Sihouette, Jan 25 to Feb 1, 2015, Western Caribbean

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

CABIN:

1004. This starboard cabin is just two away from the bridge. We were surprised because it seemed as if we were actually in the bridge and could see much of what was going on there of the officers were on our side. We are used to Royal Caribbean's cabins that are close to the bridge, but nowhere near THAT close.

 

Our room was Concierge Class. There were three adults, myself, Hubby and our adult son. I wanted a suite so badly for the three of us, but we decided we would use the price differential for specialty restaurants, excursions and so on. We were crowded though, especially for storage space. For example, we had to hang three shirts on each hanger. That is a pain. Oh well. That was our choice.

 

CONCIERGE CLASS:

 

Like the old grey mare, she ain't what she used to be! We had two chocolate cookies one night. Cute towel animals came three nights. We had a small vase with two stems of flowers after the third day, I believe. Our fruit is now three apples. Gone are the wonderful grapes and bananas We were given two beach towels for the three of us and two robes for the three of us.

 

As is sit here, I wonder why did we choose CC? I do love the foot stools, but how much are they worth? We have two more cruises booked in CC. After those, we may reconsider the value and try a simple balcony, just as a comparison.

 

MEALS:

 

Unlike most cruisers, we have cut ourselves free of the Main Dining Room several years ago. We now eat our meals in specialty restaurants or the Ocean View Buffet which has all we could ever want of deilcious choices in a wide variety.

 

LAWN CLUB GRILL:

 

We had never eaten here before because we have been on the hsips with glass blowing instead. THis is a great gem of a restaurant with its fresh air and happy staff. Our waiter was Angelo. We really liked him, but he is transferring to Eclipse before the TA.

 

The venue is very breezy. In the summer., I wonder of it might be hot. It is open air and there is no way to air condition it. I also imagine it could be very chilly in certain weather and I also wonder about heavy rain.

 

It is easy to get carried away and eat too much in the lCG and, of course, we did. WE were offered a 20% discount to eat there another night. So as it turned out, we ate there both formal nights.

 

BISTRO ON FIVE: We really enjoy this place and its selection of main dish and dessert crepes. My favorite is the Mexican crepe. One lunch we were there just as the cha cha class was in the foyer. The teacher had the sound up so high, we couldn't even converse. We just kept hearing "cha, cha, cha" over and over. Finally I guess so many diners complained, someone got her to turn her mic down.

 

ENTERTAINMENT:

 

We enjoyed every show except one comedian who told mainly ethnic jokes and we felt this wasn't a good audience for making fun of different cultures. The other comedian was really funny.

 

Richard Spacey was the CD, to our shock because we associate him with Royal Caribbean. We kept wondering why he "jumped ship" and joined Celebrity. We were happy to see him again. On the TV he had a hilarious take off on "Top Gun" called "Top Ship" about Oasis.

 

We recognized one of the aerialist dancers . She used to be on Eclipse. She is such a cutey pie, she is easy to recognize.

 

There was a guitarist on the ship named Jonny Java Mantra. What a name! Anyway, could he ever wail away on the guitar! We wanted to see his every show, but wouldn't you just know, whenever he was performing, there was something else going on too and somehow, we never got to enjoy his talent again. I hope he stays with Celebrity and we can see him again.

 

A gifted singer and dancer named Delisco performed at one show with the orchestra and also in the final show. He was so interesting. His rendition of "Billy Jean" was really terrific. He is a counter tenor, which he explained means he can sing hiigher notes tha a soprano! Luckily he kept that at a minimum and did not overdo that gift.

 

Another guest was a man who played a synth xylophone with the orchestra. This was very enjoyable at first, but my ears began to hurt toward the end. He can really play fast. His "Flight of the Bumble Bee" was lightning fast. Whew!

 

CAPTAIN'S CLUB AMENITIES:

 

Hubby prefers the voucher system for drinks because you can go to any lounger, but we were told that only 300 Elite or higher were on board, so we met at the Sky Lounge most nights.

 

Elite breakfast in the Tuscany has changed dramatically in the past year. Gone is the buffet. You must order from a menu then sit and wait for the food or drinks. I really miss the freshly-squeezed orange juice. It seems to me that an operation of the stature of Celebrity could have freshly-squeezed orange juice as a perk. I guess you can't expect that any more, though, as the OJ is gone along with pillow chocolates.

