Just off the Silhouette..May 24-June 6 Scandinavia

[Nancycat]

This will be my review of my experience on the Celebrity Silhouette May 24-June 6 Best of Scandinavia 

With all the recent reviews,concerns and talk of a decrease in quality on Celebrity ships, I can honestly say we did not experience any of that quite the contrary.

About Us 

We cruised as a family of 9 ages 2-66, other than the 2 year old all have been on cruises in the past and all have been on other lines.

This is what we called the “recovery cruise”, as 3 members of our group had recently had major surgery.

My daughter,Emily 33 had her 2nd kidney transplant in August, she and her husband Conor ,were married while she was on dialysis and never had a honeymoon. 
First photo myself, Emily and Conor during our layover at JFK

My daughter Becky, 39 had cervical disc replacement in January, my brother in law Steve 66 had quadruple by pass surgery in September, my sister Eileen his wife was with us

And lastly, my daughter Kristin 35 her husband Mike 39 and their son, my grandson Rollins age 2..and Kristin gave Emily her first kidney 6 years ago.

 

Travel to Amsterdam 

We all flew into,Amsterdam from various parts of the country, Florida, Washington DC , Virginia and Ct.starring on Monday May 20 until May 22.

We had booked our tickets independently, and did not use flights by Celebrity, which I have used in the past with no real issues.

Everyone arrived into Amsterdam, which is one of the biggest most confusing airports I have been to.

I had booked transportation from the airport to our hotel via Welcome Pickups, they were efficient and I thought reasonable.

 

next up hotel and Amsterdam..

 

 

 

 

[Merc85]

It looks like you actually went Down Under!!   🙂

[Milhouse]

16 minutes ago, Nancycat said:

This will be my review of my experience on the Celebrity Silhouette May 24-June 6 Best of Scandinavia 

With all the recent reviews,concerns and talk of a decrease in quality on Celebrity ships, I can honestly say we did not experience any of that quite the contrary.

 

Looking forward to reading your review as we are on Silhouette in August.  Thanks!

[cruisetonowhere10]

Going on Silhouette in April ‘25 so looking forward to this!

[Nancycat]

Hotel and Amsterdam 

We really wanted to be in a walking area, and we needed 4 rooms, I found the Backstage Hotel in the leidsegracht area .

It was a funky hotel with a rock and roll theme, my brother in law Steve is a musician and loves all things music.

We arrived early and had requested that we have an early check in, they willingly accommodated us, bonus they were in the middle of changing out all the mattresses,so we were the first to sleep on them.

Now be warned as with most hotels in Europe there was no elevator,and the steps were steep and narrow, but the staff happily carried all our luggage up and down.

The rooms were clean and all decorated with some musical theme, we had a drum as our overhead light.

The bathrooms were clean and showers had plenty of hot water, we also had nice open windows with canal views so plenty of fresh air and not hot at all.

The lobby was comfortable with a small bar, pool table and plenty of musical instruments for use by guests .

There was a complimentary continental breakfast, with coffee, tea, lattes and cappuccinos.

You could have a full breakfast for 15e, we didn’t have that but it did look yummy

.

 

 

[hcat]

hope it was a great family cruise

We are booked on Silhouette fir a short cruise in Dec!

I turned your photos right side up

( hope it loads ok)

[NMTraveller]

4 hours ago, Nancycat said:

This will be my review of my experience on the Celebrity Silhouette May 24-June 6 Best of Scandinavia 

With all the recent reviews,concerns and talk of a decrease in quality on Celebrity ships, I can honestly say we did not experience any of that quite the contrary.

About Us 

We cruised as a family of 9 ages 2-66, other than the 2 year old all have been on cruises in the past and all have been on other lines.

This is what we called the “recovery cruise”, as 3 members of our group had recently had major surgery.

My daughter,Emily 33 had her 2nd kidney transplant in August, she and her husband Conor ,were married while she was on dialysis and never had a honeymoon. 
First photo myself, Emily and Conor during our layover at JFK

My daughter Becky, 39 had cervical disc replacement in January, my brother in law Steve 66 had quadruple by pass surgery in September, my sister Eileen his wife was with us

And lastly, my daughter Kristin 35 her husband Mike 39 and their son, my grandson Rollins age 2..and Kristin gave Emily her first kidney 6 years ago.

 

Travel to Amsterdam 

We all flew into,Amsterdam from various parts of the country, Florida, Washington DC , Virginia and Ct.starring on Monday May 20 until May 22.

We had booked our tickets independently, and did not use flights by Celebrity, which I have used in the past with no real issues.

Everyone arrived into Amsterdam, which is one of the biggest most confusing airports I have been to.

I had booked transportation from the airport to our hotel via Welcome Pickups, they were efficient and I thought reasonable.

