Best 7 day cruise -May 8-15

[Panama Mom-Mom]

Just wanted to give my 2 cents......returned home yesterday to 49 degree temps, a sure change from the 70's and 80's in Bermuda for 3 days. We had a wonderful cruise. Embarkation and Disembark went smooth and fast. The food in the main dinning was excellent. We did not experience any of the special dinning areas. We had breakfast in the Café Buffet and usually burgers, or salads for lunch. We had a verandah on the 8th deck and our cabin stewards were wonderful and kept our cabin clean and in ship-shape. We had on-board credit that carried us through the week and still had money left at the end of the cruise. Sure there were rust spots and maybe some stained carpets and furniture-how do you not have that when you are at sea with salt water and have 2000 people that are more concerned about being fed more food then they usually consume, and expect others to clean up after them.

Celebrity needs to be commended for providing an excellent experience.

Captain Kate did an excellent job-leaving on time-arriving earlier then predicted, and gave very clear and audible reports from the Bridge. The 2 guest performers-comedians and musicians were excellent.

We are experienced cruisers and have traveled with numerous lines. We find Celebrity is right up there with our favorites-HAL being first choice and Celebrity second.:)

Now- if only Celebrity would have more itineraries leaving from Bayonne.

[FlorenceItaly]

Thank you so much for sharing. We are on the July 31 Bermuda sailing. I am just curious what makes HAL your number one choice over Celebrity? Only if you feel like sharing. In addition to Celebrity we've cruised Carnival, Princess, RCI, and HAL. It has been a number of years since HAL. Celebrity is currently our cruise line of choice.

 

 

 

Marie

[CruisingChick]

Just wanted to give my 2 cents......returned home yesterday to 49 degree temps, a sure change from the 70's and 80's in Bermuda for 3 days. We had a wonderful cruise. Embarkation and Disembark went smooth and fast. The food in the main dinning was excellent. We did not experience any of the special dinning areas. We had breakfast in the Café Buffet and usually burgers, or salads for lunch. We had a verandah on the 8th deck and our cabin stewards were wonderful and kept our cabin clean and in ship-shape. We had on-board credit that carried us through the week and still had money left at the end of the cruise. Sure there were rust spots and maybe some stained carpets and furniture-how do you not have that when you are at sea with salt water and have 2000 people that are more concerned about being fed more food then they usually consume, and expect others to clean up after them.

Celebrity needs to be commended for providing an excellent experience.

Captain Kate did an excellent job-leaving on time-arriving earlier then predicted, and gave very clear and audible reports from the Bridge. The 2 guest performers-comedians and musicians were excellent.

We are experienced cruisers and have traveled with numerous lines. We find Celebrity is right up there with our favorites-HAL being first choice and Celebrity second.:)

Now- if only Celebrity would have more itineraries leaving from Bayonne.

 

Thank you so much for posting. I wholeheartedly agree with your last statement but I don't think that's ever going to happen, at least not the foreseeable future.

 

We sail in 13 days. Do you remember who your cruise director was? Thanks.

[Redtravel]

Enjoyed reading your review. I was on the previous week. Your cruise went more smoothly than ours. Having sailed in January on the Summit, we amazed at how many of the staff had changed. We did meet a few staff members from our last cruise. In Jan. we had Captain Alex. Now it is Capt. Kate. Both were excellent. Both mingled with guests. The cruise director was John. He had recently arrived on the Summit. He was very nice and did a good job. He kept things going without being obnoxious. In January, we had Ken Mills as cruise director. John was so much better than Ken. Captains Club hostess was Emma. She was filling in for Ashley. Both ladies are very friendly. Some of the servers in the MDR and Cafe Al Bacio did remember us. Some called us by name. Many of the staff were very new. We were told that there is a constant turnover.

[Clarea]

Thanks for the feedback.

[TeaBag]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise and thank you for your review. Bermuda is a lovely place to visit.

[CruisersTimesThree]

Thanks for your upbeat review.

We are sailing our favorite ship, the Summit, again in August and can't wait to board her!

 

Wouldn't it be wonderful if Celebrity offered a 10-11 night Caribbean cruise in the winter months from Bayonne!

I would love that!

Is there any reason why they don't keep a ship up north for winter sailings?

Wish someone at Celebrity would come up with the idea!

[kchownj]

I so agree with all of your comments. We do this trip annually in May and i must say this year the Bermuda weather was the best I can remember. No winds. Water was like swimming in NJ ocean at the end of July. We were in AQ and once again it didn't disappoint. All of the staff seemed friendly and content and Capt Kate was so personable. On a photo-op night my DH was given one of her stars.

[CruisingChick]

Thanks for your upbeat review.

We are sailing our favorite ship, the Summit, again in August and can't wait to board her!

 

Wouldn't it be wonderful if Celebrity offered a 10-11 night Caribbean cruise in the winter months from Bayonne!

I would love that!

Is there any reason why they don't keep a ship up north for winter sailings?

