Rolling Trip Report: Refelction Royal Suite Feb 7th Eastern Caribbean

[soxfan2013]

I am going to attempt to provide a rolling trip report for our current cruise in Reflection (Feb 7th) Eastern Caribbean (San Juan, St Thomas, St. Maarten). Whatever I don't get to complete on board, I will try and complete fairly promptly upon return.

 

Boarding:

 

We arrived by taxi around noon. I think the boarding process was a bit slow for a RS guest, otherwise it was uneventful. A few tiny comments:

 

* No Suite Class line for passport check;

* One express lane for Security Screening...same for all suites and maybe even Concierge Class.

* One express line for check in for suites and Zenith members...same for all suites.

* Not dedicated Suite Class check in desks/counters.

 

None of this was much of a big deal, but I contrast this with flying first class internationally where there are dedicated first class check in lines...

 

Once we had our keys made, we were told to go down to a room at the end of the pre-boarding hall where we were met by a butler or some other nice, welcoming on-ship employee, who escorted us and another couple to Michaels Club, where we were offered champagne/drinks and canapes. THen we waited 30 minsnor so for the Concierge (Marzita) to make her rounds and introduce herself and take care of any add'l personal requests. Then, there was a little further wait for our Butler (Nelson) to escort us to our cabin. There was a fair amount of waiting, but we weren't in any particular rush.

 

When we got to our wonderful room Nelson showed us around and showed us how things work with all the high tech gadgets. Throughout all this, Marzita has been amazing: she did so many things to upgrade our experience, that I can't even go into it all, but included upgrading our in-room champagne and the two bottles of liquor. And more.

 

The only meaningful negative was that 2 out of 3 of our bags didn't arrive for more than 2 hours and the third didn't arrive until after the life boat drill. I had thought that suite bags were given VIP delivery status, but this wasn't the case.

 

Michaels Club: I can't emphasize how friendly the entire Michaels Club staff is, which usually includes the Concierge, a bartender/beverage manager, and a food manager. Overall, then entire ships staff has been amazingly friendly: cudos to the hotel manager!

 

Pre-dinner: we basically spent a while touring the ship and getting the lay of the land, except we spent about 45 mins in Cellar Masters with the amazing Sommelier (Stephani...?): we bought a $100 wine card which came with a $20 bonus for the machines and tasted about 5 or 6 wines with her, one on one which was a great inaugural...and we signed up for

a VIP wine tasting limited to 10 people for $75 each at 4pm on Day 5 which will includes Caymus Special Selection and Puligny Montrachet. We're very excited about that. We also signed up for the Reidel wine tasting class.

 

Dinner: Murano (review to come).

Edited February 9, 2015 by soxfan2013

[JFontaine]

Thanks for taking the time to review. Have a great time.

[Phxazzcruisers]

Thanks for the review. Do enjoy your cruise. Nelson was our butler once, and he is great

[Andy]

Hi Soxfan2013,

 

Thanks for your update. Have a wonderful time on Reflection !

[Chazteach1]

I am going to attempt to provide a rolling trip report for our current cruise in Reflection (Feb 7th) Eastern Caribbean (San Juan, St Thomas, St. Maarten). Whatever I don't get to complete on board, I will try and complete fairly promptly upon return.

 

Boarding:

 

We arrived by taxi around noon. I think the boarding process was a bit slow for a RS guest, otherwise it was uneventful. A few tiny comments:

 

* No Suite Class line for passport check;

* One express lane for Security Screening...same for all suites and maybe even Concierge Class.

* One express line for check in for suites and Zenith members...same for all suites.

* Not dedicated Suite Class check in desks/counters.

 

None of this was much of a big deal, but I contrast this with flying first class internationally where there are dedicated first class check in lines...

 

Once we had our keys made, we were told to go down to a room at the end of the pre-boarding hall where we were met by a butler or some other nice, welcoming on-ship employee, who escorted us and another couple to Michaels Club, where we were offered champagne/drinks and canapes. THen we waited 30 minsnor so for the Concierge (Marzita) to make her rounds and introduce herself and take care of any add'l personal requests. Then, there was a little further wait for our Butler (Nelson) to escort us to our cabin. There was a fair amount of waiting, but we weren't in any particular rush.

 

When we got to our wonderful room Nelson showed us around and showed us how things work with all the high tech gadgets. Throughout all this, Marzita has been amazing: she did so many things to upgrade our experience, that I can't even go into it all, but included upgrading our in-room champagne and the two bottles of liquor. And more.

