Celebrity Silhouette Review
1st Time to the British Isles
Rating by category
Additional details
This was our second Celebrity cruise - we enjoyed the Summit so much we thought we would give this ship a try since the British Isles were on our bucket list - and we had family traveling this itinerary as well! Silhouette is easy to navigate and finding our way around didn't take long. She is a beautiful ship and well maintained. We found no fault with any of the public areas or our cabin
We had Select Dining option and we made reservations for the entire voyage as we were a group of 6. It was nice to have the same wait staff each evening and they were fantastic. We found the menu's just so-so and often went for the "everyday" menu - the Sirloin was great every-time! Breakfast in the Buffet was great and many made to order options were available.
Entertainment was a huge disappointment - from the first night with a hypnotist who could only manage 4 subjects, to a trio of ladies who separately were okay but when they tried to harmonize it was not good. The Beatles imitators did a poor job of representing what I remembered the Beatles to be like - and for me there wasn't enough local flavor - I expected more Irish and Scottish music for sure!
Cabin Review
Deluxe Veranda 1C
We had a Veranda on Deck 8 Starboard Aft - great location and the cabin was large enough for two adults; adequate storage areas for clothes although I did find the over the bed storage cabinets hard to reach and keep clothing organized. Suitcases fit nicely under the bed for storage. The doors on each "set" of cabins are right next to each other and can be very loud if your neighbor decides to just let the door "slam" on the way out. We found the cabin quite except for this disruption.
Port Reviews
Amsterdam
Great walking city - stayed 2 nights pre-cruise - booked a tour with That Dam Guide - Mark was fabulous, took a dinner cruise on the canal (overpriced and crowded) but walked most everywhere else.
Liverpool
Another great walking city although we took a Hop On Hop Off bus tour to get acclimated first - price included the Mersey Ferry tour and Cathedral Tower tickets - great way to see the city and then walk around the port area.
Belfast
Booked a private tour with Duncan Maclean - The Taxi Tour Experience - it was great - small van for 8 people took us to the major tourist spots - Loch Ness/Urquhart Castle, Culloden Battlefields,and Cawdor Castle and a city tour of Belfast.
Dublin
Took the shuttle from the Port into Dublin and walked everywhere from that point on - amazing city - easy to navigate and so much to see and do. Trinity College/Book of Kells; St Pats Cathedral; Dublin Castle and Grafton Street - and everything around and in between - lots of little pubs and pastry shops as well as souvenir shops.
Cobh (Cork)
The most beautiful port of the trip - quaint little village right at the docks but we took a tour with Paddywagon and went to Blarney Castle and Kinsale - a beautiful little fishing village with quaint shops, and eating places.
Brugge (Bruges)
Another great walking city - we booked the "express bus" instead of taking the ship shuttles (half the cost!) They both let passengers off outside the city which was a 40 minute drive from the port of Zeebrugge. It's about a 20 minute leisurely walk into the city center if you can get by all the chocolate shops without stopping! Waffles and Chocolate and Lace - take time to climb the Belfort Tower for fantastic views of the area!
Edinburgh (South Queensferry)
The main focal point of this itinerary was the Edinburgh Royal Tattoo. We booked on our own and made arrangements for transportation to and from on the first day in Port. This is a tender port and can take 30-40 minutes depending on the water. There were long waits for the tenders due to a contact problem with a local service, the ships lifeboats were put into service and they were smaller than expected. We loved the tattoo and got rained on as expected but we were prepared. On day two we took the local bus service #16 takes you to Princes St and you can walk up to the Royal Mile from there - we started at the top and worked our way down thru the festival and a few stops along the way - St Giles was the highlight that day. We ended at Holyrood Palace and took the $35 back to Ocean Terminal Mall - from there it was a 10 minute walk back to Newhaven Harbor and our tenders.