Long Review - Reflection, 30 Jan 2016 Sailing - Western Caribbean Getaway

This is a long review, as I know that I appreciate a lot of information. Feel free to ask any clarifying questions, or about anything I didn't mention.

Background

I cruised with my only sister. We are both unmarried, although she does currently have a partner, and childless (we do like children). I am 45, and she is 42. We live in Cleveland, OH and have lived there most of our lives. We are first generation American on our mother’s side (she was Irish) and about 15th generation on our father’s side (Irish and English ancestry). I have traveled to five continents so far, but we are by no means well-off. Consider us upper middle-class. We are new to cruising – this was my third and her second cruise. Our first cruise together was on the Reflection in January 2014. As we have only sailed Celebrity, the only comparisons that we can make are based on what we have heard from others. We’re quite sure that Carnival is not our cup of tea. We are intrigued with the idea of trying NCL or RCCL. We’re not sure if HAL is different enough (in a good way) from Celebrity for us to give it a try. Our goal is to somehow see the world before we get too frail or sick (our parents died relatively young – at 64 and 74). I wanted to try RCCL this time around, but my sister liked the quietness of the Celebrity experience. There are kids on board, but you’d hardly notice them. I’ve provided all this information, because I feel that who each of is does greatly influence our views of our experiences. We booked this cruise on a whim when I received a message over Labor Day Weekend (2015) about a large sale going on for that weekend only. It took us all of 90 minutes to decide on a ship and itinerary. This was a 7 night cruise on Celebrity Reflection calling at Cozumel; Georgetown, Grand Cayman; Ocho Rios, Jamacia; and Coco Cay (we were actually unable to call there due to high winds and went to Nassau instead).

Check-In

We arrived about 11:30am, left our bags with a porter, and proceeded quickly through the security check. Once upstairs, the check-in lines didn’t look crowded, so my sister visited the ladies to change into a sundress. We then had a cup of the complimentary flavored water (flavored with fruit – orange or lemon slices), and proceeded to the check-in area for deck six. We stopped to be directed, and a lovely lady directed us to the line for Elite guests. We are only Classic members. I gave her a funny look and showed her my X-press pass, and she told me to take it for what it was and enjoy the cruise. We very quickly checked in, and proceeded up the escalator. We did stop for an embarkation photo, as there was no line. We then proceeded to the gangway and were quickly aboard, where we were offered a glass of champagne or a mimosa. The gangway took us to Deck 5 forward, where everyone was crowded by the elevators. We walked to the mid-ship elevators, where there was 1-2 minute wait for a lift.

Embarkation Lunch

We ventured straight to the OceanView buffet and found a lovely table outside, directly below the Sunset Bar. We had a nice lunch, and just as we were finishing up the announcement was made that our cabins were ready.

Cabin

6300, Deck 6, 2C, Starboard Aft – we booked a 2D guarantee and this was our upgrade. I loved the idea of its slightly larger balcony, so we didn’t ask to change. Make sure your Fitbit is charged, because you will rack up steps walking to this cabin. It's very far from the elevators as it is nearly at the back of the ship. It's very quiet at the back as you don't have many folks walking past your room. The bed is near the balcony, which is my preferred configuration. Toiletries in the bathroom: shampoo, conditioner, soap, and body lotion (Gilchrist and Soames), as well as tissues. There were no cotton balls or q-tips. The hairdryer, a hotly debated topic on this board, was fine for us as it has been in the past.

Upon arriving, I left a note for the stateroom attendant requesting a larger robe and that the mini-bar be emptied. We met our attendants later on, and advised that there was no rush on either request. They had both changes made before dinner. Our attendants were Alfredo and Melody. They were fantastic! We couldn't have asked for more friendly and unobtrusive gentlemen to assist us during our stay. They are truly the two best attendants that I have encountered on Celebrity. Alfredo is going home in a few weeks, but he’ll be back on the Reflection in June.

The room was clean and the storage is/was spacious.

