Buffet/Other Dining Review - Reflection, 1/18/14

[Alsmez]

We just returned from a wonderful 7-night cruise on Reflection in Aqua Class, and although we ate most of our meals in Blu (review here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1981587 ), I thought I'd take a moment to share my review of the buffet and a few other dining venues on the ship. We sailed with Celebrity in 2011 on Equinox, and ate in the buffet and other alternate venues on that trip quite a bit, so I was interested to see if there were any changes or improvements this time around. For comparison purposes, you can find the review from our 2011 trip here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1366176 We also ate at the Lawn Club Grill, Tuscan Grill and The Porch on this trip (all of which have been reviewed separately and linked below).

 

Talking about and critiquing food is one of my favorite hobbies, so I apologize in advance for the length of this review. A bit about me: I am an avid cook, read food blogs/magazines religiously, make my own cheese, bread and sausage, and I’ve taken courses in pastry and sugar art. We live in NYC, so we are privileged to be surrounded by some of the world’s finest restaurants, as well as really fantastic ethnic foods. I realize that everyone’s standards for food are different, and I know mine are high. However, since Celebrity has a reputation for being a cut above in the cuisine department, and they advertise a higher-end experience, I feel that they should be held to a high standard! I received a call from them after our Equinox cruise regarding my feedback on the food, so I hope they will read and respond to this review as well.

[Alsmez]

Oceanview Buffet – Breakfast

Although we were in Aqua Class and had access to Blu for breakfast, we ate most of our breakfasts in the buffet (that should tell you something about the quality of breakfast in Blu). Most of our lunches were in the buffet too – we were generally on the go, so it was much easier to grab something here than wait around in the MDR. I’m pleased to say that overall, we had a much better experience on Reflection than we did on Equinox a few years ago, and many of the concerns I expressed in that review have been addressed.

 

The selection at breakfast hasn’t changed too much, but I did think the fruit selection was much improved – in addition to the usual pineapple and melon, they had a large selection of whole fruits, including apples, pears, oranges, etc. The one thing they did away with that I really missed was the daily quiche selection – it was generally pretty good, so I was bummed to see it gone. Here’s a fairly complete list of what you can find on the buffet.

 

Fruit: fresh pineapple, cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon, whole apples, pears and oranges, fruit salad. A number of dried fruits, canned peaches and other fruits in syrup, including prunes.

Cereal: oatmeal and various boxed cereals with nuts and other add-ins.

Eggs: two made to order stations (omelets, over easy, etc.). Eggs Benedict station with ham, salmon or made to order. Hard boiled and scrambled eggs available at several stations in the buffet.

Breads: bagels, croissants, pain au chocolat, pecan sticky buns, brioche, donuts, muffins, danishes, baguettes and two or three other loaves for thick slices, a couple of types of thin bread for toast, jams.

Meats: regular bacon, turkey sausage (link), pork sausage (link), black sausage (slices), bangers (larger English link sausage), English bacon, cold cuts, pickled herring, lox with all the trimmings.

Sweet treats: waffles, French toast (usually two types), pancakes and blintzes with sour cream, cream cheese, lime butter, orange butter, regular butter, margarine, whipped cream, cherry sauce, blueberry sauce, strawberry sauce, maple-flavor syrup.

Other: yogurt, various cheeses, hash browns, baked beans, grilled tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, roasted potatoes.

 

There were plenty of improvements overall, as compared to our Equinox experience. For the most part, we had better luck on this cruise with finding things cooked well and at the correct temperature. There was a drill one morning that had all the crew running around like crazy people, and the quality of breakfast definitely suffered that day, but otherwise it was fairly consistent. Fruit was of much better quality on Reflection (that may be luck of the drawn, but I’m hoping it’s due to more careful sourcing). They seemed to have expanded the selection of cold cuts and cheeses available, as well as the bread and pastry options, which changed/rotated to give the impression of a more interesting selection. Hash browns were hot and crispy and roasted potatoes were usually fully cooked! Also, they added a display of real cream cheese to the lox area, hallelujah!

 

Traffic flow is still something of an issue, partially due to the placement of the made-to-order egg stations and the items nearby. Most items in the buffet are available at several locations – there must be 4 different places where you can get sausages, bacon and scrambled eggs. However, there was only ONE place to get hash brown patties – right in the middle of the made-to-order egg station. This meant that this area was ALWAYS a clusterf*ck – it was impossible to tell who was waiting in line for an egg order or who was just trying to grab some hash browns. Also, there’s nowhere to wait where you can be out of the way and still hear them call your name, so everyone just ends up standing around, in the way of people trying to order (or get hash browns) and basically creating a huge traffic jam. This problem would be easily solved by not putting ANY buffet items near the egg stations – that way, only those who wanted eggs would be there, and there would be plenty of non-buffet space to form a waiting line.

