Potential newbie to Celebrity - looking at Sihouette

[jordans mom]

So long time cruiser on NCL , some Disney under out belts.

 

Long story short: friends want to cruise on their anniversary and the Silhouette meets the date and itinerary.

 

So we are used to the NCL and DISNEY suite perks.

 

Can anyone who has experience on NCL and Celebrity give me some advice...

 

SPA: looks like they call it the Persian Garden - so, if I go Aqua Class it is included - if I go Concierge, there would be a charge for the week? If so, what might that charge be?

 

BEVERAGE PACKAGE: this looks completely different from NCL - first all people in the room MUST take the package - that does not appear to be the case on Celebrity?

 

EMBARKATION/DISEMBARKATION: I get weirded out waiting in long lines, so spending $$ on a Cabin category that gets me out of a couple hour line is worth every penny - if we are looking at Concierge or Aqua - looks like we get priority lines on and off the ship? What about at ports?

 

DINING: we really are happy with the NCL dining flexibility - I cannot understand the process to get that kind of flexibility on a Celebrity ship - specifically the Sihouette?

 

I am sure there are other things that I need to consider - but I would really love some help on these!!!!:D

[barney6895]

So long time cruiser on NCL , some Disney under out belts.

 

Long story short: friends want to cruise on their anniversary and the Silhouette meets the date and itinerary.

 

So we are used to the NCL and DISNEY suite perks.

 

Can anyone who has experience on NCL and Celebrity give me some advice...

 

SPA: looks like they call it the Persian Garden - so, if I go Aqua Class it is included - if I go Concierge, there would be a charge for the week? If so, what might that charge be?

 

BEVERAGE PACKAGE: this looks completely different from NCL - first all people in the room MUST take the package - that does not appear to be the case on Celebrity?

 

EMBARKATION/DISEMBARKATION: I get weirded out waiting in long lines, so spending $$ on a Cabin category that gets me out of a couple hour line is worth every penny - if we are looking at Concierge or Aqua - looks like we get priority lines on and off the ship? What about at ports?

 

DINING: we really are happy with the NCL dining flexibility - I cannot understand the process to get that kind of flexibility on a Celebrity ship - specifically the Sihouette?

 

I am sure there are other things that I need to consider - but I would really love some help on these!!!!:D

 

 

 

Hi glad to see you are considering Celebrity cause it blows every other cruise line out of the water!

 

SPA: The spa is the spa and its called Canyon Ranch Spa now. They just took over from the old company and i heard its so much better. There is a section called the Persian Garden which is around $125 for a 7 night cruise but it will go up or down depending on the days. If you book aqua its free but you can save money and get a concierge room and just get the pass separately. And of course you can get your massages and facials and what not at the spa. The Persian Garden is amazing though and i recommend it. I do it everyday before dinner to recover and sweat out the toxins from the night before and the current day haha. It has tiled heated loungers looking out into the ocean through a glass wall. Then there are several rooms like a cold room, turkish bath, and aroma therapy and of course a sauna.

 

Beverage package: You can pick your perk with select cruise and choose one of the 3, Money off your room, Free Beverage Package, Free Gratuities, or onboard credit up to $300. So no you dont have to take the bev package but you can also take the non alcoholic one if you dont drink which covers water, tea, waters, smoothies and what not.

 

Embarking: I always pay extra for suite or concierge or above if the suites are booked out. Im always one of the first few to board and like the private lines it saves so much time and headache in my opinion and i like being first on board so i can get my champagne at the door and book some dinning and stuff before everyone else and not wait in line and also get the tours and stuff without waiting around. I suggest you go big or go home you pay for what you get and ill beat the lines any day! At ports they have separate lines for you as well to board and sometimes not but im usually in no hurry to re board.

 

Dinning: You can do open seating dinning which means you can eat at anytime you want throughout the time on board. This just means you might have to wait to be seated some times which is never too long and you can grab a drink while you wait of course :) And you will not get the same wait staff usually when you do open seating but you can for sure get the flexibility you like. Or you can do the specialty dinning restaurants for extra money and then make reservations at whatever time you like for quick seating.

