Disappointed with Celebrity Silhouette Jan 26/18 - Feb4/18

[Silkroad]

Just disembarking this morning. Just need to say all was great. We loved the way Capt Peppas on his farewell announcement thanked us and also praised his crew. Have never heard that. Love this ship and plan to return. Room steward was Clifton and gotta say, all was spotless. Was seated for table for 2, without a wait,at various times at anytime dining. Just our experience 👍

 

Sounds great! Thanks for posting your experiences. We can’t wait to board her in June:cool::cool:

[rollie]

We were on the 26th sailing. We had early dining in the MDR. We did notice the problems they were having with anytime dining, but I think the problem was that so many people had early dining and didn't so up in time and decide to do any time. There were a lot of empty tables in the MDR. They did fill some of these seats with overflow from anytime. Maybe a solution could be to only allow people into anytime dining that have signed up for it. Everyone blames the cruise line, but sometimes passangers can be difficult.

 

We were also no the Jan. 7th sailing, and we did the anytime dining with a great experience.

 

Rollie

[Mynki]

I am really starting to question the value of a Celebrity cruise anymore. Is anyone else feeling the same way?

 

I've noticed a degradation in service and quality in just the last few years. The cost cutting is very noticeable and so I have lost a lot of interest in their product.

 

I don't have the experience of many of the seasoned Celebrity passengers on this board but I can see the same issues that the highly experienced passengers are complaining about already.

 

I don't buy on price but value. When I look at some of the pricing on Celebrity cruisers I think some border on the outrageous for the level of accommodation and dining experiences found onboard. Take a look at the opening prices of some of their Med cruises, then compare that to the level of high end hotel and restaurant pricing you'll find there.

 

I have two X cruises booked. An Asian cruise on Millennium, booked because I like the itinerary and we managed to get a good deal, and then Edge in january 2019. But after the very mediocre experiences of late I don't have much enthusiasm for Celebrity. I think we might have outgrown them and are now looking at Azamara and Oceania.

 

The marketing team make pretty ridiculous claims these days about the experience and I honestly believe the fake luxury experience they sell is aimed at those who simply don't know better.

[SeaPete]

We were in cabin 1118. Our butler was Dharma, who was good but took a couple days to warm up; he was a bit reserved. The room attendant was Oscar (I think that was his name; I’ve already started to put him out of mind).

 

 

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I'm in room 1118 in a few weeks...any advice????

[Pushkin]

We were on the January 26 cruise as well. As a loyal Celebrity cruiser for over 10 years, I think that service/amenities have decreased while the price has increased -- quite dramatically in the last couple of years. But...we still have a great time cruising and the 26th cruise was no exception. I did notice that there were fewer toiletries, towels were a little threadbare, the laundry and the room service cards were not replaced. A little concerning, but did not impact us greatly. Our cabin steward, Franklin, was perfect in every way -- he knew our names immediately, he made sure our room was serviced when we were out, provided me with feather pillows when asked and just did a superb job (OV cabin).

 

We had select dining and had no problems -- we usually ate around 7 - 8 pm (only made SD reservations a couple of times). I did notice large crowds around 5:30 for select dining and thought it was strange since usually it is 7:30 that is the crowded time. We met some great people and did not hear of anyone complaining while on the cruise. I actually remarked to DH that the lines at the customer service desk were the fewest I had every seen.

 

To sum it up, we still cruise, and Celebrity is still our favorite line, but we are considering other vacation options -- the prices are just too crazy right now.

[gabeoak]

. Room steward was Clifton and gotta say, all was spotless.

 

Just off 2/11-18 and we, too, had Cliffton as our room steward.

Super cheerful guy. Immaculate room with genuine thoughtfulness to our needs and special occasion.

 

All the stewards 9 aft were super friendly.

Edited February 18, 2018 by gabeoak
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[PSU]

We had excellent service (well not enough waiters at pool) as well. I can see why you would be checking on luxury cruise pricing compared to paying for a suite. It says a lot that you did not book a European sailing for the 1st time. Hope you have a great cruise with Oceania!

 

 

 

If you go on the Oceania message boards, many people are complaining about the decline in food and service. I think this problem is across the board.

 

 

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[Suzcruz57]

Just off 2/11-18 and we, too, had Cliffton as our room steward.

Super cheerful guy. Immaculate room with genuine thoughtfulness to our needs and special occasion.

 

All the stewards 9 aft were super friendly.

