Photo Review: Celebrity Silhouette 2/7/16 Western Caribbean

[Jeremiah1212]

Very nice review! I hadn't had a chance to look it over until this afternoon. I know these take a heck of a long time to complete! We will be doing the same itinerary on Reflection next winter. Already very looking forward to it. It's been quite a while since my one and only Celebrity cruise to date. After being on the Escape, I'm eager to come back to some peace and quiet on Reflection!

[kayehall]

Your pictures are great. I think RCCL has ruined Labadee.

 

When we went there the first time years ago, there was a buffet area, a tram, a tiny marketplace with locals, and that was IT. No signage, no paved paths, just a bunch of quiet, undeveloped beaches. We tendered in and it was heavenly.

 

Fast forward to our 2013 cruise and YIKES: Disneyland Haiti. Signs everywhere, hillside covered with those cabanas, nicest beaches walled off for suite guests, aqua park, little harbor filled with ocean toys and jet skis, etc...guess they had to find a way to monetize the crap out of Labadee. I'm not in a hurry to return there at all.

 

Yes, Labadee used to be an untouched paradise!!! Remember all the hammocks and shaded palm tree areas.....I do like the fact that you can now dock. The rest I could care less about.....:(

[kayehall]

Is this the end of the review? You still have 1 more sea day correct? Fabulous reading and love the pictures. Now I have to come back to reality and do some work!!!!:D

[cruise47]

Thanks for sharing your review and all those outstanding pictures of Labadee.

[love2cruiseLadies]

Great review! I think my wife and I want to take the Blue Hole and Secret falls tour you write about here. Can you tell us how long the drive is? You mention it is a hike, but we are wondering just how long of a hike?

 

Thanks so much!

[micmacmissy]

Come back, Heather, come back! I want to see how it ends! :):):)

[HeatherC430]

Sorry for the delay - Don't worry, I'm back! I was out of town for 4 days to Dallas for a work conference. I've been under the weather since I've been back and have been meaning to wrap up the review. I still have some more to post of our day in Labadee and overall cruise comments.

 

I have to say, I wasn't a fan of all the "stuff" in the water at Columbus Cove. After scoping out all the beach areas that we were allowed in, this one seemed to have the least amount of people in the water (probably because it was the furthest). We setup shop here for a few hours.

 

Needless to say there really wasn't anyone using the watertoys as there was hardly any kids on the ship at all. One could argue that I was in the top 30 youngest cruisers onboard (or so it felt)!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[HeatherC430]

 

 

 

 

 

[HeatherC430]

 

 

 

 

 

[HeatherC430]

 

 

 

 

 

[HeatherC430]

 

 

 

 

And just like that the weather all of a sudden wasn't looking great and we decided it was time to head back onboard the Silhouette.

It seemed like most people had the same idea as us, because there were waves of people heading for the dock.

 

 

[HeatherC430]

 

 

 

 

 

[HeatherC430]

 

 

 

 

 

[HeatherC430]

 

 

It's about this time where I can't help myself from getting seriously "cranky" and my "it's almost the end of the cruise/last port day" kicks in. My DH even called me out on it as we were walking back onto the ship. I told him not to ruin my last few minutes in port! There was a medical issue, so the Silhouette remained in port awhile longer than we were supposed to that day. I took some more pictures from the top deck before we set sail.

 

 

 

 

[HeatherC430]

 

 

 

 

 

[HeatherC430]

 

 

 

 

[HeatherC430]

 

 

 

 

 

The last sea day was full of relaxation. I don't believe I even took any pictures at all that day. By the time we made it outside, the top decks were so windy that we didn't stay out long. The only note worthy thing we did that day was attend dinner in the main dining room. I'll be commenting on that in depth in my Dining overview.

[HeatherC430]

Here are a few pictures as we arrived in port the morning of disembarkation from our ocean-view window.

 

 

 

 

 

[HeatherC430]

 

 

 

 

 

[HeatherC430]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our flight that day didn't leave Ft. Lauderdale that day until after 4pm, so for the first time in a LONG time, we didn't self-debark as soon as we were able to do that morning. We actually put our luggage outside the night before since we were in NO rush to get off the ship that day. We had a nice leisurely breakfast, and by about 9:30am we started making our way off the ship. There really wasn't many left onboard at that time. After a quick shared shuttle to the airport, we were well on our way home.

[HeatherC430]

The last shot of Ft. Lauderdale before we made our way off the Silhouette.

 

 

Did I mention that today was Valentines Day? My DH had snapped this one picture of us at the airport in front a Valentines Day Heart made out of paper flowers. About 2 seconds later we were swarmed by Southwest Airlines employees dressed as cupids, etc. I'm scared to find out what happened to the picture they took of them surrounding my DH and I! Although our actual Valentine's Day was less than romantic (spending the duration of the day in the airport followed by a romantic dinner for two at McDonalds in the Pittsburgh airport before picking up our luggage), we had a great week onboard the Silhouette and spending time together.

