me a perfect Diana's Bitter again from my recipe (40ml Tanqueray Ten gin, 30ml Campari, 20ml fresh Lemon and 10ml simple). Who needs the martini bar when Michael's has Emanuel 😎.

 

On to Luminae and Carlos was a little better today... I only had to repeat "Fresh from Tokyo" four times. I wish Luminae would allow the waiters to accept orders for cocktails.

 

Floyd and Agung were excellent as always.I opted for a slightly lighter entrée with the heirloom tomatoes. 

 

Then the chateaubriand

 

DD and DW headed for an early bed and my MiL and eye had Brandy Alexanders in MC.

 

Checked the BBC tonight for Bailey

 

"Gale Warning: Gale warning issued 17 August 21:49 UTC(Open)

Severe gale force 9 now backed northerly

Northerly 7 to severe gale 9, but 4 to 6 at first in east.

Rough or very rough.

Rain.

Good, occasionally poor."

Edited August 18, 2019 by groryjm

[TeeRick]

I love posts where people seem to be truly enjoying their cruise vacation!

[groryjm]

I forgot one little detail from yesterday. There seemed to be more young children with their parents around than I had seen before and most where not happy . I had assumed it was the motion of the ocean causing these kids a problem but when in the afternoon I decided to brave the solstice deck on 16 that I realised the problem. The X Teen and Kids Club had been closed all day due to safety concerns because of the weather. To the teens this was probably not a problem as they seem to be hanging around the ship in groups. The hot tubs on  pool deck were all full of teens despite the weather. parents of younger kids however seemed stuck with kids that had planned on leaving at the kids clubs consequently leaving unhappy kids and parents and a lot more visible kids than usual.

[groryjm]

Sunday 18th ..... Another day at sea...... relax..... I love sea days. Today we almost skipped breakfast bar the Cafe al Bacio coffee. and bar lunch at Luminae ( were Carlos again managed to wind me up) we spent the whole day playing games in our suite while watching the seas rock and roll. by about 4pm all seemed very calm 

 

 

I did grab a little walk on the wid side to see the waves to be presented with a mill pond as seen from my fav deck 16

 

 

I also planted a duck 😀

 

 

Once back from my constitutional we changed and headed for MC where Emmanuel made me an excellent Spanish Margarita (swop the Cointreau for Licor 43)

 

 

Then My MiL, DD and myself went to see the second showing of the Le Petit Chef - The competition.

 

 

 the first LPC show last year in the fjords and having seen it here and in other places spoiled the surprise some what so I was determined to see this show live, as it were, for the first time so I have been studiously avoiding seeing video clips. I am not going to spoil your surprise either so no video spoilers....

 

the menu however is....

 

 

with an alternate that dose not match the animation.

 

 

I won't spoil the show with food porn but i did sample the cocktial list....

 

Q-Jito

 

Blue Moon

 

Moscow mule

 

Now from what I can tell the $17 comes with in the premium but I'll confirm that tomorrow

 

While at LPC my DW stayed in the room and at at OV. The light show is visually at the point which sets off her migraines so to avoid it she opted for a peaceful evening in the room. While checking out tomorrows timings she found the 7.30pm Excursion to the blue lagoon had been changed to 5.45pm 😮. We had booked for my DD to do a Viking ride on an Icelandic pony at 11.30am and returning at about 6pm. So mild panic set in . my DD phoned me at LPC and  we checked the old emails and all said 7.30pm upto a week before we sailed. I returned to my fillet minion and my DD battled Shore excursions with gusto. I gather she was not alone. She then managed to get hold of Luke the suite manager and he put her mid at rest and promised to sort something by morning. apparently there is a 6.45pm trip aswell which we could make so we await his answer in the morning. So reclining in the haven of MCC with Herring Negronis and Brandy Alex's we were calmed by Lukes calming words and will see what transpire in the morning.

[Georgia_Peaches]

Thank you for not spoiling the show regarding LPS. Dh and I plan to give this a try in November. Menu looks great!  It didn’t appear that any of the wines or cocktails shown on the menu would be covered by the Classic drink package. We have the Premium but I thought that only covered up to $15. Am looking forward to your update on the drink coverage. 

[Redking]

BBC shipping forecast. Brings back great memories of dark winter evenings listening to radio four ... and now the shipping forecast ....

[little britain]

On 8/17/2019 at 11:50 PM, groryjm said:

This is from GiffGaff who we use and I know they tag onto O2's network

 

 

Switzerland, Gurnsey, Jersey and the Isle of man are not covered by included data and minutes but on a preferential rest of the world rate. 

I have a house in Channel Islands and always use my UK O2 phone there with no data roaming charges. 

 

Meanwhile back to the cruise.....