 

next up hotel and Amsterdam..

 

 

 

 

That guy has really long arms 😁

[Nancycat]

Amsterdam 

We had so much fun in Amsterdam, we walked and walked and walked some more

But we did have a fun pre-planned activities, my daughter Emily wanted to do a cooking class, After doing a lot of research I found a tour on Get Your Guide, called Learn to make Dutch pancakes in a beautiful Amsterdam canal home.

Emily, Conor, under duress and I walked about a mile to a lovely area of Amsterdam for our class, the walk itself was charming and out of the busy tourist area.

Our host was waiting for us, her home was on the canal and she was so sweet and hospitable. her home was simple but lovely.

She welcomed us with coffee, tea ,water local cheese, jam bread and local wine, we spent a nice time sitting with her as we go to know each other. She was full of local knowledge and history.

Our cooking class was fun, she walked Emily and a reluctant Conor through the steps of pancake making from scratch.

The food was delicious and the experience was so special, I would highly recommend it.

I find spending time at the home a a local adds so much to a visit.

 

 

[LorraineP]

2 hours ago, Nancycat said:

Amsterdam 

We had so much fun in Amsterdam, we walked and walked and walked some more

But we did have a fun pre-planned activities, my daughter Emily wanted to do a cooking class, After doing a lot of research I found a tour on Get Your Guide, called Learn to make Dutch pancakes in a beautiful Amsterdam canal home.

Emily, Conor, under duress and I walked about a mile to a lovely area of Amsterdam for our class, the walk itself was charming and out of the busy tourist area.

Our host was waiting for us, her home was on the canal and she was so sweet and hospitable. her home was simple but lovely.

She welcomed us with coffee, tea ,water local cheese, jam bread and local wine, we spent a nice time sitting with her as we go to know each other. She was full of local knowledge and history.

Our cooking class was fun, she walked Emily and a reluctant Conor through the steps of pancake making from scratch.

The food was delicious and the experience was so special, I would highly recommend it.

I find spending time at the home a a local adds so much to a visit.

 

 

Were you able to get recipe?  If so, can you please share. I make a puffed apple pancake in oven. 

[Nancycat]

Amsterdam.

We continued our time in Amsterdam with lots of walking, we also went to the Anne Frank House, highly recommended.

We had purchased tickets in advance, which is the best way to go as the lines without tickets were very long. The museum and hiding spot are well done, and you can spend a good few hours going through all the exhibits, there are a lot of steps and some are very steep.

The last night before boarding we did a canal tour, we were able to book online, and were able to walk from our hotel.

It was covered ,but the roof was able to be opened, which as we had a beautiful evening it was.

There was water, wine and snacks for sale. This particular boat had tables which was nice , there was also a restroom on board.

The tour was 90 minutes and after about 5 minutes in Rollins said “all done”

It was a great way to end our visit to Amsterdam 

 

 

[Nancycat]

Amsterdam.

We continued our time in Amsterdam with lots of walking, we also went to the Anne Frank House, highly recommended.

We had purchased tickets in advance, which is the best way to go as the lines without tickets were very long. The museum and hiding spot are well done, and you can spend a good few hours going through all the exhibits, there are a lot of steps and some are very steep.

The last night before boarding we did a canal tour, we were able to book online, and were able to walk from our hotel.

It was covered ,but the roof was able to be opened, which as we had a beautiful evening it was.

There was water, wine and snacks for sale. This particular boat had tables which was nice , there was also a restroom on board.

The tour was 90 minutes and after about 5 minutes in Rollins said “all done”

It was a great way to end our visit to Amsterdam 

 

 

[Nancycat]

Transportation and Embarkation 

As we had a large group and a lot of luggage, car seat, stroller I contracted via Viator for a mini bus. It was a little pricey but the convenience was well worth it 

We had a 12:30 embarkation time so we were picked up at noon, we were able to,store our bags and have some breakfast.

We arrived at the port and had a short walk to drop off all our bags, and then up to board, we had all done our on line forms and had the app all ready.

For the 9 of us it took about 10 minutes from start to finish and off we were to board the beautiful Silhouette..

One thing we noticed at this point and throughout the trip, no photo spot for the on board picture and no photos spots at posts and no pictures at dinner.

We liked that.😀

Upon boarding we were directed straight to our muster station to check in, we then had to view the video and we were done!! 
we were able to take our carry on luggage to our cabins to drop off..

This was one of the fastest and easiest embarkations I have had in over 20 cruises 

[H2OH!]

On 6/9/2024 at 9:41 AM, Nancycat said:

Amsterdam 

We had so much fun in Amsterdam, we walked and walked and walked some more

But we did have a fun pre-planned activities, my daughter Emily wanted to do a cooking class, After doing a lot of research I found a tour on Get Your Guide, called Learn to make Dutch pancakes in a beautiful Amsterdam canal home.

