Celebrity Silhouette - Review - February 23, 2020 - March 6, 2020

[Noreen411]

On 3/17/2020 at 6:55 PM, SandyKnits said:

Following and enjoying your review so far.  We were on the same cruise as you and saw you at the Retreat sundeck but weren’t introduced.  We were on the back to back with the Feb. 14th sailing and had a wonderful 21 days on the Silhouette.  What a different world we came home to.  My husband and I are both fine and have been staying home since we returned.  
 

I'm looking forward to reading your cruise review installments.  Stay well!

Wow - that sounds fantastic being on back to back.  We haven’t done that yet but have one booked for 2021 on Royal Caribbean - it’s 14 days in total so not quite as exciting as your 21 days.  Hopefully things are back to normal by then.

 

I’m sorry we didn’t meet on board.  Most people are surprised by this but I’m kind of shy if I don’t know people.  But once I meet someone once then the shyness is gone LOL.  If we ever cross paths on a cruise again come say Hi.

 

Glad you are both feeling well too

[Noreen411]

On 3/17/2020 at 10:45 PM, cruzccl said:

Great review so far.  I was one of your fellow passengers on this voyage.  For us it was an amazing trip, excellent service and great memories.   Based on the world now, we want to go back and disappear from the world.    Looking forward to reading more.  

Thank you.  We were so clueless about what was coming just a few short weeks ago.  

That’s part of why I enjoy writing these reports (even though it takes me a while); no matter what is going on I can go back and read about trips and all the fun we had.  

Stay healthy

[Noreen411]

Sunday 2/23/20 - Embark Silhouette - Fort Lauderdale

 

We went to the hotel gym about 6am.  It is small but had what we needed and was fine when it was just us.  A few others showed up a little later and it was a bit crowded.

 

 

 

We showered and got dressed.  We really don’t like the bathroom setup.  The shower and toilet are in a very small room and the sink is outside that little room.  We both prefer a regular fully contained bathroom.

 

We took a picture of the pool area

 

We walked through the breakfast area but didn’t really like the looks of it.  It was probably fine but we were weirded out.  I was looking for yogurt and granola but instead of single serve yogurt containers there was a vat of yogurt that did not look appetizing.  We each took a banana, coffee for Scott and apple juice for me.  We’ll have lunch on the ship.

 

We were all set to go but it was still too early.  We puttered around in the room for a little while.

 

The location of the Hyatt is very good with restaurants in walking distance.  We liked the hotel and the room in general, but due to the bathroom set up that we don’t like I would look for another hotel next time we find ourselves in Fort Lauderdale.  That’s just our personal opinion and some people may prefer that set up since you could have someone at the sink brushing their teeth or whatever while someone else is in the shower, but it isn’t our preference.

Edited March 19, 2020 by Noreen411

[Noreen411]

Sunday 2/23/20 - Continued

 

We left the hotel at 9:30.  We arrived very quickly to the pier and there was a line of cars going in.  There were a lot of ships at the pier today; maybe 8 or 9 of them.  I’m glad we came early.

 

The first sighting of our ship is always exciting

 

 

It was very disorganized.  I looked for the special delivery area and didn’t see it.  I asked the police directing traffic and they didn’t know what I was talking about.  I called the number on the email I received from shoreside if nobody was at special delivery and they kept telling me to go to pier 25 (that’s the pier Edge was at).  When I told them we were getting on Silhouette at pier 21 they told me there isn’t any special delivery area there and to just drop my luggage with the porters and hung up.

 

We dropped our luggage then parked in the garage.  I made sure to take a picture of the row we parked in since we will probably forget by the time we get off the ship after 12 nights.  I do the same thing at Disney World too - I take a picture of the row we park in and that’s just for a day.

 

We went to the pier now just pulling our rolling carry on bags.  After going through the scanners and stopping at a check in desk since I needed to change the credit card on file after the fraud and my old American Express being cancelled, we were in the general boarding area.  I asked two people if there is a separate area for suite boarding and was told No.  I knew that didn’t sound right so I walked around looking.  I saw a small sign that said Zenith/Suite kind of hidden near the back (I should have taken a picture of it).  A pier employee saw me and asked what I wanted and why I was there.  I asked if we should go there and she rudely said “probably not, it depends on your cabin”.  She didn’t say it trying to be helpful; but with a full on attitude.  I very sweetly said we’re in a Royal Suite, is this where we are supposed to go?.  She pretty much ran away at that point.  Someone else came over and told us to follow him and he took us to a suite boarding area.

