Silhouette 11-Night Mediterranean Cruise Review

[suntan]

11-Night Mediterranean Cruise – Celebrity Silhouette

September 12-22, 2104

 

(The opinions provided in this review are based on my experiences alone and do not reflect the opinions of others who may have had a different experience.)

 

We’re just back from a Med cruise on the Celebrity Silhouette. There were three of us on this cruise – me, my aunt, and a friend. This is my first Med cruise and their second.

 

One word, ok maybe two or three, to describe our cruise (despite a few problems) – FANTASTIC, FABULOUS, EXCELLENT!

 

We started our vacation with 2 days pre-cruise in Rome. We stayed at Hotel Navona, a hop skip and a jump from Piazza Navona. They say Rome wasn’t built in a day. You cannot see all of Rome in 2 days – an excuse to go back!! I had organized a group dinner on cruise critic with five couples the night before the cruise and we had a great time.

 

Embarkation: Sept. 12/2014 – embarkation was quick – it helped that two of us were Elite members. We arrived at the cruise terminal at Civitavecchia just after 12pm and the embarkation process took about a half hour. Once on board we had lunch in the Oceanview Café; our luggage was delivered within 2 hours.

 

Stateroom: We had an inside stateroom – 8153. We saved money with an inside instead of a balcony as we knew we would not be spending too much time in the room except to change and sleep. With the port intensive itinerary we were correct. We were pleasantly surprised how big the stateroom was compared to other Celebrity and other cruise line ships we have previously sailed on.

 

As for space, there were three women in this stateroom therefore a lot of clothes. There is the closet, which had a high rail for hanging pants, dresses, etc. It also had two other rails lower down that could be folded down to hang shirts and blouses. There are three drawers which are deep; there is the space over the beds, there are two nightstands with two shelves each (for books, odds and ends), and the bathroom had a lot of storage space for your toiletries. We each brought with us collapsible boxes which we used to store our day clothes (lingerie, shorts, t’s and tanks, socks) and we put these in the space over the beds. We also had smaller collapsible boxes to store the rest of our “stuff”. We brought a collapsible shoe organizer and hung that in the closet. All our collapsible organizers were purchased at the Dollar Store or Target.

 

The bed that came down from the ceiling was over the couch so that didn’t get in the way of the other beds.

 

The mini bar was opened so that we could put our water or other items in there.

 

No chocolates on the pillow at night (not an issue for us but some have asked about this that is why I mention it). One night we received a chocolate covered Oreo cookie.

 

Dining Experience: This is where we had some problems. We had arranged for main dining seating at 6:15pm. We had asked to be seated with a large table but that didn’t happen. This was not the problem. Our problem arised when we were in Malta. We informed our waiter, the night before docking in Malta, that we would not be back for our scheduled dining time and he directed us to the maitre’d. We spoke to the maitre’d who informed us that when we were ready upon our return to the ship to go to the dining room and he would find us a seat. So we returned to the ship, showered and changed for dinner. We went to see the maitre’d at 7:30pm only to be told by him that he couldn’t seat us until 8:30pm. That’s not what he told us the night before. We thought we could eat at the anytime dining restaurant but were turned away citing we were registered in the main dining room. The maitre’d in the anytime dining restaurant told us that he couldn’t seat us anyways because a thousand passengers could return all at once and if he gave us a table where would he seat them? Utter nonsense! (And I’m being polite here!) I guess anytime dining doesn’t exist because “anytime” means anytime and if there were no tables available I would have expected to have been able to schedule a time. This is the first time on a cruise that I have been denied having a meal in the dining room. On a Princess cruise in November 2013 we had a similar port (arriving later in the day and staying in port until 10pm). On that cruise they opened up both dining rooms (main and anytime) to everyone because they knew that passengers would be coming back at different times and it was better for them to do this so that neither restaurant would be inundated with passengers returning at the same time (if they did). They also relaxed the dress code for that night so that you could go into the dining room in your shorts (of course no bathing suits, etc.). We went back to the main dining restaurant just before 8:30, met up with some of the people we met at our group dinner, and we were able to get a table for 9. We had to change from early seating to late seating for the rest of the cruise.

 

The food was a disappointment in the dining room, in my opinion. When Celebrity did not renew their relationship with Chef Michel Roux back in 2007 the food experience, again in my opinion, has never been as good as when he was in charge. I found the food to be bland. I’m not one to eat spicy food but a little flavour would have improved the meals. I had better food off the ship.

 

The food served in the Oceanview Café, Café al Bacio (Deck 5 – pastries and cakes), high tea in the Tuscan Grill, was all good to very good. High Tea – I must complain at how we were forced to eat all the cakes and pastries that we ate. 

