Celebrity Silhouette Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Celebrity Silhouette 8/17/2014 ~ 7-night Greece and Turkey (Eastern Med) with 2 nights pre-cruise in Venice, Italy

We arrived in Venice mid-morning on 8/15 and proceeded to the water taxi counter in the airport where our name was posted as our hotel had pre-arranged the transfer with Venezia Taxi service.  They were friendly and we were able to pay with credit card for the 120€ trip.  The water taxi pier/station is reached via a fairly easy 10 minute walk from the terminal (easy if your luggage is manageable anyway).  The walkway is mostly covered but in bad weather it could be cumbersome.  A beautiful wooden boat was our means of transport across the lagoon and into the canals including the Grand Canal directly to our hotel located on one of the smaller canals.  This was the perfect welcome to Venice!  Absolutely worth the money.  The ride was about 40 minutes and the sights were amazing – it was like getting a sightseeing tour as well!

Upon arrival at our hotel Locanda Orseolo we entered through an opening from the canal into the sitting room of the hotel – talk about making an entrance!  Our luggage was handed up to Igor, one of the hotel team members who was always “at your service”, so we didn’t have to lift a finger!  The hotel is a charming, boutique, family-owned property.  The team introduced themselves and graciously welcomed us to their hotel.  This was just the start of the amazing personal service we were treated to our entire stay!  From always being greeted by name, given advice about concerts, selecting wines for us to enjoy in the afternoon, to serving a delicious buffet and made to order eggs and crepes at the included daily breakfast!

Since our room wasn’t ready yet we checked in and left our luggage with the desk before we ventured out to explore the alleys and canals of Venice.  Igor provided us a map and gave us a few tips about how to get around and we were off!

Our hotel was tucked in a private courtyard behind an iron gate just a few short blocks from the famous St. Mark’s Square.  The location was perfect!!  We wandered the alleys and bridges and were amazed at the architecture and beauty of Venice.  After a couple of hours we found a great little wine-bar, Vineria all’Amarone for cichetti (small bite appetizers) and wine, of course!

After lunch we headed back to the hotel and our room was ready with our bags waiting inside.  One unique thing is that they use REAL keys at the hotel, and you leave it at the desk when you go out.  The room was decorated in old-style Italian with red and gold drapes and had a king size bed, an old-fashioned desk and chair, a small closet with a safe.  Modern amenities included a flat screen TV, free Wi-Fi, a coffee maker and fully stocked mini-bar fridge.  The bathroom was large and modern with a bathtub with shower, toilet, bidet and even a towel warmer.   Plush bathrobes and slippers were available for our use as well!

After unpacking, we went back out to explore some more.  We couldn’t get enough of this unique and fascinating city.

Saturday morning, we were scheduled for a tour of Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Basilica with Walks of Italy.  We had pre-arranged the tour directly with them before leaving home.  Our guide Mosé was friendly and knowledgeable and had a true passion for the history of Venice!  Our tour included the famous Bridge of Sighs and even a perfectly timed visit to the terrace of the basilica to see the clock tower movements at noon where the figures are striking the bell.  We are so thankful we booked this tour as we would never have appreciated these sites or Venice as much!

We elected to attend a Vivaldi concert performed by Interpreti Veneziani at Chiesa SanVidal, a former church turned concert hall that was about a 15 minute walk from the hotel.  Igor suggested getting there about 8:30pm for the 9:00pm show, so we decided to have a snack just across the Grand Canal at Beccafico Café.  We shared a delicious veggie pizza and wine and made it to the church at 8:35pm where we found ourselves sitting in last row!  So if you decide to go to this concert, arrive at 8:15pm for better seating.  Even being in the last row, the venue isn’t large and the acoustics were fine.  We still had a decent view of the performance which consisted of about 90 minutes of music from talented musicians including one short intermission.

