Norway 29th May, Silhouette review

[LadyL1]

 

My view on a very recent cruise on Silhoueete, is somewhat mixed. This was the first time in many years I have sailed during school holidays and probably the last! We were told the number of pax was 3400, so that being nearly every berth in every room utilised.

 

The good points

Our stateroom attendant was brilliant and always so courteous. The crew are all so willing and helpful.

The Silhouette seems well maintained, apart from a few saggy chair cushions.

The choice in the buffet restaurant was enormous, and the cheese available in the evening was truly amazing. Plenty of French and Italian delicacies, and well rotated.

The pools were kept clean and warm; the gym vastly underused.

Lovely ports of call in Norway, but Zeebrugge for Bruges with a mid afternoon sailaway, was not appealing for those who prefer to go on their own.

For mass catering in the MDR most of the food was very good,  but a few of the appetisers were below par.

Sushi on 5 is excellent. It was uncrowded and one really made to feel that the meal was special.

All port stops handled well by security.

Disembarkation was easy.

 

The bad points

On boarding the ship at only time available (late booking) we of course missed the Concierge lunch. Not a great deal, but it is advertised as a perk for a premium cabin, so we should expect to be able to partake if we wish, and we did wish so to do as the buffet was heaving.

Although mostly sunny, it was bitterly cold on decks most days and all pax inside. Very difficult finding a seat, especially in the evening for pre dinner drinks. The ship therefore felt very overcrowded. So with people book hogging loungers in the solarium and eating or drinking elsewhere, did not help matters.

Breakfast in the MDR was a shambles with regard to seating; each day we queued, once for over 20 minutes for a 2 top only to be lead to a table for 12 with no explanation. As we were extremely late bookers, we had to accept anytime dining. Again, some evenings the wait was dreadful. Getting wine topped up was a challenge, so having the “package” hardly worked in our favour. In our Concierge class cabin we had a notice that that this grade would be given priority seating, but this was certainly not in evidence.

I found it very annoying to see a huge number of people decline hand sanitizer, and in “help yourself eateries” it is just a recipe for disaster. Without fail the staff proffered this little hygiene help, which would no doubt have great benefit. I came home and tested COVID + after feeling ill on the last night.

Just a few of the children on this cruise could really have done with a little more parental control. We had the family from hell in the next cabin, with constant shouting and banging, starting early in the morning. On our last (and warm)  day at sea, we were sitting on our balcony, when peace was shattered as they shouted at friends on the deck above.

 

We have one more cruise booked with Celebrity in a higher grade cabin, and still looking forward to this. In school term time the atmosphere onboard should be very different. The Solstice class ships are comfortable and have some nice features to enjoy. Whether we book anymore, all depends on the autumn cruise experience. Having been used to suites on this and other lines, one can appreciate why there is such a markup for premium accommodation. Perhaps for us, it is this or small ship cruising in the future, to keep us smiling!😊

 

 

 

[chemmo]

Totally different atmosphere out of school time. Some cruises we have played ‘spot the child’…First person in our party to see one wins the game!

 

 

[CruiserByHeart]

Thank you, @LadyL1 for this informative and honest review. A sold out for weather cruise is surely a challenge for everyone. 

 

1 hour ago, chemmo said:

‘spot the child’

Great game 😉

[Obobru]

We were on the same ship a couple of weeks ago and there were 20 kids onboard but we saw only the same 4 all well behaved. Celebrity doesn't seem like a cruise for kids but in the holidays people will book anything they can get on to. 

 

We had about 2200 on our cruise and the gym was busy every morning so again depends on the make up of the guests as guess people with kids are not having time to pop to the gym. 

[Bigdrinks]

Well, I was on this same cruise (2 of us in our 60’s) and had a different experience!

 

service in the MDR was impeccable, including service from our sommelier. Had anytime dining, chose 7-7.30 and never once got a pager!  
 

Always, got a seat at any bar I cared to drink at. 
 

