Eastern Carib Silhouette Feb 15, 2015 review

[newdinndo]

Hello! A little background about the hubs and I. We are in our mid to late 30’s. This is my 3rd cruise (and 3rd together) and my DH’s 6th. We have previously sailed RCL Oasis of the Seas and Celebrity Solstice. While we prefer cruising we find that we need about a 2 year break in between so as to not wear ourselves out of the islands or the gluttony. We traveled this time with my in-laws who were on a semi-retired vacation all around Florida at the time. They have cruised many times prior.

 

Since my in-laws were traveling Florida we parked their car at ‘Park by the Ports’ and took a shuttle to the port with 8 other people. We were the last to be dropped at the Celebrity terminal with stops at the Princess and RCL terminal.

 

Embarkation:

 

While the Princess terminal was a complete disaster, we still were quickly transported to our area. Check in was a breeze and we were off and running to the ship about 11:00 am. I think it took the staff longer to take our photos then it did for us to walk on board. No wait, no lines, nothing. Straight onto the ship and up to the bars to start our beverage package damage.

 

Ship:

 

Beautiful and incredibly clean. We had no issues with sanitation or feeling like the ship was rundown. Always saw the crew cleaning with a smile.

 

Beverage Package:

 

We received the Classic free when we booked so we upgraded to the Premium so that we could sample all of the ‘fun’ drinks. We loved the Martini Bar although we don’t drink martini’s we do drink wine. The Molecular bar was a favorite of mine – but get there early in the week, takes everyone else a while to find it, so later in the week it’s busier. Try the ‘Coming up Roses’ amazing! While everyone associates the beverage packages with booze, we also found it incredibly great to have the luxury of all the water we could consume. With the drinking and hot weather, we always had jugs of water with us. If you are a beer drinker, the quickest way to get a beer is to go to the Mast Grill, the pool bar is always busy, but you can get one quickly there.

 

Food:

 

Room Service - We ordered three times– breakfast food was cold and not that great, while we aren't breakfast people we still needed to eat. But it was just a little something to tide us over. We ordered late night room service once – now it could have been the drinks prior but this food was pretty great. We got the soup (love), pasta (really good), chicken fingers (skewers). I’m glad we only did that later in the week, could have spelled trouble for our waistlines had we figured that out earlier.

 

Mast Grill – Loved this place. I only had the turkey burgers and fries, which were excellent. The service was quick and the staff was friendly. My DH tried the hot dog (not that great), the cheeseburger (he enjoyed) and the turkey burgers – we both anticipated 11:30 when they would open!

 

Oceanview Buffet – lunch and dinner. We had lunch here a few times, but mainly stuck to the Mast Grill. The lunch was the same thing every day. I dined on the chicken fajitas, fruit and somehow managed to eat the chips and cheese – even though the cheese had little to no flavor, I still ate it. If you know me, you would know I’m obsessed with cheese dip. We also had the sandwiches one day, but weren't fully impressed with those. We had dinner here one night as we had had a little too much fun that day and didn’t want to sit in the dining room. Dinner was a lot of the leftovers from lunch we felt. I had the same thing I would have for lunch if I were in there. It was just so-so. Glad we only ate in there 1 night.

 

Lawn Club Grill – A fantastic dining experience. And it’s true, they will stuff you completely and send you on your way. We had a great waiter (apologies as I cannot remember his name – he was from the Philippines though). There were 4 of us, so we got 2 pizzas, each got a steak (3 filets, 1 rib eye) and then split all of the kabobs (Scallops, Chicken, Shrimp and Beef). We skipped the salad bar as we knew we were getting far too much food as it was. The pizzas were excellent, the Filet was very tasty and the scallop, shrimp and beef kabobs were great. The chicken kabobs weren't cooked fully. The Lobster Mac and Chz was excellent as well, and this is coming from someone who doesn't like lobster – the cheese made up for it and covered it up enough. The finale was the Chocolate Chip Cookie – we ordered 3 at our table. Incredible!!! Not to be missed if you dine there. It was a great experience. None of us helped cooked but you do have that option, for us it was a chance to relax and watch.

 

Main Dining Room – We ate here 4 or 5 times, the food was good. Not great, but pretty good. We were bummed they didn't offer more pasta options, as we usually like to get a meal ourselves and then split the pasta. We only saw pasta 2 nights. Overall we did enjoy the MDR experience but have noticed from previous cruises the quality and options have become a bit downgraded and limited. Our favorite meals was the DH had the beef cheeks (actual cheeks), and for me was the Israeli couscous – Fantastic flavor – ate it all up!

 

Service:

 

The service was pretty good on ship. The bartenders were all very good and quick enough for our standards. The Martini Bar is always a little slower but those guys are moving around as quickly as they can, it seems. (Side note – anyone on previous cruises notice how one of the bartenders at the martini bar looks an awful lot like Johnny Football? – we couldn't help ourselves so we had to teach him the money sign and told him to Google him – he was our favorite bartender!) The service in the dining room was pretty good, but where they lacked was the drink waiter/waitress. After dinner drinks took forever to get. The sommelier/wine came a lot faster, thankfully.

