Celebrity Silhouette Review

Baltic ports but no St Petersburg visit!

Review for the Baltic Sea Cruise on Celebrity Silhouette
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tommy921
2-5 Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Jun 2018
Cabin: Concierge Class 3

For my wife and I, this was our fourth cruise with Celebrity. The last time was in February 2018 on the Solstice, in Australia/New Zealand. We have also been on the Solstice before and also the Eclipse, so being on the Silhouette, a sister ship, the layout was very familiar. However there are a few quirks with this ship in comparison to the others and this time a few niggles which we hope Celebrity take on board from all the feedback they receive!

The main highlight of this Baltic cruise was meant to be the visit to St Petersburg, but mother nature intervened and due to high winds for 2 days we were unable to dock in the port. The Master, Captain Peppas explained at 6.30am (ship due to dock at 7am on Sunday 1 July) over the ship’s PA system that because winds were gusting up to 53 knots (60 mph) the St Petersburg port authorities had refused a ship of our size to be allowed into port.

He explained at a later Q&A session that because there was a channel only 140 metres wide before the port and our ship was 319 metres in length with a beam of nearly 37 metres, we could have been caught by the gusting winds and slewed out of the narrow channel and run aground. There had recently been a “near miss” with another ship and he had also been unable to dock at St Petersburg 2 years ago because of high winds. He admitted that smaller ships were being allowed in. He did make two attempts to enter the port (the first time on the Sunday afternoon) and then again in in the early hours on the Monday but these were unsuccessful. We were at anchor about 3 hours journey time outside of St Petersburg. Whilst we must respect the Captain’s and port authorities decision not to enter port, Celebrity really ought to make it clear when they sell this particular cruise, that there is a risk of not being able to enter the port in the size of ship, that the Silhouette is. Celebrity have offered no compensation to any passengers for this missed port, although they did reimburse the port fees per person. Whilst Celebrity can’t be held responsible for the weather, there didn’t seem to be any Plan B and things were rushed together for daily activities on the Sunday and Monday. The Captain mentioned that Helsinki had been considered as an option but they had decided against this (there must have therefore been space available for us in the port) but we would wait at anchor and see if the winds dropped. They didn’t and we were anchored for about 30 hours in the end, under cloudy skies and with cold winds! We were therefore at sea much longer than expected.

Cabin Review

Concierge Class 3

Cabin C3

We were on Deck 9, and the last but one stateroom from the starboard side at the stern. There was some noise from the balcony decks above especially during the night but generally the stateroom location was good.

There was a bottle of “Champagne”, some fresh fruit and a tray of canapés to greet us as we arrived into our stateroom which was a C3 Concierge Class. The room was a good size with plenty of storage space above the bed, under the bed, drawers and a large size wardrobe. The bathroom and shower were a good size. There was a wall mounted tv, and mini bar. However any drink taken from this bar (including water) will be charged to your account, even if you have the Classic or Premium drinks package!

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