 

The only meaningful negative was that 2 out of 3 of our bags didn't arrive for more than 2 hours and the third didn't arrive until after the life boat drill. I had thought that suite bags were given VIP delivery status, but this wasn't the case.

 

Michaels Club: I can't emphasize how friendly the entire Michaels Club staff is, which usually includes the Concierge, a bartender/beverage manager, and a food manager. Overall, then entire ships staff has been amazingly friendly: cudos to the hotel manager!

 

Pre-dinner: we basically spent a while touring the ship and getting the lay of the land, except we spent about 45 mins in Cellar Masters with the amazing Sommelier (Stephani...?): we bought a $100 wine card which came with a $20 bonus for the machines and tasted about 5 or 6 wines with her, one on one which was a great inaugural...and we signed up for

a VIP wine tasting limited to 10 people for $75 each at 4pm on Day 5 which will includes Caymus Special Selection and Puligny Montrachet. We're very excited about that. We also signed up for the Reidel wine tasting class.

 

Dinner: Murano (review to come).

 

 

Nelson is a good butler! Enjoy your RS.... Nice to have a glass of wine while in the veranda hot Tube!

[need2bespoiled]

Interesting on the boarding aspects. Sounds like you're getting what you expected from the suite experience pre-cruise.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[tommy2811]

Thanks-. I'll be following your Journey.

[TommyD3]

Were you given unlimited free specialty restaurant dining?

 

I have heard the suites and Zenith have been offered this during the construction of the new suite dining room.

[soxfan2013]

Were you given unlimited free specialty restaurant dining?

 

I have heard the suites and Zenith have been offered this during the construction of the new suite dining room.

 

Yes, and I overheard the MC Concierge offering this to another couple. Nice touch! Didn't seem to cover the $7 charge for Bistro on 5 lunch...not sure if that is or isn't intended. We don't have a sticker on our card for Specialty dining, but haven't paid for any dinners and are only dining in Specialty restaurants.

[soxfan2013]

Evening canapés: fun to find a selection of canapés but they were unremarkable.

 

Dinner: Murano

We went to dinner in Murano at 8:30…the restaurant was pretty full, with maybe a few tables open. We requested and received a nice large round table. The service was excellent: we really like the intimacy of this restaurant. We also like the attitude of “whatever you want” – even if it means adapting some things…for example, our waiter made a special effort of tracking down extra virgin olive oil for the bread which was fuller flavored and tastier than the regular olive oil served with the vinegar. We tried some of their signature items: lobster bisque, Dover sole, lobster flambé, Grand Marnier soufflé, plus some cheese from the cheese cart, including one of my favorite cheeses, Epoisses. Overall, the food was very good, although not amazing (except the Grand Marnier soufflé), but we look forward to return, and absent being blow away by Qsine, I could see eating at this restaurant virtually every night. BTW, we learned from a subsequent discussion with the hotel director that all the fish is frozen; none are fresh and sourced locally.

 

Evening: there was some dancing in the lobby. We weren’t thrilled with the music and went up to the disco on 14…it was dead: there were two guys there w/o their wives who had gone to bed. By 1am, maybe there were 8 people…no one was dancing. We had a beer and chatted with the two guys. The bartender promised it would be busier later in the week.

 

A few random observations:

 

· There are 70 people authorized to access Michael’s Club, including 6-8 Zenith members (of which one couple from Canada is on board for 8 weeks straight of back to back cruises – this being their 7th week – they have 165 cruises are top dogs in the Zenith roaster, cruising on Celebrity about 4 months per year). The rest are guest from among the 27 qualifying suites (some occupied by more than 2 people), comprised of 1 Reflection Suite, 1 Penthouse Suite, 5 Signature Suites, 8 Royal Suites and 12 celebrity Suites.

 

· The weather is beautiful temperature wise, and it’s been generally sunny to partly could, but the pool deck is very windy, despite the glass enclosure on all sides. Jamie, the Hotel Manager, said this is because we’re going against the win in this direction, and to expect that it will be very calm for the return, when the wind is with us, absent any storms.

 

· The water is the pool is toasty warm – nice touch (even though we haven’t been swimming).

 

· The rolling of the ship on night 1 was medium, causing our bathroom door to open and close – evidently the door wouldn’t close securely, so we left it open where it was held by a magnet. The latch was repaired be engineering the next day.

 

· As Suite Class guests we get two sets of Elite coupons, this includes, among other things: 2 free drying cleanings; 4 free pressings; 60 items wash and fold, 2 x 90 mins internet, and various discounts (2 15% discounts on spa services while in port, but the spa offers $149 for $109 at 8 and 9am, and 6 and 7pm).

