REVIEW -- 1/12/14 Silhouette Western Caribbean

[pnutzlaw]

My family and I sailed on the Silhouette’s 1/12/14 Western Caribbean itinerary. I am 38. My wife is 37. This was our 4th cruise, but first with Celebrity. With us were our two sons, 4 and 1½. This review will touch on the kid experience for those thinking about cruising with your kids. Unlike many people on CC who display their extreme distaste for children on board, I will say that our fellow cruisers could not have been kinder to our boys. For those families scared by some of the ‘kid’ comments on here, understand that those people represent an extreme minority of cruisers. While I can easily see how X could be extremely boring for older kids/teenagers, we felt that X was perfect for our boys. With schools in session, there were only 44 children on board and many grandparents on the ship wanted to play with and talk to our kids. On at least 10 occasions, fellow cruisers begged us to lift our stroller’s canopy and show them a glimpse of our sleeping baby. Never did we feel like pariahs because we cruised with our young children.

 

I will post this review piecemeal and will try to post some pictures. However, many pictures exist in other reviews, especially Gambee’s, and my goal is to do more explaining rather than show you a picture of something that’s been posted 100 times out here. Not to mention, I did not wander the ship and take pictures of every area. Please ask me questions as I would be happy to discuss what was a wonderful family vacation.

 

We are from New Jersey and decided to cruise because we had a family wedding to attend in Boca Raton on 1/11, the night before we sailed. We flew into FLL on Friday, 1/10 and stayed at the Embassy Suites in Boca Raton, a half hour north. We chose to rent a car from Sixt. Although not at the FLL rental car facility, Sixt is located just outside the airport on Federal Highway (Route 1) and literally a minute away from the SE 24th Street (SR 84) entrance to Port Everglades. Not only were the prices unbelievably low, Sixt also provides a free shuttle to and from the pier. Only one of the airport rental agencies provides this service, but its rental rates were sky high. In order to get to Sixt, they have a dedicated shuttle stop at the airport’s rental car facility, which connects to Terminal 1 at FLL.

 

Embarkation - After a delicious rehearsal dinner at Maggiano’s Little Italy in Boca on Friday night and the wedding on Saturday, we were up early on Sunday. After grabbing our complimentary breakfast at Embassy Suites (which was excellent, by the way, including a made-to-order omelet station), we made the half-hour drive south to Sixt and returned our car. We arrived at Sixt at 9:40 a.m. We left on Sixt’s shuttle to the pier a little after 10 a.m. and pulled up next to the Silhouette approximately 10-15 minutes later. There was zero traffic getting into Port Everglades. Even after we were on the ship, we never noticed any major traffic issues at the pier.

 

The Silhouette was docked at Pier 25 on its port side. Our driver pulled up to the baggage bins and our luggage was dropped off a minute later. The terminal was not yet receiving embarking passengers, which means that you need to form a line outside the terminal. There are movable barriers set up and this waiting area is covered in the event of rain. When we got on line, there were only 35-50 parties in front of us, but a long line formed behind us. I’d say we waited 20-30 minutes before they opened up the terminal (around 11:00). I discovered that they wait to open up check-in until the ship is ready to receive new passengers. Accordingly, there is no wait to board the ship once you check in. Once inside, we went through security and continued to wait in line for check-in.

 

At least initially, not many employees were staffing the check-in line. When they first opened, there were only 4 or 5 employees, including someone for the Aqua/Elite/Suites/Zenith people, of which I saw very few at the time. If there was no one on that line, that person would check in us common folk. More employees showed up as we waited.

 

We waited about a half hour once clearing security and check-in was smooth. We had previously upgraded to the Premium Beverage Package from the Classic Beverage packages received via the 1-2-3 Go promotion and this was noted on our Seapass cards. From check-in, which is on ground level, we went up in an elevator as you board the Silhouette on Deck 5 near Café Al Bacio and the aft elevators. Note: the gangway from the terminal to the ship is at a steep incline and some fellow passengers had difficulty negotiating this. We immediately went to the aft elevators and went up to Deck 14 and the Oceanview Cafe for our first lunch.