In the morning, we enjoyed the hotel’s buffet for breakfast, and headed out one more time to see what more we could see.  Our tickets from the earlier tour included admission into a couple other museums including the Correr museum.  We spent a couple of hours admiring the art and the historical items before getting back to our hotel just in time to catch our water taxi transfer to the cruise port.  Again this was with Venezia Taxi and well worth every penny (100€ including tip)!  This was like getting another “tour” of the canals including the Grand Canal all the way to the cruise ship pier!  We would pay for this again!

The beautiful Celebrity Silhouette awaited us for boarding at the pier!  It was about 12:30pm when we checked in and went aboard.  The ship is beautiful with classy décor and plenty of open spaces.  We were booked in an Aqua Class stateroom (1591) on deck 11 midship.  The room had the bed near the closet and a couch and desk near the balcony windows.  The balcony was spacious with a round table and two chairs that could recline back along with two foot rests.  Overall it was very comfortable for both relaxing and dining!

The cabin had plenty of closet space, but limited drawer space.  Fortunately we remembered the overhead storage areas above the bed and made good use of that space.  The bed was made up with a plush duvet and several pillows.  The bathroom had lots of storage and real shower doors!  A special feature for the ladies – a foot rest in the shower to make it easier to shave your legs!

Aqua Class staterooms are assigned open-seating dining in Blu Restaurant.  The food here is prepared a bit healthier and the portion sizes are perfect to help keep you from eating too much but don’t leave you hungry.  Service was very good most nights, except one.  Food was excellent.  The open-seating concept worked well for us as we never had more than a few moments wait to be seated for breakfast or dinner.

We did dine in both Murano and Tuscan Grille specialty restaurants.  The service was great in both.  Our favorite dish in Tuscan Grille was a perfectly grilled Filet Mignon.  The table-side prepared lobster tail and the venison were the winners in Murano followed by a delicious soufflé with Grand Mariner vanilla sauce.

For breakfast, we dined in Blu, the Elite Captain’s Club lounge, the buffet and even ordered room service to get a variety.   The breakfast buffet had plenty of choices and the food quality was good.  Blu was delicious with excellent choices.  Room service was prompt and the croissants and fruit were fresh.

Lunch brought us to the main dining room and the buffet after enjoying the deliciously refreshing daily-changing Gazpacho soups at the AquaSpa cafe.  The buffet has made to order pasta and stir fry stations that served up tasty dishes.  Pizza was as good as always, but they had a hard time keeping up with the demand.  The Mexican station with fixings for fajitas and nachos always had a long line.  There were plenty of sandwich and salad choices and lots of fresh fruit.  The main dining room offered some nicely presented and appetizing dishes in generous portions.

Entertainment throughout the ship was fantastic.  The solo guitarist, the duo, the house band – all were great.  The main production shows Velocity and Broadway Nights were top notch as well.   Every time we passed one of the acts throughout the ship, we made a comment on how great the music was!

The crew and officers were friendly and ever-present.  Our stateroom steward Raymond and his assistant Nelson were efficient and always there with a smile!

One of our cruise highlights was being invited to the Captain’s Table hosted by the Hotel Director and Onboard Marketing Manager.  The experience was very special with a great menu and nice wine choices.  Conversation with our fellow guests was fun and the food was excellent as expected.

Ports of call:

Dubrovnik – We took a taxi for 10€ to the Old Town area where we joined the Discover Dubrovnik Walk, offered several times a day by Dubrovnik Walking Tours for 12€ per person. The tour lasted about 90 minutes, but it was more of a stand and hear history, walk a few steps, stand and hear history, etc.  Our guide Vesnay wasn’t the most engaging, but she was nice.  It was a little disappointing to hear that the town had been rebuilt as recently as 1990 (to the historical specifications).  Once our tour was over we walked 2/3 of the way around the city walls giving us spectacular views of the city and the bay.  After walking the walls, we climbed up, down and across the alleys until we found a great little restaurant – Rozario.  Ivan our waiter served us local wine and delicious gorgonzola stuffed mushrooms.  It was the perfect way to end our day in Dubrovnik before heading back to the ship.

