Celebrity Silhouette, UK and Ireland
4
This was our first post-covid cruise and we noticed a real difference in the service onboard Celebrity Silhouette. Previously, the attitude of all staff had been positive and helpful, not this time. Both Guest Relations and Shore Excursions weren't interested in helping with issues at all.
There was a lack of activities onboard too - the daily sheet would tell you it was listing over 60 activities but the vast majority were literally lists of what you could buy in a shop, these aren't activities, they're retail opportunities and don't need listing on daily activities sheet.
The entertainment onboard varied, as you'd expect. Some of the music was excellent - Tre Amici and Harrison Treble for example, the rest was OK and the staff cruise shows were repetitive, as they always have been to be fair.
The food in the main restaurant also varied considerably. We were on a 12-night cruise, a couple of nights we had excellent meals, the other ten were very average.
My favourite place on the Silhouette has always been Cafe Bacio - this time it just wasn't as good. There weren't enough staff so you had to wait a long time to be served and then the person taking the order often didn't listen to what you asked for, so you had to send back what you were brought and order all over again.
The staff in the buffet also need educating about the tongs - on ordering a vegetarian breakfast, I saw the crew member serve the spinach with the tongs he took out from where the bacon was. I refused the food and explained why but he didn't seem to understand the significance of what he had done.
Covid wasn't dealt with well - as more people were testing positive, the self-service buffet option should have become a served buffet and masks should have been mandatory, not merely a recommendation, as well as other passengers in the cabin with the person who had tested positive having to quarantine in the cabin with them, rather than be free to spread the virus around the ship.
The beds and pillows, as always, were really comfortable and we slept very well throughout the cruise.
