Negative Reflection review just posted ! (2 Threads Merged)

[suni]

Did anyone see the review posted today from a person that sailed on the Reflection recently ? Worst review I have read about this ship and now I am worried. I am sailing in January and this person sound like everything was awful . I understand that you can't please everyone....but WOW. I hope I will be writing a gushing review of how much I loved the experience!

[bigeagle12]

Did anyone see the review posted today from a person that sailed on the Reflection recently ? Worst review I have read about this ship and now I am worried. I am sailing in January and this person sound like everything was awful . I understand that you can't please everyone....but WOW. I hope I will be writing a gushing review of how much I loved the experience!

 

The review I just read was about the Constellation not the Reflection ???

[Oville]

The review I just read was about the Constellation not the Reflection ???

 

It was about the Constellation and there was lie after lie in it. We were on this cruise and there is little fact in the timeline. The OP of this review rewrote history and it is truly a shame that someone can exaggerate facts and get away with it.:mad:

Edited December 30, 2013 by Oville

[Andy]

Did anyone see the review posted today from a person that sailed on the Reflection recently ? Worst review I have read about this ship and now I am worried. I am sailing in January and this person sound like everything was awful . I understand that you can't please everyone....but WOW. I hope I will be writing a gushing review of how much I loved the experience!

 

Hi Suni,

 

As Oville mentioned, the review I'm fairly certain the review you are speaking of, was for Constellation. While I tremendously value our member reviews, I think its worth pointing out a couple of items : First, the ship had a mechanical breakdown on this particular sailing, and that's probably why the member was upset. Second, The first sentence of the last paragraph says it all, and I quote "after I called for compensation". And there ya go. It seems clear to me, this person is disgruntled, and that's probably why the review was extremely negative.

 

I've sailed on Constellation many times, and she's a wonderful ship. I'd sail again on Connie in a heartbeat. I hope this helps, and Happy New Year !

Edited December 30, 2013 by Host Andy

[miched]

Why would I want to read a negative review about a ship that I was on and have my own opinion? I have never had a bad experience on any Celebrity ship. It would be a waste of time to read it.

 

 

.🎉🎩🍸

[suni]

The author is : bmwlover and it is posted under REFLECTION reviews.

 

Regardless, I am not going to worry. He also wrote another negative review in 2011. Just one of this people that is never happy I imagine.

 

Cannot wait to sail in a few weeks!

[suni]

Hi Suni,

 

As Oville mentioned, the review I'm fairly certain you are speaking of, was for Constellation. While I tremendously value our member reviews, I think its worth pointing out a couple of items : First, the ship had a mechanical breakdown on this particular sailing, and that's probably why the member was upset. Second, The first sentence of the last paragraph says it all, and I quote "after I called for compensation". And there ya go. It seems clear to me, this person is disgruntled, and that's probably why the review was extremely negative.

 

I've sailed on Constellation many times, and she's a wonderful ship. I'd sail again on Connie in a heartbeat. I hope this helps, and Happy New Year !

 

Thanks Andy! Happy New Year to you as well.

[wf083145]

I just re-read the post which clearly indicates the Reflection and S class ships.

 

That being said, I am always skeptical of reviews which claim that everything was bad. Even the fact that there weren't many kids on the ship were X's fault.

 

That being said, try to not be influenced by 1 person's negative comments. We are on Reflection on 3/29 and if we listened to the occasional nay-sayer we would never leave home.

[Oville]

Hi Suni,

 

As Oville mentioned, the review I'm fairly certain you are speaking of, was for Constellation. While I tremendously value our member reviews, I think its worth pointing out a couple of items : First, the ship had a mechanical breakdown on this particular sailing, and that's probably why the member was upset. Second, The first sentence of the last paragraph says it all, and I quote "after I called for compensation". And there ya go. It seems clear to me, this person is disgruntled, and that's why the review was extremely negative.

 

I've sailed on Constellation many times, and she's a wonderful ship. I'd sail again on Connie in a heartbeat. I hope this helps, and Happy New Year !

 

Thanks Andy, there were just a bunch of made up stories in that review it simply infuriated me. To begin, we were informed of the issue just after 5pm Sunday that there was a mechanical problem. We were having breakfast the next day when the Captain told us of the itinerary changes and we in fact were only in Key West 48 hours, leaving just before 6am on Tuesday. Also, the party was announced at 9ish on Monday evening not 11:00.