 

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have other questions!

[Sloop-JohnB]

Great post by BARNEY6895

 

Let me add some more...

 

Dining - Open Seating on Celebrity is called Select. If you book Concierge you will have a choice of doing Select or Traditional (Early or Late Seating). We personally prefer Traditional as it s a great way to meet people. Select on Celebrity works like a Restaurant... You can make Reservations or just show up and wait to be seated. Select on Celebrity is a seperate area on the Upper Floor of the MDR. The majority of seats are for 2, but you can sit with others... Just tell the Door Attendant you are open to sharing a table.

 

If you book Aqua Class... You will be dining in The Blu DR which is reserved for AQ Guests. It is said to feature healthier fare... Less sauces etc. I will try it for the first time on my next cruise... But it has many die hard fans here on CC

 

Again this space functions like a Restaurant... So no set seating or times (except for the first night). The majority of tables are 2 tops, but you can get larger tables for sharing.

 

NOTE - If you book Concierge and go Select Dining, you will pay your Daily Grats with your Cruise Fare. If you choose Traditional Dining or book Aqua Class, your Daily Grats will be added to your Account when aboard. Makes no real difference, as YOU have to pay them eventually... But it makes a difference to Celebrity Staff that work Select, so why they are paid in advance.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Cheers!

Ps... We are big fans of Concierge Class... We like the perks... Including Priority Boarding, for Tenders etc (mind you there are lots of Pax who qualify for one type of Priority or another... Suites - Aqua Class - Concierge Class - Captain's Club Members at higher tiers etc). Still tho, most Pax do not qualify for these advantages... So although some here on CC say they are "perceived perks" at least for us they have been real. Plus we like all the Amenities that come with being Concierge (and sure it will be true of AQ too)... Including: Bottle of Bubbly - Fruit Basket - Afternoon Canapés - Pillow Menu - Expanded Room Service Menu - and more Captain's Club Points per night.

 

Looking forward to AQ for the first time on our upcoming cruise in anticipation of all that and more !!

Edited September 23, 2014 by Sloop-JohnB

[attilamom1217]

The Silhouette is the most beautiful ship I have been on so far (going on her sister, the Equinox next year).

 

We have been both Concierge Class and Aqua Class and will continue to do so - as long as the price is not that much higher than a basic verandah! We like the perk of priority boarding as well as some of the amenities (the pillow menu; Blu and the shower with the body jets for AQ). Have not tendered to any port on Celebrity so I cannot attest to priority boarding for tenders.

 

AQ also includes bottles of water in your cabin everyday - which is a nice plus.

 

AQ is designed to be a spa like experience and has its own spa - Persian Garden referred to by previous posters. It also has its own relaxation lounge. The food in Blu is 'clean cuisine'. we found everything to be quite flavorful. There were sauces on some of the entrees - they just weren't as rich as in the MDR. You can still order from the 'everyday' menu - steak, chicken, fish - if you are interested in that night's menu. I had french onion soup and shrimp cocktail every night and neither were on the Blu menu.

 

You will love the Silhouette and BLU.

 

Debbi

[wallie5446]

Most of your questions have been addressed in wonderful fashion:D

 

As to cabin's, last yr we had a C2 on deck 9 on the hump, at the time we booked it was only $100 more than the standard 1A, and had the extra points in the Loyalty program. On our next cruise we booked the 1A on deck 8, why? It is the same size @ 194 sq ft, but was $900 per person LESS than a Concierge, and $1100 than an Aqua. Blu and the spa in AQ, and the choice of pillows with an apple and a shrimp are just not worth the extra $2000. We can take another cruise for that. The quality in the MDR is on par with Blu.

 

If we book early, The choice of Select, ie: anytime dinning, is available to everyone to request, even those that book inside.