Emily, Conor, under duress and I walked about a mile to a lovely area of Amsterdam for our class, the walk itself was charming and out of the busy tourist area.

Our host was waiting for us, her home was on the canal and she was so sweet and hospitable. her home was simple but lovely.

She welcomed us with coffee, tea ,water local cheese, jam bread and local wine, we spent a nice time sitting with her as we go to know each other. She was full of local knowledge and history.

Our cooking class was fun, she walked Emily and a reluctant Conor through the steps of pancake making from scratch.

The food was delicious and the experience was so special, I would highly recommend it.

I find spending time at the home a a local adds so much to a visit.

 

 

 

 

 

we did this in February during a landbased vacation in Amsterdam. Fusina is the best!!  It was a blast! My husband flipped the apple pancake. He was daring enough to try the herring with onion and pickle- I was not!  It was one of the best things we have done in a long time!   Fabulous!  

[Tom and Ingrid]

4 hours ago, Nancycat said:

We continued our time in Amsterdam with lots of walking, we also went to the Anne Frank House, highly recommended.

We had purchased tickets in advance, which is the best way to go as the lines without tickets were very long. The museum and hiding spot are well done, and you can spend a good few hours going through all the exhibits, there are a lot of steps and some are very steep.

In general, you MUST purchase Anne Frank House tickets on-line and SIX weeks in advance. It's a tough ticket to get if you wait and I don't think there is a "wait in line" option. I'm not sure what those folks were waiting for when you were there.  

58 minutes ago, Nancycat said:

Transportation and Embarkation 

 So your sailing is leaving from Amsterdam?  We sail out of Rotterdam at the end of July, and I was thinking X had moved to Rotterdam for all sailings.  Maybe that's just coming soon, since clearly you're in Amsterdam 🙂

[ucralum]

1 hour ago, Tom and Ingrid said:

In general, you MUST purchase Anne Frank House tickets on-line and SIX weeks in advance. It's a tough ticket to get if you wait and I don't think there is a "wait in line" option. I'm not sure what those folks were waiting for when you were there.  

 So your sailing is leaving from Amsterdam?  We sail out of Rotterdam at the end of July, and I was thinking X had moved to Rotterdam for all sailings.  Maybe that's just coming soon, since clearly you're in Amsterdam 🙂

We are on the July 5 sailing, which leaves from Amsterdam but returns to Rotterdam. I got up at 1 am on May 21 here in California to book tickets for July 2, and they were going fast!

[Barwick Cruiser]

We were also on this cruise. We departed from Amsterdam and disembarked from Rotterdam. I was under the impression that the Silhouette would alternate embarking from both cities. 
@Nancycat thanks for doing this follow-up…it’ll be interesting to see how your experiences do or don’t mirror ours! I do remember seeing your cute grandson onboard…very few little ones and he reminded me of mine back at home!

Cathy

[Karen450]

I too was on this sailing and it was marvelous! Service was first rate, MDR was a treat - so much so that we never had the desire to upgrade to specialty dining. My DH and I never felt Celebrity was trying to cut corners.  One of our best cruises.  (Disembarkation out of Rotterdam needs help, though!  But with only one escalator and one elevator I’m not sure what miracle can be performed.) Looking forward to reliving the trip through your lens.  

[Nancycat]

The Ship…

No matter how many time I have boarded a ship it never ceases to leave me breathless when I first see the ship, this time was no different.

It was especially fun to walk up that long gangway with Roro, who kept saying big boat.

I have been on many Celebrity ships going back to the 1980’s when they were Chandris, including the Edge and Apex, but I love the Solstice class the most.

 

I was a little worried that she would be old and tired looking compared to the Edge class but oh no she was marvelous and beautiful, and I’m not exactly a spring chicken myself so .🫠

 

Staterooms..

For a variety of reasons we decided, or I should say I decided we would go with inside cabins on this trip. One, the $$, but more importantly we didn’t want the worry of a balcony with Roro, and well the $$.

We had 4 inside cabins on deck 8 forward, we were down a short middle hallway which ended up being perfect. Our 4 rooms were next to each other and we could go between rooms in a more cozy ,private space.

We were 2 in a cabin, except Roro with his parents, the beds were very comfortable, there was amble closet and storage space. The bathroom was roomy enough for 2, we had no issues with the cabins at all .

We had a wonderful room steward who knew us all by name and sort of kept track of us.

If I came out of the cabin, she magically appeared and would say oh Mr Steve just went to breakfast or Mr John and Roro just came back.

Romero just loved her and ran to say hi to her every day.

We gave her a large tip!