Kusadasi – We booked a private excursion with Curio Travel/Ephesus Shuttle for our stop in Turkey.  Our guide met us at the pier and we walked a short distance to our private decked-out SUV with plush leather seats facing each other in the back.  Our guide Taylan shared history and stories along the drive to the ruins at Ephesus.  He took us through the ruins including the amazing Terrace Houses.  His knowledge and passion for the history and culture of the ancient times was admirable.  After the ruins, we headed towards the little village of Sirince.  Just outside of town, we stopped for lunch at Bizim Ev a restaurant whose owner Hatice prepares a variety of local dishes served buffet style.  With so many choices, we got to try lots of different dishes – our favorite had to be the stuffed grape leaves!  Sirince was a charming hillside village with cobblestone streets, cute cafes, nice shops and fascinating little hotels.  We definitely would come back for more than a few hours!  On the way back to the ship, we stopped at a local carpet co-op where they showed us the techniques for making those beautiful rugs and then they showed several rugs in different styles and colors.  Awesome experience without high pressure sales!  A full day tour showed us just a touch of what this beautiful country has to offer.

Mykonos – We had high hopes for Greece as it has been on our must-visit list for years.  We had the Mykonos Old and New tour planned that was booked with Shore Excursions Group.  We took an early tender in and had 30-45 minutes to wander the streets/alleys of Old Town Mykonos before the tour started, so we got some very nice photos before the shops opened and the streets were crowded with people.  The 3.5 hour tour first took us to a 30 minute stop at Kalafati Beach where we discovered that the sand in Mykonos is really just gravel.  Next, we visited a working Greek Orthodox Monastery followed by a local pastry and beverage at a small café before heading back to Old Town for our walking tour.  This part was very disappointing as our guide showed us the photo store, the bookshop and the banks instead of concentrating on local history and stories.  A brief visit to a small folk history museum gave us some of that, but it’s not the same as when you’re standing at the actual site.  By this time, the streets were crowded with people and small vehicles trying to wind their way through the alleys, so we just headed back to the ship.

Corfu – Celebrity offered just a few tour choices for Corfu.  We took one including the beautiful Achilleion Palace, the Virgin Mary Monastery in Paleokastritsa, and some time in Corfu’s old town (most of which didn’t seem too old to us).  Our guide was very good, and we saw a lot of the island.  Again, we expected more but we’re glad we got to see what we did.

Overall the ship, crew, food, entertainment and itinerary were excellent!  We had a great cruise and can’t wait for our next one!

That was our last cruise. It was very nice and interesting venture. With all the medical emergencies we still had great times. We just made it. After this "quarantine" for many days. Thank you Celebrity for great vacation.

Celebrity cruises is our favourite cruise line we have sailed with and we have sailed with many. Nothing is too much trouble for the staff, the ship is beautiful and immaculate. Great drinks package and fantastic food. Their specialty restaurants are out of this world and worth every penny, we ate somewhere different every night on our 2 week cruise and loved each meal and was wowed every time. The selection of bars is outstanding and there is always a place to sit somewhere, very wheelchair accessible and friendly just a fabulous cruise line and ship.

Cruising with Celebrity is a definite and resounding YES on our list of future travels. Thanks for all the hard work and grand smiles we encountered this time around.

Over all, the Silhouette is a beautiful ship and we would love to sail on her for a 7nt or longer cruise in the future.  We were in a balcony stateroom (cabin 9233), which was spacious and nice, but not nearly enough drawer or storage space, although the closet was larger than expected.  The cabin location was fantastic as it was mid-ship with a nice sized balcony and very close to the elevators.  Our cabin was also adjoining with 9235 (my parents cabin) but the adjoining portion was a the front doors with larger doors outside in the alcove that could be closed to create an easy pass through and the balcony separator was opened so we have one large space to hang out at sail away or just for cocktails before dinner.  The bathroom was large (for a cruise ship) and the shower was walk-in size and nicely oversized by cruise ship standards.  Also, there was no icky shower curtain but rather sliding doors to enclose the shower.  The bed, however, was one of the worst I've ever slept on and the pillows were meager in size and just plain as uncomfortable.  Our room steward was very nice but unfortunately there wasn't much he could do about the bed.  Some of the concierge and higher staterooms offer pillow menus and now I know why that is so important.

