This is my review and journal of my 12 night cruise onboard the Celebrity Silhouette. This is my first time cruising and it's also my first time without internet as a digital nomad for days at a time. Part of the reason why I went on this cruise is to completely detach from wifi and to take a proper break from work. I've always liked the idea of being on a giant boat with all inclusive food, activities, things to do and a full gym but we'll see how it actually checks out.
The good news is that for the past couple of months, I've been setting up my online businesses to generate completely passive income so the goal is to still be earning an excess of $500 a day even when i'm offline and not actively at work. In this post i'm going to share tips and tricks I've discovered while cruising, and tell you what I think about the Celebrity Silhouette and if I recomend them or not as a ship and as a company.
Day 1: Amsterdam, Holland
I decided to arrive in Amsterdam just one day before the cruise left instead of going a week before as originally planned as the prices of hotels, airBnBs and even hostels were ridiculously overpriced for what you got. Even though I'm making a lot more money now, one thing hasn't changed, I love value and hate the feeling of getting ripped off. Amsterdam is one of those cities like Paris or London where you feel like you're overpaying everywhere you go.
I ended up taking a train from Berlin, Germany the day before and stayed at Generator Hostel which was a great spot. I met with two guys from New York and had a traditional Dutch dish for dinner called Stamppot which is basically just mashed potatoes smashed together with vegetables, including either sauerkraut, carrots or spinach. It was served with a meatball, sausage and some gravy and although it's supposed to be nice on a cold winter night, it wasn't anything to write home about. We had it at Moeders which is a traditional restaurant which literally means "Mother's" in Dutch.
Having traditional "Stomput" and Dutch Beer in Amsterdam.
After dinner we walked through the legendary Red Light District, and visited a coffee shop on our way back to the hostel. It's just something you gotta do. The best part about Amsterdam was the bicycle tour I took the next morning which was great as we got to see the entire city center including the parks all in just a few hours. Amsterdam really is the world's best place to ride a bicycle as it's completely set it up for and it's a must do. As for lunch, we went to a place called "La Place" which and recommend it as you can choose whatever you want.
I could have pretty easily had lunch for free on board the ship, but I met some cool people on the tour and figured it would be nice to have one last meal on land before boarding. Only issue was getting to the port as Uber decided to implement a 1.5% surge price which I would have paid if it wasn't for their $30 minimum which was ridiculous for a 10 minute drive, welcome to Amsterdam. Luckily I figured out there was a "Amsterdam Taxi" app which got me there for half the price. Check in and boarding onto the cruise was super easy I went 45 minutes before the doors closed and there was no line as everyone was already on board and at the buffet. By the way, as a suggestion, don't eat at the buffet the first night of the cruise as everyone seems to head straight there. Go to the restaurant instead as you'll get great service and less of a crowd.
Cruise Tip: Leave your bags at your hotel and go for a day tour instead of waiting in long lines to check in the cruise as soon as it opens.
Bicycles and old buildings. This is Amsterdam.
Day 2: Bruges, Belgium
Realized that since I dont' have wifi on the ship I should have looked up the info for Bruges while I was still in Amsterdam. But since I didn't I just followed a group of people to the nearest tram stop and asked how they were getting into town. Instead of paying $22 for a shuttle I took a tram and a train for around $8 round trip into the city center and got to meet some cool people. In general those who take the safe route or signup for package tours are boring compared to the adventurous who wander on their own.
In town we found a free wifi hotspot near a tourist center and found out that we had 2 hours to sample the three best chocolate shops in Bruges before going on a free walking tour at noon that day. The Chocolate Line and Chocolatier Pol Depla were both decent, but Galler was incredible and also a great experience visiting as they were super knowledgeable, friendly and even gave samples. However, if you're looking for the best value, just pop into any supermarket in Belgium and pick up some Cote D'or as it's amazing, especially the Dark Chocolate Pistachio if you can find it.
Prepare to bring home bags of chocolate as gifts.
