Silhouette 24 Oct TransAtlantic Live Posting

[Mark_T]

6 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

 Strongly recommend using Google/Apple/GPS Maps/navigation. Again, you really need GPS mapping to find many of these hotels and get around the Round-about traffiic circles - tons of them!

 

Check out an app called 'Waze', I use it all the time in the USA/UK, Israel as well and probably good in many other countries too.

[rugerdog]

Love the postings, Den.  So glad you're having a great time and the pictures are brilliant.  See you soon!

 

Darlene (and Julie)

[ahotpoet]

Hey Den,

 I will be following along with you. Have fun, see you on board. 

[Denny01]

Sunday 20 Oct

Up early and a fantastic English breakfast at Smuggler’s. won’t have to eat till later afternoon! Drove out of Newlyn towards Lands End and stopped at the Merry Maids Stone Circle, an early Bronze Age circle. GPS had us go up a Very Narrow road that was called the Cornwall bicycle trail and it was very interesting but very narrow and curvy. I’d strongly recommend use A-3312 out of town instead. You can walk amongst the stone circle and think of what it was used for. Wear boots - its a farm field and cows/sheep have been there. We then drove on using A-3312 to Lands End then onto St Ives on the ocean-skirting roads. These western Cornwall roads are a challenge especially for right-hand drivers since they are barely wide enough for 2-way with stone walls girding them. I didn’t get a photo of it, but one sign said ‘Oncoming traffic in the road center ahead’....think about that for a second!!

 

Got to St Ives. Beautiful coastal town with great views, cliffs, beach, dining and shopping. Parking is a challenge even this off-season but it was Sunday so lots there. Found a park near the beach area. Carry 1pound coins since most parkings use auto-pay sites that only take coins. Cost 4.7 for 4hrs. Wandered through the narrow streets shopping and eating at a seafood cafe. Too many to recommend - all looked great. Did buy a nice small book with hand drawings of the sites between St Ives and Lands End. Drove the easier A-30 back and relaxed. Dining and supping at the nearby Red Lion pub tonight.

 

Driving to Hampshire area north of Southampton/Portsmouth tomorrow and staying at the Hampshire Hog Pub and Hotel. It’s 4+hrs along the south coast. Will spent 3 nights in that area before boarding the Silhouette for the TransAtlantic.

 

 

 

Den

Edited October 20, 2019 by Denny01

[dani negreanu]

Following and enjoying your review. Thank you.

Penzance, St. Ives and Cornwall are on our "land bucket list".

Have a smashing cruise!

[dani negreanu]

23 hours ago, Mark_T said:

 

Check out an app called 'Waze', I use it all the time in the USA/UK, Israel as well and probably good in many other countries too.

 

We tried using our "Waze" in Puglia (Italy) last month. Very disappointing.

Luckily, we rented a car with GPS, which also didn't "deliver" 100%..... good to have an "old fashioned" map as a back-up 😁.

[Denny01]

Monday 21 Oct

Did the drive from Penzance to Hampshire area. It was long. got to the Hampshire Hog hotel and just going to relax and take it easy. The hotel is really fine. Great rooms and nice pub/restaurant. classic with roaring fire and lots of seating around the pub and places to relax. Room is very spaceous. Queen bed/huge HR/free parking/double shower head. Well worth it. Near Southampton and Portsmouth. For me, the driving has been a challenge - not the lefthand side business, but the narrow roads and one thousand round-abouts! Handled them but tiring. Next time may take the bus/train to an area and give that a go. 

 

Going to the Butser Ancient Farm which is just down the road - its a site where they’ve built early Neolithic/Mesolithic/Iron Age/Roman/Saxon round and long homes. Sounds fantastic. 

 

Tuesday 22 Oct. 

Slept in and relaxed. Great included breakfast. Off to Buter Farm. Great weather for it today. Got there and it well beyond anything I expected. Numerous examples of ancient villages in what is called ‘experimental archaeology’. they didn’t recreate an existing village but built round and long homes using the ancient stone and Iron Age techniques. There are a number of school tours ongoing but not an issue. We spent the full day there. well worth it. they directed us to the Red Lion Pub nearby which was built in early 1600’s. excellent meal and beauiful pub/restaurant. 

