Silhouette Eastern Caribbean 12-22

[bwg03]

Happy New Year to everyone! I wanted to get my review going for the Celebrity Silhouette Eastern Caribbean that we took on December 22.

 

Itinerary: At Sea, San Juan, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, At Sea, At Sea

 

Room: 9186 (Balcony) and 9186 (Joining Rooms)

 

Please be patient as I will try to complete this review as soon as possible. I will include pictures. I don't have the Print out of the daily schedules.

 

Here is a photo to wet the appetite in San Juan

 

[bwg03]

We stayed at the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort for two days before the cruise started. The hotel was immaculate and I couldn't recommend it enough. It is definitely in the quieter area of Fort Lauderdale. A little isolated from restaurants but highly recommended. The pool is absolutely breathtaking and very big. Hot tubs are nice. They have a great happy hour at the 3030 Ocean restaurant on property as well.

 

Taxi from hotel to Airport is $20 and Taxi from Hotel to cruise port is $15.

 

Below is a view from the hotel to the Ocean!!

 

 

Here is one of the many waterfalls by the Pool!

[bwg03]

We arrived to the Cruise Terminal at 10:15AM. We had to wait for a little bit outside the terminal as passengers were still coming off of the cruise. By 10:30-10:40 we were inside going through security. They confiscated one bottle of beer that we had accidentally left in our bags the night before. The bottle of wine allowance was good and we go through one bottle of champagne.

 

We waited until they announced that we were good to go and we were on board by 11am. It was very efficient and I was impressed.

 

Once we got on board we booked two nights of specialty dining restaurants.

 

One Important thing to Note: I brought along the 20% off coupon for the first night in a specialty discount. While booking he said there wasn't any coupon. Once I pulled it out and showed it to him he said they would honor it. Just a reminder to bring the certificate. You can find it by searching on google.

 

We then went to the Spa and Fitness Center. The fitness center was absolutely incredible. All equipment was good and new. it was very crowded in the mornings. On Port days as expected it was quiet. Classes filled up very quickly and I would say by 1pm all classes were sold out. Water is available behind the Spa Booking desk. I was quite confused why they wouldn't put it by the towels, etc. Besides that nothing but great things to say. Below is a view of the treadmills.

 

We had our muster drill at 3:45 in the theatre ( that was our assigned location). It was fairly quick and over by 4:30 ish. I think we were 4th out of port and here is a picture of all the ships in front of us.

 

Next up! At Sea!

[bwg03]

The first night out of Fort Lauderdale was great and the sunset was incredible. I highly recommend getting a drink at the sunset bar on the aft of the ship (Deck 14) behind the Lawn. It was a great spot and wasn't very crowded. They had a musician that was also a nice touch.

 

Our first meal we took advantage of the 20% off specialty discount on the first night and went to Lawn Club Grill. Without a doubt this was the highlight of the cruise. It was so much fun and the food was to die for! I was the only one in my family who wanted to participate. For those newbies, you have the choice if you want to help with any of the meals or you can sit back and have it all made for you. I think it's definitely worth the price of admission ($40 per person)

 

I cannot recommend enough to at least assist in the making of the Flatbreads. It was a lot of fun and you get a lot of really neat pictures. You can choose how much and what toppings you want. They help you knead the dough and assist in all aspects of making the Pizza.

 

The meal was delicious. I recommend to split flatbreads as they are quite big. See below for my Flatbread that I made. So much fun!

 

The best food item the Lawn Club Grill has is the desert Cookie! Absolutely incredible. Do not get anything else besides the cookie. Here is a picture of it.

 

Final Picture from the Lawn Club Grill

[bwg03]

Our first true day was at sea and sea's were a little rough. Beautiful weather.

 

We ate in the dining room this night and I have to admit I was extremely discouraged. The food quality was definitely not up to par. The service was lacking. We had Celebrity Select dining. We never really had to wait but always had either a bad table location or slow service. The food was iffy at best and just always left with little to be desired.