 

To be continued…

[maritimer2]

Looking forward to more .... We are on the Silhouette in just over two weeks.;)

[whataboutport]

Looking forward to the full review!

Also thanks for the tip on Sixt! Never heard of them before but sounds like a good option. Last time I booked Alamo bc they were a few dollars cheaper. But they don't offer a shuttle to the port. Ended up we had to get a cab and paid about $18 so we didn't save any money! Oops.

[poolwife]

I am sailing on March 2, Eastern Caribbean (St. Maarten, St. Kitts, San Juan) and am wondering if you ate in the Lawn Club Grill and if so, what were your thoughts on it.

 

Thank you. Very much looking forward to the rest of your review.

[Ramblin Wreck Cruiser]

Thank you for your review. I look forward to your additional comments. We leave on this same ship and itinerary in 32 days! It cannot come soon enough. I'm so sick of winter!

[pnutzlaw]

I am sailing on March 2, Eastern Caribbean (St. Maarten, St. Kitts, San Juan) and am wondering if you ate in the Lawn Club Grill and if so, what were your thoughts on it.

 

Thank you. Very much looking forward to the rest of your review.

 

We had a reservation there for the last night, but we switched it to Qsine. We heard great things on CC about Lawn Club, but at the end of the day, it would have been another steak. The filet we had at Qsine was delicious, but on the smaller side (as all dishes there are, but you eat a ton of food there).

[SkystheLimit]

Thank you for the review. Look forward to more and learning about your port experiences. We are on the same itinerary in April.

Edited January 23, 2014 by SkystheLimit

[brigantiner]

We were on same cruise.....saw your fam a few times....cute and well behaved kids!

[riclop]

My family and I sailed on the Silhouette’s 1/12/14 Western Caribbean itinerary. I am 38. My wife is 37. This was our 4th cruise, but first with Celebrity. With us were our two sons, 4 and 1½. This review will touch on the kid experience for those thinking about cruising with your kids. Unlike many people on CC who display their extreme distaste for children on board, I will say that our fellow cruisers could not have been kinder to our boys. For those families scared by some of the ‘kid’ comments on here, understand that those people represent an extreme minority of cruisers. While I can easily see how X could be extremely boring for older kids/teenagers, we felt that X was perfect for our boys. With schools in session, there were only 44 children on board and many grandparents on the ship wanted to play with and talk to our kids. On at least 10 occasions, fellow cruisers begged us to lift our stroller’s canopy and show them a glimpse of our sleeping baby. Never did we feel like pariahs because we cruised with our young children.

 

I will post this review piecemeal and will try to post some pictures. However, many pictures exist in other reviews, especially Gambee’s, and my goal is to do more explaining rather than show you a picture of something that’s been posted 100 times out here. Not to mention, I did not wander the ship and take pictures of every area. Please ask me questions as I would be happy to discuss what was a wonderful family vacation.

 

We are from New Jersey and decided to cruise because we had a family wedding to attend in Boca Raton on 1/11, the night before we sailed. We flew into FLL on Friday, 1/10 and stayed at the Embassy Suites in Boca Raton, a half hour north. We chose to rent a car from Sixt. Although not at the FLL rental car facility, Sixt is located just outside the airport on Federal Highway (Route 1) and literally a minute away from the SE 24th Street (SR 84) entrance to Port Everglades. Not only were the prices unbelievably low, Sixt also provides a free shuttle to and from the pier. Only one of the airport rental agencies provides this service, but its rental rates were sky high. In order to get to Sixt, they have a dedicated shuttle stop at the airport’s rental car facility, which connects to Terminal 1 at FLL.