 

It was disheartening to read on these boards the few who felt they deserved compensation for missing Cozumel. Celebrity did the best they could under the circumstances.

 

Okay, now I fell better!;):)

[hensus]

We were on the Reflection in September and had a wonderful cruise. We had no complaints and would not hesitate to recommend Reflection. I would sail on Reflection again in a heartbeat! Have fun:)

[chicagopaul]

No worries Suni. We were on the Reflection in February and most recently in October. She is a beautiful ship and the crew is fantastic. There is nothing to worry about. You'll have a great time! We would sail her again in a heartbeat! :)

[DebbieMacG]

The OP is right there is a bad (3 star) Reflection review listed by a user with the name he mentioned, it's lower down the page.

[skibyrd]

We were on Reflection in October and booked on Constellation for April! Reflection was amazing and would jump at a chance to sail on her again! Have never had a bad Celebrity cruise - but then, don't think we've had a bad cruise....

Each to their own, but do not listen to all written words!

[riclop]

Dont worry and just go and enjoy your cruise.

[cruzinlisa]

Negative reviews seem to pop up right after booking and shortly before leaving on your cruise. At least for me. Its just my luck. But I have yet to have a really bad (nightmare-ish) cruise. Some are better than others and there are things to complain if you look (some are staring you in the face), but mostly they don't ruin my vacation.

[Host Jazzbeau]

There are 7 reviews of that TransAtlantic crossing on Reflection. All the others are 5 stars or 5+. Of course, none of those who were impressed had booked multiple Suites or bragged that they are Elite+ like bmwlover. That review lost all credibility for me when the bragging started, so that only left the positive reviews. ;)

[welshfamily]

Please don't worry. Refection has been having these negative reviews from some since it's launch. You are going to have a wonderful time.

Having been on the Reflection for our last cruise and a frequent Celebrity cruiser I would like to make the following comments. Please remember we all have our opinions on what makes a Celebrity cruise special.

Blu was a lot busier and lot, lot, noisier, there were queues after 8.00pm most evenings, however, we thought the staff were the best we have had and would go back in a heart beat.

The Zumba does take up a lot of space on the pool deck. The qualified instructor had just 6 ladies the first day so I,a slightly over weight 55+ lady, joined in more out of pity that a desire to learn Zumba. What fun! It was brilliant, unfortunately for those wanting peace around the pool it did gain in popularity and we ended with all of the area in front of the stage and the back area where the jets of water used to rise out of the deck. It never lasted more than 30 minutes and I believe Celebrity should be congratulated for adding a new activity. Perhaps the BMW lover had to watch dozens of ladies with my build bounce around the deck, one can understand that this might have been 'upsetting' to those of a delicate nature. My own husband joked that the deck was going to need reinforcing :)

I will miss the Acapella group, I do miss the string quartet, and there was a sad lack of live music on our cruise.

The Captains club event had no food. This was a plus for me as we only have a light lunch. The second event had finger food. Excellent as it was held before the evening meal.

I am not a fan of load piped music but I didn't hear it anywhere to the extent it bothered me. I was really pleased with this having read so many negative comments.

I agree with the poster that the loss of part of the sky observation room is a mistake. However just go outside to the newly designed sunset bar and enjoy because this became our favourite place on the ship. The view from the back of the ship is always spectacular and you can hear the sea.

I haven't travelled in a standard Balcony cabin for a couple of years so I can not comment on charges for items on the room service menu. If this is now the case it's another reason for me to book AQ, however to be honest we don't tend to order much room service.

I hope this helps put some things into context and reassures you.

[X-elite]

I was curious about the review in question, so I actually read it. It is about a Reflection cruise. The reviewer has also been on a more recent Constellation cruise.

 

The reviewer gave "5.0" ratings on Public Rooms, Cabins, Spa & Fitness, and Embarkation. Overall, the reviewer was quite disappointed in the ship.

 

The reviewer's specific complaints:

 

Blu overcrowding? Not a new topic here.

 

Suitability of loud music for older passengers? Not a new topic here.

 

Price creep up on drink packages? Not a new topic here.

 

Celebrity Central overcrowded? I've seen it myself where the theatre should have been used to accommodate guests.

