Reflection review with photos - Day 1 - Miami

Read the first episode here: Pre-Cruise Day

Day 1 – Dec. 29 - Miami

We headed down to the free breakfast at the Comfort Suites North around 10 am. The breakfast buffet area was a bit of a zoo. There was not much food left, but I think if your timing was right you might find bacon, fresh fruit, an assortment of things to toast, make your own waffles, cereal, etc.. When we got there, we couldn’t find anywhere to sit. I got in line to make toast, and by the time I had my toast in hand the area had cleared somewhat (probably one of the shuttles had arrived). We found a few bar stools and ate our toast. The coffee was pretty bad, so I didn’t finish it.

We asked the front desk to call us a taxi, and this time one arrived in about ten minutes, and we were on our way to the port! And things were looking up – this taxi driver drove safely, and was a nice man, originally from Columbia, who we enjoyed chatting with. He was also very knowledgeable about the different cruise ships. There were four in Miami that day.

No luggage tags, no express check-in, no problem. I’m usually very organized before every trip, but this time – for a number of reasons – well, not so much. So I had missed the online check in window, and I ordered our luggage tags too late. But once we arrived at the port, a porter quickly wrote up tags for our bags, and we were through security and checked in within about 15 minutes. We waited about another ten minutes in the ‘Select’ boarding area, and then we were walking up the ramp.

We were on board by 11 am, and welcomed with a Mimosa. Beverage packages were being marketed all over the ship, and also at the top of the ramp before we even boarded. We saw many people signing on for a package, so they appear to be very popular. Cellar Masters, the wine bar, was also offering discounted cards for the Enotica wine dispensers. If you paid $100 you would receive $120 credit, for $50 you would get $60 to spend. We love wine, but as the beverage packages can’t be used with the Enotica machines, we weren’t interested. For those of you who love good wine but do not plan to purchase a package, you might want to take advantage of the offer.

The Reflection had that ‘new ship smell’ and really was very beautiful. We toured the ship, and stopped by Murano’s to make a dinner reservation for just my husband and me. There were very few reservations slots available on any night. I would recommend reserving before you cruise if you have your heart set on a specific restaurant, or day or time. The only time available for Murano’s was 10 p.m. on January 2, and the restaurant was full at that time that night. One tip that was new to me was that specialty restaurant reservations can be made in any restaurant for any restaurant. So as the line up at Murano’s was quite long, we just walked down to QSine where there was no one waiting, and made our Murano’s reservation there.

We then walked up to Deck 15 for lunch at The Porch – and our first chance to use our Premium Alcohol Packages! The view of Miami was great, and lunch was very good. There were very few people there (but there were a few officers), and I think many didn’t realize The Porch was an option for lunch on the first day.

The Porch

The Porch

Some stores on board already had 50% off some items, so I bought a white hoodie sweatshirt, which I never actually needed on this trip. I had gone to the store hoping to pick up some hair mousse, that I had not been able to buy in Miami because of the hotel’s location, but the ship shop had a VERY limited selection of toiletries. I ended up buying a couple of hair products in the salon the next day, and they were both very expensive – I won’t make that mistake again!

We were in our state room, #9190, by about 1 pm. As expected it was compact, but we found it fine for three adults, and we had enough storage space (and we each had a large suitcase and a carry on). We don’t spend much time at all in the room, so the lack of space wasn’t a huge issue. I don’t think our son found the drop down bed too comfortable, but he managed. The bathroom had plenty of storage space, and the shower worked very well.

Shortly after sail away we returned to our room to dress for dinner. Two of our three bags had arrived, and luckily the missing bag was not mine! The last suitcase did arrive in our room shortly after dinner.

Dinner at the Tuscan Grille was excellent, and probably the best meal we had all week on board. The service was very good, and my filet mignon was one of the best steaks I have ever had in my life. This wonderful meal was a fantastic way to kick off our cruise.

Tuscan Grille

Tuscan Grille

Tuscan Grille

The Martini Bar on the Solstice was our favourite spot for a drink, and we spent time there every night. The drinks were excellent, and the bartenders were wonderful entertainers. So we were looking forward to returning to the Martini Bar on the Reflection, but when we did – after our dinner at the Tuscan, I was disappointed. The bartenders, at least that night, were not showmen at all, and I didn’t enjoy the drinks as much as I had on the Solstice. My Jaliscotini was too sweet and had no garnish at all. My French 75 didn’t taste quite right. On another night my Dirty Vodka Martini was left on ice for too long and was watery. On our last night I ordered a Chocolate Martini. The bartender told me he had no full size martini glasses left, so all I could have was a mini martini! So although the Reflection and Solstice are sister ships and very similar, our cruise experiences were different. We spent a lot of time on this cruise in the Passport Bar, the Ensemble Bar, and the Sunset Bar, but we didn’t enjoy the Martini Bar.