Bet you were our neighbor? You have the suite in the corner? We had our own private hallway? Celebrated Anniversary?

[govanguy]

Repeat after me ...Repeat after me...."5 star modern luxury ".

 

If they say it often enough perhaps you`ll believe it.

 

I don`t anymore....

 

Overpriced .

 

Ok, if you have a problem onboard they try hard to rectify it but...there shouldn`t be problems.

 

The staff are overworked..they`ve pared them back to the minimum.

The MDR is mayhem...no longer do waiting staff have any time to interact with guests.

Try asking for a winelist..that causes problems. It`s "White or red".

The stateroom attendants have too many staterooms to cover. They look miserable.

There is a lack of bar servers on sundecks.

 

Someone has to pay for the new ships...keep contributing.

[Quo Vadis?]

Cutback everywhere.

 

The shrimp appetizer has shrunk from four to three.

[Quo Vadis?]

Repeat after me ...Repeat after me...."5 star modern luxury ".

 

If they say it often enough perhaps you`ll believe it..

 

What you don’t believe in the truth of advertising?

 

And I thought Lisa was on the right hand of...oh never mind...

[Mynki]

What you don’t believe in the truth of advertising?

 

And I thought Lisa was on the right hand of...oh never mind...

 

LLP has certainly cheapened the product.

 

I won't criticize though because that would be pointless. She appears to have done a good job from a shareholders point of view. And those like me who are currently underwhelmed can look elsewhere. Or wait for a deal after final payment date and pay what we think LLP's product is now worth etc.

[WonderMan3]

If you go on the Oceania message boards, many people are complaining about the decline in food and service. I think this problem is across the board.

 

 

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Having worked for a tour operator for 14 years that owned a fleet of river cruise and small ships I will agree with this. The company I worked for would make every effort to try and keep prices as low as possible and not raise them year over year as they feared customers drifting away to competition. So to offset rising operational and supplier costs they would make cuts; remove an included meal, take out a stop at a museum that charged a fee, make smaller portions or lower quality cuts of meat in onboard dining, make included tours into optional tours, move to a hotel further away from the city center to get it cheaper, etc. Now that’s all fine and dandy to keep the reservations rolling in but it comes back to bite you in the end later on when the traveler surveys come in and then people stop traveling with you.

 

So then every 5-6 years or so they would have to go back and do a total top to bottom audit of trips to bring them back up to quality standards which basically added back/upgraded everything that had been removed/downgraded in previous years and then they would raise the price a couple hundred dollars. Of course by that time you’ve already lost a segment of your travelers who you will very likely never get back.

 

I was always an advocate of gradual yearly price increases and never taking anything away or downgrading services. I think most sensible people expect that prices will reasonably increase year to year and would rather see that happen then having fewer amenities or lower quality services.

 

 

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[ArubaGal]

We were also on the Silhouette sailing 1/26 . We enjoyed our cruise , but feel Celebrity is slipping. Not the product we have come to love and enjoy over the years. Wake up !!!!! Take note Celebrity. Past guests remember the quality service and experience. We miss it.

People have many choices on where to spend their money, and loyalty doesn't always win out .

The first nite Select dining was a fiasco. Not entirely the staff's fault however. Many guests were clueless. Many people waiting in line had never even opened their dining reservation envelopes and thus didn't know whether they had early seating , second seating or select dining and were causing unnecessary issues and lines. Duh !!!

We found most of our meals to be very good. Beef was especially delicious and tender. Waiters were accommodating , but yes, short staffed and overworked , which detracts from a completely wonderful experience for passengers. Not the same as on past cruises.

Found the Martini bar bartenders to lack personality and They sure broke a lot of bottles trying to dazzle guests with subpar skills. Quality and taste of drinks was not what we experienced on all our other Celebrity cruises. We were very Disappointed as we have always favored the Martini bar.

Oceanview cafe for breakfast and lunch were good. As was Mast grill. Only complaint was not enough waitstaff offering coffee and cleaning up tables.

Really had to search for bartenders walking the pool area.

Public rest rooms were very clean for the most part

Wish they would bring back the Island bands by the pool area and offer more live music poolside during the day. Gave it a more festive and fun vibe.

The entertainment was pretty decent. Good comedians. The late night shows need to be moved back in to the theater however . People were being turned away in droves because there was not enough room in Celebrity Central to hold them.

The last minute show added due to cancellation of port call to Antigua due to bad weather conditions was excellent. Chiko is an excellent entertainer and wonderful asset to the Activity staff and I bet we will see him as a cruise director in the near future !

