This was only our second cruise in the last 25 years. We were celebrating 50 years of marriage. We selected Celebrity because friends recommended it; Silhouette because it is a brand new ship, having its first sailing from Newark. Boarding went well without a hitch. All crew members were friendly/polite...from the Captain on down to the stateroom stewards and all in between. The nighttime shows were wonderful...every one! All of this good 'stuff' was negated by the constant struggle to obtain meals in the Grand Cuvee dining room that were at least palatable. Every food selection, whether appetitzer or entree, was salty beyond belief! Out of the twelve dinners we were served in the dining room, at least eight or nine had to be returned to the kitchen for either another choice or removal of gravy, etc. We had spoken with one of the chefs whom we met in an elevator about this. His answer was, "Yes, we have received many complaints about the salt." No other comment was forthcoming. One would have expected a little concern! We chided the waiter, the assistant Maitre'de as well as the Dining Room Manager on this subject, to no avail. No improvement was made whatsoever in the amount of salt used in the cooking. The same applies to the large variety of dishes served in the Oceanview buffet dining area.

In addition, although the staff was friendly and courteous, it appeared that they had not had enough experience to handle certain situations properly. One evening, our table was served warm shrimp cocktails in 'cereal' bowls; cold escargot; and totally melted ice cream!! When one of our party complained to the assistant Maitre'de, he responded by stirring the liquid contents of the bowl and offered the spoon back to the diner, saying, "Here, now try it"! Obviously a poor attempt at humor, but nevertheless a totally wrong way to handle the situation.

Of course, one might say that the servings could easily be replaced with something more to the diners' liking. That takes time and really inconveniences the other guests at the table. Should they wait until the replacement is served and allow their meal to cool? Should they begin to eat their meal, leaving the one who returned his/her entree to sit waiting for his/her food to arrive? Arrangements were made for the next day's menu to be presented so that we could select an entree that would contain a minimum amount of salt. On the following day, although a selection had been made the previous day, a standard meal from the menu was served. What was the purpose of 'going through the motions' to make it appear that they were being accommodating? "My pleasure, madam" and "I hope you will enjoy it" go just so far. Sounds good, but it is simply a "I really don't care" attitude Read more