Ship: Celebrity Silhouette
Line: Celebrity Cruises
Built: July 2011
Passengers: 2,886
Class: Solstice class, along with Celebrity Eclipse, Celebrity Equinox, and Celebrity Reflection
Routes: Seven-day Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises in winter; seven- to 15-day Mediterranean cruises in summer
Best For
Couples and groups of friends from their 30s through retirement.
Not For
Families looking for lots of entertainment for kids.
Highlights
- At Celebrity Silhouette's Lawn Club Grill, a deck-top restaurant overlooking the grass, guests can make their own pizzas and flip their own steaks.
- The Molecular Bar uses molecular gastronomy to wow guests with some of the best cocktails at sea, and Michael’s Club offers one of the most extensive craft beer menus we’ve seen.
- AquaClass® cabins give you exclusive access to Blu, one of the best restaurants on the ship, as well as all-day access to the spa’s Persian Garden, home to saunas, heated lounge chairs, and steam rooms.
At the Lawn Club Grill, you can help cook dinner.
Overview
Celebrity’s Solstice-class cruise ships have a stellar reputation for good reason: From a library that’s as sexy as a lounge, to plenty of actually loungy spaces, this is a seriously well-designed ship. The grass-covered Lawn Club — with its restaurant, hammocks, cabanas, and open area for bocce — may be the most dramatic space, but it seems like every part of the ship, from the pool deck to the Hideaway coffee lounge, has inspired seating areas that are truly chic. The many restaurants and bars of Celebrity Silhouette include Qsine®, a modern take on the small-plates concept with playful plating, and the Molecular Bar, where bartenders use foams and liquid nitrogen to whip up cocktails that are as beautiful as they are tasty.
Cabins
Cabins on this cruise ship are large and comfortable, and the stewards go out of their way to make passengers feel at home. On my Western Caribbean cruise, for example, the cabin steward tracked down a plastic tub for me to bathe my 2-year-old niece in, and washed her bottles by hand each morning. Upgrades include Concierge Class — with priority embarkation and disembarkation — and AquaClass, with access to the spa’s Persian Garden and the Blu restaurant, home to the best breakfast on the ship.
Activities
At night, Celebrity Silhouette lights up with live music, from jazz in the Ensemble Lounge to a cover band in the foyer and an Elton John tribute in the theater. Guests gather in the many bars for pre- and post-dinner cocktails, and crowd the open — if small — dance floor. During the day, passengers take advantage of classes in the gym, two pools, and four hot tubs. Guests escape the sun with a visit to the two shopping mall-like stretches of stores, the iLounge (an Apple-branded Internet café), the Hideaway (a coffee lounge with egg chairs and other fun seating areas), and the library.
Dining
Celebrity Silhouette offers a variety of casual and formal upgrades from the standard buffet or main dining room choices. For an informal lunch, The Porch serves gorgeous focaccia sandwiches and soup, and the AquaSpa has healthy — if monotonous — alternatives (chicken salad made with yogurt, quinoa with vegetables, mango slices with mint and chili), and Bistro on Five serves fresh-from-the-griddle crêpes. For dinner, dining room refugees flock to the Tuscan Grille for Italian and to Qsine for playful — though not always successful — small plates. For a more formal night, any night of the week, Murano offers intimate adults-only dining.
All photos courtesy of Celebrity Cruises.
AquaClass and Qsine are registered trademarks of Celebrity Cruises Inc.
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Sherri Eisenberg is the editor in chief of Bon Voyage magazine, a publication of Cruiseline.com.