Reflections on our March 16-22 Reflections Cruise

[redjetz]

We are just back from a wonderful week on the Reflection. A beautiful ship, like the other S class vessels. It was immaculately clean, both our cabin and the public spaces. We did miss having the full-size Skybar and its lounge chairs at the front, but we made do J -- it’s still a nice bar. The Lawn Club is a great addition, and we enjoyed our day in an Alcove.

Our fellow cruisers were an interesting mix – strong East Coast US and Canada contingents – and we all appreciated missing last week’s bad weather and basking in the Caribbean sunshine, for sure. The 123 Go promotion seemed to have drawn a lot of people to their first Celebrity cruise, after many Carnival, NCL and Royal trips. It was interesting to hear people talk about the differences they found on X, whether positive or lacking. In general, people either liked the more upscale amenities and atmosphere or they found Reflection lacking a party atmosphere. We thought the “newbies” added a bit of buzz and a bit higher energy that we enjoyed. It seemed most of the venues were lively and hopping at night (except Michael’s club, which just can’t seem to draw and retain a good crowd for more than a few minutes at a time).

In St. Maarten, both the Eclipse and Mein Schiff I (the former Celebrity Galaxy) were in port with us. Several of the staff were excited to see the former Celebrity vessel and talked to us about what a lovely ship she was.

· Embarkation: We arrived on a hotel shuttle around 12:45 and the line outside was long. Fortunately, we found the line for Concierge Class was much shorter and were onboard with just a bit of delay. We headed topside to have lunch at The Porch, which was good and completely uncrowded.

· Cabin: We were in stateroom 1118, on deck 10. This is a great location, midship, just at the beginning of the hump, and near the elevators. Quiet (though you can sometimes hear the party band just a bit; we didn’t find that annoying). Alexander, our attendant, kept the cabin in great shape and took excellent care of us.

· Meals: Probably the best food overall on our 5 Celebrity cruises to date. We had the specialty restaurant 4-dinner package so only dined in the MDR three times (with great service from Erol and Roxan and Jennifer), but the food was delivered hot, was prepared well and tasty. No complaints. We enjoyed the speciality restaurants, too, but I have to say the service is too rushed, especially in Murano. We really like Murano but are likely to pass on it next time. The servers were very nice and the food was good, but they need to learn to pace the meal better. The same thing occurred in Tuscan Grill until we got them to slow things down a bit. Qzine is just a fun place for dinner (do love those suishi lollipops!). The Lawn Club was the most enjoyable of the speciality restaurants. It’s fun to learn to throw the pizza dough and it’s really nice to be out in the (somewhat) open air.

· Bars: We had the premium drinks package and put it to good use – at least one latte a day, several bottles of sparking water (Pellegrino), cocktails and wine. Service was good everywhere, but especially in the Molecular Bar and the Ensemble Bar. The Martini Bar was busier than usual most of the time, I thought. Not sure, but it may have been in part because of the number of people taking advantage of the 123 promotion – we ran into a lot of people who booked within the past month for the promotion.

· Entertainment: The shows were ok, the usual. The party band was fun and we enjoyed watching the dozen or more couples who participated in the daily ballroom dancing in the atrium. I always appreciate having a jazz group play in the ensemble lounge.

· Café Bacio: The menu no longer lists Irish Coffees, or the wonderful Aspen Coffee, nor wine and beer. They will make it for you and get you a wine, but you have to know to ask. Seems they are wanting to drive that business elsewhere. I wish Bacio would serve sandwiches/savories all day and not just a couple hours.

· Alcove: I know there is a bit of minor controversy over the Alcoves, but we thoroughly enjoyed our day in one. It was a sea day and I had already gotten burned from too much time in the pool a couple days before, so this was the perfect way to be out in the air, shaded, in comfortable lounge chairs that we could come and go from (the pool decks were completely jammed!) We always have a balcony cabin and enjoy reading out there, having coffee, etc., but the Alcove is different, roomier, comfortable. We had a front row seat for the bocce ball tournament and watched everyone come and go for their turn to take pics in the oversize Adirondack chairs.

