Having second thoughts regarding cruising with Celebrity

[buzz031]

We love this ship! It is our favorite ship of all the ships we have ever been on (including other lines)! We’ve done two transatlantics on her and would not hesitate to book the Silhouette again!

[the penguins]

29 minutes ago, Caipi said:

That sounds good, but according to the deck plan - which I looked up - again - before writing my post, it's the Spa Veranda, I suppose it's only for the Spa guests, isn't it? 

No. Open to all just walk through the Gym. 

[TeeRick]

32 minutes ago, Caipi said:

 

When you read articles about Queen Mary 2 it's often stated that there's a lot smaller part closed to all guests than on other ships. (And in my opinion the restaurant for 'steerage' is the most beautiful of all.)

QM2 is on my bucket list of future cruises. 

Edited October 7 by TeeRick

[Caipi]

16 minutes ago, the penguins said:

No. Open to all just walk through the Gym. 

Great, thanks!

[Dottymac]

Just back from our 2nd cruise with Celebrity. The first was on the Silhouette and the second on the E class Apex. Although the Apex is a stunning ship in terms of decor we much preferred the layout of the Silhouette. It is all down to personal choice and there will be a lot of varying opinions on this forum.

[helen haywood]

4 hours ago, Caipi said:

 

Thank you. 🙂 I know about the SkyLounge, but it is not an outdoor space. (Which I meant with 'open' - sorry, I am hungarian.) And I know about the Mast Bar, but as you wrote it's rear-facing. 

My goal was especially to try a different cruise line. Although we liked QM2 a lot, I'd like to be able to compare it to another Line. So first I chose Celebrity and than the ship / an itinerary. (We've been to Iceland already, and loved it.) 

A little confusion here.  The Mast Bar is midship, starboard side.  The Sunset Bar is aft.

[PTC DAWG]

1 minute ago, helen haywood said:

 The Sunset Bar is aft.

The best outdoor bars at sea, IMHO. 

[Caipi]

14 minutes ago, helen haywood said:

A little confusion here.  The Mast Bar is midship, starboard side.  The Sunset Bar is aft.

Yes, you're right, however, not looking forward. 🙂

[Crazy planning mom]

30 minutes ago, Caipi said:

Yes, you're right, however, not looking forward. 🙂

I love aft views!  Check it out for yourself.

Edited October 7 by Crazy planning mom

[Caipi]

2 minutes ago, Crazy planning mom said:

I love aft views!  Check it out for yourself.

 

I will. 🙂

[Random Cruizer]

The class system is on full display on Edge Class ships, the Solstice Class have some spaces taken away, but aren't nearly so bad. Edge Class leaves a bad taste in my mouth, not interested in buying space on them. Which leaves a cabin open for those who love Edge Class! lol!

[DennysDad]

10 hours ago, Caipi said:

We've only been on one cruise yet, on Cunard's Queen Mary 2, and have booked another one on her as well, plus we have a booking for Celebrity Silhouette (Iceland Intensive).

However, reading all the topics / posts here I am getting almost afraid of cruising with Celebrity, and even consider losing the deposit. 

I mean:

-class system with lots of closed spaces on the ship?!?

(We did not feel any of that on QM2. You could even walk through the space on deck which was reserved for the suite guests.) 

-the coldest ship someone ever was on?

(I hate it when it's cold, and on QM2 it was cold enough, I got a serious cold + always had to run around in/with a pashmina or a cardigan)

-no forward looking open spaces for people in 'steerage'? 

(on QM2 we had the strange 'trail' on top of the ship,/above the staterooms on deck 13,/ the lookout on deck 13, and two observation decks on deck 11 and deck 7. And we loved being on one of this places when the ship was leaving a port.)

-abysmal food in the MDR + very long waiting times? (And we could only get 8:30 pm anyway, normally we eat at 6 pm...) 