 

The beverage pkg, if chosen as your booking perk, do have to be taken by both in the cabin. But not if purchased on ship.

[Turtles06]

So long time cruiser on NCL , some Disney under out belts...

 

Can anyone who has experience on NCL and Celebrity give me some advice...

 

....

 

BEVERAGE PACKAGE: this looks completely different from NCL - first all people in the room MUST take the package - that does not appear to be the case on Celebrity?

 

EMBARKATION/DISEMBARKATION: I get weirded out waiting in long lines, so spending $$ on a Cabin category that gets me out of a couple hour line is worth every penny - if we are looking at Concierge or Aqua - looks like we get priority lines on and off the ship? What about at ports?

 

DINING: we really are happy with the NCL dining flexibility - I cannot understand the process to get that kind of flexibility on a Celebrity ship - specifically the Sihouette?

 

 

Beverage Package: you are correct: on Celebrity, if you are buying a bev pkg, not everyone in the cabin must buy the same package (or any package). But if you are getting the bev pkg free as part of a promo (like the 123GO), then both adults must get it. The NCL bev pkg is not as customer friendly because of the requirements you mention.

 

Embarkation/Disembarkation: as with NCL, there are special lines at embarkation for different categories of cabins and loyalty program members. BUT,. as with NCL, sometimes the special lines can be as long or longer than the "regular" lines. I wouldn't get a Concierge or Aqua class cabin just because of a special line for embarkation. Also, no priority for those cabin categories in terms of getting off in ports, and none for disembarkation either.

 

A suite in NCL gets you true priority embarkation with a separate lounge for waiting and your concierge escort onto the ship. And priority disembarkation for ports and at the end of the cruise. I have no idea whether that happens on Celebrity in terms of suites.

 

Dining: I love NCL's freestyle dining. We have sailed twice now on Celebrity, both times with traditional (fixed) dining. It's been fine and there's a big plus in having the same servers, but there are minuses as well. On our upcoming TA aboard the Silhouette in Nov. we are trying "Select" dining for the first time -- eat when you want during the dinner hours. (You just show up, or you can make a reservation.) We'll see how it goes. There are lots of threads on here discussing Select dining on Celebrity if you want to read about people's experiences. Also, on Celebrity, if you are in Aqua class, then you dine in Blu (not the MDR), and show up for dinner whenever you want. Again, lots to read on here if you search.

 

We've sailed on one of the Silhouette's sister ships, the Eclipse, and it's the most beautiful ship we've ever been on. Simply stunning. Really well laid out. Can't wait for our upcoming TA on the Silhouette.

[joecleveland]

Dining: I love NCL's freestyle dining. We have sailed twice now on Celebrity, both times with traditional (fixed) dining. It's been fine and there's a big plus in having the same servers, but there are minuses as well. On our upcoming TA aboard the Silhouette in Nov. we are trying "Select" dining for the first time -- eat when you want during the dinner hours. (You just show up, or you can make a reservation.) We'll see how it goes. There are lots of threads on here discussing Select dining on Celebrity if you want to read about people's experiences. Also, on Celebrity, if you are in Aqua class, then you dine in Blu (not the MDR), and show up for dinner whenever you want. Again, lots to read on here if you search.

 

We've sailed on one of the Silhouette's sister ships, the Eclipse, and it's the most beautiful ship we've ever been on. Simply stunning. Really well laid out. Can't wait for our upcoming TA on the Silhouette.

 

We just got off the Silhouette with select dining, we always eat around 6:30-7, never had to wait, the only problem was we like to go to the show at 9 so we need to be done with dinner by 8:50. If you get put at a table for 8 (holds10) you may experience slower service as you wait for the table to fill or others order many rounds of 'appetizers' . We just ended up asking for a table of 6 or less. We occasionally had a table for two on the edge and could look down on the defined dining and saw several tables with parties of two sitting by themselves at table set for six or eight, that would be us , all alone at a large table, kind of sad, been there done that when others assigned go to specialty or the buffet.

