Wansbrough's Cruise Blog

Last night was apparently the Celebrity Silhouette’s 2 birthday and to mark the event they had a cake with candles. It was quite amusing that the candles were not able to be lit due to the drafty open deck but the Captain surrounded by his senior offices did manage to cut the cake without too much of a problem.

All this was done shortly before some open air entertainment on the pool deck. Something called Celebrity Rox which involved the house band and production team doing some music and dance alfresco. We didn’t hang around too long to watch as it nothing like we had hoped it would be.

I did get a nice photo of the moon last night.

Nothing really significant to report today other than it has been a beautiful day and that we have spent it lying in the sun up on the Solstice Deck. We were up at 7:00 and enjoyed a coffee on the balcony before going to breakfast at 8:00. The only other break we had was to have some lunch and for that we used up my Bistro on 5 birthday voucher. Very nice it was too.

Tomorrow we are in Kotor and will be sailing in at around 6:45 for what the Captain described as a beautiful natural harbour. Everyone going ashore will be tendered.

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A completely different panorama for our sail into Valletta and with the sun just up and it was already starting to feel very warm. There were some quite spectacular colours being provided from the old fortified walls of Valletta.
I can fully understand why some people are really taken by the sail into Valletta having now done it myself.

Off the ship we decided to take the City Sightseeing HoHo bus on the red route. Buying tickets just outside the cruise terminal we wandered along the road to the stop only to find a massive queue.

So we set about finding the stop prior to this one so we could get on the bus before this lot. We managed to locate it without too much bother and guess what……..

No queue, and when the bus arrived it was practically empty.

When we arrived back round to the terminal we felt pretty smug as there was a stampede by the others to find seats. Anyway sitting on the top of the bus provided a welcome breeze as we wound our way round the route. We had intended to get off at a couple of places but there were never any available seats for people getting on at any of the stops we got to. It would have been nice to see the Blue Grotto but we were worried we may never get back being as the buses only run every 45 minutes and if this bus was anything to go by then we could get stuck. So we stayed on and returned back to Valletta, the whole route taking just over 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Back to Valletta, which on first appearances seemed to be a fortified maze and then turned out to be a very picturesque little town. We set off on foot to explore the old town.

There is some absolutely fantastic architecture tucked away down the little side streets and I was particularly interested in the bay windows which seemed to be everywhere. We wandered around for a couple of hours up and down the shady streets enjoying the views.

Having stopped for a drink outside the library we made our way back to the lift which is free if you are going down but not if you are going up. It does provide a nice convenient way to getting back down to the cruise terminal. I can’t for the life of me remember the name of it. I know it begins with a B but that’s it.

Back on board time for lunch followed by a couple of hours in the sun before sailing away just before the Costa Favalosa. Tomorrow is a sea day so I will again try and find something of value to post.

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The couple on the table next to us didn’t turn up for dinner last night and it allowed me to take a photo across the dining room and to show you the view we have from table 109.

After a short discussion and looking so see what is on offer at today’s port, we have decided to stay onboard and take a day off and enjoy the ship and the weather. We are both feeling tired and think we need a day off. I have the added bonus of having some rather sore blisters on the soles of my feet so being able to lie down and put my feet up is going to most welcome.

With not a lot to really post today, I have just included several views that we have experienced during the day.

No shuttle service into the town today and from what we could see from our vantage point up on the Solstice Deck there is a reasonable walk just to get to the port gates.

Tonight is the second formal night of the three and we will once again be putting our glad rags on for the occasion. It is also our 7th night on board and we haven’t been to the theatre once. Tonights show is called Velocity and is a song and dance show from the production cast. Not something I am going to bother with tonight all dressed up in my dinner suit!

In the Celebrity Today, we are informed that so far the slots in the casino have paid out $194,156.82. I wonder how much has gone the other way?

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Today our day started with a 5:45 alarm call. We needed to be off the ship as soon as possible so we could walk the 2 km or so to Napoli Porta Nolana train station. Well we did indeed get off the ship at 7:00 and were actually first off. The train we needed to catch in order to meet up with our guide was the 8:11 which got into Pompei Scavi Villa Misteri at 8:35. Pompeii opens at 8:30 and wanted to beat the rush and of course the midday heat. All went tom plan and we arrived 10 minutes ahead of schedule.

When we got to Pompei our guide Pina was waiting for us at the station and we were soon inside buying our tickets. This was the second time we have used Pina at Pompei and she was as good as the first time if not better. This second tour took in areas that we didn’t see last time and and we still haven’t managed to see half of it. I have so many photos its difficult to select the best to use. I would love to post them all.

