Photo Review: Celebrity Silhouette 2/7/16 Western Caribbean

[tenmile]

Thank you for sharing such wonderful pictures from your cruise. We were on the Silhouette the week before your cruise (Jan 31-Feb 7). We, too, had a poor experience in Future Cruises. We made a point of booking a future cruise before the last day. Our staff member, "Roy," rushed us to make a decision, and when I went to bed that night, I wasn't sure I booked the cruise we wanted. The next morning (last sea and cruise day) I checked our cruise reservation print out and it was in someone else's name! So, I had to return to Future Cruises with the last day masses waiting to see Roy and have him correct his mistake. Of course, it affected billing to another couples' account, etc. At least I was able to change our reservation and book the cruise we wanted, but that was not how I wanted to spend time on my last day.

I am sorry you had such a bad experience in the MDR. We had select dining and ate every night in the MDR. We had excellent service from our waiters, somelliers, and those pouring water. Our food came promptly and hot, our orders were always correct, and we were always asked if we needed anything else. Our waiters were very friendly. Apparently the serving area one is seated in makes a difference, but it shouldn't. You and your husband were too kind when asked if everything was okay. We would have spoken with the maitre'd. He needs to know if his staff is performing poorly.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise despite some drawbacks:). Again, thanks for sharing such great pictures and comments.

[weebo]

Heather, I've really enjoyed your posts on your cruises. The one from your trip to Southern Caribbean was especially helpful as we are on that same itinerary this coming December.

 

One question for you... where do you get the cute sundresses you wear over a bathing suit??? I'm looking for the same type of sundress.

[Emperor Norton]

Thank you for the review.

[HeatherC430]

Service:

 

Clearly I had a few bad experiences I’ve already spoken about in regards to service (Future Cruise Desk and the one time we went to the main dining room with our wait staff), however, most everyone else we came in contact with were friendly and attentive onboard. Our room steward was outstanding (technically I think he was our assistant room steward, but he was the only one we ever saw during the week, and the only one who helped us). A few of the bar tenders would go out of their way to serve you as well. In general, most of the staff onboard seemed pleasant and were happy to help you.

 

 

Entertainment:

 

We did not attend any of the shows onboard. With the exception of the first night (due to the SuperBowl) each night there was the same show listed below at both 7 & 9 pm.

 

Here’s an overview of the main shows each night based on the Celebrity Today:

 

• Night 1 – Superbowl followed by Comedian Ralph Harris

• Night 2 – Celebrity Showtime: Cosmopolitan

• Night 3 – Celebrity Showtime: Tenors of Rock

• Night 4 – Ronn Lucas “The Man Who Can Make Anything Talk” (ventriloquist)

• Night 5 – Celebrity Showtime: Vocalist Savannah Smith

• Night 6 – Celebrity Showtime: LIFE

• Night 7 – The Comedy of Al Ducharme

 

I must say, I was a bit disappointed in the House Band (Front Row). Typically the bands onboard will be visible throughout the week and we normally really enjoy their music selection (especially during sail-aways). It seemed as though the band would only ever play for 45 minutes at a clip (either during the sail-away timeframe) or in the Grand Foyer (again for only 45 minutes at a time). Normally, the bands will play upbeat music some of which they’ll play with Caribbean tones – because, well you’re in the Caribbean. Something about this House Band just wasn’t right. The song choices were often Oldies (and not “good” oldies either). Sometimes there would be breaks between their songs, rather than them playing right into the next song as we’ve experienced on our Summit cruises. As I’d look around while they were playing, it didn’t seem that anyone else was having the same thoughts as us. On the top decks you’d see people singing along (even to the songs I’ve never heard of before), or in the Grand Foyer, they’d be tearing up the dance floor. I guess it’s a matter of taste and preferences. I will say that we enjoyed all entertainment aspects better on the Summit. The weather during the week could have had something to do with this, as there were a few days where it was not very nice outside and they didn’t play when supposed to.

