Which Ship?

[JMsquared74]

I just got back from my first cruise in 20 years on the Oasis Eastern Caribbean and the GF and I had such an amazing time. We loved everything on Oasis except the main dining room. After the first night we booked specialty restaurants every other night. We did snorkeling and a beach day at caneel bay resort in St. John instead of shopping St. Thomas and loved Orient beach of St. Martin. Nassau, well i shall be politically correct and say it wasn't for me. We went to Atlantis and it was ok. While on board we figured that we did the best of RC and now wanted to try something different so we booked the Silhouette for Jan 4 2015 . (plus with the onboard bonus, 123 promo, $200 deposit and no final payment until Oct 2014, it was a no brainer

 

Since getting home we started to talk that the one thing we wished is that we had either more time at the ports or additional ports. We started looking at maybe a longer cruise but not sure we want to go away for 10-14 days on a ship. We then started looking at cruises from Puerto Rico. I wanted to get some feedback on the following

 

Silhouette versus Summit. I wanted to see if anyone has been on both and could offer their experiences.

 

 

The Southern Caribbean Ports. Which are your favorites that Summit goes to.

 

Any and all responses are greatly appreciated

Jeff

[wallie5446]

Tho both are cruise ships they are different as apples and oranges! Both are wonderful. St Kitts is our fav in the south.

[chessbriar]

Look at the Equinox, great itinerary great ship.

 

With the two ships you have picked, I would go with Summit. It has a much more personal feel. We sailed on her last year after years away from her. It was like coming home. We have done the S class ship in between. But I prefer the M class ships as I fell more like a special guest and less like cargo

 

EQ vs SM, I would go for EQ, sailing out of Florida and 10 nights over flying to SJU. With day at sea more time to enjoy the ship. But you really can't go wrong either way

Edited January 22, 2014 by chessbriar

[Fouremco]

DW and I have an approach that seems to work for us:

 

1. Decide how long our cruise is to be, normally 14 - 21 days, and approximate time frame.

 

2. Decide if there are any "must visit" ports.

 

3. Compare itineraries within the group of companies we would sail with.

 

4. Pick the itinerary that we find the most appealing.

 

For us, choice of specific ship hasn't entered into the decision making process as yet. Yes, they vary, and within a line some people much prefer one ship over another, but it's the itinerary that makes a cruise for us.

 

I know that there are many other approaches, but this has worked for us.

[kkid]

I suggest back-to-back on Summit for two weeks. There is some itinerary overlap, but mostly different ports.

 

Sent from my AT100 using Forums mobile app

[whataboutport]

Can't answer your questions, but agree about Nassau. No one seems to like going there, so what is the point of the cruise lines to continue to go? They should scrap Nassau all together and give you longer hours in St Thomas and St Maartin.

[akowilm]

The Summit is older and smaller, but comfortable and fun! We have sailed both and actually prefer the M-class. We did, however, LOVE the bars and specialty restaurants on the Reflection, and I wilsh they would consider putting a Molecular bar on every ship!

[riclop]

From Oasis to Celebrity, big drop off.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Oasis is a city at sea. Summit is a village and Silhouette is a town.

 

Summit is an older ship so there are areas that are bit dated like the stateroom bathrooms. What I love about the M-class ships is all the glass. The interior spaces are subdued and the emphasis is on the sea. Love the glass elevators and the buffet is a great place to watch the world go by. I love the Revelations lounge for a birds eye view.

 

Two recent additions to Summit are really nice- Bistro on Five ($5pp surcharge) and Qsine (get a window seat for two or four-have to get their by 6PM in order to get one)

 

I prefer the size of M-class ships better than S-class and Summit will have a cozier feel than Silhouette

 

I have sailed two s-class ships and they are lovely. The staterooms have better bathrooms. Silhouette has Bistro and Qsine also. The Persian Spa is really nice on S-class but nothing to write home about on M-class.

 

The selection of buffet food is better on S-class ships. The library is better on Silhouette.

 

Go with the itinerary you want. I think you will enjoy either ship.

[CruiseGirlKS]

I suggest back-to-back on Summit for two weeks. There is some itinerary overlap, but mostly different ports.

 

Sent from my AT100 using Forums mobile app

 

Me too.

[wallie5446]

We have a great roll call going for our Equinox 11 day in Nov from Ft Lauderdale! 6 ports, 4 wonderful sea days, the bigger S-Class ship. Just sayin:D

[phoenix_dream]

Everyone has their own preferences. I love both ships, but I would go for a more port-intensive itinerary. We absolutely love the southern Caribbean itineraries and are so disappointed that Celebrity does not offer more in the 10 day range (can't afford more time off until retirement). Many people love more sea days, but honestly I get a bit bored and as someone prone to seasickness, I love the idea of fewer days at sea. We have been to most of the ports many times, so sometimes we just get off the ship for a short time, and then relax onboard in a fairly empty ship for half the day - nice and relaxing. M class ships are smaller, more comfortable, older and in not quite as good of shape (well cared for, but older is older), and they have the wonderful T-pool. S class ships have more options due to size, but also have more crowds and due to their atrium design tend to be a lot noisier in certain areas. They each have something to be said for them and are both good options IMHO so I would pick by itinerary.

