Jenniye5

My husband and I just got back from an Eastern Caribbean cruise with the Celebrity Silhouette. It was lovely! We had a balcony stateroom more towards the front part of the ship. Our ports of call - San Juan, PR... St. Maarten, and St. Thomas. We had 3 days at sea (1 day prior to San Juan, and then 2 days after leaving St. Thomas). Seas weren't that rough, although I could feel the boat at times. We started the trip off with a pre-cruise stay at the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hollywood, FL. I booked this hotel through , it was lovely. Was upgraded to an oceanfront balcony for free. No complaints! SILHOUETTE CABINS - First, to start out, we met friends while on the ship that were staying in Ocean view and Inside cabins, and all rooms are very spacious, and of similar floor plans to our balcony. The inside staterooms, surprisingly, was very comfortable. Something for my husband and I to consider for the future. I was, however, really happy with our balcony - perfect for a Caribbean cruise! We were able to have a full HOT breakfast almost everyday we were at port. Rooms are all equipped with a safe, good amount of storage (above beds, side of beds, in the closet, by the mini bar)... there was a large LCD TV that you can easily maneuver towards the sofa area, or the bed. I have photos of the mini bar list as well. The bathroom was spacious, also plenty of storage. There are cotton balls and Q-Tips provided, along with small bottles of shampoo, conditioner, lotion. Soap is also provided. There is a hidden drawer for the trash in the bathroom, something I thought was great! Towels - each person was provided with one set of towels - bath, hand, face. It's not a large problem, considering towels were switched twice a day (if needed). We brought an 8-pack of soda with us to drink, but I heard that others brought bottles of wine. Corkage fee in the dining room was $25/bottle, but in room, I believe it's free (bring your own). Room Service - actually quite delicious. You can order breakfast by filling out a card in the mornings, or ordering it through the TV! Great! Same with room service, either call to place an order, or just order through the TV! We tried both times, it works lovely either way. You can store your luggage under the bed, they made it so that luggage would slide under the bed, FYI. We had two large pieces of luggage, and a carry on under the bed the entire trip, it helped with space. FOOD - Food was relatively decent. We did Select Dining when we came on board, but soon met friends that were on the 6PM dinner slot, and joined their table. The MDR Cuvee was beautiful. Lovely, very grand. The service was excellent. And of course, the food was delightful. I was pleased. There was always steak on the menu, and on the 2nd formal night (which was a Friday for us), we had Surf and Turf. Yummy lobster tail. We did not try any of the specialty restaurants. Our balcony neighbors were travel agents and they went to Qsine, and said it was horrible. It took them 4 hours to finish a meal, and was $45/person... not only that, they stated that they didn't even get served the food they ordered. Finally, one of them went to the Maitre' D and complained. I heard The Grill was delightful though. Murano was OK, most people stated that it tasted the same as in the MDR.... so my interpretation on specialty restaurants is - save your $$$ and put it elsewhere. Oceanview Cafe on the 14th Floor - enjoyed one lunch, one dinner, and one breakfast here. All, actually, were quite good. We did dinner there when we were docked in San Juan, had Indian and Japanese sushi. For breakfast, many hot plate options, and there was an omelette station. Lunch was good too, sandwiches, and other hot plates, grills for burgers, fries. We ate most of our breakfasts on our balcony, as they serve HOT plate options. Ding! Lunch, we liked to dine in the MDR, since we hardly ever get to have a multi-entree lunch. They were good, and FAST. On the last day at sea, the MDR had an extremely large brunch buffet, and it was extravagent. From 10AM-1PM... I would recommend going around 11:30 or Noon as it is PACKED prior. They have all different offerings - breakfast hot items, sushi, salmon, pastas, fish, fried station, burgers, quiche, sandwiches, and then a very extensive dessert station featuring chocolate fondue, cheesecakes, tiramisu's, cakes, cream puffs, etc. SPA - I booked an "embarkation" special - $149 for a hot stone massage, scalp and foot massage, mini facial... it was decent. I had "Suzanne" as my lady. She was great. My husband had "Girlie" and said that she was good too. I also booked a no-chip Manicure, $55. Loved it, still looking great on the hands! I have the spa menu, if interested, I can provide pricing too. They did have daily specials, all ranging from $99 to $179 depending con day, and services offered. FITNESS CENTER - Located next to the Aqua Spa, on the 12th floor. Quite large, plenty of treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, weights, etc. There was a separate room for Pilates, Yoga, and Spinning