Celebrity Silhouette Review

Carribean Christmas

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Celebrity Silhouette
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SouthfieldRed
2-5 Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Dec 2013

We had 11 adult family members from the US and Canada who came together for a Christmas Cruise! All of us flew into Ft. Lauderdale the day before and each party found its own way to the designated hotel.

HOTEL AND SHUTTLE INFO: Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Ft. Lauderdale Airport/Cruise 1150 W State Rd 84 - We rented 5 rooms for 11 family members for the night of December 21, 2013. NOT SO GOOD POINTS: [1] Check In. Check-in was complicated by the hotel not having an available roll-away bed, as requested.They did later manage to find such a bed and it did eventually arrive. [2] Congested Lobby at times: Lots of cruisers were leaving the hotel at the same time, so the front lobby was quite congested at times on the next morning. [3] Slow Elevators. Only two elevators for this 5-story building, and they were quite slow. (good for anyone who is uncomfortable using elevators -- very smooth). [4] Air Conditioning. The air conditioner in our first room did not work. But see below -- it was very promptly resolved to our complete satisfaction. GOOD POINTS: [1] Airport shuttle. The hotel's complimentary shuttle from airport was acceptable (not super fast, but free). [Note that it stops at several different hotels, so it is not necessarily a direct pick up and go straight to this hotel from the airport.] [2] handling of air conditioner issue: As stated, the air conditioner in one of the rooms did not cool (it blew hot air, just fine). Once we called the front desk, they sent a fellow to check it out and get us moved to another room in under 10 minutes. We were very pleased with this responsiveness, particularly since it was a Saturday night before a holiday cruise and the hotel was busy. [3] Breakfast. Good, typical hot and cold food for this level of hotel. Served on Saturday 6:30 am - 10:00 am, and allowed the members of our group to eat at their own time and pace. [4] cruise shuttle. This shuttle to the cruise docks, and departs at pre-set times (10, 11 and 12 the morning we were there). It is operated by an outside company (AllStars transportation), and you need to buy your tickets from the hotel ($8 one way) the day before if at all possible. We were lucky to get all 11 of our party on the same shuttle. Note: there is a fair bit of waiting involved in catching one of these shuttles, and there is no place to conveniently sit and wait -- it involved standing. It appeared to be basically first come, first served, so even if your shuttle is scheduled to depart at 11:00 am, arrive in the lobby ready to go well prior to that (i.e. 10:35). Also note that the All-Stars company tries to sell you a pre-paid return shuttle trip from the cruise to the airport. We purchased this and later wished we had not, because we had to wait more than 45 minutes for a shuttle that could handle our entire party heading to airport on return. There are plenty of empty shuttles from other companies that are milling around in the dock unloading area to get you from the cruise shop to the airport on the return journey. [5] beds. great. no complaints here. [6] room. very large, nicely furnished and comfortable.

ON BOARD SHIP: The 11 of us spread out in 5 cabins. Four of the 5 cabins were on level 6, and all had "obstructed" views, but we were very pleasantly surprised at how much we could see and how enjoyable the balconies were! (I will post a photo elsewhere that clearly shows the extent of the "obstruction.") I am 5'5" and while standing on the balcony, I could see everything above the horizon, and a small amount of the view below that level. In other words, you cannot lean on the balcony and look down, but you can look out from the balcony and see everything above the horizon. Rooms were well apportioned, quiet and near enough to elevators. Cabin 6204 has the bed near the window and the couch nearer to the cabin door. As the boat is moving forward, your feet are nearer the front of the boat than your head. No rocking motion at all in the cabin. The room attendants were not quite as helpful and friendly as on previous Celebrity cruises, but we adjusted. Two cabins in our group were "adjoining" and the way that this is accomplished is unusual. Unlike a typical motel adjoining room (where the adjoining door is well inside both rooms), here they put a master door outside the two room doors, and so everyone in the two adjoining rooms had to enter first the outside master door, and then their own room door. It might be a little too complicated for young children, but it worked great for our college age kids.

Cabin Review

Four of the 5 cabins were on level 6, and all had "obstructed" views, but we were very pleasantly surprised at how much we could see and how enjoyable the balconies were! (I will post a photo elsewhere that clearly shows the extent of the "obstruction.") I am 5'5" and while standing on the balcony, I could see everything above the horizon, and a small amount of the view below that level. In other words, you cannot lean on the balcony and look down, but you can look out from the balcony and see everything above the horizon. Rooms were well apportioned, quiet and near enough to elevators. Cabin 6204 has the bed near the window and the couch nearer to the cabin door. As the boat is moving forward, your feet are nearer the front of the boat than your head. No rocking motion at all in the cabin. The room attendants were not quite as helpful and friendly as on previous Celebrity cruises, but we adjusted. Two cabins in our group were "adjoining" and the way that this is accomplished is unusual. Unlike a typical motel adjoining room (where the adjoining door is well inside both rooms), here they put a master door outside the two room doors, and so everyone in the two adjoining rooms had to enter first the outside master door, and then their own room door. It might be a little too complicated for young children, but it worked great for our college age kids.

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