The walking tour itself in Bruges was convenient as it was from 12noon-2pm which fit my schedule but was just okay. Try to make the 10am with the other tour as it might be better. The B Taste Beer Wall sounds like a great idea with 100 taps and small pours where you can just pay $11 to sample them all! Expect the problem is, having a small taste of beer means you're just getting a bit of foam and it just doesn't work that way. Just go to a real bar instead. My favorietes were La Chouffe, Duvel, and St. Bernardus Abt 12, but go ahead and try them all and find yours.
Cruise Tip: Don't overpay with official cruise excursions, they threaten you with the fear of leaving without you if you don't make it back to port in time. Don't be scared, just venture on your own and make sure you start heading back 2 hours before boarding closes.
With canals everywhere, Bruges is called the Venice of the North.
Day 3: At Sea
Today was the first real day that I got to properly explore the cruise ship as we were at sea at the entire time without a port stop. I can see myself loving short 3 day cruises as it feels like being in a luxury hotel room with a great breakfast buffet and restaurant. However, being a 12 night cruise I'm hoping that there is a lot more to do besides just sleep and eat. My original plan was to crush it at the gym twice a day but since you're always a bit queasy from rocking on the boat, it's actually pretty hard to do anything besides yoga or a light workout.
Also my original plan to eat strict paleo on board hasn't' worked out so well, even though it's easy to order two steak entrees and skip the bread and potatoes, you'll often get suckered into dessert as everyone else at the table orders it since it's all inclusive. The good news is the shows at night have been quite good, so I'd make it a point to schedule your day around them. Last night was a group called "Life" which I thought was amazing. As for Wifi, their package costs $300 which is insanely overpriced especially since friends have told me it's super unreliable and slow. I really think Celebrity and other cruise lines need to step up their internet offerings and make them more reasonable if they want 20-39 year olds to start cruising as right now being disconnected for 12 days or the thought of paying $300 is ridiculous. My plan is to just enjoy my time on board offline and find coffee shops with free wifi whenever I get to port.
With the entire family at the restaurant on board the ship.
So far the food and service on board has been really good, if anything it's been a bit annoying good as there is almost 1 crew member for every 2 guests and you get asked how you're doing or if you need anything every 45 seconds. The expectation was last night which was the first formal night which they now call "Smart Chic." The problem was that everyone decided to go to the main restaurant instead of the buffet as they were dressed up which caused havoc and chaos. The servers were overwhelmed, food took over an hour to arrive and was terrible when it finally did arrive.
At first we thought we had a lot of options on the Silhouette as they advertise that they have "12 dining options" but in reality it's either the restaurant or the buffet. The other restaurants on board aren't actual restaurants but instead small places that only serve hot dogs and burgers or yogurt. There are also 2 restaurants on board that are only open to "suite class" and people who either cruise a lot or pay for the premium packages and cabins. The other 3 restaurants charge up to $45 per person.
What the cruise line should do on formal nights is either open up the other restaurants, have a third seating time, or turn the buffet into a nice sit down restaurant on those days instead. Overall the food on the ship has been very good with the exception of the first formal night where the food was terrible.
Cruise Tip: Eat at the Buffet during formal nights as the main restaurant is packed.
The group "Life" aboard the Celebrity Cruise.
Day 4: Bilbao, Spain
The nice thing about the port in Bilbao is that they have free wifi as soon as you walk off the boat. Doing a quick google map search, I realized that there isn't public transport into the city so paying $11 for a round trip shuttle from the boat was a great deal. Unfortunately there isn't a ton to see or do here without going an hour and a half to San Sebastian and explore Basque Country. So instead, I figured I'd stay in town, catch up on answering facebook messages, emails and just enjoy the city on my own.
So far, I've walked around for an hour on my own in the city center and so far it's a nice city with tons of bakeries, free wifi in the park. But on my list is trying some Spanish wine, eating some tapas and checking out the beach in getxo right by the ship. So check back in two days for another update as I've decided to live write and publish this so you can follow along the journey!
To be continued....
Time to get back on the ship!
Johnny FD
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