Silhouette review Feb. 10----22

[boscobeans]

Silhouette review. Bayonne NJ to Caribbean Feb. 10 --- 22.

 

Boarding was delayed due to Noro-virus, allowing the Celebrity crew time to clean and spray the entire ship.

 

The delay caused check in and boarding to be a little hectic but not terrible.

 

The ship was spotless and certain things (library books, bed spreads, stateroom binders, pillows......) were brought out in stages allowing them to be sanitized. Not a problem.

 

All buffet stations were staffed with servers for the first five days and they were very careful to not allow passengers contacting any items from serving spoons down to packets of butter or napkins. Beverage stations were blocked off and staff served all beverages hot or cold along with creamers etc.. This caused delays and there were lines at every station. The staff that was switched from clearing tables to serving slowed down things a bit but was a prudent move on Celebrities part to prevent Noro from spreading.

 

The extra precautions and cleaning of the ship seemed to have worked as planned and I heard of only one case of Noro which from the date of onset was picked up before the passenger boarded. The woman was well taken care of by the medical staff and was on her feet after a few days at which time she ventured out of her stateroom and managed to enjoy the major portion of her cruise.

 

Weather... One rock and roll day on the way down and another on the way back to Bayonne.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stateroom.. Concierge level 1. Neat and clean with a nice shower door system, but to be honest it seemed to be the smallest stateroom we have ever encountered with storage space for a 12 day cruise very stingy. Night stands were open cubby holes (no drawers), there was storage over the head of the bed that required you to stand on the bed to use it, only one plug for a hair-dryer located in the bedroom on the desk, 2 AC plugs located in the same area, one plug for an electric razor was placed in the ceiling over the bathroom mirror.

 

The ship.. If you didn't have a balcony or didn't venture out on the open upper decks you would think you were in a hotel that had the shakes. There are very few areas (bars or other public places) that offer an ocean view. The deck five wooden "promenade" is taken over by lifeboats that block almost all the view of the ocean.

 

Outside the Quasar lounge on level four (between the theater and the casino) there is a area for "events?????" . The events such as a Thriller contest with zombies, ping pong tables or watch sale blocked what should have been open space for getting to and from places on the ship and the front bank of elevators....OMO

 

Every night the photographers made you detour around them and their equipment which was set up blocking the port side access to the MDR.. Also the background they were using for the posed photos was a large mural of the "Solstice" not the Silhouette.???

 

This is only my opinion and I am sure there are others that will be 180degrees in the oposite direction , BUT:

 

Too much space designated to off beat things like reading nests or egg shaped seating cubbies.

A level of high end shops (Bvlgari...etc) that almost always seemed empty.

A grill with great burgers, franks and fries is on the other side of the outdoor pools from the oceanview cafe not just outside the cafe. This just makes family dining a little tricky if one wants cafe food and the other wants grilled. Not major but not well thought out.

No trays in cafe.. I have pot holder hands but several passengers could not handle some of the plates which at times were very hot.

Chairs in the MDR were impossible to move either closer to or farther from the table.

A few more elevators would be nice.

 

Stateroom staff and MDR waiters and assistants seemed to be very inexperienced and for the first time in 11 years of cruising we didn't feel that any added tip was deserved and none was given. Table leg on our table fell off on the first night. It was reported and continued to be a problem throughout the entire cruise becomming a joke and was even placed on the table for a while.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Table mates were great (table of 8) and all meals in the MDR were very good. Only one complaint and it was universally held at our table, on the last formal night the surf and turf was not very well prepared or displayed..

One meal on the sub-par level over the entire 12 night cruise was easily overlooked and was not an issue in the long run.

 

Room service for breakfast was not good so we only did it once.

MDR and buffet foods were the usual fare and except for the one formal dinner were all very good.

The regular as well as the double cut steaks in the MDR were all very, very tender and flavorful,(except the above mentioned surf and shoe dinner).

 

All specialty venues were excellent but were considered by all to be a bit too pricey.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

ENTERTAINMENT;

 

All musical acts were good. The two male comedians left a lot to be desired but the female was lively, fast paced and kept the laughs coming.

Music around the pool areas and the interior spaces was very good but poor seating inside cut down on the enjoyment for many who had to stand or sit on the staircases..?

Guest speaker: A gentleman named Dale spoke about all sea related things and cruise ships and was very interesting and entertaining.