As was yesterday, the tour was soon over but not before Pina have showed us an amazing view over Pompei (its near the toliets in the middle). I am still amazed at how well some of the colours of the wall frescos have remained as good as they are. If it hadn’t have been for the volcano then they would have been long gone and we would never have seen them.

After it was back on the train to Sorrento for some lunch before catching the 40 minute boat trip back across the bay to Naples.

Another day in port over and I beginning to think I need another cruise to get over this one as the last few days have been exhausting.
I have taken so many photos it is really difficult to narrow them down to few to post here, so I hope you are enjoying the ones I have selected so far.

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The road to Rome or in our case the train. Feeling ever more confident as we continue to explore the world on our cruises, we have today followed the example of many others before us and have taken the train from Civitavecchia into Rome. I would not have considered it a few years back but reading how others have found it so easy we decided to try it out for ourselves.

Having caught the free port shuttle to the gates we then purchased our train ticket at an ticket office just outside and proceeded to walk for a further 10 minutes up the road to Civitavecchia railway station where we caught the 8:41 train into Rome. We arrived in Rome 5 minutes after the scheduled time of 9:45 and proceeded to make our way on foot to then Colosseum. The walk taking us just over 45 minutes after stopping for quick coffee along the way.

Our allotted meeting time and place for our tour was 12:15 outside the Colloseo Metro station. As we were early we decided to go for another quick drink to pass the time.

Our Walks of Italy guide John was actually English and originally from London but did a magical job of bringing everything to life. Not to mention he was also a bit of a Jim Carrey lookalike. The three and half hour tour seemed to go really quickly and we were on our way back before we knew it.

The tour with Walks of Italy enabled us to gain access to many areas not accessible to the general public. We were able to walk out onto the arena floor, go down under to the Hypergium where the Gladiators and animals were all gathered before becoming the entertainment. The final area was the highest tier where there were some amazing views down over then whole interior of the Colosseum.

The walk back to the station was much quicker as we needed to get the 4:44 train so that we could get back to ship on time. Because you are reading this means we made it! Very tired but what an amazing day.

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Something new that Celebrity have introduced in the main dining room is what they have called “SPE Certified “, it   is described as a unique certification programme that defines a new way to eat by enhancing the nutritional quality of meals, without compromising taste”
Basically they don’t use salt in the preparation process while also trying to make the dish more nutritious, Nicole has been giving it a go and so far she has been really pleased with what she has had to eat. This quite possibly introducing part of the Blue restaurant menu into the main dining room.

A sea day and another lie in for us and at last we have waves to look at, albeit only little ones. Up until now it has been like a mill pond. The plan today is to just sit out and enjoy the weather and sea breeze with a spot of eating in between to break it up.

On our way up to the Solstice Deck, our usual haunt on a sea day we passed a Zumba class in full throttle. Not our cup of tea but they all seemed to be having fun.

One item of interest today was passing through the Messina Strait. Unfortunately not good for one passenger who was taken off by boat mid passage due to illness. The journey through this narrow channel between mainland Italy and Sicily is done with a pilot on board. This is the third time we have sailed through here and there are some strong currents and strong winds to contend with.

Tonight we will be going to Michael’s Bar for pre dinner drinks so it will be an opportunity to try some different beers from around the world.

One last item I forgot to mention, Celebrity have given me a birthday present…….. a voucher for a free meal in Bistro on 5. Its worth $10, just a shame it wasn’t Muranos! Ahh well its better than nothing at all.

Tomorrow we will be in Civitavechia for our trip to Rome and our Walks of Italy tour of the Colosseum and Forum.

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This post is a bit late due to problems I am having with the ships internet. There are no iLounge staff to be seen anywhere and are not back until 9:00am because it is a sea day.

Last night was our first formal night of three on the Celebrity Silhouette and once again the food and service could not be faulted. The dress code was very well adhered to by all the fellow passengers we came across.

First formal night on the Celebrity Silhouette
We had a bit of a lie in this morning as we were not scheduled to arrive at Dubrovnik until midday and so it was a very leisurely breakfast around 9:00 followed by a couple of hours lying out in the sun before we made port. The shuttle provided by Celebrity cost €12 per person and run through out the day until 7:15.

The trip into the old town of Dubrovnik takes around 10 minutes and the drop off and collection point is just outside the Pile Gate.

We spent several hours wandering around Dubrovnik before eventually stopping to partake in some the local beer in a cafe just off Lucanica Luza. With 4 ships in today it was very busy in town, with us today were MSC Armonia, Costa Magica and a Silver Sea tendering in from the old port area. The area being very vuch busier than the last time we were here.

On our return there was the usual welcome back to the ship with iced flannels and cold drinks. A really nice touch that Celebrity do.
Shortly before our sail away the MSC Armonia sets sail from her precarious position under the bridge.

