Mike981

Our room rug was showing wear and had a few stains, one looked more like a burn than a stain. Our bathroom shower was showing it's age. The backs of the bar chairs at a couple of bars were worn as well as some of the carpet in public areas. We also noticed those big lounge pillows around the pool were looking rough, to the point that we would not lie on them.

But it was not something I took notes on, because it just isn't that big of a deal for us.

16 hours ago, kiwichick62 said:

Thanks for your great review.  What time did you disembark?  Wondering how long I can hang around for at the end of our cruise.

I believe it was 9am, we heard a rumor that 9:15am was the absolute latest you could stay on.

We had a 3pm flight so we ended up spending to much money at bar for a couple of drinks and splitting a personal pizza, with auto tip it was $110.

20 hours ago, Orator said:

I was on the same cruise and appreciate your comments. The CD Mike was visible to me. He gave some interesting presentations on Titanic. The shows were really good with the new cast. My cabin attendant was friendly and professional. The staff was wonderful! The Officers were visible. The MDR food was very good. My fellow passengers were very friendly. 

@Orator thank you for your insight. That makes a lot of sense about the CD, I'm glad you got to enjoy him.

1 hour ago, AstoriaPreppy said:

 

We're going to be on the Silhouette this summer... could you expand on the areas that need attention?

Just your usual wear and tear. Some of the seats had some decent wear on them, carpets with some wear and stains. Just what you would expect for a ship that is in need of a facelift. There was nothing that I would say was a major issue, though we did run out of hand soup in the men's room and I took that as a  positive. 😉

Celebrity Silhouette 1/15-1/25, Aqua room.

I would like to start by thanking all of the kind souls here at Cruise Critic. You kept my travel desire going over the past four years with no travel, and the amount of knowledge that you share is astounding and selfless.

Pictures: We have tried in the past to take a lot of pictures and it just isn’t our thing, sorry I know how much pictures add to a review. Truth be told, we don’t even share or look at them when we get home. I wish one of us enjoyed taking pictures, but the only pictures we consistently take are of staff so we can get their name tags to give them positive reviews.

About us: Mike 57 and my wife 59 have been cruising, doing all-inclusive’s or other travel since 2000. Both my wife and I have tried to be honest with our feelings about this trip and not be swayed by the fact that we have been home bound for four years. That said we tend to lean towards the glass is half full crowd.

The start: We do an overnight stay the day before we fly out since we have to pay for parking anyway and I can usually find a park and fly hotel for the same rate as airport or off sight parking. Plus it takes away some anxiety about any weather or vehicle issues. Our flight to Fort Lauderdale was delayed because of a few things. It was so cold that the sewer system froze solid and they had to fix it. Then they had to deice the plane again because of the delay. And when everything was finally good to go, they couldn’t get the main door closed because it…was froze. It felt like we were in a sitcom. The temperature was -10º and honestly, that isn’t that cold for Minnesota in January, but what can you do?

We left when it was -10º and came back to Minnesota it was 40º, quite the temperature swing but not the biggest we have experienced. Years ago we left home at -35º and landed in Jamaica where it was 85º.

I booked us a room at the La Quinta FLL for the day before our cruise. I would say the best part about the hotel was the shuttle driver, very nice and had us laughing a few times on the way. The hotel itself, meh. I knew it wasn’t going to be great I have stayed in them before, this particular hotel just wasn’t very good. Our room was hot because the AC didn’t work. They did ‘try’ to fix it, so it got a little bit better. The free breakfast (reconstituted eggs and mystery sausages) was not good at all, we were both hungry and ate very little. And to add insult to injury if you wanted to toast anything you couldn’t because the two toasters didn’t work. We found out later that it was because the toasters kept tripping a circuit beaker and the kicker, it was not a new problem. Lastly the hotel is in kind of a weird area where it is hard to walk anywhere. No, we won’t stay there again.

I share this much detail about the hotel because in my research, I found others have or are going to be staying there.

Embarkation: Was smooth and we were able to drop our bags off in our room. Our room steward was, kind of…offish. He introduced himself on the first day, but then if we saw him around in other rooms he avoided us. This was a first for us. He did a good enough job, so no complaints. We thought possibly it could be a culture thing? Really not a big deal, it’s just that we enjoy talking with our room stewards. The other stewards more than made up and always had time to say hello or how was your day. And that is really all we are looking for, not a full discussion.

Ship: We have cruised S class ships before, so it was nice to have a good idea of how to get around and we found that we really like the Silhouette and will have no problem booking her again. There are definitely some areas that need attention, but other than that she is great. I was told that there were roughly 2,800 passengers, but they were not positive.

We booked our first Aqua room (1642 on deck 11) and it was a good basic balcony room. My wife and I liked the location because it made it easy to hit our favorite places. The room was quiet and everything worked fine, we both thought the bed and pillows were comfy. FWIW we did have two foot stools on the balcony and they were used extensively.