 

Back to the Hampshire Hog and relaxing. Going to Portsmouth to walk around a nice town and see the HMS Victory. 
 

 

 

Den

 

 

[sgmn]

4 hours ago, Denny01 said:

 

 

Tuesday 22 Oct. 

Slept in and relaxed. Great included breakfast. Off to Buter Farm. Great weather for it today. Got there and it well beyond anything I expected. Numerous examples of ancient villages in what is called ‘experimental archaeology’. they didn’t recreate an existing village but built round and long homes using the ancient stone and Iron Age techniques. There are a number of school tours ongoing but not an issue. We spent the full day there. well worth it. they directed us to the Red Lion Pub nearby which was built in early 1600’s. excellent meal and beauiful pub/restaurant. 

 

Back to the Hampshire Hog and relaxing. Going to Portsmouth to walk around a nice town and see the HMS Victory. 
 

We were just down the coast from you today, in Bournemouth, the weather was wonderful. Though we live in the south of England and drive to that coast regularly I had never heard of the Butser Ancient Farm. It sounds very interesting and will definately visit one day.  Thanks Sue

Edited October 22, 2019 by sgmn

[Mark_T]

34 minutes ago, sgmn said:

We were just down the coast from you today, in Bournemouth, the weather was wonderful. Though we live in the south of England and drive to that coast regularly I had never heard of the Butser Ancient Farm. It sounds very interesting and will definately visit one day.  Thanks Sue

 

It is well worth a visit, we took our kids there years ago, it was a great day out (with or without the kids.).

[TPCRUISER2]

Following! Looking forward to your review! 

[MirandaMoments]

Finishing packing tonight, see you on board in the morning! :) 

[Denny01]

Wednesday 23 Oct

Relaxed again at Hampshire Hog - a great place to chill out. I made an earlier mistake - it is Butzer Ancient Farm, not Buter Farm.

 

we drove down to Portsmouth and visited the HMS Victory. You can get tickets for a number of the dock sites, but we only got one for the ship. It was outstanding. Walking through the entire ship and it gets colorful and tight! But well worth it. Loved it. Walked around the dock area some and then headed back to the hotel. The new visit spot in Portsmouth is the Mary Rose, the flag ship of King Henry the VII of the 1600’s. we didn’t go but it looked very interesting. It’s not part of the tickets you get for the Royal Navy tours.

 

Next day heading to Southampton Airport to turn in the car and taxi to the City Cruise Terminal, Berth 101 for Celebrity.

 

By the way, here are my favorite quotes between my wife and I while driving in Cornwall and Hampshire:

 

- Me: Let’s take the scenic route.

- Actual road sign: Caution. Opposing traffic may be in center of road. Followed by Karen’s: where in the hell are we suppose to be!?!?

- Me while driving: there’s no shoulder.....hell, there’s only one lane!!

 

• Me: don’t worry the Merry Maids Stone Circle is just up a bit further.
• Upon arrival:
• Karen: they’re just rocks in the middle of a very smelly field. 

 

- Karen: keep left....Keep Left!....,KEEP LEFT!!!

Me: why are you so stressed?? I did all the driving????

 

Thursday 24 Oct:

Drove to Southampton airport to turn in the car. One heads up, when we went to the airport terminal for a taxi, you have to check in at a booth in the terminal, not just wave a taxi down. when we got to the booth, the woman told us a taxi wouldn’t be available for 30min+. they only use one taxi service. She told us we could walk to the train station and get a taxi there. we did. It was easy. You walk to the station, take a lift to cross the tracks to the other side and there were lots of taxi’s which are easy and cheaper - $15 instead of the $20 from the airport. Weird. Our driver was very nice. Took us right in the the City Terminal Berth 101 and off we went. took a few minutes to get through security but got on board in less than 20min. wine waiting for us and a lovely, lovely ship!

 

Will report now on the ship as we cruise along. But the ship is in great shape and we are lucky to be on board!

 

Den

 

 

[ipeeinthepool]

Any updates?  Is the weather projected to be a problem?

