First Time Celebrity - Silhouette Review March 31 Eastern Caribbean

[matwood]

Background:

I have been cruising on Sitmar/Princess since 1981 and have wanted to try Celebrity since I saw the Equinox when I was on the Ruby Princess two years ago. My wife, eight-year-old son and I have been on several cruises together and after a week on the Silhouette, agree this was the best cruises experience we've had (more on this later).

 

Pre-cruise:

We flew Friday night out of LAX on Virgin America. We reserved a room at the Hyatt Place 17th Street and enjoyed the hotel's amenities and location. The weather was great in Fort Lauderdale - very comfortable with no real humidity.

 

Cruise Day:

We took a shuttle to Port Everglades at around 10:30 a.m. Check in was a breeze and then waited for about 15 minutes before boarding the ship. We had lunch at Bistro on Five, which was very nice. We were immediately struck by how upscale and "cool" the ship felt to us - sort of like a floating W hotel with great background music playing. After lunch we explored the ship and eventually went to the stateroom to unpack and prepare for the Muster Drill. We had a nice sail away and were excited for our week ahead.

 

The Cruise Experience:

I'm not going to go into details about the ports since I believe the Silhouette is going back to Europe after the Western Caribbean itinerary this week. I would like to share our impressions and experiences of the ship, staff, etc. which hopefully will be helpful to folks.

 

As I mentioned earlier, this was our best cruise experience yet. If I had to put my finger on the biggest thing that made the difference for us, it would have to be the staff. Consistently, we felt they went out of their way to ensure we were having a great time. From the public restroom attendant to our room steward, we were thoroughly impressed with the attitude of the staff. They all genuinely seemed happy to be there which directly impacts how they treat the guests. Like anywhere, this starts at the top. The Captain was funny and engaging, as were the other officers. This was new to us, as we've never experienced such officer involvement with the passengers on other lines.

 

We loved the food - MDR was comparable to Princess, maybe a bit better. The Ocean View Cafe was hands down the best buffet we've had on a cruise. I think the only things I missed from Princess was the pizza and pasta (much better on Princess IMO). We did Qsine and the Lawn Club Grill. Qsine was fun but wouldn't go back. The Lawn Club Grill was great, as they let my son make the pizza and grill the meats. Great experience, but both are a bit pricy, especially given the quality of food in the MDR.

 

Another highlight was the Celebrity Life staff, who organized many of the events around the ship - they were GREAT! We had so much fun participating in their various events.

 

We loved the on-board musicians, and The Runways party band was at the top. Along with the typical party songs, they did some really nice acoustic sets by the pool in the afternoon. The two female singers were wonderful. We also enjoyed the Steel Drum player as well as the Miami DJ (two-man group consisting of a DJ and a percussionist).

 

The layout of the ship was so much better than that of the Princess Grand Class. There were so many great activities going on at night inside the ship and so many cool places to sit and have a drink, read a book or just people watch.

 

Overall

Hits:

Service, staff attitude (including officers), interior layout of ship, staterooms, inside and outside pool areas, atrium design (effective use of lot's of glass), on-board music (both live and piping), Cafe on deck 5, great public bathrooms, self-service beverage machines.

 

Could be better:

Outside pools are too small. Pasta and pizza in the Ocean View Cafe. Lack of traditional outside promenade deck. Small bath towels in standard rooms. No light on balcony for reading at night. No self-service laundry.

 

We enjoyed the cruise so much that we booked an Alaska cruise for this August on the Solstice (we have an existing cruise reservation on the Star Princess for the same week which we will now cancel). We also booked a Med cruise for summer 2014.

 

Hope this is helpful. Feel free to ask any questions

[d4m]

Thanks for your impressions Mike! Have to agree with you about the staff ~~ they MAKE the cruise. Glad you enjoyed!

[fgc15527]

We were on this cruise as well. Captain, Cruise Director were great. Staff was always greeting you as you walked throughout the ship. Wait Staff exceptional as well as cabin attendant. Food, entertainment--the best. I have sailed 14+ cruises on Celebrity....this was my best experience.

[jerseygirl3]

Background:

I have been cruising on Sitmar/Princess since 1981 and have wanted to try Celebrity since I saw the Equinox when I was on the Ruby Princess two years ago. My wife, eight-year-old son and I have been on several cruises together and after a week on the Silhouette, agree this was the best cruises experience we've had (more on this later).