[groryjm]

 

Awoke this morning to a beautiful day and fab view of Iceland from our balcony.......TBC

[Suite Susie]

7 hours ago, groryjm said:

 

Awoke this morning to a beautiful day and fab view of Iceland from our balcony.......TBC

Fabulous - Iceland is one of our favourite places and great to see it in the Sunshine.  Enjoy …..

[groryjm]

Monday 19th ........ We sent my daughter off this morning with is hestar for a riding session as apparently if you ride and are in Iceland you have to experience the Icelandic horse. We do have two horses at home and my DD rides most days but Icelandic horses are different. We sorted this independently because of my DDs experience and it was worth it. The mini buss picked her up at 9.30 then drove her to the riding centre and then she was put through a safety brief with all who had arrived at the centre. By the time the group had been split down to those with an without experience her group was only six.

 

We had brought all her own ridding kit ie boots, chaps, jodhpurs, hat etc and followed the rigorous rules for washing and disinfecting all before contact with Icelandic horses. All of our pre cruise communication had paid dividend in that respect and she was comparable in her own kit and put in a small advance ride.

 

The ride was apparently amazing and from the three hours of go-pro footage that returned the scenery incredible including the bits when the forded rivers 😎. Mean while Mum and Dad caught the shuttle and waked around Reykjavik .......TBC

[chemmo]

What exactly is the drinks service issue in Luminae? 

 

Is it that neither the waiters or sommelier want to prepare your cocktails or is it they don’t have the ‘cocktail knowledge’ to understand what you are asking for?

 

In total contrast to you we prefer the speciality restaurants to Luminae in terms of menu choices. However, we have never had a service issue...indeed the M’D of Luminae usually comes hunting for us day 3/4 of the cruise to check we don’t have an issue with them and to remind us if we want something off menu they will arrange it for us.

[Tipsy252]

When we visited Iceland, I used Islenski Hesturinn for the experience of riding Icelandic horses. Learning to Tolt is a fun experience and totally goes against all you are taught when you ride! I agree that the scenery and experience is something else and I am glad for your daughter that she was able to join the small group of experienced riders. Enjoy Iceland and the Silhouette, we will be on her in a few days so look after her.

[groryjm]

5 hours ago, chemmo said:

What exactly is the drinks service issue in Luminae? 

 

Is it that neither the waiters or sommelier want to prepare your cocktails or is it they don’t have the ‘cocktail knowledge’ to understand what you are asking for?

 

In total contrast to you we prefer the speciality restaurants to Luminae in terms of menu choices. However, we have never had a service issue...indeed the M’D of Luminae usually comes hunting for us day 3/4 of the cruise to check we don’t have an issue with them and to remind us if we want something off menu they will arrange it for us.

Our waiters are both amazing and I have absolutely no problem with them at all. My problem is the sommelier. A sommelier is a wine waiter and should be knowledgeable in wine. Now at our table of four only one guest drinks wine the remaining three choose not to drink wine although occasionally one or other of the three of us will.

 

Most of the other restaurants on board have cocktails and other alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks that are not wine usually listed on the menu itself. Luminae used to have a list of signature cocktails on the first page of the wine menu . The attached PDF is a copy of that menu which I confess is a couple of years ago. Bear in mind that Luminae has only been in existence for four years.

 

In Luminae there seems to be a demarcation  problem and it appears only the sommelier can accept drinks orders and when one asks the waiters they have to refer it to the wine waiter. The wine waiter then sends one of the most junior waiters out to the passport bar to get the non wine drinks.

 

My problem is that the majority of our table don't drink wine. my Mil usually has a brandy and soda and that seems to be ok as it is the same every night. My DD also doesn't drink wine or fizzy drinks but likes to have a "mocktail" or a peach schnapps and ice but since speaking to the maitre d' this seems to be sorted. My self I like a cocktail at the start of the meal as an aperitif and a campari  and soda through out the meal . Carlos obviously wouldn't be expected to make these drinks but would send a lowly waiter to the passport bar. I only ever ask for something either on the MDR daily menu (the waiters always get this menu for my DD anyway), the "Celebrity Today" daily pour or from the old Luminae menu (which the passport bar staff have no problem in making anyway) My problem is that if he remembers to ask me what I would like to drink has seems to need me to repeat it at least three times and then repeats wrong more often than not before grudgingly accepting the order. bearing in mind we have only seven or eight meals in luminae so far I have yet to have easily ordered a cocktail by just stating what I want . If all goes well tonight then great. If not I'll just pop out and get my drinks from the passport bar myself.

 

I do apologise to all for ranting over my first world problem. I am not one to complain about anything usually

 

menu - luminae - wine.pdf