 

Embarkation - After a delicious rehearsal dinner at Maggiano’s Little Italy in Boca on Friday night and the wedding on Saturday, we were up early on Sunday. After grabbing our complimentary breakfast at Embassy Suites (which was excellent, by the way, including a made-to-order omelet station), we made the half-hour drive south to Sixt and returned our car. We arrived at Sixt at 9:40 a.m. We left on Sixt’s shuttle to the pier a little after 10 a.m. and pulled up next to the Silhouette approximately 10-15 minutes later. There was zero traffic getting into Port Everglades. Even after we were on the ship, we never noticed any major traffic issues at the pier.

 

The Silhouette was docked at Pier 25 on its port side. Our driver pulled up to the baggage bins and our luggage was dropped off a minute later. The terminal was not yet receiving embarking passengers, which means that you need to form a line outside the terminal. There are movable barriers set up and this waiting area is covered in the event of rain. When we got on line, there were only 35-50 parties in front of us, but a long line formed behind us. I’d say we waited 20-30 minutes before they opened up the terminal (around 11:00). I discovered that they wait to open up check-in until the ship is ready to receive new passengers. Accordingly, there is no wait to board the ship once you check in. Once inside, we went through security and continued to wait in line for check-in.

 

At least initially, not many employees were staffing the check-in line. When they first opened, there were only 4 or 5 employees, including someone for the Aqua/Elite/Suites/Zenith people, of which I saw very few at the time. If there was no one on that line, that person would check in us common folk. More employees showed up as we waited.

 

We waited about a half hour once clearing security and check-in was smooth. We had previously upgraded to the Premium Beverage Package from the Classic Beverage packages received via the 1-2-3 Go promotion and this was noted on our Seapass cards. From check-in, which is on ground level, we went up in an elevator as you board the Silhouette on Deck 5 near Café Al Bacio and the aft elevators. Note: the gangway from the terminal to the ship is at a steep incline and some fellow passengers had difficulty negotiating this. We immediately went to the aft elevators and went up to Deck 14 and the Oceanview Cafe for our first lunch.

 

To be continued…

Thanks for starting.

[pnutzlaw]

I will attempt to write more during lunch today.

[pnutzlaw]

Oceanview Cafe - The Sihouette's buffet is on Deck 14, all the way aft, one deck above the lido deck. There are entrances on both the port and starboard sides and the buffet spans from the aft elevators all the way to the back of the ship.

 

All the way aft is an outdoor seating area where diners can view the ship's wake. As you enter the OC on the port side and walk aft, there is seating and windows to the right. To the left, before the center of the OC opens up into the food area, is the bar, including Il Secondo Bacio. This is a "spinoff" of Cafe Al Bacio, replete with specialty coffees. The bar itself serves everything from soda to hard liquor and beer. This is the bar from which drink servers in the OC get your drinks. However, it was rare that a drink server came over more than once, if at all. It was simply easier to go up to the bar and get a drink. For free drinks, stations were set up around the perimeter of the OC (4 or 5 of them). These stations had coffee, tea, water, lemonade, apple juice, orange juice, iced tea, fruit punch and a few other juices. As you enter the OC on the starboard side, there is seating and windows to the left and the first thing you come to on the right is the, wait for it, ICE CREAM! They had someone serving approximately 8 different flavors of ice cream and sorbet until 10 PM each evening. There was also a soft serve frozen yogurt machine behind the counter with two different flavors each day. You could get your ice cream in a bowl or in a cone. And oh the toppings! M&Ms (regular and peanut), sprinkles, Reese's Pieces, chocolate syrup, etc! Many people would just get a bowl of toppings to go. We would make several visits here each day.

 

The food at OC was good for a buffet. Breakfast included 2 made-to-order egg stations. The omelets were very good and the ordering process and cooks were efficient. The omelet ingredients were clearly posted and one person took your name and wrote down your order and the cook grabbed those order slips and made the omelets. I never waited more than 5-7 minutes, even when a good number of people were on line. The bacon was not greasy and generally crispy, the way I like it. Breakfast had a stir-fry area with dumplings and an area for the U.K. passengers, including bangers and some kind of black/blood sausage (not my cup of tea, no pun intended).

