Celebrity Silhouette 10 Night Eastern Caribbean Photo Review - March 13, 2023

[Barwick Cruiser]

2 hours ago, Marvy Mare said:

DAY 1 CRUISE

Monday, March 13 

Our servers were wonderful. Another reason to set at the same table. Cristobel, Vanessa and Oliver. They were all from the Philippines and very hard working and pleasant. Especially Vanessa (the Assistant Server). One other diner called Vanessa, genuine. That was so true. 

 

 

 

 

This is so funny, we sat near the front as well, just around the wall and had a Cristobal as our server and he was fantastic. Different assistant server who was hit or miss so I’m glad, if it’s the same Cristobal that he now has a great assistant. I’ll try and attach a photo of our group on the last night with Cristobal. Same guy?

[mahdnc]

I very much enjoy reading your review and looking at your photos.  Excellent job.  BTW, that 200-500 mm telephoto (Nikkor, I presume) is a beast and not well suited for a cruise vacation.

 

Thank you for the information on the Intercontinental.  We will be sailing out of Miami 13 months from now and I am thinking of booking either it or the Marriott Biscayne Bay to get good views of the cruiseport.

 

David

Edited March 30, 2023 by mahdnc

[Marvy Mare]

56 minutes ago, Barwick Cruiser said:

This is so funny, we sat near the front as well, just around the wall and had a Cristobal as our server and he was fantastic. Different assistant server who was hit or miss so I’m glad, if it’s the same Cristobal that he now has a great assistant. I’ll try and attach a photo of our group on the last night with Cristobal. Same guy?

That’s Cristobal. What time was your dining? I had the impression that Christobal had a larger area that he served as some evenings Vanessa brought most of our meals. 

[Marvy Mare]

47 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

I very much enjoy reading your review and looking at your photos.  Excellent job.  BTW, that 200-500 mm telephoto (Nikkor, I presume) is a beast and not well suited for a cruise vacation.

 

Thank you for the information on the Intercontinental.  We will be sailing out of Miami 13 months from now and I am thinking of booking either it or the Marriott Biscayne Bay to get good views of the cruiseport.

 

David

David

 

If you book the Intercontinental make sure you specify Bay View. The hotel is triangular in shape and, at least from a higher floor, you can see the cruise port from anywhere on the bay view side. I think the Intercontinental might give you the better view and it is a beautiful hotel. 
 

Maris

[Barwick Cruiser]

5 minutes ago, Marvy Mare said:

That’s Cristobal. What time was your dining? I had the impression that Christobal had a larger area that he served as some evenings Vanessa brought most of our meals. 

We usually ate around 7… we were seated in his section on day three or four and loved our four top in the corner against the window. We spoke to the hostess and she told us that there were another group that ate there at 5:30 so they’d save it for us after that. We’d send one of our group to the podium around 6:30 and she’d give us a pager. Worked out really well for us. Glad you had a great time…doesn’t it seem like forever ago when you come back to this crazy Spring weather? 🥶 ❄️ 

[Marvy Mare]

2 hours ago, calicakes said:

Taking our boys( 2 standard poodles and a dachshund) to the sitter is one of the most stressful parts of vacation.  We're also pet sitters so this was interesting to hear about.  We specialize in Poodles/Doodles and we're very, very busy!!   Do you mind if I ask how much she charged?  I'm curious about prices in different parts of the world.  

 

I lived in Exeter, ON for 8yrs.  I was having flashbacks to many winter drives to Pearson.  Glad you made it safely. 

Where do you live now? Our sitter stayed at our house. She charged $45 a night for the two dogs. We had a great sitter in 2020 as well, but she came from the Muskokas, home to the stars 😂. If you know Ontario, you’ll know the Muskokas. She charged $100 for the two dogs. Both were great and I think our home looked better when returned homed than when we left. And though the dogs were extremely glad to see us, they seemed to miss their caregivers as well. 
 

