November 4th, 2017 Silhouette Transatlantic....quick review

Hello everyone. Myself, my wife, and my parents went on the transatlantic Silhouette cruise this year, and I just wanted to mention a few things :

 

Rome

- We flew into Rome a couple days early in order to do some sightseeing and relax after the long flight from Florida to New York to Rome. We've been there before, but I will say for those of you that stay at the ever popular Albergo Cesari hotel that it has been sold and is not quite as nice or special as it used to be. Embarkation at Civitavecchia was very smooth and easy......no issues there at all.

 

Florence / Pisa

- We went on the "Pisa City Sights" tour, and this is where Celebrity really dissapointed us. It was pouring down rain...I mean thunder,lightning and cold rain. The excursion should have been canceled or modified, but I really don't think that Celebrity cared as long as they got paid. Everyone, including elderly people, were forced to walk through ankle-deep cold water in a torrential downpour from the bus to get to a metal boat (supposedly enclosed, but was open with a roof), and then take a ride down the river surrounded by lightning in order to get to the leaning tower of Pisa. After about 30mins at the tower, we were put on an enclosed trolley to take us back to the bus. The trolley would probably normally be very nice, but all of the windows fogged up so bad that you couldn't see a single thing. I heard that once back on the ship a few people went down to complain, but nobody from Shore Excursions ever reached out to us. I realize that Celebrity can't control the weather, but they can control common sense and the safety of passengers.

Toulon

- Canceled due to to weather, and later on I heard a terror threat. I was sad because I love France, but I understand their decision.

Barcelona

- Not our first time here either, but did our own thing including the Picasso museum and lunch. The weather was great as well.

 

Palma de Mallorca

- The highlight of the trip for us. We went to Soller on the ship excurion, which was great and very scenic. The tour guide was fantastic.

 

Tenerife

- Our second time here, and also one of the highlights. We took a food and culture excursion through the ship which was great, although I think the amount of walking / inclines was not adequately advertised, which may have been difficult for some of the older folks. The tour guide was the best we've had on any excursion.

7 days across the Atlantic

- Love the sea days....it forces you to relax.

Disembarkation

- This was another let down, and I'm not even going to address the delay by Customs, as we've come to expect that. The main problem was the assistant cruise director (I wish I remembered her name) who was directing passengers waiting to go to the gangway. I have never in my life seen somebody who represents a company treat people the way she did......condescending, rude, snotty, arrogant, and disrespectful are the best words I can think to describe her. I realize disembarkation is a stressful situation, but if she can't handle the stress then she needs to find a new job. She would talk down to passengers with questions, yell, make snyde remarks, and interrogate people standing in line. It totally blew my mind...I've never seen anything it, and unfortunately it left a very sour taste on what otherwise was a good trip.

Ship, staff, shows, etc.

- The ship asthetically was in fantastic shape and clean as could be. The staff overall was excellent (minus the assisant cruise director), especially the ladies and guys in the main dining room and buffet areas. Our room steward (standard balcony room, deck 8) was fantastic. There were some plumbing issues though, and the sewer backed up into my parents bathroom one day which was obviously disgusting, but quickly cleaned up and disenfected. There was also a major water pipe rupture on deck 3 that shut down water to the entire ship for hours, with no mention, update, or apology from "management" at any point of the trip. The observation deck was our favorite place to spend time relaxing, but I really wish they would quit doing loud events like trivia and art auctions in there. Sue Denning was great, and not too over the top as some people have described. The shows, guest speakers and guests entertainers as a whole were very good.

 

Conclusion

- A good trip overall, with the exceptions I listed. The friendliness and attentiveness of the "blue collar" crew members are always what makes the trip for me. Overall, Celebrity remains my favorite cruise line, although I certainly understand and agree with the complaints about upselling and the majority of activites costing a fee and/or just being a glorified sales pitch for something else that costs extra. I think that corporate needs to be very careful how far they push the envelope on fees and additional costs above the cruise fare, because it will definitely run people off for good.

