Silhouette LIVE (1/12) w/ Side by Side: A Royal Week on Celebrity and MSC

[GenerationX]

43 minutes ago, h20cruzer said:

I really needed this, I’m so down on all the negative things people are saying about Celebrity, even if only a quarter of them are true, still makes me shutter. Between you and Jim it’s the only thing keeping me from giving up on cruising. Love all your pics and commentary. 
I gave up on Embassy Suites in Ft Lauderdale a long time ago, between the price and shabby Accommodations there are much nicer hotels in the Fort Lauderdale area one of my favorites is called the Riverside. It’s right on Las Olas with lots of restaurants around they have an older building and a newer building I would always pick the new building to stay in.

I hope the rest of your cruise is fabulous!!!
Norma

 

Thank you Norma! Honestly the negativity has gotten to me too on occasion but I’m a realist.

 

I’ve spent time on the boards for most of the other cruise lines (in my budget anyway) looking at options and I’ve yet to find one where no one is complaining about some kind of cutbacks, higher prices for premium accommodations, and/or extra charges.  

 

Even on the MSC boards I’ve been following for my next cruise there’s regular posts about yacht club perks “not being what they used to be” and complaining about how much fares have gone up.  I have to resist commenting “um, have you guys SEEN the prices for NCL Haven and Celebrity Retreat recently???”

 

And I’ve never seen people so salty about no longer getting a free chocolate mold.
 

This industry went over a year making almost no revenue and I can’t imagine what it takes financially  to keep things going and keep shareholders happy while trying to make up for that.  
 

I knew once the global suspension drug on past 6 months that when cruising did come back fully, it probably wouldn’t be the same experience I was used to for a long time, if ever and my choices were to adapt expectations or stay home.  And I was quite over staying home.

 

There definitely are some once great things about Celebrity that now aren’t what they used to be.  

But at least from my experience there’s also a lot of great things about Celebrity that are still very much here and I’m not prepared to throw the baby out with the bath water just yet.

 

Now depending on how my MSC cruise goes, I may well find my loyalties surprisingly shifted and be eating these words…hopefully without an extra entree up charge. 😂

 

[jelayne]

On 1/12/2023 at 5:32 PM, Jim_Iain said:

 

We were last at Embassy Suites about 9 months ago in April.   I have to agree she is showing her age and even our TV's did not have HDMI connections - while all rooms we preciously had did have them.  At the high price I was surprised that when spending 2 nights they did no offer room being cleaned or serviced daily.  

 

I'll be doing some more looking but wanted Fort Lauderdale also I still have a no fee cancellation up until 72 hours prior to arrival.

Jim, see if Hyatt Place on 10th is available.  Rooms were quite nice and it is in the same area as ES.  

[Laurab23]

1 hour ago, cruzzzinma said:

My favorite as well. When I order, I have them add cheese to the eggs.

Do you chose how you want your eggs? I like mine sunnyside up on top of everything.

 

Laura

[cacbeausang]

On 1/13/2023 at 5:02 PM, GenerationX said:

Good evening friends!  

 

I’ve pulled myself together after a long afternoon nap and am having a glass of decoy listening to acoustic guitar before dinner with Red in Tuscan Grille.

 

I haven’t done much today other than lie around on the retreat deck, eat lunch at Sushi on 5 (report to come) and nap.  But hey, sometimes sea day life be like that.

 

I did contemplate spending some time on the main pool deck after lunch, but when I made a lap, the blaring party music, crowds and not small groups of passengers who were already at the party point I was at at 1am last night was giving me flashbacks to the Carnivalesque pool deck on Equinox this past summer.  But hey, 4 night cruises be like that sometimes.  I was happy to stick with the much more relaxing vibe on the Retreat deck.

 

The guitarist just went for her break so while I’m sipping, a back in time report on last night:

 

When I walked into Murano I once again got that look of recognition from the restaurant manager and all of the staff who smiled warmly and greeted me by name.  I wonder if in addition to our pictures, the crew have some info on the royal suite guests’ past cruise history, because multiple people also said “welcome back to the Silhouette” and one made a joke about hoping they beat Le Voyage on Beyond.

 

For dinner I went with my go to dishes and had the lobster bisque and mushroom risotto to start, followed by Murano lobster, with the gran marnier soufflé for dessert.  The bisque wasn’t as good as it’s been before. The sherry was really strong to the point of being a little overpowering.  When my risotto came, my server Anastasiia (who was fantastic by the way, if you go ask for her!) suggesting topping it with some freshly grated Parmesan and it really took it to the next level!  I think this was the best Murano lobster I’ve had since the restart and the soufflé was heaven as always.  I was offered a cheese course as well but I was so stuffed I couldn’t possibly (probably the only bit of restraint I managed to show last night).

