HAL's Eurodam verses Celebrity's Reflection

Background: Have never been on Celebrity but are 4 star on HAL..Our good Friends have been on HAL with us two times..

They want a cruise to the Carib. around Christmas/New Years & want us to go with them..Both couples will book a Verandah cabin..

Have pulled up an 11 day on Celebrity's Reflection & a 14 day on HAL's Eurodam..Know the Eurodam carries less Psgrs than Reflection..

We were booked on a 14 day on Eurodam in 2015 with Friends but my DH got sick & ended up in the hospital..However, we were able to do the 7 day out of Ft. Lauderdale & meet up with our Friends..

Since we've never been on Reflection, looking for someone who have been on both to do a comparison to give to our other Friends..:confused:

Appreciate the help.. Thanks again..

PS. BTW we looked at HAL's Cuba cruise but decided it was too expensive to do this year..Maybe another time..

OMG Just realized I spelled Versus wrong!

My dear English Teacher Aunt whom, I'm named after & adored would be horrified!

Repeat after me 100 times: Versus, Versus etc. etc. X100..

Now my old brain can't remember if who or whom is correct! Oh well guess I need a cruise..

When in doubt, substitute him (sometimes you’ll have to rephrase the sentence) and see if that sounds right. If him is OK, then whom is OK. If the more natural substitute is he, then go with who. For example: You talked to whom? It would be incorrect to say You talked to he? but saying You talked to him? makes grammatical sense.

;p

Basic English is easy enough, but the deeper you delve into this fantastic language, the more subtle and complex it gets...

We have sailed both and enjoyed them more or less equally.

Reflection lacks Eurodam's full promenade but has lots more seating topside, including shaded areas with awnings.

Both have similar food venues, three specialties, Reflection's buffet is a nicer layout.

Entertainment much like the food is subjective, both fairly similar offerings except no Adagio or Lincoln Center strings on Celebrity.

Reflection is roughly 20 plus percent larger with more passengers if that is s concern.

FWIW we would sail either again.

I have cruised Eurodam a couple of times and Reflection's sister ship, Eclipse. Celebrity's Solstice class ships are among the most beautiful of the mass market cruise lines. I would also expect the entertainment to be superior to Eurodam and the food on a par. My choice would be predicated on cost and itinerary as both offer fine cruise experiences.

I have been on Westerdam and Noordam as well as Reflection. The Reflection is a beautiful ship, the balcony cabin seemed smaller than HAL cabins. Again, food is subjective but we thought the HAL food is better overall. We eat very often in the pay extra restaurants and liked the variety and ability to buy a discounted package on Celebrity. We feel the service is slightly better on HAL. We would book either line depending in itinerary and price. Since we are not interested in Caribbean or Alaska HAL normally wins for interesting itineraries.

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Thank you all that's the info I'm looking for..

Will compile all the posts & give our Friends the info from everyone.. They can then decide which one to take..

So far they are leaning to the Reflection only because the dates are better..

We really like the longer cruise but HAL's final return to Ft. Lauderdale is on New Years Eve & so far our Friends are not crazy about getting back on that day..The Reflection leaves on Dec 22 & arrives back in Ft. Lauderdale on Jan 2..Perfect departure & arrival for them..

DH & I have spent Christmas Eve with these Friends for many years & I suggested a Christmas/New Years cruise only because it's lovely to see all the beautifully decorated ships..Our kids/grandkids will come down after New Years so timing is also perfect..

Thanks again, & would love to hear from other posters..

 

We really like the longer cruise but HAL's final return to Ft. Lauderdale is on New Years Eve & so far our Friends are not crazy about getting back on that day..The Reflection leaves on Dec 22 & arrives back in Ft. Lauderdale on Jan 2..Perfect departure & arrival for them..

The much superior dates of the Reflection would be the tie breaker for me.

Thanks again Everyone..Well we went ahead & booked the Reflection..Now I'm spending a lot of time on the Celebrity board trying to get to know some of the difference's.. We've done so many cruises on HAL & it scares me a little, as hope DH will be happy & enjoy our cruise on a much larger ship..