 

Priority boarding is now only for the highest level and for suites. So that is Zenith and suites who go in the terminal door first. That is similar to what Royal has done, allowing only suites and Pinnacle members to get Priority Boarding.

 

However, that said, once in the terminal, classes are leveled because the security personnel guide you to which ever screening station is open without regard to your exalted or lowly status. Thus boarding speed levels out in the end.

 

SHIP'S APPEARANCE:

 

I thought the ship looked really clean and well-maintained. We watched a crew member with a long-handled device pains-takingly wipe ever ledge and every slat in the three-deck high air conditioning register.

 

One night we went through a pretty rough storm. Many of the chairs on the Solstice deck sustained damaging winds that broke slats in the seats. It looked really weird to see such a forlorn looking lot of chairs. It was so unlike Celebrity to have such bad conditions, but that was a tough storm.

 

PORTS of CALL:

 

Cozumel: Hubby and our son went to Chiza-Nitza. They barely made it back to the ship. The captain had already blown the horn. The dock guys were maneuvering the lines. I was freaking out.

 

Grand Cayman: The waves were so high and rough four ships had to miss the port. But our wonderful captain and that of Carnival Breeze secured permission to put in at Spot's Bay on the other side og GC. Disney stopped on the other side but they have very sturdy tenders.

 

Falmouth: What a surprise! We watched the ship docking and I kept saying this just doesn't look right. Then I noticed the terminal said Montego Bay! Once again, high waves prevented our calling on Falmouth. Only Disney and we made it to Jamaica at all. This did throw a monkey wrench into excursions. The four hour tour Hubby and our son took turned into nearly eight hours. They were exhausted.

 

Labadee: High winds and rains dogged us all night. Then just about five miles out, the sun came out and we had one of the loveliest days we have ever had at Labadee. How fortunate for everyone!

 

FINAL COMMENTS: Did I get spoiled like a brat on this cruise or what? I really hated to leave after being treated like a queen all week. Now it's back to reality (and the Super Bowl.)

 

Balcony smoking: Our neighbors would come back to their room every night about three AM and sit on the balcony, smoking. Their cigarette smoke would get sucked into our cabin. After the third night of this, I went to guest relations. They told me nothing could be done unless the smokers were caught in the act. They told me to call them, yes, at three in the morning and they would run up and issue a written warning. I hate to get in a war with neighbors, so we never called. So the smoking continued every night around three and that was that. So much for no smoking on the balconies.

 

We really liked this cruise, Silhouette and her crew. We would love to sail on this ship again if the time and itinerary are right.

Edited February 2, 2015 by Gangway Style

[Texed]

Thanks for posting. :)

[A1A]

Great review! Thanks for the thought and time put into this week long effort! The storms sounded somewhat bad as to the damage on the ship and missing of ports! Not liking the smell also, I was curious as to how smoke gets sucked into your cabin? :confused:

Thanks!

Ken

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Great review! Thanks for the thought and time put into this week long effort! The storms sounded somewhat bad as to the damage on the ship and missing of ports! Not liking the smell also, I was curious as to how smoke gets sucked into your cabin? :confused:

Thanks!

Ken

 

The weather was so cool and breezy that we decided to leave our balcony door open at night and enjoy the bracing ocean air. I, myself, wondered about how the smoke could go all the way into our cabin. I was sleeping right by the closet door and the smoke came in that far! We had to close our door to keep it out of our room.

 

Furthermore, it was a particularly strong cigarette smoke. There may have been two or three smokers to cause that much smoke. As to why it actually came in our cabin, it may have been due to the aerodynamics of being right by the bridge. I surely don't know how this worked because I am not versed in such matters. All I know for sure is that it did come into our room and was so strong it woke us all up.

 

I will not go to war with neighbors, so it was what it was and we let the matter slide.

 

To be fair, if this was the worst thing I could say about our cruise, we were really fortunate. It was a memorable cruise for us. Having our son with us added to the fun. He was a great help with our luggage and running to get coffee in the morning. He was our personal butler, so to speak.

Edited February 2, 2015 by Gangway Style

[Lady Chew]

We were also on this cruise ... our question is - what storm? There was a little wind the last night, but a storm?

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

We went through heavy rain and high waves the night before Labadee, but the weather cleared just before we arrived. There was also very heavy wind that damaged the slats in the chairs on the Solstice Deck the during the night before we arrived in Montego Bay.

 

I know we had rain and high winds because my son, my husband and I were out on our balcony and watched the rain. It even dampened our entire balcony.

