Review - Silhouette - March 17th

[Tampa Jim]

Veranda Class - Deck 7 Middle about 100 feet forward of the Hideaway.

 

The ship was immaculately clean and very well appointed. It was very easy to figure out where we were going, great directional information inside of the elevators and outside as well.

 

Embarkation was easy. We went to the Mast Grill to eat, the buffet was packed, we were almost loners. We did the right thing - the burgers are great and the beer was icy cold.

 

The stateroom was fabulous in design, very quiet, plenty spacious and a great balcony. We had NO issues with the amount of storage. All four of our bags went easily under the bed and we could have probably hidden 3-4 more. The bathroom was the best ever, great shower, wonderful water pressure and controls, etc. The balcony was standard size but more than plentiful. My ONLY complaint was the length of the bed and comfort level. I wanted for a better mattress the entire trip, it just wasn't up to my standards and only someone fairly short would be happy, IMO.

 

The food quality was good, not great. Service was great in the MDR, Tuscan Grille, and Mast Grill not so special in the buffet. Trying to get a beverage delivered in the buffet was fruitless - easier to just get up and go to the bar. IMO, the buffet was nothing more than a super-size, spotless clean version of Golden Corral or similar (not my cup of tea really). It was also quite crowded and it seemed to attract the less polite on the cruise (just my observation). I did feel that while the Tuscan Grille was a great experience, the MDR was more than sufficient. My ONLY complaint about the MDR was the 2" gap between some tables for two. Once we had that figured out, we always made sure to get a truly "private" two-top and we were happy. We were even happier once we figured out that a simple request would send our dessert to the room each evening. That allowed us to eat it when we were ready AND on the balcony. We saw NO discounting on specialty other than a 20% discount in Murano the evening we were in San Juan until 10pm.

 

The premium beverage package is EXACTLY the ticket. What a pleasant way to holiday ... no signatures, no limits, no concerns. Pay once and be done with it.

 

Although the laundry isn't inexpensive, they did a very good job. FYI, the best deal was a $35 bag mid-cruise. We just paid by the piece and were satisfied.

 

The dress code wasn't honored ... anywhere. I found one woman wondering the buffet in her robe and slippers, tank tops and t-shirts in the MDR for breakfast, formal nights with no jacket, no ties, etc. It was quite the mess and really needs to be cleaned up OR the code discarded.

 

The pool area was the most crowded onboard, but I never had an issue finding a spot wherever it pleased me. Most of the rest of the ship seemed extremely spacious at all times (exception the buffet).

 

Service was PERFECT and I mean PERFECT. Everywhere I went, everything I requested ... poof, it was magic.

 

The shows were very good, the captain is warm and absolutely hilarious, the cruise director was one of the most sincere that I have ever had the pleasure to meet and talk with ... a really nice lady. I also spoke with the executive chef, a handful of officers and plenty of crew - great folks the entire bunch.

 

LOTS of activities, too many to be involved in without repeating the cruise ... probably twice.

 

The ports were OK ... San Juan the prettiest, St Martin the most unique and St Thomas the most typical. Sarafina's Patissiere in Marigot (the French capital) is a do NOT miss stop. We also really enjoyed the Butterfly farm in St. Martin - it was way out of town, but the owner is really a neat guy.

 

IMO, the only deficiency was in the disembarkation - it was a mess. It wasn't Celebrity's fault, but I sure would like to see them apply world-class pressure to the Port authorities and ICE.

 

Given everything in total ... 95% rating. Absolutely an experience worth repeating. We are currently booked on the Equinox next March and may book a Transatlantic for early winter (Europe to Florida).

[Lois R]

Hi Jim, thanks for the review.:) It seems disembarkation for every

cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale is terrible.....I have noticed that is the

same experience for every review I have read recently:eek:

 

Glad you had a good cruise though:D

[portofrome]

Thanks for the review.

[Seago2]

Thank you, sounds lovely. Dessert in the cabin sounds great- we usually just go to bed after dimmer anyway.