 

 

 

[Ciaranaman]

We, too, were on this cruise, and had a wonderful time.  No complaints what-so-ever.  After seeing your pics, I realized it was your grandson that I had the pleasure of playing peek-a-boo with on a bus ride (we were behind him 😉).  He was so excited about seeing the trains!  So cute!

~Bernadette

[Nancycat]

Food..food and more food..

 

As you can imagine with 8 adults and a toddler we spent a lot of time eating 

I think we hit all the food venues

 

Oceanview ..

We spent a lot of time eating pre-breakfast, breakfast,post-breakfast, lunch,snacks, pre-dinner, post dinner, late night snacks in the Ocean View.

i would say most days we were able to find a table, the only morning that was a little bit of a challenge was the morning after Berlin, as I’m sure everyone had a late day and were sleeping late.

The variety and quality of the food was great, my sister and I loved having bagels and lox, Roro loved all the fruit, eggs, pancakes, French toast, yogurt, and especially filling up glasses of juice for all of us.

The poached egg station and the omelette station was also a big hit for us 

 

We all enjoyed the variety of choices for lunch, the soups and the salads.

On port days we ate lunch off the ship.

 

Spa Cafe..

Emily and Conor loved the spa cafe, as Emily needs to be particularly careful regarding food borne illnesses, she found the spa cafe a great option.

 

Mast Grill…even though it was chilly on the deck my kids enjoyed the mast grill, often..

 

MDR..

We had anytime dining, but as we were a large group we ended up with the same table every night. What can I say…we loved the food, we are foodies and love to,eat and try new things.

Some of the highlights were escargot, French onion soup, all,salads and shrimp cocktail and crème brûlée 

 

My brother in law Steve loves steak and had it every night ,as one of his entrees.

yes, we did multiple entrees,or I should say the boys did.I think between all of us we tried everything on the menu, with the exception of pasta fagioli, as this is my father’s personal favorite to make and we did not want to have to compare 🤣

 

We enjoyed the main dining room as much for the food as for our wait staff, in particular our waiter Jesus, who took such good care of us and also had special surprises for Roro every evening.

 

 

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

Thanks for your report.   Really enjoying your writing style and pictures.

 

 

[Nancycat]

Why we call it the recovery cruise..if you will indulge me..

 

As I mentioned this was a recovery cruise for 3 of us, but there is a little more to the story..

 

The first part is about Emily, she suffers from a condition called IGA, which caused kidney failure. 6 years ago she had her first kidney transplant,with her sister Kristin donating .

 

She did well for a few years, but in April ‘22, her kidney suddenly failed and was now seriously ill, on dialysis and needing another transplant.

 

During the next 18 months,she had 3 people offer to donate,unfortunately all were rejected for one reason or another.

 

One of those people was my brother in law Steve, who had the steak every night on the ship!

 

He was upset with that rejection and went to see his doctor for a “second opinion “ This of course was not really a possibility but the doctor agreed to run tests, well long story short those tests led to the finding that he had 90% blockage in 4 cardiac arteries.

He had an emergency quadruple by-pass, the surgeon told us, his stepping up to donate to Emily probably saved his life!!

This picture is Steve, Emily and myself 

 

Stay tuned for more and the next part of the recovery story…

 

 

[maren91]

58 minutes ago, Nancycat said:

Why we call it the recovery cruise..if you will indulge me..

 

As I mentioned this was a recovery cruise for 3 of us, but there is a little more to the story..

 

The first part is about Emily, she suffers from a condition called IGA, which caused kidney failure. 6 years ago she had her first kidney transplant,with her sister Kristin donating .

 

She did well for a few years, but in April ‘22, her kidney suddenly failed and was now seriously ill, on dialysis and needing another transplant.

 

During the next 18 months,she had 3 people offer to donate,unfortunately all were rejected for one reason or another.

 

One of those people was my brother in law Steve, who had the steak every night on the ship!

 

He was upset with that rejection and went to see his doctor for a “second opinion “ This of course was not really a possibility but the doctor agreed to run tests, well long story short those tests led to the finding that he had 90% blockage in 4 cardiac arteries.

He had an emergency quadruple by-pass, the surgeon told us, his stepping up to donate to Emily probably saved his life!!

This picture is Steve, Emily and myself 

 

Stay tuned for more and the next part of the recovery story…

 

 

Thank you for sharing this story, organ donation is a beautiful thing and something I wish more people would consider. It sounds like while it saved one life here. Rooting for Emily, hope she finds a new kidney soon.

[Nancycat]

I’m sorry, if I was not clear, Emily did get a kidney, on August 13 she got the call..

a family made the most painful and selfless choice and donated their loved one kidney.

We pray for the donor and their family everyday 

#donatelife 

[hcat]

Beauitiful story... lovely   family... and A Great Review..thanks you for sharing.

 

Wish You Blessings!