People: Our CC meet and greet was nice, and we met a lovely couple from England we spent a good amount of time together. They got a dining package and ate at the Murano and said it was wonderful. We really enjoyed each others company, laughing to the point that my face hurt. Then we found out that we all like to play cards, so we had fun teaching each other new card games. I’ll admit it, I got a bit teary eyed when we said our good byes.

I”ll share a story about playing cards where we were able to have a little fun after the fact. We taught our new friends how to play euchre and the other wife and I were partners and my wife and the other husband were paired together. My partner ended up doing fantastic! Especially for just learning how to play. Later my wife came up with a great idea, where we go to Murano and asked them if they would do us a favor. When our new friends are being seated, would you please say a bit loudly, “well Mrs ABC, we heard that YOU did very good at cards today.” We all laughed about it when we met up after dinner. The next day our new friends taught us how to play ‘chasing the lady’. I decided to change the name to, ‘chasing your neighbors wife’.

Meals: Since we were in Aqua we ate in Blu every night and it was very good. The only complaint I have is that the lamb was tough. I tried lamb twice and both times I ate very little. But, EVERYTHING else was very good. The staff was fun, entertaining and exceptional. The Maître d chatted with us every night and was witty. Embarkation morning we decided to have breakfast in Blu and we were a little worried about the wait, it was no problem at all as we walked right in and got served right away. FWIW we ate breakfast just before 8am.

We had a few burgers from the mast grill and they were good, after one or two we started splitting the burgers because of the size. We ate at the buffet for lunch and breakfast, the different offerings were nice and there were a few surprises of some very good food. One big miss was the breakfast that was delivered to our room, really the only thing I can say that was good was that it was warm. Definitely not worth the new room delivery charge, it reminded us of the free breakfast at the pre-cruise hotel.

Other: We had so much fun. Talking to people, playing different games around the ship and going for our daily walks (truth be told sometimes my wife got two walks in, Miss Overachiever).

After reading so much here on CC to the contrary, I was surprised to see so much bar service around the pool area every day. They had two bar carts going at all times and also people walking around taking orders, this was not the case at all on our last cruise on Celebrity four years ago.

We didn’t do any of the big shows, but did follow some of the musicians around and felt that they were good to very good. We saw officers around the ship many times, but we never saw the CD, not a big deal just strange. That was a first  for us, in the past it was usually the other way around we couldn’t get rid of the CD. I should add that the Captain (I don’t remember his name) was very good at the announcements and had a good sense of humor so you wanted to listen.

The passenger demographic seemed to skew older than a normal 10 day cruise, I saw a handful of kids around and I believe two of the children were visiting one of the employees.

We had a very nice trip, there were so many friendly smiling passengers and staff, it was literally a shock when we were forced to come back to reality at the airport. If only we could all play as nice after our cruise.

Ports: At each port we just walked around and did some shopping and that worked well for us since we have been to all of the ports before. The only negative was Antigua, there were two other ships in port and it was packed. My wife went in a shop to look at t-shirts as I waited outside and after a few minutes came back and said that there were so many people in the store that she had a very hard time getting out of the store. So we headed back to the ship and enjoyed all the extra room and quiet, plus it gave us a chance to visit with more of the staff.

WiFi: We had the basic package and it was almost okay. It was hard to switch devices and the Celebrity app was hit or miss. I have no idea why it takes so long for the app to load whether at home or on the ship. I gave up and just let my wife use her device.

Weather: Was really good for the most part, we did have the normal Caribbean showers. On our way back to FLL it got a bit rough for a day, but my wife and I enjoyed it. I’m sure some folks did not have a great day.

Disembarkation: Smooth, but that might have been because we were waiting as long as we could to get off the ship since we had a 2pm flight back home. When we got down to pick up our luggage, our two bags were the only ones at our designated number.

The finish: So glad we had the chance to go on the Silhouette, it literally felt like home. It was just what the Dr. should have ordered. I can’t say enough about the staff, just wonderful. I have an example of how they go above and beyond for you. I suffer from muscle cramps, pickle juice helps tamp them down. At one point I asked a bar tender if they have any pickles so I could get a glass of the juice. At first he didn’t quite understand and then he said they didn’t have any pickles at this bar but then smiled and said, “don’t worry I’m on it.” And of course he came through with a big glass and then proceeded to make me a pickle juice frozen drink. He came back a few minutes later and asked if I was feeling better, just great service. Oh, and I have heard that pickle juice can help with a hangover FWIW.

Flight home was just the way you like it, uneventful. Our flight left FLL on time and we got back to MSP a half hour early, great! But then you have a longer wait for your checked bags. Not bad at all and our hotel shuttle was waiting for us when we arrived.

I must say that it is very strange to fly into Minneapolis at the end of January and there being no snow. As a matter of fact, as I write this it is 56º and our normal temperature for this time of year is 12º. Many winter events have been cancelled or are severely altered this year. We also have too many folks who decide the ice is safe to go fishing by the calendar and not by facts. Every week we hear stories about rescues of people who have fallen through the ice, some tragic.  

