This item was written by Fran Golden, a cruise expert and Trip Coach for Budget Travel magazine. Golden is serving as Guest Editor of The Cruise Log while USA TODAY Cruise Editor Gene Sloan is away.
The 122,400-ton ship left the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, yesterday for the 12-hour journey down the Ems River towards Emshaven, Netherlands.
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Power lines and some railway tracks over the river had to be removed to allow space for the Silhouette, and at times the large vessel had only 5 feet of wiggle room, officials said. The ship traveled the River Ems at less than four miles per hour, assisted by tugboats fore and aft.
Finishing work will be completed in Emshaven before the ship undergoes sea trials. The Silhouette is scheduled to be named in formal ceremonies in Hamburg on July 21.
The fourth ship in Celebrity's Solstice-class, the Silhouette, like its sister ships, has a lawn on top with real grass.
New features on Silhouette include the Lawn Club Grill, billed as the industry's "first outdoor, interactive grill," where passengers will be able to do their own cooking, assisted by the ship's chefs. Pre-booking for the dinner experience (also available for lunch on one sea day each cruise) opened online this week; a $30 per person fee is involved.
Following a July 23 maiden cruise from Hamburg to Rome (Civitavecchia), the Silhouette will do a series of 12-day cruises from Rome to the Holy Land before repositioning to Cape Liberty, N.J., for 12-day Caribbean sailings beginning in November.
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