 

I paired everything with a bottle of Penner Ash and asked the sommelier Merry to send the rest up to my room and it was waiting for me when I got back in the wee hours.

 

After dinner I went to World Class bar for a Celebrity Number 10 before the sound of the house band starting their grand foyer set pulled me to the packed dance floor.  The band was so good when they wrapped up their set the crowd started chanting for an encore and they obliged us with 2 more songs.  After the band wrapped up I followed several of my dance partners to the sky lounge.

 

Once again it seemed like I was recognized and when I’d go to the bar to order a cocktail, I was almost always prioritized for quick service (which is probably how I got in trouble now that I’m thinking about it).

 

We also have a great DJ this cruise who played a good mix of modern hits and throw back classics (I will never not shake it to Brick House).

 

Once security brought up the house lights and shut us down about 1:30, the bartenders made me a T&T to take to bed (like I didn’t have that in my room) and I finished it on my deck doing a little star gazing before crashing. 

 

I don’t think I could’ve asked for a better first night! 

 

More to come once I’m full of pasta and steak.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amazing!  I was so glad to see you back with one of your fun, informative reviews, and this exceeds all expectations.  Penner-Ash is a favorite, did you bring it on, or was it a choice on board?  Also looking forward to your MSC review next.  Continue to have a wonderful trip, and thanks for taking us along!

[cruzzzinma]

51 minutes ago, Laurab23 said:

Do you chose how you want your eggs? I like mine sunnyside up on top of everything.

 

Laura

Scrambled with cheese!

[GenerationX]

55 minutes ago, Laurab23 said:

Do you chose how you want your eggs? I like mine sunnyside up on top of everything.

 

Laura

You chose! Red gets hers over easy.

[GenerationX]

41 minutes ago, cacbeausang said:

Amazing!  I was so glad to see you back with one of your fun, informative reviews, and this exceeds all expectations.  Penner-Ash is a favorite, did you bring it on, or was it a choice on board?  Also looking forward to your MSC review next.  Continue to have a wonderful trip, and thanks for taking us along!

It was on the wine list in Murano!  If you do want to bring some wine on with you and are in the Brickell area pre-cruise, there was a decent wine shop right down the street from my hotel.  Prices were comparable to Celebrity when accounting for the taxes charged at the shop and the beverage package wine bottle discount that celebrity gives.  They didn’t have anything I was so interested in that I wanted to spend money out of pocket on in lieu of spending onboard credit to buy during the cruise (the guy behind the counter mentioned they’ve been having supply issues too). But may be worth a look if you’re in the area.

[SkystheLimit]

5 hours ago, GenerationX said:

I feel so bad guys. I over slept my afternoon nap and missed the captains club party 🤦🏾‍♀️
 

Oh well I’m all dressed in a breezy weather friendly outfit, with cardigan stuffed in purse, for my sunset dinner at Lawn Club.

 

At 20 minutes past all aboard the captain hadn’t pulled up the gangway and I heard a couple paged to call guest services immediately.

 

Sure enough…Pier Runners off the port bow!  
 

The best  part was as they finished their sprint, it looked like the man argued bery briefly with a waiting officer about not being able to bring his take home box of Mexican leftovers onto the ship. 😂

 

Now that all are accounted for, looks like we’ll set sail soon! 
 

 

Ah, the Cozumel sprint!  Many years ago my husband did it.  We rented a half of a VW Bug along with another couple.  I was the designated driver.  Circumnavigated the beautiful island while they drank. Arrived back at the rental car place and I left them there. They decided they needed to bring on one the many wandering dogs that were slowly following them. Ship's officer at the gangway not happy!

Your reviews are so fun and your dresses are fabulous!  Thank you for sharing.

 

[GenerationX]

Quick real time update:  

 

As I was taking in sea breeze up by the lawn club tonight I noticed quite a wild DJ party starting up on the pool deck.

 

My love for this royal suite (including a surprise treat delivery from Clayton) won out though, so I’m spending my late evening seeking my entertainment elsewhere…

 

 

[M&JfromSDL]

I'm loving your live thread.  In fact, I just got to your last post and have a window open with your previous reviews.  Enjoy your cruise!