The casino is a casino, is a casino, is a casino, however the casino staff (especially the cashiers) were the best we have ever encountered and made our evenings there a lot of fun.

 

The Captain was as entertaining as anyone on board and with each noon time announcement livened things up with a joke.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Never had a bad cruise and that includes this one.

 

So many good things and good conversations to remember make this a great cruise.

 

Would we cruise this ship again ??? Hard to say, but to be really honest it just isn't really our cup of tea, so probably not. I can play bocce at the local Italian American club and have all the grass I need at home. I would gladly change the grassy area for a few more drawers or a few more square feet of cabin space.

 

 

Would we recommend this cruise (ship)? Yes, for the ports and yes if you really DO NOTcare for white jacket and glove waiters on formal nights, comfortable sized staterooms or waiters who are skilled at their jobs.

 

No, if you want the feel of a more traditional cruise on a smaller more traditional cruise ship, which from what we see coming down the pike as far as new builds, may just be going the way of the dinosaurs.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

One thing to note is that Celebrity and the entire staff really did a fantastic job fighting the dread Noro.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Again OMO

 

bosco

[Azulann]

Thank you for well balanced review of your cruise.

[Buranogal]

Hi Sailing Celebrity Silhouette July then Oceania Riviera August so will be good to compare. Think Oceania Riviera will be more relaxed with no formal nights and upcharge for speciality restaurants.

[lel5344]

As you said, opinions will vary widely. We have only done one S-Class cruise previously and we enjoyed it so much, we booked an upcoming 12 day on the Silhouette. We have been to each of the ports at least once,and we're not big on shore excursions...we booked this cruise for the ship, not the itinerary.

 

We're delighted about all the care taken with respect to Norovirus.

 

We'll be in AquaClass, so we likely will not encounter some of the difficulties you experienced in the MDR. We'll do all our breakfasts and lunches in Blu, and we love the hamburgers and hot dogs at Mast Grill for lunch. We'll also lunch at Bistro on 5, AquaSpa Cafe, and I'm sure we'll get some pizza in the buffet.

 

Personally, we love some of the offbeat spaces (like the hallway leading to the Specialty restaurants.

 

We agree about the elevators, but then the extrra walking is probably good for us.

 

Again, our sincere thanks for your review.

[sea-cruise]

I really enjoyed your well balanced review. Thank you for taking the time and effort to compose it. :)

[CathyCruises]

I totally agree with the weird space outside of Quasar that blocks the flow of traffic from the forward elevators--what could they have been thinking? That was 'our' bank of elevators and every night it delayed our arrival at the Martini Bar by 45 seconds or more:eek:!!!! I honesty consider it a serious design flaw, but I really love the S Class ships despite their quirks.

 

I also have never had trouble with storage space although I read many complaints about it.

[Germancruiser]

Thanks for this great review- Solstice Class of ships are great- really stunning interiour lounges and bars. I agree totaly with lack of room with a view- prommenade deck not existend. I am booked for the TA on board Silhouette so I read your review with great interesst.

My favorite place is Cafe al B. which at least has nice views to the part of the prommenade deck were no boats are blocking the sight.

Lawn club is great too. I just loved to lounge outside the prommenade and " see and hear the ocean.

So maybe in future cruises I stick with Millenium Class- no that they are redone they are stunning!

I also thought of giving HAL a chance... hm will see

Michael

[juliawinston]

thank you for your review.

[portofrome]

Thanks for the review.

[OceanCruise]

On our Silhouette cruise last month the high end shops were always empty also. I also agree that the photographers blocked the main walkway so people were always walking in front of the backdrop as pictures were being taken which was kind of funny. I saw a lot of people using the various quiet/reading areas like the hideaway. The lawn area was an interesting concept but a lot of it was closed off for maintenance and cabanas were only used by one group that I saw. I think that the live grass may be more trouble than it is worth.

[gelo7]

Thanks for sharing you thoughts.

[nasamom]

Silhouette review. Bayonne NJ to Caribbean Feb. 10 --- 22.

 

Boarding was delayed due to Noro-virus, allowing the Celebrity crew time to clean and spray the entire ship.

 

The delay caused check in and boarding to be a little hectic but not terrible.

 

The ship was spotless and certain things (library books, bed spreads, stateroom binders, pillows......) were brought out in stages allowing them to be sanitized. Not a problem.

