Mini-Review of 3/10 Silhouette; AQ with 2 kids, food allergies/vegetarian

[junglejane]

Here are quick impressions of our Spring Break cruise on the March 10 sailing of the Silhouette. We’re a family of four consisting of me, DH, DD age 16 and DD age 12. This was our 4th time on Celebrity, with the last being a Med cruise on the Equinox in 2011. On our 2011 cruise, we were a little disappointed in the MDR, so we decided that this time we would give Aqua Class a try. This was our 13th cruise with our kids. Overall, we had a great cruise and consider Celebrity our favorite line.

 

STATEROOMS: We booked two side by side AQ staterooms, 1625 and 1627. I have to thank both Librarylady and Wine-O for the helpful info they have posted. We consulted Librarylady’s spreadsheet and also Wine-O’s postings about where the support beams come down on the aft section of AQ. Therefore we were able to open the glass partition between our two balconies with no issues. We also liked this location for quick access to the elevators and stairs to the buffet. Our rooms were very quiet. Our stateroom steward was not especially friendly or visible, but he kept the rooms clean and refreshed.

 

MURANO: On the first night, we decided to take advantage of the 50% off promotion for AQ guests to dine in the specialty restaurants. We tried to make a reservation at Tuscan Grille but they were full. The Tuscan Grille person practically dragged me over to Murano to make a reservation there. I spoke to a very helpful woman named Emma. Emma assured me that it would be no problem whatsoever to accommodate our kids’ food allergies. I also mentioned that our younger DD was actually going to turn 12 on the second day of the cruise, so would it be okay for her to eat in Murano? Emma said certainly yes. She also told me that while some Maitre D’s are strict about the age requirement on other ships, on the Silhouette they’re usually willing to permit kids over age 6 in Murano. I know some might not want to hear that, but that’s what she said and in fact we did see two other children in Murano that night (at separate tables) who were both younger than our almost 12 year old. We had a lovely dinner in Murano and were practically the last group to leave. After the desserts, cheese plate and coffee, they brought out a small birthday cake and everyone, including the chef, came out to sing Happy Birthday to Emily.

 

DINING EXPERIENCE, INCLUDING FOOD ALLERGIES, VEGETARIAN MENU, etc.: One of the things that impressed me the most on this cruise was how incredibly helpful and accommodating everyone was about our daughters’ food allergies (peanuts, tree nuts, sesame) and our teen’s request for vegetarian items. We’ve had good experiences on Princess with food allergies, but Celebrity’s staff were truly outstanding. Our TA emailed the special needs department before the cruise, and there were notes waiting in our staterooms acknowledging our requests and urging us to talk to the Maitre D. So before our dinner the first night in Murano, we stopped off at Blu and introduced ourselves to Slobodon, the Maitre D’ of Blu. He was instantly helpful and pulled out the next night’s menu for our girls to pre-order. When our teen mentioned she was looking for a vegetarian entree, he whipped out a separate vegetarian menu. Our teen was thrilled to have so many choices.

 

In addition to Blu and Murano, we ate at Bistro on Five, the Porch, and once had lunch in the MDR. Everyone was very helpful about our allergy questions. Slobodon seemed to magically be around whenever we needed him. On the first sea day, we made a spur of the moment decision to eat lunch in the MDR. Slobodon was there and spotted us and hurried over to make sure the girls’ lunch orders were safe. Another time we were standing in the buffet and our 16 year old was wondering about the pizza. There was Slobodon again, and he verified it was okay. The only problem is now I’m afraid our DD’s have unrealistically high expectations about how helpful and knowledgeable restaurant staff will be and Slobodon won’t be around to save the day.

 

AQ and BLU: We definitely enjoyed our experiences in Blu. Breakfast in Blu was always a treat. We loved the muesli, parfaits, French toast, pancakes, smoothies, etc. Our 16 year old always ordered egg white vegetarian omelets. We didn’t see any other teens, but we did see a few other kids. One was another 12 year old that we met once at trivia who was traveling with his Mom. The other was a young girl about 8 or 9 who seemed to be with a group of 6. I also enjoyed going to the Persian Garden. Our 16 year old also joined me on at least three of my visits. She clearly had a dark blue card (showing she was a minor) and I asked if it was okay for her to join me in the Persian Garden, and they said that was no problem. The Persian Garden never seemed too busy when we were there.

 

We certainly enjoyed our dinners in Blu. Frankly, though, the service impressed us more than the food itself. In addition to Slobodon, we got to know his assistant Sachin and our Waiter Roberto and Assistant Waiter Csaba. They were unfailingly friendly, attentive and helpful. Our DD’s always pre-ordered their dinners because of their food allergies. Our 16 year old loved having a variety of vegetarian options and our 12 year old ordered French fries every single night. She even had chicken nuggets on the last night (ordered 24 hours in advance). We don’t usually tip over and above the auto-tip in the MDR, but this time we were so impressed that we gave extra tips to everyone who helped us in Blu.

 

Also, I agree with those who have reported that on formal nights people get pretty dressed up. We ate in Blu on both formal nights. DH wore a sport coat, dress shirt and tie. Most men seemed to be in a suit or jacket and tie and ladies in cocktail dresses. There were certainly some men who were not wearing jackets, and that was perfectly fine according to the dress code. But if you like to dress up, you will have plenty of company on formal night in Blu.

