Live from Silhouette - Feb. 25, 2018

[keesar]

 

I do hope Celebrity improves the negative items on your list, especially the service animal issue. It’s absolutely ridiculous that a service animal (though I doubt this animal was entitled to the designation) should have it’s face near food items at the bar! Should this become common, I will find a cruise line with a stricter policy.

 

Celebrity does not care about the animals affecting others. On a cruise, there was a dog eating from a plate in the buffet. Dog had been carried thru the line. Staff was showering the dog with attention. Fortunately, on our recent cruise, no dogs. Great!

[cltnccruisers]

Hi everyone ~ thanks for all your kind comments. Wish we were still onboard Silhouette!!!

Copy and paste this link into your browser to see a few of my photos: pix.sfly.com/oftQjPJ8 You'll notice I kind of like sunsets!

I named them so they would post in order and you could see what they were but that's not working for me. I'll try to correct it later but this will give you an idea of what we saw! ENJOY

 

Fine pics, Anne. Kind of a downer seeing some of the damage but you can't sugarcoat it.

[amylovestocruise]

This was the same experience we had with the Silhouette on the 2/11/18 sailing out of FLL. Definitely a bummer to miss the pomp and "celebration" of the sail away while being stuck in a disorganized muster drill. When we felt the ship start to move in our muster drill, we all thought that there is no way that they'd sail away early while we were all still in the theater! I'd be curious to see the "why" on this as well. That's the best way to start a vacation with a big sail away!

 

MUSTER DRILL

Before I go on, let me say that I like to write balanced, honest reviews. I’m going to give you the good, the bad, etc. As a long time cruiser, I probably look at things with more of a critical eye. But I’m always great for the chance to cruise and I appreciate the on board crew that work so hard to provide a great vacation for us.

 

Ut Oh….I knew the great things that happened thus far might come to an end…and I was right! Muster drill was set for 3:15. We headed down to our station in Tuscan Grille about 3:05. By the time they sounded the alarm at 3:15 nearly everyone had arrived. That was the good news. The not so good news is that the typically quick Celebrity muster drill drug on and on for some reason. First, they went through the emergency alarm (a good thing); then they showed the “Wash Your Hands” video (makes us laugh); then they show what I think is the worst emergency video ever, set to a spy theme. That’s my personal opinion and I won’t go into that now (although I think going over the important safety issues is FAR more important than trying to create some gimmicky spy video where most can tell you what the important safety facts were from this video); then there was a lull and the crew had to tell people they couldn’t leave.

 

After a few minutes, someone came on and gave the life jacket overview. All of a sudden, while this was happening (about 3:30ish), I noticed that the ship had pulled away from the dock. Then another lull and this one was long…7 – 10 minutes. Now people were getting antsy and got up to leave. The crew did the right thing and told “most” (not all) people that they had to wait for further instructions. Then they came on the loud speaker again and sounded the abandon ship signal. Then another lull (a few minutes). The crew kept saying….”just a few more minutes.”

 

I’ve been on 31 other Celebrity cruises. I’ve never experienced a muster drill like this. Finally, a minute or two later,they came on and said the drill had ended. The captain, who typically releases us from the drill, made no announcement. By the time we got up on deck, we were nearly out of the port and sailing by the Ft. Lauderdale beaches.

 

It wasn’t the end of the world by any means, but it didn’t give one a comfort level that this drill was organized and they knew what they were doing. Celebrity’s muster drills are typically organized and relatively quick without the long lulls we had today.

 

Leaving the dock early (we were scheduled to depart at 4:00 PM)? Can’t explain that one. Sailing away is one of our favorite things. It was definitely strange.

 

Let’s end this post on a positive note. I asked our cabin attendant for a feather pillow for our room. He delivered it promptly and with a smile! Can’t ask for better than that.

 

Time to take some sunset photos! It’s a beautiful one this evening.

[Algebralovr]

Celebrity does not care about the animals affecting others. On a cruise, there was a dog eating from a plate in the buffet. Dog had been carried thru the line. Staff was showering the dog with attention. Fortunately, on our recent cruise, no dogs. Great!

The problem here is that the staff need training in SD expectations. Such as, not feeding the dog in the buffet.

 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[keesar]

The problem here is that the staff need training in SD expectations. Such as, not feeding the dog in the buffet.

 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

The staff was laughing about the handmade sign introducing the "Service Dog". It was a joke to all. Dog was being pushed in a stroller. We thought there was a baby in there.

[Silkroad]

The problem here is that the staff need training in SD expectations. Such as, not feeding the dog in the buffet.

 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

And Celebrity needs to ban all animals that are not true service animals. Is this a problem mostly on Caribbean Cruises? If so, perhaps I’ll reconsider the Caribbean cruise I have booked.

[Algebralovr]

And Celebrity needs to ban all animals that are not true service animals. Is this a problem mostly on Caribbean Cruises? If so, perhaps I’ll reconsider the Caribbean cruise I have booked.

 

There are really not that many SDs on cruises, on any line. We've done 14 cruises on Celebrity. Only seen on, this last week. The issue is that when one is on board, people usually notice it.

[Cruise a holic]

The staff was laughing about the handmade sign introducing the "Service Dog". It was a joke to all. Dog was being pushed in a stroller. We thought there was a baby in there.