 

· Our Suite Class perks include unlimited access to Persian Garden, which is a great place to relax after working out. Overall, the attitude is: “whatever you want.”

 

· The wifi can be pretty good; strong and constant on day 2, off and on as we’re nearing San Juan currently, possible due to peak demand and/or signal fluctuation. I had been expecting worse. The TVs and channel selections are terrific and reception is excellent.

 

· The Jacuzzi tub on the balcony is a very cool special touch which we plan to utilize (stay tuned).

 

· Chairs by the pool are in high demand and short supply relative to the demand. This is well reported and is basically the story on most ships and even many/most resorts, if full. Discussions with the hotel manager reveled that they are discussing some options for some sort of potential priority chair program or special area for Suite guests.

 

· The contemporary art collection on the ship is very impressive and includes one item (gold shoe) by Andy Warhol, a soft drum set by Claes Oldenburg, and a classic print by Christo and Jeanne-Claude. There’s a book in Michel’s Club dedicated to the collection. It’s fun to peruse the book and then look for the items.

 

· The bed is very comfortable and adjustable (goes up and down at head and toe). Personally, I don’t like the crack between the beds as they push two single beds together to form a double. The sheet are nice, not amazing. The towels and bathrobes are Frette, but relatively commercial grade and surprisingly thin, but I guess they have to do a lot of laundry, so probably a reasonable trade-off. The bath amenities are Bulguri.

[soxfan2013]

Day 2: Sea Day

 

We slept late – until about noon. Nice, although we slept thru the Cruise Critic welcome party at 10:30am. :( Sorry guys. Around 1pm or so we went for lunch. I had a craving for a burger, so we went first to the Mast Grill for a quick burger and Red Stripe for me (nothing special, but hit the spot...could have been bigger and juicier and the buns are blah), and then set off to seek out lunch for lunch for my girlfriend. After touring the buffet and not being inspired, we went to Bistro on 5 ($7/person) where she thoroughly enjoyed a Mediterranean crepe and multiple arugula salad. She also tried a BBQ pork crepe and said it wasn’t as good. There is at least one wedding on board and there was a bridesmaids’ luncheon in the Bistro and maybe one other couple (by then around 2pm). At the end of lunch, the crepe chef was holding a crepe making class attended by about 15 people.

 

(It's actually Day 3 as I write this, and we've just pulled into San Juan...beautiful cruising past the fort with the nearby colorful houses of Old San Juan (port side) and into old San Juan...I've ever had this vista previously...we plan on walking around Old San Juan, up to the fort and back, and grabbing a Pina Colada at Barrachina, which claims to be home of the first Pina Colada in 1963, although the Caribe Hilton claims the title of the first Original Pina Colada in 1952. Who's counting?

 

Dinner was at Tuscan Grill, which was generally disappointing (review/comments to follow), but we figure we should try each of the four specialty restaurants. Tonight's dinner is at the Lawn Club overlooking the port/Old San Juan...it's the only dinner we have where the ship is not moving, so no wind...we figure it's an optimal night to try the Lawn Club, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

 

At 3:30, we went to the pool deck for the 30 minute Zoomba Class run by the fitness trainer (I watched but she has lots of energy and a good class leader and music was very up tempo). Earlier in the day there was a game with two teams using towels to fill up the bucket, so while we didn't hang out by the pool much, it's clear there's constant activities there. As I mentioned, the pool chairs were all taken by 1-2pm.

 

Then we went to the gym for a workout. 4 pm must be prime time, because I had wait for an open elyptical machine...otherwise, excellent facility with mega picture windows overlooking the ocean. I was unable to get the touch screen to work on my elyptical machine and was disappointed as there were no employees in the gym to help (the above referenced fitness instructor was teaching a spinning class), and there was a guy in an office, who never roamed thee floor. Then, we spent about 30 mins in the Persian Garden, on those hot loungers, and took a quick steam. Nice.

 

OK, gotta run...to be continued...:D

Edited February 9, 2015 by soxfan2013

[groryjm]

 

· Our Suite Class perks include unlimited access to Persian Garden, which is a great place to relax after working out. Overall, the attitude is: “whatever you want.”

 

Hi soxfan2013

 

Loving the realtime review so far. Hope you carry on enjoying your cruise.

 

One question is the unlimited access to Persian Garden a new suite perk :) and is it just royal and above or all Micheals suite guests?:cool:

Edited February 10, 2015 by groryjm

[soxfan2013]

Hi soxfan2013

 

One question is the unlimited access to Persian Garden a new suite perk :) and is it just royal and above or all Micheals suite guests?:cool:

 

I don't know. Marzita just said: "show your card and you're in" (technically, they give you a card for Persian Garden door and hold your cabin card), and that's what we did.

