Will I regret the Silhouette?

[tangerinebunny]

After five HAL cruises in a row, we just tried our first Celebrity cruise on the Silhouette in early December. (I reviewed it on the cruise review page, not this forum.)

 

We now have two more Celebrity cruises booked for 2015.

 

It probably comes down to what makes a cruise enjoyable for you. We were satisfied with the accommodations and service on both lines. But we enjoyed the variety of specialty restaurants and bars more on Celebrity. It also has a younger, less formal vibe.

[ConnCruise]

Experience as some but have sailed with HAL once and Celebrity twice. (Taken a total of 12 cruises, 13 coming at the end of the month on the Silhouette) Anyway. Loved our two trips on X and really liked HAL too. On the HAL trip were were at the "youngish" end of the population and we were both at the time in our mid fifties. The entertainment on HAL was geared toward my mom and dad. If you loved Lawrence Welk....Anyway both had really nice food and service and were very accommodating to my vegan diet. Would book again on HAL and still love Celebrity. (After 4 cruises, I've soured on NCL. Haven't been on RCL since 2006, but never had a problem there. never been on Carnivall)

 

All that said, these days YouTube is filled with lots of video reviews. You can really get a feel for a ship watching these.

[rockdoctor]

Sailed three times on HAL,Vista and R Class and four on Celebrity, both S and M a Class. Will not sail on HAL again unless the itenerary is exceptional. Ship are too dark and cramped.

[AnchorsAweigh2011]

We enjoyed the Silhouette and would recommend you go ahead and book your cruise today!

[royalcruz]

I would book the Silhouette over RC, Carnival, and HAL anyday. I've been on Silhouette twice this year and they were great cruises. Were there any issues?...Of course, but nothing serious.

[Happy2cruise]

We enjoyed the Silhouette and would recommend you go ahead and book your cruise today!

Totally agree....sailed her twice and will be on her again in March:D

[hulamoon]

The Silhouette is also our favorite ship. We have yet to be on the Reflection however. I think traveling with friends it would be great with so many different resturants to try.

[pxy cda]

The Silhouette is also our favorite ship. We have yet to be on the Reflection however. I think traveling with friends it would be great with so many different resturants to try.

Another vote for silhouette. Best cruise ever!

[xmarksx]

Thank you for the responses. We sail March 8th and I am good at filtering some of the negative comments but you cannot help worrying a bit. We are really looking forward to our first cruse in 25 years!!!

[LabGuy64]

were you thinking about the Nov 5 TA? Silhouette (as i recall) goes in for work a couple months before the cruise so I am guessing she will have most issues taken care of by then,...if not before.

 

 

We are a group of friends who have been cruising together for 20 years. We are planning another for 2016. We have cruised Carnival and Royal. Now that we are more 'mature', I'm thinking we are ready for a 'step up'. We don't need a flow rider and Carnival has a few issues I don't want to have to deal with.

I have been considering the Silhouette and Nieuw Amsterdam. Both are comparable in price, but the 123Go offer is enticing. I found an online TA offer for both the drink package and prepaid gratuities. It needs to be booked by tomorrow.

I've looked at the reviews for the Silhouette for the last several days and they are dreadful. Do you think it's just frustration from the propulsion issue? Maybe it's the pressure from having to book quickly, but I'm on the fence about which to book. I guess I have two questions:

 

Will the 123Go offers continue and I can book a little farther down the road?

 

Is the Silhouette and Celebrity going down in quality so much, we'd be better off with HAL?

 

Thanks to all who have had experiences with both

[Happy2cruise]

Thank you for the responses. We sail March 8th and I am good at filtering some of the negative comments but you cannot help worrying a bit. We are really looking forward to our first cruse in 25 years!!!

We are on that same cruise and I would be very surprised if you did not enjoy it. This is our 3rd sailing on the Silhouette and so looking forward to it. Our favorites on the Silhouette is the Adult Pool, Coffee bar (can't remember the name:confused:) and the Lawn Grill.

[DaKa2002]

Ditto.

 

Ditto; everything the same we would choose Celebrity over HAL.

[LPYRCRUISER]

thank you all for your help. I've just booked our Feb 2016 cruise! I tend to fret, worry and second guess myself and you've all put my mind at ease. I think we got a great deal, drink package, paid gratuities and 200 OBC. Now I just have to wait for our time to come.

[LPYRCRUISER]

We have been home from our cruise for a week and I wanted to give an update. No, I did not regret the Silhouette. We loved the whole experience - from ease of boarding, relaxed atmosphere, great food and service to terrific entertainment. We might have like to have seen 1 towel animal and the servers entertain us once (particularly for the newbies), but it certainly didn't take away from our experience. I would recommend the Silhouette for anyone looking to take a relaxing top notch cruise.

