Silhouette Review - 18 Nov out of Rome - Med and Adriatic Seas (13 Nights)

Our very first Celebrity cruise, on the Silhouette, no less.

We are loyal Royal cruisers. However, this itinerary looked too good to miss up.

Leaving from Rome, the ship was scheduled to go to Livorno (Florence,Pisa), Corfu Greece, Kotor Montenegro, Dubrovnik Croatia, Ravenna Italy, Venice (overnight), Catania Italy, Naples Italy and back to Rome.

This time round, there were 6 of us. My family (2 adults plus 2 kids) as well as my in-laws - first time cruisers!

Departure flight information at Singapore Changi Airport. We would be flying to Rome via Zurich, on Swiss Air.

They are known for handing out nice Swiss chocolates at the end of the flight. Very nice.

Our flight arrived on time. Flight time from Singapore to Zurich was about 13 hours. Waiting area at Zurich Airport, for our connecting flight to Rome.

Swiss Airbus A320. One of these planes would get us from Zurich to Rome.

Gorgeous views of the Alps as we flew from Zurich to Rome. Those are mountain peaks sticking out above the clouds! Beautiful.

Our flight arrived in Rome on time and we were met by our private pick-up. Now we are headed to our B&B (Quod Libet) in Rome, where we will stay for 2 nights pre-cruise. We would also stay 1 Night post-cruise at the same B&B. As this review is focussed on the cruise, I shall not review Rome for now.

Just a picture of the Colosseum. If you imagine that this structure was built about 2,000 years ago without modern machinery, it is just mind-boggling.

However, a word of caution. Never let down your guard. The pickpocketing situation in Rome is very real. You will hear many stories of people who got their wallets/passports nicked right from under their eyes. My family had several pick-pocket attempts too, and thank God nothing was stolen! One such attempt happened when we were in the Colosseum. These thieves work in groups in a very co-ordinated fashion. One man, very smartly dressed, asked my wife to take a photo of him in a crowded area. The next thing we knew, there was a pickpocketing attempt!

There is the Silhouette! With the 6 of us, we took a private transfer from downtown Rome to the port. Our driver could bring us right to the ship, a real relief! I saw passengers dragging their luggage and trying to get on the complimentary shuttles from the port gates to the port. A great hassle indeed.

We got to the terminal before 11am. They hadn't started to board yet and we were told to wait. As we were in Concierge class cabins, we would have priority boarding.

Check-in was very smooth, and we were on our way to board the ship! Exciting!

Once on board, we headed to the Ocean View cafe (Deck 14) for some lunch. First impressions - the ship was the most beautiful ship that I had ever sailed on. In particular, the wooden panelling throughout the ship gave it a very classy and upmarket feel.

From the Oceanview cafe, we spotted the Serenade of the Seas in port.

Thanks for the trip report/review! We hope to sail on the Silhouette out of Rome in June 2014 so this helps to amp up the excitement!

Question: what time did they start the boarding? When we were on the Equinox from Rome in June 2012, we got to the port just before noon and it was a mob scene at check in. Would like to avoid that this time.

My very first lunch at the Oceanview Cafe - a historic picture, at least for me.

A selection of desserts. Frankly, desserts in the Oceanview and MDR were a let-down, when compared to Royal Caribbean.

After lunch, it was time to take a walk. This was the lawn area.

Another view of the lawn.

The Lawn grill. We didn't dine here this cruise. In fact, we didn't dine in any speciality restaurant!

Now, that is real grass.

Thanks for the trip report/review! We hope to sail on the Silhouette out of Rome in June 2014 so this helps to amp up the excitement!

 

Question: what time did they start the boarding? When we were on the Equinox from Rome in June 2012, we got to the port just before noon and it was a mob scene at check in. Would like to avoid that this time.

Thanks for checking in.

For our cruise, I think the check-in started at around 11:00am. Indeed, the lines were getting long, very long.

There were two cruise ships in port, not one.

I believe these were ferries to nearby islands. They could carry vehicles. (drive on)

This was the Sunset Bar. There was live music, a classical guitarist playing on a hybrid guitar.

The outdoor pool area. Very empty now. Rather cold today.

Some pictures of the Sky Lounge. The nightly Elite social event would be held here. No vouchers for this cruise.

These TVs were neat. Overall the Sky Lounge was very classy.

Enjoying the review so far and the photos make it more real. I've been on Silhouette twice, both transatlantics so it will be fun to follow your journey.

Before you get too deep into the cruise part, could you tell us a little about the place you stayed in Rome? I just looked at the website. They mention having only 4 rooms. Is there one over another you'd recommend? How about the location? Were there local places to eat nearby? Any pluses or minuses?

What kind of breakfast was included?

We're thinking of a land stay in Rome before getting on next fall's Equinox TA, reasonably priced & well located - doesn't have to be fancy - in fact, we like family run!

Hope to hear about your impressions of food in the DR and entertainment during a port intensive cruise.:)

Great pictures. I hope to see more.

The indoor solarium. A very quiet and relaxing place. It feels like a spa.

Another view of the relaxing loungers.

The fountain. Very nice.

Aquaspa Cafe. This was located at the rear of the Solarium.

Very healthy stuff.

More healthy stuff!

Enjoying the review so far and the photos make it more real. I've been on Silhouette twice' date=' both transatlantics so it will be fun to follow your journey.

