Celebrity Silhouette, Norwegian Fjords Sept. 1 2019

[jlf1]

Norris,

 

Picture loading problem fixed.  Hooray!!1

[Walt fan]

Following along and so enjoying.  I have never tried a martini, the one you ordered sounds especially good.  

 

I am curious, since you come from an old school cargo ship type that your father worked on, what did you think when you first heard of cruising on a cruise ship?  Was this before you worked on one?  

[purduemom1]

Norris,

I just binge-read your great review! I really enjoyed your amazingly good pictures because they brought back so many happy memories.  We did the Norwegian Fjords on HAL last May. It was a family cruise (all adults) and we did visit some different ports. However, Flam and Stavanger were on our itinerary. We also did Norway In A Nutshell but on our own. It took pre planning and pre purchased tickets  but worked out well for us. Then in Stavanger, DH and I did the Fjords Cruise, again on our own, buying tickets as we boarded the boat. Our children wanted to do the Pulpit Rock hike and opted to book thru the cruise line. (timing is everything with this kind of excursion) They loved every minute of it and took some amazing pictures.  I mention this for those who are planning a Fjords cruise and are exploring possible port activities. 

 

So, thanks so much for taking us along-I’m enjoying every post!

Sharon

 

 

[purduemom1]

I should add that we booked our cruise 2 weeks before hand and the Nutshell was not offered thru the cruise line or perhaps it was fully booked. Of course, meals were additional. We completed the tour with a little extra time so we enjoyed the brewery right there by the port before returning to the ship. 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

On this cruise we have skipped the nightly theater shows bar the first. We passed on the ones featuring the Celebrity singers and dancers in retrospect but without much thinking beforehand as when coming back from a day ashore dinner and an early night had some appeal and sleeping on a ship has a lot of appeal! Good deep sleeps.

 

Tonight with the luggage being placed into the hallway ready for disembarkation it was now or never for the shows and so we went to an early one at 7 pm and followed it with dinner at the Lawn Club Grill, weather be damned. An early night was factored into the math. Had it been the Caribbean with a warm dry night we would likely have stayed up later to star gaze or walk the decks and enjoy the weather. But this is the cold North Sea... 

 

 

One thing we don't see on Princess and certainly not on Azamara with it's low ceilings are aerial acts and that picture says it all but with some surprises.

 

interesting headwear but useless in the Norwegian rains

 

Carol bought one afterwards in the gift shop but the first time she twirled in the cabin she knocked the art off the walls

 

the man is singing to them

 

then the aerialists

 

the man is joined by a woman with a similar taste in Inca hats

 

dancers

 

a pretty theatrical effect

 

up, up and away...

 

a Mexican queen sings

 

 

huzzah!

 

more...

[Bimmer09]

 

 

don't try this in your cabin. On second thoughts...go right ahead!

 

 

 

as Game of Thrones fans we like anything with dragons

 

 

our CD comes out at the end of the show to tell us what's happening around the ship

 

Celebrity encourages audiences to take photos (no flash) and video of the show.

When I wasn't taking stills I was running the camcorder...

 

[need2cruisesoon]

Mr N, this has got to be one of your best reviews ever. Specific, detailed, humorous and at times sprinkled with a bit of Je Ne Sais Quoi that keeps me wanting more.

 

Bravo my good friend from Chicago.

 

Ron/Need2Cruisesoon

Edited October 25, 2019 by need2cruisesoon

[Mickey22]

Norris,

 

  We are on Azamara next year and I am considering just buying the tickets for the railway in Flam online rather than doing a ship excursion. How far is it from the dock to the rail station?  Would we be missing something by doing it on our own versus with the ship?  Thanks and loved your review. 

    

    Jane

 

 

[Bimmer09]

Here's one of the video excerpts I shot which will give you a flavor of the show. There's a 30 second wait for the curtain to rise at the start. The Adele song is one of my favorites of hers.

 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

8 hours ago, need2cruisesoon said:

Mr N, this has got to be one of your best reviews ever. Specific, detailed, humorous and at times sprinkled with a bit of Je Ne Sais Quoi that keeps me wanting more.

 

Bravo my good friend from Chicago.

 

Ron/Need2Cruisesoon

 

Ron, I'm happy to see you still reading along and thanks for the kind compliments!