Maris

 

[calicakes]

4 hours ago, Marvy Mare said:

Where do you live now? Our sitter stayed at our house. She charged $45 a night for the two dogs. We had a great sitter in 2020 as well, but she came from the Muskokas, home to the stars 😂. If you know Ontario, you’ll know the Muskokas. She charged $100 for the two dogs. Both were great and I think our home looked better when returned homed than when we left. And though the dogs were extremely glad to see us, they seemed to miss their caregivers as well. 
 

Maris

 

We are in the Los Angeles area. Where Magic Mountain is. Santa Clarita. I do know the muscocas. Great price.

[Marvy Mare]

DAY 2 CRUISE - Tuesday March 14

Sea Day

 

A sea day is a great way to start your cruise. Time to explore the ship and just rest and relax. We needed that. It has been a very long winter in Ontario. We often have cold winters, but you get those cold clear days, with the bluest skies. It lifts the spirits.This winter for us has been the dullest since 1940. So I am not able to remember a duller winter. Though maybe when I lived in Vancouver as a child. My parents, who grew up in Vancouver were thrilled with the clear Ontario winter skies. 

 

We spent most of our cruise outside. No need for the D3 supplements. And on our first morning at sea, we slept in until 5:30. It was wonderful. Ken, lucky guy that he is, got coffee in bed every morning. We were on the 10th floor, so only a short walk up the 14 for me. There is no 13th floor. I'm not sure where it went. As I was heading up the stairs, I met a woman wearing her housecoat and looking a bit confused. She asked me what time it was and about the time change. I think for about a week before our cruise the Celebrity App stated something about the time change 'tomorrow'. I guess it was referring to the Spring forward time change on Sunday morning, so people wouldn't be confused about their boarding time. But it was confusing to me and obviously to this lady. And speaking of the App, the dinner menus are all there. A couple of weeks before the cruise they finally added the Prime Rib to the menu. How could I forget. Dinner the evening before had included Prime Rib. That's the beef that we had and it was wonderful and done to perfection.

 

Two trips for coffee later I was ready for my morning deck walk. When we first cruised I was still able to run, but due to knee and feet issues and age I guess, I now can only walk fast. 

 

Quiet around the pool.

 

I really enjoyed the walking track on the Reflection. You could get around the entire ship on one level. Back to and around the Sunset Bar and then across in front of the tennis courts. I suppose those courts are gone, due to the Retreat Sundeck. More about that later. I had to make some adjustments on the Silhouette. Just walking around and around the track, gets boring. So I walked up the stairs and back around the Sunset Bar. No smokers to greet me up there in the morning. I guess once they got their coffees they didn't want to head up one more flight. They met each morning at the Mast Bar and there was always someone there before me. To add to my steps, I walked in and around the Sky Lounge. I took a squirt of hand sanitizer (I held railings in some areas as the floors are wet and very clean in the morning) and enjoyed the air conditioning and music before heading out for the next round. Up at the Lawn Club, there was always work being done on the lawn. A wonderful morning walk. Some mornings there were only a couple of other people. When the track started getting busy and the sun began to rise I would head back to get my camera if it looked like a promising sunrise. 

 

This morning it was just a bit hazy with no clouds, not promising but it was our first morning at sea, so I went for my camera anyway. 

 

The best view of the sunrise this morning, was from the front of the ship. As I walked up the stairs to head to the front I saw a man with a camera standing by the gate. Sadly with the Edgification (not sure if that's a real word or I spelt it right) being outside at the front of the ship is not allowed for regular suite guests. I'm sure it was used during the day, but the few times I was up there trying to get photos (sunsets, sunrises, sail aways, sail ins) there was never anyone out on the Retreat Sundeck. Maybe they were up above. I couldn't see. 

The man with the camera and I talked a bit about photography, and took a few pictures. He was also disappointed to that we had to stand behind a gate. Oh well. He had a kit lens with a fairly long lens. I suggested that since the sunrise was less than spectacular, he try to get an image of the moon. He felt he couldn't get a photo hand held. With the vibration reduction on and the right settings it's not too difficult to get a photo of the moon. He only used 'auto' settings, so it was a no  go. I feel the best way to learn to use a DSLR or Mirrorless camera is to never use auto settings unless you absolutely have too. But that's just me.