 

Room:

 

We had a port side balcony on the 7th floor overlooking the life boats – not the best view, but if you looked straight out – you barely noticed the orange boats:D. Our room was very well kept. Toni, our room steward, did a fantastic job. The only issue we had in our room was our toilet didn’t want to flush all the time. It could have been operator error but by mid-week, it didn’t seem to be an issue anymore. The location of our room was pretty quiet, never awoke to any noises nor heard any of the neighbors, everyone around us was pretty quiet, even on their balconies.

 

Entertainment:

 

We only attended 1 show – the cirque style show and while we’ve seen enough of these, they just don’t hold our attention anymore. We watched for about 30 mins and decided to leave quietly. We attended the New Year’s Eve party and enjoyed it. The band was pretty great, this night, and we danced until they stopped. We had plans to attend the Mask party but got caught up in dinner, so missed it. Other than the NYE party we thought the music pretty much stunk. The duo that played the Martini bar were pretty great, but it took them forever to set up, by the time they were set up, we only heard 2 or 3 songs, then their set was over or we were off to dinner. The Vibes, other than the NYE party, were terrible. While I feel bad for saying this, they just were. Their set was 45 mins long, they always started late and ALWAYS ended 5-10 mins early. So 30 mins of music. They would play poolside and although they took requests, they played slow versions of everything, even taking a request for Pink Floyd – ***…no one wants to hear that. The last sea day the DJ had the pool area rocking, playing excellent music from The Beach Boys to Bruno Mars, then the Vibes took over and completely crashed the party. It made all of us wonder if this is something the entertainment director wants? Not to have too much fun, which might lead to something worse? Not sure, but if that’s the case, we are all adults who are looking to enjoy and have a good time – which a lot of times circles around good music – so give us some good music! The Vibes, in my opinion, were not worth it.

 

Ports:

 

San Juan, St Kitts and St Marten – San Juan and St Kitts were new to me (St Kitts to my DH). We didn’t have anything planned for these ports except St Marten.

 

San Juan – we bummed around Old San Juan looking for some good local food as well as drinks. Found some empanadas and local beer and enjoyed a few of those before heading back to the ship - next time we’ll for sure check out the Fort(s).

 

St Kitts – we hailed a cab to South Friars Bay to see the smaller beach bars and enjoy the beach ($4/person) – after being dropped at Carambola we embarked down the beach to the smaller bars. There were only 2 open or still existing, the waves were pretty rough down here and the beach was full of seaweed, so after 1 drink we headed back to Carambola for the rest of our time here. The in-laws rented 2 chairs so we hovered by them. The weather was somewhat rainy with showers passing and then peaks of sun. Food is very expensive here – so we didn’t eat, liquid diet, which the beers weren’t that expensive. We stayed about 3 hours and then headed back to the port. We split up so the in-laws could shop and we could eat – then came the downpours. We went to 3 different bars, none of them served food, so soaking wet, we made our way back to the ship to eat. Turkey burger coming right up!

 

St Marten – Our favorite port. We hailed a cab ($8/person) with another couple from a different ship (there were 6 in port that day) to Maho Beach. We spent the day at the bar overlooking the beach area – buckets of beer were a steal at 6 for $16. We had a great time watching the planes come in and take off. It’s insane standing in the water while a plane flies right over head – love that place. After a few hours we took a taxi back to the boardwalk area to get some lunch, do some shopping and people watch. After that we walked back to the pier/port area – it’s about a 10 minute walk. St Marten is such a pretty island, we have done the island tour in the past and this time just wanted to see the planes. St Marten is an island where we would go back for a week or more!

 

Alcoves:

 

We rented an alcove for the second to last sea day – we arrived about 9:30 am – our waitress met us there and advised us how the day would go. You order drinks or cheese/fruit plate through the telephones, drink service does take a little bit, but it’s certainly manageable. We were able to enjoy about 2-3 hours of the alcoves and then the rain came. While we were hoping for just a shower then sunshine, it continued to rain. We finally bailed after about 30 mins of wind and rain – we called on the phone to see about a refund and they were happy to oblige, although we weren’t sure how much.

 

Guest Services:

 

We had 2 opportunities to discuss things with them and both times were incredibly quick and easy. We had a charge on our cards for drinks at the Martini bar and because we have the premium package we shouldn’t see any charges – they were quickly removed when we brought it to their attention. The other time was inquiring about the refund for the alcoves. I believe we got about 50% back or a little more – which we thought was more than fair. Stinks that the weather was so bad and we couldn’t enjoy them more.

 

Overall:

 

We had a wonderful time – we always do, and while we might complain about certain things here and there, we never let it ruin our day or trip. The service was great, the staff and crew were fun to meet and all very nice. The Silhouette is a beautiful ship and Celebrity still knows how to put on the glitz and glam when they want. Cruising is something we love and look forward to doing more of in the future!

