Just Back Sillouette My Opinions

[Despegue]

regarding these scooters:

 

here in Europe you thankfully don't see them very often, as I regard them as a threat to safety of other passengers.

I think they should NOT be allowed onboard AT ALL.

An electric or classic wheelchair does everything a scooter does, is lighter, more practical and will not cause so much damage when hitting fellow cruisers:mad:

[cookmg40]

Will do :) Will you be on the Silhouette?

 

Yes, I will be on the Silhouette.

[dcruisers]

Here is Rory performing, along with some other members of the entertainment staff. Thanks Derf5585 for recording for me! :)

 

(I will admit that this makes me miss him quite a bit...!)

 

 

WOW!! WHAT A MUSICIAN!!!!

He truly is very talented and I am so sorry that he won't be part of the band when we sail on Jan 17th!

[CaroleV]

Not only is he a good musician, he seems truely thrilled to be there & entertaining us all. After his show he stood around & shook hands & spoke to everybody. He was charming & had such a winning smile. I thought he was a doll.

[jackdiamond]

Thanks for posting.

[rere827]

good post. we will all b old one day and therefore have no probs with those that were on this cruise.

 

I think its nice that there is an environment where they feel comfortable (and able) to go without feeling that they are some sort of burden on society. There was plenty of room for everyone on this ship and if you had to wait a little while extra to get in or out of an elevator then so what, get over it, you should have paid more attention to where you where you were going instead of what was in you're way to getting there. IMO

 

I did'nt cough BTW

 

Like your outlook!!

[dpryo319]

WOW!! WHAT A MUSICIAN!!!!

He truly is very talented and I am so sorry that he won't be part of the band when we sail on Jan 17th!

 

:D

 

Thanks for the comment!

[dpryo319]

Not only is he a good musician, he seems truely thrilled to be there & entertaining us all. After his show he stood around & shook hands & spoke to everybody. He was charming & had such a winning smile. I thought he was a doll.

 

He is true blue. His passion is entertaining others with his music...he absolutely loves it!

 

He IS such a charming guy... hence why I've kept him from all the other women ;) lol!

 

Thanks for your nice comments :)

[hcat]

Just back from 11/6 sailing of Silloutte out of Bayonne. These are my opinions only. Cruise ship is beautiful.

 

Good

Ship beautiful

Staff very friendly

Staterooms very good - I had no problem with storage as other people have indicated

No Smoking Policy in almost all venues - excellent that is why i cruise celebrity

Quisine unique experience - a lot of food - didn't try any other speciality dining

Captain - fantastic and very available..

Cruise Director very talented

 

Not so Good

I agree that food selection has been less than past celebrity... i have cruised 5 times on celebrity, Summit ( I loved it) and Solistice ( which I found very good) even tho Sillouette is a similar set up

Not interested in allthe places you need topay extra for food choices.. spaces could be better used.

Entertainment: mostly good. dancers and singers do the very best they can with the material they are given.. no complaints about them, but the new show Sillouette was very lame...the production is terrible.

Comic and other singers were good.. i saw one act on my last soltice cruise the person who plays the senthezier (!!) and he his act was verbatim what it was then exact stories etc.

 

I didn't take advantage of the many other activites offered but can't comment on them.

 

Overall the cruise was great.. but there are a few areas where they need to get their act together

 

thanks for the concise & helpful feedback-- was the synthesizer act the XYLO guy--we walked out on a very loud act that sounds similar on one of Solstice cruises--his music & the sound system were set way too loud...

 

the cirque type shows differ by ship & cruise date depending on the talents of the cast at the time.. one we liked best so far was the very first Solstice show-- saw it twice --from the orchestra seats & then the balcony--two diff perspectives...

 

other shows vary--esp. for those of us with access to broadway & first rate summer stock shows...have never been lucky enought to get the Beatles tribute! the indiv entertainers are hit & miss... The volume issue is the main factor we sometimes leave--just too darn loud!

 

 

did you attend any special events like the Chef's competition, wine tasting, Cap Club events?