 

Before you get too deep into the cruise part, could you tell us a little about the place you stayed in Rome? I just looked at the website. They mention having only 4 rooms. Is there one over another you'd recommend? How about the location? Were there local places to eat nearby? Any pluses or minuses?

 

What kind of breakfast was included?

 

We're thinking of a land stay in Rome before getting on next fall's Equinox TA, reasonably priced & well located - doesn't have to be fancy - in fact, we like family run!

 

Hope to hear about your impressions of food in the DR and entertainment during a port intensive cruise.:)[/quote']

 

We chose Quod Libet because it had very good reviews on TripAdvisor. The location is good, about a 10 minute walk to the Vatican and very near shopping streets. It is also right next to a Metro station. I think they have more than 4 rooms as they now have 2 apartments. I think in total they have 6 to 8 rooms.

 

Continental breakfast was included. The servings were generous and it included boiled eggs, some ham. The bread and croissants were very good. The place is located right next to a 24 hour bakery. Croissants (plain, chocolate) cost 30 Euro cents per piece!

Great pictures. I hope to see more.

Thanks for checking in.

For this cruise, we originally booked a Family veranda which was interconnected with an Oceanview stateroom. The idea was for my family of 4 to sleep in the Family room, while the in-laws would have the oceanview stateroom. We booked the cruise more than a year ago.

As the sailing date grew closer, the prices for the cruise dropped, a lot! It was after final payment date and we didn't think we would be able to get anything better. However, our wonderful travel agent did her best to negotiate with Celebrity and she managed to snag three Concierge Class cabins for us. Yes, you heard it, THREE! Cool huh. For the first time in our cruising history, our kids had their own cabin, and they loved it!

Cabin 1182, Concierge class. We had cabins 1182, 1184 and 1186.

We had 3 green apples and a bottle of wine waiting for us. Lovely.

Check this out for a balcony! It is called a three in one! This was 1182, looking into 1184 and 1186. Our wonderful stateroom attendant got the balcony partitions opened. Interesting that when we asked Guest Relations, they said it was not permitted due to 'safety reasons'. Yah, right. I couldn't figure out how opening these partitions made it any less safe.

Our afternoon canapes.

Great photos! We're on the December 22 Silhouette sailing to the Caribbean. This will be our 14th cruise with Celebrity but the first on Solstice class. We're very excited!

Enjoying the review so far and the photos make it more real. I've been on Silhouette twice' date=' both transatlantics so it will be fun to follow your journey.

 

Before you get too deep into the cruise part, could you tell us a little about the place you stayed in Rome? I just looked at the website. They mention having only 4 rooms. Is there one over another you'd recommend? How about the location? Were there local places to eat nearby? Any pluses or minuses?

 

What kind of breakfast was included?

 

We're thinking of a land stay in Rome before getting on next fall's Equinox TA, reasonably priced & well located - doesn't have to be fancy - in fact, we like family run!

 

Hope to hear about your impressions of food in the DR and entertainment during a port intensive cruise.:)[/quote']

 

Hi Barb,

 

We stayed at the Hilton Rome Airport and got upgraded to the Executive Floor due to our Gold status. Afternoon drinks and snacks were included as well as breakfast. No complaints.

 

We really enjoyed the cruise as well and were amazed by the quality of food and service ... especially compared to NCL :)

 

Petra

Great photos! We're on the December 22 Silhouette sailing to the Caribbean. This will be our 14th cruise with Celebrity but the first on Solstice class. We're very excited!

Sounds like you are going to have a wonderful Christmas cruise.

Have fun!

Great Pics! Thanks for sharing :)

Great Pics! Thanks for sharing :)

Thanks for checking in. More on the way, but I think I have to wait till the weekend before I can do a major update.

Our Elite coupons waiting for us. Loyalty pays off! The laundry perks were very good.

Picture of the Main Dining Room.

The Silhouette Theatre. The productions shows were awesome - a few notches above Royal's.

Shops and more shops. All very up-market.

A short video of the flight we took.

Singapore to Zurich - 12.5hrs

Zurich to Rome - 1 hr

Connection was smooth. Zurich airport was very efficient.

I have put up many more pictures of the ship on my blog (work-in-progress)

http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2013/12/celebrity-silhouette-ship-pictures.html

Do check it out if you're interested.

The very famous Molecular Bar. I didn't get any drinks from here though. Most drinks cost USD 12. For this cruise, I was happy with the drinks offered at the morning Elite coffee event and the evening cocktail event. However, many have raved about the drinks at the Molecular Bar. So, this gives me another reason to cruise with Celebrity in the future!

Desserts available from Cafe Al Bachio. The Cafe was very well patronized. Speciality coffees were going for 4.5 USD. Note that the desserts are complimentary. You can ask for them even if you are not going to buy any coffee.

That is Bistro on Five. Cover charge of 5USD. Menu is full of crepes. It was quite well patronized.

I found this piece of artwork very beautiful. The entire ship is a work of art.

We are also on the dec 22nd cruise ..thanks for sharing

We are also on the dec 22nd cruise ..thanks for sharing

Thanks for checking in. I have thousands of pictures and tens if not more than a hundred short video clips from our recent cruise. Still busy sorting them out and posting, but I have a lot of fun doing this.

Your cruise is to the Caribbean right?

Not as awesome as yours, but yes we are eastern Caribbean