Silhouette 7 night first time in Sunset Sky Suite 1405 Cruise #64. Captain club points 4186
Captain, Michael Sympouras; Staff Captain, Marios Flerianos; Hotel Director, Nicola Moconja; Chief Engineer Nikolas Kokkalis; Food and Beverage Director, Nebojsa Lukovac; GRM, Antoinette Pais; CD, Mike Gibbons; XChef, Edward Gomes; Stateroom Attendant, Rydan, Butler, Elaine; Retreat Concierges, Mika, Mel, Rolando; Retreat Manager Penelope; bartender Retreat, Lorena; Retreat Set up and assistant waiter, Marivic; Matre’d Luminae, Lobo; Hostess, Kate; Waiter, Carlo from the Philippines; and Assistant, Kim and Marivic; We also saw waiters Arya, Nolan & Jerry
Day 1 Cape Liberty, Bayonne NJ
The day when your cruise arrives is always fun, but there’s an added level of excitement when you’re leaving locally and know you’re only 45 minutes from the ship. Although we were up early at 6:30 this morning, that gave us plenty of time to get last-minute things done and have a bite for breakfast.
Our driver showed up 15 minutes earlier than scheduled, and we were ready to go. With some traffic, and quite a bit of rain, we got to the port in Bayonne New Jersey in about 50 minutes. There was Silhouette, in the rain, but ready for us. We drove to priority check in, dropped our bags off, which this time there were only two, and proceeded into the terminal. Inside, check-in was a breeze.
We met our Retreat concierge friends, Mika, Mel and Rolando, who were seemingly happy to see us. Once on board at 11am, we proceeded with our carry-ons to our
sunset sky suite, deck 10, port side corner, in the aft. It is a really lovely room and very spacious.
A nice wide veranda, but it has no shade. Still it is inviting, where two people can
comfortably watch the ocean disappear in the wake as we travel forward.
The room had plenty of space for our plug-ins and everything in the bathroom was more than sufficient.
It had a full bathtub/shower. Randi thought the drawer space was slightly less than what
we’re used to. We met our state room attendant Rydan who we knew from a previous sailing. Wonderful guy!
Later we met our Butler, Elaine. She set up a small table for us right outside
the room's door in order to place coffee there in the morning for us, so that we are not disturbed inside. We grabbed our keys for our room and headed down to the I-lounge to connect our devices to the Internet. Next off to Luminae for lunch where we met up with some old crew friends. We saw waiters and assistant waiters, Carlo, Kim, Nolan, Aryan, Jerry and the surprise for uswas the maître d', who we knew from a past Summit sailing. His name Lobo. Lunch was great as always with Carlos serving. Randi had the steak and steak fries while I had the lobsterroll, with no roll. We headed towards the Retreat lounge on deck five and enjoyed a nice glass of wine and a Prosecco for me. Soon after our friends,we know from cruising, Frank & Marilyn walked in. It was so nice to see them, and we chatted for about an hour. While we were in the lounge, the clock struck 4 and the Silhouette began to sail away. We excused ourselves to return to our room to see us leave and approach the Statue of Liberty.
She sure looks beautiful in New York harbor. As we passed her, we came very close to the Lower
Manhattan skyline and the NCL ship, which was sailing in the opposite direction and very close to us. It was cool and breezy on our deck and soon Randi was nodding out. I convinced her to take a half hour nap inside which magically refreshed her, and she was ready to go for the evening. We strolled to see a headliner on this cruise. He was a magician, and his name was Ryan Joyce; a wonderful and outstanding show. He also mentioned he would be doing a hypnotism show in the future, we will try to see.
Next was dinner in Luminae. Randi opted for the filet mignon while I went for a spicy sausage Bolognese. We went back to the Retreat for a nightcap and enjoyed a conversation with Chris sitting at the bar. His wife was not there, but we hope to meet her in the future on this cruise. Back to the state room to conclude a great first night!
