Reflection Review from April 5th Cruise

[1313steve]

There’s lots of reviews for the Reflection, but here’s some of my thoughts after being onboard the week of April 5th for an eastern Caribbean Cruise…………

 

About us

We’re mid 50’s, have cruised several times before, and I’d consider us experienced travelers. We also enjoy great food and service and have been fortunate to eat in some of our nation’s finest restaurants and stay in some really great hotels. We shy away from most chain restaurants in favor of smaller, local places to dine. Our kids are either grown or about to finish high school. A typical hotel stay for us would be at a Marriott or Hyatt. Our décor tastes lean more toward the clean contemporary style and not towards older furniture or antiques.

 

Overall

A beautiful ship with lots of spaces to get away from everyone and also plenty of spaces to be with others joining in the fun. One of the things we noticed most frequently was how empty the ship seemed, even at night when the pool area wasn’t packed with people. Where was everybody??? I attributed that to a good overall design and space planning. I’d say Celebrity’s tag line of “Modern Luxury” matches the onboard experience.

 

Even though it was spring break for some K-12 schools in various parts of the country, we didn’t see very many kids on board, which we liked. I’d say we saw less than 5 stroller aged kids, and half dozen pre-teens and probably 10-15 teenagers. On the adult side, I’d guess the average age was early 40’s, but it was a diverse mix of ages. No matter what your age, you wouldn’t fee out of place. For the most part, the crowd was having fun, enjoying the bars, pools, and other venues, but it wasn’t a wild party crowd.

 

The only place where space was an issue, was trying to find a lounge chair during the day. Yes, there are plenty of chair hogs that never seem to actually be in the loungers, and I did see the pool butlers removing lots of towels. Nonetheless, if you arrive at the pool area mid-morning to mid-afternoon, be prepared to have to spend some time finding a place to lounge.

 

Service

Service was generally very good. The exception is the bars. With (presumably) lots of passengers having drink packages, the bars seemed inundated almost all the time. Yes, they need more bartenders, but they also need to do a better job of training them. Most of them were very slow.

 

Room Stewards – On previous cruises (on other lines) it seemed like our room stewards were very friendly, outgoing and looking to engage in conversation. On the Reflection, we saw our stewards occasionally, and they were friendly, but not overly conversational. Even though we didn’t see them very often, the room was always clean and the ice bucket was full. We called them the stealth stewards because we didn’t see them, but the job always got done.

 

Room Service - A disappointment. We like to start our day with coffee and breakfast on the balcony. We learned that if we ordered the night before via the door hanger menu, it was delivered on time and without issue. (other than the room service coffee was always terrible!!). However, if we waited until the morning to order, we were always told delivery would be in “30 – 40 minutes”. That never happened and we’d have to call after waiting at least 45 minutes. One time they had no record of our order (which we placed via the TV), and another time we were told it was on the way, only to wait at least another 15 minutes.

 

Cabin

We were in 6119, a 2B balcony, forward on the port side. As a point of reference, our balcony was directly above the “R” in the Reflection name on the hull. There were two of us and I’d consider us moderate packers. Much has been written about limited storage space, but we found it very adequate. The over the bed storage has lots of room and the three drawers were plenty for us. The bathroom had lots of shelves and small cabinets. Don’t forget to put your luggage under the bed to save space.

 

The room décor was tastefully done. The balcony was well sized. Size wise the cabin was OK, certainly adequate, but by no means would I call it spacious.

One thing we really liked about the room was that it is one of the few balcony cabins where you can look straight down to the water, no life boats, no protruding decks or roofs, etc. It is directly above the theater and we did hear the occasional muted sounds during a couple of the shows and the afternoon rehearsals, but not enough to be bothersome. Being pretty far forward does make for a longer walk to the rest of the ship, but unless you have mobility issues or are just really lazy, it won’t be an issue. The sound of the bow cutting through the water was very nice and relaxing.

 

Dining

Food is so subjective, but for our tastes and dining experience it was pretty good. We ate in the MDR three times. Food and service was fine. I don’t expect a 4 star meal in a room where they are trying to serve more than a thousand people at about the same time, but everything generally tasted pretty good and was nicely presented. We had select time dining and never made reservations (typically dining between 6:30 and 8:30), but never waited more than 5 minutes or so for a table.

 

During the course of the week we also ate in the Lawn Club, Tuscan Grille, Bistro on 5, and The Porch. The atmosphere and the food in the Lawn Club Grille was certainly our favorite. Great food there, and above average service. The other specialty restaurants we took advantage of were good also. A burger at the Mast Grill was good, but not great.

 

We had dinner one night in the Oceanview Café (the buffet), and ate breakfast there a time or two. It was fine. The layout of various food stations made it pretty easy to get what you wanted. A wide variety of reasonable quality food. Always enough seating. Don’t forget the outside area aft. Nice place to watch the world go by.