· Disembarkation: We are big fans of the Luggage Valet service – Fee is $20 per person to Celebrity to provide your boarding passes and get your luggage from the ship to the airlines. Once you put the bags outside your door the last night, you next see them at your final destination. Well worth the $20 not to have to deal with them.

· Ports: There were more sea days than ports, which was fine with us as this was a week to relax. We got off the boat and wandered around in San Juan and in St. Kitts. For St. Maarten, we enjoyed the quiet of the pool and had our choice of deck chairs.

 

Any questions, let me know.

[Geo&Doc]

thank you for the great review. Is it a long way to the pool from the Alcoves?

[waterbug123]

thank you for the great review. Is it a long way to the pool from the Alcoves?

 

The alcoves are a deck up and slightly aft from the pool.

[redjetz]

thank you for the great review. Is it a long way to the pool from the Alcoves?

 

Thanks! The pool is a deck below. Not far, but not in the immediate vicinity.

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review.

[Karynanne]

Thank your for your wonderful review.

[Negrilgirl]

Thanks for the review. I have read conflicting info about bringing food to the Alcoves. Are you able to bring food and drinks from other restaurants?

[luv2beacruiser]

Thanks for the great review :) Have heard many good reviews on the Solstice class ships and are looking forward to our week on the Reflection (in 4 days) 3-30-13. In Aqua class, deck 11, mid-ship.

Anyone out there ready to set sail on Saturday to some warmer weather with us?

Freezing in Oklahoma.....

Chuck & Darla

[Negrilgirl]

Thanks for the great review :) Have heard many good reviews on the Solstice class ships and are looking forward to our week on the Reflection (in 4 days) 3-30-13. In Aqua class, deck 11, mid-ship.

Anyone out there ready to set sail on Saturday to some warmer weather with us?

Freezing in Oklahoma.....

Chuck & Darla

Enjoy! I have a few more weeks to go.

[Cruising89143]

Thanks for your review. We enjoyed our cruise a few week ago. Our first Cruise on X but definitely not our last.

[April Jewel]

Thanks for your review. We hadn't heard of the Luggage Valet Service before but it sounds ideal for us in August as we want to spend some time in Rome before our early evening flight and were wondering what to do with our luggage.

 

Interesting to read about how much you enjoyed the Lawn Club - looking forward to trying this.

 

Thanks

[baby]

does anyone happen to have copies of the dinner menus each night in the dining room

 

thanks carol

[stipmom]

Luggage Valet is not in all ports...

[need2bespoiled]

does anyone happen to have copies of the dinner menus each night in the dining room

 

thanks carol

 

I found this the other day, has all the menus:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1809454&highlight=mdr

 

Does the OP have the dailies? I'd love to know the themes of the parties on various nights before I pack :)

 

May also help us plan which nights we'll eat where...

 

We also sail on Saturday, wahoo!

 

 

Happy Sailing!

[redjetz]

Thanks for the review. I have read conflicting info about bringing food to the Alcoves. Are you able to bring food and drinks from other restaurants?

 

The attendant told us we could order food from him or bring it from any of the restaurants. No problems at all. They also provide several bottles of water and a nice fruit and cheese plate during the afternoon.

[redjetz]

Thanks for your review. We hadn't heard of the Luggage Valet Service before but it sounds ideal for us in August as we want to spend some time in Rome before our early evening flight and were wondering what to do with our luggage.

 

Interesting to read about how much you enjoyed the Lawn Club - looking forward to trying this.

 

Thanks

 

The Luggage valet service is not well advertised, so just go to Guest Relations during the first couple of days and ask for the forms to fill out. If enough people don't sign up, it gets canceled so I am on a mission to spread the word!

