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Seems odd to me...Like to rinse out swimsuit and hang to dry. You would think that the S class ships would have these.

Hi Tracy, we have done both and like Celebrity a bit better...somebody posted earlier that RCCL was like "WOW" and X was like "Ahhhhhh"...I think that RCCL may be geared towards families more but that's not to say that the family programs on X weren't good. I think it really depends on what you like. We loved our first 2 RCCL cruises and wouldn't hesitate to go back on one but we rarely travel with our kids on our cruises and it seemed that X was maybe a bit more geared towards us. That also may be a result of going on a longer cruise with X. We went on the Millenium through the southern caribbean and it was easily the best one we have ever been on. We are also booked on the Equinox for the first time December 12/2014 and are looking forward to it. Got the wider aft cabin 1206.

We'll be with you on the 12/12/14.....We will be on the Sky Deck (10)....Looking forward to the fabulous ports again also. If you haven't already, please join the roll call if interested.

Barbara & Tom

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Categories 2C and 2D are obstructed view cabins. They sell for less money because the view is obstructed. All have the view obstructed by the lifeboats and tenders. The 2D cabins have the taller boats in front of them which may come up to railing height which is why they are the lowest (cheapest) category of veranda cabins. The 2C cabins have the lower boats in front of them which come to about floor level which is why they are the second from the lowest (cheapest) level of veranda cabins.

 

If you don't want your view obstructed then pick a higher level category and pay the difference.

 

There is an excellent photographer named Andreas Depping who I believe lives in Germany very near the shipyard where the S class ships were built. He maintains a web site with a very large number of photos of many cruise ships including all of the S class ships. Here is a link to the Celebrity galleries on his site: http://www.depping-design.de/test/index.php?cat=24

 

Anyone who wants to spend a little time counting cabins from some identifiable location on the deck plans and then doing likewise on his photos can get a good idea of the exterior of their cabin location on his photos. I've included one of his photos below which shows both the taller lifeboats, or tenders, in front of some 2D cabins and the lower ones in front of some 2C cabins:

 

I must have miscounted because when I first looked into booking our cabin, I thought the poles shown in the attached photo were on Deck 11...However, from this photo I see they are on Deck 10.

Wondering if we should go down one Deck to avoid these poles...Would appreciate opinions. Just noticed that this was the Eclipse...Looking for info on Equinox...Same?

Thankfully, we've always received our luggage promptly on prior cruises, usually before muster time.

Hopefully I'm not jinxing us by writing this post.

Has your luggage ever been seriously delayed the first day of cruise? Reasons?

(Just curious)

Barbara

From what I understand there were many problems when they first brought the Divina to Miami for Caribbean cruises. We booked it last December thinking that we would deal with some problems due to the price and ports.

Big surprise...Loved everything about the ship. Some of the bartenders were new and not trained well, but I'm sure that's been taken care of by now.

What a wonderful job...Looking forward to "sailing" along with you!

Barbara

Just got off the Solstice last week where we had the 1A category cabin 9192. Hope this gives people a good feel for just how large the balcony really is.

 

Looks like it faces the "straight" cabins...I'd feel like we were being "watched".

If we need more cash, can we get this on our sailaway card at the casino or Guest Services? Charge to do so?

I love the idea of having an indoor adults only pool on the Equinox, but is the Solarium really a nice place to hang out in since it is enclosed? Chlorine odor like many indoor pools? Any view to sea?

I've read that the outside adults only pool rule really isn't enforced....True?

Thanks so much for a great review. My DH and I are older than you, but he's a Personal Trainer and I work out quite a bit. We also enjoy no kids and aren't crazy about RC because of that. Like active privately arranged, adventuresome excursions.

If you ever get to Samana, be sure to take the ATV tour!

Any suggestions for us for St. Kitts (did a beach trip), St. Thomas (thinking about the tidal pools), Barbados (did the turtle snorkel already) and Dominica for us (did Champagne Beach snorkel, iguana farm and Titu Gorge).

Barbara

My partner and I love an itinerary on the Eclipse over Xmas 2015. It's a 9-day cruise with fabulous ports. My concern is about the number of kids on Xmas cruises. Has anyone sailed on Celebrity over the holidays? I am paranoid about kids over-taking the Solarium and pool area. We can cruise on alternative dates, but the itineraries aren't as special. Thanks for any input.

 

 

 

Michael

We usually cruise in the weeks before Xmas and find very, very few kids on these. Would never consider a cruise over Xmas due to so many children...Love our children, but a cruise is about just the two of us!