Wish someone at Celebrity would come up with the idea!

 

In Silhouette's Inaugural Season she was homeported in Bayonne for the winter doing Caribbean cruises. We did 12 nights March 17, 2012. It was great. We even had sailaway outside in NJ in March.

 

I think Celebrity does not have enough ships to keep one in NJ all year long and RCCL has to fill Anthem of the Seas all year which holds twice as many people so I don't think they want the competition.

 

JMO.

[Panama Mom-Mom]

Thank you so much for sharing. We are on the July 31 Bermuda sailing. I am just curious what makes HAL your number one choice over Celebrity? Only if you feel like sharing. In addition to Celebrity we've cruised Carnival, Princess, RCI, and HAL. It has been a number of years since HAL. Celebrity is currently our cruise line of choice.

 

 

 

Marie

 

HAL is our favorite because of the itineraries, the cabins seem bigger, and we believe the service in the main dining room is tops. If Celebrity offered more itineraries sailing from New Jersey, we would most likely stay with them.

[Panama Mom-Mom]

Thank you so much for posting. I wholeheartedly agree with your last statement but I don't think that's ever going to happen, at least not the foreseeable future.

 

We sail in 13 days. Do you remember who your cruise director was? Thanks.

 

Cruise Director was John Graham and his assistance-OZ.

Very good. Fun time on the pool deck-officers vs passengers for pool volley-ball.

[lvz2cruz]

We have sailed HAL alot lately and are spoiled by the room ready at 11:30 and later being able to stay in cabin till disembarkation group is called.

What did you do with your carryons when you boarded on Sunday? Were you able to put in one of the closets in your cabin? Likewise, were you able to leave till you left the following Sunday?

I would be interested in any other comparisons you have between the two. We love Celebrity and switched to HAL because of preferred itineraries and it is now "home" to us. Looking forward to sailing Summit this Sunday though.

[BILLP1]

We also enjoyed this cruise. Third year in a row. Booked for next May.

[Rosethorn40]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. Your weather sounds like it was so much better than ours. The only true, beautifully sunny day was our last day at sea, but it was chilly. Our first day in Bermuda was fine, mostly cloudy, but the big fluffy white clouds. Day two was so windy that they had cancelled all water activities (Snorkeling, catamaran trips, boat rides, etc.) and as widely reported, we left a day early because of expected deteriorating weather conditions on Friday. Still managed to have a relaxing and enjoyable time.

 

I really like the cruise director John (His 70's Trivia Show was great), and Oz is a great assistant.

 

As much as we enjoyed our cruise (First time on Celebrity), right now I would have to give the edge to HAL as well. Food was better IMO, and I love how the staff calls you by name by the second day.

[dkjretired]

In Silhouette's Inaugural Season she was homeported in Bayonne for the winter doing Caribbean cruises. We did 12 nights March 17, 2012. It was great. We even had sailaway outside in NJ in March.

 

I think Celebrity does not have enough ships to keep one in NJ all year long and RCCL has to fill Anthem of the Seas all year which holds twice as many people so I don't think they want the competition.

 

JMO.

 

Add to the fact that the Silhouette's inaugural season in NJ did not do well. They had some of the lowest prices I have every seen on the ship and loads and loads of upgrades.

[dkjretired]

We have sailed HAL alot lately and are spoiled by the room ready at 11:30 and later being able to stay in cabin till disembarkation group is called.

What did you do with your carryons when you boarded on Sunday? Were you able to put in one of the closets in your cabin? Likewise, were you able to leave till you left the following Sunday?

I would be interested in any other comparisons you have between the two. We love Celebrity and switched to HAL because of preferred itineraries and it is now "home" to us. Looking forward to sailing Summit this Sunday though.

 

Holland American has an advantage going into Hamilton while Celebrity has a huge advantage for most people due to their smoking policy.

[CruisingChick]

Add to the fact that the Silhouette's inaugural season in NJ did not do well. They had some of the lowest prices I have every seen on the ship and loads and loads of upgrades.

 

Really? Our fare wasn't low. It was well over $110 pp per day for an inside cabin category 10, but we really paid for an 11 since we get Captains Club 1 cat upgrade. We've gotten that category much, much cheaper on other sailings/ships.

Edited May 18, 2016 by CruisingChick

[Muushka]

Add to the fact that the Silhouette's inaugural season in NJ did not do well. They had some of the lowest prices I have every seen on the ship and loads and loads of upgrades.

 

We had booked a 12 night on Silhouette from NJ in 2012, C2, I think it was $1900 each. Not too bad.

Then the good news came. We were able to upgrade to an S2 for $300 each.

Sold!:D

[richsea]

I'd also love to see longer cruises out of Bayonne year round. Don, I sure don't recall Silouhette's prices being depressed when she sailed out of Bayonne. We watched fares all winter, particularly in J/F hoping for them to come down, but they never did.

Edited May 18, 2016 by richsea