Celebrity Silhouette Seven Day Western Caribbean Cruise 1-8 April

Celebrity Silhouette Seven Day Western Caribbean Cruise 1-8 April

Background: My husband and I primarily cruise to get away. We are foodies, so the food plays a big role in our choices. Not so much the ports, as at least I could be perfectly happy spending my entire time on the ship if need be. I’m also a book worm and introvert, so what’s detailed here are observations because that’s who I am. I haven’t posted much, but have learned a great deal from reading these boards. I just wanted to share some of what we experienced.

Departure: Fort Lauderdale

Embarkation: A bit of confusion at embarkation as Ft. Lauderdale is a VERY busy port as 5-6 other ships are doing what we were doing. They had trouble setting up our sea pass card on entry. Seems the reader wasn’t reading the cards. Then it was off to the ship. We arrived early 10:45 ish and yes, they were letting folks on already.

Rooms were ready somewhere around 1:00-1:30 and we aren’t Suite passengers so we headed to the Oceanview. It was already hopping. This was Easter Sunday and Break week for the schools so there was more children then usual.

This is my first Solstice Class experience so I have only experienced the Solsticized versions of the M class. Yes, I noticed the size. Also, the layout. Personally? I think the ship could have used another elevator bank. I understand why it isn’t there (all the restaurants being aft...) but apparently the best place to meet people was waiting for the elevators.

Husband and I are young enough to take the stairs when possible but the Celebrity clientele does skew older, so I think it was a challenge for the older folks.

That being said it was an interesting ship. Lots of nooks and crannys... still getting the lay of the land at this point and finding places. Normally we ‘walk the ship’ and find everything the first day and while I did do some of that, I wasn’t as thorough as I had been first day on other ships. Or maybe it was just size.

So here’s a surprise from previous trips. I didn’t meet my stateroom attendant. Or maybe I think I met him cleaning the outside balcony windows, but I never got that customary knock you get the first early afternoon with introduction. We were Aqua class, so this was a bit of a switch. I don’t require much but the foam pillow is usually something we prefer so I did leave a note requesting 2 and got 1. Husband then did without. He left a card with his name in return. Canapés arrived early... I’d say 4 pm and there was no asking if we wanted or didn’t want them. Customary slippers were on bed, it’s been two years since I cruised so I’m guessing the lip balm is a thing of the past, and then the captains club events were listed on a single sheet of paper with the discounts on the back. Gone are the coupons. I’d be inclined to say the offers were the same from last time. With emphasis on the photography packages.

Speaking of emphasis... yes, we booked this 2 years prior, so we had the perk of the classic beverage package. I’ve seen others on the board mention about the push to upsell and I’m inclined to agree.

Hubby and I worked out the math prior and we aren’t party people so classic suited us fine, with the difference going towards the overall bill (or in our case onboard credit). To each their own I guess. When I started seeing discounted morning drink specials I wondered if maybe I was on the wrong line. What I noticed overall was less hawking of drinks and more hawking of packages. That included the photo packages. They had backdrops outside every port, photos at every event, sometimes two backdrops at each dinner AND a special studio. Just seemed a bit much.

We did take advantage of the offer the first night of 30% discount for specialty restaurant and did Murano. They really outdid themselves and it was a yummy evening. It may have set the bar too high for the rest of the cruise, it was that good.

Rest of the evening included an ok comedian and early bedtime since we had been up since 4 am.

Day 2: Key West.

Hubby had been but I hadn’t, that being said we didn’t rush that morning. Had first taste of Blu and have to admit they were a bit rushed.

Post breakfast we headed out to walk Key West. We headed towards the Southern Most point and noted the start/end of Route 1. It was a nice way to burn calories from the previous nights Murano dinner. We walked much of Duval and then headed a block over for a change of scenery on the way back. Meandered in some stores, purchased some stuff to take back for coworkers and ktotchies for some of the family back home.

Didn’t need to see Hemingway’s Home or immerse myself in the Parrot Head culture so we headed back on board.

