December Silhouette 10 Night SC - Quick Review

[At Sea At Peace]

 

We wrote and posted the review on CC on 12/15 and either can't find it or it didn't get added; so, we thought we'd share it for those interested in Silhouette sailings.  We forget the title.  😔

 

REVIEW

 

We started a thread about our planned return to Celebrity after a 10-year absence honoring a pledge to never sail Celebrity again.  We softened over time, we haven't cruised since Covid, and we were up to 56 nights a year in 2019 after starting with a 3 night in 2008 on Disney Wonder. 

 

We also live, retired, 1 mile north of the port entrance on the beach in an oceanfront condo and Port Everglades is a big Celebrity (and Royal) port.  We see the Solstice and Edge Class ships, every one of them, come in and go out.  I guess an omen.

 

We booked last minute, really close.  Mid ship deck 8.  Took advantage of the on-sale pricing and add-ons, premium drinks, WIFI and a TA credit / reduction promotion.

 

We sort of shared our trip.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2977358-1st-celebrity-after-10-year-never-again-silhouette-1242023/page/3/#comment-66584675

 

We had a really, really good time.  Yep, there are those that have issues with this or that on this cruise, but for us, it was just awesome.

 

We simply enjoy cruising and have missed it.  We did not see a show or off ship at any port!  A lot of been-there done-that, plus, we enjoy the ship when almost empty.  I like to walk for an hour to an hour and a half and I don't have to be a pest to the loungers on any of the decks.  My wife is, and should be, the first member of the Solarium Club.  That is her environment, almost all day long, into the early evening.

 

So, overall value is compared to coming off 28 nights on NCL Bliss Haven and 14 nights MSC Yacht Club Seaside and 14 nights MSC Yacht Club Meraviglia in 2019, this was pocket change.  The difference in the experience?  Obviously a bit less as they are not apples-to-apples. 

 

Those options are 3X-4X what we paid on this 10-N Southern Caribbean cruise.

 

Dining - Awesome.  Select dining so good, service so over-the-top we canceled the back half of our specialty dining reservations.  We're very familiar with food service venues (a family thing) and this ship nailed it 360!

 

Bars and Lounges - Enjoyable, comfortable, welcoming.

 

Crew Overall and Across Service Areas - The "Stepford Effect" so top of the line, friendly, respectful and accommodating.  Sort of like Walt Disney World 25 years ago. :)

 

Venues - Solarium is my wifes' home away from home.  The Sky Lounge was a nice alternative to enjoy more of the views at sea or at port.

 

Specialty Dining - Pretty good.  With such a strong main dining presence, it's hard to 'extend' in the upscaled dining.  The venues are beautiful and themed.  The pace is a relaxing adjustment.  ODDLY, for each reservation, despite having friends (and the APP) indicate that each was without remaining reservations, we found each venue 2/3rds EMPTY during our almost 1.5+ hour dining?

 

Special Dining Ranking -

 

1a.  Le Petit Chef, not for the show (cute) but the food was unique (the menu changed after we dined) and well prepared and served.  We would say that the choice is quite limited, but the menu is on the APP for one to decide.

 

1b.  Sushi on 5 - We just loved it.

 

2.  Tuscan - Great experience beginning to end and a beautiful venue aft.

 

3.  Lawn Garden - Beautiful venue, really nice beef cuts, but our assessment is not fair as we did not try the salad bar, kebabs or flatbread offerings.

 

Again, these venues were very empty while there.  Le Petit Chef had 5 other couples.  Sushi on 5 had 9 total customers.  Tuscan 1/3 full?

 

Again, we really had a great time, a 10, and probably influenced by first cruise post-Covid.  But we also found what Celebrity was like again for those times that we want experience.

 

We also found the passenger mix to be quite nice.  Never saw anyone display any negative behavior, not once.  A very mature, fun and good time demographic.  At every meal we had conversations with one or more abutting tables (except just one at lunch one day) throughout.

 

Ocean Cafe - Celebrity was known for its high quality 'buffet,' and that certainly has not changed.  Awesome. 

 

Thanks for reading.

[lola2013]

Thanks…I have a B2B booked on Silhouette in April.  Part 2 is the ten-night.  When I read a positive review like yours, I get even more excited?