 

Second day was also a half day at sea as we were arriving into San Juan at 3pm. Weather was good but we had on and off showers for the afternoon. The sail into San Juan was great. I took my spot in front of the Spa on Deck 12. This was a really neat spot for sail in and out of ports. No one was up there ever and it was tranquil. Here is a picture of us going by the port going into San Juan.

 

and Another...

 

Sail in was really neat and I liked how you went right by the port during the day time. Once we got off the ship we went and walked around and did some shopping. We had already been to San Juan so we skipped the fort.

 

If you are looking for a neat cigar shop I highly recommend Don Collins. It's near the shops and the owner is fantastic.

 

Here are some random pictures I took walking around the city.

[greywills]

Thanks -enjoying the review and pictures! Keep them coming please!

Sara

[K.T.B.]

More pictures of Silhouette please! :) I'm enjoying the review so far!

[bwg03]

Continued....

 

More pictures from walking around San Juan...

 

 

This is my favorite picture from the trip. Taken right outside Senor Frogs.

 

It was a very quick stop by a good one San Juan is always a neat walking town.

 

Next stop was St. Maarten. We hired a taxi to take us around the island. We bargained him down from $30 per person to $25 per person. He took us around the whole island including Orient Beach and Maho Beach (We got to spend two hours at Maho as part of the tour). We figured this was our best bet as we were looking to go to Maho Beach and that would have been $20 per person roundtrip.

 

Cannot recommend Maho Beach enough. The bar next to the beach (Sunset Bar) is a great. They have free wifi and also good food. Great location to watch the planes come in too!

 

Here are some pictures.

 

 

Here is the sunset as we left St. Maarten. Absolutely Breathtaking!

[bwg03]

Next day in St. Kitts we walked around the town and headed back to the ship. I wont talk much about St. Kitts but I figure this is where I will include all the pictures I took of the Silhouette when it was empty.

 

Looking up from the elevators.

 

Adult's Only Pool

 

Adult's Only Pool Water Feature

 

 

Here is a picture of the restaurant "The Porch". I was extremely disappointed and would not recommend this to anyone. I understand it's only $5 per person up charge but was not impressed.

 

Next up is more pictures of the Silhouette!

[bwg03]

Here are some other pictures of the Silhouette!!!

 

Boccia Ball on the Lawn!

 

More pictures of the lawn!

 

More lawn pictures!

 

Pictures of the hammocks, big chairs by the Lawn Club Grill and Alcoves!

 

Celebrity!!!

[bwg03]

Pool at night with different Colors...

 

 

 

 

Final Sunrise of the Cruise!

[bwg03]

A few final thoughts..

 

Casino was packed every night. Table Minimums never dropped below $10.

 

Entertainment was extremely lacking. I was no impressed. The magician was the one highlight of the show.

 

Captain is fantastic and very funny. Highly recommend to meet him.

 

There are free cookies in Cafe Al Bacio.

 

Make sure to book specialty dining early. They were not offering any discounts for specialty restaurants on our cruise.

 

Fitness facility is top notch. Definitely use it if you can. Not a better gym at sea IMO.

 

We went to the Tuscan Grill and I wasn't as impressed as when we went on the Eclipse. It was good don't get me wrong but not as exceptional as lawn Club grill.

 

Buffet food at night from 8-930pm was a huge secret surprise to me. No one is in the oceanview cafe but the food is so good. Our family went the last night to the buffet and had the best dinner aside from the Lawn Club Grille and Tuscan Grille all week.

 

On sea days chairs are reserved very early. I was out by 730 am each day and was fine but by 9am it was packed and all chairs around the pool were slammed.

 

Overall an absolute fantastic cruise. The ship is stunning and I couldn't recommend the ship more to anyone.

 

Food was subpar but everything else was way above and beyond.

 

We loved the ship so much we booked next year on Silhouette!!

 

Any questions let me know! I am more than willing to help!

 

Happy New Year everyone!

Edited January 1, 2014 by bwg03

[lazydayz]

Thanks for the great review and photos. We are getting excited for Sunday!

[long time lurker]

"Next day in St. Kitts we walked around the town and headed back to the ship. I wont talk much about St. Kitts but I figure this is where I will include all the pictures I took of the Silhouette when it was empty."