Persian Gardens

We wandered around a bit after checking out our cabin, and somehow ended up heading to the Spa. I’m not sure why/how we actually ended up there, but I’m so glad that we did. On two previous Celebrity cruises (Silhouette and Reflection) I went to the embarkation day open house in the Persian Gardens, and NO ONE explained that I could purchase a pass to the facility. So hats off to Teepy, Spa Concierge, for thoroughly explaining the benefits (sauna, steam room, cold room, aromatherapy room, tiled loungers that were heated), showing us around, and advising us on the costs. Her sales skills helped to make our cruise immensely more enjoyable than it would have been. We went to the Persian Gardens every day and very much enjoyed the experience. We hope to be able to purchase the $75, 6-day pass ($88.50 with gratuity) on all of our future S-class cruises.

Food/Drinks/Dining

Opus Main Dining Room

We did not book any specialty restaurants. We prefer to spend our money elsewhere at this time. Originally we were assigned table 140 at 6pm. It was a table for two. We ate at that table for the first two nights and decided that we wanted to try to switch to Select dining so that we wouldn’t feel so rushed going to dinner. We found ourselves wanting to enjoy the Persian Gardens in the early evening, and so 6pm no longer suited us. The Maitre D’ was unable to accommodate a switch to Select, but did offer us seating for 8:30pm. We said that we’d think about it. At the end of the meal on the second night, we approached him and advised that we would like to switch to 8:30pm, but only if we could stay in the same section as we were very pleased with the wait staff. He was able to accommodate us, moving us to table 146, a table for eight, at 8:30pm. Our Waiter, Francis, Assistant Waiter, Leighton, and Sommelier, Carlo were all excellent and if we couldn't remain in their section, we would not have changed times. The three of them worked well together to provide us will excellent service. We hope to see all three again on a future cruise. Additionally, we were so pleased to have moved to a table of 8, where we met a lovely couple from Canada, and one from the UK, as well as a single lady from the UK. We enjoyed their company immensely. I will note (for those of you who care) that some of them had children our age or thereabout. I feel quite sad for folks who are unable to mix with people of all ages and backgrounds.

Regarding the food - we found that the menus were mostly unchanged from our Reflection cruise of 2014. One thing that I did notice about the menus is that the starters, soups, and salads are now all grouped together as starters. There are only two sections on the menu – starters and entrees – where there used to be three. I still ordered a started and soup or salad most evenings. I have an allergy to mushrooms, so that limited my choices on most nights – although the staff would and did accommodate making a dish without mushrooms. I also don’t care for fish or seafood at all, and the MDR menu is very heavy on both some nights. This is/was easily worked around as I would order extra starters to make my meal, or twice I ate off the “set” menu. The chicken on the set menu was slightly dry, but the portion was huge – 2 three oz breasts, a large helping of mashed potatoes, and a large helping of mixed veg. I also had the sirloin from the set menu one evening, and found it cooked to my liking. My sister had the salmon from the set side on two evenings. She said that it was very good, and very light on the stomach. I had pasta on most of the other nights. I did miss one night in the dining room, as I was suffering terribly from allergies. We ate in the buffet that evening. The desserts in the MDR were all wonderful. Feel free to order two, they will bring you whatever you want.

Carlo really helped us with wine selections to keep us on the classic package. All of the wine was to our liking. It certainly wasn’t the best wine we’ve ever had, but it was all drinkable and smooth.

Oceanview Buffet

We ate all of our breakfasts, except one, in the buffet. I ordered up a fresh-egg omelette each morning, an only had one mix up. Every morning I ordered the same omelette: tomatoes, scallions, peppers, and feta cheese. On the second to last morning, my omelette was made with mushrooms. I’m allergic to them. When I pointed this out to Shurmon (Asst Waitress), she quickly got me a brand new plate, had a fresh omelette made, and also replaced all of the other items that I’d already put on the plate. Yes, I had to wait a few minutes. Yes, I’d never had this happen before. Was I angry? No. Mistakes will happen – it’s what the vendor does about it that really counts.

On the subject of breakfast, God bless Claire (Asst Maitre d) for listening to us about the black pudding with such a pleasant attitude. Celebrity really shouldn’t serve dishes that it can’t cook properly. The black pudding was cut into links of about two inches and while the outside was firm, the inside was mushy. It appeared that they’d boiled it instead of frying it. Claire is English, so we hoped she’d see the problem. She did, but had no luck in communicating the problem to the cook. If I see this again on our next Celebrity cruise, I’ll ask to go back to the kitchen to show them how to do it.