 

Also, most nights after we’d grab something to eat (not in main dining), we’d do the full walk all over the ship looking for things to be going on. I’d even tear out the back section of the Celebrity Today to make sure we wouldn’t miss anything. Each night without fail, after walking around and not really finding anything, we’d decided to just go back to the room early. On this ship, it was clear that they wanted to corral you into dinner in the main dining room, followed by show (or vice versa), and any of the “fun” things I would have liked to have done never seemed to start before 9:45pm. Now, I’m sure you’re thinking I’m “young” and that’s not very late, but I normally don’t stay up all that much later at home. And, normally we didn’t want to “waste” time doing nothing only to sit around waiting for something to be going on later that night. Most of the days we were up super early for our days in port also.

 

For example, I love karaoke (watching others partake, not actually singing myself), we didn’t see it once onboard because it never started before 9:45pm We never saw the DJ onboard in the dance club, because that never started until 10 or 11pm each night. There was an interactive themed deck party scheduled on the night we were in Grand Cayman, but it didn’t start until 10:30. Anyways, you get the point, it just always seemed like we were on a different schedule than everyone else onboard because we weren’t doing the 4-hour dinner/show combo each night. Our habits on this cruise wasn’t all that much different from prior cruises and we never had an issue with this in the past.

 

 

Fellow Cruisers (Summit vs. our Silhouette experience):

 

We pretty much cruise the same time each year (in February) to avoid the winter weather at home and knowing that there should be very few children onboard Celebrity during this time of year. This cruise was no exception. There was only a handful of kids that I saw onboard the entire week, which was nice. Knowing that this ship was sailing to the Caribbean like our past Summit cruises we expected those onboard to be pretty much the same as we’d experienced on the Summit. For one reason or another, our fellow cruise passengers were notably older than what we’ve seen on the Summit. On the Summit, it seemed like the vast majority of cruisers were from the U.S. or Canadian (I assume to escape the winter weather like ourselves), whereas on the Silhouette I’d say 30% (or more) of those we encountered weren’t from the U.S. or Canada. Why was this since they’re both cruises to the Caribbean, and both during the exact same week as the two years prior? Who knows? We didn’t let this impact our time, but it was disappointing that we really didn’t make friends with not a single couple onboard (whereas normally we find at least a few couples we’ll befriend).

 

 

The Silhouette (the ship itself):

 

The biggest “pro” of the ship really was the ship itself. We LOVED our stateroom. We LOVED all of the public spaces onboard. Everything was aesthetically pleasing. We thoroughly enjoyed all of the modern design elements throughout the ship. Everything was very well maintained. Coming from the Summit after 3 cruises, we really appreciated some differences on this ship. I’m sure it’s no surprise that we liked that it was bigger and newer. If everything that we’ve experienced (and loved) on our Summit cruise was on this ship with the same port intensive itineraries offered on the Summit, it would make the perfect cruise (for us). Why can’t Celebrity offer a Caribbean cruise with little or no sea days on one of their newer ships? I’ll be patiently waiting for that…

 

My only criticism of the ship and space itself was that there wasn’t enough seating in the Oceanview café and surrounding areas to eat at prime times, and the deck chairs on the Lido deck and deck above had the deck chairs all sandwiched together (and there wasn’t enough of those either). They could have more seating areas in the areas where people tend to congregate. Often times, the only empty chairs we could find were on the very top deck where the wind was pretty bad.

 

 

Overall Comments:

 

Please do not mistake any of my negative experiences or criticism, for us not having a great time. We had a wonderful time on this cruise (as we always do). While on the cruise, we only focus on having a great time together, on a beautiful ship, visiting Caribbean islands. When you think of it that way, there really isn’t much of consequence to complain about at all. However, I find that the more that I cruise, the more experiences I have to compare and contrast various elements. And thus, the more high maintenance I become! And truthfully, something I take as a negative, someone else may find as a positive (or vice versa). It’s all about finding what ship and itinerary works best for you and your traveling companions. Some of our experiences could be isolated one-time events. I know there are others on the same cruise who had a wonderful time with no complaints. We had a wonderful time too, but there was some room for improvement in various areas.