Misc. and some random musings:

 

The Captain (Captain Avradopolous I believe) was more a part of the cruise than any other captain I have ever cruised with. Not only was he George Clooney handsome (have to agree with my wife!) but he was funny and entertaining. He participated in Liars Club in the showroom and was outstanding. His Ask the Captain session was also excellent. Rave reviews for his leadership and personality. He has been on the Silhouette for two years and told us he has signed on for two more years on that ship. I never thought a captain mattered but he certainly made a difference in our cruise. To be a captain at 40ish, he must be a bright star in the company!

 

The cruise director, Damian, was fine. Did some introductions, saw him a couple of times around the ship, was pretty witty in Liars Club. Overall, a nice job.

 

Towels/Beach chairs: What a pleasure not to have to sign out towels and fret over where they were to avoid getting charged. Each chair had a towel on it in the morning and there were plenty of bins with fresh towels all day. Great idea! Why can’t the other cruise lines (at least Royal and Carnival) follow suit?

 

As far as chair hogs, I noticed some, but we didn’t really have any problem getting chairs. I did notice one of the officers leaving notes on people’s towels! Shame, Shame! On sea days it was certainly busy around the pool, but if you walked around you could find some. There always seemed to be plenty in the solarium as well.

 

The ship: Beautiful. There are pictures all over this site so you can check them out yourself. Clean, well-kept, everything we had hoped for. Big enough to feel spacious but small enough to be able to get around the ship easily and quickly. For those of you who might have sailed on Royal’s Radiance class of ships, the claim is that class of ships feel like you are on the sea because of the windows and the view. On the other end, people claim that the Allure/Oasis does not give you the sense that you are on the sea, but in a hotel/resort. I have to admit that the Silhouette is more the latter than the former. Just an observation, but it feels more like a hotel than a ship at sea (aside from the gentle rocking). Perhaps the lack of a promenade deck might lend to that, not sure. It doesn’t matter to me as we are going on the Allure this summer, but I overheard people commenting that they loved the ship (as we did) but would have enjoyed more of a ship feel rather than a hotel. Just saying.

 

Fellow cruisers: Polite, respectful, fun-loving. Never saw overt rudeness or craziness (ok, maybe one lady who was upset her omelet took too long). People polite getting in and out of elevators. Not a lot of kids or teens on this cruise. I would have thought there would have been more with spring break. I would say the average age was 40’s. People there to have fun, relax and enjoy the wonderful ship, food and service!

 

 

Overall, a great cruise and a beautiful ship. Would we sail Celebrity again? Yes we will, but I would still say that Royal is our go-to cruise line. But, for the right price and itinerary I wouldn’t hesitate. As a matter of fact, we are going to go to the Med for our 30th in 2016. We booked a Med cruise on the Equinox while on board this cruise for summer 2015 to get the onboard benefits and will just transfer it when the time comes. A great deal (not so much on the cruise but on the benefits). Beverage package for 13 days will come in handy!

 

This educator would rate this cruise an A-!!!!

 

Questions welcome. I will try to post some pictures but no promises here!

Thanks for this info!

Food:

Excellent on a consistent basis! Now, in full disclosure we are not picky and we tend to think that the food on all cruise lines is very good. But, we felt that overall the food was as good, if not better, than any other cruise we have been on.

 

Oceanview: Great flow, plenty of seats, lots of options. Food was always hot and well presented. Breakfast had the usual options with Eggs benedict (3 kinds) each morning. Omelet and egg station and great pre-made waffles. Not sure what was in the waffles but they were extra good. They lived up to expectations based on prior Cruise Critic reviews! Lunch was also very good and loved the pasta station. Pizza was popular (right next to the pasta) and because of this they ran out quite often, although it was just a matter of minutes before they had more served. Desserts were yummy and the ice cream bar was very good with different flavor options each day. Overall, a grade of A with the buffet!

 

MDR: We ate every dinner in the main dining room. Food was (usually) hot and plentiful. Dishes that were a big hit included the duck a l’orange (best I’ve had), escargot nightly, the every day strip steak (excellent), lobster tail (mine was huge), lamb chops, lamb shank (prepared differently but great just the same), all desserts (except for the lava cake, which was good but the size of a quarter), pork chop (served the first night), french onion soup, beef wellington. I know I am forgetting other great dishes, but we had so many!

 

I know many people are coffee fanatics. Personally, I love any coffee. I thought the standard coffee on board was perfectly fine (but I like diner coffee, so maybe not a good judge!). If you are looking for a Starbucks type of coffee, then you might have issues.

 

Mast Grille: Tried it twice. Not as good as Guys Burgers on Carnival but still pretty good for grilled, well-done burgers. Choice of condiments and they also have hot dogs as well. Usually a line and usually fairly slow moving.

