jReview of Nov. 18th cruise on the Silhouette

[Nebr.cruiser]

We returned last Friday from our 12 day cruise on the Silhouette.  It was my husband and me and my two sisters--ages from 62 to 73.  We have cruised on Celebrity several times before, my sisters had not.  We are much more experienced cruisers than they are as well.  My sisters actually preferred the Norwegian Getaway cruise we did last year; yep, so did we!

 

So, the good, the mediocre and the disappointing.

 

The good.  The Silhouette is a beautiful ship and everything was well kept and lovely.  All employees were friendly, helpful and provided wonderful service, especially the waiter and staff that we ate with most often.  (Select dining).  We didn't eat there every night for various reasons, but had the same waiters several nights.  Our cabin was very nice and had plenty of storage.  We had not sailed on the Silly before, but had been on several of her sister ships.  I especially appreciate all the storage in the bathroom. I also loved that our balcony was larger than many ships have now and we also liked our 9th floor location--we were able to book adjoining cabins and the steward opened the balcony between us.  I picked cabins near the stairs on purpose to cut down all the long halls.  Convenient and no extra noise.  Check in was fast and easy; we arrived around one.

 

The mediocre:  As we had sailed on this class of ships before, we already knew of several shortcomings; no wrap around Promenade deck, horrible location for the walking track,  bad closet location if the bed is not by the window and kind of boring food choices in the buffet, plus a few others.  

 

The disappointing:  since we last sailed with Celebrity--maybe 4-5 years ago--we found the MDR menu to be very lackluster.  We ate in the buffet some nights because nothing looked that appetizing.  The appetizers were especially lacking, for us.  I realize food preferences are very subjective, but have never had this much trouble finding something appealing before.  

 

We normally don't eat at specialty restaurants, but did 3 times this cruise just because we didn't like the menu in the MDR.  Those meals were great, but after all we paid extra for them.  (Note:  we booked none of these ahead of time and didn't buy a package.  That worked out great as we paid 'only' $85 per person for the three meals.  They were really discounting these meals.)

 

We also ate at the buffet several nights, partly because of the MDR menus and partly because we just didn't feel like all the fuss of going there.  I miss venues like the International Cafe on Princess.  

 

Also disappointing were the shows.  The three production shows were good enough, but after seeing some of the Broadway type shows on other cruise lines, they were kind of a let down.  The solo performers on other nights were just so-so.  We didn't always go, which is unusual for us.  The one lecture we went too was so bad it was ridiculous.  Didn't try any others.  I also don't like the 7 and 9 pm showtimes.  It made scheduling our preferred later dining difficult, since if we went to the early show we got to the dining room with a big crowd and we don't really like to eat as early as 7 to make the later show.

 

A big let down for us was the movies in Celebrity Central.  There were scheduled at odd times that made it hard to got to the shows or eat when we wanted (later), repeated some movies and had some odd choices--Edward Scissorhands?  The Incredibles?  (on a cruise with very few kids).  Also no movies in the afternoon on sea days.

 

The last time we cruised an S ship we loved all the variety on the tv, especially the On Demand movies.  What can I say--we like movies!  This time there were 6--six!! free ones.   There were dozens last time.  Pay movies were $15.99.  Other programming was repetitive, strange and not appealing. 

 

Internet prices were outrageous and we did not use it.  My sisters were quoted over $700 for the 12 days.

 

I can't comment on the drinks, spa, games and most other activities because we don't drink and none of the rest appealed to us.

 

This really isn't a criticism, since we knew it going in, but we didn't realize how tiring it would be to do 7 islands in a row.  It got to the point that if we hadn't had excursions booked we might not have gotten off the ship!  Also, when they say all passengers on board by, say, 3:30, they really mean it!  We had a very close call, due to a tour taking longer than expected.  We didn't do any Celebrity tours.

 

We will probably sail Celebrity again, but not as eagerly as we have before.  Other lines will probably get our business first.  We did enjoy the cruise, mostly because we just enjoy doing things together and find fun and good times anywhere.  

Edited December 6, 2018 by Nebr.cruiser

[tompeter]

Thanks for the review!

 

[Silkroad]

Thank you for your informative review. I sailed on Silhouette this summer, and had a much more positive impression of the food, but as you say, everything is subjective. I enjoy reading different perspectives, and comparisons between Celebrity and lines I haven’t sailed. I wish you happy travels, and a joyous holiday season🙂

Edited December 6, 2018 by Silkroad