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Average

Celebrity Silhouette

This was our first cruise. We had picked Celebrity because it was the upper end of the market and therefore the quality was likely to be higher. This should have been a faultless experience, but it really wasn't.
Arriving at the embarkation dock, we were given a ticket with a 'Y' written on it. I asked how long before we would get to the desk and told 25 minutes. After an hour, i queried it, and was given an 'S'! If I had just sat quietly we would have without doubt been another two hours. Totally unacceptable.
The stateroom, 7215 was fine. Acceptably clean, but I'd rather not have had kids fingerprints all over the patio door. Stateroom attendant, Emmanuel, was a nice chap. However, when I ordered a bottle of wine and a bucket of ice, to enjoy as we sailed down the Grand Canal, only a bucket of ice arrived. Soon sorted, but a bit amateurish.
There were continual little hiccups throughout the voyage. The Casino Bar is now known as "One Bucket Bar" after I went looking for a bucket of ice and asked the bartender to help. "I've only got one bucket" rather than "Give me a few minutes and I will have that sorted for you sir". What ever happened to legendary American service? I ended up purloining a bucket from Cellar Masters and raiding the Vodka Bar for ice.
And the upselling! This was diabolical. The packages are too complex, and too expensive for what you get. You are already paying top dollar so why does this go on. The drink package scam is a killer. You would have to be borderline alcoholic to make it pay. the classic package is $49/ day PLUS 15% gratuity. So that is $350 EACH if you are a couple. We took two bottles of good champagne with us, then had a bottle of reasonable wine every night, a couple or three good sessions on the martinis and our total bill was $337 including gratuities (and there were a few premium coffees in there too). That is about £200.00 all in. There is ample juices, decent filter coffee and chilled water to keep you going through the day.
Food was pretty good overall. Certainly couldn't see any real point in upgrading to premium restaurants. The Ocean View Cafe did great buffet style lunches and breakfasts.
Tip: don't bother with stateroom breakfasts. The mediocrity was a real issue. Make the effort and go upstairs!
There was too much selling going on. there is an 'Art House' on board, selling paintings. I stumbled across an auction in progress. I refuse to believe that there was a genuine sale of a 'piece of art' at over $10,000 whilst I was watching. all very odd.
And if you want to sell premium watches and Jewellery - for goodness sake put the ticket price where I can see it. I might want to barter in a souk, but not feel like I'm being sized up to see what I might pay. The British won't play that game. And why carry Breitling and Omega, then peddle tat like Coifmann on the same floor - at vastly improbable prices!
 

Good - but not great

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