Fresh off 12-nights British Isles on Silhouette

[clandestino_usr]

Hi all,

 

Here's a quick wrap-up from our recent 12-night cruise around the British Isles on the Silhouette. This is our 5th cruise with Celebrity and 4th on the Silhouette. I'll try to keep it as short as possible.

 

Topics not covered in this express review: Casino, Park West art auctions, Blu restaurant, Fitness club, X-Club, Spa and evening shows (we only saw the one with the motown-style gentlemen).

 

What was good

 

• Penthouse suite: Oh my! Now that's what I call to indulge one self. It was expensive but totally worth it. The only downside is that after Royal suite (last year) and Penthouse, it will be difficult to step down, either on Celebrity or on another company. Special mention to our butler, Orlando, who did a wonderful job making our experience as great as possible.
  
• Baby Piano in the suite: So our son had all time to practice - and the piano was tuned before we came in.
  
• Ports of call: Inverness/Invergordon, Edimburg, Dublin, Liverpool and Cork are beautiful places and we had some wonderful time there. We took a Celebrity tour on Inverness and went on our own in the other cities. We stayed on board while in Belfast (we had no interest at all there) and in Zeebruge (we're from Belgium, so we know the place already).
  
• Quality of service: As usual, Celebrity knows how to treat its guests right.
  
• Food (quality and quantity): My scale hates me after 12 days. Murano is a must-go as always, Sushi on 5 became a second home, Lawn Club Grill resulted in way too many calories...
  
• Music: One name to remember : Shaun Brown & The Badness. Man, those guys know how to swing!
  
• The Captain: If that guy ever quits commanding cruise ships, he definitely has to turn to stand-up comedy. We laughed to tears to every single speech he made. Brilliant!
  

 

What's so-so (or could have been better)

 

• Michael's Club Concierge: I won't go in details, but let's just say Niko made me deeply regret Lawrence. No experience, not enough empathy and IMHO not fitted for the job - or maybe too early.
  
• Preformatted speech of the staff: Next time I cruise, I seriously think about getting a T-shirt that says "I'm fine and I had a great day, thanks for not asking for the 300th time today". And also that "Hello, I'm XXX and I'll be to waiter today/tonight, thanks for joining us on the marvelous Celebrity Silhouette, how can I assist you?" I can't bear to hear again and again.
  

 

What was definitely not OK

 

• Urge to buy everywhere, everytime: Cruise after cruise, it feels like Celebrity's only goal is to make you buy things and services. More and more. Again and again. Even the daily program shifted over years from a real overview of things to do, with hints and advices, to a sales catalog where "buy" is written down every three words. Sad.
  
• Internet on board: This is becoming a no-go for me. Although you're supposed to unplug while in vacation, you can't always do so. Having to wait endlessly to get an email, or beeing unable to stream you favorite music from Spotify is a serious issue today. Celebrity should really roll its sleeves and fix what is one of the worst internet at sea experience I've ever known.
  

 

That's all for now - I told you it would be short. Now if you have questions, fire at will :-)

[Keith1010]

Thanks for your review.

 

Sounds like it was a great cruise.

 

Keith

[BigAl94]

Astounded that you stayed on board in Belfast and missed everything that Northern Ireland has to offer!

[floridatravelersforlife]

Did you go to the Tattoo in Edinborough? How was it?

[chemmo]

We did our first S class PH earlier this year and agree re the wow....the total decadence of space is memorable! Glad you enjoyed.

 

So sorry re your Michael's Club concierge experience. To us, our pre and post dinner time spent in Michael's and the care of the concierge have been major factors in us continuing to cruise suites on Celebrity....What exactly was the issue? Lack of organised events? Ambiance? Did you raise concerns with anyone?

 

I do understand what you mean about repeated phrases by staff. However, rather than it annoying me I actually find it quite endearing....bearing in mind the language diversity of staff I do think it is wonderful that all staff try their best to converse!

 

One good thing about cruising in a higher suite is you are a little protected from high pressure sales as you already have the premium drinks package, unlimited dining and internet.....There isn't that much more they can sell you unless you attend sales type events.

 

We are on Silhouette next year, we will be following closely your responses on this thread, thank you for submitting.

[floridaag]

We were also on the cruise although in Sky Suite. We had a wonderful time.

[Saab4444]

Did you go to the Tattoo in Edinborough? How was it?

 

 

 

Crowded, expensive and very wet!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[floridaag]

We thought it fantastic. Although Saab4444 is correct that it was crowded, expensive and wet. 1 and 2 were going to happen no matter what. Rain in Scotland is not exactly a surprise either, although it certainly would have been preferable to not have the heavy rains. We were lucky to have wonderful weather for most of our trip.

[floridaag]

Astounded that you stayed on board in Belfast and missed everything that Northern Ireland has to offer!

 

We had a wonderful day in Northern Ireland.

[MrsNorman]

Astounded that you stayed on board in Belfast and missed everything that Northern Ireland has to offer!

 

I think you really missed out by your decision to stay on board in Belfast. It is a wonderful city with lots of interest and the surrounding countryside is beautiful. We have spent many a vacation in that area. It's great! do go!