 

Entertainment

Entertainment is a lot like food…….very subjective. Despite our best intentions, we never made it to any of the evening shows. We did attend an afternoon performance of the hypnotist and it was entertaining. You’ll have to decide for yourself how much is real and how much is passengers playing along (some better than others, LOL). We enjoyed the various live music in the different places throughout the ship. We enjoy live music in general and all of the performers were about what you would expect in a nice local bar or restaurant.

 

There have been lots of discussions here about the music being too loud. We didn’t find that to be the case. Yes, there were a few hours during the week of loud DJ music at the pool, but that was the exception. Even then, it was easy to find a place to carry on a normal conversation.

 

Disappointments

Other than the aforementioned room service issues, we only had one major disappointment during the week……The Alcoves. We had reserved an alcove for a day. We arrived shortly after 9:00 and were escorted to our alcove. It was a very windy day, so all of the Alcoves had their tops down and there was no shade available. After a few minutes, an attendant (waiter) came by, delivered two glasses, two plates, and a bottle of Evian in an ice bucket. He quickly pointed to the phone in the alcove and said to use it to call him. He said we’d get fruit and cheese in the afternoon, and then he disappeared. At about 9:40, we called and ordered a Screwdriver and Bloody Mary. After about 15 minutes, with no drinks, I saw him walking by and asked him. He said they had to get their drinks from the sunset bar and it didn’t open until 10. We finally got our drinks at 10:15. We tried to order drinks later in the morning and after 30 minutes still had nothing. I got up and went to the Lawn Club Grille when I saw what looked like the manager. He said he was in charge of the Alcoves, too and explained it took a long time to get drinks because the servers had to go to a regular bar to get them and the bartenders waited on bar customers first. A bad solution!!

We never saw or heard of the iPad or anything else that was included. We left for about half an hour during the early afternoon. When we returned the fruit and cheese plate was waiting on our table. No telling how long it had been sitting there in the hot sun.

We still enjoyed the quiet retreat of the Alcove, but the service was just plain lousy. When we ate in the Lawn Club Grille the next evening, I reminded the manager how disappointed we had been in the Alcove. He was very apologetic, and about 10 minutes later he stopped by our table, with a receipt for a complete refund of our Alcove fee. A more than adequate response!

 

A couple of secrets

If you want to grab a drink and relax in an uncrowded bar, try the Passport bar on deck 3. Never seemed to be crowded, pretty good for people watching, and also large windows.

 

If you’re flying home, take advantage of the Luggage Valet. For $20/person, you don’t have to handle your bags during disembarkation. Sign up early in the week at Guest Relations. A day or two before the cruise ends, you’ll get an envelope with special bag tags, your airline boarding passes, and instructions. Leave your luggage outside of your room the last night like everybody else, and you won’t have to see or touch your luggage until it arrives on the baggage carousel at your destination airport. No need to find your bags in the terminal and drag them through customs or try to load them into a cab or bus to the airport. I’ve never heard of this on other lines, and that perk alone makes me want to stay on Celebrity!

 

Summary

This was our first Celebrity cruise and we enjoyed it very much. It was pretty much what we had hoped for. I’d say it was a step up from the other cruises we’ve sailed on. The overall atmosphere was a bit more refined, the crowd was fun but mellow, the venues were tastefully done, the service was generally good, and the overall experience was very enjoyable. We booked a future cruise for next year, which is something I’ve never done before, so we must have liked it!!

Edited April 18, 2014 by 1313steve

[Lady Arwen]

As we will be on Reflection next spring to Europe, it was nice to hear that you enjoyed your time aboard. I doubt we'll try the Alcoves, thanks for letting us know how that worked for you.

 

Thank you, again, for taking the time to post your review. Much appreciated.

[cynbar]

Thanks for your review. We will be on Reflection the end of May and your descriptions have gotten us even more excited. Glad to hear that loud music wasn't a problem, that has been such a heated topic for discussion that I've been a little concerned. We like to relax and chat over a drink, hoping that won't be a problem at the Martini Bar.

[wallie5446]

Looks like a mirror of our sailing from last Nov. Did you use the Roll Call and go to the Connections meeting? Any rumblings about changes to Cellar Masters?

 

Thanks for taking the time to share the info!

[Sonoma fans]

Thanks for the excellent review. We had almost the same impressions on the 2/8/14 sailing. The only difference is that we booked the alcove for the 3 sea days, and had a great experience. Chris from the lawn Grille took great care of us and came by to see what we needed every hour. We have re booked for the 11/8/14 western Caribbean sailing and hope to have the same experience. Thanks again for the well written review

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[1313steve]

Looks like a mirror of our sailing from last Nov. Did you use the Roll Call and go to the Connections meeting? Any rumblings about changes to Cellar Masters?

