chemmo

So pleased to see you in your special place!

I am a cruiser with mobility issues who can no longer enjoy port excursions as they did…Also as travel to and from ports can be challenging my frequency of cruising has diminished too. Hence when I do cruise I do book suites! I make no excuse for enjoying the perks I have chosen to pay for. A bigger room with a nice balcony A butler and a concierge to help with some mundane tasks A nice lounge with great service, lots of comfortable chairs and not too busy A smaller restaurant A sun deck on some ships which will be quieter. In addition I have a lovely big ship with lots of restaurant and entertainment options. I am not stuck in the suite area. There is no ‘class’ on Celebrity there are spending options….I pay to be in a suite for the facilities I want. Exactly as someone in an inside cabin has saved their $$$ on room choice to spend on cruising more, excursions or a new car back home! I wish you every happiness on your future cruises and if you have found a cruise line that suits you I am really pleased for you but don’t expect us all to want the same…

The TP cruise was our best cruise ever…We spent time in Hawaii first and time in Sydney after…We have friends we made in Michael’s Club we still keep in touch with. With so much down time you do have time to get to know people. Remember the shoreside concierge can arrange things to amuse you on sea days too like behind the scenes tours of the galley, theatre or bridge. If you do make friends on board your butler can arrange sail away parties or cocktail parties in your suite. When we have wanted to do this we have kept to our ‘give the butler 24 hours notice’ rule! Sincere best wishes for a wonderful cruise!

You will enjoy! The PH is a real decadence of light and space… You can just phone or turn up at the speciality restaurants and they will do their best to seat you although they may request you return later if they are busy…With 24 hours notice they will almost always fit you in. Murano is the restaurant in our experience that can genuinely be fully booked especially later in the cruise. We know the speciality restaurants really do appreciate you pre booking so we usually tend to ‘draft’ our bookings pre cruise. We have a general idea of where we want to dine and at what time dependent on the itinerary….For example…. Murano is quite a formal, longer meal. Ideal for a sea day when you are more rested not ideal if you are shattered after a busy excursion. Tuscan has great wake views. Really nice to dine there as the ship leaves a port so nice on days with 6pm ish sailings. Sushi, very informal, great for laid back evenings. Also as there are lots of small plates great if you are not that hungry, perhaps you have had an excursion including lunch. LPC has set times and alternating menus so best to book. Fun rather than fine dining. If you haven’t done it before it is entertaining but once is enough for most people. Obviously you are also going to want to try Luminae a few nights too. No booking necessary. I suggest you book in at least a few nights early in the cruise through the shoreside concierge and see how you enjoy them. We have never had an issue getting the restaurant and time we want when we have booked through the shoreside concierge. No need to book on line. You can then ask your butler to book more a day or two into the cruise… Room service for upper suites is officially as the app. However, in our experience if you chat to your butler alternatives can be arranged. If we have wanted a special in suite meal we have always given the butler 24 hours notice and they will usually manage to provide alternatives. We also avoid doing this on formal nights as butler’s have additional duties on those evenings.

Yes and Cappuccino and others…

In our experience if you look for a cruise 8+ nights child numbers drop even during school holiday periods.

If you decide to book flights through Celebrity do some homework first then contact Celebrity to see if they have flights/transfers that you want. Bologna would definitely have been a better option. It possibly was available but if you didn’t request they may not have offered…

If you weren’t spending time in Venice did you not consider flights in/out of Bologna?

Where is the other cat? You could get a surprise unpacking….

I think quality rather than quantity is more important when it comes to concierges! We have been on ships with caring, hard working ones who genuinely mean ‘Have a nice day!’ and take the time and effort to look after all guests. They arrange events, take the trouble to greet all passengers by name and sometimes may organise little treats. Then on other ships we have found the concierges are responsive rather than proactive. If you ask for something they will do it but other than that they simply say ‘Hello’ in passing… Definitely prefer one proactive to two responsives!

If they are pre packed not a problem.

