This was my 12th cruise. Our party of five family members booked the Celebrity Silhouette, 12 day Baltic cruise sailing out of Amsterdam on July 3, 2015. My cabin was Concierge; the girls were in a outside cabin on the third deck.* (don’t miss my review of those cabins on 3) We had a pleasant one night pre-cruise at Crown Plaza City Center. I highly recommend coming in a day early as this is a very busy cruise and the time change in Russia is a killer. We used the Connexxion shuttle to get from Schiphol Airport to the hotel. Connexxion was very efficient and with our baggage we could not consider other transportation options. Crown Plaza ordered a taxi van to take us to the Amsterdam Cruise Terminal. This worked extremely well for us with our excessive luggage. Cruise Check in was very efficient. We quickly breezed through and got on board for lunch in the Oceanview Cafe while waiting for our cabin to be readied. After boarding the sales for upcharge restaurants and drink packages began in earnest. I don’t drink so I am happy with the free beverage choices. The barrage to eat in restaurants charging $45-50 was constant. When I happened to meet a representative at the main desk who offered me a 30% discount we decided to try the Tuscan restaurant. I was very hopeful because the Italian restaurant I had tried on The RC “Navigator of the Seas” was outstanding. The ribeye steak I ordered in the Tuscan was very disappointing. It was overcooked and tough.

We had to choose select dining when we booked. Every evening we had to fight for a decent dining time and the hostess at the desk acted as if we were an imposition. No select dining between 7 and 8. The soup salads and appetizers were usually good. The main courses left something to be desired. Many nights I left most of the entrée on my plate. At the grand brunch in the dining room I got some ribs that tasted like they had been cooked more than once. The poached eggs were undercooked. The appetizers that were part of our Concierge package were inedible so we never got them again after our first try. We used the dining room for breakfast on sea days for a more relaxed experience. The Oceanview Café was often pandemonium. Room service was ok, but they frequently forgot items. Our waiters in the dining room were very courteous friendly and efficient, but did make a pitch for an extra tip after we had already paid around $700 in prepaid gratuities. We opted for the buffet a few nights and we thought it was okay. The buffet was the same stuff every night, with one or two changes.. Pasta, Pizza, salad, sushi, chicken, Mexican, fruit. They did have some really great desserts.

I thought the entertainment was fairly good. They had a couple of dance shows, standard cruise fare, but entertaining. Justino the magician was very good. Celebrity has turned Michael’s Club into a private club for suite passengers. It used to be an extra show venue when I took a Caribbean cruise with Celebrity earlier. It wasn’t used much and was always empty. Read more