We did the Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Silhouette on March 3rd leaving from Port Everglades. I am 41 and my wife is 37. This was the first time we have sailed on Celebrity. We have been on 3 Princess cruises which we very much enjoyed, and a NCL cruise that was not our cup of tea. We had heard a lot of nice things about the S class ships, and with the free booze package Celebrity was offering, we figured we would give it a shot.

Getting there - We flew into PBI and rented a midsize car for $35 including taxes. We used it to get to Fort Lauderdale, where we stayed at the Embassy Suites, using some HHonors points that I had. Even though we were very early (11:30 AM) they had a room for us and we went upstairs to freshen up. The hotel is nice, maybe a little dated, but it seemed to be clean and we enjoyed the managers reception and the hot breakfast. Well, we enjoyed the idea of a free hot breakfast. It really wasn't very good, but it gave us enough fuel to get on the ship and start our over indulgence. The evening before the cruise we went to Duffy's (a sports bar within walking distance) and watched our beloved Penguins play a nail biter. They had a great selection of beer, good prices, and pretty decent bar food. The next morning we returned our car to the Budget office in the Quay on 17th and took the shuttle over to the terminal and waited for boarding to begin. We had to sit a little while in the holding pen before they started boarding everyone, but before you know it, we had a bite to eat in the buffet and were at the Sunset Bar enjoying the sunshine (and free booze). The cold wind, not so much enjoyed. Rooms were ready about 1:30 or 2. That was kind of different for us. On the Princess cruises, the cabins are ready when you get on board. We knew about this going in, so we just each had a small carryon with us, but it still was kind of a pain.

Cabin - We were in 7307 which is the last balcony Port side on 7. It was a little bit of a walk from the stairs and elevators, but we appreciated the little larger balcony, and no balcony to our left (looking at the water). The view directly below seems to be the roof of a restaurant, so you don't look right down on water, but it was very nice. We couldn't help but make some comparisons between Princess and Celebrity during the trip. The first thing we noticed was the differences in the cabins. Princess really does closets and storage right. Lots of drawers, and the closet by the bathroom with no doors provides easy access. Our cabin this trip was a little thin on storage. There is a lot over the bead, but that is inconvenient. The closet has doors, and with the couch right there, makes it difficult to get to half of it. We managed just fine though and although we were concerned it would be an issue, it never was. We did like the bathroom in this cabin better than Princess. The shelves had a door on them to protect from falling, and there were some drawers for storage. We also appreciated the shower doors instead of the very friendly shower curtain. There were only 2 "american" power outlets, and neither were close to the bed. I had pre-ordered an extension cord and a jug of distilled water for my CPAP machine and while they were there when we got to our cabin, they did make it eventually after a reminder call. My wife brings a little travel fan for air and noise, but without a plug by the bed, she couldn't use it. Bags were at our door when we got back from muster. Don;t know when they go there. We were enjoying the ship beforehand. Read more