Short review of March 7 sailing to the ABC islands.

[dan722]

Just a brief review of our recent cruise to the southern Caribbean. We sailed from Port Everglades on March 7. On the Silhouette.
The captain only referred to himself as Capt. George so I'm not sure of his full name. We were told by a staff member
that the ship was 35 to 40% full. The number she quoted was 1160. It was shocking to see usually crowded spaces
nearly empty. The captain twice in the 11 days we were on board mentioned COVID cases. The first time he said
but the number of positives was less than 1%. The other time towards the end of the cruise you mentioned that
the positive numbers were up to about 1%. He also mentioned that most were crewmembers. That really surprised me
because you rarely saw any staff person or crewmember without a mask.

We had won a move-up offer to a sky suite so this was a new experience. How amazing!
We were beginning to feel a little too pampered towards the end of the cruise because the crewmembers
were so attentive and determined to meet our every last need and that seemed a bit much at times.
It was a very nice experience. This was our 15th cruise on celebrity, and was thoroughly enjoyable.

We did eat in lumenea. The food was excellent but we were a bit disappointed that the menu had
fewer options than the MDR or Blu. Typically we sail Aqua class and are very happy in Blu.
We did eat in Blu one night, Tuscan Grille one night, Murano one night, and Qusine one night.
The service was good and all of these restaurants, and a little better in the suite restaurant.
I will say that after dining in Murano for so many years it really could use some updating.
I don't think we would dine there again unless we were certain that the menu had changed with some new items.

The retreat deck was nice but totally lacked any shade whatsoever. Unless you got one of the two shaded cabanas you were out of luck.
The retreat sundeck did have ample shade. The retreat lounge was very nice. Great service and wonderful staff. Disembarkation
from the retreat lounge is the easiest I have ever done.

We did get off the ship in Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, and Cartagena. We were hoping to use the hop on – hop off bus
in Cartagena but the bus no longer comes to the port. You can purchase tickets from celebrity or several online
places. But to use the ticket you must take a taxi to downtown Cartagena.
On the islands we did our own exploring. Interesting things to do in all of these three little islands.
We also stopped in the Bahamas but did not get off the ship.

We didn't attend any of the shows in the theater. There was typically one or two every night.
The other on board entertainment was pretty good, bands and an a cappella group.

For some reason most of the cruise was extremely windy. And since this was our first cruise sense 2020
I don't know if that is unusual or not. Otherwise the weather was about as perfect as you could ask.

I would encourage anyone who is thinking of cruising anytime soon to go for it. I think you are likely to experience
a greatly reduced passenger load.

[johnlcruise]

Nice review. Thanks for taking the time to report about Your Most Excellent Adventure..

[DaKahuna]

Thank you for the excellent review.   

 

Glad to hear great things about Silhouette.  We are embarking on her a week from today and doing the same itinerary (if Bimini was your Bahama's port).  

 

 

[vms]

Thank you for this info! I was planning the HOHO bus tour in Cartagena through the cruise line so I wouldn't have to get a taxi, so it is helpful to know that I would need a taxi anyway.

[jelayne]

I haven't been on the Silhouette but thought the Retreat Sundeck was 2 levels 15 & 16 is there another Retreat Deck?

[granddutchess]

Thank you for this review.  Sailing on the Silhouette and cannot wait to get back out to sea.

[dan722]

4 hours ago, vms said:

Thank you for this info! I was planning the HOHO bus tour in Cartagena through the cruise line so I wouldn't have to get a taxi, so it is helpful to know that I would need a taxi anyway.

I think if you buy the ticket from celebrity they also take you downtown. But I'm not sure about.

[dan722]

4 hours ago, jelayne said:

I haven't been on the Silhouette but thought the Retreat Sundeck was 2 levels 15 & 16 is there another Retreat Deck?

You are correct, the Retreat is on 15 and 16. But since I use a wheelchair there was no way to get to 16.