Alcoves on the Silhouette: Thoughts?

We booked our first cruise on the Silhouette and we're looking at the Alcove cabanas. We've had Holland America's retreat cabanas on the Nieuw Amsterdam on a couple of occasions, so we're interested to know what people think. Our itinerary is a 7 day Eastern Caribbean with 4 sea days and 3 port days.

On HAL, the cabanas had dedicated attendants who would bring drinks and take your lunch orders. You paid for the drinks, but the food was from the Lido buffet or the Burger bar.

We're booked under Big, Bigger, Biggest - so I guess that a cabana makes it "Biggerest."

Because our cruise was port intensive, we only booked the Alcove for one of the sea days. Although more expensive than a port day, you have longer access (9am - 9pm) which makes it great for when they have events in the evening on the lawn ie jazz quartet etc. They are quite large and hold 4 people (sometimes more lol) The Sunset Bar waiter comes around (plus you have a phone for the Alcove attendant). The nice thing is, that it is there waiting for you all day and you can come and go as you please and come back to your comfy alcove and so avoid the bedlam at the pool. If you were interested I would call Specialty Dining @800-590-6221 and check availability for the days you are interested in as they book fast. I think there is a discount if you reserve for the whole week.

Enjoy - we did:D

My last cruise (good weather for most part) only once I saw one alcove being occupied. It looked rather boring to me. The Nieuw Amsterdam ones look much nicer from YouTube. But that's just my opinion, I wouldn't book one on Nieuw Amsterdam either. :)

For me its a pricey alternative given that your view is just the lawn and the alcoves on the other side of the lawn.

If you aren't interested in getting up at 7 and racing to get a chair by the pool. If you aren't interest in pool games and music (which from recent reports has been pretty loud). If you are interested in quiet place that is yours all day. Then I would book an Alcove.

Personally, I love them and have them booked for all sea days on our upcoming cruise.

Here are some photos.

If you open the opaque glass, you can see the sea:

Fruit and Cheese Plater in the afternoon:

Ice bucket with Waters:

DSCN0679 by eileen muti, on Flickr

For me its a pricey alternative given that your view is just the lawn and the alcoves on the other side of the lawn.

I removed exactly that sentence as I'm not a expert on alcoves, but yes: your view is the lawn and empty alcoves on the other side. 40 ft further aft + one staircase up, you can sit in a quiet spot, looking at people playing Petanque on another lawn (which is exactly as green), and have a view of the sea as bonus. Drinks are taken care of by the waiters of the bar that is closer, and plenty of food is just one deck below.

@themutis, the one picture you didn't include was what you'd be looking at all day :D

Thanks for the information. Does anyone know about the views from the cabanas or the airflow?

@themutis, the one picture you didn't include was what you'd be looking at all day

You act as if I'm trying to dupe someone. Obviously the Alcoves aren't for you and everyone has different preferences.

I happen to think the view is lovely. And if you open the sliding doors, you do have a view to the sea. You may disagree and spend your money elsewhere, that's your prerogative.

For us, it's much better than the masses at the pool or even the chairs on the upper deck (Which we have always found crowded). Even the front top deck with it's wind gets crowded. And while you can sit by the Sunset Bar or even on the Lawn, I still prefer having a comfortable place of my own for the day.

You can see the sea from an alcove if you literally turn the chair around and look at it (and turn away from everyone else in the alcove), and then there is a busy public walkway in between your chair and the water that is used frequently by people going to and from the sunset bar. I wouldn't say the sea view possibilities of an alcove are really something people should consider as a benefit. Yes, you technically CAN look at the sea from an alcove - or you could just stand up and see it that way too.

You act as if I'm trying to dupe someone. Obviously the Alcoves aren't for you and everyone has different preferences.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do so. I just thought it would be nice to see the view from an Alcove. You are right that I wouldn't enjoy them, but I can see why other people would.

You can see the sea from an alcove if you literally turn the chair around and look at it (and turn away from everyone else in the alcove), and then there is a busy public walkway in between your chair and the water that is used frequently by people going to and from the sunset bar. I wouldn't say the sea view possibilities of an alcove are really something people should consider as a benefit. Yes, you technically CAN look at the sea from an alcove - or you could just stand up and see it that way too.

That was our experience on the Reflection-- lots of people walking past and peering into the alcove, commenting on it. Plus people cutting between cabanas to get to the lawn. And, it was windy the day we had ours and had to be very insistent with the staff to get the top put up. I understand safety, but the whole reason we booked was to have a shaded area. We won't be doing alcoves on our next cruise.

Thanks for the information. Does anyone know about the views from the cabanas or the airflow?

Your view is of the lawn, and ultimately the alcoves on the far side of the lawn. They do not have an ocean view, per se.