The sailing we were on was only 3nt, so the clientele was NOT our peer group.   Putting that aside, the cruise was very nice and we learned where and where not to go for quiet space.  The food overall was good and the selection in the Ocean side Cafe was pretty extensive but it was over crowded and hard to get a table the couple of times we tried and there were lots of kids running around like crazed animals.  There is a great selection of alternative dining venues all of which looked amazing, but need to be pre-booked as early as possible.  We tried every day to get into several of them and they were all booked prior to even boarding the ship.  I think it was because of being such a short cruise that made it even harder.  We did get into the Lawn Grill for lunch one day and the burgers were fantastic as was the service and it was also a nice quiet area of the ship and worth every penny of the $15 cover charge.

The drink packages and the drinks themselves are incredibly over priced.  4 drinks at the bar were over $50!  Outrageous!!  I've been on more than 125 cruises and consider Celebrity's pricing vs. quantity of the drink to be on par with what I would expect at a Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton, NOT on a Celebrity cruise.  Wine is allowed to be carried on, one bottle per person, so if you have more in your group sailing, you can bring one for each person in the cabin.  Handy we had my parents with us so we were able to bring on 4 bottles.  You can also bring wine back to your cabin from the ports of call, however spirits and beer are taken at security and delivered to your cabin the last night of the cruise.

We found the Elite benefits from Celebrity to be very nice, even for a short cruise.  If you sail regularly on Royal Caribbean, you’re past passenger status transfers over to Celebrity as well.  There is a nice cocktail reception from 5-7 pm in a private area of a lounge.  Canapés were served and you could order any drinks you wanted off the menu including wine, beer and spirits.  If you are looking for a nice atmosphere and a couple of complimentary drinks, don’t miss this event.   Also for Elite guests, we had 90 mins of FREE wi-fi onboard which we didn’t use all of the minutes as the service was VERY slow but then again were bobbing around in the middle of the Ocean, so I didn’t expect lightning fast speeds. 

Overall we would sail on this ship again but for a longer sailing.  The shorter sailings (like with other cruise lines) bring out a less mature and sophisticated crowd on board - looked more like a Carnival crowd than a Celebrity crowd.  The ship is beautiful, easy to get around and very comfortable with lots of great spaces to listen to music and relax or have a drink and talk.  I would say this cruise would be best suited for those 35 - 70 (and a young at heart 70) who like a more sophisticated atmosphere but not the price tag of the luxury lines.  Of all the mass market cruise lines, Celebrity is hands down the best all around cruise line.

This was our first cruise and it exceeded all of our expectations. I'm not sure we can cruise in another cruise line that can top this one.

Thoroughly enjoyed our cruise and most of the ports (Marseille was a bit disappointing). Weather was fantastic throughout.

Ship and San Juan were fantastic. I could do without going to St Maarten and St Thomas again. We will definitely be cruising with Celebrity again. They are a class act and treat us members of the LGBT community with respect