 

[HeatherC430]

OK, this was one of the most pleasant surprises on this cruise - the InStateroom Entertainment! So much so, that I took the following pictures as I knew I'd be including this in my review. As I've believe I've mentioned before, my DH and I tend to rent several movies in the room throughout the week of the cruise, pretty much regardless of what they cost. We like to watch a movie while fading off to sleep, and generally speaking TV channel options leave alot to be desired.

 

Imagine my delight, when we find out that they also had FREE movies available on demand on the Silhouette! Now, for all I know this could be standard across all of Celebrity ships, but this was a HUGE improvement over our Summit cruise options available in the room's TV menus.

 

 

Available were the newer pay per view movies - which most cost about $12.95 (much cheaper than what we paid for movies we rented during our pre-cruise stay in Ft. Lauderdale). There were actually some decent free movies available as well. The nice thing is that on other cruises they may have one or two "movie" channels onboard where they play the same or alternative movies throughout the day. With the on demand, there's no waiting for a set time to see a movie from the beginning.

 

 

Below are some of the free movies available on our sailing.

 

 

 

Here are some of the for pay movies available on our sailing.

 

 

TIP: If you buy a movie and let it run the whole way to the end, it disappears and you can no longer re-watch it. However, if before you hit the end of the movie, you can stop it and rewind/pickup where you left off. We did this once or twice after selecting a pay-movie, but then getting too tired to watch the end. If you close out, you can go back in the next day and continue from the same spot (it's saved for 48 hours after you select/pay for it if you close out).

 

These on demand (FREE) movies were such a great addition to the cruise experience for us. Way to get with the times Celebrity!

 

 

More to come in terms of comments over the next few days (Don't worry, I'll tell you when I'm done and thank everyone for reading along - which by the way, thank you for reading along).

[scubacruiserx2]

Thank you for sharing your excellent photos and review with us . We were on the Regal Princess on the same day in Ft. Lauderdale and Grand Cayman as you were ( ours was the ship that left and yours took our place ) . So here's a few photos of your ship from the Regal Princess .

 

Port Everglades

 

 

 

 

And here is a video clip of our ship's Captain announcing that our day at Grand Cayman is being cancelled :

 

 

 

Your ship sailed right behind our balcony

 

 

 

 

At Grand Cayman

 

 

 

And here's the 3 ships stayed as we left

 

 

 

[HeatherC430]

Thank you for sharing your excellent photos and review with us . We were on the Regal Princess on the same day in Ft. Lauderdale and Grand Cayman as you were ( ours was the ship that left and yours took our place ) . So here's a few photos of your ship from the Regal Princess .

 

Thanks so much for posting the pictures of our ship! It's great to see your ship from a distance from a vantage point you wouldn't have otherwise! Sorry you missed your day in Grand Cayman! The captain was right...the water was definitely rough that day!

[HeatherC430]

Food: First and foremost, I must tell my story of literally the worst main dining room experience I've had in all my days of cruising! I know I mentioned earlier that we always book the Select Dining which we did pre-book on this cruise. Upon arrival, our documents in the room said that we were scheduled for the late 8:30 pm dining. After having it changed back to Select Dining (in the Grand Cuvee Restaurant), we were told that on most days we would encounter a wait without a reservation. I have no doubt that this is a result of more people wanting to having the anytime dining, and they didn't have enough to fill that "late" seating. Anyways, there was once we had planned to eat in the dining room on the first sea day, but after seeing the line we decided the Bistro on Five would do instead (and there was no one there which was nice).

 

So, the last evening rolls around and we decide to give the main dining room another go. I think at this point my DH feels bad that we haven't gone at all and doesn't want to have me leaving the ship feeling as if I missed out on anything. So, we go...they tell us there will be a wait, and they give us a buzzer to take with us while we wait. The martini bar is right next to it, so we decide to get a drink there (our first drink there for the whole cruise). I know everyone goes wild over this bar, but everytime we walked by there was so much ruckus and you literally couldn't even fight your way to the bar to get a drink, so we didn't bother. On this night, we sat at one of the tables with our buzzer waiting for it to buzz or light up when our table was ready. Luckily a waiter came, and did take our Martini Bar order. We had the classic beverage package, which you had 3 options of martinis (Original/Dirty, Cosmo, or Appletini). I had the Cosmo, and DH had the Appletini variety. Both were good, but small. After a solid 45 minutes of waiting, our buzzer finally buzzed and we made our way to the dining room.

 

We were actually seated in a table for two by a window which on the surface is pretty nice all things considered. The table of 4 ladies next to us was so close that you could barely squeeze through the space between the tables to get to your seat. It's hard to say you're at a table for two when you're literally 6 inches from the person next to you's plate (who isn't in your party). We exchanged a few pleasantries with them when we first say down. They were already well into their courses when we arrived. It didn't take long before someone came around quickly and dropped off menus for us.