 

I called it a storm, but I am in no way implying that it was a tropical storm or anything of that nature. It was most likely just the kind of high winds and rocky waves that accompany a cold front or "cool front" as we call them in South Florida.

 

As the captain explained, it was the heavy wave action that caused us to change the side of Grand Cayman we stopped at, the Montego Bay port call instead of Falmouth, and even that we docked at Labadee inside the dock and not outside as usual in order to allow the dock to slow the waves.

 

I have to give major applause to Captain Alevropoulos because he did his level best to get us into ports when other cruise ships had to pass on by and have sea days instead.

 

Bonnine saved my stomach this cruise. I don't know how I could have managed without it. Part of the issue may be because our cabin was so far forward and on the tenth deck.

Edited February 2, 2015 by Gangway Style

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

CORRECTIONS and ADDITIONS: I stated that Celebrity gave us only two beach towels for three people, but my son assured me that we were given three. He used one rolled up under his pillow to make it higher, so I never did see the extra one. So Celebrity did fine for us in that regard.

 

I stated that Angelo at the Lawn Club Grill offered us a twenty percent discount to dine there again. Hubby assures me the discount was in fact a more attractive thirty percent.

 

ADDITION: I failed to mention how much I enjoyed the art and sculpture on Silhouette. Three examples include the fascinating marble statue on Deck Three between Guest Relations and Excursions. The more I looked at it, the more I marveled.

 

Another example are the large, highly detailed fruit and tropical paradise scenes displayed as you travel to Tuscany, Blu and QZine on Deck Five. The longer you look, the more you see of birds, strange creatures and odd little scenes. Plus birds chirp and crickets sing as you pass by adding to the ambience.

 

Third were the ornamental bird cages outside of Bistro on Five. Instead of real birds, each cage had a small video of a little bird that moved as you passed by.

[erinpdx]

Thanks so much for the detailed review. We will be on the Silhouette next week. Reading your review got me very excited. :)

[bbeltmom]

We were on this sailing as well and I might just add that while in Grand Cayman Celebrity picked up the tab for the shuttle busses to and from Georgetown. The Carnival passengers were paying $5 each way per person.

 

We were at the aft of the ship and also had a ignorant neighbor smoking cigars. We weren't certain exactly where it was coming from until we nailed it down when leaving our cabin one evening. We could smell it strongly as we passed his cabin in the hall where he had just exited. We mentioned it to our stateroom attendant who said he would look in to it immediately and we never smelled it again.

 

I must also add that the party band on this ship - Vibes - were fabulous!

[Lady Chew]

We enjoyed this cruise very much as well. The captain did a good job keeping us informed about the weather/current issues.

 

We thought the ship was beautiful,although we felt a little cramped in our concierge class room. And hardly any storage space. As I write this, we are on HAL Zuiderdam in an equivalent cabin, and we haave plenty of storage and overall space in our cabin. Bathroom on Celebrity was better.

 

Did not care for Richard Spacey at all. LOVED the smoke-free casino!

 

Ship is rocking pretty good , please excuse typos

[swerdjr]

We also were on this cruise and had a great time. We ate at all of the Specialty Restaurants and enjoyed all the meals. This was our first time in Labadee and were very impressed with the island. It was very well laid out and we had great weather! We will be sailing on the Equinox in November and we are counting down until we can sail again.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

 

I must also add that the party band on this ship - Vibes - were fabulous!

 

My son is a big music fan and he really enjoyed the Vibes band. He and I both tremendously enjoyed the guitarist Jonny Java Mantar. I hope we can sail with these musicians again.

 

By the way, you had better luck with your stateroom attendent stopping the cigar smoker than we did. When I mentioned the smokers next door to us, our attendent told me I had to call customer relations. I think he was very he was very uncomfortable about confronting the smokers himself. He certainly did not offer to resolve the issue himself.

 

We really enjoyed this cruise. We had read some negative comments about Silhouette and had lowered our expectations, but all-in-all the cruise exceded our expectations and we were very pleased.

Edited February 6, 2015 by Gangway Style

[PathfinderEss]

Nice review.

[Stevekiel]

I was on this cruise as well. The captain said we could get 9 ft waves one night but I doubt we ever saw that. I barley felt the ship move from the waves. Although it was pretty windy which blew the ship side to side a little. We did get s little rain before labadee but I don't remember a storm either. We actually had pretty good weather all week

[gelo7]

Thanks, for sharing your thoughts.