[kevinyork]

I'm not sure what the OP would prefer instead of the "pre-formatted" speech of the staff. For them to be silent when they meet you, for them all to pull a phrase from a jar in the morning and that's the only one they are allowed to use that day so they don't all say the same thing?

 

We love the Celebrity staff and their efforts to be friendly. If they passed guests and were miserable and didn't interact then they would lose their jobs.

 

How many servers in a diner in the US start every interaction with 'Hi, how are you today?" Do they get downgraded as it's a repetitive phrase? Maybe staying in a Penthouse Suite has made you lose touch with normality?

 

The more I touch base with this forum, the more it seems posts are from suites and above which given these are a minority of guests onboard that doesn't give a representative view of an average passenger .

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited August 24, 2017 by kevinyork

[chemmo]

Kevinyork....our feeling re staff totally match yours, we are regular suite cruisers and have even on an odd occasion managed to treat ourselves to the PH....Please note my earlier comments on this post. The main reason Celebrity remains our cruise choice is like you "we love the Celebrity staff and their efforts to be friendly".

[riclop]

Thanks for the wrap-up.

[DYKWIA]

We had a wonderful day in Northern Ireland.

 

I had reason to visit Belfast a few years ago. It really surprised me and did away with any preconceptions I had. Very interesting city and well worth a visit.

[easyboy]

Thanks for the feedback.

[clandestino_usr]

About Belfast, we've been there before when spending holidays in North Ireland a while ago. We know the place, the surroundings and we've seen what has to be seen. Maybe we'll go back again one day but on this cruise, there was no need to spoil a nice occasion to have the whole ship just for ourselves.

 

About the staff, I don't criticize the people, I criticize the spirit. Cruising in suites has certainly not made us "lose touch wich normality". And to be honest, I prefer by far when people are natural and can speak openly and freely instead of repeating the same sentences again and again like robots - my taste, my point of vue and my opinion. And I'm not american, so it has to be a cultural thing to some extent.

[clandestino_usr]

I might add one thing in the "what was definitely not ok" section. We're from Belgium. Belgium has three national languages: french, flemish and german (plus english since it's the heart of Europe and home to the european institutions). But after 4 cruises with Celebrity, after repeatedly explaining that not all people in Belgium speak flemish and that we speak french, after stating it again at the beginning of our cruise to the MC concierge and to our butler, despite the fact that beeing in the PH suite makes all the staff know you perfectly and call you by your name from the first day of the cruise, how come that the Celebrity management keeps on communicating with us in flemish, again and again? That's annoying and to some extent even insulting.

[ceuisecrusader]

dont you speak flemish?

[clandestino_usr]

dont you speak flemish?

 

Yes I do (more or less), as do my wife and my son (who are much more fluent than me). That said, we're french-native speakers and we reported it repeatedly to Celebrity, who promised us they'd "take it in account for the next time", but obviously completely forgot about it. Hence the frustration, after 5 cruises not beeing listened to.

[Swampduck]

I think you really missed out by your decision to stay on board in Belfast. It is a wonderful city with lots of interest and the surrounding countryside is beautiful. We have spent many a vacation in that area. It's great! do go!

 

 

Your are spot on Mrs Norman, thank you for your kind words.

Indeed they did miss out - and to think they have seen all that Northern Ireland has to offer... well I am speechless!!! :rolleyes:

 

To say Belfast & Northern Ireland have came a long way is an understatement & I am thankful to say, we have turned a corner. 2017 Belfast Harbour has welcomed 150,000 cruise visitors and is the gateway to very many sites and attractions Northern Ireland has to offer our international friends.

[Hydrokitty]

Crowded, expensive and very wet!

and Floridaag:

 

Very interested in hearing more about Tattoo since we're going in August, 2018. Specifically:

 

1. did you dock or tender?

2. was there a specific time by which you had to be on board the ship on the over-night? I heard that if you tender they sometimes stop tender service at midnight.

3. did you get your Tattoo tix through Celebrity, and if so did they sell out really fast? OR

4. did you do the Tattoo with a private company and if so, if you were satisfied, which one? If you were NOT satisfied, why?

 

 

Thanks in advance. HK

[bigbeergut]

and Floridaag:

 

Very interested in hearing more about Tattoo since we're going in August, 2018. Specifically:

 

1. did you dock or tender?

2. was there a specific time by which you had to be on board the ship on the over-night? I heard that if you tender they sometimes stop tender service at midnight.

3. did you get your Tattoo tix through Celebrity, and if so did they sell out really fast? OR

4. did you do the Tattoo with a private company and if so, if you were satisfied, which one? If you were NOT satisfied, why?

 

 

Thanks in advance. HK

 

 

We were there in 2017 and the Tattoo is a great evening.

 

1. Edinburg is a tender port and a very long tender ride. Edinburg is also very interesting place, easy to arrange your own trips and a walkable town. However the tender process has been a disaster for the last two years. There are long waits to get on the tender and very long waits after the Tattoo with some passengers not getting back onto the ship until 2:30 am. If I were to do it again I would find a hotel room and overnight in Edinburg, as I remember it wasn't that expensive. That will make the Tattoo evening much more enjoyable and also make the second day much more enjoyable. Your second day in Edinburg can start earlier and you won't be as tired.