 

Lunch was good, although we preferred to go to the Mast Grill for one of the delicious cheeseburgers served there (more on that later). The made-to-order pasta was gobbled up by my 4 year old. That station had 4 different pastas, a multitude of sauces and a large number of other ingredients, mostly vegetables. Despite some recent complaints about the pizza, it was cheesy and tasty (always had cheese, pepperoni and a different specialty pizza each day). New York pizza it is not (or Princess for that matter), but it was satisfying for a quick afternoon or late night snack. Each rectangular pie is so small, the person who makes them works non-stop -- which means there is always fresh pizza served. Lunch also had a dedicated Indian food station and fajita station with chicken, beef, guacamole and an array of toppings. I found them tasty.

 

We never sat for a full dinner in the OC, but we would often go before dinner in the MDR or specialty restaurants to feed our 4 year old in the event he wanted to go the Fun Factory. If he wasn't in the mood for dinner, we would take him to the OC after 10 for a snack. I did try the sushi one evening and the rolls were tasty, but not great. They did have some raw fish (salmon, I believe). Otherwise, I cannot comment on the dinner items (except the pasta station and the pizza, which are always open from lunch on).

 

Next up... Cafe Al Bacio (one of my favorite venues on the Silhouette)!

[lovestx]

Thanks for starting this review. So glad your children were warmly welcomed by the other guests. And kudos to you for starting them travelling at a young age.

 

Our 19 and 17 year old kids loved their first Celebrity cruise and can't wait to return to the Eastern Med, this time on Silhouette. So Celebrity can keep all kinds of kids happy (though mine never partook of any teen club activities).

[pnutzlaw]

Cafe Al Bacio - As stated above, one of my favorite venues on the ship. CAB is located on Deck 5, starboard side, mid-ship, just forward of the aft elevators. I digress: as can be seen on the deck maps, most public areas are closest to the aft elevators, which is where the action is (atrium, dining rooms, CAB, martini bar, etc.). There are 4 aft elevators on the port side and 4 on the starboard side, all looking out through glass into the ship's atrium, which goes from Deck 3 all the way up.

 

I love good coffee and CAB had the best on the ship. Note: CAB does not serve regular, free coffee. If you want a cup, you need to go to the buffet or the MDR. In my opinion, the coffee at the buffet was not great (a little harsh, no real flavor), but the MDR coffee was very good. CAB has fresh specialty coffee drinks, most of which are around $4.50 -- Americano, Cappucino, Espresso, coffees with booze, etc. Also served were different teas in pots. The gelateria is part of CAB and is an extra charge. I had seen a hint out here on CC that a great way to get a free scoop of gelato if you have a beverage package (which we did) was to order an Affogato (a scoop of gelato in a martini glass served with a side of hot espresso meant to be poured over the top) -- delicious and they allowed you to choose any flavor of gelato. I had one of these almost every day as my wife and I had upgraded pre-cruise our Classic Beverage Packages received as part of the 1-2-3 Go promotion to the Premium Package. The staff here was some of the nicest on the ship, and they were nice everywhere. You can either go to the counter and order your coffee to go or sit down and get served (never much of a wait, even when busy. The waitresses loved my younger son as I would often go at night while he was sleeping in his stroller. When he was awake, the would engage him, play with him, etc. Their kindness will not soon be forgotten.

 

At the counter, you can also ask for an array of free pastries and cookies. They usually had 4 types of cookies. My favorite here was a very moist brownie with lychee chips on top. Unfortunately, I only saw them on one day.

