SILHOUETTE BTB 2/22 - 3/7

[Hawkstar33]

4nt Key West, Nassau, followed by 10nt, St Maarten, Martinique, Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua....First timers on this ship, and we were not disappointed. Embarkation was a breeze.  We arrived around 1:00pm. Had all our documents ready, and it took 10 mins. Right to our room, dropped off our carryon items, and off to the Oceanview.  Usual busy, hungry crowd..Many food choices, good overall.  Been on Equinox, and Eclipse, so expected a similar experience. Was quite pleased with the Sunset Bar area.  Instead of the grass on both sides with some chairs, there is no grass and many awesome seating choices to enjoy while sunning with a cocktail. We spent a lot of time there during the day.  Bar staff was excellent back there.  Port side smoking, starboard no smoking..We had the classic Bev package for both trips....This first trip we ate at the buffet for our meals. 2 meals a day was good for us..We don't go to the MDR, our choice. Getting a drink was a challenge on this trip, especially the Pool, and Mast Bar.  3 or 4 deep at times..Short cruise...People got their fill for sure, as did we. After day 1, folks got real smart about getting up early to get a chair on deck...There were the usual early riser, chair savers, and for good reason,  by 10am it was best of luck finding a couple chairs together.  Cafe el baccio was always busy, and had different choices in the cookie, cake, and pastry area..There was music on deck but volume was not very loud. A variety of cruising tunes...Guy played guitar and sang really good at sunset bar a few times. Ensemble lounge had a violinist, and a guitar player entertaining most nights around dinner time....2 different female singers with bands, played in the Grand foyer, and Sky lounge....Key West great to walk around...Eat breakfast and let the stores and shops open. Then go out..Nassau stayed on ship...Next trip 90 people stayed and did the btb.  Easy process, to be walked off thru customs and then back onboard.  Couple hours of your own ship, and then the next group of happy cruisers came aboard. Same room, but his trip we switched in up. No dining room again, but we caught a good deal on the unlimited specialty dining, and it was a great choice for us.  Porch twice for lunch on sea days...Very good, and the seafood tower was very fresh...$18 extra/ $15 second person....Lawn Club great food.. Went for lunch special burgers once, and dinner once...The Signature burger for lunch was AWESOME..Wife had the ***** burger, and raved...Different then the Mast grill burgers, which we had a couple times also. Steaks in Lawn Club were very good also, and The Warm Cookie, is the real deal for dessert, like others have said. Both places were knew to us, and we enjoyed both.  Tuscan, Murano, and Sushi, covered the other nights, and were all very good....No change ever in the menu, but we like the choices. Service was excellent in all restaurants... Ok so big difference on this cruise other then being 6 nts longer, was the crowd...They were up real early and swarmed the pool, and track deck.  Snooze you lose on sea days, forget about it.  Premium chair savers.  Entertainment wise, forgot his name, but the illusionist was excellent...Comedian was good, and shows overall good...Casino packed on first trip, not so much on the second...Got to see several members of the crew, who we had met on other trips. A couple guys for over 15 yrs...Capt Nigel did his daily weather, and coordinates at 9:45 daily....Overall condition of ship was very good, and clean...Crew always working....We had no issues at all, and are looking to book this ship again...I will say that a few of the ports were quite a walk for those who may have trouble...Not any cart, or shuttle service except the bike peddlers at one of the ports.....That needs to be addressed, as majority of folks on second trip were 60 plus yrs of age....Many that do stay onboard have been to the islands before, so the choice is yours...Can of Diet Coke over $5, bottled water over $4, Heineken $11...If interested without package.....Quite a few Yeti, Stanley, water bottle carriers...Juices, coffees, teas, were no charge at buffet or spa cafe, unless you wanted the spa smoothie...Expect the specialty dining crew to be all around the ship throughout the cruise, trying to sell you a night or a package....Other then that, Ask if you have any questions I may be able to answer...

[Veinless]

I didn’t know there was an illusionist onboard. Their app could really use some work. 

[lola2013]

Wow…I didn’t think I could get any more excited about my upcoming Silhouette B2B!!!  We will be doing the same itineraries with the exception of Tortola instead of Martinique.  
 

…a couple of quick questions please.

   Were you able to book LCG for lunch once you boarded?  We have dinner booked for the first night of the longer cruise and definitely plan lunch for one of the sea days.  
    We plan to leave the ship on turnaround day after going through customs.  Do you know how early we can do that?  Hoping to have a quick breakfast at OVC, move the contents of our safe to the new cabin and go.  No later than 8:30am is the goal so we can run to a few favorite spots on A1A and return to the ship.

 

Thanks again for the great review…I think it’s time to pack!  27 days and counting.

Susan 😎

    
 

[Hawkstar33]

4 minutes ago, lola2013 said:

Wow…I didn’t think I could get any more excited about my upcoming Silhouette B2B!!!  We will be doing the same itineraries with the exception of Tortola instead of Martinique.  
 

…a couple of quick questions please.

   Were you able to book LCG for lunch once you boarded?  We have dinner booked for the first night of the longer cruise and definitely plan lunch for one of the sea days.  
    We plan to leave the ship on turnaround day after going through customs.  Do you know how early we can do that?  Hoping to have a quick breakfast at OVC, move the contents of our safe to the new cabin and go.  No later than 8:30am is the goal so we can run to a few favorite spots on A1A and return to the ship.

 

Thanks again for the great review…I think it’s time to pack!  27 days and counting.

