Newest Celebrity cruise ship has its own Lawn Club

The Solstice ships have been Celebrity's most successful brand, and Silhouette is No. 4 in the five-ship series. Reflection, the final ship, will emerge next year.

Michelle Morgan, a longtime travel executive, was selected as the ship's godmother. Like all Solstice godmothers before her, she is a breast-cancer survivor. The line's executives have long supported research into this type of cancer. To the crowd's delight, joining her at the launch were the godmothers of the previous launches.

While each new Solstice ship before her has been tweaked compared to its predecessor, Silhouette has more changes, especially to the Lawn Club area on the top deck. Yes, they do have real grass and there are no signs saying "Keep off the grass."

New to that area is the Lawn Club Grill, where, for $30, you can select a cut of meat, fish or chicken to grill yourself with the assistance of a chef, or to have cooked for you. You can make your own pizza, beginning with the dough, and choose from a wide selection of toppings. In the end, from start to finish, it's your creation. Fellow cruise writer John Honeywell and I were the first non-Celebrity people to select and cook a steak. Armed with new knowledge on how to grill properly, mine tasted better than any of my previous creations.

Also distinguishing Silhouette from the other Solstice ships are eight private lawn cabanas named The Alcoves. They are comfortable enough for four, complete with picnic baskets, soft beverages, iPad, music, etc. All that pampering comes at a price: $99 a day while in port, and $149 while at sea.

Here you also will find The Porch, which really does feel like a porch with its views of the lawn and the sea.

The Porch offers a variety of sandwiches, soups, coffees and other light dishes. The Art Studio has replaced the glass-blowing feature introduced on Solstice ships and, with supplies provided and professional help, you can release your creative self.

Dig deeper into the ship, down to deck 7, and you will find The Hideaway, located next to the Atrium.

This room has a series of semi-enclosed, egg-like seating areas. Climb up one deck and look down on the room next to the Atrium, where a live tree is suspended.

Silhouette has started a series of 12-to 13-day Holy Land cruises out of Civitavecchia, Rome's port, and will become the first Solstice Class ship based in the New York area, sailing from Bayonne, N.J., this winter.