 

All buffet stations were staffed with servers for the first five days and they were very careful to not allow passengers contacting any items from serving spoons down to packets of butter or napkins. Beverage stations were blocked off and staff served all beverages hot or cold along with creamers etc.. This caused delays and there were lines at every station. The staff that was switched from clearing tables to serving slowed down things a bit but was a prudent move on Celebrities part to prevent Noro from spreading.

 

The extra precautions and cleaning of the ship seemed to have worked as planned and I heard of only one case of Noro which from the date of onset was picked up before the passenger boarded. The woman was well taken care of by the medical staff and was on her feet after a few days at which time she ventured out of her stateroom and managed to enjoy the major portion of her cruise.

 

Weather... One rock and roll day on the way down and another on the way back to Bayonne.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stateroom.. Concierge level 1. Neat and clean with a nice shower door system, but to be honest it seemed to be the smallest stateroom we have ever encountered with storage space for a 12 day cruise very stingy. Night stands were open cubby holes (no drawers), there was storage over the head of the bed that required you to stand on the bed to use it, only one plug for a hair-dryer located in the bedroom on the desk, 2 AC plugs located in the same area, one plug for an electric razor was placed in the ceiling over the bathroom mirror.

 

The ship.. If you didn't have a balcony or didn't venture out on the open upper decks you would think you were in a hotel that had the shakes. There are very few areas (bars or other public places) that offer an ocean view. The deck five wooden "promenade" is taken over by lifeboats that block almost all the view of the ocean.

 

Outside the Quasar lounge on level four (between the theater and the casino) there is a area for "events?????" . The events such as a Thriller contest with zombies, ping pong tables or watch sale blocked what should have been open space for getting to and from places on the ship and the front bank of elevators....OMO

 

Every night the photographers made you detour around them and their equipment which was set up blocking the port side access to the MDR.. Also the background they were using for the posed photos was a large mural of the "Solstice" not the Silhouette.???

 

This is only my opinion and I am sure there are others that will be 180degrees in the oposite direction , BUT:

 

Too much space designated to off beat things like reading nests or egg shaped seating cubbies.

A level of high end shops (Bvlgari...etc) that almost always seemed empty.

A grill with great burgers, franks and fries is on the other side of the outdoor pools from the oceanview cafe not just outside the cafe. This just makes family dining a little tricky if one wants cafe food and the other wants grilled. Not major but not well thought out.

No trays in cafe.. I have pot holder hands but several passengers could not handle some of the plates which at times were very hot.

Chairs in the MDR were impossible to move either closer to or farther from the table.

A few more elevators would be nice.

 

Stateroom staff and MDR waiters and assistants seemed to be very inexperienced and for the first time in 11 years of cruising we didn't feel that any added tip was deserved and none was given. Table leg on our table fell off on the first night. It was reported and continued to be a problem throughout the entire cruise becomming a joke and was even placed on the table for a while.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Table mates were great (table of 8) and all meals in the MDR were very good. Only one complaint and it was universally held at our table, on the last formal night the surf and turf was not very well prepared or displayed..

One meal on the sub-par level over the entire 12 night cruise was easily overlooked and was not an issue in the long run.

 

Room service for breakfast was not good so we only did it once.

MDR and buffet foods were the usual fare and except for the one formal dinner were all very good.

The regular as well as the double cut steaks in the MDR were all very, very tender and flavorful,(except the above mentioned surf and shoe dinner).

 

All specialty venues were excellent but were considered by all to be a bit too pricey.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

ENTERTAINMENT;

 

All musical acts were good. The two male comedians left a lot to be desired but the female was lively, fast paced and kept the laughs coming.

Music around the pool areas and the interior spaces was very good but poor seating inside cut down on the enjoyment for many who had to stand or sit on the staircases..?

Guest speaker: A gentleman named Dale spoke about all sea related things and cruise ships and was very interesting and entertaining.

The casino is a casino, is a casino, is a casino, however the casino staff (especially the cashiers) were the best we have ever encountered and made our evenings there a lot of fun.

 

The Captain was as entertaining as anyone on board and with each noon time announcement livened things up with a joke.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Never had a bad cruise and that includes this one.

 

So many good things and good conversations to remember make this a great cruise.

 

Would we cruise this ship again ??? Hard to say, but to be really honest it just isn't really our cup of tea, so probably not. I can play bocce at the local Italian American club and have all the grass I need at home. I would gladly change the grassy area for a few more drawers or a few more square feet of cabin space.

