Celebrity Silhouette: 7 Things I Loved About This Solstice Class Ship

It didn’t take long to feel at home in this luxurious vessel.  Sailing on Celebrity Silhouette this last week provided some insight into why so many people not only love Celebrity Cruises but the Solstice-class ships as well.

There are 5 Solstice-class ships in Celebrity Cruises’ fleet.   Celebrity Silhouette is the 4^th of these ships and was launched in 2011.   The ship is due for some upgrades in 2020, but just walking around the ship felt like it could have just come out of dry dock a few months ago.

It’s a fantastic ship in a really great class.  I wanted to point out my favorite parts of the ship in this article and provide a few photos of Silhouette so you can see if this is the kind of cruise ship you may want to sail on yourself.

Watch Video Tour of Celebrity Silhouette Below:

First, here is a little about the ship before I tell you my favorite areas onboard.

Celebrity Silhouette is a 122,400 gross tons ship, holds about 2,800 guests, has a length of 1,047 feet, and travels at speeds upwards of 28 miles per hour.

Here are 7 Things I really enjoyed about Celebrity Silhouette:

The Hideaway

Sometimes you just want to find a little nook to curl up with a book.  The Hideaway is such a wonderful concept on a cruise ship.  This quiet, organic lounge offers cozy seating in an environment that feels more like a treehouse than a lounge.  From egg-like chairs to nest-like seating areas this space was the perfect spot to just get away from any excess noise and take in some natural light from the atrium.  The 2-deck library is also an intriguing space for reading a book, but the Hideaway offered a much more inviting atmosphere in my opinion.

There is also a coffee and tea station in The Hideaway that is free to use.

Luminae

This is the dining room for suite guests.  It’s also one of the best perks of having booked a Sky Suite on Celebrity Silhouette.  I can’t say enough about what an amazing job the staff did on making sure our dining experience was as pleasant as possible.  From the incredibly delicious dishes to the personal and welcoming wait staff, walking into Luminae was something I looked forward to every day.

On disembarkation day we even had a lovely breakfast at Luminae and saying goodbye to the wait staff felt like we were parting with dear friends.  If you want to feel like you’re dining at a 5-star restaurant each night, be sure to book a suite on one of these Celebrity ships.

The staff had great memories as well.  Not only did they remember our names after our first visit, but they also remembered any food allergies or preferences even though we only mentioned them in passing.  And the recommendations made by our amazing server (Sony) were spot on every time.  Ok, I need to stop talking about Luminae because I find myself missing it already.

The Solarium

You will be hard pressed to find a more inviting space than that of the Solarium.  The high ceilings, natural light, perfect humidity, and comfortable padded loungers make this area hard to leave.  There are 2 hot tubs in the Solarium and a pool that is heated just enough to allow you to swim without overheating.

And just to make sure you don’t have to leave the area there is Aqua Spa Café which offers delicious treats, pastries, smoothies, coffee and other beverages, all within a few steps of your comfortable lounger.

View Prices on Cruises on Celebrity Silhouette

Outdoor Seating at Oceanview Café

Oceanview Café is the buffet onboard Celebrity Silhouette.  This is not your economy line buffet, though.  The variety and quality of food at Oceanview Café is difficult to match.  You might have to rub elbows with a few over-zealous and hungry passengers, but for the most part I found it to be a pleasant space with plenty of room.

But the outdoor space in the back of Oceanview was by far my favorite place to eat at the buffet.  There was very comfortable seating that allowed us to eat outside while being under the above deck if we wanted to stay out of the sun.  The outdoor dining area took up the width of the ship so was nicely spread out.  Just inside the back door of the buffet there is a drink station as well, so you can still be close to a hydration station.

The seagulls in Nassau were a bit pesky, though.  So, I recommend taking your plate inside when you are finished eating instead of leaving it on the table for the gulls to attack if you see any around.

The Lawn Club

This iconic space on deck 15 offers over half an acre of real grass.  It’s such a novel idea to have this simple garden in the middle of the ship while you soak in ocean views all around.  The Alcoves are available for rent on either side of the lawn and cost $99 on a port day and $250 on a sea day.  Rentals last from 9am to 9pm, so you have this private space all to yourself no matter when you’d like to use it throughout the day.

There are also 2 bocce lawns on either side of the ship.  As a bocce enthusiast I wish I had time to play a few rounds, but I was too busy taking photos and video of the ship.  Still, it’s a very cool thing to be able to play this timeless game on real grass on a cruise ship.  Try it out yourself and let me know how you enjoyed the experience.

Café al Bacio

With new pastries, desserts, and other culinary delights being offered daily at Café al Bacio I found myself coming up with excuses to walk by this European inspired coffee house.  The tasty treats incurred no extra charge but for a coffee or other specialty drink there was a surcharge.

Since we had a suite we were able to make use of Michaels Club and get a free drink of our choice.  So, we usually just grabbed a hot coffee or cold beverage from Michaels and then went over to Café al Bacio to grab a pastry and enjoy the wonderful décor.   The seating really is lovely and is on deck 5, which allows you to still hear any live music playing in the atrium.

Persian Garden

Aquaclass guests have this extra perk thrown in for no extra charge, and it’s a good one.  Nine ceramic loungers heated to perfection allow you to relax away any stress.  The lady giving the tour said that the loungers were designed by a chiropractor.  Either way, the heat coming off these things was purely magical.  Calming music played in the background as I was able to take in the ocean views from the large windows.

There are also 2 thermal rooms in Persian Garden.  One is an herbal aroma room which is mildly heated with some calming essence in the air.  The other is a steam room which was the perfect temperature in my mind.  Hot enough so you can’t stand it for more than 7 minutes or so.  The 6-jet led-lit shower in Persian Garden lets you rinse off before you head back to the locker rooms.  And in the locker rooms there is a dry sauna to get even more pampering.  The one in the men’s locker room was heated to about 167 Fahrenheit and felt fantastic.

View Prices on Cruises on Celebrity Silhouette

You can buy a day pass for Persian Garden or buy access for the whole cruise if you would like.  Keep in mind that they limit how many passes are sold so that the space is never over-crowded.

I can’t wait to sail on a Solstice-class ship again.  Sailing on Celebrity Silhouette was a wonderful experience and I could list several other things I enjoyed about the ship.  I paid full fare for this cruise by the way and these opinions are all my own.  And yes, I would definitely pay it again.