We ended our evening in the Ensemble Lounge, where we heard for the first time the Vivian Clement Trio (Vivian is from Toronto!), and we really enjoyed her voice and song selections. She reminded us of Holly Cole who we also like (but who may not be well known outside of Canada).

Next installment, our first full day on board, and San Juan.

Thank you for the great review so far! I am so glad to hear that the porch is open for lunch on embarkation day! That was my plan, but I had been unable to confirm that it was open. Thank you so much!

You're welcome! It really was a nice spot for lunch, because you get a lovely view of downtown Miami. It wasn't listed in the Celebrity Today as being open, but we were wandering by and saw that it was, so we stopped for lunch.

Thank you for the great review so far! I am so glad to hear that the porch is open for lunch on embarkation day! That was my plan, but I had been unable to confirm that it was open. Thank you so much!

looking forward to more....we are onboard in 5 more days!

Necver a big fan of martini Bar but looking forward to many of the other watering holes onboard! Dd you try Molecular Bar?

We did! We really like the Molecular Bar. I have some drink reviews and photos coming up!

You'll love the Reflection- I wish i was still on board.

looking forward to more....we are onboard in 5 more days!

Necver a big fan of martini Bar but looking forward to many of the other watering holes onboard! Dd you try Molecular Bar?

Thanks for the report!

SeaCBear! Thanks so much for your awesome review. Can you tell me if there were tons of kids onboard as it was a holiday cruise? We are thinking about booking this cruise for New Years this coming December. Although we don't mind kids, we've just heard some horror stories from friends who were on a RCCL cruise over New Years and said the kids took over the ship. We are looking for a relaxing time by the pool so am just a bit concerned about the "kid factor".

Thanks for any input you can give.

Debordo

Hello Debordo - there were more kids than I had expected, but probably less than on a RCCL ship. Most were very well behaved, and many were very cute. There were only a few that we looked at and wondered, "Where are their parents?". The kids certainly didn't spoil any of our days - they weren't at the Sunset Bar, they weren't at the Solarium, etc. I mostly noticed them when they were running up and down the stairs, and on one occasion, bouncing around in one of the hammocks. But those were isolated incidents. If you don't mind some kids, I don't think you'll find it a problem. As you can probably tell, we had a wonderful time. And although I am a mother of one, now 20, I have a fairly short fuse for kids who are NOT well behaved. ;)

SeaCBear! Thanks so much for your awesome review. Can you tell me if there were tons of kids onboard as it was a holiday cruise? We are thinking about booking this cruise for New Years this coming December. Although we don't mind kids, we've just heard some horror stories from friends who were on a RCCL cruise over New Years and said the kids took over the ship. We are looking for a relaxing time by the pool so am just a bit concerned about the "kid factor".

 

Thanks for any input you can give.

Debordo

Thanks so much.. I feel better about booking this NYE cruise now!

I love Vivian..... we first encounter the group on an Infinity Alaskan Cruise. I bought and still enjoy her CD from 2008. I am most looking forward to seeing her and the group on our cruise in less than a week. She certainly has the silky, heavenly voice. She is a Celebrity cruise line treasure! :D

We felt the same way - I don't think we missed many, if any of her performances. And she was great about taking requests.

I love Vivian..... we first encounter the group on an Infinity Alaskan Cruise. I bought and still enjoy her CD from 2008. I am most looking forward to seeing her and the group on our cruise in less than a week. She certainly has the silky, heavenly voice. She is a Celebrity cruise line treasure! :D

Thank you for the great review so far! I am so glad to hear that the porch is open for lunch on embarkation day! That was my plan, but I had been unable to confirm that it was open. Thank you so much!

Is the porch a "pay for" restaurant or a free choice?

Like the Bistro on 5, there is a $5 per person fee, but that covers all you want to eat.

Is the porch a "pay for" restaurant or a free choice?

do you have menus for the tuscon grill

or better yet menus for the mdr

thanks carol

Hi Carol - no, I'm sorry. I didn't think to take shots of any of the menus (except at the Molecular Bar!). But you can find the menu for the Tuscan Grille online, here.

do you have menus for the tuscon grill

 

or better yet menus for the mdr

 

thanks carol