Sept UK Staycation - Aqua or Retreat for a Relaxing Break?

[Staffordshirecruiser]

Hello, we are about to book one of the Silhouette Sept round UK sailings.  We like a hassle free, relaxing experience, any thoughts as to whether Aqua or Retreat fit the bill best?  We aren’t big drinkers, and don’t intend to go on excursions, we aren’t particularly interested in specialty dining - gosh we sound boring don’t we?  One other thing, I may need to make a couple of teams calls when at sea?  

[Mark_T]

Aqua is best if you will use the included spa facilities and if you want access to 'Blu' as your main dining location, just check the menus and see if the food there is to your liking.

 

If you are not a fan of 'Blu' and the Spa then you might as well just book a Veranda and save the money, or go big and step up to the Retreat.

 

You will not really get the full suite experience on these 'staycation' cruises but you will have access to Luminae as your main dining location, so once again check the menus to see if that suits you, and you'll have access to the Retreat lounge, but with the suites mostly sailing fully occupied it may get a little busy at times and you may actually find there is limited availability anyway...

 

The Teams calls at sea may be a bit challenging even if you upgrade to the streaming wifi service, be prepared to do voice only if you have to.

[NeroliGirl]

Both Aqua and Retreat have their own exclusive restaurant (Blu for Aqua, Luminae for Retreat) and the food is excellent in both (although Luminae marginally better). Retreat guests also have their own exclusive lounge (the Retreat lounge) which means you can always guarantee somewhere quiet to sit and enjoy a drink at any time of the day. 

 

I've just disembarked from a week on board Silhouette (in a Concierge stateroom), and as passenger numbers are still fairly low you won't have any difficulty finding a seat in one of the many bars, so you might not need the Retreat lounge anyway.

 

Suite locations tend to be central and close to the elevators (except the corner aft suites), whereas Aqua cabins tend to be in less desirable locations - although many are closer to the Spa which is convenient if you intend to make use of Persian Garden which is exclusive to Aqua guests (although other cabin categories can purchase a day pass on port days).

 

Suites include the Premium drinks package (which you might not make full use of), and also streaming wifi (which you would need for Teams calls). When I was on board I had to check in with the office from time to time and joined several Teams calls, some with camera on, and the wifi was up to the job although did get a bit flaky at one point on a sea day.

 

If the ship was at full occupancy and you could guarantee hot sunny weather I would go for a suite, but for the UK itineraries in September I would probably opt for Aqua, get the best room location you can, and pay to upgrade to streaming wifi (you might want to look at the Elevate and Indulge add-ons which both include it I think)

 

Enjoy your cruise - we're on the 4th Sept sailing!

 

 

[chemmo]

You need to decide what you want from your cruise...

 

If a bigger room is important you need to upgrade to suite level. Aqua rooms are standard size.

 

If you would like access to Persian Gardens then choose Aqua, even top suites do not have access.

 

Totally agree about checking the menus for both Blu and Luminae to see which has most appeal for you. Also look at the MDR menus and see what you think...

 

Upgrading your internet may be a must do if you do not book a suite.

 

Whilst you say you are not interested in speciality restaurants there is a lot variety on Silhouette. We plan on dining most nights in them. On cooler cruises the Lawn Grill and The Porch can be great ways of enjoying the deck areas in the evening. So a standard veranda plus dining package could also be an option.

 

Many have reported that the usual ‘events’ in the Retreat lounge are not happening for obvious reasons. Also they are reporting a limit to guest numbers in the Retreat Lounge with an overspill into the ensemble lounge. Hence you are missing out on some of the usual suite treats....However, if you get a suite at a good price it gives you the option to try the sweet suite life and see if it is for you...

 

Strongly suggest some serious browsing...

 

 

[Mark_T]

1 hour ago, NeroliGirl said:

(you might want to look at the Elevate and Indulge add-ons which both include it I think)

Indulge does include the wifi upgrade to 'streaming' , but Elevate does not.

[Staffordshirecruiser]

Thankyou for all the advice, really appreciated.  Ive priced up the indulge package and it adds £700 onto the aqua price, just wondered, could I pay for the WiFi upgrade on its own?  When I make the teams call, I could do them on teams without video?

 

 

[Mark_T]

Yes, you can just upgrade the wifi on its own.

