Celebrity has just revealed that 2,886-guest ship, Celebrity Silhouette, will undergo a number of tweaks to make it more tuned to the British market.
By the time the vessel arrives in Southampton in April, she is likely to have kettles in cabins; a decent selection of English teas; a wider selection of beers, gins and mixers; English condiments, such as Marmite and HP sauce; and a curry night, among a number of other tweaks.
Hotel director, John-Paul Lamb, stated: “I’ve been speaking to Eclipse’s hotel director Jamie Petts about the ship, the itineraries and of course the demographic onboard.
We’ve been discussing areas where we may need to make adjustments. For example, Cafe Bacio is likely to be extended, as Brits like to sit down and drink their tea or coffee, whereas Americans like to take it to go. That’s one.
We’ve had a lot of feedback on tea, and we will be switching to a reputable brand. We may also have to install more tea and coffee machines around the ship to cope with demand. We are also looking at installing in-room coffee and tea facilities.”
Do you wish every cruise ship featured kettles in cabins along with your favorite tea brands onboard? Which tweak would you make? Take your vote on what is important to you…
Celebrity has urged that this is not yet officially confirmed yet these changes are being looked into further.
Additionally, staff will be trained in some of the differences between the service expected by Brits versus Americans whilst guests will also be faced with a wider selection of mixers for gins, and more old-world wines i.e. French, Spanish and Italian, versus the large selection of Californian wines onboard.
Lamb continued: “We will also be serving English bacon, as well as looking at condiments such as Colman’s mustard, HP sauce and Marmite.
We are also looking at introducing one night of Indian cuisine. We already have “Taj Mahal” on Eclipse in QSine, and that is something we are looking at bringing onto Silhouette.”
Guests will find themselves at home on Silhouette if they are already familiar with Eclipse with a number of key differences compared to its sister, most notably a completely redesigned top deck.
A new speciality restaurant, the Lawn Club Grill, has replaced the Corning Glass Show, along with The Porch with its emphasis on seafood; the Team Earth space on deck 7 has been replaced by The Hideaway, a relaxation area.
Eclipse was based in the UK for eight years, but this year it redeploys to Dublin whilst Silhouette is a year younger and Celebrity Cruises’ second-newest ship, having launched in 2011.
Lamb, who will be bringing the ship over to Southampton, explained that Eclipse had a number of tweaks in its first two seasons in the UK before it found its niche and popularity, and those learnings would be applied to Silhouette.
“Introducing a kettle in cabins is ‘moving the needle’ for us, and we don’t want to make too many adjustments. The whole idea is to continue on the path that Eclipse has led.
It’s the second-newest, and it’s exciting for us and the UK market, with new venues and features for UK guests to enjoy.”
What do you think about Celebrity Silhouette being tweaked for Brits? Do you wish every cruise ship featured kettles in cabins along with your favorite tea brands onboard? Which tweak would you make? Take your vote on what is important to you…
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