Other than that, we found breakfast in the Oceanview to be wonderful and on par with our past experience on the Reflection. Offerings: pre-scrambeled eggs, poached eggs, eggs cooked to order, omelettes to order; American-style and British-style bacon and sausages; baked beans, the aforementioned awful black pudding, grilled tomatoes and grilled mushrooms; corned beef hash; a variety of breads toasted to order, danishes and croissants, European-style pancakes, blintzes, French toast (a bit soggy), waffles, along with cream and fruit toppings; fresh fruit (cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapple); yogurt. There likely was cereal too, but I don’t recall seeing it. I’m sure there were other items too, but the items mentioned are what I recall.

Room Service

We ordered breakfast once and it was a disaster for me. The scrambled eggs were sweet, as if someone had put sugar or syrup in them; I couldn’t eat them. I ordered a pot of hot tea, but wasn’t provided a mug. I reported the problems to guest relations via a comment card, and the room service manager followed up with us via telephone. My sister spoke to him and he was very apologetic and begged us to give him another chance. I wasn’t going to risk breakfast again, when I really do like the buffet. However, my sister ordered a late night dessert toward the end of the cruise and we giggled to find “VIP” mentioned on the service slip.

Café Al Bacio

Courtesy of the included perk of the Classic Drink Package, I had coffee from here twice every day. My night cap was hot coffee that included a shot of Baileys to help me sleep. I also got pastry here to take up to my room with my coffee. The sweet offerings were usually different than what had been in the buffet or MDR that day. The service is excellent, and they really could do to enlarge this area.

Bars/Lounges

We had the classic drink package. This was our first time with the package. We realized previously that it was not worth it to us to buy it, but having it as a perk makes the cruise go much easier. We had drinks from the casino bar, Passport bar, pool bar, Mast bar, and Sunset bar. We found it easy to keep on the classic package. I did notice after the first drink that it was necessary to ask for the included spirit if we wanted it, otherwise they gave us well spirits. So, I made sure to order an Absolut or Stoli “drink name” going forward. We pretty much stuck to wine, mudslides, fuzzy navels, and white russians. We’re not sure why we didn’t have the pirates punch this time, as it’s very good. We do like interesting cocktails, but for some reason we kept going back to our standards. We rarely, if ever, order mudslides and fuzzy navels at home. They just seemed like good cruise drinks to us. Service was pretty much the same at every bar. You do need to adopt a bit of an assertive stance to get served.

We also made use of both the bars and the wait staff to get bottled water and Coke.

One policy that I wish they would change would be the inability to get two refreshments at the same time. I didn’t ask for two drinks ever, but I did ask for a drink and a bottle of water, or a coke and a bottle of water. The first two days, I was flatly refused, so I went to one bar for a drink and the next bar for my water. Later on in the cruise, I was given both of my requests at the same time.

Public Areas

Pool

Much to our great surprise, we did not spend a lot of time by the pool on our sea days. We used our balcony more than we had in the past, and also spent time in the Persian Gardens. The best time to actually use the pool or whirlpools seemed to be after 5pm. We couldn’t find loungers by the pool most days, as expected, but we were pleasantly surprised to find space on the Solstice deck that suited both of us. I like the shade, and my sister likes the sun.

Solarium, Hideaway, Library, Game Room

We didn’t use any of these spaces on this cruise, but we walked through the Solarium several times. It looked and felt as I had remembered it: clean and laid-back. We just preferred the balcony this time around.

Entertainment and Activities

Reflection Theater: Well, switching to the 8:30pm dinner time combined with our newfound love of the Persian Gardens meant that we only saw the first show. It was comedian Ralph Harris, and we laughed so much that we cried. We had seen the production shows two years ago and weren’t fussed about missing them. I had wanted to see the a capella group, but apparently not enough to leave the spa early.

Jonny Mantra: He was at the sailway at the Sunset Bar and I heard him one other time. He’s a good singer with a repertoire from the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s.

Blind Vinyl: They were the house band. They played lots of 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s music as well. They were good, but tended to repeat songs on each set. I do love that “old” music, so I had no major complaints about them.

Reflection Orchestra: They played some big band music one night in the Grand Foyer. I love that type of music and enjoyed watching them.