 

Cost cutting on food at Captain's Club parties? Yes.

 

Sky Observation Lounge smaller on Reflection? Yes.

 

A one-star review would be "terrible" -- three-stars is below Reflection's average review, but the reviewer is entitled to his opinion without having someone actually post about a one-letter spelling error or someone else twice needing to post about the reviewer's taste in cars.

[islandgirlejfan]

We cruised the Reflection the first week in December and there were a few things that were not as favorable as cruises past. Blu was uber busy...it almost seemed like less staff (probably because there are more being served with the addition of the AQ suites) and sort of uneven service certain evenings. The afternoon treat plate should just go....if you didn't like the canapes in the afternoon previously, what we had was even less attractive! These complaints are definitely not new....they also were not enough to keep us from booking again! The Reflection is a beautiful ship. The Spa was fantastic (!), we totally loved the Sunset Bar area, enjoyed several of the shows and for the most part, the food was not bad. Our CC get together was awesome and we had a lovely meal in the Tuscan Grill. I wish I was still on the ship instead of going to work to make money for the next one!:p

Edited December 30, 2013 by islandgirlejfan

[wedding96]

A review of my Reflection sailing Dec 14-21 should be posted any day in the Member Review Section. I already posted it separately in the Celebrity forum. We had a great time, but couldn't help but remark on some negative experiences and observations. While Reflection is a beautiful ship, my 2 recent experiences on her have not been as favorable as on prior sailings of Solstice Class ships. Whether that's a function of the direction the new management has been taking or whether that's unique to this vessel is difficult to say as it's been a year since I was on another Solstice ship (I was on Eclipse last December but my last two cruises in 2013 were both on Reflection). The biggest disappointments for me were in the Opus food, the downgrading of the AquaSpa Cafe, and the indifferent and cold attitude of many (NOT ALL) of the crew. I don't care about music, shows, or entertainment nor do I really have high expectations in that area when it comes to Celebrity. The thing that keeps pulling me back to Celebrity is the design, the brand, and the diverse demographic it attracts (i'm in my 40's).

Edited December 30, 2013 by wedding96

[Cruising89143]

I read the Reflection review. Just one persons opinion. Others on that same sailing had a totally different opinion. Having cruised on the Reflection earlier this year I had no issues with the ship at all and will be back on board in a few months. Overall it was a great cruise.

 

OP go and do not worry about one negative review. Go and judge for yourself. Most of us cruise to relax and enjoy our vacation. Others are not happy unless they are looking for things to go wrong. It's evident on this very board.

[Jack Horner]

It’s not a myth that the average unhappy customer will tell 10 people about the poor service he or she received. Well if this review is a reflection (excuse the pun) of both the Celebrity Refection & Celebrity Cruise Line it does not baud well for those of us that have chosen to cruise with Celebrity in the past or tend to in the future: A few of the comments if true would be of great concern to someone like me and I would image to most of Celebrity’s passenger demographic who are older and seasoned travelers. We will be on the Silhouette’s TA repositioning trip in April and will hope not to experience these negative issues. See the full review http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=246279 :(

 

Extracts from the review:

REFLECTION not a good reflection of SOLSTICE class ships, the addition of another deck with the addition of 104 more Aqua Class passengers only benefits Celebrity financially, but not any of the passengers. Formerly there were 258, now 362.

 

There was usually a waiting time since Blu restaurant is only slightly larger (in fact, 2 feet wider). It was unbelievably crowded, noisy and the food was neither creative, interesting nor innovative. In fact, it was among the worst of any cruise we have been on. Many of us deserted Blu for the Opus main restaurant after the first week. All of us are Celebrity Elite or Elite Plus passengers and none of us would ever pay anything extra for Aqua Class on the REFLECTION again.

 

Beware of the beverage packages. Several of us purchased the deluxe beverage package with wine available at up to $12.00 per glass. Well guess what? In Murano and the Lawn Club, the least expensive glass was $13.50! In the classic package you have only one white (Wente Chardonnay) and one red (Anakena cabernet sauvignon) from which to choose. On a 15 day cruise, you get mighty sick of the same red or white wine, but no alternatives were possible. Ordering another wine, even at $8.50 or $9.00, and there were plenty from which to choose, you paid not .50 or $1.00 extra, but for the full amount. A total rip off, in my opinion.

