Just back from Oct. 31 TA on Silhouette

[kreemmer]

I posted this on our roll call also. There were many bad and good aspects of this cruise.

The good:

Tours arranged through this site. So happy we were able to tour with Lee and Morris, thanks for arranging these and also happy to have had Karen and Len join us for a tour. The transfer I arranged from Rome worked out great with Rome Cabs and it was easy and reasonable. Enjoyed the dinner that Monica arranged in Civitavecchia also. Everyone we met at dinner and the various bars on board were friendly and pleasant to talk to.

 

Staff also was a plus, from our cabin stewards to all the waiters and assistant waiters, and bar servers. Everyone had a smile and a positive attitude. Room service for breakfast was fabulous, always on time, accurate and hot. This was one of our favorite things

 

The ship also was beautiful and well maintained. The staff was great and the captain quite a character! Enjoyed the entertainment that we were able to see.

 

The weather was fabulous the best we have ever experienced in three crossings.

 

The bad:

We have been on many cruise (we are Elite) and have cruised on many different lines over many years and this was the worst food we have ever had. (IMHO) The selections especially were very limited. My husband (who is always positive) says "they can't all be gems" yet it was hard to find many gems at all. The second to the last night was the only meal we found to be wonderful-perfectly cooked lobster tails. Most nights we found it difficult to find something we really enjoyed and believe me we are very easy to please. The steaks were thin and tough, the chicken pounded and processed, the pastas bland. Lunches were even worse in the dining room and service very slow ( OK where do we have to go?) but waiting 45 min for lunch to be served is ridiculous. We avoid the buffet for many reasons and the one time we tried it, it was very crowded with long lines...but the food was better.

 

Thought the specialty restaurants were very expensive and the food very mediocore. It was also crazy that you could bargain for the cost of dinner. We were almost forced (being approached by waiter almost pleading with us) to go to Quisine for 30% off. It was a fun time but not worth the price and I would never go there again. The Lawn Club was overpriced too but we did get 30% off there also. Liked the Tuscan Grill, it is a beautiful setting, but I would have liked it better for $25... the cost a few years ago. Here we also got 30% off. I felt badly for our friends who booked a pack and only got 20% off. What kind of deal is that?

 

Overall we had a great time, went to many interesting ports and enjoyed our days at sea immensely. We were also fortunate to be cruising with good friends who made the trip even more enjoyable. Not sure about booking with Celebrity again. The food is an important aspect of a vacation for us and this one just did not meet our expectations.

 

Kathy

[wieslaw]

Hi,

thank you for your report. I hope the MDR food quality improves.

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review.

[excitedofharpenden]

We were almost forced (being approached by waiter almost pleading with us) to go to Quisine for 30% off. It was a fun time but not worth the price and I would never go there again. The Lawn Club was overpriced too but we did get 30% off there also. Liked the Tuscan Grill, it is a beautiful setting, but I would have liked it better for $25... the cost a few years ago. Here we also got 30% off. I felt badly for our friends who booked a pack and only got 20% off. What kind of deal is that?

 

I experienced the same attempt at hard sell on Constellation in September. They didn't get far as I know the drill. I also heard an attempt at the table next to us at the Oceanview Bar to do the same. It was embarrassing to listen to the sales pitch. It turned the people right off anyway and they didn't book. I feel the Specialties are very expensive now too. This is obviously why they have to discount and tout for business and it is getting worse. I'm sure the servers are given tough targets to get guest in there and I feel sorry for them. The more I see of "Modern Luxury" the more I dislike it.

 

Phil

[yoj13]

I experienced the same attempt at hard sell on Constellation in September. They didn't get far as I know the drill. I also heard an attempt at the table next to us at the Oceanview Bar to do the same. It was embarrassing to listen to the sales pitch. It turned the people right off anyway and they didn't book. I feel the Specialties are very expensive now too. This is obviously why they have to discount and tout for business and it is getting worse. I'm sure the servers are given tough targets to get guest in there and I feel sorry for them. The more I see of "Modern Luxury" the more I dislike it.

 

Phil

 

Couldn't have said it better myself! Just disembarked Equinox and had exactly the same experience including our first day embarking and the 'spa' girls. As you said, its embarrassing, not necessary, people are quite able to make up their own minds without this constant touting for business. I can confirm, we too were often targeted not only at the entrance to Oceanview, but whilst we were having breakfast and don't get me started on the constant wine selling at lunch time although I have never seen it on sale for $20 per bottle and in some locations (evening time) it was buy one get one free. Sounds pretty desperate to me.

[travellerin1984]

The comments about food are worrying me. We enjoy the food and have been happy so far when cruising on Celebrity. We were on Oceania last summer and enjoyed the food very much. We have to decide soon about our coming cruise in April/May. We are deciding between Equinox and Oceania Riviera. It is such a tough choice... We prefer entertainment and the general atmosphere on Celebrity but the food on Oceania is much better.