I'm going to miss sitting on the Promenade deck but happy that we will be with our Friends & both couples will have a balcony on Celebrity.. :cool:

We have sailed Eurodam some years ago, but last November I visited Reflection, had a great lunch on board and had a look around.

I was impressed by what I saw, will try to post some photos.

The ship is beautiful, of course we loved the real grass area on the topdeck. You can have a picknick basket and have lunch out there. The indoor pool is adults only. I am sure you will have a great time.

We've sailed on both the Eurodam and the Reflection and I wouldn't hesitate to book both of them again. But as others have stated - the Reflection is a beautiful ship with lots of amenities and well-laid out cabins. The food is on par and if you should have booked Aqua Class even better . The only reason why we mostly book HAL cruises right now are the much better itineraries for many cruises and their excellent crews. We also think that HAL keeps their older ships in better condition.

We just got off of the Reflection after sailing with Celebrity for 5 times.....before that HAL for about the same. Was on the Eurodam for the inaugural sailing. Both ships are wonderful....about equal. There are some nice features on both. The food and the service. I would think that either ship would be nice to be on!

Thanks again Everyone..Well we went ahead & booked the Reflection..Now I'm spending a lot of time on the Celebrity board trying to get to know some of the difference's.. We've done so many cruises on HAL & it scares me a little, as hope DH will be happy & enjoy our cruise on a much larger ship..

 

I'm going to miss sitting on the Promenade deck but happy that we will be with our Friends & both couples will have a balcony on Celebrity.. :cool:

I think you will love the Reflection, it's such a beautiful ship. We've recently sailed on our 1st HAL ship, the Noordam, and enjoyed it enough that we are booked on the Koningsdam next year. But we found there is more to do on the Reflection and also thought the buffet on Noordam not nearly as diverse as that on Celebrity ships. Hope you have a good time on your 1st Celebrity cruise.

We did this very complete review of the Reflection, including photos of all the public areas: LINK

It and its sisters are lovely ships. I am sure you will enjoy them. We have only been on the Westerdam; but will be cruising on the Nieuw Amsterdam and Zaandam over the next 6 months. I am looking forward to seeing the differences myself. Have a great time on your cruise.

Thanks again Everyone..Well we went ahead & booked the Reflection.

I think you made the right choice. I haven't been on Eurodam or Reflection, but I've been on their sister ships. Solstice Class ships are beautiful and modern. You're in for a treat. :)

Adding my two cents.

BB KING on Eurodam, in my opinion, is the best evening dance place.

But the Reflection will appear glitzier, sort of a neon lights ship. Pax very nice and there is an energetic buzz. Food similar. No tea time. Passengers younger as a median, the bars are busier, very busy in fact because Celebrity gives away so many drinks packages to elites. Lecturers are far better on Celebrity, no contest.

Eurodam is soft, traditional and more sedate in feeling. Crew wise there is no matching the HAL staff. I found that the mixed nationality crew on Celebrity sets up confusion in the dining room.

I think you made the right decision to be on board for New Years Eve.

I've been on both ship as well; the Eurodam in April and Reflection last June.

My opinion:

-Eurodam has better food in the buffet and burger and pizza joint. Reflection has a better MDR and paid restaurants. The lawn grill is pretty good.

- Shows are both average imo. I do not like the new in house productions by Celebrity.

- The lawn on the Reflection (and other Solstice ships) is awesome.

- The Reflection offers unlimited internet packages while the Eurodam does not.

- The bathroom in the stateroom is bigger on the Eurodam and have better bath products (based on Oceanview).

We sailed Reflection December 2016 and have been on Eurodam 5 times the most recent being February 2017.

Our first night on Reflection we were in open seating and the people next to us who had started earlier sent their food back for the second time--the dad and one of the kids. I was shocked and thought that some people cannot be pleased but our food arrived half cooked and I understood the problem.

Our food was a disappointment throughout the week in both selection and quality. We had one wonderful server who we got a few nights and service was not good the other nights. We are very low maintenance but it was disappointing even to our low expectations.