We did not try room service nor did we eat in the MDR for breakfast or lunch. We also did not do the Oceanview for dinner although we did have a snack of sushi one night at 5:00. Not too bad for buffet sushi.

 

Regarding the Brunch that they have served on sea days (so I am told). At the galley tour, the head of food and beverage said that it has been discontinued to the tremendous time and energy that it took to prepare, compared to the enthusiasm (or lack thereof) for it, as well as waste and health and safety concerns about the food. I assume he meant fleet wide but it could have been just for the Silhouette.

 

Again, the food was wonderful. You will not go hungry and you will enjoy the various options on board!

Any questions about the food, let me know.

We like to avoid the buffet on embarkation day and enjoy having our first (drink) at the pool bar if weather is warm enough.

Is food (sometimes grilled burgers, etc) available embarkation day?

Found this old post...Is this still the case on the Equinox? I have my kindle, but still enjoy reading "real" books!

We just got off the Equinox last Friday and found a fairly well stocked library. A few points...

...unlike some lines, it is open 24 hours a day and check out is on the "honor" system. Let's hope that books are not walking off of the ship. I certainly did appreciate the fact that it was open more than a couple of hours a day.

Is coffee available around 5am? Really hard to wake up at 4:30 or so and have to wait til 7 for first cup!

Had room service the first few days but it was so terrible I stopped it and walked down one deck to Cafe al Bacio first thing in the morning. They suggested I get a double shot (I had the free drink package) to start my morning and I agreed. Brought it and all those great FREE pastries back to my balcony.

I'm up at 4:30am usually....Any coffee available anywhere at that hour?

What time does Cafe open? Is coffee and pastries there just free with Premium package? (I haven't decided whether or not to upgrade yet)

Thank you.

Barbara

This isn't exactly secret - nit a lot of people don't seem to know that the treats at Cafe al Bacio are free -'no drink purchase required. They also have a box of square squares on the counter that are free!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Do you mean that there are "separate" pastries, etc. that are free"? I take it that most of the pastries there are "extra"?

Thank you

Barbara

Thanks so much...Look forward to the rest of your review!

Barbara

South American sailings are different than others, because so many there prefer to eat later -- 8:45 is early for them!

 

Last year on Infinity in South America our dining times were 6 and 8:30 with the shows usually at 8:30 and 10:30 on formal nights, non-formal nights were 7 and 9. With your dining times a little bit later, I would look for some small adjustment accordingly with the show times.

We chose 8:30 late dining...Are the shows still at 7 and 9 for Caribbean cruises?

Thanks

I retuned from my cruise last sunday and stayed at this hotel. Coffee is complimentary, and yes, breakfast is ten bucks. The shuttle is free to the airport and runs every hour. Let the front desk know what time you want to catch the shuttle.

Thanks for the info. Did you take their shuttle to the cruiseport in addition to the airport shuttle? Efficient? Charge?

How about the shuttle back? Or taxi fare if you did so instead.

Can we get a light breakfast at hotel restaurant rather than the buffet?

Possible dinner restaurant recommendation?

Appreciate your help.

Barbara

Would appreciate suggestions for best place to dine near buffet...Back? Outside?

Thank you

Barbara

Just off the Equinox...yoga and Pilates (mat) were $12 each. Zumba classes on the pool deck morning and afternoon. Free stretching classes. Gym was never crowded and machines were always available, but I preferred using the stairs everywhere I went and also doing a deck by deck workout walking the forward stairs, then walking to the aft stairs, then up to the next deck, etc.

I usually do most of the above AND STILL GAIN AT LEAST 5 LBS during the cruise! Of course, I eat and drink more on the ship than I do at home!!!

Really enjoy a good cup to start our day.

Thanks

I've been checking sites and see that Cambria Suites Fort Laud. has a good rating, but a $10pp charge for hot buffet breakfast...We wouldn't want that since we'll be eating so much on the cruise!! Can we get a light breakfast/coffee at their restaurant instead?

Also, has anyone taken the shuttle to the airport recently? Charge or included?

We usually take a taxi back to hotel after cruise rather than wait for hotel shuttle.

I noticed that there are some "bargains" to be had on the reputable major hotel booking sites for hotels that advertise "leave your car free while cruising" on their own hotel sites. (The rates at the hotels' sites are higher.)

However, I'm concerned that if I book through one of these well known sites I am get to the hotel and be told I owe a fee to leave my car there while cruising.

Has anyone experienced this?

Also, I've been reading that many people encounter problems with the free or low cost shuttles to the port. Is the cabfare still around $20 from the cruiseport hotels to the port? I may decide to do this instead.

Thank you

Barbara