[GenerationX]

15 minutes ago, SkystheLimit said:

Ah, the Cozumel sprint!  Many years ago my husband did it.  We rented a half of a VW Bug along with another couple.  I was the designated driver.  Circumnavigated the beautiful island while they drank. Arrived back at the rental car place and I left them there. They decided they needed to bring on one the many wandering dogs that were slowly following them. Ship's officer at the gangway not happy!

Your reviews are so fun and your dresses are fabulous!  Thank you for sharing.

 

Well that’ll teach your husband about letting the Mexican liquor do the thinking and following a bunch of drunken stragglers instead of his clever wife!

 

If you don’t mind, I shall use this anecdote as an example for my tequila loving husband!

 

 I’ve always warned him that if he’s ever fool enough to split from me and end up being late to the ship, I’m going to be onboard telling guest services when they page me:

 

”He has a travel credit card on him and knows better than this and I also quite enjoy solo cruising.  Raise the anchor and let’s get going. Btw can I get an onboard credit for his port fees for the remainder of the cruise?” 😂

[SkystheLimit]

47 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

Well that’ll teach your husband about letting the Mexican liquor do the thinking and following a bunch of drunken stragglers instead of his clever wife!

 

If you don’t mind, I shall use this anecdote as an example for my tequila loving husband!

 

 I’ve always warned him that if he’s ever fool enough to split from me and end up being late to the ship, I’m going to be onboard telling guest services when they page me:

 

”He has a travel credit card on him and knows better than this and I also quite enjoy solo cruising.  Raise the anchor and let’s get going. Btw can I get an onboard credit for his port fees for the remainder of the cruise?” 😂

You may use it!  I could have cared less if the the whole lot of them got left behind.  Love that idea of the OBC for port fees.  More champagne for me!

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Enjoying your posts and thank you for sharing!

[GenerationX]

Good morning from Luminae breakfast on my last full day on Silhouette! 😭

 

Last night before I put myself chin deep in a bubble bath, I had dinner at Lawn Club Grill.

 

When I last ate at the restaurant pre-refurb I remember it being pretty windy up there.  It looks like they’ve put in better wind covers around the restaurant because last night it wasn’t windy at all.  The only down side is that thick sheeting that blocks the wind also really blurs the views of the ocean and lawn and kind of makes you feel like you’re eating in a greenhouse.

 

I started with the sausage and pepper flatbread (which the chef was able to make a bit smaller for me since I was solo). I wasn’t impressed.  The sausage had almost no flavor.  It doesn’t hold a candle to the outstanding sausage flatbread at the rooftop restaurant on E-class.

 

For dinner, I was torn between the lamb chops and ribeye and my server told me the chef could cut just one or two chops of lamb  if I wanted to have both.  I ordered both medium rare and both were cooked perfectly. I think the ribeye was even better than the one at Tuscan!

 

For dessert I had the warm chocolate chip cookie a la mode. How could that not be good?

 

I’m gearing up for a very busy last day at sea.  Today’s Agenda:

 

-Beyond the Podium lecture on the Titanic

 

-A little shopping and slot machines

 

-lunch at the Porch

 

-Premium wine tasting 

 

-taking a bath on my veranda before chefs table dinner

 

-Packing and preparing to swap ships tomorrow!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Stem to Stern]

Charla,  Your turf and turf looks mouthwatering.  What wine did you pair?  I forget are your visits to the specialities complimentary because you are in an upper suite?  Enjoy your last day.  Looking forward to reading about MSC.

[dgparent]

13 hours ago, GenerationX said:

 

Thank you Norma! Honestly the negativity has gotten to me too on occasion but I’m a realist.

 

I’ve spent time on the boards for most of the other cruise lines (in my budget anyway) looking at options and I’ve yet to find one where no one is complaining about some kind of cutbacks, higher prices for premium accommodations, and/or extra charges.  

 

 

 

I used to tell my wife, pre internet days, that I could not wait to get home and read cruise critic to find out how shitty our cruise was.

 

[GenerationX]

A few quick sea day updates:

 

1-If you’ll be onboard Silhouette and cruise director Mike is giving his beyond the podium presentation on the Titanic and her place in the ocean liner industry, I highly recommend attending. If you’re a big cruising history nerd like me, a lot of the info may be things you already knew, but he’s an engaging, funny and dynamic speaker and he provided some really interesting comparisons to how ship design, marketing and operations go down on modern cruise ships.

 

2-I think someone asked me to check on scotch and Hennessy Pure White availability in duty free. It was crowded in the shop so I didn’t get to look super well, but the scotch selection didn’t seem especially exciting. Looked like the usual wall of Johnny Walker.  However, I did see the Hennessy well stocked.