Thanks for the review. I think Celebrity has missed a trick by pushing TA's to November as Europe is not generally warm unless South of Spain/Canary Islands.

Thanks for the detailed feedback!

 

 

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Enjoyed the report, thanks!

Thank you so much for writing and posting your review/report.

 

Keith

Thanks for the review...we cruise on the Silhouette later this year...Pleased you generally had a great cruise. The Spanish Islands can often be dismissed as ‘party places’, as you say they have much to offer. We toured the mountain area by car some years ago and loved our Soller train ride too.

 

Re your tour in Pisa, much as you feel it should have been cancelled and monies refunded I am sure Celebrity would have annoyed just as many people if they did! On a TA or a TP with few ports of call each one seems to hold more value!

 

Re disembarkation....our recent experiences have ranged from the sublime (once only) to the ridiculous....our general strategy now is to enjoy a last coffee in Michael’s and disembark when the concierge has news that things are quietening down...

 

Thanks again for your review.

Thanks for the review. I think Celebrity has missed a trick by pushing TA's to November as Europe is not generally warm unless South of Spain/Canary Islands.

 

Perhaps you've forgotten about the hurricanes a couple of months ago. I think Celebrity would rather risk cool weather in Europe as opposed to hurricanes in the Caribbean.

Hello everyone. Myself, my wife, and my parents went on the transatlantic Silhouette cruise this year, and I just wanted to mention a few things :

 

Rome

- We flew into Rome a couple days early in order to do some sightseeing and relax after the long flight from Florida to New York to Rome. We've been there before, but I will say for those of you that stay at the ever popular Albergo Cesari hotel that it has been sold and is not quite as nice or special as it used to be. Embarkation at Civitavecchia was very smooth and easy......no issues there at all.

 

Florence / Pisa

- We went on the "Pisa City Sights" tour, and this is where Celebrity really dissapointed us. It was pouring down rain...I mean thunder,lightning and cold rain. The excursion should have been canceled or modified, but I really don't think that Celebrity cared as long as they got paid. Everyone, including elderly people, were forced to walk through ankle-deep cold water in a torrential downpour from the bus to get to a metal boat (supposedly enclosed, but was open with a roof), and then take a ride down the river surrounded by lightning in order to get to the leaning tower of Pisa. After about 30mins at the tower, we were put on an enclosed trolley to take us back to the bus. The trolley would probably normally be very nice, but all of the windows fogged up so bad that you couldn't see a single thing. I heard that once back on the ship a few people went down to complain, but nobody from Shore Excursions ever reached out to us. I realize that Celebrity can't control the weather, but they can control common sense and the safety of passengers.

Toulon

- Canceled due to to weather, and later on I heard a terror threat. I was sad because I love France, but I understand their decision.

Barcelona

- Not our first time here either, but did our own thing including the Picasso museum and lunch. The weather was great as well.

 

Palma de Mallorca

- The highlight of the trip for us. We went to Soller on the ship excurion, which was great and very scenic. The tour guide was fantastic.

 

Tenerife

- Our second time here, and also one of the highlights. We took a food and culture excursion through the ship which was great, although I think the amount of walking / inclines was not adequately advertised, which may have been difficult for some of the older folks. The tour guide was the best we've had on any excursion.

7 days across the Atlantic

- Love the sea days....it forces you to relax.

Disembarkation

- This was another let down, and I'm not even going to address the delay by Customs, as we've come to expect that. The main problem was the assistant cruise director (I wish I remembered her name) who was directing passengers waiting to go to the gangway. I have never in my life seen somebody who represents a company treat people the way she did......condescending, rude, snotty, arrogant, and disrespectful are the best words I can think to describe her. I realize disembarkation is a stressful situation, but if she can't handle the stress then she needs to find a new job. She would talk down to passengers with questions, yell, make snyde remarks, and interrogate people standing in line. It totally blew my mind...I've never seen anything it, and unfortunately it left a very sour taste on what otherwise was a good trip.

Ship, staff, shows, etc.

