We Sail the Silhouette: If Only I Had Known Then What I Know Now

[SailorJack]

On 12/7/2021 at 1:00 PM, chemmo said:

Loved reading your review!

 

Totally understood what you mean about the vendors in Cartagena….We had previously read reviews about the ‘insistence’ of sales and decided to book a carriage tour…It was ideal as we were ‘above’ the height of the persistent and our personal space was protected and could simply enjoy the views!

 

We were on Silhouette in September and loved her, cannot wait to board again next year!

I was people on the carriage tour when we were walking - sooo envious!  It looked like a lot of fun and you were right about the vendors not being a bother. This was our first trip on the Silhouette and the crew was fantastic.

 

Jack 

[dani negreanu]

On 12/8/2021 at 3:40 AM, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

Sailor Jack, so great to see another of your hysterical reviews!  Those of you who haven't seen his previous reviews should check them out.

 

21 hours ago, kpark895 said:

Even though it's been a while, as soon as I saw this was a SailorJack review, I couldn't wait to read it as I just knew that your wonderful humor would be present and so enjoyable!

 

19 hours ago, goofysmom99 said:

Sailor Jack, thanks for posting this review!  Fun read!  I well remember your review, Dream Nightmare, and the Groundhog Day in Montevideo.  Great to see the link to it and reread that, too. 🤗

 

+ 4  and thank you.

 

Welcome back !!! 

Your review might be a "sign" that slowly we'll be cruising again like in the "old" days 👍

[chamima]

So excited to see another Sailor Jack review. It's been a while.

You never disappoint!

[SailorJack]

On 12/7/2021 at 1:04 PM, CruiserRob said:

😆🤣😂

A great review once again SailorJack, I'm so happy that I asked you to write another review.

Hope you get your supply of chains problems worked out.

 

Robert

 

Glad you enjoyed it and yes our supply of chains was solved!😏

[mkblinzler]

On 12/7/2021 at 2:00 PM, chemmo said:

Loved reading your review!

 

Totally understood what you mean about the vendors in Cartagena….We had previously read reviews about the ‘insistence’ of sales and decided to book a carriage tour…It was ideal as we were ‘above’ the height of the persistent and our personal space was protected and could simply enjoy the views!

 

We were on Silhouette in September and loved her, cannot wait to board again next year!

How did you like the carriage tour? Was it the evening tour through Celebrity? I was looking at that for our Upcoming cruise.

[sdnich]

Thank you for the great review !! I Enjoyed your wit and humor!! 

[chemmo]

12 hours ago, mkblinzler said:

How did you like the carriage tour? Was it the evening tour through Celebrity? I was looking at that for our Upcoming cruise.

Ours was a Celebrity tour but in the morning. It was ideal for us, we saw the town and the wonderful architecture without feeling hassled. 

 

The vendors in the town were not unpleasant but they were persistent and in large numbers. I think if I was walking I would have turned back after five minutes. The tour was guided (headphones) so you had commentary about the history and points of interest as you went round. 
 

Hope you enjoy.

 

 

[SailorJack]

On 12/7/2021 at 3:30 PM, woostergirl said:

Probably the best thing I've read on this forum! Thank you for the witty commentary about your cruise.

You are too kind - glad you enjoyed it.🙂

 

Jack

[relaxatsea]

So glad to see you back, Sailor Jack!  Your reviews always make me laugh out loud!  Best regards to you and Sailor Jill!

Edited December 12, 2021 by relaxatsea

[granddutchess]

Sailor Jack.  I loved your post.  You should do a Blog.  

[SailorJack]

On 12/7/2021 at 1:41 PM, vms said:

Great review! I can't wait for my March Silhouette cruise that is this itinerary.  Can I ask if you booked the ship's SCUBA tour in Bonaire or if not, which company you went with?

 

Thanks for the great nuggets of information wrapped in delightful humor!

Our travelling companions handled the details so I am not sure if they looked at local providers, but our trip i think was through the ship.

[neverlaysup]

We were on the same cruise with you and the one port we had no interest in was Cartagena due to the incessant amount of harassment we got from the street peddlers on our previous visit. We opted for a day break on a private island that in our opinion sucked as well. All that aside, Cartagena may have been one of my favorite stops due to the aviary in the port itself (we are easily amused by animals). From now on, when we book and ABC cruise and it visits this port, we will just walk around the port area and enjoy nature.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Perhaps I can present an alternative view.  I found Cartagena to be a fascinating city full of history.  Yes, the vendors are aggressive as they are in many other ports with impoverished people.  Perhaps whether or not they make the sale makes the difference as to whether or not they eat that night.  I've always found that politely telling them, "No, thank you" pretty much solves the problem.

 

[MicCanberra]

Great review, cheers

[luvsun22]

What a fun review, great job!! 

[SailorJack]

On 12/7/2021 at 1:04 PM, CruiserRob said:

😆🤣😂

A great review once again SailorJack, I'm so happy that I asked you to write another review.

Hope you get your supply of chains problems worked out.

 

Robert

 

I did do a couple of cruises without a review, but this cruise had enough to make an interesting one,

[SailorJack]

On 12/7/2021 at 2:18 PM, Oceangoer2 said:

It was so much fun reading a review which is entertaining and goes beyond the factual.  Noticed your 'self deprecation' which brings the reader into your personality as if we're in the same room and old friends.  Thank you for the 'dailies'.....your trips to the pastry counter and the refreshment booths along the way surely was part of your 'walking' schedule!  Dry wit pushes us to pay attention;  there's truth in the humour.  Sailor Jill has a gem in tow...literally it seems.