 

2. There are always Celebrity people at the port, I wouldn't worry about getting stranded at night because they will be operating very late just to get everyone back on-board

 

3. The Celebrity tickets are very expensive, sell out fast and are not as good of seats as you can purchase on your own. We purchased our own tickets, due to a very limited supply most people went this route. Celebrity only had a couple hundred tickets for a Signature event, this just didn't seem fair but that's a topic for another time. There really are no bad tickets for the Tattoo but the best tickets are high in the end zone, just below the Royal boxes. Many people became Friends of the Tattoo for a year so they could purchase their tickets 2 weeks before the general public. If I remember correctly tickets went on sale early in December at about 10:00 am in Scotland or about 4 am on the east coast. Details are on the Tattoo website. The online purchases didn't work well and most people needed to call in. You may want to upgrade your international calling package for a month. You may also want to consider one of the dinner or tasting packages. This may seem like a lot of effort, but I guarantee it will be worth it. If you don't stay overnight you will also need to find a taxi ride back to the port.

 

4. Again, we made reservations ourselves and it really wasn't that difficult. I think most people followed this approach because of the limited supply of tickets from Celebrity.

[cruzers j&n]

Dear Clandestino,

 

Many thanks for your informative review. I read it with much interest as the British Isles is an area that we have not yet visited. Quick question though: You mentioned you were traveling with your son. May I ask how old he is? I too have a son who is currently 11 years old and I was hesitant to book this sailing this summer, fearing that the ports of call would be too boring for him. Did you find that they were many children on your particular sailing, or did the passengers skew more to the 60+? FYI, we had we had nearly 600 kids on our cruise in mid August over in the Mediterranean. I would have thought this number of children is overwhelming but surprisingly we really didn't see many of them unless it's a sea day. Thx in advance.

[ggo85]

I've read lots of Celebrity reviews detailing issues with unruly kids in July/August on many European routes. We were on an RCL cruise last year out of Southampton that departed the first day of the British summer holidays (something we hadn't realized). It was so miserable that we came close to disembarking early and have almost sworn off late summer cruises in Europe.

 

We had been told/assumed kids were not as prevalent on Celebrity so booked your cruise next summer. But, as noted, we've seen reviews that say ships are filled with (sometimes unruly kids). Thus, I'm curious as to whether there were lot of kids on this itinerary at that time of year and whether they were generally under control.

 

[Note: Please don't flame me for the question or turn this into a debate about whether children are or aren't well behaved or whether that should or should not affect other passengers. I'm only curious as to whether this particular cruise had any "kid issues" as a reference point for what we personally want to do next summer.]

[Hydrokitty]

We were there in 2017 and the Tattoo is a great evening.

 

1. Edinburg is a tender port and a very long tender ride. Edinburg is also very interesting place, easy to arrange your own trips and a walkable town. However the tender process has been a disaster for the last two years. There are long waits to get on the tender and very long waits after the Tattoo with some passengers not getting back onto the ship until 2:30 am. If I were to do it again I would find a hotel room and overnight in Edinburg, as I remember it wasn't that expensive. That will make the Tattoo evening much more enjoyable and also make the second day much more enjoyable. Your second day in Edinburg can start earlier and you won't be as tired.

 

2. There are always Celebrity people at the port, I wouldn't worry about getting stranded at night because they will be operating very late just to get everyone back on-board

 

3. The Celebrity tickets are very expensive, sell out fast and are not as good of seats as you can purchase on your own. We purchased our own tickets, due to a very limited supply most people went this route. Celebrity only had a couple hundred tickets for a Signature event, this just didn't seem fair but that's a topic for another time. There really are no bad tickets for the Tattoo but the best tickets are high in the end zone, just below the Royal boxes. Many people became Friends of the Tattoo for a year so they could purchase their tickets 2 weeks before the general public. If I remember correctly tickets went on sale early in December at about 10:00 am in Scotland or about 4 am on the east coast. Details are on the Tattoo website. The online purchases didn't work well and most people needed to call in. You may want to upgrade your international calling package for a month. You may also want to consider one of the dinner or tasting packages. This may seem like a lot of effort, but I guarantee it will be worth it. If you don't stay overnight you will also need to find a taxi ride back to the port.

 

4. Again, we made reservations ourselves and it really wasn't that difficult. I think most people followed this approach because of the limited supply of tickets from Celebrity.

 

THANK YOU!! Your information is the most helpful I've seen....and exactly what I wanted. I love the idea of staying overnight following the tattoo. I'll start looking for places now. Then we can take our time leaving the Castle and have a nice Scottish breakfast and maybe take the train back to Greenoch. I've also contacted a company that will set up a day tour for us, purchase our Tattoo tix (although I LOVE the idea of becoming a member for a year, that's brilliant) and arrange for handicapped permit so I don't have to walk the hill either direction. It's good to know that Celebrity will continue running tenders until everyone is back on board....that was a little disturbing.