Short review of Silhouette TA

[DesertRat46]

This was our first Celebrity cruise since Feb. 2019 and there were many notable differences....and none of them good.

However, it was still a great cruise with a wonderful crew. We usually sail with HAL but will probably come back to X for our next cruise.

 

Things started out well, embarkation in Miami was a breeze. We like to board late and have lunch ashore. We showed up shortly after the state of out 1:30 - 2p.m. boarding window and we were onboard in less than 10 minutes.

 

The first disappointment was finding how poor the wine quality was with the included basic wine package and how expensive the upgrade was. We don't mind drinking cheap wine, but object to cheap and poor quality wine. It was also disappointing to find many of the bars did not even stock wine on the premium list. It makes no sense to have one of your top bars, the Ensemble Lounge, to not even include any premium wines on their printed wine list. The bar where many of the patrons to specialty restaurants hang out is leaving money on the table by not offering the top wines. We solved this problem, at least for us, when we complained to one of the beverage managers. He seemed to make sure that all the bars knew out cabin number and were able to have out favorite wines available.

 

After the wine disappointment things got better. The ship's crew were as friendly and helpful as ever. The smooth sailing to Bermuda allowed the time to pass quickly.

 

We did find the food choices in the MDR more limited than in the past. The quality was generally OK, but there was a lack of variety. Except for one dinner in Murano and one in the Tuscan Grill, (both excellent) we ate all dinners in the MDR. And, except for lunch on the first sea day, we ate all lunches in the buffet. DW has some diet restrictions, but was able to find good meals every day. We also had breakfast in the buffet everyday. The lack of room service breakfast without the fee was the second disappointment. Although I knew about this is advance our room steward made sure we knew the room service rules. My chief issue with the food was the overall blandness of the dishes. But this is true on HAL as well. Maybe other older folks like their food bland and the chefs prepare it that way. But, this "older" cruiser likes more spice.

 

We sail mostly for the cruise, not shore excursions or onboard entertainment. So we did all the ports on our own. We found Cobh (Cork) the most interesting. Good Irish cider and music at an outside bar. along with the Titanic and other history.

 

We had great weather in all the ports. A couple of choppy, windy days between Bermuda and Cobh, nothing serious.

 

The Captain was more visible on this cruise than on any of our HAL trips. it was not uncommon to see him about the ship. The Cruise Director and staff did a good job, but we seldom interacted. Other than the music  venues and an occasional trivia we don't do many of the daily activities. We relax and watch the ocean go by.

 

In all it was a great trip. It was, in fact, better than i expected. There had been so much negative posts on CC since the 2023 changes I was worried i should have stayed with HAL. But, it seems as if some of the issues have been resolved and, the others, just learn to live with it. You sure can't change it.

 

Disembarking in Southampton was almost as smooth as boarding in Miami.  At this point we don't have another cruise with Celebrity planned, but there probably will be one in the next year or 2.

[padgman1]

Was on this cruise with you, echo everything you have said. We had the best of both dining worlds as we stayed in an aft Sky Suite so had choice of Luminae and MDR menus for dinner. Looks like you solved your wine disappointments (somewhat)  by asking for choices to be more readily available - good.

[mrgabriel]

We were on the same cruise - in Aqua Class. We had only the basic package but were happy with the wine. Clearly we’re not aficionados - hahaha

 

I wrote a full review here on CC. Our bottom line - great cruise. We had no real complaints.