[Jim_Iain]

Following along also.   Silhouette is one of our favorite ships.   I am sure you will enjoy the cruise.  

 

Looks like you are having the same problem I have with picture orientation.   I'm not sure if it is the IPhone after updated IOS 13.3 or Cruise Critics.    It is something I only recently started experiencing.    What I am finding is that if you upload full size there is no problem but if you use smaller size for faster upload it changes the orientation on about 1/2 or more of the pictures.

 

Enjoying your per-cruise exploration in the UK.  

[Denny01]

OK, for those that will change times on their iPhones/iPads and other similar devices and require a city location to set the time, or if you use a Fitbit and other devices that require your iPhone type to change times, it can get tricky crossing the Atlantic and finding a city in each mid-Atlantic time zone. I found the following to use:

London for departing Southampton BT 00GMT

Reykjavik for next time zone -1 GMT

Praia Cabo Verde -2 GMT

Nuuk Greenland - -3 GMT

Halifax Canada - -4 GMT

New York - -5 GMT

 

Den

 

[Denny01]

Friday 25 Oct:

 

The weather is windy and light rain and the ship is rolling a bit, but most all are out enjoying the ship -no one getting sick that I can tell.

 

we had early set dining which is at 5:45pm on this cruise. Excellent seating or 2 at a window. Good selection of seafood, beef and vegetarian. Excellent service. Make sure you show up closer to 6pm - 5:45 has tons of people lined up - kind of not needed since we have assigned seating.

Entertainment - Thursday was nice - no Broadway dancer/singers, more single singers/musicians. Enjoyed.

We had a Very active Cruise Critic group of over 200+ with lots of get togethers: Cabin Crawl; dining at special restaurants; card players; craft people; book club; Plus. Very active. Celebrity had a nice spread for the social and well organized - most of the Dept Heads plus Capt were.

Excellent service. Our two bonuses (Drink package and Paid gratuities) didn’t show up on our lists so visited Service Desk and they fixed it calling the Main Office and adding it. Done quickly and with no issues from us. Excellent.

Weather is rainy and ship is moving around, but not badly - at least for us.

Meeting new pole and really enjoying the openness of the Cruise Critic people and just the overall onboard people. Loving it.

 

Ship is in great shape - looks good in most all venues. Great bars and lounges and although the ship is pretty much full, we can get seats in the venues such as El Bacio and Martini Bar that we love.

 

Den

Edited October 25, 2019 by Denny01

[Denny01]

Saturday, 26 Oct. Mid-Atlantic

Dining again has been fine. Excellent selections of fish, beef and chicken, with a least one vegetarian selection. Wife’s prime rib was too done and they immediately wanted to take it back. excellent service. We purchased 3-specialty dinner nights for $99, which saves ~$40. Going to Murano tomorrow night and then Lawn Club and probably Tuscan Grill. Need to make reservations early - they book the 7pm type times early.

 

As Elite Plus, we get a number of goodies, especially laundry which we used after 7+days in England prior. For those without benefits, the laundry service isn’t cheap but not out of hand - much as our local laundry, but we don’t get socks and underwear done at home and that adds up. Turned in 25 pieces and it would have cost about $80 and if we did our own socks it would have cost $55. Nice price to get things done. We packed for 10+ days and the laundry availability makes it easy. For Elite and Elite Plus, the happy hour is 5-7pm at most of the bars, not at the Sky Lounge because of the high number of us. Makes it easier, but I always enjoy meeting at the socials. But our Cruise Critic group is very active and have met nice people via that.

 

Elite-type benefits are pretty much the same except the fresh squeezed OJ isn’t free at the Capt Club breakfast, but we got the classic drink package and its free. Not a lot of things that I noticed that have been removed.

 

Excellent Beyond the Podium talks. On the North Atlantic, then on Broadway musicals and the 3rd on Movies and famous actors. Very informative.

 

Sea state as calmed down. There are long rolls, but no rain, sun breaking though and wind has settled down. Walked the outside deck for exercise and then down to El Bacio for snacks and coffees.