 

OK - I know that sounds kind of whiny and I don’t mean it to.  I know we are very lucky to be able to cruise at all.   I’m comparing my boarding experience to what our boarding experience was like on Reflection in 2018 (also a Royal Suite) and it was very different.   I also know they were at a different terminal than they usually use.  I think having someone from Celebrity in the terminal letting us know where to go, making us feel welcome sooner, etc would have changed the perception of the check in process.  

 

 

 

 

Edited March 19, 2020 by Noreen411

[Noreen411]

Sunday 2/23/20 - Continued

 

I asked about the Boarding photo and was told they weren’t ready yet but would come get us once it was set up.  The employees in this waiting area were very nice and helpful.  They had beverages and snacks available if we wanted.  They also told us we should start boarding by around 11.

 

Someone came to get us once the photographers were ready so we could take the boarding photo.  I know a lot of people skip it but we always get them.  We started hanging them on the wall in our house.  Since we were the only people with the photographers they took a few shots for us which gave us a few options to choose from.

 

 

 

Just before 11 we were able to board.  They took everyone in the room who were waiting in as a group to get on the ship and took us to the Retreat Lounge.  Now that we’re on the ship, we can put the boarding hassle behind us and are ready to enjoy the next 12 nights.

 

It’s very nice and light and airy in the lounge.  There were different types of seating areas from round booths, tables and chairs, couches, and bar stools at the bar.  There was a counter with some snacks on it and a refrigerator with things like water and soda in it.

 

 

 

 

 

We met Erika from the spa (she’s the massage trainer) in the Retreat Lounge.  She asked if we were interested in any spa treatments.  I wanted to get a massage today to start the trip.  She had availability at 5:30 with her so I booked it.  She also double checked all our dinner reservations for us.

 

I took a few pictures of the area right outside the Retreat Lounge.  There was the Ensemble Lounge area as well as some cute picture spots.

 

 

Edited March 19, 2020 by Noreen411

[maggieq]

 Noreen,

 

our precruise dinner go to is the outback.  However, we go early and when we went on 2/22 we overheard staff talking about getting other jobs due to how slow it had been?  I felt bad....it was very slow in comparison to other visits. 
 

have your tried staying at the Renaissance?  That’s our Fll pre cruise go to hotel. I would also consider the Hilton marina down the street as it appears renovations were completed recently. 

Edited March 19, 2020 by maggieq

[Noreen411]

14 hours ago, maggieq said:

 Noreen,

 

our precruise dinner go to is the outback.  However, we go early and when we went on 2/22 we overheard staff talking about getting other jobs due to how slow it had been?  I felt bad....it was very slow in comparison to other visits. 
 

have your tried staying at the Renaissance?  That’s our Fll pre cruise go to hotel. I would also consider the Hilton marina down the street as it appears renovations were completed recently. 

Hi

 

We must have caught Outback at the wrong time.  There were people waiting all over to get in.

 

So far we’ve only tried Embassy Suites in 2018 and now the Hyatt.  We usually cruise out of Bayonne NJ so don’t need a pre-cruise hotel but next time we cruise out of FLL I’ll look into both of those.

 

Thank you

Noreen

[lizinindy]

Hi Noreen. we had a crazy boarding experience also. I left the snaking line and asked someone if the empty area to the right of the line was for suite guests. He seemed confused but said “yes’ rather hesitantly. I motioned my hubs to leave the serpentine line and come over and stand with me. About that time, our friends from Scotland that were on the Edge with us came in and we motioned them over. Then, one of the security guards came over and told us we couldn't stand there! We told her that we’d been told this was the suites line. She looked at us quizzically and then went off to check with her fellow officers. About that time, we saw a Celebrity employee on the other side of security and we motioned them over. He took us through the gates and upstairs where he ran into someone who knew where the suites waiting area was. Nothing at all like Pier 25’s suite waiting area but it was fine...juice, coffee, pastries, etc. We kept seeing wheelchairs coming down the ramp through our small doorway...dozens of wheelchairs. Then it was time to board and we realized why they needed so many wheelchairs. That 45 degree ramp up to the ship was CRAZY!

