Great overall
Celebrity Silhouette Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 4
Helpful Votes: 136
12 Night Southern Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)
Sail date: March 24, 2019
Ship: Celebrity Silhouette
Cabin type: Balcony
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 5 years ago
Review summary
We liked Celebrity very much, finding their quality and level of service better than most of the other brands. It was a nice itinerary, with 2 sea days to decompress at the beginning, 7 busy port days, then 2 sea days to relax before returning home. Many of the islands are still pretty battered from the hurricanes in 2017.Embarkation
Very organized embarkation and no delays. Our cabins were ready when we arrived.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The food in the Grand Cuvée dining room was always great. Our team (waiter Justo, assistant Melana, sommelier Merwyn and bartender Kristina made it especially memorable. They worked together so well as a team, and each was very warm and personable. The upholstered chairs are badly in need of freshening. Because they are so heavy and don’t slide on the carpeting, they have to be manhandled, and the fabric is showing soil and wear where they are touched. We had open seating dinner, and the first night we lucked into a table for 4 in the very back corner by a window. It was perfect! Being in a narrow part of the room next to the kitchen (or prep room?) we were isolated from the whirling confusion of so many moving bodies in the main part of the room. The hostess, sassy but sweet Eva (how does she keep us all straight??), gave us info that let us time our arrival to be able to be the second seating at that same table every night!! It really was an exception experience, thanks to the thoughtful attention of the staff members I mentioned.
While the buffet Oceanview Cafe was okay for a few breakfasts and lunches, with the exception of the carving stations and make-your-own burritos, the food was not very flavorful.
We dined in Qsine Le Petit Chef one night. While the animated table graphics were cute and the service was fine, our medium rare filet mignon was served medium. We felt it was not worth the $$$ upcharge.
Onboard Activities
We did go to the pool area a couple of times. It was very crowded, especially during the days at sea. Towels were plentiful. We liked that there weren’t a lot of kids on board and not a lot of goofy games going on around the pool. Good choice for mature travelers.
Entertainment
Because of our preferred dining time, we only made it to part of one show. The comedian/magician was very funny.
Children's Programs
Not many children on board! Perfect
Service and Staff
Without exception, everyone on board was friendly and eager to assist. Our room steward, Irwan, did such a wonderful job with our cabin. He kept it squeaky clean through 12 nights.
The bar staff (Hello Conor!) is excellent. Being located near the main dining room, the Passport Bar was a very busy place at times. It was always well-stocked and well-staffed, and the bartenders were very friendly, efficient and knowledgeable.
We went to the Martini Bar twice. The first time it was fine, but the second time we waited purposely until it was scheduled to be open according to the daily planner. When we arrived there were a few other couples there waiting, but no bartender. A little later he breezed through, saying he’d be back and that he was still setting up. We waited about 5 minutes and he didn’t return, so we (as well as the others) moved on and never returned during the trip. We had the classic beverage package, so there was an up-charge for each of their drinks that they missed out on.
The Passport Bar was the only indoor bar open a lot of the time.
Ship Quality
Silhouette is a very pretty ship. Everything was clean and in working order. They have a card room, library and The Hideaway (Hideaway is on deck 7 with coffee & teas starting at 7 every morning!) overlooking the aft atrium.
The chairs in the best bar (Passport on level 3) are on their last legs, so to speak. The seats are sprung and no longer support your weight; when you sit on them you sink into a hole. Also the velvet upholstery on the chairs has lost most of its nap, especially on the front edge of the seats. They are long overdue for replacement.
It’s open between the 4th and 5th levels where the shops are, and each floor has its own music. It’s very discordant to hear both at the same time. On that topic, the music choice is horrible! It’s filled with phrases and riffs repeated over and over and over and over until I wanted to stick my fingers in my ears to block it out. Not one song, but the majority of them!
I understand that the ship is going in for mandatory periodic maintenance soon, and I hope they address the soft goods on board.
Cabin / Stateroom
We had what they call a Sunset Verandah which is on the fantail facing directly aft. While it was fairly roomy and in good repair, it was a very long hike from the elevators. Also, we had a constant problem on the verandah with soot from the smokestacks landing on us and the chairs. We kept the chair backs folded forward to protect the seats as much as we could, but we still ended up with black soot stains on the seats of all of our clothes! We definitely will never pay the extra rate to have a cabin in this area again.
