12 nite r/t NJ to E.Carib. Cruise 41,42,43. Cabin 1112 CS.
2 sea days down, 3 sea days back, Labadee, Haiti; SJU; St.M; St.C; Antigua; St.T. Captain: Nicholas Pagonis, Hotel Dir.: Sue Richardson, Cruise Dir.: Paul Baya, Capt Club: Donnette Fletcher, Butler: Singhe, Room Steward: James asst: Mathew.
We were looking forward to this cruise for a while. It was out of the norm because it was a round trip from NJ.
Not only were we sailing again with Al and Joan, but this time our cousins' Joanie and Gary were joining us too.
Randi and I had been on Equinox, also a Solstice Class ship and didn't much care for her, but this was different as you will see later.
The first exciting moment for this cruise was around final payment time when Randi and I decided to upgrade from a concierge class cabin, to the lowest suite, (S2). Joanie and Gary decided to do the same. There were S2 cabins available when we told our TA, but there was a delay in confirmation. A few days later, she told us that we had been upgraded to a Celebrity suite, for free; a savings of about $4500.
Meanwhile, back to embarkation day. It was unusual for us to have a 'free' morning on sail day. Usually we are up early, to get to the airport. Today we had a casual morning. After breakfast Randi went to the salon while I picked up the last of fall's leaves. We were both excitedly waiting for the car before the noon pickup time.
When he came in the van, we directed him to Joanie and Gary's place and before long we were on the way to Cape Liberty in Bayonne.
Embarkation was very smooth. There was one couple ahead of us on line and then we were next to board the 122,000 ton vessel. Champagne, Mimosas and a wonderful, "welcome aboard," greeted us. Next...we were on to our cabin.
Now Joanie didn't know about the upgrade.
Gary wanted to surprise her. When she walked into the 300sq' cabin, she was shocked. You walk into a small vestibule and makeup area. To the left is a bathroom entrance.
Straight ahead is the Living room, with big screen TV, "L" shaped couch, large coffee table and an additional chair. Beyond the room was the deck, approx 5'x12' with a lounge, chair and table.
Between the makeup area and the living room is the entrance to the king size bedroom, with another big TV & a walk in closet. It had plenty of space for clothes & shoes.
Adjacent to the bed room was the bathroom's other entrance. The bath had plenty of storage space. It was a full bath with a rain shower head, modern sink, no fog mirror and a real hair blower.
The cabin was easy to live in and will be hard to go back to smaller. There were a variety of things you can do from your TV set. You can view all the photos the ship's photographers snapped of you and your party, as well as read messages and listen to a variety of musical genres to relax by.
A favorite meeting place wound up being the library, which surrounded all of our midship cabins. From there, we would decide where we would be going for the evening as
the center elevators whizzed up and down behind us through the open atrium. Also because of the largeness of the ship, being in the middle, makes for a much shorter walk to get around.
We found the Molecular Bar that night to have a cocktail. Most of drinks here are finished off with a liquid that makes your drink so cold, that it smokes.
The first night we ate in the main restaurant, the Grand Cuvee which was good. This room was much more inviting then on Equinox, which was the only other Solstice class ship we've sailed.
It felt much warmer and cozier here since they introduced more creams and beige colors, rather then the stark white and chrome of the restaurant on Equinox.
The wait staff, although accommodating, seemed a bit inexperienced .
We had three sea days to cruise to Haiti so relaxation was the name of the game. We all enjoyed massages and an afternoon in the Persian gardens where we reclined on warm, tile covered lounges as we gazed at the ocean. Although I was warned by Randi not to buy the "after-product" while getting massaged, I did agree to a hot stone massage. It was nice but I would probably not buy that again.
We met in the Wine Cellar the on the first formal night. This was a beautiful comfortable room which reminds you of Millie's Michael's Club: heavy with wooden finishes and big comfy couches.
Plus it had wine dispensing machines. You pick your wine, insert your card, press the selection and out comes a shot, or half glass or a full glass of your favorite vino. We enjoyed some drinks and then were off to Murano; one of the specialty restaurants we attended to avoid dressing up for formal nights. By the way, Michael's Club, on this ship is a beer tasting bar with TVs; more like a a sports bar.
Can't say enough about the French dinner at Murano. Service and food was outstanding.
Joanie raved about her Lobster dish that was prepared table side and my thick piece of venison was also very enjoyable.
We saw some good and some mediocre entertainment in the Silhouette Theater. Lindsay Hamilton was a very good singer. And in a smaller room called Celebrity Central, we saw a really funny comedian, Rob Magnotti.
Just as I mentioned before, about the improvements in the Cuvee, similar changes in the Oceanview Cafe buffet were very pleasing.
Color changes and additional accents, transformed what we felt like an institutional place to eat, on Equinox, to a welcoming restaurant.
Food here was also always good and they solved a few problems like keeping the food hot and the bacon crispy as opposed to wilty, which we've found on most other cruises.