[redjetz]

I found this the other day, has all the menus:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1809454&highlight=mdr

 

Does the OP have the dailies? I'd love to know the themes of the parties on various nights before I pack :)

 

May also help us plan which nights we'll eat where...

 

We also sail on Saturday, wahoo!

 

 

Happy Sailing!

 

Hi, sorry I don't have the dailies, but formal nights were the norm for 7-night cruises that go Saturday to Saturday -- Sunday and Thursday. Hope that helps.

[Negrilgirl]

The attendant told us we could order food from him or bring it from any of the restaurants. No problems at all. They also provide several bottles of water and a nice fruit and cheese plate during the afternoon.

Thanks for the info.. Just booked an Alcove for one of our sea days.

[cruiseguys2009]

Thank you so much for your review. We are "Converts" from Carnival and NCL and sailing our first time on Celebrity in 16 days...........and yes, we booked primarily because of the 1,2,3 GO Liquor Promo. We have already upgraded, as well, to the Premium Package, and liked the Promo so much, we went and booked three other Celebrity Cruises! Heck, free booze for a week is like Gawd saying Happy New Year!

 

We drink, but we are not Heavy Party folks(.......anymore), so Celebrity seemed to be a good fit. Nowadays, we like to have our fun in the Casino and out on the pool deck, but will definitely NOT miss the belly flop contests, or the hairy chest contests, or the wet tee shirt contests! Our party days are winding down to just cocktailing it with Martini's and Manhattan's. We enjoy excellent service, great food and gorgeous accommodations. It seems that the "other guys" have the pack-em-in mentality, so much so, that we are just not interested in sailing with them any longer.

 

Your review solidifies our thoughts and are happy we made the switch! Thank you again.

 

Doing the Happy Dance!

[redjetz]

Here 's hoping you enjoys your X cruise as much as we did, Cruiseguys. Reflection was our fifth on Celebrity and gave us Elite status. Celebrity fits us, for now at least -- it's a nice balance of classy accommodations, good service. Not perfect, but good value for the cost.

[hansolosmom]

Thanks for the review, sounds like it was a lovely trip.

 

I'm assuming you booked the Alcove while on-board, is that correct? I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[redjetz]

Thanks for the review, sounds like it was a lovely trip.

 

I'm assuming you booked the Alcove while on-board, is that correct? I'm glad you enjoyed it.

 

we actually called Celebrity and booked the Alcove before we left (forget trying to do it on the website -that continues to be a mess). If you wait til on board you might get lucky but you might be disappointed. The day we booked, 11 of the 12 Alcoves were booked. The previous sea day, there were no vacancies, but the first sea day, most of the Alcoves were available. Difficult to predict.

[Dave4120]

Hello All....Very nice review. My wife and I will be on the Reflection this coming November. It will be only our second time on Celebrity, after having been on RCCL some 19 times, after our Explorer cruise in May.

 

There will be another couple with us in November and we would like to rent an Alcove too. Can you or anyone else please tell me how to reserve one, and, if an Alcove can be reserved in advance of the cruise, or, does it have to be done once on the ship? And, any pricing info to rent, along with how many hours do you get in the Alcove for the additional fee?

 

I see another person just posted that they have already reserved an Alcove, but on my on-line reservation page, I did not see where that might be listed.

 

Thanks for any information.

Dave

[waterbug123]

Thanks for the review. I have read conflicting info about bringing food to the Alcoves. Are you able to bring food and drinks from other restaurants?

 

Yes. Although strangely, the staff at The Porch tried to tell us we could not take food "to go" from there. They didn't tell us we couldn't take it to the Alcoves, they said we couldn't take it to go, period. Sometimes we said fine, and sat there and ate. Other times we were rule breakers and took it anyway. They never did explain the reasoning for the rule, and it seems to be enforced sporadically. No trouble though to bring food from the buffet or the Mast Grill, or even to have out butler bring hors d'oeuvres.

[spectroman]

How was the age mix?