The Brilliant Reflection - A Review of 1-12-2013 Sailing with Photos (Very Long)

[bdoster]

Very nice review, thank you for taking the time, is appreciated. We did the 3 day inaugural Dec 5th and found the ship beautiful. We are elite and love the evening Cocktail parties. We are sailing this November back from Rome on the Reflection, so will enjoy her again. Sailed Equinox TA in 2011 also from Rome and love this class of ships.

 

Will not do the Premium Drink package again as had a difficult time getting service and did not drink enough to justify the price. The beer bucket was also a disappointment for husband, as they would not allow, only bring one at a time when you caught a server.

[librarylady19]

Sandi,

Thanks for all of the info. We are thinking of taking the tour with Captain Bob. When ya'll stopped to swim at Pinel Island and then for lunch was there any snorkeling around?

Thanks.

Laura

We did not do any snorkeling. I guess it was too rough that day, but I understand that would normally be part of the tour. I wasn't upset as I am not the best snorkeler; have a hard time putting my face in the water and breathing through the tube:)

[gambee]

Sorry to keep everyone hanging....work calls.

 

When I last left you, we were enjoying a drink in the Ensemble Lounge, listening to the jazz trio when a Lady Gaga lookalike strolled through the Lounge:confused:

We then heard music coming from the Entertainment Court and went to investigate.

There was an unpublished show underway, featuring a multitude of Lady Gagas and Tron-like male dancers.

 

 

 

It was very cool...however, and this was a problem at other performances too, there was just not enough room for everyone to see the show. Unless you camped out early in some of the prime seating locations (on Decks 3 and 4) it was difficult to see much of anything or you had an odd view from above. Another example of form over function.

 

May I ask why you deleted the pictures of the performers? Is it something to do with copyright?

[DocJohnB]

And, the thanks is a bit overdue.

 

I starting reading this thread in the busy week leading up to my cruise on the Equinox (2/1). I saw the above photo and thought what a brilliant idea. I was to share the cabin with my brother and having been on 3 of the Solstice class ships knew of the storage situation. However, because it was the busy week leading up to the cruise I promptly put this in the back of my mind and almost forgot about it.

 

Got down to FLL and we were picking some last minute items, when these popped back into my brain. We were at Target and were able to find some. These are great . . . . although we each had two of the size shown, we also picked up a pair of the next smaller size and used it for sock storage.

 

Of course, once I was able to get online, I couldn't for the life of me figure out just who had posted the pic and just ran across it again today when I went back to finish up your whole thread.

 

Again, thanks.

[librarylady19]

May I ask why you deleted the pictures of the performers? Is it something to do with copyright?

 

No, it was actually a technical glitch with Photobucket. I reorganized some of the photos and the link was lost.

Here are the missing pictures:

 

 

 

Edited February 25, 2013 by librarylady19

[gambee]

Oh ok, cool. I thought you might of had a few issues with shows copyright. In my Allure review I did not post any pictures of shows, primarily because they told us not to, since it would be a copyright problem. Then later I learned that videos are the problem and not pictures.

 

I might get some pictures of my Celebrity cruise shows.

 

 

Thanks for the reply :)

[gambee]

We selected a variety of meats from the vast array available for sharing. We asked about spices/glazes but were told that sauces would be served with the meats...ok.

 

We also ordered the lobster mac and cheese and a baked potato as side dishes (seemed rather unnecessary, but what the heck!)

 

We chose lamb chops, veal chops, rib eye steak, shrimp & scallop skewer and bratwurst. A short while later, this meat lovers array arrived on a tray along with a trio of sauces - bbq, chimichurri and steak sauce.

 

 

So, how did all this food taste. The lamb chops were by far the best item, with the seafood skewer second. The rib eye was a bit fatty. I didn't detect any seasoning on the meats, however, primarily a charred taste. The baked potato was pretty uninspired and must have been sitting around for a few hours - not worth the stomach space! Scott liked the mac and cheese enough to finish it.

 

We weren't going to skip dessert (last day of vacation and all that) and knew we wanted to try the chocolate chip cookie a la mode.

 

 

It was good, but not exceptional, which pretty much sums up my feelings about LCG.

The ambiance is very nice, service good, food decent. It is definitely overpriced for the style of food, however (why not $30 like Tuscan Grille?). For $40, I would like something over-the-top fancy aka Murano or completely original aka Qsine.

 

I'm glad we tried it once but I probably wouldn't return unless the price was right.

 

It's me again :D, I have another question. I noticed that you had 3 different types of me and the seafood skewer. Is there a limitation of what two people can order? We thought that it was only one item per person.

[Ugaaucruisers]

We did not do any snorkeling. I guess it was too rough that day, but I understand that would normally be part of the tour. I wasn't upset as I am not the best snorkeler; have a hard time putting my face in the water and breathing through the tube:)

Thanks! I think we will do his tour. it sounds like a lot of fun!!

Laura

[librarylady19]

It's me again :D, I have another question. I noticed that you had 3 different types of me and the seafood skewer. Is there a limitation of what two people can order? We thought that it was only one item per person.

 

No limit. We had veal and lamb chops, rib eye steak, sausage and the shrimp skewer actually! Lamb was by far the best of those. Still think the meal was priced too high for the quality and variety. Would go back if it was $25/pp.

[librarylady19]

Thanks! I think we will do his tour. it sounds like a lot of fun!!

Laura

 

Cool! Just remember, we went with Tyrell, not Captain Bob, so I don't know if the experience will be the same, though Capt. Bob does get great reviews on TA.