It would! As someone who has only ever won one raffle in her life despite supporting any fund raising event in our neighbourhood it would be a miracle! I would add the only raffle prize I did win was arranged by my husband and consequently I didn’t accept the prize! I seem to recall some roll calls arranging some sort of fun sea day casino activity…Perhaps I should investigate. At least then someone could show me what to do!

Gosh, I am tempted to stick $10 in a machine next cruise to get registered as a gambler then phone up and see if I can get a free cruise!

As far as I can remember there has never been a concierge available all day in the lounge. Generally I think someone is there 8.30 - 10.00am and 5.30 - 11.00pm. I am sure someone can correct me if I am wrong. Some Celebrity ships have far more suites than others. E class and Reflection having significantly more than the other ships. These ships will need two whereas generally I would think one concierge would be fine for other ships. This has been our experience although I can’t remember if there was one or two concierges on Silhouette… All ships also have a suite manager who could become involved if there were any significant issues.

If you get a free cruise then are you expected to gamble on board? Do you have to agree to spend $X in the casino? Asking totally out of curiosity. Loads of cruises and I have never even tried a slot machine…perhaps I am missing something…

We used our balcony a lot on our Fjords cruise…Early morning we would order coffee and pastries on the balcony and even if it was cold we would wrap ourselves in blankets and enjoy the port approach…We were on Eclipse. Would IV be better or worse for Norway? Not experienced E class so I can’t make a judgement but balcony vs IV could be a deciding factor… Price…I have done a few price comparisons between E, S and M ships in the Med recently and the E was significantly more expensive…Would booking Silhouette mean you could afford a better room or give you more spending money? Also agree with others Flam is a highlight…

Whilst the food is available elsewhere it is the ambiance of the breakfast that makes it a premium experience. Quiet, speedy and friendly service and an opportunity to chat to the Captains Club host if you have any questions or problems. We usually cruise in suites and frequently opt for the Elite breakfast over Luminae.

I also love the ultimate platter but I am like Joey “I don’t share food!”.

Thank you for your review. I do love comparisons when broken down into categories as you have done!

Sincere best wishes for a wonderful cruise…There is nothing like the sound of the ocean to relieve stress…

I wonder if cruise ships are as popular and as revenue producing as they once were? Certainly I think a lot of people are more travel knowledgeable than they used to be. Independently booking passes and using local transport rather than booking ‘full tours’. Then food and beverage…many cruise passengers bring their ‘free’ water off the ship with them, skip lunch or buy something basic only buy an occasional drink. Obviously the drinks package may drive this… If someone is staying in the port it seems inevitable they will spend more than someone on a day trip…They are paying for accommodation, meals and drinks… I guess it all comes down to choices. We did love cruising in/out of Venice but I did for environmental reasons support the decision to ban cruise ships. Amsterdam is a city I have never visited (perhaps because it is so easy to do from the UK?). I would be willing to be transported in/out if I cruised there although I would be more likely to book it as a long weekend break than a cruise stop.

Yes. Venice still seems as popular as ever…

This is definitely a real perk…On those mornings you don’t need to set an alarm it is lovely to just relax and then saunter down to Tuscan (S class) and leisurely nibble a platter of one type or another with a Bellini and a coffee or two. If I was to go to the buffet by the time I had rounded up a breakfast that early morning relaxed feeling would have gone, with a Captain’s Club breakfast it lingers on…

Yes, I believe it has changed. We only tend to take decent champagne on with us if we are going to host a sail away. Not something we do every cruise…

The better champagne is by the bottle and availability can vary from cruise to cruise as well as ship to ship. Hopefully someone recently on board can advise. We do find it very expensive on board. Within the wine package we haven’t found it fantastic and as long as it isn’t too dry I am not fussy…I did like the Prosecco offered in the premium package, though, sorry can not remember the name. Remember that your allowed take on board wine can include champagne. A couple of cruises ago when we knew we were hosting a sail away we took two decent bottles of champagne on board with us and got the butler to put in on ice (room attendants will do this too). No charge. If you want to enjoy in a restaurant there is no corkage charge if you have a drinks package and $20? if you don’t. This may be a better option for you. Enjoy your cruise. Silhouette is a beautiful ship, enjoy!