 

Anyway, a few more non-spectacular morning photos.

 

Looking toward the back of the ship. I think that's the X Club(teen area) on the left.

 

From the back of the ship looking forward. 

 

 

One more pool photo. A few chairs being saved. I guess they'll be back after their breakfast. (lol)

 

 

The Solarium pool. Adults only and at times, especially early in the morning you can actually swim there.

We had breakfast at 7am just as the Ocean View opened the Breakfast Buffet. Early breakfast is from 6am to 7am and is a Continental Breakfast. As far as I know, coffee and tea were available in the Ocean View all the time. The earliest I was up there was 4:30am and the coffee was hot. Almost every morning I had an egg white omelet with a variety of sides. Something that I have never eaten before (I must try at home) were Roasted Tomatoes (yum). 

We managed to score chairs at around 7:30 on the deck overlooking the pool and I enjoyed some swims in the Solarium. 

 

Being a Sea Day the buffet was very crowded at lunch, so we had burgers again. The burgers didn't taste quite so good on day 2 but the crispy fries were very tasty. 

 

I don't remember too much about the rest of the day. I didn't take many photos and my notes are sketchy. Dinner was Evening Chic. I didn't notice photographers taking portraits, but I guess they were there. I had a salad and Shrimp Scampi (or Shrimp Scanty). The four or five pieces of shrimp were good and the pasta was OK. Ken had stuffed mushrooms. Cristobal suggest that he have two as the portions were small. Ken said they were very good, but he had strange dreams about cows that night, so maybe the mushrooms had a bit of magic (lol). After dinner, we went to the Martini Bar, but it was way too crowded for comfort. Back to our own expansive veranda for a quiet time before early to bed. 

 

The dogs are getting restless again and Day 2 is done. I took way more picture on March 15.

Until later

Maris

 

 

[Marvy Mare]

DAY 3 CRUISE, Wednesday, March 15

Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

 

Back to normal. Up at 4am. I did manage to read quietly for a little while so Ken could 'sleep in' until 4:30. There is always someone at the Oceanview getting coffee or employees getting ready for the day. The staff were unfailingly polite and friendly. Service on board in all areas was great. A couple of small exceptions. Maybe the person had a bad day. I did encounter a few rude guests so who knows. After coffee and cookies that we snagged the evening before, I started on my 18,000 steps for the day. The sunrise was again unspectacular. Hazy, hot and humid with maybe a high cloud cover. 

 

 

 

Enter if you dare (lol)

 

 

See, only a few clouds.

 

 

 

A shadow selfie from our veranda. 

We had breakfast as usual in the Oceanview and sat outside again. Ken doesn't like sitting by the edge. He doesn't like heights and sometimes feels a little sea sick as well. 

 

Ken in the yellow and in the shade. Even early morning it was hot. 

 

As we were having breakfast there was a Carnival Ship, the Mardi Gras, heading into Amber Cove, the other Cruise Port in Dominican.

 

 

[Marvy Mare]

Coming into Taino Bay, Puerto Plata

Norwegian Pearl made it there before us. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Marvy Mare]

Just got back from a walk with the dogs. It's been snowing for a few hours. It's cold, damp & miserable.

Back to Taino Bay.

DAY 3 CRUISE (Cont.)

 

There was another ship coming in behind us. I think it was the Seven Seas Navigator. We saw her a number of times on our cruise. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Norwegian Pearl was very pretty. 

 

 

 

People enjoying walking the around the deck while it is relatively quiet. 

 

The Lawn Club

 

 

The second pool at Taino Bay.

 

To get to the port you could walk down the right side of the pier or take a free tuc tuc! Those little tuc tucs really flew.  Please stay to the right!!

 

 

 

 

[Marvy Mare]

DAY 3 CRUISE, Wednesday March 15

Taino Bay

 

We chose to walk rather than take the tuc tucs. Too quick for us, and I was working on steps. (lol) We had watched videos of the facility as it grew. It is still a work in progress, but it looked great. In retrospect, but hind site is always 20/20, I wish we had gone out into the town as well. But I was being considerate. Ken had been keeping up with the walking despite being scheduled for hip replacement. And to be honest, my knees were feeling the all the stairs. I eventually did total 18,000 steps that day without heading into town. We just walked around the port area and eventually settled at the pool.