[chessbriar]

If the OP can do two weeks, look at the Eclipse

 

Miami, Florida 04:30 PM Boarding

At Sea

At Sea

Oranjestad, Aruba 08:00 AM 08:00 PM Docked

Willemstad, Curaçao 07:00 AM 11:00 PM Docked

Kralendijk, Bonaire 08:00 AM 05:00 PM Docked

At Sea

Castries, St.Lucia 08:00 AM 05:00 PM Docked

Bridgetown, Barbados 08:00 AM 04:00 PM Docked

St.John's, Antigua 09:00 AM 06:00 PM Docked

Basseterre, St.Kitts 08:00 AM 05:00 PM Docked

Philipsburg, St.Maarten 08:00 AM 05:00 PM Docked

At Sea

At Sea

Miami, Florida 07:00 AM Departure

[chessbriar]

Here's a link to a recent review from a loyal Carnival cruise who tried Summit

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=41365026&postcount=1

[Fouremco]

If the OP can do two weeks, look at the Eclipse

 

Miami, Florida 04:30 PM Boarding

At Sea

At Sea

Oranjestad, Aruba 08:00 AM 08:00 PM Docked

Willemstad, Curaçao 07:00 AM 11:00 PM Docked

Kralendijk, Bonaire 08:00 AM 05:00 PM Docked

At Sea

Castries, St.Lucia 08:00 AM 05:00 PM Docked

Bridgetown, Barbados 08:00 AM 04:00 PM Docked

St.John's, Antigua 09:00 AM 06:00 PM Docked

Basseterre, St.Kitts 08:00 AM 05:00 PM Docked

Philipsburg, St.Maarten 08:00 AM 05:00 PM Docked

At Sea

At Sea

Miami, Florida 07:00 AM Departure

Next month we are on the current version of this itinerary, and if we weren't looking for a TA for 2015, would definitely do it again with the port changes. We love Bonaire and haven't hit St. Kitts yet, so we'd be quite happy with those additions. Not so sure about the move to Miami.

[jackdiamond]

Can't answer your questions, but agree about Nassau. No one seems to like going there, so what is the point of the cruise lines to continue to go? They should scrap Nassau all together and give you longer hours in St Thomas and St Maartin.

Agreed. However, longer hours in St. Thomas may be somewhat dangerous if you are ashore after daylight. We love St. Thomas; and, we hve been there often, both on cruises and on land vacations. When there on land vacations, we seldom went out at night.

[chessbriar]

Next month we are on the current version of this itinerary, and if we weren't looking for a TA for 2015, would definitely do it again with the port changes. We love Bonaire and haven't hit St. Kitts yet, so we'd be quite happy with those additions. Not so sure about the move to Miami.

With Oasis and Allure home porting there with Liberty of the Seas and Independence There are just too many people dumped in FLL each weekend, In the area of 20,000 peope each day.

 

I think the move to Miami is a good one.

Edited January 23, 2014 by chessbriar

[Fouremco]

With Oasis and Allure home porting there with Liberty of the Seas and Independence There are just too many people dumped in FLL each weekend, In the area of 20,000 peope each day.

 

I think the move to Miami is a good one.

You're probably quite right. I was thinking more from a personal perspective, as we have two separate sets of friends living in Fort Lauderdale with whom we spend time before and after our cruises. It's so convenient being picked up or dropped off at FLL and PE, but asking them to do so in Miami might be pushing things just a tad.

[existentialtraveler]

I just got back from my first cruise in 20 years on the Oasis Eastern Caribbean and the GF and I had such an amazing time. We loved everything on Oasis except the main dining room. After the first night we booked specialty restaurants every other night. We did snorkeling and a beach day at caneel bay resort in St. John instead of shopping St. Thomas and loved Orient beach of St. Martin. Nassau, well i shall be politically correct and say it wasn't for me. We went to Atlantis and it was ok. While on board we figured that we did the best of RC and now wanted to try something different so we booked the Silhouette for Jan 4 2015 . (plus with the onboard bonus, 123 promo, $200 deposit and no final payment until Oct 2014, it was a no brainer

 

Since getting home we started to talk that the one thing we wished is that we had either more time at the ports or additional ports. We started looking at maybe a longer cruise but not sure we want to go away for 10-14 days on a ship. We then started looking at cruises from Puerto Rico. I wanted to get some feedback on the following

 

Silhouette versus Summit. I wanted to see if anyone has been on both and could offer their experiences.

 

 

The Southern Caribbean Ports. Which are your favorites that Summit goes to.

 

Any and all responses are greatly appreciated

Jeff

 

Been on both. Both are great, but different. The Summit is a smaller ship and does not have the WOW factor of the Silhouette. That being said, the Summit is my favorite of all the Celebrity ships, but my wife prefers the Solstice class ships. Here are the links for our youtube videos on the Summit and the Solstice, the sister ship to the Silhouette. They are lengthy but have photos of the most if not all areas of both ships and the ports. They might help you make up your mind.

 

Summit..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYVC4NTwlr8

 

Solstice:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrqcDd6g2es Part 1

Part 2

Part 3 Edited January 23, 2014 by existentialtraveler