Most kids were better behaved than some of the old farts that took up residence in il baccio ALL day!  
 

Though it is the 1st cruise that’s been full to capacity that I’ve been on. So noticeably busy. 

[LadyL1]

Bigdrinks

 Were you able to pre-book your chosen dining times before boarding? As we were such late bookers, this was not an option. The waiting and pagers for dining I can do without.

As you say most children were so well behaved and had a wonderful time! In my post I did say “just a few” were not in this bracket. I was travelling with family including 2 teenagers.

I think I will put this cruise as an “experience” and have been taking such holidays over the last 20 years. Previously been on Equinox and Eclipse, a few times each, and enjoyed them very much.

[Bigdrinks]

We prebooked our first 2 nights. Then there was nothing available to book when on board. But, as I’ve said,  we got in the MDR at the time we wanted without a pager. And, we got a window seat twice. That’s never happened to us before!  

[gooners1968]

We were on this cruise too, our 1st on celebrity after 10 on RC. This gave us Elite status so we made the most of free drinks between 5 and 7

We booked a guarantee balcony and was allocated deck 6 with a partial obstruction. We were then successful with our minimum bid up for a concierge cabin on deck 10. Room steward service was fantastic and we couldn't fault him

We also booked late but managed to get late sitting in the MDR. Impossible to get a table for 2-we were told there were 150 requests that could not be fulfilled. We met some lovely people on our table and in fact rather enjoyed out 1st experience of shared table dining

I agree with your negatives-the combination of cold weather cruising and a full ship made it difficult to find seats anywhere. We entered and left the buffet numerous times after finding it impossible to find a table. We thought the buffet food was a higher standard than RC but the MDR food no better. Portion sizes were small and we were all ordering sides!

Norway ports of call were great apart from Haugesund which was disappointing. The Loen skylift at Olden was outstanding and not to be missed

We are back onboard on 24th July for the Scandinavia itinerary(we have to sail in school holidays as my job is term time only). Hoping for more time to be able to use the balcony!

[ShawninFL]

10 hours ago, gooners1968 said:

We were on this cruise too, our 1st on celebrity after 10 on RC. This gave us Elite status so we made the most of free drinks between 5 and 7

We booked a guarantee balcony and was allocated deck 6 with a partial obstruction. We were then successful with our minimum bid up for a concierge cabin on deck 10. Room steward service was fantastic and we couldn't fault him

We also booked late but managed to get late sitting in the MDR. Impossible to get a table for 2-we were told there were 150 requests that could not be fulfilled. We met some lovely people on our table and in fact rather enjoyed out 1st experience of shared table dining

I agree with your negatives-the combination of cold weather cruising and a full ship made it difficult to find seats anywhere. We entered and left the buffet numerous times after finding it impossible to find a table. We thought the buffet food was a higher standard than RC but the MDR food no better. Portion sizes were small and we were all ordering sides!

Norway ports of call were great apart from Haugesund which was disappointing. The Loen skylift at Olden was outstanding and not to be missed

We are back onboard on 24th July for the Scandinavia itinerary(we have to sail in school holidays as my job is term time only). Hoping for more time to be able to use the balcony!

If you ever return to Haugesund, I recommend renting a car and driving to Langfoss Falls.  Beautiful drive and a great waterfall to see.  It was a great day at our own pace.  The rental agency had the car with an agent right outside the gates for us to get on our way immediately.

[NutsAboutGolf]

On 6/7/2023 at 7:22 AM, LadyL1 said:

On boarding the ship at only time available (late booking) we of course missed the Concierge lunch.

 

First was going to ask, what did you do while in the ports?

 

Embarkation windows are "recommended" or "suggested".  I've been on 14 X sailings since the restart, only in 2021 were they enforcing boarding times by setting up outdoor queues and it was less about enforcing boarding times and more about satisfying locals laws of not having too many people inside the terminal.  Even then, if you tipped the porters they would escort you inside cutting all those lined up in the outdoor queues.  A lot of people may not be happy about that but it was the reality in 2021.  We just did the Beyond in "Rome", arrived at the terminal at 10am and it was first come first serve, on the ship before 11am despite having a late boarding time

[tlf]

On 6/9/2023 at 6:01 AM, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

First was going to ask, what did you do while in the ports?