 

The whole Indulge package would only make sense if you needed the Premium drinks upgrade and you had a need for the extra OBC as well.

[Staffordshirecruiser]

Thanks Mark, I think I’m going to go with the Aqua and WiFi upgrade.  

[Mark_T]

Have you picked which cruise yet?

[Staffordshirecruiser]

Torn between the three Sept sailings, the 9 night one has a great itinerary, but it’s higher cost per night.  Possibly 4th?

[upwarduk]

9 hours ago, Staffordshirecruiser said:

Torn between the three Sept sailings, the 9 night one has a great itinerary, but it’s higher cost per night.  Possibly 4th?

I found the preparation for our cruise a hassle.
1)Remember you will need a PCR test 3 days beforehand. Do you have time to arrange that?
2)Also you have to check in and print off your Express pass. That was a problem as I was given x2 and my husband none. It took a few days to get that sorted.
3)Evidence of double vaccination. The QR code expires, so I had to print our evidence out again.

4) Lastly don’t forget your passport. When we embarked the couple in front of us didn’t have theirs, they said they had been told they didn’t need it. They were taken aside. I don’t know what happened to them, but ours was scanned, as was all the above evidence, which I printed out, as the Wi-Fi in the port is poor.

[chemmo]

19 minutes ago, upwarduk said:

I found the preparation for our cruise a hassle.
1)Remember you will need a PCR test 3 days beforehand. Do you have time to arrange that?
2)Also you have to check in and print off your Express pass. That was a problem as I was given x2 and my husband none. It took a few days to get that sorted.
3)Evidence of double vaccination. The QR code expires, so I had to print our evidence out again.

4) Lastly don’t forget your passport. When we embarked the couple in front of us didn’t have theirs, they said they had been told they didn’t need it. They were taken aside. I don’t know what happened to them, but ours was scanned, as was all the above evidence, which I printed out, as the Wi-Fi in the port is poor.

 

So all this policy about ‘lets go paperless’ isn’t worth the paper it is written on! I must confess we still print copies of everything for all holidays, we certainly will for this one...

[Mark_T]

10 hours ago, Staffordshirecruiser said:

Torn between the three Sept sailings, the 9 night one has a great itinerary, but it’s higher cost per night.  Possibly 4th?

We are on the 9 night (18th) cruise, if the ports work out they are all places we have not been so that is a bonus, if not then we have plenty of time to relax on the ship.

 

If the ports are not really of interest to you then I'd certainly pick one of the other two, but I'll echo the comments from upwarduk, there is a lot to do, and frankly the 4th doesn't give you time to do it.

 

For that one you'd need to be doing the PCR test tomorrow ideally, I'd rather do the next one and take some of the rush out of the process.

[Mark_T]

3 minutes ago, chemmo said:

So all this policy about ‘lets go paperless’ isn’t worth the paper it is written on! I must confess we still print copies of everything for all holidays, we certainly will for this one...

You can go paperless, but the signal reception in the Southampton terminal is not great so you'll make the staff checking you in very happy if you have paper copies.

[chemmo]

We saw a distant ship smoke on the horizon last night ...Silhouette having left Liverpool and following down the coast of North Wales. From our favourite caravan site in Wales we tracked her movement and saw her emerge as she passed (very slowly) the Great Orme...

 

Nice to think in a couple of weeks time we will be on board in the Lawn Grill at the same time looking out for the lights of Wales...

[upwarduk]

2 hours ago, chemmo said:

 

So all this policy about ‘lets go paperless’ isn’t worth the paper it is written on! I must confess we still print copies of everything for all holidays, we certainly will for this one...

I had read on social media that the Wi-Fi at Southampton is poor and advice was to print out or take screen shots of all documents. We decided to print out as we thought it quicker than be searching on 2 phones.

We were told as we entered the terminal building to bring up the Express pass there, as the Wi-fi was best in the doorway.

That of course wouldn’t be any good, when the agent was taking screen shots of all our evidence with his iPad.

[hampshirelad]

Just come back from a 7 day staycation cruise where we stayed in a Sky Suite. We  have had a Suite in the past and one reason this time was a birthday .We were early bookers and we were tempted with a very full package plus a large amount of OBC. Make no mistake we did enjoy it  despite the limitations that Covid brought with it.

 

 

 

Looking at the sailing on the 11 th Sept an Aqua cabin at £1100 has to be good value with a Suite price nearly twice that.