 

 

Re: trips to the pastry counter.  I am pleased to announce that I only gained two pounds on the cruise and have already walked them off.  If only I could say that about my other cruises!

Jack

[Yorkvillain]

It’s good to see that a pandemic can’t slow down the comedic genius of the great SailorJack. 
 

Brilliant as always! 

[SailorJack]

On 12/13/2021 at 4:34 PM, neverlaysup said:

We were on the same cruise with you and the one port we had no interest in was Cartagena due to the incessant amount of harassment we got from the street peddlers on our previous visit. We opted for a day break on a private island that in our opinion sucked as well. All that aside, Cartagena may have been one of my favorite stops due to the aviary in the port itself (we are easily amused by animals). From now on, when we book and ABC cruise and it visits this port, we will just walk around the port area and enjoy nature.

 

The aviary at the port was an unexpected surprise.  We would have spent more time there but we were running late.

 

Jack

[SailorJack]

On 12/16/2021 at 11:24 AM, Yorkvillain said:

It’s good to see that a pandemic can’t slow down the comedic genius of the great SailorJack. 
 

Brilliant as always! 

Glad you liked it.

 

I started sailing again thinking the pandemic had pretty much passed🤧 Wrong! Had our upcoming March cruise to Africa cancelled - so I am holding off till late next year to sail again.

 

I visit the RCL board on occasion, but haven't seen anything from you - you sailing?

 

Jack

[owensamo]

On 12/13/2021 at 6:34 PM, neverlaysup said:

We were on the same cruise with you and the one port we had no interest in was Cartagena due to the incessant amount of harassment we got from the street peddlers on our previous visit. We opted for a day break on a private island that in our opinion sucked as well. All that aside, Cartagena may have been one of my favorite stops due to the aviary in the port itself (we are easily amused by animals). From now on, when we book and ABC cruise and it visits this port, we will just walk around the port area and enjoy nature.

We were also on the cruise, and that's what we did! We had been to Cartagena in 2019 on a PC cruise and did a full city tour (with Dora) on that trip. While I would love to visit Old Town again and perhaps see the inside of the fort, we didn't feel comfortable doing so this trip, so just got off and wandered the port area. It is probably one of my favorite ports - the birds are amazing, the animals were cool to see, and I like the little shop area as well. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the view of the HAL ship from the deck and sipping drinks. It was a nice, relaxing day.

[SailorJack]

On 12/20/2021 at 9:04 AM, owensamo said:

We were also on the cruise, and that's what we did! We had been to Cartagena in 2019 on a PC cruise and did a full city tour (with Dora) on that trip. While I would love to visit Old Town again and perhaps see the inside of the fort, we didn't feel comfortable doing so this trip, so just got off and wandered the port area. It is probably one of my favorite ports - the birds are amazing, the animals were cool to see, and I like the little shop area as well. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the view of the HAL ship from the deck and sipping drinks. It was a nice, relaxing day.

 

A lot of people were concerned about this issue, but I would not let that deter one from visiting the city.  Perhaps the carriage ride would be a great alternative. Of more concern, however, is the fact that as of December 8th the CDC on December 8th has set the health advisory for Columbia at Level 3 - Reconsider Travel.

 

Also of note, the CDC on December 20th (two days ago) raised the health advisory for Bonaire to Level 4 - Do Not Travel. I suspect that Celebrity will consider skipping this island until the health warning is lowered.

 

We were fortunate to have visited  Bonaire before the warning was issued. I'm not sure what the health level warning was before we visited Cartagena, but we were home before December 8th.

 

And you are right about the birds  - they were amazing.

[canderson]

We don't worry over CDC travel advisory levels since many of them (e.g., Colombia at Level 3) are as good or better than most U.S. States.  

[SailorJack]

18 hours ago, canderson said:

We don't worry over CDC travel advisory levels since many of them (e.g., Colombia at Level 3) are as good or better than most U.S. States.  

 

I agree with you, but sometimes it is not up to us.  Cruise ships will not visit a port with a Level 4. I have a cruise scheduled that calls on Peru - which is currently Level 4.   I asked them if they will cancel that port if it is still at that level when we are due there.  The answer was yes.

 

Not sure they are handling ports that are Level 3. 

 

But the point being that even if we are not deterred by a CDC rating the cruise lines are.

 

Jack

[canderson]

18 minutes ago, SailorJack said:

 

I agree with you, but sometimes it is not up to us.  Cruise ships will not visit a port with a Level 4. I have a cruise scheduled that calls on Peru - which is currently Level 4.   I asked them if they will cancel that port if it is still at that level when we are due there.  The answer was yes.

 

Not sure they are handling ports that are Level 3. 

 

But the point being that even if we are not deterred by a CDC rating the cruise lines are.

 

Jack

Cannot concur.  Ships have been making port in Bonaire, Belize, Dominica, and others that are at Level 4, and were doing so in November.

 

Most Caribbean ports are at Level 3.  FWIW, Peru is presently at 3.  Best of luck with your voyage.

 

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/noticesCovid19