Reflection 2-15-2014 thoughts

[kk99]

Hi everyone,

The 12 of us just returned from a sunny, calm seas sailing on Reflection. We are all Celebrity regulars, and this was my second cruise on this ship.

 

Superlative

1. In all of my cruises on Celebrity, the officers were extremely visible, approachable and seemed to enjoy talking with the passengers. I was so impressed that at the small Cruise Critics gathering that so many people came from the various departments. The Cruise Director, Alexander Yepremian, the assistant CD, Mickey, Guest Relations Manager, Bosco Pires, Mark Tomley, the Food and Beverage Manager, Dave, the head of HR, and many others. This was a big change from the Reflection TA that we took.

 

2. Captain's Club hostess Rachelle Wever was a true delight. I personally witnessed her making the day of a first time cruiser with Celebrity. I am sure she made their week.

 

3.The wit and humor of Master Apostolos Bouzakis, and the Hotel Director Julian Brackenbury

 

Good

 

1. I thought that the appearance of the ship both the interior spaces and cabins looked very well kept and the ship was very clean. Some of the balcony railings need refinishing, but a minor issue.

 

2. All of our stateroom attendants, waiters and Butlers did a fine job. I thought the specialty restaurants were a little bit better this trip, and the main dining room a little worse. None of us lost weight, as we were always getting a snack and coffee at Café al Bacio.

 

3. The music entertainment was varied and something taste wise for most people. If you were trying to sleep at the pool when zumba was going on, that probably didn't happen. I would prefer that they only do it in the mornings and not again in the late afternoon.

 

 

Needs improvement

 

1. They need to quit wasting so much paper each day of each special sale. I think they could just type in messages to be read on the TV screen about whatever service , art or jewelry event that they want you to attend. It just makes for lots of additional paper to be recycled.

 

2. A member of the activities staff needs to be rethink how he interacts with the passengers. I personally witnessed Oz being rude and belittling to a passenger at one of the trivia games(there were only two per day, a billboard multiple guess trivia in the morning, and a general trivia in the afternoon)

Maybe he was having a bad day, but I was sorry to see it happen.

 

 

Changes that I noticed.

I think Celebrity wants to attract more 25-35 year olds which is great, as you always need to freshen things up on a cruise line.

 

They had as a preview event, a nightclub event at the solarium called "Liquid"

It had the Miami DJs, mood lighting, specialty drinks and dancers and production staff and doing some acts. With some tweaking, I think it will be very popular. It was extremely loud(and I like loud music), and unfortunately by the end of it, there were some inebriated male passengers who jumped into the pool fully clothed. If people were dancing on the deck, it could get slippery from the splashing.

 

I think that it can really work once they work out the kinks about preventing the passengers getting into the pool, and be an event once on the cruise for those who want a late night vibe. I also liked the Cruise Director's box by guest relations where you could drop a question or give a shout out to an employee or them to read in their taped morning segment.

 

On the other hand, they need to keep some of the items that regular and perhaps somewhat older than 20 year old passengers like. They have had in the past year movie theme songs, interactive video game shows run by the activities staff, which three generations of my family have enjoyed participating in. It isn't about winning anything, just a fun activity about useless information.

 

We did like the Amazing Race game for families, and thought watching the pool Olympics was fun. They also had additional art classes and ilounge classes that were free which were nice.

 

The Sin City comedy show was very good, but has very limited seating, so get there early.

 

 

Embarkation and disembarkation was one of the smoothest we have ever had out of Miami. If anyone has any questions, I'll be happy to answer them.

[Texed]

KK,

 

Thanks for posting. :)

[work2cruis]

We were on the 2-8-14 cruise and had the same issue with Oz. I hope you addressed this situation on your comment card as that is the only way he will be dealt with.-Chris

[kk99]

Hi Chris,

Yes I did send a note to both the Cruise Director and Guest Relations, praising the individuals who were great, and reporting negatively for the first time in 20 plus Celebrity cruises on a staff member.

 

As I said, I don't know why he acted the way he did, but it was not nice, and totally unwarranted. If he did have something to say to the woman, it could have been handled without causing her any upset.

 

And Ed, the waffles were excellent as always, although the malva bread puddings with custard were also mighty tasty. Definitely great breakfast foods!

[Texed]

And Ed, the waffles were excellent as always,

 

Glad to hear that. ;)

[drarill]

Great review!! thanks for sharing your cruise with us. We are cruising on the Reflection in July, hope I can make my family do the Amazing Race Game!:):)

[wbrumel]

We, too, were on that cruise, and I agree with the comments you made. This was also our second time on this ship. Embarkation and Disembarkation was efficient and much better than our prior experience. The ship looks as good today as it did a year ago when it was brand new. My only negative observation is that it seemed to us that staff has been reduced, especially on the F&B side. Tables were not cleared quickly. Summoning a waiter or bar service was a frustrating activity. The poor sommelier in Blu tried to do the job well, but had the whole restaurant to deal with. Never had a moment to discuss wine with us ... just took the order, poured and ran. All the waiters seemed to simply have too many tables to handle properly, leaving little, if any, time to get to know the guests and their preferences. That interpersonal communication with the crew was always a favorite and favored part of cruising. I'm afraid it is gone, for the most part, as cruise lines try to hold the line on cruise fares with escalating fuel costs, by reducing staff.

[kk99]

I agree about the bar service being backed up, but it may have been the large number of cruisers who had the 123 go package.

 

I gave an extra tip to the busboy who was in training to be an assistant waiter on his first contract who took our table orders, as the bar service didn't show up at our table the first night of our cruise. We had excellent bar service in all of the specialty restaurants.

 

I agree that the sommelier was running all the time. Cellar Masters was never busy, so perhaps they could switch staff over there on very full sailings to help out.

[work2cruis]

Glad you let them know. My wife and I almost never are negative on our comment cards. His attitude was poor in every instance we were exposed to him. He needs to know how he comes off to some passengers and adjust or maybe cruise staff is not for him.-- Chris

[riclop]

Thanks for your thoughts.