I miss the newlywed game and Liars club shows. Perhaps a tad old and hokey, but they filled up a void in additional nighttime entertainment. The slot machines were quite tight.

Embarkation and debarkation went very smoothly. No complaints.

Overall, it was an enjoyable cruise. I would not discourage anyone from sailing on this ship or another Celebrity ship. We just wish Celebrity would bring back some of the little extras and quality that set the bar higher !

[avp1234]

We will be on Silly in 2 days in a Royal Suite (first time trying this room). Was wondering what room you had. Worried about the room attendant now:o. My husband will be sad if the casino staff aren't friends. He spends a lot of time there!!

 

 

We spend every night in the casino and I agree, the staff and vibe can make or break it. On the Equinox last Oct. we had a lot of fun. On the Eclipse year before and went with a group of 10 and everyone eventually quit playing. Surly staff who were rude and acted like they didn't want to be there. Will be on the Silhouette next month and hoping to have fun. We'll see

[amylovestocruise]

Just disembarked the Silhouette today. Crew was amazing on all fronts! Disembarkation was messy but more due to lack of customs agents for the ## of people than Celebrity. I wasn't thrilled with the captain, though. He had us sail away from FLL while we were all still stuck in the muster drill... ?!... and arrived 2+ hours late to San Juan Puerto Rico which canceled many excursions... and after the forts closed for the day. :(

[tocruiseguy]

Many of the comments on the thread are reminiscent of flying, everyone complains about smaller seats etc but always want a cheaper price. You get what you pay for. Our last two cruises on Celebrity were great, not perfect, but a lot of fun with good food.

[shavdog]

We were on the Jan 14-26 cruise....overall it was a nice vacation for us....we've never had a bad cruise....we don't allow that to happen...anyway, the cruise director on more than one occasion let us know this ship was number one in the fleet....I don't get that with all the complaining going on....personally I like the Equinox after four sailings....I saw a few crew members kind of arguing with one another in the buffet area which I have never seen before...also to me it seemed liked some crew members just didn't look very happy...I would guess they are very overworked...anyway, we only sail on Celebrity and booked this ship for dec 9, 2018...my biggest gripe is the select dining issues ....I got the pager every night....minor inconveniences but annoying...we have fun when we cruise....I just wanna be a cool cruiser......

[helen haywood]

Just disembarked the Silhouette today. Crew was amazing on all fronts! Disembarkation was messy but more due to lack of customs agents for the ## of people than Celebrity. I wasn't thrilled with the captain, though. He had us sail away from FLL while we were all still stuck in the muster drill... ?!... and arrived 2+ hours late to San Juan Puerto Rico which canceled many excursions... and after the forts closed for the day. :(

 

 

 

I’m sure there was a reason for the late arrival to San Juan. Either a medical evacuation or weather concerns. Trust me, the ship wants you to get off and use someone else’s food, water, electricity, etc.

 

 

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[Bytor62]

Just got off Silhouette today. We found everything to be great. We had the best waiter, asst waiter, Khersing and Artem. Each night they would bring us extra entrees without asking. They even brought us each an extra lobster tail on Friday after we already ordered the Beef Wellington and a lobster tail (there were 4 of us). Last night, he brought us an order of the Gnocchi to share and after we finished our entrees (all Steak Diane), asked if we wanted another (we all declined except for my son, he opted for the Tilapia). Yes, there were green beans just about every night, but, hey, I like them. I know it depends on who you get but the waiters and food were fantastic. We also ate at Qsine and Murano and had good service/food.

 

Our stateroom attendant, Meggon, was great too. We did not notice any problems with the towels or replenishing the the shampoo/conditioner. We had 2 requests from him during the week and he responded right away.

 

Denis and Andrej at the World Class Bar made great drinks and made a couple of adjustments for us to try new things.

 

The biggest complaint was the service at the Sunset Bar and the Lawn Club Grill. The SB was overcrowded and at some times, only had one bartender. Our LCG dinner took over 2 1/2 hours, the poor waiter was so overworked. The food was really good but a real disappointment with the service.

 

Overall we had a great time and booked a Summit Southern Caribbean on board. My first Celebrity cruise was on the Meridian many moons ago, and while I have seen cuts over the years, I still find the value (for me) is there.