Celebrity Silhouette November 26 – December 8, 2017 Ft. Lauderdale, Coco Cay, Antigua, St. Lucia, Grenada, Barbados, Martinique, St. Kitts Cabin 6207 Introduction This was our 22nd cruise and 2nd time sailing Celebrity. We flew down from Atlanta on Saturday and stayed the night at the Hampton Inn Airport North Cruise Port. They have a free shuttle from the airport and you can arrange a shuttle to your ship at the hotel. Free breakfast and everyone was heading to a cruise ship. Ft. Lauderdale There were seven assorted cruise ships in port. We had lunch in the Oceanview Café and when we went to our cabin at 1:00 p.m. our suitcases were outside our door. As the parade of ships out of the harbor began around 4 p.m., the Disney Magic saluted with “When You Wish Upon A Star” on its horns. Not to be outdone, the Princess Regal responded by booming the theme from “The Love Boat” on its horns. Very neat. The Sunset Bar on deck 15 was packed for watching the sail away. Walk a bit forward on the starboard side and pull up a chair in the Porch. It is a small extra fee venue for dining that was empty. Glass walls shield you from the wind and we had the place to ourselves. Try it. We opted for dinner in the Tuscan Grill, they offered a 30% discount off the usual $45 charge. We had a wonderful dinner watching the glows of sunset and the lights of the Florida coast shrinking, looking out of the wall of aft windows in the restaurant. They sport you a complimentary, after dinner Lemoncello as a thank you. Coco Cay The coolest thing about waking after our first night aboard, was that the Christmas elves had a busy night. Christmas trees sprouted all over the ship with several in the main atrium. Lighted garlands were strung around the atrium and in the main dining room. Wreaths and other Christmas fixtures were everywhere. I didn’t see any snowflakes aboard, given the age of the average cruiser, but Christmas has been so secularized I can’t imagine anyone being offended by the tasteful decorations. While today you need to tender ashore to Royal Caribbean’s and Celebrity’s private island, they are busy constructing a pier so at some point in the future you will just walk ashore off the ship. Cococutters 1, 2 & 3 tendered us ashore today. Also in the little island harbor, were the tenders Niña, Pinta and Santa Maria. We last saw them at Labadee, years ago before the new pier was built. We shopped in the stalls and had a nice picnic lunch ashore. Norwegian Cruise Lines’, Great Stirrup Cay, is next door about a half mile away. The evening’s entertainment was John, Paul, George and Ringo, a great group of Beatle impersonators. If they are on your ship, be sure to see them as it’s a great show. Sea Days We had two days to cover the 1,041 miles to St. John’s, Antigua. Our Cruise Critics get together was on our first day in the Cellar Masters on deck 4. All the ship’s officers attended and greeted us and there was a ‘bring a gift from your home town to exchange with a fellow cruiser’ event. A guy from Malta brought a Maltese cross plaque as a gift. The Silhouette, and I believe all Celebrity ships are registered in Valletta, Malta. Sweet. You can label our second sea day as ‘White Cap Wednesday.’ It takes winds around 20+ knots to generate a lot of white caps. The Silhouette moved around a bit to let you know you were at sea. Celebrity brought history Prof. Benjamin Taggle aboard to deliver lectures about the islands we were visiting. The talks were very informative, funny and if you missed one, you could catch a rerun on a ship’s TV channel later in the day. Antigua The island has about 100,000 residents. With five cruise ships in port. The island populace was 25% larger today. We strolled off the Silhouette with a steel drum band playing island tunes on the pier. There is bar right off the pier advertising free wi-fi with about 50 cruisers grouped in a scrum sharing an extremely slow internet connection to get their emails, etc. (Joanne tried and gave up.) The first pavilion you come to is a tourism stall. We asked about a taxi tour and were directed to some guys in orange shirts. We hooked up with Alwyn who would take us on a 3 hour tour across the island to the southern shore and back. At $25 per person we shared his cab with four other couples. Alwyn was a true island character. I met his uncle, a cousin along the tour, passed his younger brother’s church and saw the house he was born in. We drove to the island’s south coast and toured both English Harbour and Falmouth Harbour. When you hit the big Power Ball lottery and buy your 150 foot yacht, you may likely park it for the winter in one of these sunny harbors. Alwyn pulled over at one point to a convenience store and bought himself a water and energy drink and brought back a couple of local beers and a soda for a few of his thirsty passengers. Later he made another stop at a roadside stand and bought a locally grown Antigua Black pineapple which the locals cut up for us. They are about the size of a softball, very sweet and not exported. We all had a wonderful taste of black pineapple. At another stop at the resort bar Alwyn worked evenings as a bartender, he ran in and brought out a rum punch for another passenger. This is what customer service looks like. The big island seen off to the west on the tour was Montserrat. A volcanic eruption in the 90’s shut down the southern portion of the island as living was there was not an option. It was a wonderful tour that was closer to 4+1/2 hours and resulted in a nice tip for Alwyn from us. Back