 

Oceanview Buffet - Lunch

Lots of improvements as lunch as well, starting with the pizza! I found the pizza on Equinox absolutely abhorrent, so I was thrilled to find an entirely revamped pizza offering on Reflection. There isn’t a lot of selection (just cheese, vegetable or pepperoni), but the pizza itself is a huge step up. Having eaten in Lawn Club, I think they use the same crust and sauce that they have there – it’s nothing terribly special, but it’s easily as good as any of the major chains, and better than some of them. The sauce is fresh-tasting and has good tomato flavor, not at all sweet, and the cheese isn’t the flavorless goop we had on Equinox. I had a slice or three almost every day for a snack or lunch. I would love to see Celebrity go all the way by installing a real pizzeria onboard (if Carnival and Princess can do it, so can you, X!), but this is a big improvement.

 

Due to the fact that the pizza was edible, I didn’t explore the other options on the lunch buffet as thoroughly as I might have. However, it looked like there was a good variety – they seemed to have a “theme” each day, which influenced the selections on the hot bar. One day was German day, with sauerbraten, sauerkraut, pork roast, etc. Another day seemed focused on homestyle American, with meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, you name it. There were always Indian and Asian dishes available, several of which were tasty and even authentically spicy! Pasta sauces and meatballs still reliably good. There seemed to be a much broader selection (rotating) of cold salads, meats and cheeses, too, which was a nice touch – it seemed less monotonous than on Equinox.

 

We came up for an afternoon snack one day and found excellent little tea sandwiches along with the sushi offerings – the sandwiches were made with the only decent bread I had on the whole cruise, and I wondered why that bread wasn’t available elsewhere. The only positive thing I can say about the breads in general is that they keep me from overindulging on carbs!

 

Desserts were still fairly weak – they look pretty but taste like crap, for the most part. The cookies seemed a little better, though, and some of the pastries had improved (this was very hit or miss, though – I had a really good chocolate croissant and a really terrible danish). Some of my favorite ice cream flavors (cinnamon, ginger) never made an appearance, and some were not nearly as good as they had been (I’m looking at you, peanut butter!). We found some new favorites, though – an excellent coconut sorbet, peach almond yogurt, caramel ice cream and lime sherbet.

 

One other really nice thing about the buffet for breakfast and lunch was the addition of Al Secondo Bacio, a small bar serving espresso drinks, juices and the usual selection of booze. It was nice to have them right there, even though their espresso drinks were inconsistent. We enjoyed the screwdrivers and greyhounds made with fresh juice, and not having to bring a drink from another location was a big bonus.

 

Room Service

We only ordered room service once, but everything (pizza and French fries, nothing complicated) came hot and fresh. We ordered at a somewhat odd time and I think this helps – when you order breakfast at the same time everyone else is ordering it, you’re pretty much guaranteed to get cold food.

 

Café al Bacio

This was a mixed bag. The pastry items, like pain au chocolat and danishes, were good on Equinox, better than the buffet. Not so on Reflection – most anything made with a croissant-style dough was tough and greasy. However, the muffins were excellent, especially DH’s favorite carrot. They did a great job with our espressos and cappuccinos – much more consistent than Al Secondo Bacio.

 

Gelateria

We received a coupon for a free scoop so we stopped in here, although we’re generally satisfied with the ice cream in the buffet. The “gelato” has a decent texture (not a true gelato texture; it’s more the texture of a super-premium ice cream, like Haagen-Dasz), but NO flavor whatsoever. I sampled the mint (which tasted of nothing but sweetness) and then ordered the pistachio, while DH had the coconut. If I closed my eyes, I couldn’t tell the difference between the two flavors. I didn’t finish mine and probably wouldn’t go back, even with a coupon.

 

While the buffet and other venues weren’t perfect, I definitely saw some major improvements from our 2011 cruise. I hope that these changes have been implemented fleet-wide, and that we can look forward to even better food the next time we sail Celebrity. Now that the pizza has been raised to an acceptable level, it’s time to focus on bread and desserts!

[Alsmez]

Link to the specialty review: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1981590

[drarill]

Excellent food review!! Looking forward to our Reflection cruise this summer!! Thanks for sharing your experience with us!:):)

[cibumcupio]

A note about the room service: we always ordered breakfast during peak breakfast times and it always came piping hot. They're really good about this.

[Alsmez]

A note about the room service: we always ordered breakfast during peak breakfast times and it always came piping hot. They're really good about this.

 

Interesting. That was not our experience on Equinox, but perhaps they've upped their game. Good to know!

[meatloafsfan]

Dumb question but what is "English Bacon"?

[Alsmez]

It's a type of cured pork product that is cut both from the loin and the belly of the pig, so that you get a good bit of lean in with some streaky fat in each slice. I don't care for it myself, especially when it's limply steamed as it was on Reflection.

[patty1955]

Alsmez, since you had a gelato coupon I'm guessing that you're are Elite. If so, did you try the Elite breakfast? On our last cruise, it was much better than the buffet.

[Alsmez]

Alsmez, since you had a gelato coupon I'm guessing that you're are Elite. If so, did you try the Elite breakfast? On our last cruise, it was much better than the buffet.

 

Actually, no - we were Classic level, having had only the one previous cruise on Equinox under our belts. We received a sheet of coupons, though, including small (10%) discounts on things like internet and laundry, etc. The only one we ended up using was the gelato coupon. I'd love to try the Elite breakfast at some point but we have a LONG way to go before we get there!

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.