[David]

Just finished reading the posts from the Bayonne inaugural cruise and must say that I am trying to keep some of the negative comments in perspective. For one, more people tend to vent than take the time to laud, even on on these boards; for another, when it comes to food, everyone's taste is different, and so I try to take both positive and negative comments with a "grain of salt" (emphasis intended). Anyone who has sailed on RCI and Celebrity can be fairly confident of two things: overall, the live entertainment on RCI is usually higher quality than Celebrity, while the food quality and service on Celebrity is almost better than on RCI.

 

The three most common complaints, however, seem to relate to debarkation, the lack of storage space in non-suite staterooms, and the presence of an abundance of passengers using scooters and walkers -- with the attendant traffic flow problems they cause on board. Based on what I read, I plan to at least consider bringing a "laundry" sack for dirty/used clothes; otherwise we will have to pull out a suitcase from under the bed whenever we have to stash dirty clothes. I may also reconsider the early debarkation, even though we are departing with friends who live locally and taking a taxi from the port, and hav back problems that make it difficult to haul bags. As for the scooters issue, wasn't certain whether to laugh or cry about what I read. I have noticed an increase in these devices on recent cruises -- especially on large ships such as Oasis of the Seas and Independence of the Seas. Even more would be expected on a Celebrity Caribbean itinerary, and especially on a pre-Christmas sailing. I hope that reports of rude scooter drivers proved to be the exception rather than a general rule on that sailing. But I don't see what anyone can do about those problems on the ship. The one exception would be during debarkation, where Celebrity really needs to step up and better manage the process and especially the traffic issues with so many walkers and scooters.

 

These things aside, I am even more excited about the upcoming cruise than I was before, and really appreciate the comments posted by the first group of cruisers on Silhouette out of Cape Liberty.

 

David

[CaroleSP]

We, too, were on the Maiden Voyage to the Eastern/Southern Caribbean. I kind of skimmed the first page of posts, so if I repeat, I apologize. I wanted to see if I could bring up some things that haven't aready been posted here.

 

Before I get started, I have to say the ship is beautiful, the staff was generally very professional and anxious to please. We spoke to the ship's officer's on several occasions; they were very interested to hear any comments, both positve and negative. It is obvious that there are some kinks to work out and feedback was not only well-received, but requested. I'm sure that the fact that this cruise represented the first large contingent of American passengers, whose needs and requests are different than the Europeans, had something to do with this.

 

As this was the first cruise to the Caribbean, I expected some fanfare at some of the stops; there was none. I remember speaking to someone at the dock in Havensight the day the Solstice made her first stop. She said there was a band and a presentation. Outside the buffet on the Explorer there is a wall with numerous plaques commemorating her arrival at some of these ports. I was really looking forward to some of this excitement.

 

We had 4 suitcases and managed to stow all of our "stuff" without too much grief. But, I agree with most of the posters, there could have been some more storage space.

 

We had a problem the 1st two sea days; our cabin steward came into the cabin (as far as we could tell) unannounced. I'm sure he knocked, but we did not hear him. We spoke to the hotel director, Sue, and suggested that the cabins might need to have a doorbell; we have had a bell many times in the past. She thought that was a great idea and to get an immediate fix on this issue, she arranged for our cabin steward to call before jumping in. From then on, the only surprises were what was being served as part of our afternoon canape plate. One of our friends was visited by her cabin attendant while she was changing into her swimsuit. she wasn't a happy camper. ;)

 

I hate to rehash the walker/rollator/wheelchair/skooter issue, but it was a real problem in the theater. At the back of the deck 4 entrance, way too many passengers left their equipment behind the last row of seats and apparently walked to their theater seats. This in effect gave them 2 seats. Sitting in a standard seat or sitting in their vehicle is fine, but taking up 2 spaces just isn't fair to those guests who couldn't find a seat. If you wish to use a regular seat, your assistive device should be all the way at the back of the theater, not taking a space that someone else might wish to use to enjoy a performance. Also, the lighting at the back of the theater is not adequate. We heard a bar waitress trip over a walker that could not be seen in the dark; splashing fruity drinks are not as much fun out of the glass, as in. For safety of crew and pasengers, there should be a little bit of lighting to prevent falls at the back of the room. Finally, enough ladder guy. I think we saw him on about 3-4 cruises; he needs some new material. :eek:

 

I agree with the lobster issue. I rarely selected this dinner option, but DH used to order surf and turf at the last formal meal. I know he was a bit dissapointed. On the whole, we really thought the food was much improved and didn't have much of a problem finding something interesting for lunch or dinner. We really liked the burgers at the Mast grill, but it was kind of out of the way. It was very hot, it you chose to sit there and it was a bit far to bring it back to the buffet area. It wasn't that it was a long walk, but it was hard to keep the food hot.