I'm glad you noticed the Je ne sais Quoi!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

5 hours ago, Mickey22 said:

Norris,

 

  We are on Azamara next year and I am considering just buying the tickets for the railway in Flam online rather than doing a ship excursion. How far is it from the dock to the rail station?  Would we be missing something by doing it on our own versus with the ship?  Thanks and loved your review. 

    

    Jane

 

 

 

Jane, nice to have you onboard!

I don't think you would be missing anything by buying the train tickets online. The train is visible from the ship and a 3 to 4 minute easy stroll.

If we are ever back there that's what we will do.

Thanks for reading!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Another video featuring the aerialists

 

 

[Bimmer09]

Off to the Opera tonight but time to add another video....and who doesn't love dolphins??!

 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

I shot most of the scenes that night but those three should give you the gist-acrobatics, singing and theatrical visuals. We had picked the 7 p.m show so we could round off our week with a Lawn Club Grill dinner. A visit to deck 5 promenade was in order first.

 

This was the coast of France

 

 

there weren't many outdoor diners due to the wind. Only the hardy

 

we didn't use the salad bar, despite it's variety

 

 

 

it's us and the team

 

 

[Bimmer09]

Flatbread to start

 

steak, lamb chops and bratwurst on the grill

 

the chef

 

and assistant

 

the oven man

 

the condiments

 

Carol adds some creamed corn to her plate of lamb chops, tandoori chicken and a shrimp skewer with onions and peppers. Mac n cheese was her 2nd side

 

 

my filet, tandoori chicken, lamb chops and bratwurst with a baked potato and weird baked kidney beans

 

a satisfying meal! Just one thing missing...

 

straight from the 475 degree oven the chocolate chip cookie!

 

Francisco our waiter from night one wasn't working but stopped by to chat. He was also leaving the ship in the morning, going home to Goa for vacation. We wished him well.

 

Our luggage was already taken when we walked down the long corridor to bed a short time later.

We would next see it in Southampton after a last deep sleep on the Silhouette.

 

[mrsgoggins]

We saw Euphoria on Silhouette’s Ireland/Iceland cruise in August and I had a good chuckle at the thought of Carol twirling that hat in the cabin.

 

I’m so sorry this review is coming to an end, I’ve loved it!  it’s taken me right up to my own next cruise on Reflection, 28th October from Lisbon to Barcelona before she heads back to Fort Lauderdale (without me).  I was also on Silhouette in January 2018 and so were you, although I didn’t ‘know’ you at the time!   Your review of that cruise showed me things on the ship I hadn’t noticed.  Since then I’ve followed you on your Amazara adventure and will be looking out for a review of your next Princess cruise.  Thank you so much.

Edited October 26, 2019 by mrsgoggins

[Bimmer09]

Carol's notes tell me that after LC Grill we went down to deck 7 and there was a band playing sixties music down on deck 3-the one testing their sound on From Me To You earlier and that there were  mobs of people on the dance floor. She retreated to the Hideaway and listened from there. People were dancing in the elevators her report says.  I didn't stay for the band but instead renewed my acquaintance with the bed pillows.

 

Here were the things to do on this last sea day

 

 

 

 

The Senior Officers

 

[Bimmer09]

18 hours ago, mrsgoggins said:

We saw Euphoria on Silhouette’s Ireland/Iceland cruise in August and I had a good chuckle at the thought of Carol twirling that hat in the cabin.

 

I’m so sorry this review is coming to an end, I’ve loved it!  it’s taken me right up to my own next cruise on Reflection, 28th October from Lisbon to Barcelona before she heads back to Fort Lauderdale (without me).  I was also on Silhouette in January 2018 and so were you, although I didn’t ‘know’ you at the time!   Your review of that cruise showed me things on the ship I hadn’t noticed.  Since then I’ve followed you on your Amazara adventure and will be looking out for a review of your next Princess cruise.  Thank you so much.

 

Mrs  Goggins, thank you for following along and enjoying this. Bon Voyage tomorrow!

 

We are going on a Fall Foliage road trip to the Mission Peninsula in Michigan on Tuesday at the crack of dawn. A 300 mile drive so I will be away from the computer a lot.

I hope you'll come back to look at the London wrap-up pictures.

 The Princess cruise ends January 25 and the review should start the 26th. New ship!

Cheers!