aboard at departure, having a sundowner up in the Sky Lounge on deck 14, we listened to the Disney Magic dueling “When You Wish Upon A Star” with the Princess Regal’s “Love Boat” theme song. I just love that. St. Lucia I’m rehabbing a bad hind leg, so a day ashore and the next day in the cocktail lounge works for me. Joanne looked around the shops next to the pier. As we looked out our cabin, ashore there was a Home Depot. Note to the real Home Depot, trademark infringement, big time in Castries, St. Lucia. Your welcome real Home Depot. While we had just two ships in the harbor, the Queen Mary II was anchored outside the harbor and sent a fleet of tenders in and out of the harbor past us all day. Grenada Grenada is the premier spice island. Joanne has a German uncle, Edie, who spent a career at Zublin, the company that built the cruise port in St. George’s where we were docked. Small world. We signed up for an island tour and picked up the bus just off the pier. As an observation, I doubt if you can find 10 feet of level roadway on the island. You are either driving up or down steep hills and the roads are all switchback turns. The driver was constantly beeping is horn to signal he was coming on the numerous blind turns. The first stop was Ft. Frederick, perched 800 feet above the capital of St. George’s. Great views and you can see the Medical School to the south where the US Military rescued 600 students in 1983. Grenada is a lush island with a rain forest that is a national park. Nutmeg plantations produce the nutmeg and mace spices and every vendor on the island will sell you an assortment of local spices. Bamboo grows an inch a day and it’s common to see 60 or 70 foot-tall plants. Mahogany trees grow here and we passed several shops that build furniture with the local wood. Saturday is market day and we passed bustling markets in several towns. As a small footnote, the people of Granada celebrate their Thanksgiving Day on October 25th each year. It is a national holiday and it commemorates the arrival of US forces who chased out the Cuban military that was propping up the local dictator who had all his opposition murdered. Score one for democracy. Barbados There were three other cruise ships sharing the Bridgetown harbor with us today. Just to get off the pier was about a half-mile walk, but the ship had shuttles to get you from the ship to the area where the tours could be picked up. Joanne took an interesting island tour leading to many of the beautiful beaches and the dramatic Atlantic coast. It turns out a number of celebrities have homes on the island including Tom Selleck. Martinique Here’s where Humphrey Bogart first met future wife Lauren Bacall in “To Have and Have Not” in 1944; if I remember my island history correctly.☺ Actually Martinique is a pretty large island with about 400,000 people. Martinique is absolutely unique among all the cruise destinations in the Caribbean. When you get off the ship there are no Diamonds International, Columbian Emeralds, Del Sol or Cariloha shops greeting you with open cash registers. The capital city of Fort-de-France has steep hills, narrow streets and is a busy place. Our tour bus met us on the pier and our tour guide, Coralee, provided an excellent four-hour information dump on all aspects of island life. Our first stop was not far out of town at the church of Sacré-Coeur. It is a one-fifth scale replica of the original in Paris and was also built to honor the island‘s fallen soldiers who fought in WWI. The citizens of Martinique consider themselves Europeans. They are all French citizens, vote in the national elections and the local currency is the Euro. The island has three types of forests. The “dry” forest only receives three meters of rain per year. The “middle forest” gets from three to nine meters of rain and the “rainforest” gets over nine meters of rain. Tourism is about fourth in rank of economic importance and sugar and oil and rum rank ahead. The island distills 20 different brands of rum. The volcano, Mount Pelée sits on the north side of the island and in 1902 its explosive eruption killed 30,000 residents of nearby Saint-Pierre. The lone survivor in town was a prisoner in the local jail who was protected by the thick stone walls. As we departed Saint-Pierre on the coast road heading south, we passed the face of a limestone cliff pockmarked by thousands of round holes about 6-8 inches deep. Saint-Pierre was the original capital of Martinique and the British wanted the island. They would bring their fleet close to shore at night to bombard the city with cannon fire. The locals, however, put out all the lights in the city and lit fires on the cliff tops so the bombardment missed the city and just made a lot of harmless holes in the stone cliff face. St. Kitts & Nevis We’ve toured St. Kitts on previous cruises and elected to stay aboard. Looking out at Basseterre, all the buildings seemed freshly painted and neat. Two sea days would get us back to Ft. Lauderdale. On one evening, a trio of entertainers from the Broadway hit, “We Will Rock You” performed the hits of Queen. It was a great show. Disembarkation We had number 20 and were off the ship at around 8:30 a.m. The bad news was Atlanta was getting an unusual snow storm and flights were being cancelled for several days. We ended up renting a car and driving home. All in all, a great cruise with a lot of interesting ports. The crew got to recognize you and treated us wonderfully. We’re going again soon. Austin Kearney Atlanta, GA pepperdog@mindspring.com