 

And while my DH likes to be as positive as possible on our vacations (knowing the man hours I put into researching, how much I look forward to our cruises each year, and how much I spend on them), even he by the end of the cruise was thinking we need to mix up our next cruise together. That was the point where he casually mentioned maybe we should do another Carnival cruise together (thinking at least that would ensure we’d have “things” to do, and some people in our age range). While we both loved the ship, the vibe wasn’t exactly the same as what we had experienced on our Summit cruises and why we’ve grown to love Celebrity. Now, Celebrity is still our line of choice, and I’m convinced the most targeted for what we look for on a cruise (compared to other lines), I just think we had some bad luck on this one. I do have a free Carnival cruise coming soon as a result of points building up for using my Carnival Mastercard. Also, I’m thinking I’m more open to trying other lines as well on future cruises.

 

I almost can’t even believe it, but we do NOT have a cruise booked for next February. We’re planning a land-based vacation (gasp) to Costa Rica. As I research, I can’t help but get wrapped up in a cruise mindset of spending a few days in each area, because I can’t commit to just one area when there’s so much to do across the country!

 

So, for now…I think that concludes my review. I’ll start going through all of the questions and comments now and respond to each one who’s commented thus far. If I missed anything you’re curious about, feel free to ask or let me know. I do have all of the Celebrity Today’s for reference if you have any specific questions.

 

 

THANKS FOR READING!

 

 

I hope this review served as help for researching an upcoming cruise for you, or as entertainment to pass the time until your next cruise! Until we meet again….Happy Cruising!

[HeatherC430]

Great review! I think my wife and I want to take the Blue Hole and Secret falls tour you write about here. Can you tell us how long the drive is? You mention it is a hike, but we are wondering just how long of a hike?

 

Thanks so much!

 

Thank you! The Blue Hole and Secret Falls really was a great day in port. I didn't really pay attention at the time, but I knew it wasn't close. I just looked it up online and it says it's 1 hour & 20 minutes from Falmouth to Blue Hole (which does seem about right). Neither way felt especially long as we talked to the driver about all things Jamaica each way (and of course gazed out the windows during the ride). On the way back, it went even faster as we stopped for lunch which broke up the drive back to port. I would definitely book the tour if you'll be in Jamaica. Thanks for reading!

[HeatherC430]

Heather, I've really enjoyed your posts on your cruises. The one from your trip to Southern Caribbean was especially helpful as we are on that same itinerary this coming December.

 

One question for you... where do you get the cute sundresses you wear over a bathing suit??? I'm looking for the same type of sundress.

 

Enjoy! I really do love the Southern Caribbean on the Summit (Clearly) - and can't wait to experience any changes after the dry dock. I have no doubt I'll find myself on the Summit again! That was a great itinerary - enjoy your cruise!

 

I must admit, I've accumulated quite a stock-pile of these cover-up sundresses! Between cruises, boating and pool parties in the summer months, I never can have too many. I tend to buy them pretty much year-round! Personally, I look for the ones with the material that is quick-dry and has SPF, and avoid the cotton varieties. I generally get them all through Amazon. The brands I've had the most luck with and tend to buy over and over again with literally every style they make are- Columbia, The North Face, Patagonia, Merrell, Prana, and Soybu. They're all considered outdoor or active women's dresses. I pretty much pack one for each "day" of the cruise and wear over my bathing suits and that's my "day" outfit. It makes packing pretty easy. Let me know if you have any further questions & thanks for reading along.