 

 

Would we recommend this cruise (ship)? Yes, for the ports and yes if you really DO NOTcare for white jacket and glove waiters on formal nights, comfortable sized staterooms or waiters who are skilled at their jobs.

 

No, if you want the feel of a more traditional cruise on a smaller more traditional cruise ship, which from what we see coming down the pike as far as new builds, may just be going the way of the dinosaurs.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

One thing to note is that Celebrity and the entire staff really did a fantastic job fighting the dread Noro.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Again OMO

 

bosco

We were on this cruise as well. We did have a great time, minus several days because I did pick up the noro virus, as did many others. They did take good care of me in the infirmary(IV fluids & medication) although I was isolated for 24 hours. I know they did the best they can, but I don't think I would ever cruise again on a ship with known Noro. It was a pretty awful several days.

[boscobeans]

We were on this cruise as well. We did have a great time, minus several days because I did pick up the noro virus, as did many others. They did take good care of me in the infirmary(IV fluids & medication) although I was isolated for 24 hours. I know they did the best they can, but I don't think I would ever cruise again on a ship with known Noro. It was a pretty awful several days.

 

As a point of interest, just when into the cruise did you first begin to feel ill ?

 

bosco

[nasamom]

As a point of interest, just when into the cruise did you first begin to feel ill ?

 

bosco

 

The evening of the 17th.

[Highlander1]

We were on this cruise as well. We did have a great time, minus several days because I did pick up the noro virus, as did many others. They did take good care of me in the infirmary(IV fluids & medication) although I was isolated for 24 hours. I know they did the best they can, but I don't think I would ever cruise again on a ship with known Noro. It was a pretty awful several days.

 

 

Sorry to hear about you coming down ill. Seems as though the staff did everything possible to eliminate the Noro but its a tough battle to win.

 

If the virus was still that prevalent, I don't think they would have changed their procedures for allowing salt, pepper, ketchup etc. at tables and certain services were changed back to accomodate everyone in a more timely manner. if they had widespread or increased cases of Noro, they would have kept their safe practices in order. Guess you were just unlucky.

 

As for never sailing agian on a ship with Noro, i guess thats it for your cruising days as not only do you never know when or where its going to show up, most ships have some form of bugs all the time, its just the nature of the facility, wet, confined with many people=germs.

[njaloha]

The evening of the 17th.

 

For me it hit on Saturday morning early (2/18) which killed St. Maarten, the last port day, since I was quarantined until Sunday. I slept all day Saturday and barely poked my head out of the balcony. I reported to the MF around 11am Saturday and just filled out some forms. I didn't need injections or IV. Just had diarrhea, chills, aches and fatigue. Felt 95% on Sunday after a good night's sleep. Did anybody else form our roll call end up with it?

[bellasorella]

Silhouette review. Bayonne NJ to Caribbean Feb. 10 --- 22.

 

Boarding was delayed due to Noro-virus, allowing the Celebrity crew time to clean and spray the entire ship.

 

The delay caused check in and boarding to be a little hectic but not terrible.

 

The ship was spotless and certain things (library books, bed spreads, stateroom binders, pillows......) were brought out in stages allowing them to be sanitized. Not a problem.

 

All buffet stations were staffed with servers for the first five days and they were very careful to not allow passengers contacting any items from serving spoons down to packets of butter or napkins. Beverage stations were blocked off and staff served all beverages hot or cold along with creamers etc.. This caused delays and there were lines at every station. The staff that was switched from clearing tables to serving slowed down things a bit but was a prudent move on Celebrities part to prevent Noro from spreading.

 

The extra precautions and cleaning of the ship seemed to have worked as planned and I heard of only one case of Noro which from the date of onset was picked up before the passenger boarded. The woman was well taken care of by the medical staff and was on her feet after a few days at which time she ventured out of her stateroom and managed to enjoy the major portion of her cruise.

 

Weather... One rock and roll day on the way down and another on the way back to Bayonne.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stateroom.. Concierge level 1. Neat and clean with a nice shower door system, but to be honest it seemed to be the smallest stateroom we have ever encountered with storage space for a 12 day cruise very stingy. Night stands were open cubby holes (no drawers), there was storage over the head of the bed that required you to stand on the bed to use it, only one plug for a hair-dryer located in the bedroom on the desk, 2 AC plugs located in the same area, one plug for an electric razor was placed in the ceiling over the bathroom mirror.