 

Thanks for taking the time to share the info!

 

I did use the roll call, but did not attend the connections meeting, even though we had registered for it.

[hcat]

Very helpful review...and well written. We are booked on Reflection for our next cruise and are looking forward to it..we'll stay away from the Alcoves but have already booked the Lawn Club grill!:)

[daydreamer16]

Thanks very much for your review! We loved the Reflection and agree with most of your points!

[foodgirl]

Thank you for the review. Was on that sailing as well. We loved Celebrity and booked another for next year. I was curious about the alcoves and what they are about...appreciate you sharing your experience. That was great they refunded your money. Great customer service.

[Texed]

1313,

 

Thanks for posting. :)

[leswor]

Thanks for the review, we are on Reflection at the end of May. Curious about the "luggage valet" how can you get your airline boarding passes a couple of days before you fly? Did you book the flights through Celebrity?

[1313steve]

Thanks for the review, we are on Reflection at the end of May. Curious about the "luggage valet" how can you get your airline boarding passes a couple of days before you fly? Did you book the flights through Celebrity?

 

We did book through ChoiceAir, but that doesn't seem to have anything to do with when or how you can get your boarding pass. You'll still get it more than 24 hours in advance.

[Big_G]

Thanks for the review, we are on Reflection at the end of May. Curious about the "luggage valet" how can you get your airline boarding passes a couple of days before you fly? Did you book the flights through Celebrity?

 

If you sign-up for luggage valet your boarding passes are delivered to your cabin along with your luggage tags. We've always received them the last night of the cruise.

[Big_G]

Your review pretty much matches our cruise in March. It was our second sailing on Reflection and the bartenders seemed terribly busier than our first. There didn't seem to be any less bartenders on duty but it was also readily apparent that many more passengers had the drink package than our last.

 

We bought the four specialty restaurant package and ate one night in the MDR but wasn't impressed so the other two we ate in the buffet. It was a great cruise and we'll probably book her for a third some day.

[upwarduk]

Do you have a link to photos of Reflection?

[Cruising89143]

Your review pretty much matches our cruise in March. It was our second sailing on Reflection and the bartenders seemed terribly busier than our first. There didn't seem to be any less bartenders on duty but it was also readily apparent that many more passengers had the drink package than our last.

 

We bought the four specialty restaurant package and ate one night in the MDR but wasn't impressed so the other two we ate in the buffet. It was a great cruise and we'll probably book her for a third some day.

 

Gregg I agree with your comments regarding the bar tenders. There were four each night at the Martini bar and they were turning out drinks as fast as possible and still could not keep up. There really is no more room for adding another person behind the bar. The same issue with the Sunset Bar. Not sure what the answer is as it's apparent that drink package is placing pressure on the bar crew.

 

At the Molecular bar there was only one bartender in the evening while the other took their dinner break. X needs to place a fill in during this time to handle the guests. One could not keep up with the orders. They also need to add a bar waiter at this venue. This one is a simple fix. Adjust schedules.

Edited April 22, 2014 by cruisingator2

[wpgcycler]

Do you have a link to photos of Reflection?

 

Some of the best I've found are from the poster right before me (crusingator2)...

 

 

[Cruising89143]

Some of the best I've found are from the poster right before me (crusingator2)...

 

 

 

Thank you.:)

[Lois R]

Gregg I agree with your comments regarding the bar tenders. There were four each night at the Martini bar and they were turning out drinks as fast as possible and still could not keep up. There really is no more room for adding another person behind the bar. The same issue with the Sunset Bar. Not sure what the answer is as it's apparent that drink package is placing pressure on the bar crew.

 

At the Molecular bar there was only one bartender in the evening while the other took their dinner break. X needs to place a fill in during this time to handle the guests. One could not keep up with the orders. They also need to add a bar waiter at this venue. This one is a simple fix. Adjust schedules.

 

Hi:).....they have never had any wait staff in The Molecular Bar.

That has been in 6 years....(Solstice arrived in 2008).....things

must have changed recently if it is so busy they need a waiter.:eek:

[Cruising89143]

Hi:).....they have never had any wait staff in The Molecular Bar.

That has been in 6 years....(Solstice arrived in 2008).....things

must have changed recently if it is so busy they need a waiter.:eek:

 

The two bartenders did not have time to go out and take care of guests that were sitting at the tables. Anyone that wanted a drink had to walk up and place an order at the bar. As stated above, at times there was only one bartender on duty. With so many now taking the drink package I think X is going to be forced to go back and look at the scheduling of extra crew during peak times around the ship.

Edited April 23, 2014 by cruisingator2

[upwarduk]

Some of the best I've found are from the poster right before me (crusingator2)...

 

 

 

They are amazing.:)

Puzzled how there are so few people in them though!