[Cruising89143]

Sandi, did I miss the Sunday Dailies? Do you recall the show times for that night?

 

Thanks.

[CruisingGrits]

I can't stop thinking about my upcoming cruise I am so excited! You really should get some sort of perk or benefit for the time you spend posting and answering questions. You are a gifted writer and SO patient and kind!

 

I have loved the questions and suggestions about storage. I have only been on one other cruise and I will NEVER forget the poor couple at our table each night whose luggage didn't catch up to them the entire trip. They learned the last day on board that it was on another ship with another cruiseline. This has made me wonder about packing in just a carry on. I've looked online at suggested packing lists, etc... But am curious - have any of you experienced cruisers done this? Whenever I say I'm going to try it my husband gives me "the look". The one that says he has lived with me for 30 years now and has SEEN how I pack and thinks I'm out of my cotton pickin mind to even THINK I could do it. Any ideas?

 

Anyone here going to be on Reflections Narch 16?

[lightning bolt]

I can't stop thinking about my upcoming cruise I am so excited! You really should get some sort of perk or benefit for the time you spend posting and answering questions. You are a gifted writer and SO patient and kind!

 

I have loved the questions and suggestions about storage. I have only been on one other cruise and I will NEVER forget the poor couple at our table each night whose luggage didn't catch up to them the entire trip. They learned the last day on board that it was on another ship with another cruiseline. This has made me wonder about packing in just a carry on. I've looked online at suggested packing lists, etc... But am curious - have any of you experienced cruisers done this? Whenever I say I'm going to try it my husband gives me "the look". The one that says he has lived with me for 30 years now and has SEEN how I pack and thinks I'm out of my cotton pickin mind to even THINK I could do it. Any ideas?

 

Anyone here going to be on Reflections Narch 16?

 

We will be on March 16th, have you checked out the roll call? It has been getting busy this week. :)

[doc_klc]

Thanks for all your effort in this superb review.

 

We have booked the AQ class and shall be dining in Blu. However, we are also interested to experence the MDR. Can we have lunch in it?

[Golfinesq]

Blu only serves breakfast and dinner so, of course you can have lunch in the MDR. You can also have dinner in the MDR if you wish but that basically defeats the purpose of AQ and Blu.

[mrbillw]

Thanx for the awesome review Sandi! We are on the Reflection next month and I was wondering if you remember who the cell service provider was. From what I can find, 2 of the Solstice class use Maritime Wireless and 2 of them use OnWaves. Apparently, Verizon only works with Maritime Wireless. Can't find any info specific to the Reflection about this on the Celebrity or Verizon websites nor the Maritime or OnWaves sites.

 

Bill

[librarylady19]

Thanks for all your effort in this superb review.

 

We have booked the AQ class and shall be dining in Blu. However, we are also interested to experence the MDR. Can we have lunch in it?

 

Charlie is correct - you can eat in MDR for lunch on sea days - except for the day the Brunch is offered (in our case it was on Thursday). We usually try to have lunch in MDR at least once, but somehow ran out of time!

I would highly recommend lunch at The Porch, worth the $5 pp IMO.

Edited February 28, 2013 by librarylady19

[AnchorsAweigh2011]

My wife, son and I will be cruising on the Celebrity Reflection on March 9, 2013 and I wanted to thank you for doing a simply brilliant and outstanding review of the Reflection. Your review is the most authoritative I have ever read and a wealth of information. We are excited and looking forward to our cruise. Thank you Sandi!

[Alada2]

Fantastic review. Best I've read with great pictures. I noted that you also wrote a review of the Eclipse. We will be sailing the Eclipse next season with several friends and, although we are not new cruisers, we are new to Celebrity and would love to read this review. Can anyone help me find it?

[doc_klc]

Charlie is correct - you can eat in MDR for lunch on sea days - except for the day the Brunch is offered (in our case it was on Thursday). We usually try to have lunch in MDR at least once, but somehow ran out of time!

I would highly recommend lunch at The Porch, worth the $5 pp IMO.

Thanks Sandi & Charlie.

I am new to cruising and thus lot of queries in mind.

Follow up question: I don't mean I am a big eater, theoretically, am I allowed to dine in MDR at early evening and have a second dinner in Blu later in the same evening?

 

Anyway, I don't think I can bear with 2 dinners! :p

[librarylady19]

Fantastic review. Best I've read with great pictures. I noted that you also wrote a review of the Eclipse. We will be sailing the Eclipse next season with several friends and, although we are not new cruisers, we are new to Celebrity and would love to read this review. Can anyone help me find it?

 

he link to the Ecliose review is in my signature. Unfortunately, the photos were linked to webshots which is now defunct. :(.

I haven't had time yet to recreate the review with photos but you can see the photos in the link next to my review link.

[librarylady19]

Here's the link to the Eclipse photos:

 

http://s1080.beta.photobucket.com/user/librarylady19/library/Celebrity%20Eclipse

[CruisingGrits]

Can anyone tell me if the refrigerator has a freezer section. Last night when I got up to put a frozen gel pack on my neck I thought, ,"I should take one of these with me!" It won't do any good I'd there's no freezer certain though!

 

Thanx!

 

Teri

[mafig]

I've never had a fridge on a cruiseship with a freezer.

[rknee]

Can anyone tell me if the refrigerator has a freezer section. Last night when I got up to put a frozen gel pack on my neck I thought, ,"I should take one of these with me!" It won't do any good I'd there's no freezer certain though!

 

Thanx!

 

Teri

 

Sorry - no freezer section. Others have commented that the fridge doesn't get very cold and we noticed the same.