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!

The ship was beautiful and clean.  My recommendation is to have a designated location for all night dancing/bar and an LGBT night located in a location that easy for people to chat and meet.  It was located in a location that was mixed with everyone and harder to figure out who to connect with.  Also, there were some stops that could have been skipped for overnight stays in places like Florence.  

Everything was lovely. The live performances were amazing!

We had a great first time cruise on Celebrity. We enjoyed our Deck 7 cabin near The Hideaway. Food and service was great on the ship. I recommend Celebrity Silhouette! We sailed December 17-24 from Fort Lauderdale to San Juan, St. Thomas and St. Kitts.

Cruise was a great experience. Enjoyed all of it. Great ports of call. Weather was beautiful. Had only 2 half days of rain- very lucky. Temps were in mostly in the 60's. Warmer in Oslo and Amsterdam. Would highly recommend this cruise.

One of the BEST SHIPS EVER!!! STELLAR CUSTOMER CARE IN A LONG TIME! Celebrity to everyone!

Hace poco que mi novia y yo hemos vuelto de un crucero inolvidable de 7 días por las Islas Griegas a bordo del Celebrity Silhouette con recorrido Venecia - Kotor  - Santorini  – Atenas – Katakolon - Venecia. Este ha sido nuestro primer crucero por lo que no puedo hacer muchas comparaciones, aunque por lo que he visto de otros barcos, creo que no iré mal encaminado si digo que el Silhouette es uno de los mejores. Para empezar se trata de uno de los barcos más nuevos de la clase Solstice con sólo 3 años de antigüedad, y su diseño espectacular y su enorme tamaño con 16 cubiertas lo convierten en un auténtico palacio flotante.

* RESERVA: 8. La reserva la realizamos nosotros mismos a través de su página web. Escogimos una oferta por un camarote de la clase Concierge (cubiertas 9 y 10) sin especificar el camarote exacto y a los pocos días recibimos un correo confirmando la reserva y el nº camarote que teníamos asignado. La oferta incluía 300 $ que utilizamos abordo para comprar paquetes de bebidas y excursiones en tierra.

* CAMAROTE: 10. Fantástico. En este barco la mayoría de los camarotes son exteriores con balcón y bastante amplios (18 m² el camarote y 5 m² el balcón). La cama es muy grande y super cómoda, tiene tv pantalla plana, sofá, mesita, un baño estupendo con albornoces, y el balcón es increíble con tumbonas y una mesita. Nuestro camarote además por ser de la clase Concierge incluía una botella de vino y bandeja de fruta de bienvenida y bandejas de aperitivos dos veces al día durante todo el crucero.