[HeatherC430]

Thank you for sharing such wonderful pictures from your cruise. We were on the Silhouette the week before your cruise (Jan 31-Feb 7). We, too, had a poor experience in Future Cruises. We made a point of booking a future cruise before the last day. Our staff member, "Roy," rushed us to make a decision, and when I went to bed that night, I wasn't sure I booked the cruise we wanted. The next morning (last sea and cruise day) I checked our cruise reservation print out and it was in someone else's name! So, I had to return to Future Cruises with the last day masses waiting to see Roy and have him correct his mistake. Of course, it affected billing to another couples' account, etc. At least I was able to change our reservation and book the cruise we wanted, but that was not how I wanted to spend time on my last day.

I am sorry you had such a bad experience in the MDR. We had select dining and ate every night in the MDR. We had excellent service from our waiters, somelliers, and those pouring water. Our food came promptly and hot, our orders were always correct, and we were always asked if we needed anything else. Our waiters were very friendly. Apparently the serving area one is seated in makes a difference, but it shouldn't. You and your husband were too kind when asked if everything was okay. We would have spoken with the maitre'd. He needs to know if his staff is performing poorly.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise despite some drawbacks:). Again, thanks for sharing such great pictures and comments.

 

You're welcome. It was my pleasure. I love re-living my cruises through these reviews. I'm glad to hear it wasn't just me who had a poor experience in the Future Cruise Desk. It really is ashame, because you'd think that would be the ONE place onboard where they should be kissing your butt, and ensuring you have the best experience possible. Also, it would only fare well for Celebrity for you to have a positive experience there, and anticipate your next cruise that much more. For all I know, my guy could have been "Roy" too - I really didn't catch his name (that was just what my DH thought his name was). Odds are it probably was the same person as they only normally have a few different associates rotating in each area onboard.

 

Yes, I'm sure my dining experience was an isolated event, and not the norm. Maybe they figured since they didn't see us the rest of the week, on the last night they weren't concerned about our "experience". Had it been any other night that it happened, we probably would have said something to the maitre'd, but it wasn't worth it to us on our last night for that to sour the evening (any further). After dinner, as I ate my gelato in a waffle cone on deck 5, I was already over it! ;)

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[Champagne Cruiser]

Thanks for another great review! Like you, we love the Summit (cruised her 6 times, the last one this past Feb, the last cruise before dry dock). The new Captain, Alex, was just amazing. We are moving out of our comfort zone and taking this exact itinerary in November only on the Reflection. I am a little nervous because I have never had anything but a perfect cruise on the Summit. (Like you I don't sweat the small stuff.)?

[Elevatorman]

Thank you for your wonderful review.

 

We have had Anytime dining on Princess, royal Caribbean and Celebrity. Perhaps because we are originally from NYC we expect that the accepted way to get a table is to tip the head waiter or Maître d. That is part of their business culture.

The first night we introduce ourselves and have an envelope ready. After that we are always ushered in and get seated immediately.

 

Happy future cruising!

[contessaMD]

Thank you for this review - we have booked this same itinerary for next February, though it will be the Reflection sailing out of Miami.

 

We were staying in a resort on the Mayan Riviera the week that you did this cruise, and from our balcony saw many many ships heading to and from Cozumel. Yours was almost certainly among the ones that we saw! That's what gave me the itch to try a cruise next year.

[KKB]

I have to a agree with a number of your observations (and humbly disagree with one:p)

 

We did Select MDR on one Princess cruise & HATED it. Very similar experience to yours--rushed & the tables ridiculously close together. We vowed then & there to not to that ever again!

 

We thought the demographic of our ship was remarkably older as well! We thought spring break, the Caribbean, should be pretty young. (we are early 50s, but prefer a younger crowd). I bet half our ship was over 70--more like our Princess trip we took the 1st week of December (where we expected it a bit more)

 

We also have noticed on Celebrity cruises that evening activities revolve around dinner/show block. We prefer to eat around 6:30 which can mess that up. And we are not into production shows. Princess never lacks for OTHER evening options besides the production show & we appreciate that. The 1st 2 nights we were in bed early & were having the same thoughts as you--there is NOTHING going on. We looked more closely to later activities & shifted our schedule. Karaoke was packed & had fun with the band & DJ later in the evening.