 

YOUTH PROGRAM: This is the first time that I was actually a little disappointed with the youth program. We were told there were 200 kids and teens onboard during the week of March 10. (For the March 17 sailing, by the way, they said there would be 900 kids and teens!) Our 16 year old is very outgoing and she had no trouble making a few friends to hang out with. But our younger DD, having just turned 12, is very shy and not at all independent. I tried to get her to go to the Fun Factory but she wouldn’t do that because she’d be the oldest there. But the smaller number of teens meant that the Celebrity youth staff combined the 12-17 year old group together instead of breaking it down 12-14 and 15-17. That just didn’t work well for our shy 12 year old and she hardly attended at all. I expect it will be a different story this week and next, which are more popular Spring Break dates.

 

SHIP IMPRESSIONS: I agree with everyone who thinks that they ruined the lawn with the Alcoves. We have very fond memories of the lawn on the Equinox. The lawn on the Silhouette is taken over by the Alcoves, and what little was left of it seemed to be fenced off for maintenance. We saw maybe 3 Alcoves being used on the Falmouth day, but most times we walked by they seemed empty.

 

PORTS: In Cozumel, we took the ship tour to Coba. We picked that over Tulum because you can still climb on the ruins in Coba. It was a long day but worthwhile. Climbing on the ruins turned out to be scary though, especially since it was a little rainy and therefore more slippery. We went about halfway up the biggest pyramid and then decided that was far enough. In Grand Cayman, we booked a private tour to swim with stingrays, snorkel and see starfish. The owner/captain, Neil Galway, did a great job and we had an awesome time. In Falmouth, we decided to just stay on the ship and hang out. In Coco Cay, we rented wave runners. We’re not very sporty type people, nor are we beach people. So renting wave runners was really living on the edge for us! Coco Cay was nice but it was pretty quiet there with just the Celebrity ship. It’s obviously meant to accommodate a much larger crowd. Our DD’s tried out the water park stuff, and they were literally the only kids using it between 11 am and 12 pm.

 

POST-CRUISE AIRBOAT EVERGLADES TOUR: Our flight back to Phoenix didn’t leave from Miami until 4:25 pm, so we decided to book the post cruise airboat tour of the Everglades. We figured it was something interesting to do that also got us and our luggage transported to the airport. The tour itself was fine and reasonably priced. We do have two minor complaints. One is that, after the airboat tour, the bus driver took us all the way back to the ship to drop off four B2B passengers before heading to the Miami airport. That was very time consuming. Then when we got to the Miami airport, he dumped everyone off in front of Air France with no sort of announcement or information to help anyone figure out where they were. I would say that half our fellow bus passengers were international travelers, and many of them were undoubtedly uncertain how they were supposed to get to wherever they were supposed to be. We ended up pulling our bags for 15 minutes through the whole U-shape of the Miami airport. It would’ve been nice for the driver to say a little something to help people get oriented. Instead the only thing he said was something like “remember your driver” to make sure we tipped him.

 

SUMMARY: Overall a great cruise. We’ll be going on the Queen Mary 2 in June, which is something we’ve always wanted to try. After that, our next cruise will probably be a Baltic cruise in 2015. Would we book Aqua Class again? It would depend on the price. We really loved breakfast in Blu and obviously we were wowed by the service. We felt that the food itself had some hits and misses, and was sometimes a little bland. We might be tempted next time to book regular verandah cabins and get a specialty dinner package. But in any event, Celebrity will be at the top of our list of options.

[agathasmum]

What a great review!

 

Look forward to meeting up with you on the QM2.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[gelo7]

Excellent review.

[Minorhawk]

Can you please tell me about the Persian Gardens...ie. Doe it have a separate men's and women's locker room? Steam and sauna in each locker room? Also, are there showers there as well?

 

I like to go to the fitness center, get a little workout in before dinner, then take a steam and sauna at the health club and then shower and shave there before getting dressed for dinner. This gives my wife her own space to get ready for the evening...Just wanted to be sure that was "doable" on Celebrity.

 

Thanks!!!

[junglejane]

There are separate locker rooms. I remember showers and a dry sauna in the women's locker room, but I think the only steam room was in the Persian Gardens, unless I overlooked one in the locker room. Sounds like you are a very considerate husband!

[Anita7]

Thank you for a great review! My husband and I will be sailing the same ship with our two daughters over Christmas. It will be our first Celebrity cruise and just a second one overall, so I love to glean any helpful information from an experienced cruiser such as yourself.

[Solstice23]

Was on the same cruise and I agree although I had an alcove twice and loved it !! ;) booking Them for our cruise with our son who will be 10 months next Mac on reflection will be worth it for us

 

We love BLU and Qsine

[Minorhawk]

There are separate locker rooms. I remember showers and a dry sauna in the women's locker room, but I think the only steam room was in the Persian Gardens, unless I overlooked one in the locker room. Sounds like you are a very considerate husband!

 

Not sure considerate is the correct word... You've never seen my wife get ready for the evening...I think a better term would be peace seeking husband!! I do look forward to getting ready though... Just a great relaxation thing for me.

[portofrome]

Thanks for the review.

[junglejane]

Solstice23, it was nice meeting you and Kelmac and everyone else at the Cruise Critic Meet 'n Greet. Glad you enjoyed the Alcoves. I guess if they make money for Celebrity, they won't be going anywhere.