Frisky Feud: A Celebrity Life activity billed as late night “vulgar” comedy. It was that! Funny for sure if you have a light heart and aren’t easily offended like us, but not for everyone. Alexander, the cruise director, did make it very clear on what to expect.

Society X “Bed”: I wandered up to the pool deck to check this out and wasn’t impressed. Alexander described it as having the entire pool deck area scattered with beds, pillows, etc. In fact there were probably less than ten loungers that had been converted to beds. I didn’t stay long.

Overall: I like my sleep and was there to relax, not drink and dance the night away every night. I probably would’ve done more, but my allergies were awful and I was terribly congested from the Monday onward. Having been on three Celebrity cruises, it’s not the place to party hardy among a large crowd til the wee hours of the morning. You can find late night dancing, but you won’t find a large crowd every single night. Nightlife and activities are not the reason to sail Celebrity.

Excursions

We took Celebrity excursions in three ports. We liked the guarantee of the ship not leaving us behind. We discussed after the end of the trip that we now feel like we would be comfortable booking private excursions next time.

Cozumel

Dolphinaris - swim with the dolphins all-inclusive. This was my least favorite excursion. It was advertised as being only waist-deep water, but we did need to swim. I’m not a good swimmer. I enjoyed meeting the dolphins, but the water in the pool was a bit dirty for my taste. The food offered at their buffet was just okay. It was edible, and decent, but nothing special. The margaritas were strong, but not particularly tasty.

Grand Cayman

Stingray Swim and Snorkel – boat over to sandbar to swim in the open sea with the stingrays and then boat over to another location to snorkel off the boat. This was my favorite excursion, and that’s saying a lot. I was very uncomfortable when we snorkeled off the beach at St. John USVI two years ago. I don’t like if my feet can’t touch the bottom. I promised my sister that she could pick all of the excursions, so away we went. The stingray swim was fabulous! You descend from the boat to stand on a sandbar and stingrays of all sizes are around you. The water is very blue and very clear. Snorkeling off the boat was much easier and safer, in my opinion, than swimming out from the beach. Also the staff kept an eye on us and guests were helping each other out.

Ocho Rios

Dunns River Falls and Reggae Hill – see/climb the waterfall and then eat while listening to music. The reason that we took this particular cruise was in part because of the itinerary. My sister is a huge reggae fan and has always wanted to go to Jamaica. I had intended to climb the waterfall, but my allergies were really bothering me and I was a bit dizzy, so we just walked up. We watched others from our group climb, and I would like to climb it if I ever go back to Jamaica. Reggae Hill was not to my liking, but my sister enjoyed it immensely. It had rained, so the ground was very, very muddy. The service area is set up in a type of open area near the river, so my footwear got very muddy. The tapas style food that was served was heavy on fish, and we had to ask what each dish was instead of being told. The drinks were nice enough. The service was slow, but that was explained to us by the guide as being part of the Jamaican experience. Life is slow there. The band that played was pretty good. It just wasn’t what I would have chosen to do on an excursion. For me the sea days are for relaxing and the excursions are for doing and seeing, and I’m not a reggae fan. I don’t dislike it, but I don’t have any sort of interest in it.

Bahamas

We were supposed to call at Coco Cay, the line’s private island, but the winds were too high. Instead, Celebrity secured a berth at Nassau. When the staff heard the announcement they were all visibly relieved, as they have to carry off food, drinks, etc. from the ship to Coco Cay. We didn’t book any excursions as the prices were much higher than what we wanted to pay for a day that was supposed to be a low cost day. So we walked off the ship around Noon and found the information desk where nice young man explained that the public beach, Junkaroo, was a short walk away. So we walked there and got a drink and a lounge chair each for $10 from the Tiki Bikini Hut. The afternoon turned cloudy and windy, so we left the beach around 3pm (all aboard was 4:30pm). We wandered very leisurely back to the ship, stopping to pop into shops along the way.

Conclusion

We enjoyed ourselves, had a rest from life, met some very nice people, and encountered some very good weather. There were pluses and minuses from our previous cruise on Reflection, but in the end it all evened out. We booked on board for 2018 to secure the perks they were offering, and got $450 OBC and the classic drinks package. We put down a deposit of $100 each and have complete flexibility to cancel or change the ship/itinerary (which we plan to do) prior to the final payment date without losing our perks.

Thanks for such a comprehensive and well-written review!

