Thameside

6 hours ago, C4HCG said:

How did you cope without a bathrobe? You must have been distraught. 
I’m surprised you Northerners know what a bathrobe is.

On 6/2/2023 at 7:52 PM, Static events said:

I have been on loads of cruises with various lines but now trend to cruise only with RCCL or Celebrity. 
 

I recently got off the Silhouette and I can say without question it was THE worst cruise I have been on in every aspect.

 

Food was shocking

Entertainment in the main theatre was beyond awful, every show was extremely poor.  
Service in the bars slow 

Room attendant non existent 

Queues getting back onto the ship 

Cruise Director poor

 

Given the higher price point (which I don’t mind paying) I no longer see why I would cruise on Celebrity and would rather opt to cruise with RCCL. 
 

If not RCCL or Celebrity who else should one try?

 

 

 

Not sure what cruise you were on, but we did Norway 7 day on Silhouette May/June and absolutely agree with you. Didn’t manage to get a bath rode until about 2130 on the first evening even after several reminders and generally room not cleaned until 1.30 pm ish and evening turndown often 9 pm. I agree seems like staff under pressure. We elite plus and have done many Celebrity cruises but this trip was poor, for all the reasons you state, however I wouldn’t say the food was shocking, but could do with improvement, that’s for sure.

We arrived in Galataport last year after departing from the same. On arrival back I had pre booked a taxi to take us to the airport, which is a good hour away, but after waiting for a considerable time decided to ask the taxi’s waiting outside the arrivals, on the underground road, the price to the airport and it was actually less than the pre booked shared ride I had booked. The taxi price was about $55, very reasonable for the distance and plenty of them.

Just to confirm that there was filet mignon on the same night as lobster in Blu and it was quite acceptable to have both. One fellow quest in Blu also had two lobster tails without extra charge, but I said before they were tiny and I mean tiny.

17 hours ago, Pickels said:

Great!  Then there will be room for the wife and I on our next Celebrity cruise. 

Hmm!

Just returned from a cruise on Constellation out of Tampa. There were still many Pros, but I am going to give you my take on the Cons. I have cruised on Celebrity Silouette twice since covid before this cruise and they were both very similar experiences as before covid only with very reduced numbers onboard.

The ship, especially the cabins, need some work but I expected this as it was due for a refit. Public areas were good generally.
The food overall was not up to standard in Blu, MDR and OVC. I understand the need to cut back on waste but some portion sizes need to be looked at. The standard NY strip was very thin and the rare appearance of Lobster was so small it didn’t have much more meat than a large shrimp and a complete waste of time, especially as they charge an extra $15.95 if you would like an additional one in the MDR. All meat and fish portions were reduced and there was a lack of good vegetables. There is now a charge of $9.95 for room service, other than for continental breakfast, which would be acceptable if you could order from the MDR menu in the evening as before, but you can not and only the limited room service menu is available. OVC was very limited in the evenings, even on this fairly full sailing, but I supposed you could just about get something you found acceptable. Our cabin servicing was well under par, and not vacuumed once during our cruise. It was no where near ready when we arrived onboard and even after a return visit was missing many items including a robe, bath towels, flannels and slippers. Our bags were very slow arriving and even 5 hours after checking in I had to go to the staff elevator to find and retrieve them. It did seem that they were very much under staffed, probably because of the larger number of guests than usual. Our cabin steward was still making up rooms until 2.p.m. some days. 
if this was a taste of things to come, I think my cruising days are over, or I will have to upgrade to one of the more expensive lines and hope that they have not also dropped their standards.

Just returned off of Constellation Friday and can inform you that the grill was open every Lunch time but never in the evening and that it alway served the same three items for freshly cooked, pork loin, chicken fillet and rock fish. Also many stations closed in the evening and that was on a fairly full cruise.

Just to add that we have just returned from our cruise on Constellation and not only can you choose from the MDR menu, they actually gave it to us every night in Blu, along with their menu. This may have been because the choices on the Blu menu were not quite as extensive as the last time we traveled, but it wasn’t noticeable.

