Celebrity an excellent choice for relaxing cruise

Sailed on the Celebrity Silhouette on March 29, 2015 from Ft. Lauderdale; in a word - excellent!

Profile: Two gay professionals (53 & 46); experienced travelers; more than 20 cruises on various lines, including Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Disney, & Celebrity.

From the top: ignored Celebrity boarding advice and arrived at the terminal around 11AM. No line, no confusion; on the ship in 15 minutes. Explored, found the buffet, room ready around 1:30. Booked a guaranteed veranda room and was a little anxious as to what that would actually mean. Turned out not to be an issue: the life boats were right below our balcony but did not interfere with the view.

Cabin: Our room (6283) was as represented; however, I was a little surprised at the limited shelf space, but we used the cabinets above the bed and all was well. The bathroom was larger than expected and I was glad to see a door on the shower as opposed to a curtain. Our cabin assistant, Vilma, was great: helpful, efficient, and visible. The room was quiet and comfortable.

Food: We ate dinner in the MDR every evening and found the menu interesting, varied and tasty. The wait staff was cheerful, earnest, and helpful. My only disappointment in the MDR came on the last night when the menu featured recipes from Top Chef contestants. All of those dishes were pedestrian and uninspired. The food tasted fine, but it was a lackluster finish to an excellent week of dining. We did not eat in any of the add-on restaurants. The Oceanview Café, the buffet area, was excellent. There was large variety of food that changed through out the week. As on any ship, if you eat lunch at 12PM it will be a little crowded but we did not wait in line for anything except ice cream (real hand-dipped ice cream, not soft-serve). Frankly, there was a longer wait at the poolside grill. Ordered room service once - took 40 minutes to arrive which is what I was told when I ordered.

Entertainment: Attended most of the shows. They were the usual cruise fare: Vegas-style singing and dancing. There are worse ways to spend an hour.

Excursions: Booked through Celebrity prior to boarding. The catamaran snorkeling in St.Kitts was as promised. Saw lots of the marine life, had some laughs on the catamaran. Booked The Ultimate Catamaran & Beach tour for St. Maarten. It was VERY disappointing: crowded zodiac boat, no marine life, barren beach (no chairs, umbrellas, NOTHING.) This was the only major disappointment of the entire trip.

Drink package: Our fare included the Classic Beverage Package. Although we are seasoned cruisers we have never purchased a drink package because we are moderate drinkers. The package included unlimited beverages, up to $8 each. We drank more soda and bottled water than cocktails mainly because we could. In the future If given the choice between a lower fare and the drink package, I would probably pick the lower fare since we only had maybe a dozen cocktails over the course of the week. It is worth noting that many of the specialty drinks ere $10-$14, although a fellow traveler told me that you pay the difference when you ordered above the $8 limit.

Miscellanies: The ship was full but never felt crowded./ On the sea days most of the outdoor seats were taken./ Ample elevators that were quick meant no waiting./ The captain was the most out-going, accessible captain I have ever seen in my 20+ cruises. He was witty and articulate./ Celebrity is not a late night cruise line. The ship was very quite after 11PM, although there were pockets of shenanigans If you went looking. If you are looking for a party barge this is definitely NOT the ship for you. Also, if you have small children this is probably not the best choice either. While there were activities for children this is mainly a ship for adults of a certain age.

Summary: Excellent itinerary for relaxing (3 sea days) in very comfortable surroundings. This trip was exactly what we had hoped for.