Norris

Thanks for such a comprehensive and well-written review!

 

Norris

You're welcome. I read through it four times and still missed some typos. I wish that the functionality existed to edit the original post.

 

 

Conclusion

We enjoyed ourselves, had a rest from life, met some very nice people, and encountered some very good weather.

LOL. Well, we were definitely on the same cruise. I agree with everything you said. It is a quiet, beautiful ship indeed.

Thank you for the review!! This time next year I will be getting ready to set sail on her - first X cruise!!

Can I ask a very silly question? [emoji15]

Is the lotion in the cabin still the one that smells like a cross between grass and cat pee to me, in the white bottle? [emoji87]

Can I ask a very silly question? [emoji15]

Is the lotion in the cabin still the one that smells like a cross between grass and cat pee to me, in the white bottle? [emoji87]

It's not a silly question. I said bottles, but it was more like a white tube. The tube said "moisturize" on the front and the back said Gilchrist and Soames. It smelled like lemongrass to me.

Oops, here are some photos in/from the cabin.

https://goo.gl/photos/yaEePNcpZnEsP5Qx9

Thank you so much for such a comprehensive review. I appreciate you taking the time to give us your thoughts. My DH and I are sailing on Saturday on the Reflection and I just can't wait! My question is about the robes! DH is a large fellow and I'm wondering if you were successful in securing a larger robe than is normally in the cabin? Three years ago the robes provided just didn't work for him!

Thank you for taking the time to post such an informative review. I will be boarding Saturday. Can't wait!

Thank you so much for such a comprehensive review. I appreciate you taking the time to give us your thoughts. My DH and I are sailing on Saturday on the Reflection and I just can't wait! My question is about the robes! DH is a large fellow and I'm wondering if you were successful in securing a larger robe than is normally in the cabin? Three years ago the robes provided just didn't work for him!

Yes, I was. They brought me an XL robe. It turned out to be plusher than the standard bathrobe. I was just glad to have something that fit me.

Really enjoyed the read! I also cruise with my sister, so I took great interest in reading of your experiences traveling together.

I am friends with Claire's fiance and will be sure share your glowing comments about with him so he can pass along to her. I didn't get to meet her when we were on Reflection in December but will next week when we are back on.

Thank you for a very well written, balanced and detailed review!

Very nice review. Whatever issues yu had were obviously quickly dealt with and you still enjoyed yourself. :)

I find it interesting that we get 2 reviews of the exact same cruise, but with differing opinions on everything.

Very well written review.

Keith

Thanks for the great review! It helped me a lot. For Canadians, I just looked and Celebrity has $300 off for residents of Ontario. I can go March Break, inside, for two, for just a shade under $2000 CDN. Really tempting...this review helped a lot!

Thanks for the report!

It's not a silly question. I said bottles, but it was more like a white tube. The tube said "moisturize" on the front and the back said Gilchrist and Soames. It smelled like lemongrass to me.

Emphasis on the grass[emoji37]

Thanks for the response, I'll be bringing my own. [emoji106]

Thanks for the great review! It helped me a lot. For Canadians, I just looked and Celebrity has $300 off for residents of Ontario. I can go March Break, inside, for two, for just a shade under $2000 CDN. Really tempting...this review helped a lot!

Do it! I'll try to forgive you for paying less than me. [emoji12]

Really enjoyed the read! I also cruise with my sister, so I took great interest in reading of your experiences traveling together.

 

I am friends with Claire's fiance and will be sure share your glowing comments about with him so he can pass along to her. I didn't get to meet her when we were on Reflection in December but will next week when we are back on.

 

Thank you for a very well written, balanced and detailed review!

Claire was a STAR, and I was sure to let her know how grateful we were to her for her efforts.

I posted seven of the dailies here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2313769

Unfortunately, I can't find the one from Feb 5th.

Excellent report, thanks!

Thanks for such a comprehensive and well-written review!

 

Norris

Thank you for the well written, comprehensive and well balanced, mostly positive review! I really enjoyed the more positive tone you used throughout the review versus a lot of the grumbling I read!

I'm am from right across the border from you in PA. Looking forward to our Reflection - WC cruise later this year.

I enjoyed your review.

Keith

I'm glad that so many folks found the information helpful. Happy cruising!

Very enjoyable review, thanks!