Azamara Onward, as of today 16th Sept 2022

Captain Carl Smith

Hotel Director Elisabeth Vogel

Cruise Director Eric De Gray. (First cruise since returning from leave)

Executive Chef. Shizuoka Sekharan

15 night cruise departing from Rome

Hi all, I have used Celebrity Cruises a few times over the years but never used their flight booking service, but after looking at their quotes decided it was a good option cost wise. I booked flights from London to Tampa return for a cruise in January and was surprised to see an option to book now and not pay until final payments were due. This seems like a very good deal, however, although the flights booked do appear on my booking, there is no further information and no email received confirming the transaction. Is this normal or should I try and contact Celebrity. Your  assistance would be appreciated, thanks

Can anyone help please

 On the Onward, Cabins 8800/1/2/3 all show on the deck plans the same size as suites but are only p3 club veranda plus. Are they larger than other club veranda cabins or is this just an illusion. I ask because they are available on a cruise I am booking and cannot find the answer online. Perhaps someone onboard might be able to help. Thanks in advance.

We are meticulous about washing hands and social distancing and it’s ok for the Captain to keep telling everybody to wash their hands, but this is not sufficient if Celebrity’s own cleaning regime is not up to scratch. Let me tell you that not once did I see anybody wiping down tables in the Oceanview Cafe after clearing plates and other crockery with ordinary cloths, let alone anti-bacterial solution. The same goes for anywhere else that people keep touching. We have lived with COVID for a couple of years now and been fortunate enough not to contract it, even living a fairly normal life, by taking precautions. We have cruised three times since 2020, the last one being Azamara in January for 12 nights, no reports of COVID on that cruise, but the cleaning regime difference was very noticeable,  As you say, this is a half empty ship, God help them if they start to fill them up

32 minutes ago, Tigrou said:

It is known that there are covid cases on board - Capt George may not be eager to share that information but he’s mentioned it enough that surely most, if not all, passengers are aware. There are social distancing signs in various places. Anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock for the last 2 years must know it’s an issue.

 

Yet the herding instinct appears to outweigh anything else with some people. The ship is sailing at 50% capacity. There’s plenty of space. But yet again I’ve just had to move seats because someone decided that out of all the dozens of empty seats in the Martini Bar area they had to sit within a few feet of me. It’s happened time and again this cruise, in the Sky Lounge and in the theatre, now here too.

 

I don’t understand it during normal times but certainly not under current circumstances.

 

We are meticulous about washing hands and social distancing and it’s ok for the Captain to keep telling everybody to wash their hands, but this is not sufficient if Celebrity’s own cleaning regime is not up to scratch. Let me tell you that not once did I see anybody wiping down tables in the Oceanview Cafe after clearing plates and other crockery with ordinary cloths, let alone anti-bacterial solution. The same goes for anywhere else that people keep touching. We have lived with COVID for a couple of years now and been fortunate enough not to contract it, even living a fairly normal life, by taking precautions. We have cruised three times since 2020, the last one being Azamara in January for 12 nights, no reports of COVID on that cruise, but the cleaning regime difference was very noticeable,  As you say, this is a half empty ship, God help them if they start to fill them up

2 minutes ago, ace2542 said:

Perhaps with hindsight you should have not come forward, stayed in the cabin had room service and got off in lisbon and flown home? Or the azores port and flown home.

That’s not worthy of a comment, best you keep those ideas for yourself in the future

Our 5th and final day in Isolation onboard Celebrity Silhouette, home tomorrow morning, thanks God. It has at times been very difficult for us both, mentally, tied to this deck 3 ocean view cabin, not being given access to outside space or anywhere to exercise. Yes we have been watered and fed and had daily temperature checks, but otherwise left to our own devices. I would not wish this on anyone, so, if you feel you could not endure such an ordeal, if you catch COVID whilst on board, please don’t book or travel on a celebrity cruises in the near future. I don’t know how many cases of COVID, positively identified there are now on board, as they are being a little too secretive, but would suggest it is at least 30 perhaps more. 
 

We were given yesterday a FCC certificate for the days we have been detained and when I questioned this and suggested that it should be a refund as stated in their literature, I was advised that this was not possible on board, as they didn’t have the facilities, and would have to argue this out with customer services on my return.

