AB WHAT ISLANDS?
Celebrity Silhouette Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern
9 Night Southern Caribbean (Miami To Fort Lauderdale)
Sail date: December 13, 2019
Ship: Celebrity Silhouette
Cabin type: Oceanview
Cabin number: 8102
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 4 years ago
Review summary
Speaking to many passengers, Celebrity gives away tons of on board credit to entice people to cruise. They are greatly oriented toward their specialty restaurants. Very, very expensive. Because of this, don't expect great food in the main dining room. The food in mdr was hit and miss. Most of the time it was good. But I had items that never came, food that came like leather even when rare was requested. And one time, the buffet food was actually better! I checked the buffet after dinner just to see, since I avoid buffets. The slots were obviously rigged to pay off after 9pm. I did love that the Casino was non-smoking. But empty most of the time. The shows were mostly enjoyable except for a couple of duds. A comedian who drew no laughs, Duncan Howard, and a production show, Cosmopolitan, that was the worst show I have ever seen onboard a cruise. I took the worst shore excursion ever. Highlights and Beach of Curacao. Waste of time and money. Made me feel like I never want to see Curacao again. Better to stick with off-ship excursions from now on. I will also avoid any cruise to grand cayman that comes my way. Even Nassau is better than that port. Overall, the ship is modern looking, very clean, very dark in the lounges, easy to get around, except for the theater. The main theater is one of the worst for disabled passengers. It requires a large number of steps to get to the front rows. So you have to sit in the back, if you can get a seat. And then there are a few poles to contend with. The smaller theater, Celebrity Central, was also fraught with difficulty for the disabled. The crowd was mostly retired folk. For awhile, I thought I was on Holland America. The musical entertainment was fair. I hated that many activites were on deck 3 in the central foyer, where the seating is limited to maybe 50. So you had to stand and peer over the shoulders in front of you to see the events. Not cool. The female, British activities director, Sue, was fun to listen to, but ugly to watch. Leggings on those skinny legs do not work Sue. She kept promoting how a future ship is going all female, including the captain. Big surprise from a company run by a woman. Although I did notice some food quality upgrades from, say, Carnival, they weren't that great an improvement. In fact, I preferred lobster night on Carnival than I did here. And I am no fan of what's happened to Carnival. I don't think the price increase on Celebrity was worth it. Our oceanview at the front of the ship was great. It was essentially a closed window balcony, making the cabin seem very long. And it was relaxing and fun to sit and look out the front of the ship. And I didn't notice any additional rocking from being up front. This would be an ideal cabin for Alaska, I thought. Kudos to the smoke free Casino. Wish more ships would go this route. Found much more payouts on the slots after 9pm. Don't tell me they're not rigged. The friendliness of all service workers was very high and very noticeable. Kudos to Celebrity for that. I guess you are paying more for that, and for the fancy sinks and hand towels in the public bathrooms, and the fancy bowl sink and bottles of shampoo and lotion in the cabins, and the slightly better food in the buffet than other ships. But don't expect good deli sandwiches. Doesn't exist. Overall, it was a pleasant cruise. But I could have taken the same itinerary on another cruiseline and saved $500, which, in retrospect, I should have done. One problem everyone seem to have with the large amount of on board credit was what to spend it on. The stores are high class and expensive Michael Kors and Cartier. The jewelry shops are ridiculously high priced. The specialty restaurants are up to $140 a couple. The excursions are high priced. One has to think, are your really getting a bonus or are you pre-paying for all this? Whatever works for you I guess.Embarkation
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Main Dining Room
Terribly lack of atmsophere. Very stark. I had flexible dining, so I got to try different waiters. All hit and miss, both in service and food. Ordered plates that were never delivered. Had food you could bounce off the floor. Very dark in places, so couldn't see what was on my plate. Don't bother asking for a table for only 2 since they stack those up next to each other so you are really sharing whether you want to or not. Ridiculous concept. Oh yeah, expect to be badgered by the waiters about giving a good rating to them, AFTER THEY FORGOT MY ORDER!
The Spa Café
This is a tapas place serving healthy food. Presentations are pretty, but food is bland. And what's so healthy about all that mayo they serve? Make it a real tapas bar and see how the people flock to it.
Quasar
Why does this exist? Nice room with very little furniture to sit down in. Great Karaoke sound system with very small song catalog and almost no attendance, even though it is located right outside the main theater. Karaoke was 10:30pm most nights, but DJ had discretion to end after 30, 45, or 60 minutes. Why? This is a very poor operation.
Rendezvous Lounge
very dark area, with very few couch seats in front of the performer. very small and amenable to duos. this duo wasn't that good for my taste.
Mast Grill and Bar
Hot dogs and hamburgers. Salty hot dogs. Hamburgers seemed like they had a filler of some sort. Nothing great. Could take a lesson from Guys Burgers on Carnival.
Onboard Activities
Guest Relations And Excursions
the best guest relations ever. But long lines. Best to go late at night, is my tip.
Entertainment
Grand Foyer
what's so GRAND? small area with very little seating but with much laughter filled entertainment. Everyone is crowded in trying to get a view. Not much fun here.
Silhouette Theatre
Poor venue for the disabled who can't get down the myriad set of steps to the front of the stage. Otherwise, comfortable theater seats with pretty good views over the tops of heads of those in front of you.
Children's Programs
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
DO NOT BRING AN EXTENTION CORD! THEY CONFISCATE THAT AND DO NOT TELL YOU THAT THEY ARE HOLDING UP YOUR MISSING LUGGAGE. THEN THEY MAKE YOU JUMP THROUGH HOOPS TRYING TO RETRIEVE THE ITEM WHEN YOU DISEMBARK. OVER 40 CRUISES, AND I NEVER HAD THAT DONE TO ME BEFORE. VERY NASTY AND UNPROFESSIONAL.
Ports of call
Disembarkation
1 Comment
chicpeach 4 years ago