[Wine-O]

We were on the same cruise and ate in Blu. We always checked the MDR menus each night as they allowed us to order an entree from it, and did so on several occasions. I thought the MDR menu provided excellent choices.

 

We weren't allowed to do this in the past. This seemed to be a change from previous crossings. Blu also served Eggs Benedict, although it was not printed on the menu.

 

It was indeed a great crossing with great weather. My only complaint was the ice just didn't seem to be cold enough. :rolleyes:

[ABoatNerd]

Thank you to the OP for providing this recent assessment.

 

Our household is not contemplating any future cruises with Celebrity for many reasons; but the rapidly declining food quality on Celebrity and the aggressive "hard sell" as mentioned by the OP are two reasons.

 

Our Infinity South America sailing on Jan 28 2015 was a major disappointment in these areas. Our table of 8 returned an average of 50% of the entrees each nite due to poor quality and no taste. The guests were very experienced cruisers and we all agreed that Celebrity's declining food standards was very obvious. The little things can have a big impact - morning room service - replacing real cream for coffee with a fake edible oil product. This is not Modern Luxury.

 

Considering the excellent food on our QM2 TA in June, the Celebrity sailing did not measure up. The decline is very significant in the MDR and extra pay venues.

 

On to the hard sell, on our South America sailing, I told a Tuscan Grill manager to quit repeatedly harassing an elderly couple having lunch in the Sunset Grill. The manager totally ruined their lunch and ours - I got up and stated he was to leave them alone and to shut up. I told him it was rude to disturb guests having lunch and to never come back. It worked.

 

The loud techno music in the retail area was another classless irritant with sales staff essentially harassing guests to the face to make a sale.

 

This is NOT the Celebrity that our household has enjoyed for many years.

 

The variance between the Celebrity product of 5 years ago to today is behind the many threads here and the divergence of opinion. There used to be much more harmony on the boards in the past with an alignment of Celebrity product and services and its CC guests.

 

Considering Celebrity is surfing for new customers who have no knowledge of the previous Celebrity, Celebrity will be successful in continuing to reduce the on board product offering while increasing the price. Since all cruise lines are doing the same, the great "rush to the bottom" is well entrenched in the industry.

 

To those who continue to patronize Celebrity, wishing a wonderful and safe sailing.

 

ABoatNerd

[hcat]

Sorry to hear all this...we have 3 booked on X...all AQ...

 

We will not apprsciate being harassed with sales pitches...hope we can avoid it ...esp while dining and we hope food in BLU is as good as it has been in the past...

 

We also enjoyed QM 2

[jewliana]

We are currently on the Silhouette and have not been hounded about anything. We bought the 4 dinner specialty dining because we wanted it, the 5 night and UDP are unavailable at this time. They were not discounting restaurants and have not been out there trying to sell them.

 

We do the specialty because we would rather have an intimate upscale quieter setting for our meals. We have dined in Moderno and Qsine so far. This was our second time in Qsine and we love it and have so much fun.

 

We also did Bistro on Five for lunch Embarkation day. Yes it was a bit slow but was SO quiet and not crowded. It felt like a suite specialty lunch for only $10 each... A wonderful way to start our cruise!

 

The service has been wonderful and so professional. We just did 2 NCL cruises and I cannot imagine people saying that they are leaving Celebrity. I cannot imagine cruising any other line except of course RCL :-) They have more than earned our loyalty. The changes are occurring across the board with the other lines. Celebrity still has the best product that we have found.

[RealDeal]

We only ate in the MDR for dinner and did 5 specialties on the TA. Maybe we managed to hit the "good nights," but for us the food was much better than on some of our past X sailings. I guess this is why they say food is very subjective!

 

One day, right after someone we were talking to was commenting on how bad the food was, I got in the elevator to hear two people discussing how good it's been. Go figure.

[2910car]

We were on the same cruise in addition to the previous one (btb). Food is very subjective. We enjoyed most of our meals in the MDR as well as the buffet. There were always many choices and the few times we were disappointed, our waiter quickly brought us something else.

 

I get a kick out of the people on all the different cruise line boards who say "never again". Wondering where they are going instead?

[kreemmer]

We are currently on the Silhouette and have not been hounded about anything. We bought the 4 dinner specialty dining because we wanted it, the 5 night and UDP are unavailable at this time. They were not discounting restaurants and have not been out there trying to sell them.

 

We do the specialty because we would rather have an intimate upscale quieter setting for our meals. We have dined in Moderno and Qsine so far. This was our second time in Qsine and we love it and have so much fun.

 

We also did Bistro on Five for lunch Embarkation day. Yes it was a bit slow but was SO quiet and not crowded. It felt like a suite specialty lunch for only $10 each... A wonderful way to start our cruise!