Norris

[Buffetfan47]

Have been following this post with excitement since we will be on Silhouette to Norway next June. Your pics are awesome. I liked your description of growing up and sailing on ships with your father. Your comments about the sailors shoveling coal to the boilers to make the "steam" for the ships reminded me of a line from my favorite song, A Pirate Looks at Forty by Jimmy Buffet. It goes "Mother, mother ocean, I have heard your call, wanted to sail upon your waters since I was three feet tall. You've seen it all. I watched the men who rode you switch from sail to steam."  And I have found it's true, the ocean gets to you and you can't stay away. 

[Bimmer09]

Sunday September 8 2019

The room stewards are preparing for turnaround. We have to be out of our cabin by 8 a.m

 

Our disembarkation time was 8.30. We like to wait in the Hideaway where it is quiet

We've both had a buffet breakfast for expediency sake so we can meet the cabin exit deadline

 

 

 

the coffee machine can't be used this morning, alas

 

 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

You may have noticed that I haven't mentioned our next Celebrity cruise.Unlike our previous two X cruises we didn't book another on our last day to take advantage of the perks. We didn't even discuss it. We already had two cruises booked ahead-in January and October of next year and have to do some land trips at some point. We apply for tickets to the Wagner Festival in Germany each year. The last year we got tickets was 2013 when we had to cancel a Med cruise, so there is a good chance that 2020 will see us in Germany. It will also mark 17 years since I was in Northern Ireland to see my family back there. So we may have to give up some sea time.

 

The main reason for me though not to bring up the subject on board is the future Edgeification of the Silhouette. The Edge class doesn't call our names really in its current iteration. Carol said "Azamara" quite a few times in Norway and even "Seabourn" (out of curiosity). She likes to relax on her cruises and to find quiet places to read but it wasn't so easy this time. The weather didn't help as we love to be outdoors when sailing. Time will tell.

 

We'll get off the ship soon and find our luggage and then go through customs. I had booked Smith's Car Service to take us to London and we'd meet them at 9.30. So an hour cushion which seemed prudent.

 

While Carol read her Kindle and made more trip notes I visited some nearby rooms...

[Bimmer09]

the Library

 

 

 

 

my favorite elevators at sea

 

another popular room on sea days

 

 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

Our luggage number is called and we grab our carry-ons and camera bags and make our way to deck 5

we say bye bye to the quirky art

 

and to the forlorn tree

 

there's a final "ping" as our ship cards are read at the gangway and then a long zig zag walk down to terminal level. What? No customs? Yay! We are traveling from one EU country to another (temporarily). We wheel our luggage outside into the warm Southampton morning.

We'll have to wait for Smith's as we are early but it's a lovely English morning with not a hint of rain. There's a place to discard any foreign currency you don't need as you leave the terminal and the proceeds go to charities. We add Norwegian coins to it. Great idea!

[LisaNorthseadreamer]

Hi Norris! Just checking in to say it is always a joy to read your reviews. I am not able to travel for various reasons and the quality of your pictures and banter combined with Carol's notes always make me feel like I am on a mini vacation too. You are one of the very few reviewers I actively seek out every time I need my 'fix' and of that group definitely my favorite. So thank you so much for the work you do!

 

Hope you & Carol have a great fall foliage road trip and a pic or two snuck into this review would not be a bad thing at all! 🙂  

[Bimmer09]

Just a quick note to say that after coming home from work at 11pm last night and hitting the hay at 1 a.m after a midnight dinner  I am up and packing for a 300 mile drive to a most scenic place in Michigan so will be away from the computer all day. 

 

Fall Foliage will be at peak on the Mission Peninsula, north of Traverse City.

 

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbm=isch&sxsrf=ACYBGNQDBXsPZSh-h-xr3RnxI7YpXDwMMg%3A1572348539820&source=hp&biw=1280&bih=639&ei=eyK4XdPuL4Wb5gLE3oDwDw&q=mission+peninsula+michigan&oq=Mission+Peninsula&gs_l=img.1.2.0l2j0i30j0i5i30l5j0i24l2.2744.6868..14054...0.0..0.199.2274.0j17......0....1..gws-wiz-img.p1w59y2cExg

 

Carol will be taking notes and buying apples and cider from farm stands along the way.

 

Road Trip!

Back soon...

Norris