Susan 😎

    
 

Yes.  Was very easy to book for lunch, or dinner.  Lunch is specialty burgers..And they were..Great steaks at dinner too..Turnaround day you get a transit pass and can leave with the walkoffs as soon as ship is cleared after docking, as some have excursions booked in Ft L for the day. Buffet is open at 6am for breakfast giving you plenty of time..earlier the better as it will pack out.  Enjoy

[lola2013]

28 minutes ago, Hawkstar33 said:

Yes.  Was very easy to book for lunch, or dinner.  Lunch is specialty burgers..And they were..Great steaks at dinner too..Turnaround day you get a transit pass and can leave with the walkoffs as soon as ship is cleared after docking, as some have excursions booked in Ft L for the day. Buffet is open at 6am for breakfast giving you plenty of time..earlier the better as it will pack out.  Enjoy

Thanks for all the info.  We love the LCG burger…enjoyed it on Reflection.

So glad you had a great time!

Susan 😎

[Hawkstar33]

54 minutes ago, lola2013 said:

Wow…I didn’t think I could get any more excited about my upcoming Silhouette B2B!!!  We will be doing the same itineraries with the exception of Tortola instead of Martinique.  
 

…a couple of quick questions please.

   Were you able to book LCG for lunch once you boarded?  We have dinner booked for the first night of the longer cruise and definitely plan lunch for one of the sea days.  
    We plan to leave the ship on turnaround day after going through customs.  Do you know how early we can do that?  Hoping to have a quick breakfast at OVC, move the contents of our safe to the new cabin and go.  No later than 8:30am is the goal so we can run to a few favorite spots on A1A and return to the ship.

 

Thanks again for the great review…I think it’s time to pack!  27 days and counting.

Susan 😎

    
 

 

54 minutes ago, lola2013 said:

Wow…I didn’t think I could get any more excited about my upcoming Silhouette B2B!!!  We will be doing the same itineraries with the exception of Tortola instead of Martinique.  
 

…a couple of quick questions please.

   Were you able to book LCG for lunch once you boarded?  We have dinner booked for the first night of the longer cruise and definitely plan lunch for one of the sea days.  
    We plan to leave the ship on turnaround day after going through customs.  Do you know how early we can do that?  Hoping to have a quick breakfast at OVC, move the contents of our safe to the new cabin and go.  No later than 8:30am is the goal so we can run to a few favorite spots on A1A and return to the ship.

 

Thanks again for the great review…I think it’s time to pack!  27 days and counting.

Susan 😎

    
 

Not totally sure about the putting items in the new room safe...People don't have to be out of their rooms until 8:30, which is also the time the breakfast closes down.  You don't get access to your new room card/key until you pass thru customs on the turnaround, while taking the long walk back onboard.  Crew member walked along with us and gave us new cards.  

[CruisersTimesThree]

We were on the 2nd leg of this trip and had a great time! Had included speciality dining so ate 6 out of 10 nights in these venues and totally enjoyed every meal. Will say that the nights we dined in Luminae I had a hard time finding something that appealed to me, as they have gotten to fancy with the choices. Thankfully they offer the MDR menu on Silhouette so I was able to mix and match. Breakfast was the star for me in Luminae. 
As stated by the OP, the crowd on the ship were older, but I was stunned by how empty some venues were by 10pm! The casino only had a handful of players, the martini bar was dead, not a soul sitting there when I passed by to get to the elevators. 
Entertainment was good. The illusionist was very entertaining. The singer in the theater was talented and the added bonus was that if you were a fan of the tv show Chicago Med you knew him. We actually had a wonderful conversation with him on the pool with his mom the afternoon of his scheduled performance. Really nice, polite, personable guy. 
If the soloist Cancio is on your cruise be sure to see him! He did a set in the Retreat Lounge one evening and he was fantastic! 
Perfect weather on port days. My favorite was Barbados, most beautiful beaches I’ve ever been to. We’ve been to the islands several times, but I’ll always get myself to the beach here. 
All and all a very enjoyable vacation. Silhouette is our favorite ship and we hope to be back onboard in the future. 

Edited March 9 by CruisersTimesThree

[hcat]

1 hour ago, CruisersTimesThree said:

We were on the 2nd leg of this trip and had a great time! Had included speciality dining so ate 6 out of 10 nights in these venues and totally enjoyed every meal. Will say that the nights we dined in Luminae I had a hard time finding something that appealed to me, as they have gotten to fancy with the choices. Thankfully they offer the MDR menu on Silhouette so I was able to mix and match. Breakfast was the star for me in Luminae. 
As stated by the OP, the crowd on the ship were older, but I was stunned by how empty some venues were by 10pm! The casino only had a handful of players, the martini bar was dead, not a soul sitting there when I passed by to get to the elevators. 
Entertainment was good. The illusionist was very entertaining. The singer in the theater was talented and the added bonus was that if you were a fan of the tv show Chicago Med you knew him. We actually had a wonderful conversation with him on the pool with his mom the afternoon of his scheduled performance. Really nice, polite, personable guy. 
If the soloist Cancio is on your cruise be sure to see him! He did a set in the Retreat Lounge one evening and he was fantastic! 
Perfect weather on port days. My favorite was Barbados, most beautiful beaches I’ve ever been to. We’ve been to the islands several times, but I’ll always get myself to the beach here. 
All and all a very enjoyable vacation. Silhouette is our favorite ship and we hope to be back onboard in the future. 

which Barbados beach is ur favorite?

[CruisersTimesThree]

15 minutes ago, hcat said:

which Barbados beach is ur favorite?

We always prebook loungers and umbrellas at Harbour Lights which is at Carlisle Bay. Beautiful beach with water activities, food and drinks.