Day 2 Sea
After a good night sleep, Randi arose at about 730, grabbed the coffee from just outside our door and settled in for a cup. I got up shortly thereafter and checked some messages while enjoying my coffee. Breakfast was next in Luminae. Believe it or not Carlo remembered that last sailing we enjoyed bran muffins so we had some ready for us. I asked Lobo if he can get me the recipe and he did. Randi had her usual Luminae breakfast, the egg white wrap and I enjoyed eggs Benedict on whole wheat and smashed avocado. I could tell that Randi couldn’t wait to get to the casino so she went, and I went to an area that I’ve not been to before on 11 forward, the Relaxation Lounge. Two rows of comfortable lounge chairs, face the bow of the ship and the view of the endless ocean appears through the windows. The room is part of the spa experience as they play soft spa like music. It’s very comfortable and very relaxing. Next, we will be attending the Zenith lunch in the Blu restaurant. This is unusual to have this lunch on day two of the cruise as it usually is the last sea day of the cruise. Our meeting place was in
the Ensemble lounge at 11:15 where we met with Frank and Marylin. Captain club hostess escorted us into Blu restaurant where we took this photo. The tables were set up in a rectangular way and for the first time the center was open space. That was an improvement. Our hostess was Olga Loewens, front desk Manager from Germany. She was very nice along with five other officers. Randi enjoyed her lamb chops and I liked the Bronzino. George and Genera Capalbo also were seated next to Randi. We walked to the shops and bought a Tommy Bahamas shirt for me. It was between two shirts, and we took a vote in the store and three people said this shirt and two people said that shirt. So we wound up getting the first one. Back to the casino for Randi, I was just chilling out on the deck and glad I set an alarm for afternoon trivia. Up at the sky lounge, we teamed up with 4 other people for 60s trivia. Wil, next to me and his wife were very good. He was in a band also and frequently sings karaoke. Between all of us, we got 36 points out of 40 and tied for first place. Each team sent up a leader for a tiebreaker. I was the leader for my team. I was the first to raise my hand and win on the Beatles song, I saw her standing there. We were hoping we won a free cruise, but the prize only turned out to be playing cards and celebrity buttons. Lol. We had a quick change and after that went to the officers' soirée in the Retreat where all the officers lined up and shook our hands. The Captain was gracious enough to take a picture with us. Sitting down we had conversation with Antoinette, guest, relation officer. We spent a little more time in the Retreat and headed up to the Lawn Club for our only Specialty Restaurant this cruise. We saw a lot of familiar faces there Vladimir, Baron and our server, Clifford. We both ordered rib steak, which was very tasty and tender. As we dined, we watched the sunset beside us glide across the lawn. After dinner, we headed to the Sunset Bar area, but it was still too warm to stay there so we went back to the Retreat for a little
while before going to bed, dreaming about having dinner with a real superstar! Tonight we move the clock forward one hour.
Day 3 Sea
After an on and off sleep night we promised we would take a nap this afternoon. We saw on TV that there was a cease fire between Israel and Iran in place. Thank you,
President Trump. We went to Luminae for breakfast then checked in with the future cruises to see if our current stateroom was available for next summer, but it wasn’t. We will keep the room we have booked on deck 8. Randi headed back to the casino to make a deposit or more hopefully this time to win something. I went to the Retreat to work on my blog. Trivia was next in the Retreat. It featured general questions, questions about the ship as well as Bermuda. We came in second place and could not stay for the first place tiebreaker because we had to be at the Captain’s Club welcome aboard party. We were escorted in to the Zenith seats and sat next to Dean and Pat from Reading PA.
Frank and Marilyn won the highest honor with over 6300 points. There was also a Specialty Restaurant prize given to a couple with the most years of marriage. One couple was married for 64 years.Next for lunch was Sushi on 5. Randi got her double order of dumplings. Since she wanted to return to the casino, I decided to sit on the open lifeboat deck, watch the waves go by. After freshening up, we headed to the Retreat for pre-dinner cocktails and spent some more time with Frank & Marilyn. Dinner was delicious in Luminae. I had the cod and Randi had a shellfish bowl. Our wine steward was able to locate some Villa Maria wine to complement the dinner. A quick stop back to the Retreat, then sleep.Day 4 Bermuda
At Front street, many stores were closed and there was much construction was going on. After a walk through town and back, we were on a 12 noon return trip. We planned for sushi but it was closed. We decided to try the Oceanview but no garlic for Randi’s pasta so we went to the Retreat sundeck, where we were treated like VIPs! Carlos was there as was Kim, Fatima and Doni. Randi had a turkey wrap with her wine and I had a beer with my burger. We relaxed under an umbrella for a snooze. Later we dressed up for cocktails and dinner in Luminae where we both had the lamb loin and a bottle of Belle Glos Pino noir. After saying goodnight to Lorena in the Retreat we went back to the room to find on the bed, two swans made out of towels, surrounded by roses and flowers with lights and on the TV our
names and happy 45th Anniversary. Our wedding song, "You’re My World,” played continuously. All this,
along with the chocolate covered strawberries and handwritten notes, were gifts from our stateroom staff Rydan and Elaine. What a nice memorable way to cap off our evening!
Another glorious blue sky, white cloud day in Bermuda! After coffee and breakfast we strolled up to the Lawn Club and picked our alcove cabana for the day. Soon they bought Prosecco and sparkling water. Randi had to do some important work, and it was a nice quiet place to do that work.
They also brought a beautiful cheese and fruit platter. Now we could just sit back and relax for the entire day. Randi had
a turkey bacon club and I had a pepperoni pizza for lunch. The rest of the day was very relaxing.
When we went to the Retreat in the evening, we asked about speaking with Antoinette, Guest Relations Director about Nancy and Larry’s problem. She was not on board and will be back tomorrow. At the bar, we had a quick conversation with Frank and Irene originally from Brooklyn now from CT. Then Randi and I enjoyed a conversation and a cocktail. Soon we headed for our special Sea Bass dinner in Luminae. Carlo the waiter “fisherman” with the help of the executive chef cooked a whole sea bass on a bed of grilled peppers and white rice on the side. Delicious! Randi never had a whole fish and enjoyed it. Carlo spends as much time as he can catching fish in Bermuda. He shares the fish with his crew friends on a bonfire. I went with Randi to the casino hoping to witness a big win but stayed only for about an hour. I couldn’t keep my eyes open.