Susan 😎

[C4HCG]

2 hours ago, At Sea At Peace said:

 

We wrote and posted the review on CC on 12/15 and either can't find it or it didn't get added; so, we thought we'd share it for those interested in Silhouette sailings.  We forget the title.  😔

 

REVIEW

 

We started a thread about our planned return to Celebrity after a 10-year absence honoring a pledge to never sail Celebrity again.  We softened over time, we haven't cruised since Covid, and we were up to 56 nights a year in 2019 after starting with a 3 night in 2008 on Disney Wonder. 

 

We also live, retired, 1 mile north of the port entrance on the beach in an oceanfront condo and Port Everglades is a big Celebrity (and Royal) port.  We see the Solstice and Edge Class ships, every one of them, come in and go out.  I guess an omen.

 

We booked last minute, really close.  Mid ship deck 8.  Took advantage of the on-sale pricing and add-ons, premium drinks, WIFI and a TA credit / reduction promotion.

 

We sort of shared our trip.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2977358-1st-celebrity-after-10-year-never-again-silhouette-1242023/page/3/#comment-66584675

 

We had a really, really good time.  Yep, there are those that have issues with this or that on this cruise, but for us, it was just awesome.

 

We simply enjoy cruising and have missed it.  We did not see a show or off ship at any port!  A lot of been-there done-that, plus, we enjoy the ship when almost empty.  I like to walk for an hour to an hour and a half and I don't have to be a pest to the loungers on any of the decks.  My wife is, and should be, the first member of the Solarium Club.  That is her environment, almost all day long, into the early evening.

 

So, overall value is compared to coming off 28 nights on NCL Bliss Haven and 14 nights MSC Yacht Club Seaside and 14 nights MSC Yacht Club Meraviglia in 2019, this was pocket change.  The difference in the experience?  Obviously a bit less as they are not apples-to-apples. 

 

Those options are 3X-4X what we paid on this 10-N Southern Caribbean cruise.

 

Dining - Awesome.  Select dining so good, service so over-the-top we canceled the back half of our specialty dining reservations.  We're very familiar with food service venues (a family thing) and this ship nailed it 360!

 

Bars and Lounges - Enjoyable, comfortable, welcoming.

 

Crew Overall and Across Service Areas - The "Stepford Effect" so top of the line, friendly, respectful and accommodating.  Sort of like Walt Disney World 25 years ago. 🙂

 

Venues - Solarium is my wifes' home away from home.  The Sky Lounge was a nice alternative to enjoy more of the views at sea or at port.

 

Specialty Dining - Pretty good.  With such a strong main dining presence, it's hard to 'extend' in the upscaled dining.  The venues are beautiful and themed.  The pace is a relaxing adjustment.  ODDLY, for each reservation, despite having friends (and the APP) indicate that each was without remaining reservations, we found each venue 2/3rds EMPTY during our almost 1.5+ hour dining?

 

Special Dining Ranking -

 

1a.  Le Petit Chef, not for the show (cute) but the food was unique (the menu changed after we dined) and well prepared and served.  We would say that the choice is quite limited, but the menu is on the APP for one to decide.

 

1b.  Sushi on 5 - We just loved it.

 

2.  Tuscan - Great experience beginning to end and a beautiful venue aft.

 

3.  Lawn Garden - Beautiful venue, really nice beef cuts, but our assessment is not fair as we did not try the salad bar, kebabs or flatbread offerings.

 

Again, these venues were very empty while there.  Le Petit Chef had 5 other couples.  Sushi on 5 had 9 total customers.  Tuscan 1/3 full?

 

Again, we really had a great time, a 10, and probably influenced by first cruise post-Covid.  But we also found what Celebrity was like again for those times that we want experience.

 

We also found the passenger mix to be quite nice.  Never saw anyone display any negative behavior, not once.  A very mature, fun and good time demographic.  At every meal we had conversations with one or more abutting tables (except just one at lunch one day) throughout.

 

Ocean Cafe - Celebrity was known for its high quality 'buffet,' and that certainly has not changed.  Awesome. 

 

Thanks for reading.

Thanks for the review, shame it’s not attracted more attention on here but wish positive reviews were given the same attention as negatives. 