The bedding was crisp and fresh smelling. Some of the towels were getting worn to the point of being frayed, but most were still pretty white. Irwan did an excellent job of keeping our cabin clean.
Ship tip
Strike up conversation and be friendly with the staff. They’ll make your cruise exceptional! Also, don’t pick a Sunset Verandah unless you only wear black clothes.
Thumbs up
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Ports of call
Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida
Ft. Lauderdale was our embarkation point. Port Everglades is pretty easy to get around. The embarkation staff was very organized and the processing was easy.
We did a half-day snorkel with the turtles. Our sail boat captain took us to Buck Island where we were issued snorkel gear and given safety instructions. We had a hour or more to snorkel, but this was not the best location for snorkeling. I don’t know if it is typical of St. Thomas, or just this place. There wasn’t much coral, not colorful, and not a lot of interesting fishes. We did see two turtles munching on grass, and a small ray. The water was warm and clear. The best part of the excursion was the boat ride and the crew- the captain and a beautiful young woman who worked very hard for us. For those who forgot the necessities, they had sun block, underwater cameras, etc. available for purchase. On the ride back, pretzels, granola bars, beer, soda, water and rum punch were included in the price. It was a small group, maybe 20 people.
We had never been to St. Martin or Sint Maartin before so we did the 2 1/2 hour Island Tour. The island is very arid and there wasn’t much to see. The driver didn’t try to inform us about the area and seemed only to talk to the people in the seat next to him and directly behind him. BEcause he had no microphone system, even if he was answering questions about the area very few could hear him. Not recommended. I’d definitely pick something different if we visit again.
We did the 3-hour Adrenaline Zip Lining through ShoreExcursionsGroup.com. It was our second zip lining experience. The equipment was good (redundant safety measures) and the guides (the two V’s) were excellent. The hike to the first platform was long and steep, but except for the last one, they were fairly short, low and slow. Maybe for a first-timer they would be good, but we were a bit disappointed.
We shopped at this port and walked around a bit. It’s was not your typical port shopping center with the expected international stores. There were a few shops set up right off of the dock, then the street. It seems to be a pretty poor area, comparatively. We did meet a very nice woman working very hard by the dock to sell her wares, and an enterprising woman with a cooler full of icy cold beers on the street.
We did the Mount Gay Rum Experience and Scenic Drive, 3 hours. Our guide at the Rum museum and tasting, Tina, was enthusiastic and very knowledgeable about the product and history of the rummery. The displays were interesting. While the extent of my rum appreciation is a Mojito, everyone seemed to enjoy the 5 or 6 rums we sampled. We visited on a Sunday afternoon.
We did the 4 hour River Tubing & Rainforest Drive. Unfortunately, it was the beginning of the dry season and the water levels were very low. We felt that the excursion should have been cancelled, but also understand the economic impact of doing so would have been tremendous. Our guides were great and worked very hard pulling and pushing us through the still water areas, and pulling us off of the rocks and bank areas where we often got hung up. The rapids were few and the low water level caused us to have to pull up our butts in order not to get injured on the rocks that were constantly brushing the bottom of our tubes. Thankfully the tubes had enclosed bottoms so there was a little buffer between the rocks and our bathing suits. A big complaint is that, although they told us to bring a change of clothing with us, there was nowhere to change, and no bathroom facilities at the end point. Several spouses held up towels for their mates to allow them to change into dry clothing before the rainforest drive part of the tour. I pressed the driver about a bathroom, and he agreed to stop back at the starting point to allow us to use that bathroom.
We did the 4 hour Mega Island Tour from ShoreExcursionsGroup.com which uses Annie’s Caribbean Tours. Annie and her husband “Spoony” do a great job. Our group was too big for one vehicle, so we were just 6 people in Spoony’s van. He was very informative and entertaining. Since it was only the 6 of us and two had been to a resort on the island in years past, he tailored the trip to include a drive through the resort area and also to the spot that overlooks the strip of land separating the Atlantic from the Caribbean. We recommend this tour.
Disembarkation
Because we had bus transportation picking us up after 10, we went to the dining room shortly before the end of their service hours. We had a leisurely breakfast, then found a quiet place to wait away from the hustle and bustle of debarking passengers. We exited the ship at last call, sailed through the ramps and had no problem finding our luggage in the nearly empty claim area. It was a very pleasant way to end the cruise.