Lastly I don’t know if they stopped doing them or if they are now random, but I didn’t get anything to rate an X employee 1-10. I did do the customer survey that gets emailed, but that is not the same from what I remember. I feel bad, I should have gone to customer service and asked for something. Do you know if they still give out those cards?

Speaking of the emailed survey,  I totally understand how important this information is to Celebrity and that is why I do it. Why not offer a carrot to get more data? Once every _____  pull a winner for OBC or can you imagine a free cruise? I bet they would see an increase in participants and since the data is so important it would be a no brainer. Either way, I don’t need a carrot and will keep filling out the survey. I was thinking it would garner more feedback and improve the customer experience for all.

An interesting side note about Cruise Critic, I asked several people if they visit CC and a couple said occasionally and many had never heard of it. I guess it is true in a way, that we are in our own little world here. That’s okay, I like it.

I hope this helps you in someway, as I have said many times over the years, I have gained so much knowledge from the generous members of CC that I wanted to give something back that might help someone.

As my friends from Tennessee say, y’all are great.

I wish you safe travels and smooth seas.

Just off the Silhouette this past Sunday and only ate in Blu, it was interesting to see a more casual attire that seemed to get more casual as the cruise went. Quite a bit different than it was four years ago when we last cruised. But I don't mind at all, I don't think it's asking to much to wear a collard shirt with a decent pair of slacks. We saw a lot of people walking around in 'nicer' tennis shoes, I was glad to see that since I wore my new Sketchers because my plantar fasciitis has been acting up.

16 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

As Alice Roosevelt Longworth is credited with saying, "If you don't have anything good to say about anyone, come sit by me."

LOL, love it.

My wife and I just got of the Silhouette this past Thursday and we had two of them.

Politics, religion and parenting, NOPE.

Born in Milwaukee and raised a cheese head in Madtown.

15 minutes ago, prmssk said:

As fun as the waterpark sounds (and I grew up going to Noah's Ark in the Wisconsin Dells, America's Largest Waterpark), we have never been able to swallow the price when we have visited CocoCay.

And I grew up just down the road from there in Madison.

I watched it as well and agree very informative.

Thank you @jelayne. I called yesterday to confirm everything and it was all good. I was just looking at the paper work and it just looked weird.

By the way, again I lucked out when I called X. I had a :30 wait before I got a very good CSR.

I saw this on my booking confirmation and was wondering what it means as a promotion? I tried searching CC and mother Google, but no luck.

Thank you.

Hey Rumbalow, welcome to CC.

At the top of this forum you can find some 'sticky/pinned' threads. One talks about S class ships and rooms. They give exactly the information you are looking for from people who have stayed in those rooms.

Even if your room isn't listed, I think you will be able to answer your questions.

Have a great trip!

1 hour ago, goofysmom99 said:

Hand sanitizer doesn't work well against norovirus.  https://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/about/prevention.html

I got it on Summit last year (last night, first time ever).  And of course I needed to drive home for 4+ hrs....it was awful!

Sounds horrible, sorry you had to go through that.

6 hours ago, klfrodo said:

maybe try a new dish that you never thought you would.

My daughter is a little more adventurous like me. When our family would cruise on Carnival they have that menu area something like "have you ever" and it was fun to pick a couple of dishes and then share. I can't remember many of the items, but I believe there was tongue and ox tail. She was in here early teens and now at 28 she is still adventurous.

Well this is a very kind support group, thank you.

I'll try again tomorrow and if no luck I'll call and use my best Captain Stubing voice.

Seen it for a couple of days now. I'm just trying to look at my itinerary and get this message.

As my wonderful wife and I get ready to set sail in a few days, I started thinking of how a lot of energy in our early cruises was spent worrying if we will "fit in."

Don't be like Mike, you be you. Trust this semi-old guy, almost everybody is going to be into doing their own thing, and not thinking about you. If you do come across someone that does not play nice, smile and walk away. Even a 'small' ship is huge, there are lots of places to make a day home. And I can almost guarantee you that when other passengers find out that this is your first cruise, they will love to share all of their wisdom.

Cruising is so different from most of our lives, it can be hard to make the leap. Just know the cruise lines want you to have a great time so you come back again and again, so they make it easy for you to have a good time.

You will be fine, it's your vacation, have fun.

2 hours ago, OceanCruise said:

I will add my pet peeve: it is room steward, not stewart 

 

My favorite Stewart, was Jimmy.

Smokey THE Bear 😉

@DSJ28 I think we might be on the same cruise. 1/15-1/25/24?

Forgive me if we have chatted about this before, I have a good memory, it's just short.

We don't have our name on it, but we have a sign that says, "Warning We Have the Drink Package."

Thank you @eroller, fantastic pictures!!