 

A few minutes later the waiter came back through and took our order. No introduction, just a rush placed on our order. As my DH was giving his order, the waiter asked if he wanted escargot as an appetizer and he said no. Fast forward another 15 minutes as we're waiting and finally the sommelier finally came around and asked if we wanted some wine. I politely said no thank you, but asked if he could take a drink order. He gave me a hard no, and continued on. No one ever came back the rest of the time we were there and asked us if we'd like anything to drink - the whole dinner!

 

Another 15 minutes after that they finally bring my appetizer (and escargot for my DH which he didn't order). I ate my appetizer, and my DH had his dish in front of him, didn't touch a bite from his plate. About 10 minutes later, our waiter breezes through and takes my empty dish and my DH's dish that was untouched without a word. Now, if he did order it and didn't take one bite, you'd think the waiter would ask if everything was ok? Or if he could get you something else if you didn't like it? Nothing. Not a word. Just took his plate without even acknowledging that he didn't take a bite or that it wasn't what he ordered in the first place. My DH's appetizer he ordered never did come. He resorted to eating some bread as we waited for the entree.

 

Another 20-30 minutes later, our entrees finally came. Keep in mind by this point both of our water glasses were totally empty for some time and no one ever came around to refill them (or offer us a drink). The entrees themselves were fine, but nothing spectacular. After we both finished eating our entree, there was no one coming around to take our plates or with the dessert menus, so we decided we'd rather just go get gelato for dessert rather than endure any more "fine" dining experience. So, we got up to leave and as we were almost to the front entrance our waiter stops my DH on our way out and asks if everything is ok. Bear in mind this is literally all he's said to us the whole meal other than asking my DH if he wanted escargot when he first took our orders. He replied it was fine and we continued on our way.

 

Bottom line, we both agreed this was literally the single worst dining experience we had on any cruise-ship (by far). If anything, normally your waiters in the main dining room make it a point to go out of their way and ensure everything suits your needs and accommodate you in whatever way they can. I wouldn't have felt so bad if we had seen him give bad service to everyone else he encountered. For example, he was interacting with the 4 ladies next to us, but wouldn't even give us a second look. I told my DH maybe it was the reverse age discrimination I suspected after receiving poor service at the Future Cruise Desk! lol ;)

 

The other 5 nights on-board (and lunch most days) we had dinner in the Oceanview Cafe. The food was always very good. For both lunch and dinner they have an extensive salad bar area with all fresh and high quality items to make the perfect salad available for both lunch and dinner. They had the area where you could get various meats (chicken, beef, pork, steaks) all cooked to your specifications. They had sushi nightly (from 5:30-9:15) and an area where the theme of food changed daily for both lunch and dinner. The pizza and pasta stations were available from noon until 1am daily. The selections of desserts they had daily for both lunch and dinner were always different and it was easy to find something that you liked. My favorite part I must say is the ice cream counter that's open from noon until 10pm daily. The girl who seemed to work the ice cream counter daily was one of the nicest staff members on-board. I even tipped her at the end of the week.

 

Breakfast was a mix of room service (which I spoke of earlier in my review). We loved it. The options were always adequate, and they arrived promptly each morning at the time we had selected. The best part is that you didn't have to deal with the following for breakfast...

 

The mornings that we ate in the Oceanview Cafe, it was always super busy. As a result, you'd experience the time honored tradition of other cruisers jumping right in front of you time and time again. The way the stations are setup on the Silhouette, it isn't always clear which way is the start or ending spot or who's going in which direction, so it ends up being more of a free for all. As we'd look around each morning, it's difficult to understand how we're among the minority of those being self-aware.

 

The most troubling thing is that often times during the breakfast time-frame, you literally couldn't find an open seat in the area! The one day we walked around looking for a table for a solid 10 minutes (and ended up in the Solarium Pool area being the closet spot we could find). By that time, our food was cold.

 

We also ate once or twice throughout the week at the Mast Grill upstairs above the pool level where they had burgers and fries. This was open daily from 11:30-6pm. Often times if you were returning from a day in port and wanting to grab something to eat around 3-4 time-frame, the options would be limited. This was one of the places you could count on to be open at that time. It does seem like there's a time-frame where you can't get much to eat between when they close down for lunch and before they re-open for dinner. I guess they try and strong-arm people into going to the main dining room on a daily basis to eat.

 

My last disappointment: I really missed having the freshly squeezed juice available each morning like I've experienced on all my Summit cruises! I must admit, now that was one of my favorite things about each morning onboard!

 

And for us, while the food aspect is generally always good, we don't cruise because of the food. Food is only one small portion of what we love about cruising. For us, we're happy with many of the convenience options available outside of the main dining room. Typically we don't want to spend a full 2 hours each night going through the motions of dinner. After our bad experience on the last night, we were glad we only attempted to go there once during this week.