Before you knew it we were in Labadee, which is an island off the coast of Haiti and is owned by RCCL. Here you can do everything from zip lining to playing in the water park. We decided to take the free water shuttle to the other side and rent 4 lounges along the beach. The water was nice and calm.
The ship provided a full BBQ near the beach. When we were tired of resting, we walked back along the other side of the island and found the waves to be harsh and threatening.
I also wanted to mention that docked along side us was an old favorite, Celebrity's Galaxy, now done up in a German facade but still looking good. She now serves mostly a European clientele.
Our second specialty restaurant, the Lawn Club Grill, was next to the famous Solstice class lawn, which was having some cold weather issues. The restaurant was was actually outdoors although they had the area tented in clear plastic enclosure. On a really nice and non-windy night I am sure the plastic would come off and be totally open. Here you can find many grilled items, steaks, chops and such that they will cook or you can cook yourself. For starters, we were served flat bread which was really like over sized personal pizzas and they were good.
We arrived in Old San Juan at 2pm and were soon off the ship to walk around. The CVS by the pier is very convenient for any of your stock up needs. I'm not sure how this happened but it was an 'off year' for pocketbooks since none were purchased on the top of the hill.
We did opt for some refreshments at a local bar snack shop that we frequent. Then walked some more to see the fort.
On St. Martin we walked along Front St, said hello to the guys in Ultimate Jewelers and bought some liquor in Gullmohrs. Spent the rest of the afternoon slumming on the beach.
The next day found us in St. Croix. We passed the time in the small number of shops along the water
and were able to capture our Christmas card picture with the Silhouette in the background.
Photo: Gary Hert
Next was Antigua. Got off, stretched the legs and walked among the shops.
The Captain invited a crowd down the heliport for sail away.
We struck up a conversation with Nicholas from the front desk who also knew a mutual friend of ours, Touch.
Our last port was St Thomas. It was also the only stop that we booked an excursion. As we waited in the pier, we found that the snorkel boat would be late by about an hour, due to mechanical problems. We decided to jump on the "Green Giant" taxi to Sapphire Beach. Mr. Mel Brooks, yes, that's what our driver's name was, said he would also pick us up in about three hours. Perfect time- relaxing to the beauty of nature. Mr. Brooks came just in time since it began to rain.
Our last specialty restaurant, Tuscan Grill, was also very good. So good that we went back for a second time. Max our waiter both times, made the evening even more enjoyable.
The Captains Club Social was on a sea day and was fun. We assumed we would have won second place since the winners had 46 cruises and we had 43. After reading some post cruise postings someone else had 60 but did not want the honor so we were not even close.
Joan pulled a boner near the end of the cruise. She stubbed her toe so hard on a piece of luggage, that she wound up breaking it and limping through the remaining days.
And speaking of boners, when disembarking, Joanie and Gary must have wanted their shoes to take another cruise, because they left their shoe bag in the luggage claim area. No problem. After a phone call, they decided to go back and pick it up later that afternoon. I guess you can say, the bag finally got the boot, off the boat!
We enjoyed other restaurants while on board. We were able to get seated in Blu since we were in a suite.
We enjoyed lunch one day in Bistro on five. You can enjoy a salad, soup or crepe.
I had a refreshing parfait in The Aqua Spa cafe. Lets not forget the coffee bar where Randi enjoyed some frozen coffees and the Gelateria for some delicious gelato for Gary. Yet, there were a few places that we didn't get to. Quizine, which was "eclectic" in nature and had poor reviews from passengers and also on cruise critic. The porch served soups, salads and panini's in the daytime but we didnt get there either.
So as Captain Pagonis would sign off his noontime chat,
"bye, for now."
If you would like to see all the pictures:
https://picasaweb.google.com/markdegennaro/Silhouette111811?authkey=Gv1sRgCKvll5yfqMTqpwE
14 night -B2B SJU RT Sky suite cabin 6131. This was 2, seven night cruises, one eastern, one western carib, starting in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Captain Theodoros Zakkas, Hotel Dir.: Ugo Vaccalluzzo, GRM.: Bosco Pires, Cruise Dir. Caissie Stafford, Capt Club: Lionel, Butler: Santoso, Room Steward: Fousand, Asst Waiter: Hugh, F&B Mgr. Wolfgang Juranek, from Florida.
It was a very different way of enjoying food from around the world. We had to cancel some of our order when we found ourselves stuffed at this point but still had room for strawberries served on real grass. Sean was the Matre'D.
On the second week in St. Thomas, our only double visited port, we opted for the St. Johns excursion which left from the Summit's dock. It was a 45 minute boat ride followed by a 15 minute bus ride; all very convenient, and providing some beautiful views. It was our first time in St. John's, which is less populated and more pristine then most other islands. We stopped at Trunk Bay which is beautiful. The sand was white and powdery and was balanced by blue water. The girls relaxed on the beach while Rob and I snorkeled the underwater park with plenty of fish and coral. It was a real nice experience.
Ooops. We stopped at Senior Frogs on the way back to the ship.