* ZONAS COMUNES: 10. Tiene todo lo que se puede imaginar, dos cubiertas llenas de tumbonas con música en vivo y dos piscinas al aire libre, piscinas cubiertas, jacuzzis, spa, gimnasio buenísimo, pista para correr, librería, cancha de baloncesto, tiendas, casino, y hasta una cubierta con cesped donde te puedes tumbar a tomar el sol o disfrutar increíbles puestas de sol.

* SERVICIO: 10. Es increíble la cantidad de personas que trabajan en este barco, el número de camareros por cliente es bastante alto, y todos están volcados en que disfrutes del crucero y no te falte de nada, con una amabilidad y simpatía increíbles. El camarote lo limpian varias veces al día de forma que siempre te lo encuentras perfectamente limpio y ordenado.

* RESTAURANTES: 10. Los restaurantes son fantásticos con mención especial al restaurante principal "Grand Cuveé" que tiene un diseño y elegancia espectaculares y un servicio a la carta exquisito que te hacen sentir todas las noches como si estuvieras en un hotel de 5 estrellas. Las cafeterías son muy bonitas y elegantes, y hay varias barras para bebidas y comida rápida al lado de las piscinas. Los restaurantes están abiertos todo el día y toda la comida es de una variedad y calidad superior. El comedor principal para desayunos y cenas "Oceanview Cafe" es enorme y tiene multitud de barras con comida lo que evita colas y aglomeraciones además está completamente acristalado y tiene espectaculares vistas del mar. También puedes pedir que te sirvan las comidas en el camarote sin coste adicional.

* ESPECTÁCULOS: 10. Magníficos y variados espectáculos todas las noches en dos turnos de horarios.

* NOCHE: 7. Todas las noches después del espectáculo había música en directo y dj’s, aunque tenían lugar en el Martini Bar que no era el sitio más apropiado porque aunque es muy bonito no es muy grande y no tiene zona de baile, y además la música terminaba a medianoche. También había una discoteca con horario más amplio pero la música no era muy buena y casi siempre estaba medio vacía.

* EXTRAS: 3. Cualquier extra no incluido en el precio es bastante caro, como los paquetes de bebidas (el básico cuesta 325 $ por persona), las excursiones o el servicio de internet wi-fi.

* EXCURSIONES: 7. Participamos en las excursiones de Atenas y Santorini que estuvieron correctas, mientras que en Kotor cogimos un taxi que nos llevó por los lugares de mayor interés a muy buen precio. En Atenas la excursión incluía lo básico y como queríamos ver más después cogimos un taxi que nos llevó a otros sitios y nos hizo de guía a un precio fantástico, y esto último es lo que recomendaría ya que es mucho más económico y vas a tu aire.

* IDIOMA: Casi no se habla en español aunque los avisos de megafonía sí que se dan en español en segundo lugar. Tampoco es que se necesite mucho porque el programa diario y los menús están disponibles en español y las excursiones también se pueden contratar en español. Y en cuanto a los espectáculos son todos musicales, de magia o circenses y no se necesita saber inglés.

En resumen un crucero maravilloso a todo lujo con todos los detalles que te puedas imaginar y el mejor servicio, perfecto para ir con la pareja o la familia y para ocasiones especiales.

We had a wondertime on this cruise. Celebrity is one of the best

We enjoyed our vacation and look forward to our next cruise. This cruise was our first time as being Elite and we enjoyed the amenities.

An overall lovely experience. I enjoyed most of the ship activities, especially the casino (poker tournaments) and room service. I appreciated the library and game area too. I wish it were less focused on shopping. Also, the cruise director Alejandro was too focused on telling his personal experiences and talking about Argentina.

Something we had to do once. Prefer the sunny cruises but a special week!