|
Better late than never… Here is my review.CELEBRITY SILHOUETTE CRUISE, March 1-8 2015New ship. We had room 8111, Deck 8 forward. Our bed was near the patio door, so blue sky and sound of waves morning, noon… and night J A few reviews mention “cramped space”, but we had no space issues. The bathroom was big enough for two, the shower was hot and clean and the room was spotless (our 2 stewards made the bed in the morning, cleaned up during the day and turned the bed down each night). Some folks had room service on their deck; we rose early every morning to walk, exercise (oval track, gym and 14 flights of stairs) and I even took a yoga class on day 2, –NOT relaxing tho, no vini breathing, more power yoga, fast repetitions and geez Louise, we all forgot about the rocking boat, everyone lost their balance at least once lol You had to be there…FOOD: 10/10 Wowwww. Gastronomy at every turn! Thankfully, I only gained ONE pound J The Buffet was well stocked for every taste, from gluten free to sushi, from fresh fruit to deli, from healthy stir-frys to fresh breads/salads, and of course desserts galore. We did not visit the specialty restaurants but heard only good things from other tourists. Our party’s evening meals were in the Grande Cuvée grand dining room with delicious 4-course dining. The staff was multilingual, professional, and funny. We had the CLASSIC Beverage Package for this trip, which meant a choice from a long list of free drinks and wines up to $112 per day per person, no brainer. During the day, free ice water everywhere and yummy Mango daiquiris, Coco locos and beer, and evenings with Cavas, Merlot, Cabernet and Pinot Grigio, what more do you need? J Of course, specialty coffees with a lot of liquor in them were extra, as were specialty drinks like martinis, exotic drinks and liquors like scotch, expensive vodkas etc.ENTERTAINMENT: The best I’ve seen e-ver! Very professional, Vegas calibre, imho. Stand-up comedians, circus acts, dancers, even a crew talent night. Each night, a pleasure to behold. The Casino was packed every night (not interested) and there was even a karaoke bar. Several interesting bars and lounges. Daily live music around pool and evenings in a couple of bars and the Central hall, all top notch.The head Entertainment rep, Rich, an English chap with over 17 years experience, was hilarious, multi-talented, great dancer, M-C, great guy all around and fantastic ambassador for Celebrity. Our Greek captain partook in several presentations, including the talent night; gruff-looking, stone-faced facade but actually pretty funny. He kept calling the ship “the Seep”, which of course fueled Rich to make fun of him at every chance JSTOPS:San Juan: quite a large city, wonderful view and entrance to port and Old City, where we docked. The Old City looks somewhat like Old Havana, coloured buildings, palm trees, street vendors, bars, hotels. The fortress and fortifications were interesting, and the view, breathtaking. Shopping was quite expensive, tho, so bargaining was a must. We stopped for drinks at one of the only bar-terraces we saw, the mojitos cost $10! Yikes! Quite the surprise when the bill came around… Lesson learned: ask the price when u order! Duh! There were no beaches nearby so just walked around the Old City. The 3 elderly ladies in our group took the guided tour of the island in an A/C minivan… and loved it!. We were in port from 3 to 6 pm, with the boat leaving at 8pm.St. Kitts: Beautiful island! Of course we were besieged by tour guides as we disembarked, our dozen or so party found a taxi van who took us to Cockleshell beach ($14 return per person, 25 min ride, beautiful views) for some much needed beach time. SWEET! Bob Marley’s “family” was everywhere (!) and the smell of pot was noticeable among the locals lol Nice beach, chairs with palapas were $5, beer was $2, but terrible bathroom!! We still had a great time, just chillin! J Once back at the dock, we stopped for some shopping. Tons of jewelry stores, souvenir shops. Ya gotta bargain! Picked up a really nice ring for $60, 85% off (upon my return checked with my jeweler who said nope, tis not an emerald but rather a well-cut glass imitation and those are Zirconians, not diamonds (dang!), but the quality of the silver and the settings estimated the ring around 100$, so ok) Were there from 10am to 4pm-ish.St. Maarten: tiny island, the large beachfront and boardwalk is Philippsburg, with a gazillion vendors, beach bars/eateries, boutiques, everyone looking to make a buck. Chairs+palapas on Great Bay beach near dock went for $5, beers $2, sangrias et al. a bit more. Found a spot way up on the beach, far from “the madding crowd”, where we munched on bananas and muffins from the ship and swam in the warm waters of the bay. Sweet! Were there from 9am to 3pm-ish.ON-BOARD SHOPPING: All of the boutiques on board were wayyy out of our means, like watches galore at $4000, for instance, but every day there were “1-hour street sales” where certain (read between the lines) items went 75% off (not designer, mind you). Tons of Pandora-like bracelets, earring sets. People were running around like it was Boxing Day at Future Shop! Even bigger sales our last day at sea, take note.SERVICE: 10/10, truly exceptional! Employees were E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E, all day, all night. Close to 1 crew member per tourist. Always smiling, helpful, available, many even spoke French. The staff acted like they actually LIKED their jobs. The crew is international; Greece, the UK, the Philippines, Honduras, Macedonia, Croatia, Ecuador, Mexico, Argentina, Ile Maurice, Kenya, Japan, etc., all working together, all very friendly and professional. The ship was spic and span everywhere and at all times, from staterooms to public bathrooms to buffet to deck, from embarkment to disembarkment. A well-oiled machine. There were a lot of elderly people aboard, but directions were always clear, big signs, daily audio bulletins, daily messages+info delivered to our rooms, destination info, nightly shows, etc. The waiters, bar staff, room stewards, meet and greet staff, everyone was wonderful. Can’t say enough how this influenced our opinion.Kudos to Celebrity Silhouette, we recommend this cruise without hesitation! |
|
|
![]("http://img1.jurko.net/avatar_2965.gif"){kind=avatar}
A cave on a mountain top with berries and nuts would be a lot cheaper, LOL