[Noreen411]

2 hours ago, lizinindy said:

Hi Noreen. we had a crazy boarding experience also. I left the snaking line and asked someone if the empty area to the right of the line was for suite guests. He seemed confused but said “yes’ rather hesitantly. I motioned my hubs to leave the serpentine line and come over and stand with me. About that time, our friends from Scotland that were on the Edge with us came in and we motioned them over. Then, one of the security guards came over and told us we couldn't stand there! We told her that we’d been told this was the suites line. She looked at us quizzically and then went off to check with her fellow officers. About that time, we saw a Celebrity employee on the other side of security and we motioned them over. He took us through the gates and upstairs where he ran into someone who knew where the suites waiting area was. Nothing at all like Pier 25’s suite waiting area but it was fine...juice, coffee, pastries, etc. We kept seeing wheelchairs coming down the ramp through our small doorway...dozens of wheelchairs. Then it was time to board and we realized why they needed so many wheelchairs. That 45 degree ramp up to the ship was CRAZY!

Thank you for sharing your experience.  I knew I couldn’t be the only one who was surprised by how disorganized it was.

[Noreen411]

Sunday 2/23/20 - Continued

 

An announcement was made along the lines of the cabins are not completely ready yet but we are welcome to drop off our carry on bags so we headed to the cabin.  The cards are outside the door in a sealed envelope.  There were little cases to carry the cards.

 

The room is great.  Royal Suite - 1241 (on the 10th floor).  It’s spacious and nicely appointed.

 

When you walk in looking straight ahead you see the living room which has a sectional sofa, a chair, a footstool, TV, and two tables.  There was a bottle of champagne on the larger table.  There is a TV and a decent amount of storage with a hanging closet and many cabinets to store things in.

 

 

 

To the right when you walk in is the dining/bar area.  There is a dining table with four chairs.  The bar area behind it has various types of glasses in one of the cabinets.  There is a coffee maker we didn’t use.  The alcohol we requested from the pre-cruise concierge was waiting for us as were the other beverages we requested such as bottled water and soda.  Our regular beverages were frequently replenished.  There is a wine refrigerator and a regular mini fridge.  There is more storage here too in drawers, cabinets, and a shelf above the bar.

 

To the left when you walk in is a half bath which is nice to have.

 

Walking into the bedroom which has a door to close it off from the living room, you have a bed, a TV, a little desk with a charging port box, nightstands and a TV.  One of the nightstands was square with drawers.  The other was round with small drawers but the light on that nightstand had charging ports.  We were a little disappointed that the bed was a regular bed rather than the Reverie adjustable bed we had in the Royal Suite on Reflection.  We liked that bed so much we are probably going to buy one when we need to get a new bed at home.

 

There is a walk in closet in the bedroom which I like a lot.  There is hanging space on both sides.  There is a drop down second rod to hang more if you need it but I didn’t use that.  There is a dresser with drawers in the closet.  There is a shelf going across the top on both sides.  In the closet there were umbrellas, binoculars and a safe.  There were also robes and slippers.  The robes were later taken by the butler to be replaced with robes with our initials on them.

 

The master bathroom has dual sinks, a mirror, Jacuzzi tub, stand up shower with both a rain head and hand held shower wand.  There are large bottles of CO Bigelow shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, and moisturizer.  The towels are very large and plush.

 

 

The shower picture I took a few days later and has our toiletries in it; I realized I didn’t get a picture when we first got to the cabin.

 

Walking out to the balcony from the living room, there is a table and chairs, a sort of lounge chair, and a Jacuzzi.  

 

Edited March 20, 2020 by Noreen411

[Noreen411]

Sunday 2/23/20 - Continued

 

We walked up to the Retreat Sundeck.  It is a very nice two level space with a round jacuzzi, lounge chairs, rocking chairs, couches, little huts, a bar, etc.

 

 

[Noreen411]

Sunday 2/23/20 - Continued

 

We had lunch at The Porch.

 

 

We both had sparkling water and soda.

 

Scott had snapper Ceviche and I had tuna tartare to start.  We ended up switching since the tuna was too spicy for me.

 

We both had lobster rolls.  Scott ordered his with no bread.  When we had these on Reflection it had huge bread (like Texas Toast) so we would each just use half the bread.  This time is was more normal sized bread.  We still shared the bread keeping the meal a bit lighter.

 

We shared the dessert trio, which ended up coming with 4 items instead of 3.  This worked out perfectly since I like to have something sweet after a meal.  It doesn’t have to be anything big but just a taste is fine; so we had tastes of different mini desserts.

Edited March 21, 2020 by Noreen411

[Noreen411]

Sunday 2/23/20 - Continued

 

We walked around some more and took a few pictures around the ship.

 

Sunset Bar

 

The Lawn

 

Pool Deck

 

Solarium

 

Looking down/out from one of the floors

 

The tree near the elevators

 

The casino

 

Martini Bar and Crush?