We have stayed in Aqua many times, but you need to study your cabin position on the deck plan

Be aware of the overhang on deck 12 to 11 where most of the  Aqua cabins are. The deck plan will explain it better. Also think about how the sun will fall on your balcony and which side of the ship might work best for sun and views

 

The service both  Luminae and the Retreat are first class, but we were disappointed with the menu in Luminae and many guests were ordering from the MDR. As already said events in the Retreat have been curtailed but there was always plenty of capacity. The Retreat sundeck is weather dependent and is windy when the ship is at full speed, an experience for warmer destinations.

 

The specialist restaurants have become a bit of Theatre  .  The flambé lobster has been heavily prepped and I cannot remember the last time I saw a soufflé.

 

The WIFI is not great even with the enhanced package  

 

Whatever your choice you won't regret it

[Definitas]

We have just come back of our second Silhouette staycation and had retreat on the first and a standard balcony on the second. I would strongly suggest doing what has already been suggested and check the menus on the App. We were not particularly impressed with the menu in Luminae and would want them to pay me to eat in Blu. Food in Murano is way better than either and Tuscan has some good offerings and is a delight if you get a window table. I don’t see the point of paying to eat in Luminae and eating from the MDR menu. Wifi is very unreliable on the ship and on the last cruise we had elite streaming minutes and the included surf minutes. There was no discernible difference and we struggled to send photos. It may be always included according to the description but not always available would be more accurate. The retreat sundeck is at the front of the ship and will almost certainly be chilly, particularly on sea days. Motion of the ship is significantly more noticeable at the front of the ship which can negate the relaxing atmosphere of Aqua. I would say go for a midship veranda cabin and spend the money you save on some nights in the speciality restaurants. Sushi on 5 serves asian style food other than sushi and has excellent soups (rahmen) and dim-sum and makes a pleasant change. Save your suite experience for a warm weather cruise. 

[Mark_T]

3 minutes ago, Definitas said:

I would say go for a midship veranda cabin and spend the money you save on some nights in the speciality restaurants. Sushi on 5 serves asian style food other than sushi and has excellent soups (rahmen) and dim-sum and makes a pleasant change. Save your suite experience for a warm weather cruise. 

We've done exactly that ourselves.

 

We greatly enjoyed our previous cruise in a Sky Suite on Millennium (HK to Singapore) and the weather made the Retreat sun deck a useful resource. We also felt the various invitational 'behind the scenes' tours onboard were a great perk as well, but between Covid and the weather we can expect north of Scotland in September we decided this was a time to figure out if we preferred speciality dining to Luminae. 

 

I'd have to say though that we did enjoy Luminae and probably only reverted to the MDR menu once or twice over 14 nights. ... but I know that the menu descriptions and the type of food is not to everyone's taste.

[Staffordshirecruiser]

Thanks to everyone for their advice and experience. I’m thinking of waiting for one of the uk international cruises now they are so close,

[Wichenford Wolf]

On 8/31/2021 at 8:42 PM, Definitas said:

We have just come back of our second Silhouette staycation and had retreat on the first and a standard balcony on the second. I would strongly suggest doing what has already been suggested and check the menus on the App. We were not particularly impressed with the menu in Luminae and would want them to pay me to eat in Blu. Food in Murano is way better than either and Tuscan has some good offerings and is a delight if you get a window table. I don’t see the point of paying to eat in Luminae and eating from the MDR menu. Wifi is very unreliable on the ship and on the last cruise we had elite streaming minutes and the included surf minutes. There was no discernible difference and we struggled to send photos. It may be always included according to the description but not always available would be more accurate. The retreat sundeck is at the front of the ship and will almost certainly be chilly, particularly on sea days. Motion of the ship is significantly more noticeable at the front of the ship which can negate the relaxing atmosphere of Aqua. I would say go for a midship veranda cabin and spend the money you save on some nights in the speciality restaurants. Sushi on 5 serves asian style food other than sushi and has excellent soups (rahmen) and dim-sum and makes a pleasant change. Save your suite experience for a warm weather cruise. 

We’re considering the now UK itinerary for the three nights at the end of October. Currently Aqua is showing £599 and Retreat £799. From what has been said I think, although not much extra, we should do as you suggest and save our suite experience for warmer weather.

