Norway 29th May, Silhouette review

[grimpil]

thanks, we have only sailed out of Southampton once on the Carnival Celebration, I think it was out Ocean cruise terminal

[debsjc]

1 hour ago, the penguins said:

Only one port in Southampton but with different terminals. Silhouette uses the same one each time - city terminal berth 101.

the terminal has no indoor space for waiting. Most of the outside space is uncovered and with no seating. The area is controlled by port authority staff (not Celebrity employees). 

 Are there bathrooms available for people to use? never been to this terminal, the Princess one has plenty of indoor seating & facilities. 

[the penguins]

58 minutes ago, debsjc said:

 Are there bathrooms available for people to use? never been to this terminal, the Princess one has plenty of indoor seating & facilities. 

Nothing outside which is why the advice is to stick to your time slot then the whole process is very quick. On our last cruise 15 minutes from baggage drop off to being on the ship. Having all your docs printed out also speeds up the process as the WiFi is notoriously bad as is the lighting.

[ShawninFL]

On 6/11/2023 at 11:04 PM, tlf said:

Thank you for the info!

You're very welcome.

[hawkesbaynz]

Boarding very quick for us too. Forty-five minutes from getting into a taxi from home (20 minute drive) to grabbing a drink on the ship. Always used our time slots. Really just a slow saunter through the terminal.
 

Makes me wonder why we do not sail from Southampton more. Next few cruises are from Singapore, Yokohama, Barcelona and Mumbai. 

[aussiegirl64]

On 6/9/2023 at 12:18 PM, ShawninFL said:

If you ever return to Haugesund, I recommend renting a car and driving to Langfoss Falls.  Beautiful drive and a great waterfall to see.  It was a great day at our own pace.  The rental agency had the car with an agent right outside the gates for us to get on our way immediately.

Hi,

 

can you please tell me the company that you used for the car rentlal.

Thanks

Dawn

[ShawninFL]

1 hour ago, aussiegirl64 said:

Hi,

 

can you please tell me the company that you used for the car rentlal.

Thanks

Dawn

Sixt Rent a Car

[hampshirelad]

Like Hawkezbaynz I live 20 miles from Southampton ( I wish people would have an easier name to copy across ). We have grey hairs so have had a suite over the last few years while we have our health. There are a limited number of cruises from Southampton and tend to be priced up for the Brits because we have no air fair to add in.

 

I have tried looking at the North American site , is it called a (consolidator  who want to Go to their Vacations) but I have found that those cruises from Southampton are often not listed. However that company have provide us with many good deals over the years even when sterling has been on its back. They are 100%  reputable and my cruises have been on the cruise company website as soon as the phone as been put down. There is no messing about here and if you use them its not " I will think about it exercise " Thank you V to G - a great deal for Japan pre pandemic. I get a weekly email which covers all the deals for 90 days. Mrs Hampshirelad can get a case together in 24 hrs

 

As has been said the Southampton Cruise terminal is operated by its own staff. For those of you without booze packages their is an opportunity to stretch the boundaries ( I except no liability )

 

I do not know if check in is structured on Cabin grade but if you check in early on the first day available you should get an early time. For our Overseas cruisers you can get a late checkout. I can think of many worst places to have to wait . You will have your bags taken straight away ( Forget tipping to sneak in)

 

UK Celebrity Cruises from the UK now have a package for UK residents which includes tips, and gratuities plus booze and OBC. That is because tipping is not part of our culture and we expect it in the price. We cannot cope with tipping and we become stressed.to Thanks to Celebrity as  they have taken that stress off our hands. Now the crew smile at us. 

 

If you are looking for some ideas on the day before the cruise what to do in the area. Flag them up. 

 

I see that a previous poster is booked to check in at Yokohama soon . Its a Zen like experience, no body raises their voices. You can see the ship from most Hotels. You might even fall asleep during check-in .  However for some reason  Celebrity  have historically covered the area during the Typhoon season, buts that another story.

[hampshirelad]

Should have said we are on the Silhouette 1st July

[twincheryl]

On 6/16/2023 at 1:18 PM, hampshirelad said:

Like Hawkezbaynz I live 20 miles from Southampton ( I wish people would have an easier name to copy across ). We have grey hairs so have had a suite over the last few years while we have our health. There are a limited number of cruises from Southampton and tend to be priced up for the Brits because we have no air fair to add in.