 

3-These are the loosest slots I’ve had on a last sea day in several cruises.  I only had a little time to play before lunch so I popped $20 in a quarter machine and max bet till I was down to my last spin then hit a great bonus!  I promptly gave nearly a hundred back (boo), but then switched to a wheel of fortune machine that turned out to be hot (yay!). I ended up sitting at up about $190 in like 20 minutes of play.  Not a bad start to the day!

 

 

 

 

 

[thatguy865]

1 hour ago, GenerationX said:

A few quick sea day updates:

 

1-If you’ll be onboard Silhouette and cruise director Mike is giving his beyond the podium presentation on the Titanic and her place in the ocean liner industry, I highly recommend attending. If you’re a big cruising history nerd like me, a lot of the info may be things you already knew, but he’s an engaging, funny and dynamic speaker and he provided some really interesting comparisons to how ship design, marketing and operations go down on modern cruise ships.

 

2-I think someone asked me to check on scotch and Hennessy Pure White availability in duty free. It was crowded in the shop so I didn’t get to look super well, but the scotch selection didn’t seem especially exciting. Looked like the usual wall of Johnny Walker.  However, I did see the Hennessy well stocked.

 

3-These are the loosest slots I’ve had on a last sea day in several cruises.  I only had a little time to play before lunch so I popped $20 in a quarter machine and max bet till I was down to my last spin then hit a great bonus!  I promptly gave nearly a hundred back (boo), but then switched to a wheel of fortune machine that turned out to be hot (yay!). I ended up sitting at up about $190 in like 20 minutes of play.  Not a bad start to the day!

 

 

Thank you so much! I’m a Certified Sommelier and grew up in TN so huge whiskey lover and flavor connoisseur generally. The Hennessy is always a nice bottle to have on the home bar. People know it’s only available outside the US, so it keeps attention off my Bourbon and Scotch when they visit. 😅 I sort assumed the Scotch selection would be anemic. I appreciate you taking time to shop a little on my behalf. Hopefully my terrible influence didn’t have you make too many purchases at the shops. 😅😅😅

 

Taking mental notes on your slot success!

[hcat]

Hyatt Pl 17th  st

Good idea..short walk to all the same shops and restaurants as ES.   Nice but small pool area, ok wifi and small but workable breakfast buffet ..we may look into this for next yr

Edited January 15, 2023 by hcat

[tcmagnum]

23 hours ago, GenerationX said:

 

Honestly the negativity has gotten to me too on occasion but I’m a realist.

 

I am thoroughly enjoying your live review.

Specifically your ‘go with it attitude’!!
We are less than 3 weeks out from our ten day cruise on the Connie and can’t wait.

I’ve been trying to stay away from all the doom and gloom posts.  
 

Concerning MSC…Have you ‘matched’ to your level with Celebrity?
We we’re on the Seaside on one of the last cruises before the ‘shutdown’.

Best pizza on a cruise ever!!!
We found out fast we don’t like the huge ships.

 

Have a great rest of your amazing trip!!!
And Thank You so much for the upbeat/funny/informative review!!!!

[Jim_Iain]

23 hours ago, jelayne said:

Jim, see if Hyatt Place on 10th is available.  Rooms were quite nice and it is in the same area as ES.  

 

Thanks Joan -   I went ahead and booked Hyatt Place  also as both are refundable.    The other day I ran it by Iain and he poo-pooed it ... He may just have to live with what I choose.  LOL    If you say the rooms are nice I trust your opinion.

 

Coming from the West Coast we usually get in around 11:30 - 1:00 AM so in these times we are coming in 2 days early (which is really only one day early), just costs us an extra day. 

 

I looked at the Marina that everyone recommends but it is now up to $575 a night.    I might as well fly in early and take a cheap 3 night cruise.

[hcat]

7 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Thanks Joan -   I went ahead and booked Hyatt Place  also as both are refundable.    The other day I ran it by Iain and he poo-pooed it ... He may just have to live with what I choose.  LOL    If you say the rooms are nice I trust your opinion.

 

Coming from the West Coast we usually get in around 11:30 - 1:00 AM so in these times we are coming in 2 days early (which is really only one day early), just costs us an extra day. 

 

I looked at the Marina that everyone recommends but it is now up to $575 a night.    I might as well fly in early and take a cheap 3 night cruise.

Rooms are not bad and more up to date than ES  from what we recall.  Used to be our go to place but then switched to ES for Hilton pts.