Tuesday was going to be the sea day and we know what trying to get Mast Grill from our experience on the Infinity/Summit was so we figured this was a great time to get a burger. I lurk enough to know the fight over the mast grill having a charge briefly and how protective Celebrity customers are about their Mast grill. Maybe it was the walk or the al fresco dining but the burger was good! Husband was disappointed in the Celebrity Sauce but I enjoyed my indulgence cheeseburger and fries. We stopped by Aqua Spa to pick up a breadstick and then it was back to the room.

So... here’s a first. Cabin next door, (and you know who you are) blaring Country Music. Oh my. Hey... I’m all for everyone liking whatever kind of music they like...BUT... I don’t force my love of my music on my neighbors. What does one do in this case? For the time being we silently hoped that they didn’t have streaming music for the entirety of the cruise but more on that later.

From there we went to Trivia in the sky lounge. Decent turnout, started with music trivia and then went to general knowledge trivia.

Then it was prep for dinner. Canapés were in the stateroom upon return, which was good because dinner was a bit of a disappointment. Again, they looked overwhelmed in Blu. This was the night of the lump crab appetizer which was a huge seller. Only thing is, lump crab to someone residing in Maryland is LUMPS of crab. This was lump crab salad, mixed. Truth in advertising, Celebrity....

Husband had the duck, and did specify medium rare. Apparently that wasn’t a choice however. Duck was overcooked. I felt bad for Daffy and worse for my husband. I wanted fish so my options were tuna pomodoro with spinach ricotta nudi.

Those nudi were like marbles. The tuna was cooked pink center as requested but the mix with tomatoes wasn’t a home run. The drinks (Yes an up charge for the Classic package) were VERY good. Dessert unfortunately was another disappointment. There was no lava to my husband’s lava cake and my chocolate ice cream looked to have been dished out about 20+ minutes ago.

We ended up skipping the show and instead went to the officers vs guests ‘Minute To Win It’ show. That was cute and entertaining. From there it was a light refreshment in the Ensemble lounge with the Neptune Duo before heading to bed.

Very impressed by the Neptune Duo. I’m a bit of a music buff and was exposed to a broad range of popular standards through 90s music. Any team that can go from Girl from Ipanema (a MUST for the true at sea experience in my book...) to Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin in a set get my vote. I will be checking them out later in the cruise.

One last cabin note...temperature in cabin and ship oscillated a lot. Room was either too cold or hot, public areas were too cold or non-air conditioned. Couldn’t sleep at first until air got turned down, then turned it back on at 6 am.

Day 3: At Sea

Yay! This is why I come. Nothing on the ‘must’ do list, everything voluntary. Started my morning looking for a scale at the fitness club. Um... I guess that’s not where one finds a scale... or maybe someone can tell me where it went. What I did find was Grand Central Station, Celebrity style. Folks waiting for machines. Folks not wanting to wait for machines. I give all you folks a hand for your dedication.. and then I scurried on back to my room. ;)

Husband and I went down to Blu... and the confusion begins. My husband ordered the Celebrity Parfait and I the Grapefruit Half. They came by I think with the table ahead of ours fruit plate and Blu Parfait. Not a big deal but when I ordered, I heard him say fruit plate so I clarified... so yes, I was a little confused. Kudos to hubby who sprang into action. Only thing is, instead of his parfait in the end, he got the muesli bowl. For those keeping count of such things, no tableside prep for that bowl which suited us just fine - the less attention the better. His breakfast of poached eggs and mine of the asparagus frittata though were very, very good.

We decided to walk the ship for exercise from there and started our way from 3 to solstice deck and then back down. Of course, everyone was at the various pools and lounges as this cruise brings out the pool rats. To each their own. It was then time to clear the room and find a nice quiet spot to relax.