Our balcony had broken glass when we boarded and I told our steward a few times. The third time he told me it wasn't his job. I could have scooped it up with one of the many brochures but I did not want to put it in the trash and have someone get cut when they sort it so we avoided that part of our balcony and never went barefoot. I don't think that would happen on HAL.

We also had a smoker next to us. We and the people on the other side of him complained several times but were told unless they saw him it was basically our word against his. Not sure why anyone would lie about it and I did not like my integrity being questioned. Thought we would not have to worry about smokers on X.

The ship was beautiful and the Christmas decorations were very nice. DH and I felt there were less activities on there than on HAL. We usually rotate between the show, BB King, and the piano bar and on X it was basically just the show and one or two trivias a day.

I had qualms about such a big ship, but it did not seem big. There were always available chairs in the adult only aqua spa and the main pool. There were TONS of chairs which made it easy to find chairs on a sold out ship. Kudos to X.

I noticed some workers who were very hard working and others who would walk by trash or empty glasses and not pick them up. I felt our cabin steward was a definite slacker, but the guy in the area we passed to get to the elevator was always working and very friendly.

It took three hours to tender in Grand Cayman and there were no weather issues. I have read on the X boards this happens. We could have gone early as Elites but never dreamed it would be such a problem. Our shore excursion met on the dock and we were afraid we would miss it. They announced open tenders at the last minute for us. They should have met on the ship and escorted us off, but did not. Very poorly run.

The buffet was set up awkwardly. People would line up and go through from each end of the station. At the waffle one each morning I would get my waffle and attempt to make my way to the toppings as others came from the topping end to the waffle and pancake part. It should not have been that difficult. There were few selections repeated across several stations and you would go through the line to see that what was there was the same as what you passed 3 or 4 times already. I missed the great salads on HAL.

It seems that Celebrity has gone to the free drink packages and people love that so much they overlook the many ways Celebrity has gotten away from their once wonderful product.

We are Elite and have many perks which are much better than what we get as 3 star mariners on HAL, but happily give them up for the much better experience on HAL. We will try them in a few years to see if they have gotten back on track if the itinerary is right.

You will notice the staff is a different filling.

I've been on both but Eurodam was such a long time ago, it's not really fair to make too much of a comparison. However, we had a very nice cruise on her. Part of it was because we had a great roll call and we did a lot of activities together. For instance, we did the "Oasis" on Half Moon Cay together. Also,.at that time HAL was very involved in the cruise critic parties. They had a nice room set up for us, with champagne and bloody marys being served. Also, all the cruise criticers were invited to HAL's VIP party. I don't think that happens anymore.:( I do remember that Eurodam was a very "rough rider." It seemed like the seas were rough and then you'd look out and they were smooth as glass. Everyone on board commented on that.

I like Celebrity, but Reflection is my least favorite X ship. I don't like the small Sky Lounge. We also had the worst dinner ever on her (beef cheeks).

Even with the above, I find this comparison interesting because I'm torn between booking Reflection again because of one of her itineraries and Koningsdam, who has an intinerary close but not as good as Reflections. Reflection is leading, not because of the ship, but because of the itinerary, the fact that this cruise would make us Elite (and there are some Royal Caribbean cruises of interest to us), and Reflection is slightly cheaper, a day longer , and X has that drink package.

Go on Reflection, get your elite status. If you are planning on future RCI cruises this is, IMHO, one of the best frequent cruiser rewards on the market AND status is recognized on both. Not sure about Azamara.

We did not even realize we were elite until we took an RCI cruise. Much to our surprise, no matter what cabin class we booked, we had access to the elite lounge and their concierge service. When booking a balcony elite gave us an extra $200. per cabin price reduction.

Continental breakfast in the AM, small sandwiches, cheese etc at lunch, caps and expressos all day. Open bar and hot/cold appetizers from 5-8PM. PLUS, RCI will load your key card with three free bar drinks anywhere on the ship (except the DR) each day from 5-8PM. We had breakfast there every morning. Quiet, and we could fix our own coffees-cap with a shot or two of expresso.