 

So we liked Select, you just have to have prepaid gratuities, which wasn't a problem as we got those free both on the Silhouette and our upcoming Eclipse cruises as a promotion. It also means we have to drink our way out of any OBC we receive:rolleyes: They have a great before dinner special of half price drinks and drafts from 4-6 in the lobby bar outside the restaurant which helped :D (Same special from 10-midnight in some of the bars at night as well.)

[Turtles06]

We just got off the Silhouette with select dining ....

 

Thanks for all the info in your post!

[vulcan1971]

So long time cruiser on NCL , some Disney under out belts.

 

Long story short: friends want to cruise on their anniversary and the Silhouette meets the date and itinerary.

 

So we are used to the NCL and DISNEY suite perks.

 

Can anyone who has experience on NCL and Celebrity give me some advice...

 

SPA: looks like they call it the Persian Garden - so, if I go Aqua Class it is included - if I go Concierge, there would be a charge for the week? If so, what might that charge be? I know that day passes are available, but I don't know the pricing.

 

BEVERAGE PACKAGE: this looks completely different from NCL - first all people in the room MUST take the package - that does not appear to be the case on Celebrity? Correct. On Celebrity, one stateroom guest can have a bevvy package and the other guests can go without. Same with upgrading as both passengers in the stateroom do not have to upgrade. This is something I recently experienced on NCL Epic this spring. I provided my constructive feedback to NCL about how well this program works on Celebrity.

 

EMBARKATION/DISEMBARKATION: I get weirded out waiting in long lines, so spending $$ on a Cabin category that gets me out of a couple hour line is worth every penny - if we are looking at Concierge or Aqua - looks like we get priority lines on and off the ship? What about at ports?

 

DINING: we really are happy with the NCL dining flexibility - I cannot understand the process to get that kind of flexibility on a Celebrity ship - specifically the Sihouette? In order to have flexible dining times, known as "Select Time" dining, you select this option when booking your reservation on-line or through your travel agent. Booking early there should not be an issue to get this, but if you are booking closer to the cruise date, you may be told it is not available or you are put on a waitlist. If you are booked in Aqua Class, your dining room is Blu and that is considered "Select time" dining as you just show up when you want and the host will seat you. This also works for stateroom guests staying in suites, but the suite guests are seated on a "space available" basis. If you are flexible with your dining time, there is seldom an issue to be seated in Blu.

 

I am sure there are other things that I need to consider - but I would really love some help on these!!!!:D

 

 

jordans mom -

 

Hello and welcome to Celebrity. Here is a thread with some additional thoughts and perspectives in comparing & contrasting NCL and Celebrity, specifically suites. My specific experiences are detailed in Post #16 of the thread.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2091034

 

Specific comments to your questions I have included in your post in red font.

 

 

Walter

Edited September 23, 2014 by vulcan1971

[jordans mom]

thanks ! this has been helpful....ONE MORE ITEM.,,,IF i MAY

 

On the EPIC the spa had some therapy pools? Does the Silhouette spa have therapy pools?

Edited September 25, 2014 by jordans mom
not finished my thoughts

[jordans mom]

:):)

jordans mom -

 

Hello and welcome to Celebrity. Here is a thread with some additional thoughts and perspectives in comparing & contrasting NCL and Celebrity, specifically suites. My specific experiences are detailed in Post #16 of the thread.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2091034

 

Specific comments to your questions I have included in your post in red font.

 

 

Walter

[Sloop-JohnB]

thanks ! this has been helpful....ONE MORE ITEM.,,,IF i MAY

 

On the EPIC the spa had some therapy pools? Does the Silhouette spa have therapy pools?

 

No pools per se in the Spa area... But the Solarium Adult (16+) Pool is nearby

 

On the S-Class Ships (of which The Silhouette is one) they are regular pools... On the M-Class Ships the Solarium features a T-Pool (Thalassotherapy Pool). Those are awesome !! Do wish hat Celebrity had them on all their ships.

 

Cheers!