 

The service has been wonderful and so professional. We just did 2 NCL cruises and I cannot imagine people saying that they are leaving Celebrity. I cannot imagine cruising any other line except of course RCL :-) They have more than earned our loyalty. The changes are occurring across the board with the other lines. Celebrity still has the best product that we have found.

 

 

Maybe TA are different but all you had to do to get a discount was ask. Our friends paid for a package ahead of time and were limited where they could dine. I just asked if there was any specials and were given 30% off. Azamara charges $25 for all specialty restaurants. Why does Celebrity charge $45? Food is subjective but we did not think the food warranted these prices.

[Christine Frances]

That's too bad:(. Just got off the Millie and our group of 7 thought the food in the MDR was the best ever! Didn't even consider a specialty restaurant:).

[ISABELLA]

I also was on this TA sailing on Silhouette. Overall it was a very nice cruise.

We had AQ and were very pleased with food and particular with service in BLU. We were hearing some complaints about food in MDR on this cruise from other guests.

Entertainment was hit or miss for us. Enjoyed CD Paul, Rachel and Sarah - fun CD stuff. Captain was a character to say the least.

I will try to post more detailed review in a few days.

[St Pete Cruiser]

My good friends Harry and Jess just returned from the Silhouette. I've cruised twice with Celebrity myself, Infinity and Constellation. I thought if any of the Holland America competitors, Celebrity would be pick to be the better. Their new ships appear beautifully well done. Too big, but not mega sized at least.

They initially were impressed. However after a good start, they found sales pressure to do all of the extra cost things from liquor to speciality restaurants. Their open dining dinner wait time was usually between 45 minutes to as long as 2 hours! Of course they would mention no wait time at the $$$ specialty restaurant. Martini ($12+18%) too expensive, buy the liquor package. Wine $36, cheapest red. Plus 18%. Diet coke $3.00 +18%. Computer class $10. Croquet on the grass, extra.

Dining room service polite, but often brought substitute vegetables without asking. Several meals returned after tasting.

Yes, music too loud.

They took Amtrak home from Ft Lauderdale along with a couple who had just taken the Nieuw Amsterdam. After comparing, Harry and Jess agreed Celebrity was not for them..

 

[TeaBag]

That's too bad:(. Just got off the Millie and our group of 7 thought the food in the MDR was the best ever! Didn't even consider a specialty restaurant:).

Thank you Christine. We are booked on her in March but will be in Blu.

We are just off Eclipse and really enjoyed the food in the MDR this time adn thought it was a step up from some other Celebrity cruises a few years back. We were in Blu in June and enjoyed that too. There was only one problem and that was with the Bananas Foster one night. It was basically uncooked bananas in a puddle of brown sugary water! We joked about it for several days. Of course, it was replaced by another better dessert. Speaking of desserts, one night we had the Grand Marnier souffle from Murano (in the MDR). Oh my, I'm still licking my lips.

 

As for the hard sell, we didn't find any of that. We were offered Qsine one day as we left the buffet and we got 50% off. Another day we were offered Murano at 50% off with 2 glasses of champagne included. We declined that one as I had a cold and I didn't feel I would do justice to the food there.

 

All in all, a great cruise with somewhat colder weather than you guys had on the southerly route.

Edited November 18, 2015 by TeaBag

[jagoffee]

My good friends Harry and Jess just returned from the Silhouette. I've cruised twice with Celebrity myself, Infinity and Constellation. I thought if any of the Holland America competitors, Celebrity would be pick to be the better. Their new ships appear beautifully well done. Too big, but not mega sized at least.

They initially were impressed. However after a good start, they found sales pressure to do all of the extra cost things from liquor to speciality restaurants. Their open dining dinner wait time was usually between 45 minutes to as long as 2 hours! Of course they would mention no wait time at the $$$ specialty restaurant. Martini ($12+18%) too expensive, buy the liquor package. Wine $36, cheapest red. Plus 18%. Diet coke $3.00 +18%. Computer class $10. Croquet on the grass, extra.

Dining room service polite, but often brought substitute vegetables without asking. Several meals returned after tasting.

Yes, music too loud.

They took Amtrak home from Ft Lauderdale along with a couple who had just taken the Nieuw Amsterdam. After comparing, Harry and Jess agreed Celebrity was not for them..

 

 

I am not sure if I met them, but I think they might be exaggerating a little on the wait times for Select Dining. On the other hand Celebrity is not for everybody.

[upwarduk]

I am not sure if I met them, but I think they might be exaggerating a little on the wait times for Select Dining.

 

We sailed on Eclipse in July and never had to wait beyond our pre booked time of 7pm. We did however see people queuing as we came out of the dining room at 8.30pm.

I have never eaten in a Specality restaurant because I am Lactose intolerant, so pre book my meals. The attention that I get in MDR cannot be surpassed or criticised.

We were asked once if we wanted to eat in a speciality restaurant, by husband said, "This is special enough."

The maitre 'd replied , Good, that means I still have a job!"

Edited November 19, 2015 by upwarduk