Lunchtime found us at the AquaSpa. They were lined up for about 10 minutes waiting for them to open. My husband looked at me and said, ‘this is not how I define modern luxury.’ And I have to agree. From there we grabbed a hot beverage from Al Bacio along with the gluten free coconut macaroons (nice addition by the way) and retreated to our balcony until it was time for trivia. For those interested in that sort of thing, the most people I saw ever in sushi on 5 was on the sea day. However, I had been seeking out sushi on board ever since the Zenith. Celebrity, I’m not going to pay on average 2 dollars more to eat something I could get at home for less AND I used to get on board for free. It is here I finally met the cabin attendant. He was kind enough to call first and check if we were in. Also took care of the shower head which kept sliding down.

Post trivia we got ready for dinner. It was the first of two more formal nights (Celebrity can’t make me say Evening Chic) and I will say, attire ran the gamut. We arrived at Blu on time and I must say the meal was an improvement over the last one. There was an octopus salad that my husband adored (was an entree but seemed more like a salad) and the lamb chops were very good.

That being said, outside of the shows and musical acts, there wasn’t much to do. Not really bowled over with the show selection. As impressed as I was by Neptune Duo, I was less impressed by the House band Espresso. The officers soirée tied up a lot of the bars midship and the overflow landed in the Ensemble lounge. We gave up after 10 min and headed to sky lounge for a nitecap before retiring. We had an early tour the next day.

Or so we thought... that’s right... the country concert kicked off again sometime after 1 AM. Earplugs go in....

Day 4: Costa Maya

Early start meant Oceanview for a light continental breakfast. We pulled into the dock right next to (and I do mean right next to) Norwegian Dawn. To the very nice gentleman having breakfast with his wife on the balcony, thanks for waving back. I had to wave. I also had trouble determining their announcements from ours. We were that close. Husband and I had booked a tour through USAA Travel Services/Costco with the Native Choice to see the Mayan ruins. Outside of the fact that navigating to the buses was something like Amazing Race (which IS the name of an actual Celebrity sponsored excursion), I must say it was efficiently run. They did exactly what they said we’d do at the time they said we would do it. Can’t ask for much more than that. We returned on board, split a hamburger for lunch and then proceeded with the rest of our day. Dinner was good... no complaints there. Husband had the filet mignon. I went with the pasta because I am not a huge beef lover but the beef was the way to go. Generally speaking port-wise, there isn’t much to do outside of a tour except shopping. This for husband and I, it’s not a place we would opt to return to. We departed late... Captain George owes it to a request from NCL to leave first, since if we did, their passengers would potentially get caught in the sea spray, and while I am not saying that wasn’t an issue, seemed as if there were a couple of late tours returning. We could see the boarding process and there were certainly large groups of people still retuning after the all-aboard. I think we left about an hour late.

Day 5: Cozumel

There seemed to be much more to do at Cozumel the next day. We opted for the chocolate tasting and tequila sample, think it was island roots tour. Not as efficient an operation as previous day. Groups were mixed among ships and there seemed to be some confusion as to who went where. They stopped our bus when we were about to leave as there were two people on it who were signed up for chocolate and ruins. Not as efficient as the previous day. The chocolate part of the tour was very good (as was the chocolate) however the tequila tour was a bit heavy on the sales pitch. The tequila was very good though. We tried wandering the shops but got tired of the constant calling to us as we walked by. We headed back to the ship for another round of trivia and the second of two formal nights.

Something odd about the second formal night. While the meal was very good... it didn’t feel like formal night. And the next night’s meal was the traditional final formal night fare (read: lobster). Not sure if it was the fact that we departed Cozumel earlier than we did Grand Cayman, but it sort of took the ‘oomph’ out of it. Dinner-wise husband had the lamb and I had a very nice haddock. From there we went to the Captains Club officers reception (we are Select). We spent the evening listening to the Neptune Duo in Ensemble and watching the bartender at the bar. Maybe someone else who reads this may be able to fill me in about her. Is she just that focused on her job? Just seemed, well, stressed.

Day 6: Grand Cayman.