 

Embarkation windows are "recommended" or "suggested".  I've been on 14 X sailings since the restart, only in 2021 were they enforcing boarding times by setting up outdoor queues and it was less about enforcing boarding times and more about satisfying locals laws of not having too many people inside the terminal.  Even then, if you tipped the porters they would escort you inside cutting all those lined up in the outdoor queues.  A lot of people may not be happy about that but it was the reality in 2021.  We just did the Beyond in "Rome", arrived at the terminal at 10am and it was first come first serve, on the ship before 11am despite having a late boarding time

What car rental company did you use? 

[NutsAboutGolf]

34 minutes ago, tlf said:

What car rental company did you use? 

 

@ShawninFL, guessing they meant to quote you

[ShawninFL]

6 hours ago, tlf said:

What car rental company did you use? 

We used Sixt Rent a Car.  I booked it online directly with them for port side pickup and drop off.  As I said, an agent met me directly outside the gates of the port where the car was waiting.  We returned the car to the same spot and dropped off the keys to the cashier in one of the gift shops right at the port.

[tlf]

2 hours ago, ShawninFL said:

We used Sixt Rent a Car.  I booked it online directly with them for port side pickup and drop off.  As I said, an agent met me directly outside the gates of the port where the car was waiting.  We returned the car to the same spot and dropped off the keys to the cashier in one of the gift shops right at the port.

Thank you for the info!

[the penguins]

On 6/9/2023 at 11:01 AM, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

First was going to ask, what did you do while in the ports?

 

Embarkation windows are "recommended" or "suggested".  I've been on 14 X sailings since the restart, only in 2021 were they enforcing boarding times by setting up outdoor queues and it was less about enforcing boarding times and more about satisfying locals laws of not having too many people inside the terminal.  Even then, if you tipped the porters they would escort you inside cutting all those lined up in the outdoor queues.  A lot of people may not be happy about that but it was the reality in 2021.  We just did the Beyond in "Rome", arrived at the terminal at 10am and it was first come first serve, on the ship before 11am despite having a late boarding time

Enforcement of boarding times seems to be port specific.
We have cruised Silhouette from Southampton 4 times since the restart and the boarding times were enforced each time. No way the porters can by pass the system as bags are taken at one point and then you have to walk to the terminal entrance. Your boarding time is checked before you can enter the terminal and you are directed to the appropriate line. All this is outside with no seats. The only exceptions were for wheelchair/walker users who were given priority, taken to the front of the line and given priority at passport control.

 

[AbbyCruiser45]

On 6/7/2023 at 10:22 AM, LadyL1 said:

We had the family from hell in the next cabin, with constant shouting and banging, starting early in the morning

In the future, inform guest relations of this and specifically ask to move cabins. On the Equinox last summer, a member of my party complained because their inside room was next to the food service corridor. The carts were literally shaking the wall from 5 AM onwards. They informed guest relations and asked if there was another inside room that they could move to. Guest relations moved them to a concierge cabin with no complaints. Guest relations wants you to be happy! 

[NutsAboutGolf]

4 hours ago, the penguins said:

Enforcement of boarding times seems to be port specific.
We have cruised Silhouette from Southampton 4 times since the restart and the boarding times were enforced each time. No way the porters can by pass the system as bags are taken at one point and then you have to walk to the terminal entrance. Your boarding time is checked before you can enter the terminal and you are directed to the appropriate line. All this is outside with no seats. The only exceptions were for wheelchair/walker users who were given priority, taken to the front of the line and given priority at passport control.