 

Den

[Denny01]

Our Cruise Critic Roll Call had a Cabin Crawl and that was fantastic. Got to see all the other SR’s - dangerous seeing those Suites!! Then some of the Roll Call members who do crafts met up at the Sky Lounge and shared info - fun. Later, we play cards together. And we will have a dinner tougher at the Lawn Club the night leaving Bermuda. So many of the members stepped up and organized so fun things.

 

Strongly recommend all join their Roll Calls. 

 

Den

[mrsgoggins]

 

 

2 hours ago, Denny01 said:

 

Excellent Beyond the Podium talks. On the North Atlantic, then on Broadway musicals and the 3rd on Movies and famous actors. Very informative.

 

 

If you have the guy who sings as part of his talks about Broadway musicals then I am envious.  We enjoyed him so much last year on a Med cruise and I can’t remember his name!

[Denny01]

On 10/26/2019 at 3:26 PM, mrsgoggins said:

 

 

 

If you have the guy who sings as part of his talks about Broadway musicals then I am envious.  We enjoyed him so much last year on a Med cruise and I can’t remember his name!

Yes we did. His name is Steven Friedman. Love it.

 

Den

[Denny01]

Sunday 27 Oct

Went to the iLounge class on using IOS 13 for out ipad and iPhones. Excellent class. Learned a lot of tips on using the new Apple IOS. Costs $10 and for us, well worth it. Glenn runs the iLounge and he is very receptive and helpful. Strongly recommend the classes.

 

Did the Murano. Outstanding. Had the Châteaubriant and shared. Cut it with a fork. He added lobster, but lobster is now the Florida Longusta which is not the cold water lobster. It’s OK but not nearly as good. Celebrity has cut back on a few things such as that, the Celebrity salad dressings we loved and so on, but still overall enjoying the dining.

 

Played cards with the Roll Call, as we said earlier it is a very active group. We also joined in the craft get-together and shared a bit. Fun.

Tonight they had the full production Celebrity dance and singers and I was impressed. Excellent again.

 

As you can see, I’m using that word a lot - maybe its because I have the drink package!!

 

To bed earlish.

 

Monday 28 Oct

Slower day today; only one of the Podium talks for us - the earlier one was at 9am and we didn’t make that one!

 

Celebrity Silouette service is outstanding. As we mentioned earlier, the iLounge team lead by Glenn is excellent. We’ve hung out at the El Bacio and although it can get busy, the team is on top of it. It appears there are more servers than what we’d seen on an earlier cruise. Our dining has been fun. we had a dinner that we didn’t want the veggie and our waiter changed it for others and when he saw my wine was low and the wine steward wasn’t nearby, he grabbed the bottle and took care of us. Lots of small things such as that that make it very nice.

 

The internet seems pretty good and quick. We’ve used calling though the internet so don’t need a cellular plan and it’s available everywhere we’ve been. And not nearly as slow as we’ve seen before and this being a TA, I’d except more people to be using it.

 

Seas are rough again - not as much rolling. Capt brought us further north out of it a bit and now we are heading SW and it looks like we have more of a following sea so the rolling and pitching isn’t a much as before. Outside areas are still blocked which means lots of us inside the common areas, but still very open most of the time. They are letting us use the main dining room to play games and socialize and have waitstaff getting drinks there.

 

tomorrow, they will have a Halloween party since we will be in NYC for 31 Oct.

 

Good night.

[hcat]

Nice review...seems there's plenty to keep you busy to pass the  time.

Are you  doing costumes for Halloween?

[Denny01]

10 hours ago, hcat said:

Nice review...seems there's plenty to keep you busy to pass the  time.

Are you  doing costumes for Halloween?

We didn’t bring costumes but others. There will be a costume parade and contest. I could always try to wear my wife’s Clothes!?!?  
 

den

[Denny01]

Our Cruise Director is hilarious. He’s Alexandro. A funny well liked Argentinian who jokes about soccer, sorry Football and England. And is very self depreciating. Great guy. 
 

den

[ipeeinthepool]

You said that the weather has been rough and the out side decks were closed.  Did that also include the pool area and the promenade deck?