 

 

 

There was a 'Lazy River', but no one was using it. The water looked a little murky. I wouldn't want to fall in. 

 

The stores were all in these little open buildings. Typical tourist stores though. Skin care products, jewelry, t-shirts, etc. They were nicely set up, staff was professional and friendly, but I didn't see anything that I wanted to buy, despite the fact that they could fix my eye bags and improve the quality of my skin. If I had submitted to their entreaties, I may have arrived home looking 10 years younger. 

 

 

There were a number of bars and restaurants as well. They looked nice, but it was still morning 

 

 

 

The parrots were beautiful. There were instructions to not feed or touch them. Photos were OK. I'm not sure how they stayed put. Invisible thread or clipped wings. I hope they were well treated. 

 

 

The pool was beautiful! A perfect temperature and not too busy. I think I was the only one of our little group to go in. It was fairly shallow but I was able to swim. There were a few people acting badly. I like to think that they were from the Norwegian Gem. But you certainly couldn't cannonball onto a floating swan in the Silhouette pools, so maybe they just wanted to have a bit more fun. Honestly, I never noticed any one acting badly on the Silhouette, but if it happened it must have been after my bedtime. 

 

 

 

 

 

We headed back to the ship early afternoon. The sky to the east/west/north or south (I have no idea which direction) was looking dark. 'Looks like we're in for nasty weather."

 

 

 

There's that sky. There was some kind of noisy business going on next to our ship. They were unloading something. We thought it was sand for Taino Bay, but our friend Angus (who was a farmer) thought it was corn. Whatever it was it wasn't quiet and peaceful sitting on our deck, so we headed up to the Sunset Bar in the afternoon after we had lunch. 

 

 

Edited March 31, 2023 by Marvy Mare
adding a photo.

[Barwick Cruiser]

Great pics and commentary! Bringing back some great memories.
 

Just an FYI, if you want an outdoor view from the front you just have to go thru the fitness centre and there’s a door at the front that leads to a veranda that’s outdoors and there were quite a few lounge chairs out there as well. We’ve used that for port entry views when it was too crowded on the helipad. 

[Marvy Mare]

28 minutes ago, Barwick Cruiser said:

Great pics and commentary! Bringing back some great memories.
 

Just an FYI, if you want an outdoor view from the front you just have to go thru the fitness centre and there’s a door at the front that leads to a veranda that’s outdoors and there were quite a few lounge chairs out there as well. We’ve used that for port entry views when it was too crowded on the helipad. 

Thanks. I figured that out after reading another review today. Next time. It would have given me a lot more steps too. I tried to avoid elevators on this trip for heath and fitness. Though, I doubt I’ll ever be on the Silhouette again (don’t want to do those 3 & 4 day cruises). But I do love the ship. 

[Marvy Mare]

DAY 3 CRUISE - Wednesday, March 15

Dominican Republic

 

Dinner that evening was at the Tuscan Grill at a more reasonable hour for us - 6:30pm. We had enjoyed the Tuscan Grill in the past (Ken's favourite). The sail away must have been uneventful or there is the possibility that I had a nap. Whatever, it's not in my notes. We wandered around the ship for a little while before dinner and then stopped in at the Ensemble Lounge. A gentleman asked if he could join us. He was very nice and from Edmonton. He had become a widower fairly recently and his children had persuaded him to take this cruise alone. We talked for a bit about Edmonton and hip replacements. His wife had two hip replacements and then died. I don't think it was shortly after. That would have made Ken really nervous. I lived in Edmonton when I was in elementary school for a couple of years. The climate was the worst, as far as I was concerned. Short summers and long extremely cold winters. But I do still remember the most amazing sunsets that I have ever seen and the city itself was beautiful.