 

The Elite coupons also include 2 free passes to Persian Gardens.

[Phxazzcruisers]

Great reviews. I am sorry you did not enjoy the Tuscan Grill. We had some excellent dinners there. If you have tie, I would give it another chance. Please do enjoy your cruise !!!

[soxfan2013]

So…the days are musing together and my memory is starting to fog, so the rest may be more free form than otherwise.

 

I have an unlimited internet package, and yet between eat, drinking, sleeping, messing around, shore activities and whatever else, there doesn’t seem to time to sit down and post.

 

Now, I have a few mins before dinner while my GF showers and dries her hair (OK, more than a few mins), so here goes.

 

· Tuscan Grill: Didn’t like it for two reasons: size/lack of intimacy/service and taste. I had steak tartare (nothing special…I could have ordered it spicier, perhaps…I had it the way it comes normal, which is pretty tame); she had a salad; I had a dry pepper steak which was too thin and overcooked; she had a fish soup which was probably the best thing, but a couple notches short of amazing…deserts were fin. I think the NY Strip is cut too thin. I thought the steak sauces were boring (all four of them). I also got some grilled lobster chunks with lemon from the lobster pasta in cheese sauce (basically grilled lobster without pasta or cheese sauce), and it was also pretty boring. I think as the least expensive specialty restaurant ($35), this goes with the territory, attracts the most people, and c’est la vie. Personally, I was also disappointed in the bread. No problem, just won’t go back there.

 

· Michael’s Club pre-dinner featured a guest appearance by the hotel manager and the guest relations manager. It was fun to chat with each of them and learn about their careers at sea, and juggling family and cruising (the answer is that when you’re senior enough, you get an apartment on the ship and you can have your family with you for free, and you get a lot of time off (4 months per year) to be home with your family. We were very impressed by Jamie who seems to have risen through the ranks at a meteoric pace.

 

· The highlight of the day/night was the midnight Jacuzzi on the balcony…this was our first use of the Jacuzzi and it’s become a key component of the cruise. My GF has even taken to sprinkling in rose pedals of from the roses in the suite. Very cute/nice touch!

 

· I placed an order for room service breakfast, which doubled as brunch, to be served at 11:30…not realizing that we lose an hour on the way to SJ, so 11:30 is really 10:30, but we enjoyed breakfast on our balcony.

 

· Old San Juan: We had the good fortune of being on the port side of the ship and seeing the fort and Old SJ as we entered the harbored…spectacular, and that inspired us to walk there and back…the timing was great as day turned to night and the lights of the fort were beautiful and made for really amazing pics, and great vista up there at SJ’s highest point along the edge of the ocean harbor.

 

· We stopped at Barrachina on the way back, which claims to be home of the first pina colada (contested by the Caribe Hilton), and “rewarded” ourselves to a pina colada there. OK: nothing that different from other pina coladas: 5 parts pineapple juice to one part Coco Lopez, and a shot of rum on top.

 

· We handed over a few pieces of pressing and dry cleaning to Nelson our Butler who continues to be amazing with all requests: our favorite being a fresh carafe of OJ for the fridge each day, but also including shining shoes and taking care of other random requests (extra tooth paste, beach towels, etc.). If you submit items for cleaning the night before, they are returned at around 5pm, at no charge, assuming you are using the allotted coupons mentioned in my first post. Express cleaning is same day and is an extra charge.

 

· Back at the ship just in time to catch the last sitting at the Lawn Club (9pm). For those planning a dinner there, this is an excellent night to eat there, because the ship’s not moving and you have a view of Old SJ while you’re dining, which is nicer than a view of dark ocean. Lawn Club was upper OK. I think the portions/cuts should be thicker: the shrimp are pretty shrimpy and the sirloin was also a bit thin. The veal chop was excellent and the lamb chops were very good too. The service by Yetis from South Africa was outstanding. The hot blueberry cobbler with fast meting vanilla ice cream is tops.

 

· The view from the starboard side of the fort all lit up at night as we were exiting is great (about 10:30pm).