[At Sea At Peace]

2 hours ago, C4HCG said:

Thanks for the review, shame it’s not attracted more attention on here but wish positive reviews were given the same attention as negatives. 

 

Yep.  We certainly have noticed that.  Can't figure out why.

[At Sea At Peace]

We didn't originally comment on one item of pecuniary interest, the Mast grill.  On boarding we were not into the buffet or other.  Just grabbed a couple of burgers at the Mast frill with fries.  The burgers were awful.  I mean really bad.  Not what we recalled from years ago.

 

Then we notices 'none' were being cooked fresh.  They were taking them out of a warmer (we guess) as they must have been precooked 'enmase and the into the warmer.

 

Days later, while walking (daily 5-7 miles), we noticed the fantastic aroma and smoke by the Mast grill.  We hadn't noticed that on embarkation.  So, we watched as hundreds of patties were cooked and sunk into the warmer.  It was 10AM.

 

Later, when talking to a hospitality officer, we asked about such.  He said they only prep ahead, in a limited amount, when necessary, but admitted our observations were not the recommended practice.

 

Talking to others it was a mix.  Some had super great burgers.  Others didn't.  We didn't and didn't try again.

 

We prefer the live cook and wait.  

[At Sea At Peace]

19 hours ago, lola2013 said:

Thanks…I have a B2B booked on Silhouette in April.  Part 2 is the ten-night.  When I read a positive review like yours, I get even more excited?

Susan 😎

 

Thanks.  We were pleasantly surprised with the $75M transformation renovation on Silhouette.  Our favorites are still the Solarium (the days of tanning on the sundeck are behind us) for its' general serenity, a fun cool pool (and the hot tubs, for a bit) and the light snacks and lunches.

 

The two service attendants worked, nonstop, from morning until after the dining hours.  The place was very, very clean.  The 'only issue' is sea days when, as usual, one must be early to get a good lounger (all padded), especially if the weather is not great.

 

We also thought that the Sky Lounge was much more (and better comfort and quality) furnished and overall more welcoming, had more activities that drew more of a crowd and seemed to have longer bar hours and services.  It's a great venue that on previous Solstice Class ships we've sailed was pretty empty most of the time.

 

The Elite benefits were also nice, we've never utilized before (although qualified).  The morning hours at Tuscan were pleasant, not rushed and unique.  The venue location is really nice.  The 'Americano coffee still needed a shot of Expresso to elevate it, and they were used to most doing that.

[At Sea At Peace]

The Solarium in a couple of pictures.  Really nice.  Never had a 'cell phone imp' or the like.  Plenty of conversations (mostly groups in the hot tubs) but generally very tone considerate.

 

 

[At Sea At Peace]

Sushi on 5 was really, really a surprise as to how good the food was.  We couldn't at first figure out why so empty, then looked at the APP and the menu was from a rare promotional night with a very nontraditional menu.  We informed host of that on the way out one day and it was fixed that night.  That was 4-5 days in though.  We did 2 lunches and 1 dinner.  ***** rating.  We notice large contingents of groups of uniformed staff eating in groups.

 

Although the sushi was my 'fix,' the pork tonkotsu ramen was 'insane' great pork and a lot of it, bamboo and noodles (wife had to help big time).  Very large bowl and portions.  She had the kobe beef ramen slider, also awesome.  I missed this at our first lunch but saw it on the bar ready to be served (so I tried the next time; that picture below)

 

 

 

 

 

It's a cute venue, with some outside noise, music, etc. that was not a problem.  NOTE - The couch / bench seating is 'brutal' and you need a lot of pillow behind (to reach the table) and below (if you're not 6').

 

 

 

 

Here is the real menu that should be on the APP.

 

Edited January 14 by At Sea At Peace

[At Sea At Peace]

At the Elite member breakfast in Tuscan, after a half hour of coffee and enjoying the views, the 'combination platter' meats and salmon, fruits and melons, cheese and breads, was our favorite to split and slowly enjoy.  Bloody Mary and/or Mimosa always good break from the coffee when the platter came.

 

 

We should have taken advantage of more of the Elite benefits.

 

[rinshin]

Thank you.  So glad to see this as I have been worried about dining on Silhouette after reading some previous reviews and comments. We are doing port intensive Scandinavia in May and it has been 9 years since cruising.  For us it was destination area which determined our choice to return to Celebrity again.  