 

The ship.. If you didn't have a balcony or didn't venture out on the open upper decks you would think you were in a hotel that had the shakes. There are very few areas (bars or other public places) that offer an ocean view. The deck five wooden "promenade" is taken over by lifeboats that block almost all the view of the ocean.

 

Outside the Quasar lounge on level four (between the theater and the casino) there is a area for "events?????" . The events such as a Thriller contest with zombies, ping pong tables or watch sale blocked what should have been open space for getting to and from places on the ship and the front bank of elevators....OMO

 

Every night the photographers made you detour around them and their equipment which was set up blocking the port side access to the MDR.. Also the background they were using for the posed photos was a large mural of the "Solstice" not the Silhouette.???

 

This is only my opinion and I am sure there are others that will be 180degrees in the oposite direction , BUT:

 

Too much space designated to off beat things like reading nests or egg shaped seating cubbies.

A level of high end shops (Bvlgari...etc) that almost always seemed empty.

A grill with great burgers, franks and fries is on the other side of the outdoor pools from the oceanview cafe not just outside the cafe. This just makes family dining a little tricky if one wants cafe food and the other wants grilled. Not major but not well thought out.

No trays in cafe.. I have pot holder hands but several passengers could not handle some of the plates which at times were very hot.

Chairs in the MDR were impossible to move either closer to or farther from the table.

A few more elevators would be nice.

 

Stateroom staff and MDR waiters and assistants seemed to be very inexperienced and for the first time in 11 years of cruising we didn't feel that any added tip was deserved and none was given. Table leg on our table fell off on the first night. It was reported and continued to be a problem throughout the entire cruise becomming a joke and was even placed on the table for a while.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Table mates were great (table of 8) and all meals in the MDR were very good. Only one complaint and it was universally held at our table, on the last formal night the surf and turf was not very well prepared or displayed..

One meal on the sub-par level over the entire 12 night cruise was easily overlooked and was not an issue in the long run.

 

Room service for breakfast was not good so we only did it once.

MDR and buffet foods were the usual fare and except for the one formal dinner were all very good.

The regular as well as the double cut steaks in the MDR were all very, very tender and flavorful,(except the above mentioned surf and shoe dinner).

 

All specialty venues were excellent but were considered by all to be a bit too pricey.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

ENTERTAINMENT;

 

All musical acts were good. The two male comedians left a lot to be desired but the female was lively, fast paced and kept the laughs coming.

Music around the pool areas and the interior spaces was very good but poor seating inside cut down on the enjoyment for many who had to stand or sit on the staircases..?

Guest speaker: A gentleman named Dale spoke about all sea related things and cruise ships and was very interesting and entertaining.

The casino is a casino, is a casino, is a casino, however the casino staff (especially the cashiers) were the best we have ever encountered and made our evenings there a lot of fun.

 

The Captain was as entertaining as anyone on board and with each noon time announcement livened things up with a joke.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Never had a bad cruise and that includes this one.

 

So many good things and good conversations to remember make this a great cruise.

 

Would we cruise this ship again ??? Hard to say, but to be really honest it just isn't really our cup of tea, so probably not. I can play bocce at the local Italian American club and have all the grass I need at home. I would gladly change the grassy area for a few more drawers or a few more square feet of cabin space.

 

 

Would we recommend this cruise (ship)? Yes, for the ports and yes if you really DO NOTcare for white jacket and glove waiters on formal nights, comfortable sized staterooms or waiters who are skilled at their jobs.

 

No, if you want the feel of a more traditional cruise on a smaller more traditional cruise ship, which from what we see coming down the pike as far as new builds, may just be going the way of the dinosaurs.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

One thing to note is that Celebrity and the entire staff really did a fantastic job fighting the dread Noro.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Again OMO

 

bosco

 

Haven't had time to write my review yet but I agree just about 85%.

Minor areas of disagreement are that we thought the MDR food was worse than you did. At least 6 different entrees were sent back to the kitchen by our table of 10 -- and we were not a fussy group. Some of the stuff just stasted -- Bad! Ex: fishy or tough shrimp entrees, more than one "shoe leather steak," and a "veal medallions" dish that in consistency and taste was stringy and tasted like no veal we;ve ever had. Also, service , as you noted, was sub par, esp for Celebrity. Pleasant, just untrained. Appetizers were forgotten, wrong plates given to the wrong people, and entrees arrived piecemeal so that we all sat (being polite people) and waited for everyone's entree to appear. The whole table should be served at one time. Assistant waiter constantly disappeared.