 

We were a couple of minutes into our reservation when we arrived at the Tuscan Grill and all the window seats were taken. It didn't look like they would be vacated any time soon so we accepted another table. Dinner was excellent, I had Sea Bass and Ken had steak. Ken does not eat sea food , so we rarely have it at home. When we are out, it is often my choice. Ken's choices are limited. He doesn't like seafood or spicy food. As I said the dinner was good, but I was a little disappointed in the service. We booked a couple of specialty restaurants along with 3 shore excursions through the ship as we had a lot of on board credit. The service that evening seemed rushed. When we have been at the Tuscan Grill in the past, the wait staff was always very attentive and explained the different food choices. Maybe it was a staff change over or someone new to the job. 

 

After dinner, we had another little wander around the ship and back to our room for an early to bed after a great day and 18,000 steps.

 

 

[Marvy Mare]

 

 

 

DAY 4 CRUISE - Thursday, March 16

San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

We were up again fairly early (5am). There was no rush as we weren't to pull into San Juan until 11am. I cut my deck walk short as it looked like we were finally going to have a beautiful sunrise at sea.

 

 

 

There was a man taking selfies. I offered to take a couple of photos for him. He offered to return the favour but I didn't have my phone with me and I use back button focus. I know there is a way to change it quickly but I couldn't remember spur of the moment. 

This the small seating area by the Photo Studio. Lots of great little places like that around the ship. 

 

 

 

Ken

 

 

[calicakes]

Your photos are amazing.  I'm assuming " Early to bed, early to rise"? 

[Marvy Mare]

1 hour ago, calicakes said:

Your photos are amazing.  I'm assuming " Early to bed, early to rise"? 

Thanks so much. You are right! Never made it to the Silent Diso. We were in bed by 10 or 10:30 every night. 

Edited April 1, 2023 by Marvy Mare
Edit

[Oceangoer2]

10 minutes ago, Marvy Mare said:

You are right! Never made it to the Silent Diso. We were in bed by 10 or 10:30 every night. 

That's amazing...you can function next day so well and walk 18K steps with only 6 hrs sleep?  Must be a very solid, refreshing 6 hrs!  BTW...I love your photo journey with little captions....the old saying 'a picture's worth a 1000 words' holds true here.  Also, we've been on the Silhouette several times and never found these little sitting alcoves and front stairs to another forward sitting area.  We're onboard in Nov....will have to extend my walks to find these areas.  It's a shame this ship is going to 3-4 night cruises.  There's very little left for cruisers like me who enjoy 10-14 nights on S class.  Even 7 nights there's little choice.  We're avoiding E class and the lack of balconies.

Edited April 1, 2023 by Oceangoer2

[Marvy Mare]

1 hour ago, Oceangoer2 said:

That's amazing...you can function next day so well and walk 18K steps with only 6 hrs sleep?  Must be a very solid, refreshing 6 hrs!  BTW...I love your photo journey with little captions....the old saying 'a picture's worth a 1000 words' holds true here.  Also, we've been on the Silhouette several times and never found these little sitting alcoves and front stairs to another forward sitting area.  We're onboard in Nov....will have to extend my walks to find these areas.  It's a shame this ship is going to 3-4 night cruises.  There's very little left for cruisers like me who enjoy 10-14 nights on S class.  Even 7 nights there's little choice.  We're avoiding E class and the lack of balconies.

Thanks for your kind words. I love taking and sharing my photos. I have to admit that I had at least a couple of naps in the afternoon, but I do sleep really well when we are on a ship. It was even better when we were at the back of the ship on our last cruise. Rocked to sleep. Yes, I'm really sad about the Silhouette. We have reluctantly booked an E class for our 2025 cruise. We did get a great deal from our travel agent, but she doesn't get sunset balconies for her group bookings. I wonder why? We really want to do this cruise though, (much the same as our ABC cruise but without Grand Cayman (I don't like tenders, and it is usually crowded). I loved our 2020 itinerary but there was a cloud over the entire cruise. Especially near the end. Hoping that 2025 will be less stressful.