and Stretching Classes.... $12/class, or a package of 4 for $40. PORTS OF CALL - San Juan, PR - we docked from 3pm-10pm. We did not plan anything for that day, so we walked around Downtown area, shopped, and walked to the National Fort. It was awesome. We were on the ship by 8:00PM, as most of the shops DT were closed by 7. Many jewelry stores here, and cigar shops. Also has a Dooney & Bourke and Coach OUTLET. St. Maarten (Dutch and French) - We booked a private tour with Joyce Prince Tours, and she took us around the island. Went to Orient Beach, Maho Beach (where you can see the planes land right by the beach)... Had lunch on the French side, in Marigot. She caters to what you are looking for in a tour, whether you want beaches, or views, or shopping, or marina life, etc. It was great, very nice. She dropped us off around 3PM, where my husband and I walked around the Front Street and did some shopping. St. Thomas - my favorite of all. Absolutely gorgeous. We had no intentions of booking any tours, but as we left the ship, and walked around the port shops, we were offered a tour by a local taxi driver - $25/person to see 4 stops, and a drop off at a beach location. It was, OK... I don't think I'd do it again, although I did get some really amazing photos from Paradise Point. Taxi took us to Coki Beach, we saw Magan's Bay, but we asked her to drop us off at another beach, a little more secluded. Wonderful day, stayed in the clear waters for the majority of the time, and took a taxi back to port around 3:30PM. Taxi prices are set by the government - it is $9/person to Coki Beach, $8/person to Magan's Bay. $22/person to Paradise Point. Overall, I would say the cruise was great! A beautiful boat, and good food. Nice, friendly service, and we met some new friends! They do try to nickle and dime you at times with specialty coffees, or bottled water, but if you can do without, you'll be fine!

My Mother and I went to Alaska from July 28th, 2012 until August 4th, 2012. We did a cruise with Princess Cruise Lines, Sapphire Ship. Our room was beautiful, we had a Mini-Suite, and a balcony that allowed us to have amazing views of Alaskan wildlife, scenery, and glaciers. The bathrooms in Mini-Suites had full tubs, which was a first that I had ever seen on a cruise ship. It was spacious! There was a closet area, with plenty of hangars to hang clothes up, and a large tall cabinet to store items in. We had two LCD TV's, one facing the beds, and the other facing the seating area. There was a complete separate seating area with a sofa, coffee table, and chair. Lovely! Our balcony was large as well, we were able to sit out and enjoy the scenic views of the trip. Staff was AWESOME - so friendly, willing to help out with everything! Food - Also delicious! Definitely better than other cruise ship food. The cafe was immediately above us on the 14th floor, so all we did was walk a few flights of stairs or took the elevators up and grab tea, coffee, water... snacks. We did not need to try room service for that reason. We did select dining, and ventured to multiple restaurants. They all offer the same "main dining room" food, but also provide a separate menu with daily offerings catered to that type of restaurant. For example, if we went into the "Mexican Themed" restaurant, they would have the normal MDR menu, but then also provide a menu with Mexican flavors! I enjoyed that! We visited three cities in Alaska, starting with Kechitkan, Juneau, and ending with Skagway. The final two days we were in Alaska, we went to Glacier Bay (rainy all day), and then to the College Fjords. Absolutely breathtaking views of the glaciers. In Juneau, we visited Mendenhall Glacier, where we were able to see large wild salmon (60 pounds) running up the stream, and then we even caught two black bears eating salmon. In Skagway, we walked through the quaint town, and then went up 3,300 feet to the White Pass Klondike Summit over in Yukon, Canada. We were originally going to take the train, however decided to opt for a bus tour instead, which allowed for us to make multiple stops and capture photos of the scenic route via Klondike Highway. We spent two days at sea, one was to view the Glacier Bay. Absolutely amazing. Rangers and Pilots from the area boarded our ship to educate us with the wildlife and glaciers. Only two cruise line ships are allowed to come through the Inside Passageway a day, and then a handful of private charter boats can see the glaciers. Rainy and gloomy day, but the glaciers were gorgeous. After visiting Glacier Bay, we went to view the College Fjords, which was the icing on the cake. Gorgeous views, we saw glaciers on both sides, spotted a sea otter, some seals, and orka whales. We watched the sunset off of our balcony, which was lovely. While on the ship, we became fast friends with another family, and was able to spend our days at sea with them. We ventured to karaoke, had afternoon tea, and attended lectures together, as well as enjoyed many meals together. They are a great family, and we hope to spend more vacations with them in the future.