 

Thought the entertainment was superb from top to bottom except for one comic. Lounges, casual (bar) venues, the atrium -- everyone was good. Cruise Director Lisa was superb and hit just the right notes -- genuine, enthusiastic, but not over the top as so many are.

 

Big disappointment with the management of the buffet, however. Despite what we know were stressful conditions for the servers, combatting the Noro that never happened -- and we give huge kudos to the line and the ship for this -- service was uniformly poor there throughout the cruise even after the 5 day Noro conditions were eliminated, the flow disorganized, and timing of offerings thoughtless. When the entire ship is returning from shore after a full day at 4:30-5 PM, why would you cut out most of the stations in the buffet and offer only limited salad bar, pizza, and pasta? (Yes, we know room service is available). And do NOT try to get a "4-5 PM offering" (cookies, pastries) at 5:01. They are GONE. Several mornings at 10 AM (breakfast served til 10:30) we were told they were "out" of English muffins. Not that they had to get more, and would you come back in 5 minutes, sir, but " we are out." And this is with 3 sea days ahead.....After we ate other things and were done, English muffins miraculaously appeared on the buffet. Again, just sloppy management and thoughtless service.

 

Again, as the PP said, we enjoyed the cruise, our tablemates, and most everyone we met on board. This is our second trip on Solstice class, but will probably be our last. Give me the Connie or the Millie any time.....

[njaloha]

..........

Big disappointment with the management of the buffet, however. Despite what we know were stressful conditions for the servers, combatting the Noro that never happened -- and we give huge kudos to the line and the ship for this -- .....

 

Hi,

I just wanted to let you know that the restrictions were in place for a mandatory 72 hours after cleaning and lifted when no known evidence of further Noro-infected passengers were reported. However, I now know that Nasamom and I both had it on 2/17 and 2/18 respectively (and I don't even know if I met her or not); a good 4 days after restrictions had been lifted. How many others had it, I do not know. How many didn't report it?

 

The one thing that surprised me about the cruise was that on Monday, 2/20, we had fairly rough seas due to strong headwinds (gusts up to 57 knots noted on Nav Station on TV) but no seasick bags were evident around the ship and many people came out of the Silhouette Theater and headed to bathrooms and elevators getting sick along the way. HAZMAT-suited crew members immediately descended on the area to quickly clean the mess up with their powerful industrial-strength wet/dry vacs.

 

I would sail and plan on sailing the Silhouette again (west carib 1/2013 perhaps). I'd have to think twice about sailing out of NJ again. I think the amenities on the Silhouette lean more towards a warmer climate sailing than northern or mid Atlantic. The colder weather and salt spray really beat the lawn up and that requires costly maintenance. If Celebrity put the Summit back in Bayonne in a future winter instead of San Juan, then I'd consider it. But right now, Explorer of the Seas is the only option and I'd rather stay with Celebrity.

 

By the way, I posted a review here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1580407

if anyone cares to comment or ask questions . . .

 

In the meantime, I saw a robin yesterday so warm weather and spring are on the way . . .

[Mudhen]

Boscobeans,

Loved your review. We were on the "scourge" cruise, Silhouette 1/29 thru 2/10. I agree with almost all that you said, especially about the physicality ( is that a word I just made up??haha) of the ship. Unfortunately, I felt like I was in a floating mall, rather than on a ship most of the time. Since we had a huge contingent of older, walker, wheelchair, skooter bound folks, there were always good seats at the outdoor pool. Spent some good time there. Stateroom comments were right on, elevator lack, strange spaces, etc, agreed. I thought the food in the MDR was generally adequate, but nothing more. Some things pretty bad, a few were good, nothing particulary memorable except the steak tartare app that was wonderful ( go figure that one...). Our waiter and asst. were totally wonderful. The handling of the Noro by the crew was more than anyone could've been expected to do. No complaints about that. Seas were calm, weather wonderful, port days terrific. Bottom line: Did we have fun and enjoy the cruise? YES, Would we cruise Silhouette again, DOUBTFUL.

I like a ship to be a ship. Silhouette didn't do that for me.

[oldebekn]

My wife got sick after getting back on the boat in Antigua (16th in the evening), and then never left the room in St. Lucia on the 17th, sleeping most of the day. But was ok again on Saturday in St. Martin.