Awoke to the sounds at 2:30 of something being sprayed down. At first I thought they’d be using the lifeboats for tender but that wasn’t it. There had been a pool party the night before. Either way, eventually I fell back asleep. We didn’t arrive at Grand Cayman until 10 AM so it was a leisurely morning. We ended up after breakfast heading to a lounge to read and watch us pull in. Hearing the anchors drop was both neat but loud. Tender Service ran well. We had booked the Land and Sea tour... like everything else, it had pros and cons. Turtle and Nautilus were good, the trip to Hell and the Tortuga Rum store were the quintessential definitions of tourist traps. Like, I don’t even know what that store at Hell was....

Tour ended at 3:30 and last tender was 5:30. We did some shopping and then headed aboard. We contemplated a burger but everyone else had already thought of that. Instead we made do with teas and macaroons from Al Bacio. When we returned to the room we expected canapés. But... no canapés. No sooner than the words no canapés came out of my mouth, there was a knock at the door. How do they know?

Last tender was a little late but we were off by 5:35. Dinner as I mentioned earlier was formal night fare on smart casual night. Lobster tail was good and it was the best baked Alaska I’ve had in some time on Celebrity. There was a lot of it though. Rich Aronivitch was the comedian which was entertaining and Sue followed up with an entertaining rundown following.

Day 7: At Sea

Slept late owing to the time change and had a leisurely breakfast in Blu. After taking a few walking laps around the jogging track we headed to a quiet place for reading/relaxation. We stayed there until it was time to get one last mast bar grill burger. They were offering T-shirts for WWF for $15 with majority of the proceeds going to the fund. They were a bamboo cotton blend and nice for the cause so I picked one up. I avoided most of the shopping on board however. There was a very good presentation on ‘how ships move’ from the second engineer, he did a great job and if you’re into the mechanics it was nice. A bridge/inner operation tour costs $99 now although I imagine there are other ways to do them cheaper.

Husband wanted to hit the buffet for the Indian food one last time so I headed back to the room.

We went to trivia which had been moved from sky lounge to Ensemble (which made it harder for folks to participate) and did claim a prize. Then Neptune Duo was moved from Ensemble to Al Bacio and it was very difficult to hear.

We got ready for dinner, which the appetizers seemed to outshine the main course, but we could have ordered wrong. Lamb Shank seemed to be the winner but it seemed too big, so I passed it up. Managed to catch a gorgeous sunset while waiting to get back in the room to pack so luggage could be out by 10. Did attend the comedian’s over 18 show and he was even funnier than the first night.

We were group 4 the next morning so it was off to bed.

Disembarkation ran late.. our time was 7:25 and it was close to 8:00 when we were called. It was chaotic as soon as you left the ship. Just herds of people like human cattle. We weren’t through till close to 9 AM. Having gone thru Port Liberty (Bayonne) in 2016, seemed New Jersey had it a bit better organized.

Overall, a good trip... but not sure after 5 cruises with Celebrity where this leaves me. I’m not a fan of big and I feel I’m being priced out of the market. Everything is ‘fee applies’. I’m just feeling like while I may be the demographic they want, I’m not the demographic they’re trying to appeal to.

The negatives:

The musical talent of the house band was apparent but the vocalist was a mismatch. Sorry, but a lot of the time she was phoning it in. They played over her so she couldn’t be heard on a lot of the songs. Scarlett of Scarlett and Dom was more of a standout.

Just a lot of people.... I know I’m old fashioned but I just like a smaller ship.

Can’t speak to select dining but a lot of nights there was a line. I can’t see coming on a cruise to wait on line to eat as you would any chain on shore.

Chair hogs seemed to be en masse.

Yes, on Friday there seemed to be issues with both plumbing (our side was out for a few hours) and simultaneously, air conditioning.

Shout-outs:

The Indian food in Oceanview is really flavorful and standout.

Overall the food was good.

Appreciation to Taryn at the Guest Relations for ensuring our trip was quiet and restful.

Israel our room steward for making whatever we asked appear.

Most shower room/nicest showers in the cabins of all the Celebrity I’ve been in.

Waitstaff in Blu, I cannot pronounce the name of the Maitre’d (Polish name, started with W) and Marina, Sam, Rey, Sardina and their supportive cast were all very attentive.