 

I have rambled way longer than I expected. I still have more I would like to say, but my lunch time has slipped away.

 

Overall, I am very happy to be booked on the Silhouette in just a few more months and will be sorry when she leaves the east coast homeport.

 

Speaking of homeport; some of the officers did allude to the fact that if we make our thoughts heard, there is a chance we will see =X= back in the NOrtheast somewhere around 2013. Please make your voices heard!!!

[CruisingChick]

Speaking of homeport; some of the officers did allude to the fact that if we make our thoughts heard, there is a chance we will see =X= back in the NOrtheast somewhere around 2013. Please make your voices heard!!!

 

Thanks Carole. I will definitely make my voice heard. Glad to hear you had a good time on your trip. Can't wait for March. See you on the Roll Call.

[pegasusa]

We are on the 11/30 sailing, could you tell us what debarkation was like? When I registered on Celebrity, they told me my approximate debarkation time was 2pm. I really can't believe this; I just want to let our limo company know what time they should be there, or approx. time. Thanks so much in advance for any input!

 

Do you mean embarkation? Our cruise doc's also indicated 2pm, but we arrived around noon and we were onboard within 30 minutes or so. Debarkation was scheduled for 9:35, but we were called off around 10:15.

[Plumerian]

CaroleSP;31419736 wrote. . . . . .We had a problem the 1st two sea days; our cabin steward came into the cabin (as far as we could tell) unannounced. I'm sure he knocked, but we did not hear him. We spoke to the hotel director, Sue, and suggested that the cabins might need to have a doorbell; we have had a bell many times in the past. She thought that was a great idea and to get an immediate fix on this issue, she arranged for our cabin steward to call before jumping in. . . . . . . . One of our friends was visited by her cabin attendant while she was changing into her swimsuit. she wasn't a happy camper. ;)

 

Plumerian: Isn't there a Do Not Disturb button or something to indicate to the CS that he/she should not enter and you require privacy? Perhaps a security lock?

 

 

Carole: Overall, I am very happy to be booked on the Silhouette in just a few more months and will be sorry when she leaves the east coast homeport.

 

Leaving?? Didn't she just start leaving from NJ? Or are you referring to her TA for the spring/summer Med cruises?

[SugarLover]

Leaving?? Didn't she just start leaving from NJ? Or are you referring to her TA for the spring/summer Med cruises?

Next summer her homeport will be Venice, and then when she returns to the U.S. it will be to Ft Lauderdale, I believe.

[bob brown]

Thanks for your brief review.

Besides putting the 'Privacy' or 'Do Not Disturb' notice out, can't you simply turn a 'double-lock' when you are inside your cabin?

Sorry you did not get maiden arrival greetings from the ports-of-call. I love to peruse the beautiful plaques that most ships display in some locale that they have received.

As for voicing support for the return of Celebrity to Bayonne....I think the only 'voice' that matters to Celebrity, is that of your wallet or purse by way of booking more cruises. All other 'voices' will only be answered with a form letter thanking you for your interest, and perhaps promoting cruises from other ports that they are offering.....:rolleyes:

[dpryo319]

11/21/11:Labadee, Haiti & 11/22/11:San Juan, Puerto Rico

Haiti was absolutely gorgeous! This little private section of the island that Royal Caribbean rents out has it all: roller coasters, flight lines, beach and parks, spas, and tons of local shopping areas. Of course, there is a fee for most things, and instead enjoyed a crew bbq and then some fun, relaxing time at the beach and in the water. It was a beautiful day to be out, and on our return to the ship, a local marching band was striking up some tunes. It was like a ship lifestyle but on land. The company had signs up all over the island and shuttle services to take guests anywhere in the private land.

 

Since Tony Daro, the comedian, was in the theatre that night, band had the night off and David, Dawn, and Jason treated us to a night out at the Bistro for some delicious crepes and drinks! Afterwards, caught the Newlywed, Not-so-Newlywed game that Paul hosted in the theatre and had some more fun.