That said, we love them. We find the pool deck to be crowded and noisy, and enjoy having a dedicated, quieter outdoor place to come and go at our leisure throughout the day. We prefer them to regular loungers on an upper deck, because A) unless the wind is bad, we can choose whether to have the canopy up or down (sun or shade) and B) we can have friends join us with a seating arrangement that makes conversation easier than with 4 loungers in a row. We have never experienced people being intrusive and "peering into our alcove" and as the lawn is a public area, we certainly aren't bothered by people "cutting between" our alcove and the next one to get to the lawn. They aren't for everyone, but we enjoy them and will continue to book them if/when we are on Reflection or Silhouette.

Meg, I met a couple last year who booked one for the whole week and

they loved it too.:)....we were on Reflection and they invited me up

there to join them (which I did a few times:)).....they used it ALOT

and I know they felt it was worth the price.

Different strokes for different folks;)

I guess it depends on what cruise you are on,

I have done 2 Greek island cruise and 5 TAs never seen one in an Alcove

We booked our first cruise on the Silhouette and we're looking at the Alcove cabanas. We've had Holland America's retreat cabanas on the Nieuw Amsterdam on a couple of occasions, so we're interested to know what people think. Our itinerary is a 7 day Eastern Caribbean with 4 sea days and 3 port days.

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You are closer to having 5 sea days as you don't typically arrive in San Juan at 3 pm or later. I would suggest trying one on one of the sea days, especially a day once you get to warmer waters away from Florida. It can be cool and windy in the northern Bahamas at times.

That was our experience on the Reflection-- lots of people walking past and peering into the alcove, commenting on it. Plus people cutting between cabanas to get to the lawn. And, it was windy the day we had ours and had to be very insistent with the staff to get the top put up. I understand safety, but the whole reason we booked was to have a shaded area. We won't be doing alcoves on our next cruise.

I agree with the comment about people walking past but that number was far fewer than the number of folks walking past us while we were on the pool loungers. Count me as another fan of the cabanas, we loved ours.

I for one am happy that all of you aren't fans of the Alcoves - makes it more likely that I can reserve one!

The reason you don't see all 12 of them occupied constantly, or when you happen to be up there, is because we have the flexibility to come and go during the day knowing our space will always be there for us. We don't spend all 12 hours in the alcove, nor I suspect do others.

For those of us who are fans, we like that we can hang out, talk, play games, have meals, order drinks, read, etc. in a space that is far more comfortable than other outdoor spaces, shaded or not as per our preference, with fresh air.

It's like Aqua class or Blu - some posters on here are avid fans, others not so much.

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm sorry to be a pain with all my questions.

 

The reason you don't see all 12 of them occupied constantly, or when you happen to be up there, is because we have the flexibility to come and go during the day knowing our space will always be there for us. We don't spend all 12 hours in the alcove, nor I suspect do others.

 

Exactly. It's not a "use it or lose it" thing where you have to "claim" yours by a certain time, or that once you leave you forfeit use of them for the rest of the day. So someone may have one rented for the day, but not be using it when you walk by.

Are they assigned to renters? And a follow-up: Are some better than others?

Question, are the hours different for them on port days?

I for one am happy that all of you aren't fans of the Alcoves - makes it more likely that I can reserve one! ��

 

The reason you don't see all 12 of them occupied constantly, or when you happen to be up there, is because we have the flexibility to come and go during the day knowing our space will always be there for us. We don't spend all 12 hours in the alcove, nor I suspect do others.

 

For those of us who are fans, we like that we can hang out, talk, play games, have meals, order drinks, read, etc. in a space that is far more comfortable than other outdoor spaces, shaded or not as per our preference, with fresh air.

 

It's like Aqua class or Blu - some posters on here are avid fans, others not so much. ��

I'm glad I won't be in your way for reserving one, and I really don't mind people enjoying alcoves that I wouldn't. But during my last cruise I really saw just one alcove being occupied, during one day out of 12. I don't think all of them were hired all of the time but the guests just happened to visit the gym whenever I looked.

Anyway, a bit off topic, grass on a ship feels weird. Like having a fish pond in a desert because the tourists like to fish.

They are assigned, and there is a small sign with your name on it posted at the front.

On some cruises - warm weather ones - the Alcoves are booked up well before embarkation. On others, not so much. Also, if the weather turns bad, you can cancel the reservation.

I think the hours are the same for port or sea days - 9 to 9. It's nice on he evenings they have a jazz concert on the lawn.

Anyway, a bit off topic, grass on a ship feels weird. Like having a fish pond in a desert because the tourists like to fish.

It goes to show you that everyone is different. I love the lawn.

Are they assigned to renters? And a follow-up: Are some better than others?

When we had ours on the Reflection, we asked to switch to one further away from the Lawn Club, to have more privacy. Beyond that, there wasn't a difference.