 

Gone is the classical music quartet, and it was the final cruise for the 4 acapella singers, all replaced by the worst type of elevator music imaginable played in all of the restaurants, lounges and even the corridors starting at the end of the first week. Other than staying in your cabin, there was simply no way to escape from it. Amplifiers were even placed outside of the shops blaring the most awful music. Each day, just as we were preparing to have a late afternoon cocktail by the pool, zumba classes were held there and passengers were even forced to move their deck chairs for the zumba classes. The noise level was truly unbelievable.

 

Guest speakers were held in Celebrity Central and hundreds showed up, unable to find seats. CELEBRITY is well aware that with 11 sea days and no intellectual pursuits other than the morning speakers, six or seven hundred normally show up. Previously on all other transatlantics, these functions were always held in the theatre. We were told to watch it on TV in our rooms. Just bad planning Mr. Celebrity.

 

Gone is one half of the Sky Observation Lounge, turned over to half a dozen suites for greater revenue. Instead of a wonderful 300 degree view, it is reduced to 150 degrees or less and feels like just a long corridor. It was so crowded; we could not even get in the door for the Elites 5 to 7 p.m. cocktail party, as there were 1,340 of us aboard.

 

Gone in all standard balcony cabins, is anything on the room service menu other than pizza, pasta, hotdogs or hamburgers. How about $20.00 for a steak, and $11.00 for your cheese platter to have with cocktails on your balcony? For breakfast, how about a crab cake for $9.00, steak n’ eggs for $7.00, smoked fish for another $7.00, fruit skewers for $6.00 or chocolate coated strawberries for $5.00. It could easily add up to $50.00 for a couple each time room service is ordered.

 

On a positive note, and there were many, the vessel was kept in a spotless condition. Our Stewart was discreet, never once intruding or even knocking on the door.

 

By now it should be obvious that we are not at all happy with the direction in which Celebrity is being taken with its new President.

 

As for REFLECTION, having been on all Celebrity ships except for SILHOUETTE, we would never again choose REFLECTION for our vacation. There are just too many negatives, and too many superiour alternative choices.

[miched]

We were on the Reflection in AQ in Mar and we didn't care for Blu because of the same crowded conditions mentioned.

 

As for X adding another deck that is bull. There are the same amount of decks. They filled in a few open areas to add some cabins and utilize empty space.

 

Other than the situation in Blu I thought that the ship is really beautiful and there were many improvements made in the public areas and lounges.

 

 

.🎉🎩🍸

[Gran2five]

There have been quite a few complaints/comparisons concerning Reflection versus other Solstice ships in recent weeks on this board. I expect that where possible, Celebrity will make changes. Loud music etc. can be toned down. In the end Celebrity wants satisfied customers!

 

Last June, before sailing on Summit to Bermuda, we had heard many negative things, (apart from the Health Inspection) about her. In turn, others came back, full of praise. We really enjoyed our cruise - had a great time and found nothing to complain about.

[Denny01]

As we question what some posters say about a review or other posts, I think we need to remember this isn't a professional review site, and there is a goodly amount of back-and-forth joking and so on. Since we aren't speaking to each other and don't hear any tone of voice, meanings and intent can be misconstrued.

 

My one question about that review was the comments about the restrictions on room service. Having been on Reflection in Sept, I don't remember any changes and haven't seen it as a topic on this forum which I think would be a major issue, as it should be. My experience is you have full access to the MDR menu and many choices, all free, just as we've always had.

 

The rest of the review had legit points such as the reduced Sky Lounge size, but most of it was the same as any review, a very subjective opinion. Worth considering, but just another opinion. My point is, we tend to look at the one 3-star review and get concerned and ignore the numerous 5 and 5+ star reviews as if they don't count.

 

My subjective opinion: I enjoyed Reflection, but She isn't my favorite ship, mainly due to the Sky Lounge modification. Went with Aqua on Eclipse, and it had issues with people having to wait but that was because so many wanted to dine at the same time. What you see at every restaurant, land and sea. As to quality, I do not consider dining reviews much; way too subjective. I enjoyed BLU but found the MDR quite sufficient .... For Me.

 

Den

Edited December 30, 2013 by Denny01