 

Today, was spent in beautiful San Juan, PR! It was a reunion for me since w/ my college choir we toured to San Juan and Ponce for 5 days back in January, and man was it good to be back. I even found some of the same places where I ate back in January in the Old San Juan: El Jibarito for lunch for some delicious mufongo (dried plantains) and pork ribs and then over to Old Harbor Brewery for a refreshing island mojito.

 

Back on the ship, we had Jason's impression show again, and it was just as strong as the first time, hilarious guy he is, and he was real nice to us and didn't schedule a sound check until after 7pm so we all got to enjoy the day in San Juan!

 

It was a great couple days before heading down to the Virgin Islands the next few days.

 

from: http://roryboltoncruise.blogspot.com

[CaroleSP]

Thanks Carole. I will definitely make my voice heard. Glad to hear you had a good time on your trip. Can't wait for March. See you on the Roll Call.

Thanks for reminding me to get my butt back over to the roll call. I haven't been there for quite some time.

 

We really did like the ship, but there were quite a few "what were they thinking" moments. Such as, the MDR chairs. They were very deep; the assistant waiters were scurrying around getting pillows for people to lean on. Also, the wait staff had to push a lot of people to the table, after they were seated. If you sat down and tried to move the chairs closer to the table, only the back legs would lift up, the front legs just kept gripping the carpet. It would have been funny, if we weren't concerned about the crew getting back injuries. Lousey dining room chairs beat high quality office chairs any day of the week!! Can't wait to be back on board.

[CaroleSP]

CaroleSP;31419736 wrote. . . . . .We had a problem the 1st two sea days; our cabin steward came into the cabin (as far as we could tell) unannounced. I'm sure he knocked, but we did not hear him. We spoke to the hotel director, Sue, and suggested that the cabins might need to have a doorbell; we have had a bell many times in the past. She thought that was a great idea and to get an immediate fix on this issue, she arranged for our cabin steward to call before jumping in. . . . . . . . One of our friends was visited by her cabin attendant while she was changing into her swimsuit. she wasn't a happy camper. ;)

 

Plumerian: Isn't there a Do Not Disturb button or something to indicate to the CS that he/she should not enter and you require privacy? Perhaps a security lock? Our friend may not have remembered to put the DND sign on the door, but they often fall off the handle. We were told that the hole in the signs was made too large.

Accessible cabins do not have the dead bolt feature and open all the way automatically. If someone is entering an accessible cabin, anyone walking by gets a great view of the occupants.

 

 

Carole: Overall, I am very happy to be booked on the Silhouette in just a few more months and will be sorry when she leaves the east coast homeport.

 

Leaving?? Didn't she just start leaving from NJ? Or are you referring to her TA for the spring/summer Med cruises?

This lady will not be returning to NJ after her summer cruising; she is scheduled to head to Florida for next fall. :mad::mad:

[CaroleSP]

Thanks for your brief review.

Besides putting the 'Privacy' or 'Do Not Disturb' notice out, can't you simply turn a 'double-lock' when you are inside your cabin? Only on standard cabins.

Sorry you did not get maiden arrival greetings from the ports-of-call. I love to peruse the beautiful plaques that most ships display in some locale that they have received. I do, too.

As for voicing support for the return of Celebrity to Bayonne....I think the only 'voice' that matters to Celebrity, is that of your wallet or purse by way of booking more cruises. All other 'voices' will only be answered with a form letter thanking you for your interest, and perhaps promoting cruises from other ports that they are offering.....:rolleyes:

The wallet certainly has a large voice, but volume may help, too. Not to mention the fact that moving all the ships to the southeast will mean that much more inventory in one location. It would seem to me that Royal will have an impossible task keeping the RCL ships & the =X= ships running at near capacity. It would look like a no-brainer to move some of those empty cabins our way. I know that both Baltimore & Cape Liberty were a big draw for those of us living in the mid-atlantic area.

[CarolynTPV]

I was on Silhouette transatlantic. I loved the ship and the specialty restaurants (which are priced a bit too high) and I thought the Activities team and the lecturers were fabulous.

[ken in regina]

Hi all,

 

First post here so apologies if I miss any finer points of Cruise Critic etiquette.

