As the cold weather quickly approaches, a jaunt to the Caribbean sounds quite enticing. One new option for getting there is the Celebrity Silhouette, the latest cruise ship from Celebrity Cruises, which is sailing to the Caribbean this winter and Europe in the spring.
We took a tour of the new boat and were most impressed with The Solarium, where you can relax indoors by one body of water (the pool) while overlooking another (the ocean). We also loved The Hideaway, a nook laden with cubbies for you to cozy into with a book, magazine or iPhone. And speaking of iPhones, if you want to load up on more gear, you can visit the Celebrity iLounge, offering a retail area and certified specialists.
The Lawn Club, one of the Silhouette’s newest amenities, is an outdoor park on the roof of the ship. It’s unique in concept — there’s real growing grass, plus bocce ball! — but it’s a bit uninviting. For example, you can rent alcoves for you and your guests to lounge in, but they’re super-expensive and don’t offer much other than a place to sit. You can grab a bite at The Porch nearby, although the food we tried wasn’t all that great. You can also opt to grill your own food at The Lawn Club Grill, which seems like a nice idea for families and friends traveling together.
We weren’t blown away by the culinary offerings at Murano, Blu and Tuscan Grille, three of the ship’s specialty restaurants. At Murano, the scene was way too stuffy for our taste — not relaxing at all. Blu had average food (although a stellar view of the water), but the restaurant is only open to certain VIP members onboard. Tuscan Grille’s cuisine was the best of the three, even though it’s (confusingly) not an Italian restaurant. The nightlife was equally unimpressive — Michael’s Club gave us a gentlemen-only vibe, and it was far too formal for unwinding. Only the Molecular Bar, where the drinks contain unusual ingredients like liquid nitrogen to keep your cocktail cool, got our attention.
The staterooms (accommodating 2,880 guests) were tidy, and though we didn’t have any treatments at the AquaSpa, the out-of-reach prices left us pretty sure we wouldn’t return for one.
Bottom line: The boat does have some nice amenities; let’s just hope they work out their glitches before setting sail.