 

I have tried looking at the North American site , is it called a (consolidator  who want to Go to their Vacations) but I have found that those cruises from Southampton are often not listed. However that company have provide us with many good deals over the years even when sterling has been on its back. They are 100%  reputable and my cruises have been on the cruise company website as soon as the phone as been put down. There is no messing about here and if you use them its not " I will think about it exercise " Thank you V to G - a great deal for Japan pre pandemic. I get a weekly email which covers all the deals for 90 days. Mrs Hampshirelad can get a case together in 24 hrs

 

As has been said the Southampton Cruise terminal is operated by its own staff. For those of you without booze packages their is an opportunity to stretch the boundaries ( I except no liability )

 

I do not know if check in is structured on Cabin grade but if you check in early on the first day available you should get an early time. For our Overseas cruisers you can get a late checkout. I can think of many worst places to have to wait . You will have your bags taken straight away ( Forget tipping to sneak in)

 

UK Celebrity Cruises from the UK now have a package for UK residents which includes tips, and gratuities plus booze and OBC. That is because tipping is not part of our culture and we expect it in the price. We cannot cope with tipping and we become stressed.to Thanks to Celebrity as  they have taken that stress off our hands. Now the crew smile at us. 

 

If you are looking for some ideas on the day before the cruise what to do in the area. Flag them up. 

 

I see that a previous poster is booked to check in at Yokohama soon . Its a Zen like experience, no body raises their voices. You can see the ship from most Hotels. You might even fall asleep during check-in .  However for some reason  Celebrity  have historically covered the area during the Typhoon season, buts that another story.

Since you are from the UK, can you answer a question for me?  In all ports we've been to in the US, we always tip the porters that take our luggage.  Do the porters expect that at Southampton port?

 

Along this line, do you know about needing local currency in Norway & Netherlands?  We have debit and credit cards with chip/pin, but thinking about how much currency we will need for tipping and maybe food stands, etc.

 

Anyone else that has experience in this area, please also advise.  Thanks!

[the penguins]

4 hours ago, twincheryl said:

Since you are from the UK, can you answer a question for me?  In all ports we've been to in the US, we always tip the porters that take our luggage.  Do the porters expect that at Southampton port?

 

Along this line, do you know about needing local currency in Norway & Netherlands?  We have debit and credit cards with chip/pin, but thinking about how much currency we will need for tipping and maybe food stands, etc.

 

Anyone else that has experience in this area, please also advise.  Thanks!

Credit cards are widely accepted everywhere and post Covid many shops/cafes prefer cards even for small purchases like a couple of coffees. Norway the buses don't take cards. Public toilets usually only take coins so easier to use ones in cafes (buy a drink) or bigger stores for free.

Not much "porterage" in Southampton assuming you have the bags tagged you give them a bag they put it on the "train". We don't tip.

Norway uses Krona, Netherlands Euro, UK pounds. If you do have a little of each currency left don't change it back use it for extra onboard tips.

[TowandaUK]

4 hours ago, twincheryl said:

Since you are from the UK, can you answer a question for me?  In all ports we've been to in the US, we always tip the porters that take our luggage.  Do the porters expect that at Southampton port?

 

Along this line, do you know about needing local currency in Norway & Netherlands?  We have debit and credit cards with chip/pin, but thinking about how much currency we will need for tipping and maybe food stands, etc.

 

Anyone else that has experience in this area, please also advise.  Thanks!

We are from the UK. We tip the porters at Southampton. 
we are going to Norway and will only take cards. A recent post informed us that on one excursion the charge was higher if you paid cash rather than card. 

[wineoclock]

I concur with your review. Often returned to our cabin after dinner or show as there was nowhere to sit for an after dinner drink. Often difficulty getting served especially in Cafe al Bacio. 
 

We are X cruisers & this was busier than any previous cruise. As one passenger I spoke to said ‘it doesn’t feel like luxury & more like Butlins at sea.’
 

We were in AQ as opposed to our usual suite & I think this was a mistake for us as at least we would have had the retreat. 
 

However it hasn’t put us off & we booked another cruise while on board. We will be back on apex but in a suite as can’t abide the IV & definitely wanting the retreat in case.
 

Having said all that we loved the sky lounge & Silhouette (prefer to Apex) is a gorgeous ship & would happily sail on her again but not in school holidays 😁

Edited June 20, 2023 by wineoclock

[the penguins]

8 hours ago, TowandaUK said:

We are from the UK. We tip the porters at Southampton. 
we are going to Norway and will only take cards. A recent post informed us that on one excursion the charge was higher if you paid cash rather than card. 

It's illegal to charge extra for using a credit card anywhere in the EU or the UK.

Could be "extra" was due to the poster asking/accepting the offer of the vendor to do the currency conversion ( the same thing applies if you let Celebrity do the converting of your onboard account) instead of paying in the local currency. Just make sure you use a credit card with no conversion charges - we use Nationwide but there are many others.