 

Cruise history is Aug/08 Alaska on Royal Caribbean (ship name escapes me), May/09 Alaska on Celebrity Millenium.

 

We just got home from the Nov 30 Silhouette cruise to eastern Caribbean. I understand our itinerary was different from previous week: St Maarten, Antigua, St Kitts, St Lucia and St Thomas.

 

Overall it was a pleasant experience.

 

Of the three cruises, our RC experience still rates #1. We were puzzled by our experience on the Millenium because everything we read prior to that cruise rated Celebrity so well. The Millenium experience was not even close to the RC experience. Everything .. food, entertainment and activities was good on Millenium; no serious complaints. But it was all a couple of notches less than RC.

 

I mention the history to put our Silhouette experience into an appropriate context. It landed squarely in the middle. A bunch better in all respects than Millenium but still a touch short of our RC experience.

 

On Silhouette we had a veranda stateroom on deck 10 aft (1283). We very much agree with the comments about very poorly designed storage, truly stupid "designer" sink and lovely large shower. Bed was comfy and stateroom attendant was attentive.

 

The amenities from a Concierge upgrade were a mixed bag. Some were welcome, like the fluffy thick robes, and some were wasted on us -- don't like champaign and were never anywhere near the room for canapes.

 

Qsine had a 2 for 1 on the first night so we gave it a whirl because it's quite different. A seriously fun experience. First time in my life I've spent 3 1/2 hours (!) in a restaurant and enjoyed every second of it. They are not an ordinary restaurant experience. Highly recommended even at full price.

 

Also agree about the idiot chairs in the dining room. The staff says everyone complains about them. Otherwise main dining room was a good experience.

 

I guess some people are not aware of what they can request in the dining room and never think to ask. Although there was no surf/turf on the menu, the night they had the lobster on the menu my wife asked if she could get a single plate that combined the sirloin steak from the "standards" part of the menu and the lobster from the evening's choices. Kind of DIY surf/turf. Our waiter was happy to get it for her.

 

What we have found from our limited cruising experience is that if you don't see exactly what you want on the menu the waiter may be able to get something close enough. You just have to ask. It can't always happen but you might be surprised how accomodating they can be. This applies to all three of the ships' main dining rooms we've been in.

 

Silhouette's main dining room menu and food quality were light years better than Millenium and very nearly as good as RC.

 

Entertainment was a mixed bag. About what we've come to expect. The production shows were okay. We enjoyed both the cirque-style production and also the broadway tribute. We didn't much like some of the individual performers and loved others. As always, your mileage may vary depending on your personal tastes and standards.

 

Agree with the comment about the tiny and foolishly named "Grand" Foyer and its distinct lack of dancing room. It was made doubly troubling because of the high quality of the players who were often there. In particular, the party band Sipra were great!! I can't say enough good things about their tight professional sound and their ability to play any genre. Unlike most of the entertainment on our cruises, I would pay money to see Sipra.

 

There were really only two alternatives if you wanted to dance. Quasar was a good venue but was often in use for Xbox stuff and similar activities. The other, and almost perfect venue for dancing is the Sky Lounge. But they allow smoking so we were forced to put it off limits. We tried attending two functions there but only lasted a few minutes before the stench got to us and never went back. We had this same issue on the Millenium.

 

Not much has been said about the lawn on the upper deck. It was great fun to play bocce and croquet as we did on most sea days. There were also fun competitions among passengers and with/against crew members.

 

Some of the activities were just plain stupid. Anyone who participated in the daily putting contest will understand. One of the family feud style trivia contests was another very bad example. The Not So/Newlywed Game was a pleasant contrast. Great fun and hugely funny. CD Paul did a marvellous job of hosting it.

 

Agree with all comments about Paul's versatility, especially his singing. Most notable is his range and his ability to try songs from any genre and absolutely own them.

 

Debarcation was an hour late getting started even though we were docked in lots of time. I think the problem was customs. When we finally got through customs and were ready to head for the airport we found the pickup area was total chaos.

 

I'm afraid I'm going to have to pile on about the scooters, etc. It's all been said so I'll just agree. Not everyone with a disability was rude and thoughtless but there were a large enough percentage that it seemed like most of them were.