[At Sea At Peace]

25 minutes ago, rinshin said:

Thank you.  So glad to see this as I have been worried about dining on Silhouette after reading some previous reviews and comments. We are doing port intensive Scandinavia in May and it has been 9 years since cruising.  For us it was destination area which determined our choice to return to Celebrity again.  

 

You're going to be OK.  The 'select dining' (walk-in) on the level above MDR time seating is the way to go for most meals.  It was for us. We also went at open and always secured our same table (61) a two person on the glass overlooking MDR. 

 

Look at the menus (the same) for each day on your APP and decide what you'd like.  If there is a night (or a day) nothing is appealing, the specialty restaurants have openings quite a bit.

 

We find Celebrity (select/MD) to be generally ahead of the competitors we've sailed RCCL, NCL and non-Yacht Club MSC.  They are really good at it to the point where the GAP* to specialty dining isn't as wide as on the other lines. 

 

PLUS, the well traveled will all comment "to ask for what you might want (cut, cook, etc.) specifically," even if not on the menu that lunch or night.  For example, if you like something not usually served (for example, I saw beef liver; not a great menu item for many, my wife won't cook it preferably, but really hard to ever get anywhere else at restaurants (but in some diners)) tell the waiter and you can have it again on another visit (I had five pieces over two plates).

 

* For example ~

 

One of the following Beef Carpaccio's is from the Tuscan Grille, the other is from Select Main Dining.  The tablecloth gives it away for those that have been to both.  Also, at Select Main Dining, I simply had two.  😉

 

 

 

[rinshin]

😋 awesome looking carpaccio. And both places!  Not much difference at all and it looks like same paper thin cut of beef. Tuscan with aioli or mayo and MDR with some kind of mustard/horseradish sauce.  I will be happy with either one.   I made reservations for both Murano and Tuscan already and will wait to see how others look.  But, your review of Sushi on Five looks good too.  We visit Japan once a year for 4 weeks now and my husband loves sashimi.  Very reassuring info - thanks again. 
 

We will check out the mast grill too for burgers at least once or twice a cruise for lunch.  Did they serve any Mexican food there too?  I recall having something like that on one of our previous cruises.  

 

I will tell my husband about perhaps requesting liver for himself as I don’t cook liver either. 😊  

 

Not sure how we racked up the points to reach elite status with Celebrity but will use some of the benefits on this cruise.

 

 

Edited January 15 by rinshin

[hcat]

23 hours ago, At Sea At Peace said:

Sushi on 5 was really, really a surprise as to how good the food was.  We couldn't at first figure out why so empty, then looked at the APP and the menu was from a rare promotional night with a very nontraditional menu.  We informed host of that on the way out one day and it was fixed that night.  That was 4-5 days in though.  We did 2 lunches and 1 dinner.  ***** rating.  We notice large contingents of groups of uniformed staff eating in groups.

 

Although the sushi was my 'fix,' the pork tonkotsu ramen was 'insane' great pork and a lot of it, bamboo and noodles (wife had to help big time).  Very large bowl and portions.  She had the kobe beef ramen slider, also awesome.  I missed this at our first lunch but saw it on the bar ready to be served (so I tried the next time; that picture below)

 

 

 

 

 

It's a cute venue, with some outside noise, music, etc. that was not a problem.  NOTE - The couch / bench seating is 'brutal' and you need a lot of pillow behind (to reach the table) and below (if you're not 6').

 

 

 

 

Here is the real menu that should be on the APP.

 

looks great..thank you for posting the " real menu" .  Seems there will be choie for my husb who is allergic to lobster and does not eat sushi..

What was the name of this dish?

[hcat]

overall great food review..

We enjoy the Elite breakfast.  Not sure what we will choose for  dinner...Ours will be  a short cruise Concierge Class, ..but Lawn Club is def on the list!

[At Sea At Peace]

21 minutes ago, hcat said:

looks great..thank you for posting the " real menu" .  Seems there will be choie for my husb who is allergic to lobster and does not eat sushi..

What was the name of this dish?

 

 

Well, I showed the waitress the photo of the three items that I saw when leaving the first time.  She know right off.  We just zoomed in to guess.  Then my wife reminds me that we take a photo of our receipts.  🫠