The Neptune Duo-Great talent. If you didn’t think Sweet Child of Mine was possible on cello and violin, it is, just check them out.

If anyone seeing this happens to have a copy of the Blu menu with the drinks, please post... ? I regret not snapping a picture of the offering.

Also, if anyone knows where those cobalt blue glasses come from, I'd really be interested in finding out.

Thanks for reading.

Previous experience:

Celebrity Summit Bermuda 2016

Celebrity Century Pacific Coastal 2014

Celebrity Infinity Alaska 2012

Holland American Panama Canal 2009

Celebrity Zenith Bermuda 2006

Disney Magic Bahamas 1998

Home Lines Bermuda 1984 (yes, really!)

Thank you for the interesting review. We are sailing on the Silhouette next month after it sails over to Europe. I am sure I shall be sampling the Indian food in the buffet - hubby is not a fan of Indian food so I don't often get a taste of it so I will make the most of it while on board!

Enjoyed the review!

Thank you for the review!

I enjoyed that..nice read.

Like you, i feel i`m being priced out of Celebrity.

Thank you

Thank you to all who read and commented! :)

Thanks for the informative review. We’ll board Silhouette for the 2nd time in June (last time in 2013). I’m happy to hear my favorite OVC station (Indian) is still tasty. I’m a music buff too, so I appreciate your comments about the musicians. I hope the good ones are still aboard in June:).

Nice review. We were on X on Silhouette for the first time last month. Our favorites were Cafe al Bacio, the Hideaway and the Passport Bar before dinner. We were asked once if we were interested in a specialty dining package. Otherwise we experienced no up sells at all which was a pleasant surprise.

Thanks for the detailed, informative review!

Nice review. We were on the same cruise and had a very good time. We were in a Sky Suite on the bum end of the ship, starboard side and it was quite nice, and the balcony was great for getting a lot of sun. There were two structural poles in the room but they did not get in the way at all.

We ate in Murano one night and it was excellent, and in Luminae most other times, and the food there was very good most of the time.

Service was great and the wine sommelier was quite generous even considering we had the premium drinks package.

In Cozumel we went to Mr. Sancho's for a few hours and would definitely do that again as the drinks were good and the food too.

In Grand Cayman we swam with the stingrays and that was a great experience in beautiful clear water quite a ways off shore.

This was our second time on Silhouette and while it was a great cruise we found staff on the Reflection to be a happier lot.

Thanks for the review! Hopefully the Neptune Duo will still be aboard in June.

My wife and I were on the same cruise. It was our third cruise. The other two were on the Summit. I would have to say, it will be our last on the Silhouette. We didn't see where the larger ship offered anything more than the Summit. Just 50% more people. Maybe our expectations were too high, having sailed with Captain Kate the other times. The MDR was nothing but kayos. The food was fine, both in the MDR and the buffet. The service was nothing like on the Summit though.

Getting on the ship was great. The Uber car dropped us off at 10:00. We were in the buffet area before 10:30. Getting off wasn't bad. Although the bags seemed to be a bit backwards. The first numbers were up front, but then everyone had to walk back through all the other numbers to get on line for Customs. Customs was the usual long delay. Never enough people. Getting to the Hertz bus was not easy.

I did have a billing problem that they said they would fix on board and didn't. Hopefully it is fixed now, with a phone call this morning. They billed me twice for drink packages.

My wife got a bad cold while on board. The room attendant was ill. After two days, we never say him again. A new attendant said the first one took sick. We did notice he never wore gloves when he cleaned our room. She was too sick to get off at Cozumel. We lost $150 we paid for an excursion, Oh well, stuff happens.

I did notice, on the Summit, they were fanatics with the hand sanitizers. Always two people entering dining areas and the theater. Not so on the Silhouette. Only one person. They were able to get to maybe half the people walking by.

There seemed to be a shortage of staff everywhere.

The weather was fantastic the whole cruise. The ocean was like a big lake.

