Does the Silhouette feel crowded

[RnD]

We have taken a number of cruises (62 I thinK), and always preferred the smaller ships. It seems the smaller ships are vanishing except for some very expensive lines.

 

Our experience with the larger ships-over 2000 passengers has not been good, with the possible exception of Cunard. Does this ship seem crowded, with no place to get away, and huge buffet lines etc?

 

We decided to try celebrity again on a twelve night January sailing from Bayonne, NJ and hope the trip will be a pleasant one.

 

Also does every announcement include an ad for an on board shop, or special drink offer? We took an NCL trip in Europe, and every announcement included a commercial, and it was often difficult to get around the ship because there were merchandise tables setup in virtually every area.

 

We would love to hear from others who were on this ship, though it is to late to change our plans should the response be negative.

 

Thanks

[pamkev]

We have taken a number of cruises (62 I thinK), and always preferred the smaller ships. It seems the smaller ships are vanishing except for some very expensive lines.

 

Our experience with the larger ships-over 2000 passengers has not been good, with the possible exception of Cunard. Does this ship seem crowded, with no place to get away, and huge buffet lines etc?

 

We decided to try celebrity again on a twelve night January sailing from Bayonne, NJ and hope the trip will be a pleasant one.

 

Also does every announcement include an ad for an on board shop, or special drink offer? We took an NCL trip in Europe, and every announcement included a commercial, and it was often difficult to get around the ship because there were merchandise tables setup in virtually every area.

 

We would love to hear from others who were on this ship, though it is to late to change our plans should the response be negative.

 

Thanks

 

I will be getting on in Bayonne Friday. I have been on other S class ships and they do not feel crowed at all, Celebrity I think did a great job with this class ship making it big but not making it feel crowded.

The only time you will hear a announcement is around noon when the captain does his daily update they do not do the type you are used to on NCL or other cruise lines. Hope you enjoy your cruise

 

Pam

[Despegue]

Hello RnD,

 

Celebrity has a "no announcement" policy except for the noon's Captain's briefing and Safety announcements or issues affecting the cruise.

 

Celebrity also has the most spacious Large ships. I have never experienced crowding, except for embarkation buffet lunches (but you can easily avoid the crowd there by opting for the Bistro on 5 or AquaSpa Café venues which are open for lunch on embarkation!)

 

You will notice over the course of the cruise several "sales" tables set up in the onboard shops areas but in general, it is not so much in your face compared with some other lines (Princess, NCL...)

 

I am absolutely certain that you will adore the Celebrity Silhouette. She is one fine vessel!

 

regards,

 

Despegue

[Gracie115]

We were on Silhouette in the Med in Sept. It is a wonderful ship that does NOT have a large ship feel at all, one of the reasons we love the "S" class. The buffet does not have lines as it is set up in stations not lines. But if you happen to find it too busy there are so many other food options that you can surely find one that is quiet, we always did, actually ate at the buffet very infrequently. We LOVED the Silhouette and have booked back on her for the April TA!!!

[techwatcher]

No, Silhouette doesn't feel crowded; actually most big ships we've been on don't - the ships tend to be designed to avoid the crowded feel. It's very possible to find yourself alone and quiet in a particular place despite the fact you know there must be 3000 people within 1000 feet of where you are!

 

As others have said, almost no announcements except for the Captain's announcement at noon-ish each day and, whilst Celebrity certainly likes to sell you things, it isn't as 'in your face' as on other cruise lines.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

PS Gracie115, were you on the September 4th Holy Land cruise by any chance? If so, we were on the same cruise :)

[Gracie115]

PS Gracie115, were you on the September 4th Holy Land cruise by any chance? If so, we were on the same cruise :)

 

 

No, we followed you on Sept 15....what a wonderful, marvelous, fantastic cruise it was....best vacation EVER!!:D

[RnD]

We did a Princess cruise this past summer and I always felt like there was no place to sit. Also booking their specialty restaurants which you can only do on board. The front desk told me they only have one person that handles the reservation phone calls-with almost 3000 passengers.

 

We are looking forward to the trip.

[Mannix]

We are interested in the Holy Land Cruise next October on the Silhoutte. We would love to hear about your experiences.

[ghstudio]

I don't think anyone has mentioned that unlike some other cruise lines, you won't be asked every 5 minutes if you would like to purchase the drink of the day. If you want a drink, you can find someone to get it, but they aren't pushing them on you constantly.

 

We were very reluctant to ever get on another large ship after sailing on the Majesty/Monarch(?) of the Seas out of Bayonne to Canada. That was a horror cruise...partially because of the way the ship is layed out forcing everyone into the same central area...and partially because the average age was very high, walkers and motorized carts everywhere (which is OK with us), but no courtesy from the other passengers to let those folks on elevators, etc. We lived in NYC for many years so I can make the following comment: the passengers were acting like New Yorkers.

 

Then we did a TA on the Eclipse and it was wonderful...and very very different then the RCL ship. We've actually booked the equinox for three cruises next year.

 

I think you'll find the silhouette a very nice ship....I have apprehensions about it leaving from Bayonne .... but our trip might have been a bad fluke of luck.

[SFCAcruiser]

... Does this ship seem crowded, with no place to get away, and huge buffet lines etc?....

 

I think the key word in your question is "seem" since this makes it highly subjective. Two of us sailed on Silhouette (first time on "S" class ship) in August and we both felt crowded - there were 400 children on board, so that may have had some influence.

 

But, during our cruise we made new cruise friends (2 separate couples) who specifically said they loved the new ship and it did not feel crowded. So, there you go - three couples on the same cruise who had different "feelings" re: crowding. Will we take another another "S" class cruise? Of couse :D in about 10 days.

[dcruisers]

We did a Princess cruise this past summer and I always felt like there was no place to sit. Also booking their specialty restaurants which you can only do on board. The front desk told me they only have one person that handles the reservation phone calls-with almost 3000 passengers.

 

We are looking forward to the trip.

 

We are, also, going on Silhouette in Jan out of Cape Liberty...which date will you be sailing? Maybe, we will be on the same cruise!

We have been on various cruise lines larger ships(over 2,000 passengers) and, other than embarkation day at the buffet, we never felt crowded. And with the Silhouette, there will be other options for lunch on the embarkation day. We were on Princess to Alaska in late Aug/Sept and the ship never felt crowded. I think the newer ships are designed to give a more cozy "feel" while sailing with more passengers.

[backyardponder]

We were on the Equinox in February on an 11 night cruise. Overall I did not feel crowded except for:

- we had early seating for dinner the first part of the cruise. It was hard to get into the show afterwards unless you got there right after dinner

- With only 2 sets of elevators, after the show, it was a bit crowded, but not unacceptable.

- the late night comedy show was in a venue which was pretty small and couldn't handle the demand...had to get there early to get a seat

 

We loved our Celebrity cruise and the above things were pretty minor since I didn't even think about them until I saw your question. We loved the minimal announcements, the artwork, and the general feel of the ship.

[Leeroy-Jenkins]

Does this ship seem crowded, with no place to get away, and huge buffet lines etc?

 

Nope