6 Nights Grand Cayman, Mexico & Key West Cruise

Two Thumbs Up!!

My parents and I sailed on this ship in favor of Bermuda. The embarkation process was smooth and started a little earlier than expected due to the conclusion of a Coast Guard inspection. We were able to check in to our muster stations without an issue after Watching the videos prior to our terminal arrivals. Then, our cruise was on. Complimentary eateries for the general cruise population included the buffet, main dining room (one floor for anytime, while other is for fixed), the Mast Grill, healthy food fare at Spa Cafe (didn't eat there), and Cafe Al Bacio's food items. Anything else besides what I mentioned here required extra pay.   The main buffet served a variety of foods, with everyday offerings of pasta, pizza, burgers, salads, and ice cream, along with a different theme of cuisines that changed daily (ex: German, French, etc.). Every night, made-to-order stir-fry was available. During off-meal hours, pizza, burgers, and ice cream were available at select times. Around the clock, complimentary dispenser drinks were always available, including water, LAVAZZA drip-coffee, Vitality fruity drinks (NOT 100% Juice), and premium tea bags.   More on the buffet, my favorite stations were the carvery, ice cream, pizza, and in the nighttime, stir-fry. I enjoyed whatever the chef carved daily, whether it was chicken, beef, or pork. For the hard ice cream, if you're a fan of the "After 8" Dinner Mints, I recommend you try their flavor of just that. Their pizza was definitely a step-up over Royal Caribbean. The stir-fry was the best I ever had at sea. The overall food quality for everything else (entrees, soups, etc.) ranged from very good to excellent. Keep in mind that for their omelet-making stations, they don't give you buzzers, therefore you must remain nearby until your name is called for the pick-up. The main dining room served a convergence of cuisines on a nightly basis along with same-day offerings. There were a couple of nights when the menus didn't appeal to us, so we ended up in the buffet instead. But for the nights we were there, the quality of our meals were excellent. The formal night dinners were our favorites, because you can never go wrong with a creamy tomato soup, lobster tail, beef wellington, and baked alaska on a sea night. Cafe Al Bacio is Royal Caribbean's smaller yet sweeter cousin of the Royal Promenade. Unlike Royal Promenade, you can't get any complimentary drinks here. Any drink you can possibly think of requires extra pay here. But anything food-wise that's offered here, is complimentary.  In the mornings at Cafe Al Bacio, it was all about the breakfast pastries. Other times,  it was about various cakes, cookies, pastries, and small assortments of mini sandwiches. The cheese danishes, coconut macaroons, chocolate and lemon tarts won me over in this section. Those who needed complimentary water or drip-coffee had to go to the buffet to grab some to enjoy with your treats. The Mast Grill on the upper outer deck served burgers, hot dogs, and fries. Additionally, a soft-serve ice cream machine along with fruity drink and water dispensers were available as well. I enjoyed a savory bacon cheeseburger with fries and a refreshing soft serve strawberry cone. This is a classic combo that can't be missed here. We had a balcony stateroom with decent storage space, comfortable beds & pillows, and 100% free on-demand movies (curated at their discretion). All shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, and body lotion was available from dispensers only. They don't give out bottles of this stuff anymore. Unlike other cruise lines, this one still gave you nightly Astor Chocolates on your pillow. Our personable room steward had a pleasant attitude and cleaned our room while fulfilling our towel, bar soap, and tissue requests without an issue. Celebrity always touts itself with having the best service ever, and I agree with them. I never had an issue with friendly guest services resolving inquiries. The friendly and personable staff in the "fixed" main dining room were always accommodating whenever we had shows to attend, and they even greeted us whenever they were working in the buffet. We never experienced sluggish services anywhere on the ship. The bar servers who served us were very friendly as well. This ship has the Solarium. Similar to Royal Caribbean, this is an "adults-only" pool area. On this ship, there is one hot tub on each side, and a pool in the middle. On one side of the area was a wall that changed colors and a base that showed water jumping from one pipe to another. Easy listening (or chill) music played in the background, giving off a vibe that made you feel you were relaxing inside a spa, and the Spa Cafe was located right in this part of the ship. It felt great relaxing in the hot tubs there.  I enjoyed watching Lucian Fuller, a comedic juggler who also snuck in some magic tricks. But not only did I watch, but also helped him with two of his acts. For his one act, I gave him my name for his birthday tune prior to his trick. For the other act, myself and another guy who unfortunately experienced stagefright, had to help him climb onto a giant unicycle. It was a fun & hilarious moment on stage. If you ever come across him on your cruise, I highly recommend watching him. There was only one adult comedian on-board, Christina Walkinshaw. I saw one of her shows. Whenever she interacted with random people in the audience, she showed kind-heartedness, like she did to myself and several others. Her jokes were hilarious, however. It would be cool if Celebrity hired extra comedians for variety, though, but I'll take it! Every night at the Martini Bar, the bartenders there performed tricks that involved juggling and pouring drinks in different ways. I recommend watching them, but keep in mind, this spot is always crowded in the late afternoon and especially evening hours.  If you're in a social group and share an interest in dancing the night away, then you'll have options on a nightly basis, although some may only occur once or twice. For the first one, we danced to a few country and rock songs played by the Soulful Roots Band. It was fun taking over the small dancefloor in the foyer for a little bit. Live bands can vary nightly, and if you enjoy what they play, then you know what to do. Immediately after dancing to Soulful Roots Band, we participated in the "Shine The Night" party. This high-octane dance party took place on the pool deck once, along with the Silhouette's Singers and Dancers who sang and danced along, all in-sync to Rhythmic A/C hits. If you're very close to the performers, you may be asked to sing or shout along with them, in which I did twice. It was a good party, but keep in mind that if you try to use one of the decorations as a toy to bounce around with the crowd, as what someone else tried to do, you will be stopped by a performer. I understand the temptation of doing so, especially in this environment, but they won't let you do that. You're welcome.  Later on during the cruise, we participated in two Silent Disco parties. One was held in the Sky Lounge and the other was out on the blustery Pool Deck. It was cool dancing around to the various hits from "yesterday to today" with those headsets. These parties lasted for only one hour. Make sure you "boo" as loud as possible once the DJ shuts off the music to let him know that you never wanted the party to stop, as what every participant did for both times. On the last sea day, we unexpectedly sailed into a Nor'Easter. During this time for those (including myself) who were prone to and experienced motion sickness, the front and back of the ships were very hazardous. The ship did give out motion sickness pills at guest services, and unlike other cruise lines, there was thankfully no extra charge for them. Speaking of guest services, they also removed an unauthorized room service charge without a problem that night.  Speaking of that night during my recovery mode, myself and my social group participated in a music trivia that consisted of boy bands...including one that was never played on the main radio stations here. We tied with another group. It was fun. We also took over the dance floor for two songs after that before leaving, especially since the Sky Lounge was empty due to the rocking of the ship.   This is the 2nd 5-star review I've written for a cruise ship, and I'm glad to give this one. I highly recommend Celebrity to anyone who's seeking a week long Bermuda cruise due to their food and service qualities. To those who've met me and/or spent time together (you know who you are), it was a real pleasure! For everyone else, bon voyage!!