 

And my husband does not especially like the interieur, he says it looks like an airport. 😄

 

What are your thoughts, and / or could you give me some advice?

Should I just stop reading topics / reviews about Celebrity Silhouette and see for myself? 🙂

Every sentence has "on QM2". First thing is stop saying that and stop comparing the two. They are not the same. At all. If you continue to compare, you will be disappointed in a new experience.

[Caipi]

16 minutes ago, DennysDad said:

Every sentence has "on QM2". First thing is stop saying that and stop comparing the two. They are not the same. At all. If you continue to compare, you will be disappointed in a new experience.

Can't do that; the whole point of booking Celebrity was to being able to compare our cruise with QM2 to a cruise with another line (which is not a traditional ocean liner etc.) 

 

[DennysDad]

10 minutes ago, Caipi said:

Can't do that; the whole point of booking Celebrity was to being able to compare our cruise with QM2 to a cruise with another line (which is not a traditional ocean liner etc.) 

 

The point should be to have a enjoyable trip. Not to spend the days saying "this isn't like etc". They are two different lines. 

[hcat]

7 hours ago, Caipi said:

 

Thank you for the advice. Is it not possible that another option will be available again anyway? I do not understand how there was no anytime-dining or 6pm dining option for a cruise which was 10 months away...?!? (We are on a waitlist for 6pm, at least on the website, it's not mentioned in the app.) 

If we cannot change it somehow our plan is the buffet as well, we do not want to 'starve' until 8:30 or eat a meal more every day....

we have always worked things out on any X ship.. see maitre d as soon as u board.. lots of "worry planning" can mar your eventual enjoyment of the cruise..

[hcat]

16 minutes ago, Caipi said:

Can't do that; the whole point of booking Celebrity was to being able to compare our cruise with QM2 to a cruise with another line (which is not a traditional ocean liner etc.) 

 

they are not comparable..

one is an Ocean Liner, the other is a cruise ship.. 

 

Cunard, is more class segmented.. but Silhouette is not  other than RETREAT areas.( less than on E Class)

 

Cunard gave us a dress code for each event..X has a guide but has more flexible parameters.

 

If  you already think Cunard is superior. ..how can you give Silhouette a fair shot!

[kaysha2004]

8 hours ago, Caipi said:

 

Thank you for the advice. Is it not possible that another option will be available again anyway? I do not understand how there was no anytime-dining or 6pm dining option for a cruise which was 10 months away...?!? (We are on a waitlist for 6pm, at least on the website, it's not mentioned in the app.) 

If we cannot change it somehow our plan is the buffet as well, we do not want to 'starve' until 8:30 or eat a meal more every day....

Don't worry about your dining time at 8:30. Anytime dining is just as its phrased, anytime. What I've been doing lately is ignoring all preassigned dining times and just show up for Anytime dining. It's not a problem. It's your vacation. You can eat when you want.

[Iamcruzin]

1 hour ago, Random Cruizer said:

The class system is on full display on Edge Class ships, the Solstice Class have some spaces taken away, but aren't nearly so bad. Edge Class leaves a bad taste in my mouth, not interested in buying space on them. Which leaves a cabin open for those who love Edge Class! lol!

They lost me on the Edge class with the infinite balcony. Princess lost me to Celebrity with the tiny Royal class balcony but at least it's a balcony. I'm returning to Princess in 2026. At that point it will be 12yrs since I sailed on Princess.  Unless an S class ship is sailing a similar itinerary in the Med I'll stick with Princess.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

If you think you'll hate it, you probably will.  Hard to enjoy your cruise with that sort of mindset.

[Liao]

12 hours ago, Caipi said:

We've only been on one cruise yet, on Cunard's Queen Mary 2, and have booked another one on her as well, plus we have a booking for Celebrity Silhouette (Iceland Intensive).

However, reading all the topics / posts here I am getting almost afraid of cruising with Celebrity, and even consider losing the deposit. 

I mean:

-class system with lots of closed spaces on the ship?!?