 

Onboard Service: I give a big shout out to our stateroom attendant, Rajan, who kept our stateroom clean and responded quickly to our requests; there was a waiter whose name I cannot remember which is a shame because he was attentive and extremely fun to be with; to the wait staff at all the lounges we went to; to the Captain’s Club hostess. She was always friendly, answered all our questions, replaced our coupons when we misplaced the ones we were given.

 

Spa: I treated myself to a gel mani/pedi and it was well worth the two hours I spent there. The entire experience was relaxing, the technician (again I must apologize to her as I cannot remember her name) was wonderful. The cost, with 18% gratuity, was about $180 US. There was no pressure to purchase any of the spa products which was appreciated. Yes the cost is possibly more than what one would pay at home, but I was on vacation and needed to pamper myself for a couple of hours. Also, the price I paid was about 25% less because the service was provided while we were in port.

 

Captain’s Club Events: You may not receive in your stateroom an invitation to the Captain’s Club Events. For example, there was a private function each night, between 5pm and 7pm in the Sky Lounge, for Elite and above members. There was no individual invitation to this and other Captain’s Club events. The information on times and venues were provided in the Welcome Letter that was in our stateroom. You did have to show your seapass to prove you belonged there (sometimes).

 

CruiseCritic Connection Party: We had signed up for the party but did not receive our invitation; however, we found out from others where and when the party was and we attended a great get-together. It’s a great way to meet the people you’ve been communicating with for months.

 

Entertainment: There were three fantastic guest entertainers: Philippa Healey (West End/opera singer), a ventriloquist who was hilarious (I laughed so much my face hurt) and a singer/piano player/player of other instruments who was very good and funny. We did not attend any of the other shows. We popped in on the juggler/comedian and he couldn’t juggle (kept dropping the balls or whatever he was juggling (the sea was calm so he could not use that as an excuse) and he wasn’t funny at all).

 

On sea days there was plenty to do or not do. I did not keep the dailies though so I cannot state what those activities were.

 

Ship’s Condition: The Silhouette was clean and showed no signs of any wear and tear. There were reports that the ship had propulsion problems and some reported that the times in their ports had been shortened. We experienced no problems whatsoever. The ship arrived on time and stayed in every port as per the itinerary.

 

The art work around the ship is amazing. I loved the lighted vases, the statutes. You must go and see the entry way to the speciality restaurants, it’s gorgeous. There is also a mural on Deck 5 you should check out. It has animals as silhouettes (apropos don’t you think?).

 

Ports of Call: On this cruise the ports of call were: Naples, Italy; Valletta, Malta; Greece: Mykonos, Athens, Santorini, Chania (Crete); Ephesus, Turkey; Venice, Italy. There were two sea days and those were a welcome respite from the sightseeing.

 

In Naples, we had a private tour of the Amalfi Coast, Positano, and Ravello. Lunch was at a family restaurant overlooking Positano and the water. The entire day was beautiful, not only for the area, but also for the food and the people that joined us on this tour.

 

Valletta, Malta – we toured the city on our own.

 

Mykonos – day pass to St. John hotel for a day of rest and relaxation which included breakfast and lunch. Food was to die for! If you go, you must try the deep fried feta cheese with honey and sesame sprinkled on top.

 

Athens – private tour which included visiting the Acropolis, Plaka, see the changing of the guard, and other sites.

 

Santorini – we toured Oia and Fira on our own.

 

Chania, Crete – we toured on our own.

 

Venice – took Celebrity’s shore excursion to Murano (glass) and Burano (lace)

 

Ephesus, Turkey – took Celebrity’s shore excursion Ancient Ephesus.

 

Both of Celebrity’s excursions were great – the tour operators they contracted with provided excellent service and made our experiences in each place memorable.

 

Disembarkation: We were off the ship at 7:30am, found our luggage, and got a taxi to our hotel. One of the easiest disembarkations I’ve experienced.

 

As you can tell, we had a great cruise. I would like to thank Celebrity for putting together a great cruise itinerary, providing great shore excursions, and for the overall experience for what was a trip of a lifetime.

 

I would be happy to answer any of your questions.