 

· Day 4: we went to Honeymoon Beach on Water Island, which was perfect – we wanted a more secluded, less popular beach, but we did it the hard way. We took a taxi to the water ferry (10 mins and $5/person), only to find out that the next ferry (which only holds 24 people and fills up: $5/person each way) wasn’t until 1:15, 45 mins later…we waited and walked from the water taxi on Water Island to the beach (abt 10 mins, up and down a big hill). Or, there is a shuttle to one of the two restaurants/bars there…it was full, so we walked. The beach is beautiful and we went to Heidi’s Honeymoon Grill and had tasty blackened catfish sandwich ($12) and fish tacos ($10), plus a beer and a rum punch. OK, now for the easy part: as we were sitting there in the shade under palm trees at picnic tables enjoying our rustic lunch and the serenity of the small beach, a boat call Kon Tiki slowly pulled in with steel drum music and about 200 relatively drunken people. Well, they docked and it was clear they were off cruise ships, and we asked the Captain if we could hitch a ride back home to the Celebrity, and after consultation with the ownership, he/they said OK, and so we had a nice ride back on Kon Tiki. I highly recommend booking this excursion and just going with the flow to/from Honeymoon Beach on Water Island if you’re looking for a nicer, more remote/secluded beach than Sapphire or the other beaches, and we thank Captain Jose and Kon Tiki management for allowing up to ride home with them! Cudos!

 

Oh, and the music on channel 6 (view from the bridge) is excellent. Surprising choice.

 

Ok, off to dinner at Murano…cheers! J

Edited February 11, 2015 by soxfan2013

[MizDemeanor]

You are doing a superb job reporting back, Thank You, and keep up the good work! Very much appreciated.

[Texed]

fan,

 

Thanks for posting. :)

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for your rolling 'live' report.

[soxfan2013]

Just had a great dinner at Murano.

 

In our opinion, the best single wow culinary taste on the ship so far, and one of the few wow culinary tastes, is the mushroom Cappucino (soup) at Murano. Also, the Chateaubriand at Murano is great and far and away the best beef on the ship. The Grand Marnier souflee continues to be great and the strawberry suzette was also delicious.

 

But disappointing that Murano was out of the two best cheeses (Epoisses and another -- forget which). Epoisse is a signature cheese. The ship has two more Epoisse rounds in the store room, but at least one back up didn't make it into the Murano fridge tonight, which is pretty inexcusable.

 

My general inclination is to do 7 for 7 nights at Murano, except obviously the new suite dining room will be "like" Murano, but not as intimate, so why vary? Once the Maitre D and the waiters and/or the chef get to know you, you have amazing food, service, and responsiveness.

 

Maybe 1 night at another specialty restaurant to vary... we haven't yet eaten at Qsine, which we are doing with the 8 person CruiseCritic group we formed through these boards.

 

We had the unfortunate experience of being seating just after a table of 12. Murano didn't assign another waiter to us, which they should have done in this context, so that delayed things, but we had nothing to do, so we didn't really care.

 

Tomorrow at 4:45 we have been invited w a group to the helicopter deck to watch the send off from St Martin...we were planning our own send off in the jacuzzi on the balcony, but we will have to check this one out...

 

To be continued.

Edited February 11, 2015 by soxfan2013

[Gordoncruickshank]

Enjoying the posts.

 

We are on Reflection on the 21st.

 

I take it the free speciality are available to MC guests not to all of the suite guests (SS and AS).

 

Thanks

Gordon

[Vikstar]

Thanks for a great review so far!

 

I was interested to hear that suite guests get the coupons for internet/laundry etc. I thought this was for Captains Club members? Can anyone confirm? I would love to get these on my next cruise (I use the internet a lot) but am not a Captains Club member as I haven't cruised this line before.

Edited February 11, 2015 by Vikstar

[drarill]

Thanks for taking the time to do a live review. We also enjoyed a RS on the Reflection last summer. In Civitavecchia they had a special line for suite guests check in, we were also escorted to MC.

Happy cruising!!:)

[Gordoncruickshank]

Just had a great dinner at Murano.

 

Tomorrow at 4:45 we have been invited w a group to the helicopter deck to watch the send off from St Martin...we were planning our own send off in the jacuzzi on the balcony, but we will have to check this one out...

 

To be continued.

 

You may find your original plan better than going to the helipad. There will be lots of people there. We have done this a few times now and you won't be missed if you decide not to appear. Last time we received a single glass of bubbly stuff- what they leave in the room chilled for you arriving and not much else.

 

Gordon

[Project_gal]

Thanks for a great review so far!

 

I was interested to hear that suite guests get the coupons for internet/laundry etc. I thought this was for Captains Club members? Can anyone confirm? I would love to get these on my next cruise (I use the internet a lot) but am not a Captains Club member as I haven't cruised this line before.

 

Guests in Celebrity Suites and above may be offered Elite Captain's Club vouchers if they are not already Elite members or above as a discretionary perk. It is not a published perks and probably depends on the sailing you are on as discretionary perks were in the past.

[cruise47]

Thanks for sharing your cruise experience.