My wife and I were on the same cruise. It was our third cruise. The other two were on the Summit. I would have to say, it will be our last on the Silhouette. We didn't see where the larger ship offered anything more than the Summit. Just 50% more people. Maybe our expectations were too high, having sailed with Captain Kate the other times. The MDR was nothing but kayos. The food was fine, both in the MDR and the buffet. The service was nothing like on the Summit though.

 

Getting on the ship was great. The Uber car dropped us off at 10:00. We were in the buffet area before 10:30. Getting off wasn't bad. Although the bags seemed to be a bit backwards. The first numbers were up front, but then everyone had to walk back through all the other numbers to get on line for Customs. Customs was the usual long delay. Never enough people. Getting to the Hertz bus was not easy.

 

I did have a billing problem that they said they would fix on board and didn't. Hopefully it is fixed now, with a phone call this morning. They billed me twice for drink packages.

 

My wife got a bad cold while on board. The room attendant was ill. After two days, we never say him again. A new attendant said the first one took sick. We did notice he never wore gloves when he cleaned our room. She was too sick to get off at Cozumel. We lost $150 we paid for an excursion, Oh well, stuff happens.

 

I did notice, on the Summit, they were fanatics with the hand sanitizers. Always two people entering dining areas and the theater. Not so on the Silhouette. Only one person. They were able to get to maybe half the people walking by.

 

There seemed to be a shortage of staff everywhere.

 

The weather was fantastic the whole cruise. The ocean was like a big lake.

I was reading the review and came across your "Fishkillbill". Do you leave in Fishkill NY?

I was reading the review and came across your "Fishkillbill". Do you leave in Fishkill NY?

Yes.

My wife and I were on the same cruise. It was our third cruise. The other two were on the Summit. I would have to say, it will be our last on the Silhouette. We didn't see where the larger ship offered anything more than the Summit. Just 50% more people. Maybe our expectations were too high, having sailed with Captain Kate the other times. The MDR was nothing but kayos. The food was fine, both in the MDR and the buffet. The service was nothing like on the Summit though.

 

Getting on the ship was great. The Uber car dropped us off at 10:00. We were in the buffet area before 10:30. Getting off wasn't bad. Although the bags seemed to be a bit backwards. The first numbers were up front, but then everyone had to walk back through all the other numbers to get on line for Customs. Customs was the usual long delay. Never enough people. Getting to the Hertz bus was not easy.

 

I did have a billing problem that they said they would fix on board and didn't. Hopefully it is fixed now, with a phone call this morning. They billed me twice for drink packages.

 

My wife got a bad cold while on board. The room attendant was ill. After two days, we never say him again. A new attendant said the first one took sick. We did notice he never wore gloves when he cleaned our room. She was too sick to get off at Cozumel. We lost $150 we paid for an excursion, Oh well, stuff happens.

 

I did notice, on the Summit, they were fanatics with the hand sanitizers. Always two people entering dining areas and the theater. Not so on the Silhouette. Only one person. They were able to get to maybe half the people walking by.

 

There seemed to be a shortage of staff everywhere.

 

The weather was fantastic the whole cruise. The ocean was like a big lake.

Fishkillbill,

I agree.... didn't understand the numbering system at disembarkation either. There was no rhyme or reason to the line. Once folks retrieved their luggage, they needed to find their way back into the line. But exactly WHERE you did that seemed to be a matter of debate. Putting the first folks furthest in didn't make sense.

I actually prefer the M class after this experience. The decor on the Infinity was my favorite (back when they had the headphones I did the guided art tour--miss that now), and I did have the pleasure of sailing Summit; however, the food wasn't as good in Blu then as it was this time with Silhouette. Silhouette ran like a well-oiled machine, but she may have been missing the warmth from Summit.

Apologies that your wife took ill, I know first-hand how that can be, and my hands were flaking from the sanitizer. That being said, yes, 2 years ago there were two people stationed outside of Oceanview and it was only 1 last week. Also noticed come the last day, the dispenser at the Sky Lounge was empty.

Husband and I, if we ever do it again, do not want to go as large as the S-Class ships, on Celebrity or any other line.