 

We really liked Front Row. I did hate that they never played more than 45 min. But we did catch them more up at the Sky Lounge & found them to play a nice variety of songs from 60s-today (many from the last 20 years)

 

Like you, we do not have a future cruise booked & it is killing me. But we will have 2 out of state in college next year so our personal travel looks to be pretty curtailed for the next few years...

 

Again, your report was great to read!

[jmdlv1]

Sailed on the Silhouette 3/13 and your comments on the house band were spot on.

 

It was one of my main complaints to Celebrity in the post cruise survey.

 

The band was almost invisible.There was no band on the top deck for sailaway from Fort Lauderdale.

A DJ was playing!!!

We were a multi generational group with two of my kids,their spouses and 2 grandchildren.

Everyone commented on the lack of playing time and Caribbean theme of the band.

[HeatherC430]

Thanks for another great review! Like you, we love the Summit (cruised her 6 times, the last one this past Feb, the last cruise before dry dock). The new Captain, Alex, was just amazing. We are moving out of our comfort zone and taking this exact itinerary in November only on the Reflection. I am a little nervous because I have never had anything but a perfect cruise on the Summit. (Like you I don't sweat the small stuff.)?

 

You're welcome. Thanks for following along! Yes, I'm not going to lie, I'm anxious for another port intensive Summit cruise! I will say, it was nice to get to experience a new ship, that I wasn't totally familiar with every nook and cranny. I'm sure you'll have a great cruise on the Reflection. It's on my list to try when there's an enticing itinerary. I'm not wild about sea days, so I try and keep those as minimal as possible when choosing.

[HeatherC430]

Thank you for your wonderful review.

 

We have had Anytime dining on Princess, royal Caribbean and Celebrity. Perhaps because we are originally from NYC we expect that the accepted way to get a table is to tip the head waiter or Maître d. That is part of their business culture.

The first night we introduce ourselves and have an envelope ready. After that we are always ushered in and get seated immediately.

 

Happy future cruising!

 

I'm glad you thought so - Thanks for reading! I'd be all for your "greasing the wheel" technique with the maitre'd if we would actually make it to dinner more than once or twice per week. Knowing that's all we'll go, we don't make it a priority. I've had anytime dining on all my prior Celebrity and Carnival cruises. I wouldn't have minded the wait at all (I knew it was going to be a wait on almost any night otherwise they wouldn't have initially bumped me to the late dining time without my knowledge) - it was the awful service that we had once inside MDR that is inexcusable on all accounts.

[poffles]

Love reading your reviews. Your pictures are the best, makes me feel like I'm right there with you.

 

Have done the Summit and Reflection and like you Celebrity is very much in line with what I like for a cruise but the entertainment in the evening is the biggest struggle. I have found the evenings the hardest to really find a place to settle, theater shows are just not good and the music around the ship is not really venue driven so it feels more like music the keep you moving.

 

Loved the bigger and newer style of the Reflection but didn't really feel it offered a lot more as far as 'things to do' which I found odd. Have considered going back to Carnival but having only done one Carnival cruise on the Victory on Southern Itinerary and found the ship the worst experience, line ups were felt everywhere on the ship from breakfast to sundown so reluctant to try it again. Summit was so much better and is what hooked us on Celebrity (or was it the drink package :))

 

What a tough life to have such tough decisions as what cruise to go on next LOL. Thanks again for sharing!

Edited March 28, 2016 by poffles

[HeatherC430]

Thank you for this review - we have booked this same itinerary for next February, though it will be the Reflection sailing out of Miami.