Celebrity Silhouette March 10 2025

Embarkation: smooth and efficient - very well staffed Room: veranda - very nice. Close to stairs/elevators and centrally located Entertainment: Did not attend much other than pool side and it was fun - geared toward the college crowd but they were very well behaved. Food: I have to say, I was not overwhelmed. Grand Cuvee/Main Dining: We had the "eat whenever" plan and did not wait long. Waitstaff was friendly and attentive. The food was...good. That's it. We decided not to dine here again. Oceanview Cafe: We ate the remainder of meals at the buffet. It was very well stocked, clean, and waitstaff were attentive. The food was good - in the way that you'd expect at a good college cafeteria. Tuscan Grille: This was our one specialty dining. The view was impressive, the waitstaff top notch, including the sommelier who rejected the first bottle of wine we ordered when he did not like the cork. The food was very good....but I would not do this again. Departure: Smooth, but for one thing, and that was our fault. We booked the bus transfer and assumed that included our luggage. It did not. Thankfully, a very nice employee spoke to customs and got our luggage out for us. This was our fault - I assumed the transfer that told us to put luggage out at 10 pm included porter service. Gym: very nice but crowded when we went. All in all - great ship, super staff, and decent food. I'll put photos in cabin area.

Great Cruise! (best for adults)

My husband and I (in our 30s, for reference) absolutely loved this cruise! The staff was attentive and friendly. Everything was very nice and also very clean. There were loads of activities to choose from and also lots of spots to play a game or read a book and relax. Our 2nd port day got switched to a sea day due to bad weather, and I was happy to sail into beautiful weather and just stay on the ship. They added activities, and we had another great sea day. DRINKS: Drinks were pretty reasonably priced, with lots of options in the $8-$12 range. We didn't get a drink package, and instead just bought drinks as we went because that was cheaper for us. Things to keep in mind: 1) you won't drink as much on port days, 2) everyone in the cabin has to get the drink package, 3) BUT drinks are very readily available - always someone nearby to take your order if you want something (not in an annoying way). KIDS: I only saw about 10-15 kids on this cruise. There WERE activities for kids, and I can't speak to those, because we left our kids at home with Grandma. I think I'd pick a different cruise if I was bringing my kids. This isn't a ship that's geared toward kids, and they probably won't have many other kids to play with. It's totally fine to bring kids on this cruise though. ENTERTAINMENT: 1) 12-person singing and dancing production with a theme of 70s music 2) A performance by a male singer who was super talented, but I didn't know all of the songs (maybe just me) 3) A comedian who some will find offensive and some will find funny 4) A cabaret with generally known music and 4 really talented singers ACTIVITIES: I love dance, so I did all the dance classes, dance-fitness classes, and dance parties (including 2 silent discos!). I also enjoyed several "game shows" which involved some audience participation at times and were pretty entertaining. They had loads of activities to choose from, but these were the ones I enjoyed most! The activities team was awesome, and they were even calling me by name after I attended a few events. Roberto, Alijandro, Hannah, Jason, Anna...you guys rock! FOOD: Great food a plenty! They had so many options, and they make some really delicious food. My only critique is that about 90% of the desserts are pretty light and airy. You might pick up something that looks like a cupcake with buttercream frosting, but it's definitely not buttercream. All the frostings were...not American. I missed the heavy and decedent desserts I'm used to in the States. None of it was bad, but it was the weakest point for me. (Exception: the cheesecakes - yum!) SHIP SIZE: I heard our ship was sold out, but it never felt overwhelming. You could always find a beach chair, table to eat lunch, seat at the theater, or cozy nook to read a book. The ship was big without being TOO overwhelming. The rooms were more spacious than I expected. (The beds were comfortable too.) Also of note - the bathrooms around the ship all felt very luxurious. Wasn't expecting that! My biggest critique is that you have to be out of your room by 7:30am, and that feels way too early. Everyone heads to the buffet to get breakfast and then leave at your designated time (latest time is 9am). I get that they need to get everyone out, but 7:30 just feels a bit too early!