 

We walked up and down stairs to see some of the different areas

Edited March 21, 2020 by Noreen411

[Noreen411]

Sunday 2/23/20 - Continued

 

When we got back to our floor, I saw one of the suitcases in the hallway to brought that into the cabin.  

 

Scott pulled out the Lysol Wipes and started to wipe everything down.  We always do this in any hotel/ship cabin/etc.  I know they clean but it makes us feel better to start off doing this.

 

Our room attendant Alex came by to say hello and make sure everything was OK with the cabin.  He brought a few more of the suitcases in.  We were only missing one of them now.

 

Charlotte (NanaChar from cruise critic) stopped by to say hello and give me a deck of cards.  She organized a cabin crawl for tomorrow with a poker run.  Each of the cabins that are being shown would have a deck of cards and everyone who wanted to participate would take a card at each cabin.  At the final cabin the best hand wins.  Half the pot was being donated to a relief fund and the winner gets the other half.  

 

Our butler Alex came by to introduce himself.  I took this picture later in the trip since he probably would have thought I was a nut if I asked him to pose for a picture the first time we met him.  But I’m including it here.  He was great; super helpful, took care of anything we needed, was there when we were looking for him, but got our easygoing personalities and worked with us perfectly.

 

 

 

Alex (the butler) which I’m noting that way since our cabin attendant was also Alex, hooked up the internet for us.  He was impressed that we booked our dining already and said he will change things for us if needed.  He will bring us more water and coke (or any other beverages we want) to keep us well stocked.  He confirmed how we wanted the robes monogrammed (the plain ones in the closet will be monogrammed for us to take home with us).  I told him about the cabin crawl tomorrow and that we’re ending in our cabin and he said he’ll bring some snacks for that.  He told us that he’s here to make our trip special and will take care of whatever we need.  This was great and made us feel so welcome and cared for.

 

We went to the muster drill in the dining room at 3:15.  It was a spy movie like the one they show on Royal Caribbean also.

 

 

 

After muster we went back to the cabin to unpack.  The missing suitcase was delivered.  We were able to get everything organized and put away.

 

I went up to the spa about 5:15.  My massage was very good.  It was a great way to start the trip, especially since we’re already unpacked (With our overpacking that takes a while).

 

 

Edited March 21, 2020 by Noreen411

[Noreen411]

Sunday 2/23/20 - Continued

 

There was a folder with various documents in the cabin.  The folder kept all the papers in one place.  I remembered to take pictures of some of them.

 

The Celebrity Today.  The rest of the trip the daily Celebrity Today would be left on our bed each night.

 

 

 

 

A letter about the Retreat Lounge, Sundeck, and Luminae

 

 

 

Daily Hours at a glance for the sailing

 

Elite Info (since we’re Diamond Plus on Royal Caribbean we are given Elite status on Celebrity)

 

 

Room Service Menu

 

 

We had several of the hanging door tags for breakfast room service.  

Edited March 21, 2020 by Noreen411

[Noreen411]

Sunday 2/23/20 - Continued

 

While I was having my massage Scott wandered around.  He looked for a game room but didn’t find one. He spent some time at the retreat sundeck then went to the Martini Bar and hung out there.  He brought me a Blue Wave Martini.  I met him at Tuscan Grill.

 

 

 

Scott had Mer Soleil Wine.  I had Sprite and continued sipping on my martini.  We like that every time we order soda we get a can.  We both prefer that over fountain soda.

 

When we were brought bread they cut some fresh herbs into olive oil for us to dip.

 

For our appetizers I had the Burrata and Scott had the beet salad.  The Burrata itself was very good but I didn’t like the weird green marinated tomato that came with it.  Scott’s beet salad was very good (I tried a bite) and I don’t even Iike beets.

 

For our entrees I had filet mignon and a half order of the strozzapreti carbonara.  We also shared an order of the sautéed spinach.  The filet was very good.  The pasta was OK but I wasn’t crazy about the sauce; I am starting to not enjoy the rich heavy sauces that much anymore.  The spinach was very good.

 

Scott had chicken parmigiana and meatballs.  He enjoyed his food.

 

For dessert I had the strawberry shortcake and Scott had the Tiramisu.  The strawberry shortcake was really good; it was light and flavorful.  Scott enjoyed his Tiramisu so much he didn’t even give me a bite; by the time I was about to ask for one he was all finished with it.