 

We were staying in a resort on the Mayan Riviera the week that you did this cruise, and from our balcony saw many many ships heading to and from Cozumel. Yours was almost certainly among the ones that we saw! That's what gave me the itch to try a cruise next year.

 

Thanks for reading along! Deciding on Celebrity as your first was a great call. I hope your cruise lives up to expectations. Reading through photo reviews will give you a good idea of what to expect. Enjoy your first cruise! :)

[HeatherC430]

I have to a agree with a number of your observations (and humbly disagree with one:p)

 

We did Select MDR on one Princess cruise & HATED it. Very similar experience to yours--rushed & the tables ridiculously close together. We vowed then & there to not to that ever again!

 

We thought the demographic of our ship was remarkably older as well! We thought spring break, the Caribbean, should be pretty young. (we are early 50s, but prefer a younger crowd). I bet half our ship was over 70--more like our Princess trip we took the 1st week of December (where we expected it a bit more)

 

We also have noticed on Celebrity cruises that evening activities revolve around dinner/show block. We prefer to eat around 6:30 which can mess that up. And we are not into production shows. Princess never lacks for OTHER evening options besides the production show & we appreciate that. The 1st 2 nights we were in bed early & were having the same thoughts as you--there is NOTHING going on. We looked more closely to later activities & shifted our schedule. Karaoke was packed & had fun with the band & DJ later in the evening.

 

We really liked Front Row. I did hate that they never played more than 45 min. But we did catch them more up at the Sky Lounge & found them to play a nice variety of songs from 60s-today (many from the last 20 years)

 

Like you, we do not have a future cruise booked & it is killing me. But we will have 2 out of state in college next year so our personal travel looks to be pretty curtailed for the next few years...

 

Again, your report was great to read!

 

I'm glad to hear I'm not alone in many of my experiences.

 

We've done Select and Anytime dining in the past and never had an issue like this in the past. I can deal with the waits, and even the super close tables, but the bad service was truly awful. I'm sure this was an isolated event or specific waiter on that given night, but there's no excuse. On a cruise, you come to expect good service at the very least in all respects of your time onboard. Unless we're cruising with a group of people that we know, I don't think we'll ever go back to set dining time with random people. We've had too many bad experiences with pairings in the past. That's probably why we only go to main dining a few times (at best) throughout the week, and just still to dining elsewhere.

 

I would agree with your estimate that more than half of the ship seemed to be over 70 on our sailing.

 

Celebrity dinner/show block - I don't recall this being such an issue on my past Summit cruises, maybe that's because on those cruises there was always something going on around the 5-6 hour on the top deck, and by the time you'd head back to the room to get ready for the evening, eat dinner, there was plenty that you could find to do around that hour? This cruise on the Silhouette, I'm wondering if our timing was just always off? We'd be ready to have a few drinks and find something to do by 7-8, and other than the show there wasn't anything else going on. At that point, we didn't want to kill time until 10 for the fun to begin. You're correct, we did notice that anything we would have probably been interested in, was in the later hours of the Celebrity program each day. We feel the same way about the shows. We'll normally go to one or two during the week (this time we didn't do any) and that's it. I think alot of the singing/dancing shows are becoming a thing of the past. One night we did try to go to a show, but there literally weren't ANY seats open (even on the very top). More evidence that everyone was doing the dinner/show routine.

 

Front Row House Band - I'm ok with your disagreement of this one. Like I said, many times as we listened to them play we'd look around and others were loving it. As with most music, I suppose alot of it is a matter of taste. It was clear that we weren't the target demographic on our cruise. We agree to disagree on this one :)

 

Thanks again for reading along, and confirming many of my opinions of this cruise! Hopefully you'll get onboard again soon! Have those kids of yours take out student loans and pay for it themselves! lol. I can say that because I've been paying back my student loans for almost 15 years (and counting!) Then again, there's probably a reason I don't have kids! ;)

[HeatherC430]

Sailed on the Silhouette 3/13 and your comments on the house band were spot on.