[Wink87]

On 1/8/2023 at 5:05 AM, GenerationX said:

Hello and Happy New Year CC!

 

Guess who’s on final countdown to her first cruise of 2023?

 

That’s right, in 2 more days I’ll fly to Miami to board my favorite Celebrity ship: the Silhouette!  

 

Thanks to booking during a great solo fare sale, I’ll also be doing something that I’ve never done before (and don’t think will be within my cruise budget again for a very long time the way prices are trending): sailing in a Royal Suite!

 

As they say in the infomercials…but wait, there’s more!  

 

This sailing is only a short 4 night trip to Cozumel sandwiched between sea days and there wasn’t another Celebrity sailing scheduled from MIA or FLL that would allow me to make a b2b.  So instead, when Silhouette returns to Miami, I’ll be heading to a different pier to try out a new cruise line and sail in a Deluxe Grand Yacht Club Suite on a 4 night sailing on MSC Divina.

 

I’m very much looking forward to being able to do a side by side, live comparison of Retreat vs. Yacht Club suite life.  

 

I plan to keep writing up my impressions of the comparison of the two lines in real time as I go along, since I think that gives me the most accurate picture.  Memory is a funny thing…after the fact, one negative experience on night 4 can suddenly have you changing your recollections of how good the previous 3 nights really were.

 

I’m not completely sure though what to do with this review once I swap ships.  My thought is that the options are either:

 

1: Wrap up the Silhouette review then swap over to the MSC board and start a new live review thread there.  Then maybe come back here post-cruise and write a final summary comparison post on the cruises and Retreat vs. Yacht Club; or

 

2: Just keep posting on this thread throughout the MSC cruise so all of the info is in one spot (and anyone not interested in the MSC half/comparison posts can of course unfollow as they wish and no offense taken).

 

I tried to search CC for helpful precedent on which approach is more customary but came up empty. I think I’m leaning more towards #1, but I’d very much appreciate opinions from folks planing to follow along on which way to go with it, so please don’t be afraid to comment and share your thoughts on how I should handle!

 

In the meantime, for those who haven’t followed other live reviews I’ve done, a quick about me: 

 

I’m Charla! Married lawyer, 40, from outside St. Louis, Missouri.  Well seasoned Celebrity cruiser (Elite).

 

I usually do 2-3 solo or semi solo (with my dear friend and fellow cruise/spa/casino enthusiast from Indiana (CC alias Red) in another cabin) cruises a year.  Other than that I either sail with my husband Jeremy or as a mommy-daughter trip with our 10 year old (CC alias Gen Z or Mini Me).

 

This cruise, Red will also be sailing in a Celebrity Suite.  However she’ll be heading back to Indy on the 16th to take care of some urgent family matters, so I’ll be fully solo on Divina.

 

In the next day or two I’ll do a couple of posts about my plans onboard and pre-cruise planning, including details on working with shoreside concierge (a new experience for me as this is my first time sailing in an upper suite).

 

As always please feel free to jump in with any questions or comments.  If you’ll be onboard too, please also don’t be shy about sharing your impressions as well and if you see me around the ship come say hi!

 

I can’t wait to start another cruising adventure!

 

 

 

Option #2

[GenerationX]

9 hours ago, thatguy865 said:

Thank you so much! I’m a Certified Sommelier and grew up in TN so huge whiskey lover and flavor connoisseur generally. The Hennessy is always a nice bottle to have on the home bar. People know it’s only available outside the US, so it keeps attention off my Bourbon and Scotch when they visit. 😅 I sort assumed the Scotch selection would be anemic. I appreciate you taking time to shop a little on my behalf. Hopefully my terrible influence didn’t have you make too many purchases at the shops. 😅😅😅

 

Taking mental notes on your slot success!

Your influence didn’t ruin me at all. Actually it was cruise line policies that did me in.  When I was in duty free I did see some very attractive whiskey options for my home bar, but then I remembered there was no way I’d be able to get them on the Divina with me for the next cruise!  I guess a really good thing too that my husband decided against wanting me to bring back tequila from Cozumel!

[GenerationX]

Late night pro-tip from Silhouette:

 

You know that crankiness and slight dismay that one sometimes feels when your cruise is ending and the ship is making its way ever steadily back into port?

 

Well I think I’ve found the cure and it’s surprisingly simple (if financially and logistically challenging)!  You just need a royal suite where you can spend said sail in in a bubble bath sipping a Super Tuscan and also have a second cruise booked that you’re leaving on on the same day.

 

You're welcome. 🤣

 

Edited January 16, 2023 by GenerationX