(We did not feel any of that on QM2. You could even walk through the space on deck which was reserved for the suite guests.) 

-the coldest ship someone ever was on?

(I hate it when it's cold, and on QM2 it was cold enough, I got a serious cold + always had to run around in/with a pashmina or a cardigan)

-no forward looking open spaces for people in 'steerage'? 

(on QM2 we had the strange 'trail' on top of the ship,/above the staterooms on deck 13,/ the lookout on deck 13, and two observation decks on deck 11 and deck 7. And we loved being on one of this places when the ship was leaving a port.)

-abysmal food in the MDR + very long waiting times? (And we could only get 8:30 pm anyway, normally we eat at 6 pm...) 

 

And my husband does not especially like the interieur, he says it looks like an airport. 😄

 

What are your thoughts, and / or could you give me some advice?

Should I just stop reading topics / reviews about Celebrity Silhouette and see for myself? 🙂

Caste system, steerage, catching a cold due to the temp on the ship!  Lots to digest here.

[Caipi]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

they are not comparable..

one is an Ocean Liner, the other is a cruise ship.. 

 

Cunard, is more class segmented.. but Silhouette is not  other than RETREAT areas.( less than on E Class)

 

Cunard gave us a dress code for each event..X has a guide but has more flexible parameters.

 

If  you already think Cunard is superior. ..how can you give Silhouette a fair shot!

 

I do not think Cunard is superior, how could I, if it was the only 'cruise ship' I ever was on? 🙂

 

[Caipi]

OK I pass I am just the dumbest and most evil person on the world, sorry for asking for advice.

Happy cruising and bye. 🙂

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, Caipi said:

OK I pass I am just the dumbest and most evil person on the world, sorry for asking for advice.

Happy cruising and bye. 🙂

Ignore the haters...you've gotten lots of great intel and advice in this thread...And by starting the topic, I was prompted to look into Cunard.  So thank you.

[budmeister]

No need to worry about a Celebrity cruise. We sometimes book indoor cabins, sometimes balcony's, never a suite, and still do not feel a class system. If you pay for a suite, you get some extra spaces you can be in. If you don't you, you don't know what you are missing. If you pay for more stuff, you get more stuff. We do not, and love cruising Celebrity and RC as probably among their lowest paying cruisers.

 

I may miss the availability of a lounge with great views that has been repurposed for other more money making reasons. But RC is doing it too, and it certainly is nothing to be worried about. And I do not think that the Silhouette is part of that right now.

[toucan49]

17 hours ago, Caipi said:

We've only been on one cruise yet, on Cunard's Queen Mary 2, and have booked another one on her as well, plus we have a booking for Celebrity Silhouette (Iceland Intensive).

However, reading all the topics / posts here I am getting almost afraid of cruising with Celebrity, and even consider losing the deposit. 

I mean:

-class system with lots of closed spaces on the ship?!?

(We did not feel any of that on QM2. You could even walk through the space on deck which was reserved for the suite guests.) 

-the coldest ship someone ever was on?

(I hate it when it's cold, and on QM2 it was cold enough, I got a serious cold + always had to run around in/with a pashmina or a cardigan)

-no forward looking open spaces for people in 'steerage'? 

(on QM2 we had the strange 'trail' on top of the ship,/above the staterooms on deck 13,/ the lookout on deck 13, and two observation decks on deck 11 and deck 7. And we loved being on one of this places when the ship was leaving a port.)

-abysmal food in the MDR + very long waiting times? (And we could only get 8:30 pm anyway, normally we eat at 6 pm...) 

 

And my husband does not especially like the interieur, he says it looks like an airport. 😄

 

What are your thoughts, and / or could you give me some advice?

Should I just stop reading topics / reviews about Celebrity Silhouette and see for myself? 🙂

Have your travel agent put you on a waiting list for the 6 pm dining. That's what we do and we have always gotten early dining.