We have a sea day tomorrow so I will do my best to find something that might be of interest about the ship.

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I will start today by briefly reviewing our evening and first impressions of the dining room & our waiter’s. We managed to get just enough time to enjoy a pre-dinner drink which was in the Ensemble Lounge on deck 5. It was then down to deck 3 port side to find our table (109). I had read some recent criticism regarding the food on the Silhouette but judging by what we were served last night then I think we have nothing to worry about at all. Our waiter Apong from Indonesia and our assistant waiter Damion from Jamaica are going to be great fun, both very professional and attentive on our first night and let’s hope they continue their excellent start.

Our morning started when we were awoken at 6:30 by the sound of the pilot boat. We then edged slowly alongside the jetty at Ravenna where for 15 minutes it was ghostly silent. No buses or anything,even the ship was quiet. I have never been anywhere on a ship and experienced such silence, it was like the world had come to an end.

One major disappointment is the coffee machine in The Haven has now got specific hours when it is switched on. Previously it was on all day and very busy in the morning with many guest making use of the location. Its hours are now 9:00am to 8;30 in the evening. It was a real bonus having it there on our last cruise.

At 8:30 we left for breakfast where we again enjoyed being able to sit out on the back in the sun. A nice omelette with everything for me followed by some delicious melon.

The trip into Ravenna is by ships shuttle which runs until 4:30 and costs 14 Euros. The journey takes about 15 minutes and drops you off more or less in the centre of Ravenna. Having researched Ravenna prior to arriving we knew more or less the places we wanted to visit and the first place was the Basilica di San Vitale which is famous for it mosaics. The photos do not do it justice.

In the same vicinity and out the back is the Mausoleo di Galla Placidia where there are again some fine mosaics. Because of its size viewing is limited to 10 minutes.

Our final stop was the Basilica di Sant Apolinaire Nuovo which again boasts some fantastic mosaics. I have to many photos to post here and these are just a small selection of what I took today.

Having seen what we planned to we decided to head back to the ship and hopefully beat the rush back.
Its aways a welcome sight when you get back to the ship and today meant time for some lunch and then a lie out in the sun. It is a formal night tonight so we will be getting or glad rags on later which hopefully will be a great evening.

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If you could chose to spend your birthday one way, what would you choose? Well for me it would be on a cruise ship somewhere in the world and this was the primary reason for taking this cruise.
Today is my 50th birthday and I will be getting on a cruise ship around midday for a 12 night cruise around Italy.
After checking out of the hotel at 11:00 we started the 20 minute walk towards the cruise terminal in Venice.

The trip to Piazzale Roma wasn’t as bad as I was anticipating and we only stopped once for a breather. On arrival we quickly located the entrance to the People Mover where we purchased our tickets for 1 Euro each.

It was only a short wait for it to arrive and long enough to get take a photo looking up the track.

We could now see the ship for the first time and were starting to get excited about getting onboard. The first stop being the cruise terminal and from there it was only a 10 minute walk to drop off the cases and start the  embarkation.

Check in took about 50 minutes despite us being eligible for priority boarding. It looked like everyone had the same plan as us which was to get there for 12:00.

Once on we were able to go straight to our cabin and drop the bags off. The buffet was the next port of call where we managed to get seats at the aft where it is open to the elements and a favourite spot of ours on this class of ship.

I will just sign off for today with a few photos of our home for the next 12 nights, cabin 7276 which is dead centre of the hump on deck 7. Chosen for its location and near proximity to the coffee machine in The Haven.
Muster done and we are now on the move, just before coming back to the cabin we checked our table for diner and we have a nice table for 2 right next to a window. It couldn’t be better!

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The day started early with a drive from home to Heathrow, we left home at 4:20am and arrived at the airport just before 7:00.  We had checked in the previous day and it was simply a case of dropping the bags off and making our way through security which on this occasion was very quick.

This was followed with a nice welcome cup of coffee and a bite to eat. It was then just a matter of waiting for our flight to be called so we sat and watched the planes coming and going through the large windows they have at terminal 5.

The flight took 1hour and 45 minutes and as soon as we had collected our luggage it was off to find where we caught the pre booked water taxi that would take us to our hotel.

The taxi ride across the lagoon was absolutely fantastic and all too soon over.

After checking into the hotel if was time to go off and explore. Rather than use the ACTV water buses we elected to walk so we could see more.  Venice was very busy and also very hot and sticky but this didn’t stop us from having an amazing afternoon.

On our way back to the hotel we spotted P & O Azura  on its sailaway from Venice. It will be our turn tomorrow. Tonight we will be off out to diner and will doubtless do plenty more walking.

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