 

 

We are going on the itinerary in two weeks and have never been to St Kitts, I am just curious why you do not have much to say about it. Did you not like the port?

[keesar]

Thank you for the wonderful review. Your photos are incredible! How was the beef at the Lawn Club Grill?

 

Watch out for the monkeys in St. Kitts! The water is really clear there and the reefs are alive.

[bwg03]

Thanks for the great review and photos. We are getting excited for Sunday!

 

Enjoy! It is a fantastic ship!

[bwg03]

"Next day in St. Kitts we walked around the town and headed back to the ship. I wont talk much about St. Kitts but I figure this is where I will include all the pictures I took of the Silhouette when it was empty."

 

 

We are going on the itinerary in two weeks and have never been to St Kitts, I am just curious why you do not have much to say about it. Did you not like the port?

 

We had been to St. Kitts prior so it wasn't a huge deal for us. We took an island tour before and it was excellent. We were thinking about going to the Marriott but we figured for the $35 per person plus the $20 cab ride per person it was a bit much for 5 people. We kept it low key. Just thought it would be an expensive beach day.

 

Definitely a great island if you have never been before. Just takes a bit to get anywhere from the port.

[bwg03]

Thank you for the wonderful review. Your photos are incredible! How was the beef at the Lawn Club Grill?

 

Watch out for the monkeys in St. Kitts! The water is really clear there and the reefs are alive.

 

The beef is out of this world. The best we had on the boat including Tuscan Grill. Highly recommend it! All 5 plates in my party were cleaned off!

 

Tip: If you ask the server he will walk you over to the fridge and explain all the different types of steaks.

[long time lurker]

Thanks for the reply. It is nice to know it is a good port. We are considering the Fairview Great House.

[Bstein493]

We were also on this sailing. We thought the food in the main dining room for dinner was excellent . We had late seating. We also were somewhat disappointed with the entertainment. Patti the cruise director is very nice and the captain is hilarious. We were selected to be at the captains table on the second formal night. We were with the hotel director instead of the captain and had a fun evening. Our daughter has celiac disease and everything was perfect with her food and requests. In st. Kitts the zip lining is great!

The entire crew was attentive and always smiling

[bwg03]

We were also on this sailing. We thought the food in the main dining room for dinner was excellent . We had late seating. We also were somewhat disappointed with the entertainment. Patti the cruise director is very nice and the captain is hilarious. We were selected to be at the captains table on the second formal night. We were with the hotel director instead of the captain and had a fun evening. Our daughter has celiac disease and everything was perfect with her food and requests. In st. Kitts the zip lining is great!

The entire crew was attentive and always smiling

 

Interesting about the food. Maybe it is just hit and miss. Glad your food was good.

 

I never really saw Patti and with that I was disappointed. I saw the captain more than I saw the CD!!

 

Crew was absolutely fantastic.

[Follix]

I was on the cruise prior this one on the Silhouette... I was disappointed with food MDR... Not that it wasn't good but I remember the Millenium food 5 years ago would put me in tears and it didn't this time.

 

However I was very pleased with Oceanview Cafe, very good for a so called ''buffet''.

[bwg03]

I was on the cruise prior this one on the Silhouette... I was disappointed with food MDR... Not that it wasn't good but I remember the Millenium food 5 years ago would put me in tears and it didn't this time.

 

However I was very pleased with Oceanview Cafe, very good for a so called ''buffet''.

 

I completely agree.. The buffet was superior to MDR on some nights.

[keesar]

The beef is out of this world. The best we had on the boat including Tuscan Grill. Highly recommend it! All 5 plates in my party were cleaned off!

 

I thought the filet mignon was outstanding in Tuscan Grill. Difficult to think something could be better. It was very tender. I will have to try it! Thanks.

 

Tell me more about that cookie dessert! What is it made of?

[Happy2cruise]

 

One Important thing to Note: I brought along the 20% off coupon for the first night in a specialty discount. While booking he said there wasn't any coupon. Once I pulled it out and showed it to him he said they would honor it. Just a reminder to bring the certificate. You can find it by searching on google.

 

Thanks for the info about the coupon. What is the dress code? Can nice shorts be worn? Thanks.