 

That brings me to a final, interesting, observation that has me a bit perplexed. On our three cruises we have met some wonderful individuals -- dining room partners, excursion companions, entertainment and activity encounters, sharing tables in the cafeteria. Almost all of these individual encounters have been very very positive.

 

But I have never encountered a group who are collectively as aggressive, rude and self-centred as cruisers when in bunches and lineups. It puzzles me. :confused:

 

As I mentioned at the start, overall it was a very pleasant experience. I hope this was helpful and has not overstepped any of the forum etiquette. Thanks for reading it.

 

...ken...

[antsnanny]

I also sailed on the November 30th cruise on the Silhouette.

Before sailing I watched a u tube video of a ship in very bad seas where the tables and chairs were sliding from one side of the MDR to the other, injuring and trapping passengers. I thought perhaps, that the reason X decided to build a heavy chair was to prevent something like that. Our waiter was nice enough to help us with them because yes, they were heavy. Our waiter and assistant waiter were fabulous. Shout out to ToTo and Luciano who went above and beyond each night to give us excellent service and make us laugh. Our table all hated saying good bye!

The food in the MDR was very good to excellent in my opinion. We ate at Tucson twice and had excellent service and the mater d Andre was awesome.

I didn't have a problem with my sink, I was forewarned so I was careful not to put it on too high. The shower was fabulous and ladies, a foot rest for shaving our legs.... Nice touch.

I agree about the storage, It was a bit different but the draws were very deep and I learned to use the overhead storage which had plenty of room for our daytime clothes for the 12 days.

I loved the shows, some of the best I have seen at sea in a very long time.

Thankfully, I didn't encounter anyone in a scooter who in any way seemed rude, perhaps a few people were having trouble operating them, maybe because they were rentals. We had fun with our fellow cruisers and if I did encounter someone who was rude or inconsiderate that was a rarity.

I thought the entire staff on the Silhouette was outstanding including the Captain who could be seen out and about the ship on many occasions.

I would give the ship, food and service an A++.

BTY, we were in cabin 9292 on the hump, we had an extra large balcony which was a treat in itself.

 

For those of you sailing on the Silhouette in the future, Bon Voyage !

[B-Anne]

the overhead storage area. We were on the inaugural cruise also, and I packed in the packing cases available at travel stores. Underwear in one, tops in another, etc. It made

getting to the clothes a lot easier. I would take a couple days worth of clothes out at a time so as not to have to keep going back into them. I would then just fling them back up, I didn't even have to climb on the bed!!

[dongordon]

I also sailed on the November 30th cruise on the Silhouette.

Before sailing I watched a u tube video of a ship in very bad seas where the tables and chairs were sliding from one side of the MDR to the other, injuring and trapping passengers. I thought perhaps, that the reason X decided to build a heavy chair was to prevent something like that. Our waiter was nice enough to help us with them because yes, they were heavy. Our waiter and assistant waiter were fabulous. Shout out to ToTo and Luciano who went above and beyond each night to give us excellent service and make us laugh. Our table all hated saying good bye!

The food in the MDR was very good to excellent in my opinion. We ate at Tucson twice and had excellent service and the mater d Andre was awesome.

I didn't have a problem with my sink, I was forewarned so I was careful not to put it on too high. The shower was fabulous and ladies, a foot rest for shaving our legs.... Nice touch.

I agree about the storage, It was a bit different but the draws were very deep and I learned to use the overhead storage which had plenty of room for our daytime clothes for the 12 days.

I loved the shows, some of the best I have seen at sea in a very long time.

Thankfully, I didn't encounter anyone in a scooter who in any way seemed rude, perhaps a few people were having trouble operating them, maybe because they were rentals. We had fun with our fellow cruisers and if I did encounter someone who was rude or inconsiderate that was a rarity.

I thought the entire staff on the Silhouette was outstanding including the Captain who could be seen out and about the ship on many occasions.

I would give the ship, food and service an A++.

BTY, we were in cabin 9292 on the hump, we had an extra large balcony which was a treat in itself.

 

For those of you sailing on the Silhouette in the future, Bon Voyage !

 

Hi Nancy....I see you were on the NCL Gem and Dawn a few times.

Both are two of my favorite ships.

 

How would you compare your cruises on them with the Silhouette which we are cruising on in a few weeks?

 

Don