[pnutzlaw]

Cabin - We had stateroom 6226. Deck 6, starboard -- basically as mid ship as one could get. Category 2B. We were smack in the middle of the hump -- not a larger room and without a bigger balcony. No obstructed view. The room location was ideal. Five rooms each way was the entrance to the aft elevators, which were located behind the hallway across from our room. As such, we did very little hall walking. When in our room, we never heard any noise from the atrium or elevators. The cabin, which was about 20 SF larger than what my family of 4 had on the Explorer of the Seas in August, was comfortable enough to accommodate us. Our stateroom attendant, Emilia, was fantastic. She helped us set up our room for optimal comfort. Our bed was closest to the bathroom with the couch located nest to the balcony. Emilia took the mattress from the trundle bed under the couch and set it up on the couch with sheets and a blanket for my 4 year old. The baby slept in a pack and play immediately next to the couch, but there was still room to access the balcony. During the day, we placed the pack and play on the couch. The cabin was clean and well appointed. However, there is a lack of drawer/shelf space. The desk area only had 3 drawers in addition to the safe and the fridge (which got pretty cold -- definitely more than a cooler). The closet did not have any shelves, just a long bar with many hanger. Also, the night tables did not have any drawers. The storage space in the bathroom, however, was excellent. There is a single, long, vertical glass door with many shelves at the end of the vanity opposite the toilet. The bathroom garbage is in a little drawer that pulls out from the vanity near the floor. The shower pressure was good. Also, it should be noted that the life jackets are stored in bulky bins under the bed, which cuts down on storage space down there. We had many bags and I was forced to wedge a carry-on piece of luggage between the side of our bed and the couch. The bed and pillows were comfortable enough for me, but not fantastic. The cabin has a flat screen TV, from which you can access your ship account, order room service and even view your ship photos. We were happy with our cabin and stateroom attendant and would choose this room again, unless we decided on more than a standard veranda cabin.

[micmacmissy]

We are headed out on this ship/itinerary in 2 weeks...so excited to see this review!

 

Question for you: what live music was around? Was there an a capella group?

 

Thanks!

[pnutzlaw]

We are headed out on this ship/itinerary in 2 weeks...so excited to see this review!

 

Question for you: what live music was around? Was there an a capella group?

 

Thanks!

 

There was definitely live music on the ship, but not as much on the pool deck like you would find on Royal Caribbean. The "house" band is called the Smart Casuals and they played on the pool deck every day, I think. However, they never played for more than an hour on the pool deck each day. On RCI, the band by the pool pretty much played longer sets on the pool deck throughout the day. There was always a trio playing mellow stuff in the late afternoon/early evening in the atrium on Deck 3. Later in the evening, the Smart Casuals would play there and many people would dance. There was a jazz trio in the Ensemble Lounge on Deck 5, Danny Rodriguez in the Sunset Bar (at least one day he did a set poolside). Some of these acts would also play in the Sky Lounge at night, but we never went there. I posted the Celebrity Today dailies in another thread and I will repost here. In short, there was live music, but no a capella group. Enjoy your cruise.

[pnutzlaw]

I posted PDFs of all the Celebrity Today dailies in the following thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974967

 

Enjoy reading them.

[poolwife]

Thank you for your review of the ship. We are sailing on it on 3/2/14 so I really appreciated your comments. I know it takes a lot of time to write these reviews so thank you for taking the time to do so.

[illiniwahoo]

Please keep going! We are on the same route as you in several months, and I;m really enjoying your comments. One quick question. From the dailies, it seems that all ports but Cozumel ship time and shore time were the same, but in cozumel, shore time was one hour behind? I'm booking a private excursion in cozumel, so I want to make sure I have my timing right!

[pnutzlaw]

Cozumel is one hour earlier, but the ship did not turn back the clocks as all the other ports were on eastern time. In Cozumel, we stayed on ship's time.

 

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

[scubamommy!]

AWESOME review! I am loving it. We are taking a first Celebrity Cruise in March with our (well behaved) kids so I REALLY love to hear that kids were well accepted by the other cruisers. I do agree that the posters here had me concerned we would be shunned. Not worried about how Celebrity will treat them as those who have had kids on board have commented nothing but great things, but the other posters had me scared! :eek: