Does the Relection feel Crowded?

We will be sailing on Reflection in January to the Caribbean and was wondering if the ship felt crowded on sea days? I have read about the "chair-hogs" on this board so was curious. If it does feel crowded, what did you do that relieve that feeling? Thanks, Bob fr TX

We will be sailing on Reflection in January to the Caribbean and was wondering if the ship felt crowded on sea days? I have read about the "chair-hogs" on this board so was curious. If it does feel crowded, what did you do that relieve that feeling? Thanks, Bob fr TX

Sailed Reflection in December and was worried beforehand....needlessly. It was wonderful. There will be chair hogs on any cruise ship with a pool, but we found places daily without much issue. It was one of our favorite cruises.

We wondered the same before our March cruise on sister ship Silhouette. But it was the most relaxing, stress free cruise we've had so far. We never waited in a line and never experienced pushy upsells. We even found lounge chairs without problems.

We wondered the same before our March cruise on sister ship Silhouette. But it was the most relaxing, stress free cruise we've had so far. We never waited in a line and never experienced pushy upsells. We even found lounge chairs without problems.

No crowding except at pool on Sea days. On her week of March 23; Easter Sunday not a chair was available.

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We have been on the Reflection 3 times and never felt that the ship was crowded. On any ship the loungers next to the pool are always prime rea estate, but I have always found a lounger in the sun if I wanted sun and shade when I wanted shade.

No crowding except at pool on Sea days. On her week of March 23; Easter Sunday not a chair was available.

 

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We were on March 11 - 18. Maybe more folks on the the Holy Days.

See you on Reflection 9/6/19.

I have also wondered if Reflection felt crowded since an extra deck of cabins was added to her vs. the other S class ships. Loved the Silhoutte in December. Doing Reflection next Feb. I wonder about the theater, martini bar and other public spaces seeming crowded. How about Cafe Al Baccio and the whole deck 5 area?

IMHO it is a little bit more crowded than the earlier S class ships sometimes in some places. But overall, never was an issue for us.

On Reflection March 23 sailing the OVC felt very crowded for lunch on sea days and most mornings for breakfast but we could always find a table, usually outside. The sun and pool decks were very crowded on sea days as to be expected but I always found a lounger.

Blu was very crowded as more tables were added. Very busy during the special lunch towards the end. Otherwise, typical S-class ship.

The most crowded experience I have had on Reflection was the sea day in the Ocean View Cafe when it was raining pouring at lunch time. No one could eat outside on the patios or near the pool. Crew even tried to bring some patio tables and chairs and squeeze them into the OCV, making things even more crowded, but at least they tried to help out. It really was unpleasant, but that was the one and only time I really felt things were too hectic on the ship.

The most crowded experience I have had on Reflection was the sea day in the Ocean View Cafe when it was raining pouring at lunch time. No one could eat outside on the patios or near the pool. Crew even tried to bring some patio tables and chairs and squeeze them into the OCV, making things even more crowded, but at least they tried to help out. It really was unpleasant, but that was the one and only time I really felt things were too hectic on the ship.

I think I'd have opted for room service. We used it twice on Silhouette last month, ordering online - worked perfectly.

We were on Reflection over the Easter period and on sea days the pool areas were very busy....as they filled then the lawn and sunset bar area filled. We are not faddy about where we sit nor are we willing to get up at the break of dawn and chair hog! We did think we might find a chair or two somewhere though! I don’t think that there were any more chair hogs than previous cruises just more guests fitting into the same space....

We were expecting this from previous posts and were determined not to let it bother us. We had our comfortable balcony with sun either morning or afternoon depending on whatever sea day it was! If we wanted a swim we plonked our flip flops and tops somewhere near and then post swim walked around and dripped with a cocktail (those plastic stools right at the back of the Sunset Bar are a great place to do this!) and then returned to our balcony. We had decided to skip a tour on Barbados to enjoy an empty pool day then.....we do tend most Caribbean cruises to ‘give up’ a stop we have done before to enjoy the ship.

Re dining sea days...Mast Grill and Oceanview were busy. These days are great on Reflection to try out The Porch or Lawn Club Grill for lunch. Yes, you pay a few dollars but you not only will enjoy what is on offer you will have a much quieter venue with a great ambiance....we loved the seafood tower and washed it down with Sangria! If you don’t want to spend extra then go to Oceanview early or later or get a sandwich or something to take away to eat....Remember room service is also available.

Apart from sea days in the pool area we had no other experiences of the ship being busier than on our other S class experiences. Staff service was excellent, no waiting for drinks anywhere at any time. When we did spend some time poolside other days, for example after a morning tour, it was busy but pleasant with plenty of sunbeds available and bar staff taking orders and delivering drinks promptly.

The only comment I heard from a few other guests was that they had struggled to get bookings at the times they wanted (or at all) for the speciality restaurants (even paying full price) after mid way through the cruise. We had booked our speciality choices at the start of the cruise so we didn’t have a problem.

We would not be put off cruising on Reflection again but we would think long and hard about itineraries that have lots of sea days (TA) or peak season in the Med where there are more family groups which can make poolside areas busier still.

Hope this information helps.

Also, keep in mind that the MDR is usually open for lunch on Sea days. We've frequently gone there for sit down service and rarely had a bad meal...even then they were quick to bring something else.

Yes, we could definitely tell the difference when we sailed on Reflection last summer in the Med. There were no available chairs/loungers anywhere on sea days and every inch of the lawn was filled with bodies. As Chemmo stated above, it is a different experience in the peak summer season and for that reason the itinerary would have to be outstanding for us to even consider sailing Reflection again in high season ;).