 

Pre-cruise:

We flew Friday night out of LAX on Virgin America. We reserved a room at the Hyatt Place 17th Street and enjoyed the hotel's amenities and location. The weather was great in Fort Lauderdale - very comfortable with no real humidity.

 

Cruise Day:

We took a shuttle to Port Everglades at around 10:30 a.m. Check in was a breeze and then waited for about 15 minutes before boarding the ship. We had lunch at Bistro on Five, which was very nice. We were immediately struck by how upscale and "cool" the ship felt to us - sort of like a floating W hotel with great background music playing. After lunch we explored the ship and eventually went to the stateroom to unpack and prepare for the Muster Drill. We had a nice sail away and were excited for our week ahead.

 

The Cruise Experience:

I'm not going to go into details about the ports since I believe the Silhouette is going back to Europe after the Western Caribbean itinerary this week. I would like to share our impressions and experiences of the ship, staff, etc. which hopefully will be helpful to folks.

 

As I mentioned earlier, this was our best cruise experience yet. If I had to put my finger on the biggest thing that made the difference for us, it would have to be the staff. Consistently, we felt they went out of their way to ensure we were having a great time. From the public restroom attendant to our room steward, we were thoroughly impressed with the attitude of the staff. They all genuinely seemed happy to be there which directly impacts how they treat the guests. Like anywhere, this starts at the top. The Captain was funny and engaging, as were the other officers. This was new to us, as we've never experienced such officer involvement with the passengers on other lines.

 

We loved the food - MDR was comparable to Princess, maybe a bit better. The Ocean View Cafe was hands down the best buffet we've had on a cruise. I think the only things I missed from Princess was the pizza and pasta (much better on Princess IMO). We did Qsine and the Lawn Club Grill. Qsine was fun but wouldn't go back. The Lawn Club Grill was great, as they let my son make the pizza and grill the meats. Great experience, but both are a bit pricy, especially given the quality of food in the MDR.

 

Another highlight was the Celebrity Life staff, who organized many of the events around the ship - they were GREAT! We had so much fun participating in their various events.

 

We loved the on-board musicians, and The Runways party band was at the top. Along with the typical party songs, they did some really nice acoustic sets by the pool in the afternoon. The two female singers were wonderful. We also enjoyed the Steel Drum player as well as the Miami DJ (two-man group consisting of a DJ and a percussionist).

 

The layout of the ship was so much better than that of the Princess Grand Class. There were so many great activities going on at night inside the ship and so many cool places to sit and have a drink, read a book or just people watch.

 

Overall

Hits:

Service, staff attitude (including officers), interior layout of ship, staterooms, inside and outside pool areas, atrium design (effective use of lot's of glass), on-board music (both live and piping), Cafe on deck 5, great public bathrooms, self-service beverage machines.

 

Could be better:

Outside pools are too small. Pasta and pizza in the Ocean View Cafe. Lack of traditional outside promenade deck. Small bath towels in standard rooms. No light on balcony for reading at night. No self-service laundry.

 

We enjoyed the cruise so much that we booked an Alaska cruise for this August on the Solstice (we have an existing cruise reservation on the Star Princess for the same week which we will now cancel). We also booked a Med cruise for summer 2014.

 

Hope this is helpful. Feel free to ask any questions

 

Glad you enjoyed your first Celebrity cruise so much.

 

You mention that you miss the light on the balcony for reading. Actually, I'm glad they lost that on the S-class ships. I like keeping our drapes open at night so in the a.m., I can see the sun streaming in. It's so annoying when the cabin next door has the balcony light lit all night (and believe me, many leave it on all night).

 

I guess with the advent of ereaders, most people don't need the lighting since their tablet is lit and able to be read in the dark.

[midwestchick]

Thank you for sharing your views...this will be our first cruise on Celebrity as well, since we are new to cruising. As far as the light on the balcony, I'm also happy about that...love to sleep with the drapes open. It helps me wake up earlier so I can begin my day.

I'm really excited about our Med cruise in Sept., so I'm reading everything about the Silhouette.

[Lastdance]

Thank you for sharing your views...this will be our first cruise on Celebrity as well, since we are new to cruising. As far as the light on the balcony, I'm also happy about that...love to sleep with the drapes open. It helps me wake up earlier so I can begin my day.

I'm really excited about our Med cruise in Sept., so I'm reading everything about the Silhouette.

