We had high expectations of our cruise on the Silhouette as we had previously cruises on older ships. However we found the decor to be very understated. There was no elegant atrium and the lifts could have been from a department store.However the worst aspect of the ship was the Oceanview Cafe. It was totally lacking in ambience and more like a canteen. The colour scheme here was lurid - lime green, orange and brown. The tables, mostly rectangular or square, were surrounded by hardbacked chairs and arranged in lines reminiscent of school dining rooms. At breakfast the staff were more interested in selling special coffee than serving the standard coffee, tea and juices at the tables so self service drinks were the norm. At afternoon tea time there was always someone vaccuming the floor near where we were trying to relax. Areas were roped off at different times rather than having two different sides opening in rotation which is the norm on other ships.

The lawn area, where private cabinas could be hired for a fee, seemed to take up space which could have been used to provide another quiet pool area fro adults. We found the Solarium to be too cold even in August and the depth of this adults' pool was a joke.

The constant music on deck was irritating and we soon tired of the limited repertoire of the reident singers. Read more