Day 6 Bermuda
Day 7 Sea
serve. Randi said her chicken lunch in Luminae was delicious. Next was Ryan the hypnotist, in the theater at 2pm where people on stage slept,
jumped like kangaroos, or they were given the suggestion that they thought their shirts were constantly inside out. Funny show! We got cleaned up and went to the Retreat to see a private magic show by the same headliner, Ryan. We decided on an early dinner, said our goodbyes to the staff, gave our tips then spent some last moments with the folks from Reading PA in the Retreat then said goodnight. Did some last minute packing and tried to set a wake-up alarm on the room phone but could not. I wound up setting an alarm on my cell phone.
Day 8 Cape Liberty, Bayonne, NJ
I got up 430, unsure if my alarm set on my phone would work because when I set it, the clock was still reading the old time zone time. However, the iPhone changed to the correct time, and therefore the alarm was set, but the damage was done. I was up for the morning. We had our last breakfast in Luminae where we can see us pulling to the pier and the "teardrop" gift from Russa after 9-11. We went back to the stateroom afterward to pick up our carry-ons. Boy, there was a long wait for elevator. They were all full. We decided to ride up to go back down. In the Retreat, we saw Frank & Marilyn and George & Genara and said our goodbyes around 810. By 830 we were in the car going home and arrived home around 9:15. This was so much better than flying! Until next cruise, smooth sailing.
I will end with one of the quotes seen in the bathroom….
“The best way to convince a fool that he is wrong...
is to let him have his own way.“
SURVEY
Negative
Wine selection has not improved recently. Even with the premium package, there is only one or two choices for each variety. No Mer Sole, Louis Jardot Chardonnay Bourgogne. Santa Margarita Pinot Grigio was about the only positive change. As someone who strives to find a $10-$15 great bottle of wine, I’m sure Celebrity Cruises can do the same. The one above served at the Zenith lunch was good but I can't find it at home.
CELEBRITY PLEASE LISTEN- more cruises are needed from New York New Jersey area! Cape liberty is such a convenient embarkation and debarkation port. It surrounds the largest populated market in the US. Celebrity used to have an entire summer season here, and we’ve watched it slowly dwindle down less and less. Next year the last Bermuda cruise is June 14. That’s not even the beginning of summer! Celebrity would certainly be doing the right thing by having a ship based here almost all year round. Firstly, all the summer cruises would continue to sell out. Second, people have mentioned to me, they missed the fall Canadian cruises from Bayonne. Thirdly, winter cruises from this port could be longer 14 day cruises deep into to the Caribbean. This would also get the cruise line back to the long cruise game. Lastly, with at least two new ships scheduled on the horizon the possibility of placing a ship in at Cape Liberty may very well be realistic.
Could not set a wake-up alarm on phone in the stateroom. There was no automation button available and after 10 minutes I decided not to wait any longer for guest services.
At times, more help is needed in Retreat bar. There were many times when the personnel was reduced to the bartender only. That made it very difficult to serve the bar, make the drinks and also take care of the guests seated in the lounge as well as clean tables. Especially during cocktail hours it would be much more efficient if a bartender and a server were always available in the Retreat.
Positive
Staff continue to be unbelievable and remain the cornerstone of Celebrity‘s success.
Butler Elaine and room steward Rydan were great! One night in our room we found on the bed, two swans made out of towels, surrounded by roses and flowers with lights and on the TV our names and happy 45th Anniversary. Our wedding song, "You’re My World,” played continuously. All this, along with the chocolate covered strawberries and handwritten notes, were gifts from our stateroom staff Rydan and Elaine. What a nice memorable way to cap off our evening!
🚢We enjoyed “food superiority” each time we visited Luminae
🚢Dino in Retreat was excellent. We are hoping to see him in November when we do a b2b on SL 11/23/25.
🚢Retreat concierges always great! Mel, Rolando, and Mika do an amazing job coordinating and getting problems answered properly and quickly.
🚢Carlo is an excellent waiter in Luminae. Wondering if he is the head waiter? If not maybe should be. In fact all the personnel we interacted with in Luminae are fantastic. Lobo was nice enough to get a bran muffin recipe for us. Food is superb in Luminae.
🚢Fatima, Dino and staff at retreat sundeck amazing. They make you feel like a real VIP.
🚢Ryan Joyce was great entertainment from our perspective. Would love to see more headliners like him who are not necessarily vocalists or production shows. Have you ever considered a real Broadway show spreading the play’s acts over multiple evenings? What ever happened to a cappella harmony singing on stage or around the ship?
1 comment:
As usual, I enjoyed your cruise review. I’m glad you tried out the corner cabin. That’s my favorite.
Miss you guys.
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