 

Glad that you have your first cruise on the Silhouette as I sail with my DH on her in May. I too love Celebrity and can't wait for the Adriatic! Yes, not having those darn lights is wonderful!:):cool:

[Christine Frances]

Thanks for your review Mike! I am glad that you and your family had a wonderful cruise:)

[sabookkeeper]

Background:

I have been cruising on Sitmar/Princess since 1981 and have wanted to try Celebrity since I saw the Equinox when I was on the Ruby Princess two years ago. My wife, eight-year-old son and I have been on several cruises together and after a week on the Silhouette, agree this was the best cruises experience we've had (more on this later).

 

Pre-cruise:

We flew Friday night out of LAX on Virgin America. We reserved a room at the Hyatt Place 17th Street and enjoyed the hotel's amenities and location. The weather was great in Fort Lauderdale - very comfortable with no real humidity.

 

Cruise Day:

We took a shuttle to Port Everglades at around 10:30 a.m. Check in was a breeze and then waited for about 15 minutes before boarding the ship. We had lunch at Bistro on Five, which was very nice. We were immediately struck by how upscale and "cool" the ship felt to us - sort of like a floating W hotel with great background music playing. After lunch we explored the ship and eventually went to the stateroom to unpack and prepare for the Muster Drill. We had a nice sail away and were excited for our week ahead.

 

The Cruise Experience:

I'm not going to go into details about the ports since I believe the Silhouette is going back to Europe after the Western Caribbean itinerary this week. I would like to share our impressions and experiences of the ship, staff, etc. which hopefully will be helpful to folks.

 

As I mentioned earlier, this was our best cruise experience yet. If I had to put my finger on the biggest thing that made the difference for us, it would have to be the staff. Consistently, we felt they went out of their way to ensure we were having a great time. From the public restroom attendant to our room steward, we were thoroughly impressed with the attitude of the staff. They all genuinely seemed happy to be there which directly impacts how they treat the guests. Like anywhere, this starts at the top. The Captain was funny and engaging, as were the other officers. This was new to us, as we've never experienced such officer involvement with the passengers on other lines.

 

We loved the food - MDR was comparable to Princess, maybe a bit better. The Ocean View Cafe was hands down the best buffet we've had on a cruise. I think the only things I missed from Princess was the pizza and pasta (much better on Princess IMO). We did Qsine and the Lawn Club Grill. Qsine was fun but wouldn't go back. The Lawn Club Grill was great, as they let my son make the pizza and grill the meats. Great experience, but both are a bit pricy, especially given the quality of food in the MDR.

 

Another highlight was the Celebrity Life staff, who organized many of the events around the ship - they were GREAT! We had so much fun participating in their various events.

 

We loved the on-board musicians, and The Runways party band was at the top. Along with the typical party songs, they did some really nice acoustic sets by the pool in the afternoon. The two female singers were wonderful. We also enjoyed the Steel Drum player as well as the Miami DJ (two-man group consisting of a DJ and a percussionist).

 

The layout of the ship was so much better than that of the Princess Grand Class. There were so many great activities going on at night inside the ship and so many cool places to sit and have a drink, read a book or just people watch.

 

Overall

Hits:

Service, staff attitude (including officers), interior layout of ship, staterooms, inside and outside pool areas, atrium design (effective use of lot's of glass), on-board music (both live and piping), Cafe on deck 5, great public bathrooms, self-service beverage machines.

 

Could be better:

Outside pools are too small. Pasta and pizza in the Ocean View Cafe. Lack of traditional outside promenade deck. Small bath towels in standard rooms. No light on balcony for reading at night. No self-service laundry.

 

We enjoyed the cruise so much that we booked an Alaska cruise for this August on the Solstice (we have an existing cruise reservation on the Star Princess for the same week which we will now cancel). We also booked a Med cruise for summer 2014.

 

Hope this is helpful. Feel free to ask any questions

Thanks for your review. We took our first Celebrity cruise in February on the Silhouette after only cruising on Princess. I agree with all of the points that you made. The only one I would add, is the desserts/dessert selection in the MDR are not as good as on Princess.

 

We had the Royal Princess booked for February 2014 and we ended up booking the Reflection while we were on board and cancelled the Royal Princess when we got home.

[luvinsun]

We were also on this cruise! I couldn't agree more about the Captian. He was funny and participated in many of the activities! We introduced Celebrity to 5 others during this cruise and they all enjoyed it and would sail with them again for all of the reasons the OP mentioned. It was a great cruise!

[matwood]

I see your point on the balcony light. It has been a tradition for me to read the next day's Patter/Daily on the balcony at night before retiring. It was nice not to have the lights from the other rooms. as I slept on the veranda several nights.