[morbihan]

Fantastic!

 

What did we tell you?:D:D

 

We are back on her soon.

[TeaBag]

Thank you so much for coming back to tell us how much you liked Silhouette.

[Saturngrl]

Just back two weeks ago from a week on the Silhouette. I don't know what the expectations from the negative reviewers were, but our experience was outstanding! I LOVE Celebrity! There's something about 5-star living and stellar service that one cannot dislike.

 

We upgraded from the Classic to the Premium drink package before we boarded---great decision! We had fabulous martinis, great wines, wonderful specialty teas, all without worrying about the price. The Lawn Club Grille, the Porch and QSine are not to be missed!

 

We loved playing Bocce on the lawn on the top deck. We had massages at Port charges early one morning. After our massages, we lounged in the spa's relaxation area, sipped tea and had front-row seats while we docked in St. Kitt's. AMAZING!

[HeatherC430]

I've looked at the reviews for the Silhouette for the last several days and they are dreadful. Do you think it's just frustration from the propulsion issue?

 

Just off the Silhouette 3 weeks ago and working on my photo review as we speak (I hope mine wasn't one of the "dreadful" reviews you reference in your post). Even though I experienced a few things onboard that could have been better, I wouldn't hesitate to book another Celebrity cruise and it continues to be my line of choice. The Silhouette itself was one of my favorite ships (when speaking about the physical ship itself). Here's a link to my photo review in progress...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2320474

[Nashna]

Thank you for the update. So glad you enjoyed the cruise. We are sailing on the Silhouette on Marcy 27th. and can't wait!

[BigMikefromTexas]

We sail predominately Royal and Celebrity. Having tried some of the others, we keep going back and prefer Celebrity for luxurious vacations.

 

I can honestly say that the Solstice Class (Solstice, Silhouette, Eclipse, Equinox, and Reflection) are the most luxurious feeling large ships afloat. Since they don't have disco's and flowriders, so the bulk of the Common Area Space is dedicated to functionality that you will appreciate.

 

Now it is no secret that I do not like some of the Concierge and Aqua Class rooms, I have ranted about them, they are after all slightly smaller that the Millennium Class counterparts, that is a personal thing. I/WE like space. So we get Sky Suites. (I would recommend one on the back corner, the views are incredible.)

 

While the Dining room service is top notch, the Specialty Restaurants are very, very good. In fact several of our Top Meals ANYWHERE have been in Murano's (Chef's Private Dinners and Chef's Dinners).

 

As frequent cruisers we see our earned benefits dilute across the brands, but we still love Celebrity and her ships.

[stleda124]

We are a group of friends who have been cruising together for 20 years. We are planning another for 2016. We have cruised Carnival and Royal. Now that we are more 'mature', I'm thinking we are ready for a 'step up'. We don't need a flow rider and Carnival has a few issues I don't want to have to deal with.

I have been considering the Silhouette and Nieuw Amsterdam. Both are comparable in price, but the 123Go offer is enticing. I found an online TA offer for both the drink package and prepaid gratuities. It needs to be booked by tomorrow.

I've looked at the reviews for the Silhouette for the last several days and they are dreadful. Do you think it's just frustration from the propulsion issue? Maybe it's the pressure from having to book quickly, but I'm on the fence about which to book. I guess I have two questions:

 

Will the 123Go offers continue and I can book a little farther down the road?

 

Is the Silhouette and Celebrity going down in quality so much, we'd be better off with HAL?

 

Thanks to all who have had experiences with both

 

I am a review junkie. I read and read and read. But keep in mind. If you have a good experience are you likely to go online and write a review. Probably not. If you have a bad experience are you likely to write a review. Probably! If you have a great experience are you likely to write a review, Probably! Most people who have a good experience or have an experience they are used to with Celebrity, won't go on to write another good review.

 

With that said, if you have the same offers I just booked with. Depending on your cruise length it may be more advantages to book with the $300 OBC. Only if you have the same promotions.

 

Either way you will have a great time!

[janetz]

Just back two weeks ago from a week on the Silhouette. I don't know what the expectations from the negative reviewers were, but our experience was outstanding! I LOVE Celebrity! There's something about 5-star living and stellar service that one cannot dislike.

 

We upgraded from the Classic to the Premium drink package before we boarded---great decision! We had fabulous martinis, great wines, wonderful specialty teas, all without worrying about the price. The Lawn Club Grille, the Porch and QSine are not to be missed!

 

We loved playing Bocce on the lawn on the top deck. We had massages at Port charges early one morning. After our massages, we lounged in the spa's relaxation area, sipped tea and had front-row seats while we docked in St. Kitt's. AMAZING!

 

Love Bocce. How often is it offered? :)