Edited March 21, 2020 by Noreen411

[Noreen411]

Sunday 2/23/20 - Continued

 

We finished dinner just in time to go to the show in the theater at 9.  The show was Brian Bradley (stand up and improv).  It was funny and we both enjoyed it.

 

We walked around outside for a bit after the show and it was windy.

 

We went to the casino and played various games until about 1am.

 

When we got back to our cabin there was a reminder card at the door for our dinner in Murano tomorrow.  I It is nice how they leave these reminder cards for you.

 

In the cabin the bed was turned down with chocolates on the pillows, the shades are closed and the lights are dimmed.  I appreciate how they make it so calming to come back to the cabin at the end of the night.

Edited March 21, 2020 by Noreen411

[Bimmer09]

3 hours ago, Noreen411 said:

We had lunch at The Porch.

 

Noreen, I have never eaten at the Porch but your photos and that menu had me drooling!

It is a nice alternative to the super-busy buffet on sail-away day and one I now wish we had taken when we sailed from Southampton on the Silhouette last September .

Thanks for the inspiration!

Norris

[lizinindy]

Awww....I miss Alex, the butler. He was wonderful!

[Noreen411]

16 hours ago, Bimmer09 said:

 

Noreen, I have never eaten at the Porch but your photos and that menu had me drooling!

It is a nice alternative to the super-busy buffet on sail-away day and one I now wish we had taken when we sailed from Southampton on the Silhouette last September .

Thanks for the inspiration!

Norris

I realized I usually have more food photos than anything else.  It’s easier to remember to take a picture when we’re both sitting there rather than when we’re out and about doing things.  The specialty restaurants were really good and Murano ended up being our favorite this trip.

[Noreen411]

16 hours ago, lizinindy said:

Awww....I miss Alex, the butler. He was wonderful!

Us too.  He was great.   I wonder how the crew are doing now with the ships empty of passengers.

Edited March 22, 2020 by Noreen411

[Noreen411]

Celebrity Today for Monday February 24, 2020

 

 

 

And a few documents left with the Celebrity Today

Edited March 22, 2020 by Noreen411

[wendyam76]

1 minute ago, Noreen411 said:

Us too.  He was great.   I wonder how the crew are doing now with the ships empty of passengers.

Loving your review! The crew are enjoying a lot of the guest areas. On Instagram you can see what they are up to using #celebritysilhouette. Do they same for the Edge - they all got a Balcony stateroom and some even got a suite - totally random and it has been lovely to see their faces! Obviously they are also doing drills and deep cleans but they are trying really hard to make it as fun as it can be. 

[Noreen411]

1 minute ago, wendyam76 said:

Loving your review! The crew are enjoying a lot of the guest areas. On Instagram you can see what they are up to using #celebritysilhouette. Do they same for the Edge - they all got a Balcony stateroom and some even got a suite - totally random and it has been lovely to see their faces! Obviously they are also doing drills and deep cleans but they are trying really hard to make it as fun as it can be. 

HI.  I heard about that on Edge. I’m glad to hear they are doing it on other ships too.

I enjoy doing these reviews, even though it takes me a while.  

[Noreen411]

Monday 2/24/20 - At Sea

 

We went to the gym around 6.  Surprisingly it was not crowded.  The gym is very nice with a good amount and nice variety of equipment.

 

 

I stopped at the spa cafe for an Anti-Oxident smoothie.  I wasn’t sure what to get but a man was there raving about them.

 

The person working there had this menu page, probably to remind her what was in each drink so I took a picture.

 

I didn’t like the smoothie, neither did Scott.  But we tried.  We’ll probably try another one at some point.

 

 

We showered and got dressed.  We skipped breakfast today since we want to go to the Lawn Club Grill for lunch for burgers and knew that would be a big lunch.

 

We went to the Retreat Sundeck and hung out up there for a little while.  It is really nice up here with a great view out from the top front of the ship.  It was very windy.  There were blankets in the little huts since it was chilly out.  Several employees stopped by to see if we wanted anything from the bar.

 

The Meet and Mingle was at 10:30.  The cruise director and Captain spoke briefly.  They introduced other crew members.  Then they gave the microphone to anyone who had anything to share.  There was a shout out to see who one cruise critic member is; he was very helpful providing information, but I think everyone wanted to meet him because of his unique screen name - IPeeInThePool.  He identified himself.

 

Here is Scott at the start of the Meet and Mingle looking a bit apprehensive.  I’ve told him all about cruise critic, but this is his first time coming to a Meet and Mingle and he’s never been on the site.  He has never even read one of my reviews.

 

Edited March 22, 2020 by Noreen411