[cynbar]

Thanks for your review, we were on a similar cruise on Reflection in May and also had a great time. Sorry you were disappointed in how your late arrival at the dining room was handled ---- this has been a big topic recently on these boards. Were you mainly upset that you felt you were promised immediate seating and it wasn't delivered? The consensus here seems to be that Select Dining is capacity controlled, and if full, I can understand that the maitre d' would want to leave seats open for those who had signed up for Select. Traditional diners can't just show up and expect to be seated --- and it does sound like they found you a seat in late Traditional, so you didn't miss dinner. I'm only trying to be clear about this so that future cruisers know what to expect, I know I've read that many cruisers either plan the buffet or a late reservation in a specialty restaurant when they expect to be late for their assigned seating. Or, maybe Select is a good choice for those who know their dining times will vary.

[cruza]

Hi Sue,

Thanks for great review!!! We really enjoy Naples tour with you guys!

We definetely need to return to Amalfi coast sometimes... great place and fantastic food!!!

It was the best cruise (out of 15...) for us too.

Tanya asks to say hi.

Hope to meet you on another cruise.,

 

Mike

[suntan]

Thanks for your review, we were on a similar cruise on Reflection in May and also had a great time. Sorry you were disappointed in how your late arrival at the dining room was handled ---- this has been a big topic recently on these boards. Were you mainly upset that you felt you were promised immediate seating and it wasn't delivered? The consensus here seems to be that Select Dining is capacity controlled, and if full, I can understand that the maitre d' would want to leave seats open for those who had signed up for Select. Traditional diners can't just show up and expect to be seated --- and it does sound like they found you a seat in late Traditional, so you didn't miss dinner. I'm only trying to be clear about this so that future cruisers know what to expect, I know I've read that many cruisers either plan the buffet or a late reservation in a specialty restaurant when they expect to be late for their assigned seating. Or, maybe Select is a good choice for those who know their dining times will vary.

 

I was mainly upset because of being told by the main seating dining maitre'd that he would find us a seat "when we returned" and not being told that we would have to wait until the 8:30 seating. If we had known that we would have either 1) made a reservation in select dining or 2) eaten at the Oceanview Café. We know now what to do in the future should this situation arise. As I said, this was a great cruise and we certainly didn't make this experience ruin the cruise.

[suntan]

Hi Sue,

Thanks for great review!!! We really enjoy Naples tour with you guys!

We definetely need to return to Amalfi coast sometimes... great place and fantastic food!!!

It was the best cruise (out of 15...) for us too.

Tanya asks to say hi.

Hope to meet you on another cruise.,

 

Mike

 

Hi Mike and Tanya. I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed the Amalfi coast tour and yes the food at that restaurant was to die for - real Italian food. As I said once I get all the pictures and videos organized I will send you an email and if you are interested I will send you a copy. Take care and happy sailing!:)

[gonecroozin]

Fabulous review, I really enjoyed reading it.

Thank you for taking the time to post it.

[suntan]

I forgot the pictures! So many to choose from but here are some of my favourites. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did taking them.

[suntan]

Here are some more pictures for you to enjoy.

[Keith1010]

I enjoyed your review.

 

Keith

[suntan]

I enjoyed your review.

 

Keith

 

Thanks Keith. I try to keep my reviews honest. Now the task, if you call it that, of organizing all the pictures and videos into a movie.

[workstocruise]

Suntan- I enjoyed your review mainly because your itinerary is similar to the cruise we are taking on the Equinox next May 2015. We also have a stop in Naples and the Amalfi coast. Did you get to go to Pompeii and can you tell me the name of the private tour company you used there? Thanks for sharing.;)

[srpilo]

Thanks for sharing

 

 

 

Good stuff :)

Srpilo

[hipster1]

HI!

Thanks for your detailed review. We will be on the Silhoutte next year, and I do have one question. How quiet was your cabin?? This will be our first time in an inside, we have # 8184.

 

Thanks!!

Ali

[lovespositano]

Suntan- I enjoyed your review mainly because your itinerary is similar to the cruise we are taking on the Equinox next May 2015. We also have a stop in Naples and the Amalfi coast. Did you get to go to Pompeii and can you tell me the name of the private tour company you used there? Thanks for sharing.;)

 

I also "work to cruise" - seriously!! We have a great tour operator - if you e-mail me I can tell you more.

shirleen.shabpareh@gmail.com

[suntan]

Suntan- I enjoyed your review mainly because your itinerary is similar to the cruise we are taking on the Equinox next May 2015. We also have a stop in Naples and the Amalfi coast. Did you get to go to Pompeii and can you tell me the name of the private tour company you used there? Thanks for sharing.;)

 

Workstocruise; we did not go to Pompeii but the tour company we used has many tours in Naples and some do to go Pompeii. The tour company is Limo Naples Tour - http://www.limonaplestour.com/ We had great service from them. Their email address for info is: info@limoservicenaples.com

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Sue