 

 

Thanks for sharing, so we have one port who is checking boarding windows.  In the past year, they have not checked in the following 6 ports, L.A./San Pedro, San Diego, Rome/Civitavecchia, Puerto Rico, Miami and FLL (multiple terminals).  We're going out of Dover, England in the next month on another cruise line and will report back.  The porter "skip the queues" was in FLL

[LadyL1]

49 minutes ago, AbbyCruiser45 said:

In the future, inform guest relations of this and specifically ask to move cabins. On the Equinox last summer, a member of my party complained because their inside room was next to the food service corridor. The carts were literally shaking the wall from 5 AM onwards. They informed guest relations and asked if there was another inside room that they could move to. Guest relations moved them to a concierge cabin with no complaints. Guest relations wants you to be happy! 

The ship was absolutely full. We had asked,  but to no avail. Our steward was aware of our plight, and confirmed what we had been told at guest relations.

[the penguins]

2 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Thanks for sharing, so we have one port who is checking boarding windows.  In the past year, they have not checked in the following 6 ports, L.A./San Pedro, San Diego, Rome/Civitavecchia, Puerto Rico, Miami and FLL (multiple terminals).  We're going out of Dover, England in the next month on another cruise line and will report back.  The porter "skip the queues" was in FLL

Others have reported ports which also enforced the times.

However as your original post was in direct response to a sailing from Southampton it seemed useful to clarify the matter to avoid passengers assuming that your comments and suggestions for bypassing the lines would apply at that port. 

Enjoy your cruise from Dover and hopefully you won't be subject to delays caused by the ongoing dispute with the Border Force staff which currently affects airports rather than sea ports.

[NutsAboutGolf]

11 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Others have reported ports which also enforced the times.

However as your original post was in direct response to a sailing from Southampton it seemed useful to clarify the matter to avoid passengers assuming that your comments and suggestions for bypassing the lines would apply at that port. 

Enjoy your cruise from Dover and hopefully you won't be subject to delays caused by the ongoing dispute with the Border Force staff which currently affects airports rather than sea ports.

When mentioning this often you attracts other to post their experiences…Also it’s important to ensure their experience has happened no earlier than 2022

Edited June 12, 2023 by NutsAboutGolf

[dogsdogs]

I thought the pax capacity on the Silhouette was just short of 2900.  I wonder how they packed in another 500 people?  We were on the Silhouette in March of this year. That sailing was about 2700 pax and we felt like the ship was fairly crowded and that was with good weather.  I can only imagine your experience with that many.  Thanks for your review.  

[BettyCruiser]

Celebrity Silhouette fact sheet shows double occupancy is 2902 and max occupancy is 3324.

[grimpil]

9 hours ago, the penguins said:

Enforcement of boarding times seems to be port specific.
We have cruised Silhouette from Southampton 4 times since the restart and the boarding times were enforced each time. No way the porters can by pass the system as bags are taken at one point and then you have to walk to the terminal entrance. Your boarding time is checked before you can enter the terminal and you are directed to the appropriate line. All this is outside with no seats. The only exceptions were for wheelchair/walker users who were given priority, taken to the front of the line and given priority at passport control.

 

Which port does the Silhouette use in Southampton? Did they use the same  one every time?

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, dogsdogs said:

I thought the pax capacity on the Silhouette was just short of 2900.  I wonder how they packed in another 500 people?  We were on the Silhouette in March of this year. That sailing was about 2700 pax and we felt like the ship was fairly crowded and that was with good weather.  I can only imagine your experience with that many.  Thanks for your review.  

 

Far more common on cruise lines that are popular with kids, parents bring all their children.

 

Went on my first 100% sailing since the restart over NYE, they put this sign on the all the buffet tables

 

[the penguins]

2 minutes ago, grimpil said:

Which port does the Silhouette use in Southampton? Did they use the same  one every time?

Only one port in Southampton but with different terminals. Silhouette uses the same one each time - city terminal berth 101.

the terminal has no indoor space for waiting. Most of the outside space is uncovered and with no seating. The area is controlled by port authority staff (not Celebrity employees).