[ailetoile]

Thanks so much for the review! We board Silhouette in just over two weeks... Can't wait! :D

 

One question: Was your drink package honored while you were in the Alcoves? Or were beverages a la carte if they were served to you in the Alcoves? I'd like to add this information to my FAQ thread :)

[newdinndo]

Ailetoile - the beverage package was offered in the Alcoves. The server will just ask for your card(s) when they bring the drinks. You also can get a fruit and cheese plate, which is included. We went to the Oceanview to grab some things for breakfast as additional food is not included.

 

Hope this helps!

Edited March 3, 2015 by newdinndo

[mlrandpkm]

Great review! We were on the same cruise and drew many parallels. Check in was a BREEZE! Entertainment was ok, most of the time. The MDR was ok (it didn't live up to our expectations but it was ok). Mast Grill had great burgers!! (I forgot about them, thanks for reminding me after just trying to get my stomach back into it's regular routine!! :D

Martini and Molecular bar were our favourites!

Thanks again!

[A1A]

Thanks for taking the time to write such a well thought out review, appreciate your efforts! Would love to have a little more info about "Park by the Ports" as we may drive to the port this trip. How was the overall product, facilities, cost, transportation wait time, etc... any info would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

Ken

[C&F]

I totally agree about the music situation on Celebrity. I think Vibes was on our Reflection cruise last April. As a musician in a similar type band, I thought they had potential, but never hit a stride. I totally agree about the Pink Floyd!! I may even like some Floyd, but it NOT cruise pool deck type music. NCL has great bands and may be swaying me over there for that reason!

Glad you enjoyed your cruise and thanks for the review!

[atlgants]

Great review! We head out on March 29th on the Eastern. Did you save any of the daily guides by any chance?

[ailetoile]

Ailetoile - the beverage package was offered in the Alcoves. The server will just ask for your card(s) when they bring the drinks. You also can get a fruit and cheese plate, which is included. We went to the Oceanview to grab some things for breakfast as additional food is not included.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Thanks for the answer. Much appreciated! :D

[Allhans Ondeck]

Thanks for sharing. We have the same attitude when it comes to vacationing.

[newdinndo]

A1A - in regards to Park by the Ports, my in-laws had scheduled everything with them but I feel it was pretty cheap ($14/day?) but when you arrive it's sort of like renting a car. They have you go over your car pointing out any Knicks or dents and then they put a number on your car that indicates the date you return. Another couple that was there has used them often and was always happy with them. You load up and they drop you off. On your return, you wear a brown or green sticker and once you have all of your luggage they are outside waiting for you. Once we were picked up we did make a stop at every terminal looking for more people, which got a little old as it can be a bit of a scene. After about 45 mins of checking all the ports we headed off. Before we arrived they had moved the car up to the front so it was ready to go. When we got there we were in our car about 5 mins later.

 

Hope this helps!

[newdinndo]

Atlgants - I'm sorry, none of the dailies survived. As my mother-in-law said, "I can always find you by the size of your hair" it was incredibly humid and the dailies would disintegrate throughout the day ;)

[Atiyah9369]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review. My mom and I are taking this same cruise on 4/12(her birthday). I am now looking forward to Mast Grill and Lawn Club Grill!

[CruiserFromSC]

Thanks for taking the time to write such a well thought out review, appreciate your efforts! Would love to have a little more info about "Park by the Ports" as we may drive to the port this trip. How was the overall product, facilities, cost, transportation wait time, etc... any info would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

Ken [/quote

 

Hi Ken,

 

Just a little additional information about parking. We just got back from the Feb 15 sailing on the Silhouette and parked right at the port. It is directly across from the terminal and super easy to get in and out. The cost was $15 a day which is very comparable to "Park by the Ports" but, in my opinion, much more convenient. You walk right off the ship to your car and you're gone. Hope this helps!

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review.

[butterbread]

Awesome review!

[foodgirl]

Great review!! We will be boarding soon 4/5 and can't wait!!

[Feelin' Nauti']

Nice review.

 

 

As for entertainment, have to say out of all the cruise lines that I have sailed on, Celebrity needs improvement in this area.

To please all passengers Celebrity should consider a nice mix of music in all the eras.

No one wants to hear the same songs night after night. :rolleyes:

On our Reflection cruise last year, the band played the same songs over and over again and wore the same clothes too. :eek:

And in the Disco bar (sorry forget the name) All they played was latin music.

[C&F]

Nice review.

 

 

As for entertainment' date=' have to say out of all the cruise lines that I have sailed on, Celebrity needs improvement in this area.

To please all passengers Celebrity should consider a nice mix of music in all the eras.

No one wants to hear the same songs night after night. :rolleyes:

On our Reflection cruise last year, the band played the same songs over and over again and wore the same clothes too. :eek:

And in the Disco bar (sorry forget the name) All they played was latin music.[/quote']

 

 

When the band DID play!! Or for more than 15 minutes.