 

Maris 

 

[Marvy Mare]

DAY 4 CRUISE - Thursday, March 16

San Juan , Puerto Rico

Since we weren't getting into San Juan until at least 11, we had a leisurely breakfast and then headed to the Concierge/Captain's Club Office on the 5th floor to arrange our disembarkation. Something we really didn't want to think about at this time on our cruise. Since we booked our flights through Celebrity and our flight was after noon on the final day of the cruise we had bus transportation to the airport. Ken worries, so the more things we had arranged in advance the more he could enjoy our vacation.

 

I'm not sure why it took so long to get from the Dominican Republic to San Juan for such a late arrival. Traffic? Something to do with docking I guess. Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory and all Puerto Ricans born since 1941 are U.S. citizens. Old San Juan is a National Historic Site.

 

 

The port of San Juan sits inside a huge bay. From the time we first sited land until we were docked was almost an hour. And as you can see from the map,  the Bahai de San Juan is huge and we were only in a small section. 

Edited April 2, 2023 by Marvy Mare
edit

[Marvy Mare]

 

 

Castillo San Felipe del Morro is one of the oldest fortresses build in the Caribbean. The Spanish began construction on the site in 1539. It was completed in 1790. The Spanish successfully defended the harbour from the English and the Dutch, but in 1898 the U.S. was successful in gaining control of the harbour. 

 

 

 

The wall built around Old San Juan was completed in 1873.

 

One ship in before us. Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas.

 

 

U.S. Coast Guard

 

 

 

 

The ferry terminal. 

 

 

As we were docking, I heard a young mother say to a crying toddler 'If you don't stop, I'm taking you home.' Lol! Talk about unrealistic consequences. 

We were docked just after 11am and it was hot, hot, hot!

[hcat]

19 hours ago, Marvy Mare said:

Thanks so much. You are right! Never made it to the Silent Diso. We were in bed by 10 or 10:30 every night. 

That's pretty much our schedule at home or wherever we are..incl cruising!  We sleep well,  7 hrs ,  just early risers...Early morning is a peaceful time of day!

 

Your  review and photos are amazing...Our next cruise will be on Ascent but we always have  enjoyed  Silhouette..Maybe we'll  look into that...short cruises are okay but 7 days are our fav these days..esp with increased prices for longer ones! We prefer AQ Class and Silho will  still have " normal" balconies!

 

Enjoy!

Edited April 2, 2023 by hcat

[Marvy Mare]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

That's pretty much our schedule at home or wherever we are..incl cruising!  We sleep well,  7 hrs ,  just early risers...Early morning is a peaceful time of day!

 

Hcat - The early morning is the best time on the ship. On mornings when we have an early port visit there are always other people in the Ocean View getting coffee at 5. I almost feel as if they are invading my space. Lol

 

Maris

[Marvy Mare]

DAY 4 CRUISE - Thursday, March 16

San Juan

 

 

 

Plaza Colon - one of the first squares we found as we got off the ship. San Juan is a wonderful port. You get off the ship seemingly in the middle of town. I do wish we had done a walking tour. We thought it might be a bit much for us. But as it turned out we walked just over 22,000 steps that day. Ken did most of them too. I cut my morning deck walk short to take sunrise photos and I figured that we'd do a bit of walking in San Juan. 

The statue commemorates the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus landing in Puerto Rico on November 19, 1493. Columbus names the island Juan Bautista (in honour of the ball player - just kidding) in honour of St. John the Baptist. 

 

 

The tour bus looked fun. I saw it parked later when we came back from our walks. Maybe it was taking an afternoon tour. We were in port until 7 and the Seven Seas Navigator until 8.

 

It looks like the Silhouette is right up on the sidewalk. 

 

 

I've never been to Europe but I'm thinking that some streets might look like this. 

 

 

This is either a walking tour or a group heading up to La Carreta for lunch. 

 

If I had taken the walking tour I might have been able to tell you what this building is. I do know it's very pretty. And to remember everything I would have had to take notes, but next time I will take a tour. 

 

Craft Store.

 

 

It's all uphill from here. Glad I wore my running shoes.