librarylady19

Yes, wonderful review. I love all the food pics and menus. First sailing on HAL/Rotterdam on 29th - hope we like it as much as Celebrity as they have gotten soooo expensive. I’ve been following Doug Parker’s reports and tweets too!

I think they mean "valuable" as they get lots of revenue from those "Valued" guests.

I've read about several Royal sailings being oversold recently, and they were offering passengers full refund and credit for another cruise. I would pursue this.

Got this also and was wondering how to find rates - what # to call?

Cool. Mind me asking where you find the deals (without naming names😀)

Enjoying your review. I really want to sail solo as I’m retired but DH is still working (to pay for all those cruises) so I have lots more time to travel! Only thing holding me back is paying double ….

Good to know! Guess Ill just have to do some on board shopping😀

We have OBC coming from TA and Amex; can we get casino credit with this ?

That I didn’t know. Will have to request one for DH🙄

Actually, if you look, there are postings from 2019 and you may also not be aware that the last person to update it (a volunteer I should add) moved on.

Totally agree that more attention should be paid to solo travelers. There are also many people whose spouse/partner can’t or won’t cruise as much as well as those who choose to be single. A 100 sf solo cabin for $1000 is totally unappealing.

SHIP NAME Reflection CABIN # 8106 DECK # (3-14) 8 CATEGORY: 7-12, 1A-1C, 2A-2D, A1-A2, C1-C3, CS, FV, PS, RF, RS, S1-S2, SG, SV OV LOCATION ON SHIP: Port (left), Starboard (right), Bow (front), Stern (back) or Insideand Forward, Midship (between the forward and aft elevators), or Aft (For example: Port-Midship, Bow-Forward or Inside-Aft) Bow, first cabin on starboard side, next to the Family Verandah BED NEAR(Bath, Balcony, Window, N/A) bathroom QUIET? (Yes/No/Usually) NO!!! BALCONY VIEW (Good, Great, Obstructed?) N/A BALCONY SIZE (Standard, Oversized, Other) N/A WIND A PROBLEM?(Yes/No/Sometimes) N/A SOOT A PROBLEM?(Yes/No/Sometimes) N/A PROBLEMS/COMMENTS (Explain all Noise (including crew door issues), Wind and Soot Problems here, plus all comments and information regarding things like connecting or accessible cabins) This was a lovely, light-filled spacious cabin BUT I would not book again due to the following issues: Banging and rocking and rolling at night when seas were rough (this was an E. Caribbean itinerary); noise when docking (shuddering like jackhammer) and noise from FV next door (screaming kids) PICTURES (Attach pictures in your review) DATE OF CRUISE AND "REVOLUTION" COMMENTS 2/5/2023 Cabin in good shape except for wear and tear on white chair at vanity. Great attendant and service.

i just did a week on Harmony as Diamond and another week on reflection as Elite, so have experience recently with its systems. On all other celebrity cruises I’ve had drinks included but since it was just me (DH had to go back to work) I opted to go the budget route and manage with Elite drinks only. Let me say, I much preferred the Diamond perk which allowed me to choose any drinks, when I felt like having them. oI also liked the Diamond breakfast & nibbles in DL. The elite perk on Celebrity was much more restrictive, not just in timeframe but the drinks that were on the included list. Overall, Celebrity is by far my favorite cruise line but I did give Royal the edge in this category. Not. Deal breaker but just preferable.

What is “solo 340+“ is it a Diamond Plus discount?

Yes, that included the gratuities. Upgrade from Classic Alcohol to Premium (Elite/Elite+ Discount 15% Discount) Order summary Subtotal $363.74 Gratuities $65.26 Order total $429.00

Just got off phone w/ Capts Club and added the upgrade for 13 night TA. Worked out to $16.50 additional pp per day (essentially 1 cocktail😀) and I was able to apply by OBC. Thx for everyone’s advice!

Can you use OBC (already on account) if you call in to purchase the drinks upgrade?

Just on Reflection last week and this was not my experience. Food in MDR was great, service was on point, cabin steward was efficient and responsive. Did not have dinner in Oceanview so can't comment on that. Went for lunch once and it was fine (much more choice than on Harmony cruise week before where food was gross in Windjammer).

Question: why does Royal allow smoking in its casinos (which invariably impacts other areas of the ship negatively) when only 12.5% of the adult population still smoke? Many land casinos ban smoking and still make plenty of money. 2nd question: why doesn’t Celebrity switch to the more flexible Diamond drink “vouchers” rather than limit Elites to meager drinks list from 5-7 pm?

Respectfully disagree. If you use your points for flights, especially if you transfer them to an airline when Amex has a bonus offer and book business class, you get tremendous value. Points gurus value Amex points at around 2 cents each. For example, I booked Iberia business class one way from ORD to MAD via BA with 34K Avios points for TA next year.

I read that if you “add to card” travel-related offers you are more likely to get them in future. For example, I added NCL offer, even though I won’t be sailing them. Worth a try.

Going to be in St. Maarten on Reflection in February. This sounds like a good spot but most importantly - is there access to clean rs[est rooms there?

Wouldn’t pay too much attention to what’s on the written menu as what is actually offered depends on what they can stock. DH was very disappointed in “selection” on Apex last January as it was quite limited. This was chalked up to supply chain issues but we have noticed inconsistency in beer offerings before Covid too.

Same here. 2/5 sailing!

Oh dear, I thought that was on deck 7, which is why I picked the deck 9 OV cabin. Oh well, too late to switch now as all those cabins are gone….