 

I disagree with you about Blu however. We were on the 14th August cruise in Aqua and Blu was a great highlight. While not everything on the menu suited me, there was always something and we found it always cooked excellently and to our liking. The real highlight was the intimacy of the restaurant and wonderful waiting staff. The wine flowed freely (literally, with a Premium package), including some good organic wines which my wife can only drink.

 

They do say “never go back” and it’s possible if we rebook Aqua we might be disappointed - but we’ll probably take the risk!

 

Paul and Karen

[upwarduk]

On 9/7/2021 at 1:57 PM, Staffordshirecruiser said:

Thanks to everyone for their advice and experience. I’m thinking of waiting for one of the uk international cruises now they are so close,

—and now their itineraries have changed, Portugal has been dropped. Spain and the Spanish islands only + Celebrity excursions in all ports.

[Definitas]

1 hour ago, Wichenford Wolf said:

We’re considering the now UK itinerary for the three nights at the end of October. Currently Aqua is showing £599 and Retreat £799. From what has been said I think, although not much extra, we should do as you suggest and save our suite experience for warmer weather.

 

I disagree with you about Blu however. We were on the 14th August cruise in Aqua and Blu was a great highlight. While not everything on the menu suited me, there was always something and we found it always cooked excellently and to our liking. The real highlight was the intimacy of the restaurant and wonderful waiting staff. The wine flowed freely (literally, with a Premium package), including some good organic wines which my wife can only drink.

 

They do say “never go back” and it’s possible if we rebook Aqua we might be disappointed - but we’ll probably take the risk!

 

Paul and Karen

I know quite a number of people who love Aqua because of Blu. It just isn’t for us but I recognise it that we all have different tastes and it is good that Celebrity has a range of options. We liked the service level and smaller feel (I couldn’t quite describe it as intimacy) of Luminae but we just didn’t like the menus. Indeed, experiencing the staffing levels in the Retreat areas reminded us that Celebrity service used to be like that across the whole ship and, sadly, you now have to pay extra for something that everyone experienced before Celebrity decided to become a mainstream cruise line rather than a premium one. We got a great discount for the suite which tempted us to try is and, if we saw a similar discount in the future for a warmer itinerary we would no doubt do it again. I’m not suggesting going back to the heady days of the magnificent midnight buffet (when people could file through before it opened to admire breathtaking displays and ice carvings) and when cabin stewards wore white gloves and dress uniforms on formal nights but I would happily pay more for our cruises to go back to the staffing levels that used to prevail when it was unthinkable to have to go and find a waiter or queue for lengthy periods at a bar where only one person is serving (and sometimes having to take time out to make cappuccino as now happens in the passport bar. Celebrity started a journey downhill some time ago and I think they went past the logical balance point and I hope they swing back up from where they are now. 

[hawkesbaynz]

We are trying a Suite for the first time on our Staycation. Even a move up bid up to a Celebrity Suite! Hope it doesn’t spoil us. We usually sail Aqua and have x3 verandahs booked through to 2023. 
 

I do not think I will ever be able to book The Retreat package ever again at these prices in a revolutionised ship. Usually the prices are > twice the price. We could sail Regent or Crystal for that. We are trying Oceania next year and the price pretty similar! 
 

What galls me is the UK pricing. The US site has a fabulous 20% sail at the moment. Nothing on the UK site. Booked an ABC cruise in the Spring and the US price is significantly cheaper. May book on the Us site in the future. 
 

Have heard the 3 night cruise maybe going to Dover and Portland! 

[Wichenford Wolf]

14 minutes ago, hawkesbaynz said:

We are trying a Suite for the first time on our Staycation. Even a move up bid up to a Celebrity Suite! Hope it doesn’t spoil us. We usually sail Aqua and have x3 verandahs booked through to 2023. 
 

I do not think I will ever be able to book The Retreat package ever again at these prices in a revolutionised ship. Usually the prices are > twice the price. We could sail Regent or Crystal for that. We are trying Oceania next year and the price pretty similar! 
 

What galls me is the UK pricing. The US site has a fabulous 20% sail at the moment. Nothing on the UK site. Booked an ABC cruise in the Spring and the US price is significantly cheaper. May book on the Us site in the future. 
 

Have heard the 3 night cruise maybe going to Dover and Portland! 

You’re right, it will be going there. We’ve just booked (Aqua).