REVIEW: What has happened to our favorite cruise line??? Silhouette 12/17/17

[bacm]

I returned recently from a cruise on Sihlouette where we had the worst dining experience in all of the 20 cruises we’ve been on. The food in MDR was ok (I expected better), but the service was horrible. I was disappointed & shocked. Every night we had to flag someone down to have our water glasses refilled & having coffee/tea served to us seemed like it was a burden. One night after our table was completely finished with dessert (coffee was never served timely after dinner or even with dessert...always after dessert) we had to flag down the waiter who then got his asst to serve us coffee/tea. We did have a great cruise & our MDR table mates were a joy. However, this was not the dining experience we had hoped for. We chose not mention the poor service (not our comfort zone) and had a great time in spite of it. However, It did make for an extremely uncomfortable experience every time our waiter came to lecture us on how we should rate his service a 10 so he can get paid more money...so uncomfortable. We’re going to give it another try on the Edge & hope for better results.

[Keith1010]

Thank you for your report.

 

Keith

[richsea]

I’ve written recently about the changes I’ve observed over the last few years, and the OP saw much the same.

Generic food,,,

The incessant hawking, selling and promoting...the upsell pressure has made sailing on a Celebrity cruise annoying. The most annoying for me is the daily Captains club, Michaels club hostess phone calls.....Leave me alone! :)....

Interesting how different people see the same thing. Earlier in this thread someone complained that they did not receive ONE voicemail from the Captain’s Club Hostess. As Sly Stone would say, different strokes for different folks, and so on, and so on...

[wombatjoey]

Our recent experience on the Eclipse in the dining room was not what we want to see again our cruises. The food was too salty, tasteless and of poor quality, not to mention that we have had the same menu on the past 10 sailings. Our waitress seemed surprised when we mentioned it. In fact quite defensive and almost abrasive. The grill in the buffet was wonderful and we ate there along with many others for most of the cruise. One night, they had to get help from the MDR , it was so crowded.

 

We were booked on the Edge but after talking to several officials it became obvious that Celeb will have a greater focus on those in Suites and penthouses and although the ship will be magnificent , I am sure, all else will remain standard fare.

 

We have booked several Oceania and Viking Ocean cruises instead.

 

Really a dramatic move for us since we are elite plus cruisers with Celeb. and have been loyal for so many years.

[mek]

o.k. another Silhouette cruise review that does nothing to instill confidence that our first 'X' cruise a couple of years from now will be a step above the many Carnival cruises we've taken. Not to be a Debbie downer, but my wife has MS. Thankfully, it has not progressed to the point where her mobility is greatly affected. So, we're trying to see and enjoy (and cruising is by far our favorite way to vacation) our vacations as much as we can before, God forbid, her disease prevents us from cruising.

 

We're growing tired of sailing Carnival for a plethora of reasons and this isn't the forum to discuss any of that. We have 2 more cruises booked with them for this April and a 14 day Hawaii cruise next year. 2020 will be our first 'X' cruise.

 

We chose 'X' over Viking based on cost and itinerary and the fact that it is supposed to be head and shoulders above many other lines. I want my wife to be able to really enjoy herself on these cruises and feel special, like we've been on our Carnival cruises.

 

Yet, there seems to be more negative reviews on this ship in particular as of late and I'm wondering now if we made the wrong choice.

 

Personally, I think if your expectations are for a "heads and shoulders above" other lines experience, then you are setting yourself for a letdown. X is a mass line - it really depends on what you are looking for - they do some things well and are lacking in other areas. I like X, but I enjoy most lines - all for different reasons. No line is perfect, and I accept that.

[ECCruise]

Personally, I think if your expectations are for a "heads and shoulders above" other lines experience, then you are setting yourself for a letdown. X is a mass line - it really depends on what you are looking for - they do some things well and are lacking in other areas. I like X, but I enjoy most lines - all for different reasons. No line is perfect, and I accept that.

 

Our thinking exactly. We've sailed =X=, Princess, Royal and NCL in the last year. Long cruises all, so plenty of opportunity to compare current product (we've sailed all many times over the last 20 years). Honestly, when you take the total picture and evaluate the total experience, you can take the differences between those 4 lines and have difficulty filling a thimble.

 

Those that tout Celebrity as so much better than the other lines either have fairly limited expectations or just want to cheer on their favorite cruise line, IMHO.

[vegas-c]

We had taken this cruise Dec. 17th, very full with alot of families. Service was not what we had in the past but I figured it was the difference in guests. BUT, your comment about the shows and the lack of vocal talent was SPOT ON. I don't expect Broadway or Vegas level productions but these were the worst ever. Could never get my son (age 29) to go to any show except a comedian. Yes, we still had a nice time, enjoyed our week, have 2 more booked on X, including the Edge next January. So we aren't deterred just hopeful for a better experience next time.

[phoenix_dream]

Celebrity has been "Royalized" and not in a good way.....not much left of the Modern Luxury cruise line we enjoyed for many years

 

Seems everything fell apart when Celebrity introduced Modern Luxury. Guess introducing the word "modern" gave them the flexibility of redefining luxury and cutting corners wherever possible. Our first Celebrity experience in 1993 in an ocean view cabin on the Horizon was 10 times better than our dining experience in Aqua Class on last months Jan. 7 sailing.

 

When we booked the Anthem of the Seas for our 50th Anniversary celebration with our family which includes 8 grandchildren from 8 to 18, we picked the ship because we wanted everyone to have lots of bells and whistles to keep everyone happy. Little did I know the dinners in their MDR would be so much better than last month's BLU experience.

I'm curious - where you on Eclipse Jan 7? We were and had a great experience in Aqua Class. Just wondering if a different ship or we just have different tastes?

[phoenix_dream]

I’ve written recently about the changes I’ve observed over the last few years, and the OP saw much the same.

Generic food,,,

The incessant hawking, selling and promoting...the upsell pressure has made sailing on a Celebrity cruise annoying. The most annoying for me is the daily Captains club, Michaels club hostess phone calls.....Leave me alone! :).

I’m currently sailing on a Seabourn cruise and enjoying the difference. Believe it or not, the price isn’t much different than sailing in a Celebrity Sky suite, when one considers all the Celebrity extras.

Different strokes for different folks as the saying goes. I have been on cruises where the CCH never called once. I think it is great that they call to check in - they are trying to recognize you and make you happy. To each their own