With the exception of seeing eye dogs for blind passengers, it seems not appropriate to bring a dog on a cruise ship.

[Silkroad]

There are really not that many SDs on cruises, on any line. We've done 14 cruises on Celebrity. Only seen on, this last week. The issue is that when one is on board, people usually notice it.

Thanks. That’s good news:). I’ve seen only one service dog on a cruise, and it was clearly a true service dog (and impeccably behaved). We have three X cruises in the queue, including our first Caribbean cruise, and should I see a pram, I hope it will contain a baby!

[in2up2]

And Celebrity needs to ban all animals that are not true service animals. Is this a problem mostly on Caribbean Cruises? If so, perhaps I’ll reconsider the Caribbean cruise I have booked.

 

 

 

There was a questionable service dog on our Baltics cruise last summer so not limited to Caribbean.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Host Anne]

We have a staff member that trains service dogs. Service dogs are not pets. They are there to provide a valuable service to the people they help.

 

The dog on our ship was clearly not a service dog. People petting it and playing with it galore. The dog was adorable. Taking advantage of true service dogs is not.

 

Sorry....didn't mean to turn this into a service dog debate.

[JoePDX]

Anne-

 

Thank you for the great posts... We sailed with you on Equinox back in November 2011 from Rome to FLL.

 

Your reviews are helping me build the excitement for the first TA on Edge in April 2019.... It will also mark our first Celebrity cruise since 2013....when we said no more.

 

Joe

[Host Anne]

Anne-

 

Thank you for the great posts... We sailed with you on Equinox back in November 2011 from Rome to FLL.

 

Your reviews are helping me build the excitement for the first TA on Edge in April 2019.... It will also mark our first Celebrity cruise since 2013....when we said no more.

 

Joe

 

Hi Joe ~ I remember you! So good to see a post from you. I'm glad you are enjoying the reviews. I've been frustrated with certain aspects of Celebrity over the past few years but I can honestly say that many of the things that bothered me were not apparent on this Silhouette cruise. I was very happy about that.

 

Much of it is also about expectations. Celebrity always delivered such a great product that expectations were always set pretty high. When they didn't meet those any longer, it made it tough to want to continue to sail. I will say our cruise on Xpedition in November far exceeded those expectations and our recent Silhouette cruise was more like the Celebrity we always truly enjoyed.

 

What will Edge bring? Don't know but it will be interesting to watch. Enjoy looking forward to your cruise....it's have the fun. And let us know what you think when you get back.

[keesar]

There are really not that many SDs on cruises, on any line. We've done 14 cruises on Celebrity. Only seen on, this last week. The issue is that when one is on board, people usually notice it.

 

Two weeks ago was the first cruise we have not had a "service dog" on board in the Caribbean. The previous cruise, we had two fakes and two the one before. I was furious seeing the dog eating human food in a buffet bowl in the Oceanview Cafe.

[Silkroad]

Much of it is also about expectations. Celebrity always delivered such a great product that expectations were always set pretty high. When they didn't meet those any longer, it made it tough to want to continue to sail. I will say our cruise on Xpedition in November far exceeded those expectations and our recent Silhouette cruise was more like the Celebrity we always truly enjoyed.

I agree. Celebrity does need to continue providing a quality product, regardless of changes. Our cruise on Reflection last year was one of our best cruises to date. Was it exactly the same experience as our first cruise on Millennium in 2006? No, but for every negative change since 2006, we found a positive change of similar weight (though I’ll never understand the destruction of the Olympic restaurant on Millennium). We were in a Veranda cabin and dined in the MDR on both cruises, so it was a fair comparison. We’re keeping open minds as we plan our upcoming cruises, including one on Silhouette in June and one on Edge next April. Thanks again, Anne!

 

Cheers, Michelle

[JoePDX]

Hi Joe ~ I remember you! So good to see a post from you. I'm glad you are enjoying the reviews. I've been frustrated with certain aspects of Celebrity over the past few years but I can honestly say that many of the things that bothered me were not apparent on this Silhouette cruise. I was very happy about that.

 

Much of it is also about expectations. Celebrity always delivered such a great product that expectations were always set pretty high. When they didn't meet those any longer, it made it tough to want to continue to sail. I will say our cruise on Xpedition in November far exceeded those expectations and our recent Silhouette cruise was more like the Celebrity we always truly enjoyed.

 

What will Edge bring? Don't know but it will be interesting to watch. Enjoy looking forward to your cruise....it's have the fun. And let us know what you think when you get back.

 

Anne -

 

Agreed about expectations, we are generally go with the flow types, but that being said, I have a keen eye and know when the simple things have been missed.... Our first Celebrity cruise was in 2002 and was pretty magical. We were on Constellation for her third cruise. Like you, we think the S-Class ships are pretty phenomenal. Initial renderings of Edge look pretty spectacular too, so we shall see. If initial reviews are bad....we have another cruise booked for the same general time on Oceania Nautica, which is our gold standard ship and the first we ever sailed on when it was the R5.

 

And I will definitely share my views and experiences on Edge.

 

Live reviews are fun, I did one in April/May when we sailed from Mumbai to Athens on Oceania Nautica. That trip with it's itinerary and the shipboard experience was pretty close to perfect.... :D

 

Galapagos is on the list too for someday....

 

Joe

[swcruise]

Thanks for sharing, has made me super excited on my upcoming trip,