[paulh84]

Just disembarked the Silhouette today. Crew was amazing on all fronts! Disembarkation was messy but more due to lack of customs agents for the ## of people than Celebrity. I wasn't thrilled with the captain, though. He had us sail away from FLL while we were all still stuck in the muster drill... ?!... and arrived 2+ hours late to San Juan Puerto Rico which canceled many excursions... and after the forts closed for the day. :(

 

The delay in to San Juan was due to the rough seas Monday and Tuesday morning. At one point they were having to consider closing the outside upper decks all together because of the wind.

 

Just got off Silhouette today. We found everything to be great. We had the best waiter, asst waiter, Khersing and Artem. Each night they would bring us extra entrees without asking. They even brought us each an extra lobster tail on Friday after we already ordered the Beef Wellington and a lobster tail (there were 4 of us). Last night, he brought us an order of the Gnocchi to share and after we finished our entrees (all Steak Diane), asked if we wanted another (we all declined except for my son, he opted for the Tilapia). Yes, there were green beans just about every night, but, hey, I like them. I know it depends on who you get but the waiters and food were fantastic. We also ate at Qsine and Murano and had good service/food.

 

Our stateroom attendant, Meggon, was great too. We did not notice any problems with the towels or replenishing the the shampoo/conditioner. We had 2 requests from him during the week and he responded right away.

 

Denis and Andrej at the World Class Bar made great drinks and made a couple of adjustments for us to try new things.

 

The biggest complaint was the service at the Sunset Bar and the Lawn Club Grill. The SB was overcrowded and at some times, only had one bartender. Our LCG dinner took over 2 1/2 hours, the poor waiter was so overworked. The food was really good but a real disappointment with the service.

 

Overall we had a great time and booked a Summit Southern Caribbean on board. My first Celebrity cruise was on the Meridian many moons ago, and while I have seen cuts over the years, I still find the value (for me) is there.

 

We must have visited the Sunset Bar at different times because we rarely saw anyone at the bar itself. I can't disagree with LGC. We were there over 2 hours and we even skipped the flatbread. It seemed as though we had 3 different people waiting on us. I wouldn't consider it a bad experience, but something was off.

[amylovestocruise]

The delay in to San Juan was due to the rough seas Monday and Tuesday morning. At one point they were having to consider closing the outside upper decks all together because of the wind.

 

Yes, given we had two full days to sail from Port Everglades to PR, I was disappointed that we couldn't have made more progress early on in the transit, had there been concerns of any wind delays the half day coming into PR. I definitely don't claim to be an expert just was surprised at the delay, given that I know we were able to sunbathe on deck 16 that day and pools were full. It was windy but didn't seem extreme...

[Silkroad]

Just got off Silhouette today. We found everything to be great. We had the best waiter, asst waiter, Khersing and Artem. Each night they would bring us extra entrees without asking. They even brought us each an extra lobster tail on Friday after we already ordered the Beef Wellington and a lobster tail (there were 4 of us). Last night, he brought us an order of the Gnocchi to share and after we finished our entrees (all Steak Diane), asked if we wanted another (we all declined except for my son, he opted for the Tilapia). Yes, there were green beans just about every night, but, hey, I like them. I know it depends on who you get but the waiters and food were fantastic.

 

I’m happy to see that you had a great experience! Was your wonderful wait staff in the MDR?

[Silkroad]

I was always an advocate of gradual yearly price increases and never taking anything away or downgrading services. I think most sensible people expect that prices will reasonably increase year to year and would rather see that happen then having fewer amenities or lower quality services.

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Absolutely! That’s exactly what irritates me. During the past year, we’ve seen significant fare increases, significant automatic gratuity increases, non-refundable deposits as the norm (in the US), and a decrease in staff in popular venues. Increasing the cost to loyal or even frequent customers while decreasing value (thus increasing frustration) isn’t very wise. We’ve three cruises in the queue. The next one is on Silhouette, so I truly hope we don’t find long waits for everything on board, along with overworked, grumpy staff.

[xxpinksaltxx]

Yes, given we had two full days to sail from Port Everglades to PR, I was disappointed that we couldn't have made more progress early on in the transit, had there been concerns of any wind delays the half day coming into PR. I definitely don't claim to be an expert just was surprised at the delay, given that I know we were able to sunbathe on deck 16 that day and pools were full. It was windy but didn't seem extreme...

I'm sure Captain Peppas did the best he could. We were on the Jan 26th cruise and missed our entire first stop because of weather. So a 2 hour delay is very lucky considering.

 

We hit severe weather and by the 2nd sea day at 10am we were already running 7 hours behind.

 

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