 

It was one of my main complaints to Celebrity in the post cruise survey.

 

The band was almost invisible.There was no band on the top deck for sailaway from Fort Lauderdale.

A DJ was playing!!!

We were a multi generational group with two of my kids,their spouses and 2 grandchildren.

Everyone commented on the lack of playing time and Caribbean theme of the band.

 

I'm glad to hear I'm not alone on the house band! Yes, many times the house band goes a long way to setting the stage of the "fun" atmosphere onboard. I normally love when they mix modern tracks with Caribbean vibes, you know...to make you feel like you're on a Caribbean cruise! lol :)

It's also nice to hear that multi-generations felt the same way.

 

Thanks for reading along!

[HeatherC430]

Love reading your reviews. Your pictures are the best, makes me feel like I'm right there with you.

 

Have done the Summit and Reflection and like you Celebrity is very much in line with what I like for a cruise but the entertainment in the evening is the biggest struggle. I have found the evenings the hardest to really find a place to settle, theater shows are just not good and the music around the ship is not really venue driven so it feels more like music the keep you moving.

 

Loved the bigger and newer style of the Reflection but didn't really feel it offered a lot more as far as 'things to do' which I found odd. Have considered going back to Carnival but having only done one Carnival cruise on the Victory on Southern Itinerary and found the ship the worst experience, line ups were felt everywhere on the ship from breakfast to sundown so reluctant to try it again. Summit was so much better and is what hooked us on Celebrity (or was it the drink package :))

 

What a tough life to have such tough decisions as what cruise to go on next LOL. Thanks again for sharing!

 

Thanks for the kind words - glad to hear you enjoyed reading! I suppose that's why we all like reading photo reviews so much, because you can almost feel as if you're there with the reader. I like taking various aspects of others cruises I read about and incorporating what I think I might like in my own cruise vacation.

 

I would agree that Carnival definitely has the edge in terms of evening activities onboard. You can always find various bands or musicians playing in different lounges, or karaoke (which is often like a comedian show in itself - lol). While it wasn't as noticeable on our Summit cruises, this Silhouette cruise left us wanting more in terms of entertainment. Or maybe it wasn't as noticeable on the Summit because it was port intensive and there didn't seem to be as much time to fill with activity? Either way, this was the very reason why my husband suggested perhaps another Carnival cruise would be in store for us?

 

I've been on the Victory out of San Juan as well, and don't recall having issues with the lines. On Carnival, alot has to do with when and where you cruise too. We definitely noticed that on the newer ships, and more expensive options, seemed to have a better demographic onboard. We never cruise during the summer months, holidays, or potential school breaks to avoid the bulk of "families" onboard as well (which often times will lead to overcrowding). Simple math, if you stuff extra kids in the rooms rather than just two adults, you're going to have more people onboard, which leads to longer lines, crowding, etc. Going forward for my DH and I, I'd probably only go on their newer ships in the future. We loved the contemporary feel of the Breeze (the first without the Joe Farcus designs). They overhauled the Sunshine with the same manner. I wouldn't mind doing either of those ships, or the newest Carnival Vista. We also loved the 2.0 options onboard the Breeze (which was new at the time when we sailed on it). Guys burgers are phenomenal - those alone are almost enough to get me back onboard! lol

 

The drink package onboard Celebrity was what initially swayed me to try Celebrity in the first place (that and the demographics onboard Carnival were starting to become difficult to handle). For the time being, I'm looking forward to next year's non-cruise vacation. Maybe just taking the year off will make us appreciate it more. Yes, life is good when toiling over vacation options is your biggest problem. Thanks for reading and sharing giving your thoughts! :D

[tweetylori]

I know I'm late to the party, but really enjoyed your review and awesome pics...thank you!

[HeatherC430]

I know I'm late to the party, but really enjoyed your review and awesome pics...thank you!

 

Glad you enjoyed reading along!:)