- The ship asthetically was in fantastic shape and clean as could be. The staff overall was excellent (minus the assisant cruise director), especially the ladies and guys in the main dining room and buffet areas. Our room steward (standard balcony room, deck 8) was fantastic. There were some plumbing issues though, and the sewer backed up into my parents bathroom one day which was obviously disgusting, but quickly cleaned up and disenfected. There was also a major water pipe rupture on deck 3 that shut down water to the entire ship for hours, with no mention, update, or apology from "management" at any point of the trip. The observation deck was our favorite place to spend time relaxing, but I really wish they would quit doing loud events like trivia and art auctions in there. Sue Denning was great, and not too over the top as some people have described. The shows, guest speakers and guests entertainers as a whole were very good.

 

Conclusion

- A good trip overall, with the exceptions I listed. The friendliness and attentiveness of the "blue collar" crew members are always what makes the trip for me. Overall, Celebrity remains my favorite cruise line, although I certainly understand and agree with the complaints about upselling and the majority of activites costing a fee and/or just being a glorified sales pitch for something else that costs extra. I think that corporate needs to be very careful how far they push the envelope on fees and additional costs above the cruise fare, because it will definitely run people off for good.

Thanks for the review! You have a flair for writing which makes reading quick and very enjoyable. We were on the 14 day Eclipse in November and encountered a very rude bartender at the Passport bar and again at the buffet bar. He treated women either rudely or ignored them and waited on couples and men and yes it put a damper on an otherwise great cruise.

 

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Sorry Celeb let you down .,.esp the rude Asst Cruise Director. Hope you reported her post cruise.

 

Also unfortunate how the excursion in Pisa was handled. Everyone ahould have refused to go. In Cozumel one time, we booked a cruise line excursion to a remote beach island. .By the time we met on the pier it was severe dark skies and pouring rain...thunderstorms were expected. They actually expected we would board an open boat to travel to the remote beach where there was no shelter beyond palapas...We caused a big fuss and they finally agreed to permit cancellations...no one wanted to be out in a storm. Sad part was how Celeb much more than the tour operator gave us such a difficult time.

 

Glad the rest of your cruise was enjoyable!

You were right. The asst. CD was quite snarky. Our only complaint was the exceptionally long delays at Customs and exiting the ship. Otherwise the trip was perfect. Great sea days. We missed Toulon and had winery tours booked which we were reimbursed by our tour group in Toulon.

We were on this cruise, also, and had a GREAT time.

 

We were surprised about skipping Toulon for the weather, as we didn't think there was any "weather". Never heard about a terrorist plot. Interesting.

 

Agreed, Livorno day was miserable. We were glad we didn't have a tour, and stayed on the ship all day. Maybe Celebrity should have refunded passengers who wanted to stay on board, instead of being out in thunder and lightening, and continued on, for those who wanted.....

 

 

We were in the last group off, and never saw the assistant CD, but yes, dis-embarkation was truly a mess. We were glad we had the global entry.....moved right along, once we FINALLY got off the ship.

 

Again,

We loved this cruise and all the CC people we met on board.

Helaine

Hello everyone. Myself, my wife, and my parents went on the transatlantic Silhouette cruise this year, and I just wanted to mention a few things :

Disembarkation

- This was another let down, and I'm not even going to address the delay by Customs, as we've come to expect that. The main problem was the assistant cruise director (I wish I remembered her name) who was directing passengers waiting to go to the gangway. I have never in my life seen somebody who represents a company treat people the way she did......condescending, rude, snotty, arrogant, and disrespectful are the best words I can think to describe her. I realize disembarkation is a stressful situation, but if she can't handle the stress then she needs to find a new job. She would talk down to passengers with questions, yell, make snyde remarks, and interrogate people standing in line. It totally blew my mind...I've never seen anything it, and unfortunately it left a very sour taste on what otherwise was a good trip.

 

Thank you for your review

Sue Denning is now in the Eclipse and I have heard positive comments from her. I find this situation strange, but I think it was due to orders from their superiors, since the ship returning from Europe will need to do more processes than normal, such as the inspection of the CDC, etc.