Best wishes to all the other guests in the same boat, so to speak, as us, on board at present and a safe trip home to all those who are not from our parts, take care

Hi All

Myself and DW are both in Isolation onboard the Silouette, since yesterday, and located on deck 3 and all as described by JetBlue. We tested positive yesterday and as of this afternoon just over 1% of positive cases onboard, announced by the Captain. We are now on our way to Lisbon and at present only feeling a heavy cold and coughing. Our meals are all delivered in cardboard boxes and everything from the room has to be put into pink hazardous waste bags for collection and disposing of.

Unlike JetBlue we were only in Aqua room on deck 11 with all that affords but all the same now in ocean view with basic amenities feels a miserable.

I hope you get out of Isolation soon JetBlue, we won’t until we reach home in Southampton, but at least we will be home. Whilst on this cruise they just cancelled our booking for Japan cruise in October, but might be a blessing in disguise as may have cancelled. 
 

Just to finish, hardly any masks are being worn around the ship, other than crew, as they are not mandatory, but would have felt that they would have reapplied the rule as it is likely that figures will rise fairly rapidly, if they are not careful. They do not seem to have introduced any enhanced protocols to try to get on top of it.

We have just booked a cruise for June on the Onward and must admit I didn’t even look at this, as just assumed our jabs would be fine. As it happens all ours are Pfizer included booster, but could just as easily have been a Moderna booster and then what? Thanks for posting this as I am sure many others would not have referred to it.

When we were onboard last summer, tables were quite well spaced due to social distancing, but if they were at normal spacing it would accommodate  many more. So no definite answer feel.

14 hours ago, java spot said:

I spoke with a representative at Azamara this week and they said it was possible to upgrade from a premium to ultimate beverage package when on board for the difference, as stated, about $7 /day.  

Good news, thank you, hope it works for me 🚣🏼‍♂️

2 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Wines are not included. I’m really not sure if you will be able to upgrade by paying the difference - some people have reported that they can & others say they have been refused. You’ll have to ask Azamara.

Oh dear, that’s a shame, we will have to find a different way to buy alternative wines to the complimentary ones, as we have found on the last couple of trips have not been to our taste. They did until recent years at least find previous days wines which were to our liking. Thanks for your reply 

Apologies, as it has probably been covered recently, but I can't find the answer. I have a Premium drinks package included in my January Canary Islands Cruise and cannot see if any enhanced wines by the glass are included. It shows them included in the Ultimate package but not Premium. If they are not is it possible to upgrade from Premium to Ultimate by just paying the difference, about $7 per day. Thanks in advanced

Paul

1 hour ago, Minnie29 said:

Has anyone on the current cruise commented on how many children are onboard? 

Only five, a very happy crew member told me, but schools are not out yet. I don’t think I’ve bumped into any yet, but again a very small passenger load for this size ship.

42 minutes ago, upwarduk said:

Do you have to take a ship’s tour to get off the ship?

 

P.S

Is every passenger wearing a wrist ‘tracelet?’

We were sent an update yesterday, detailing what had to be taken to the pier for embarkation, but there was no mention of it. It was also taken off the web site on the June 30 th Health & Safety update.

Unfortunately you do have to take a ship’s tour to disembark 

We haven’t seen any tracelet wearing guests, and we certainly don’t have them

Hope that helps

I would just like to start by saying that considering this is their first UK staycation on board the Silhouette, Celebrity have been doing everything possible to make everyone feel very special and thanking them for sailing with them. Yes of course there have been a few niggles but nothing compared to welcome we received and the staffs eagerness to please. It was little bit trial and error getting all of our documents and certificates entered into their iPads, but this was the first for all of them and they did their best and we started boarding on time. With only about 1000 guests, the ship is fairly quiet, just how I like it, but service so far has been very good. In Dover this morning looking over the white cliffs and the ferry terminals. 

5 hours ago, talljules1 said:

Hope you have a great time.  We should be on on 17th!

Do let us know how you get on with PCR testing and boarding etc, and what the experience on board is like!

Will do for sure 🛳