Reflection Review - January 31st Eastern Caribbean Superbowl Cruise

[relaxatsea]

Great review, thanks so much!

[Miss SeaBee]

So are we. :)

 

Us, too! 2nd time Reflection. 💕

[Ottawamomof2]

So excited for everyone that has a cruise booked and leaving soon!! Very very jealous too :p I am thinking I REALLY need to book something...even if it is next year!

 

So after our formal dinner, we went to the martini bar of course! The bartenders were really starting to get to know us now :eek:. They were so much fun though...I think the most fun bar on the ship! It's a great location too because you see a lot of people, hear a lot of music and hear a lot of the entertainment. We aren't really into the games and dance competitions though but this was really the only night that we hung out there the whole time to see it all. We did get SUCKED into the dance competition, sort of against our will LOL But we were quickly eliminated in the first round LOL So back up to the bar we went to drink away our sorrows ;) The funny thing is that up until this night, we had only drank red wine and vodka/gin drinks! I had commented about it one night to Randy about the fact that the martinis do look quite good and maybe we should just splurge and get one. Well I guess one of the bartenders heard and the next thing I knew, there was a VERY pretty martini sitting beside my glass of wine. I said very casually "oh who is this for?" and he said "I made it specially for you, my treat"...well that was all I needed to hear. Unfortunately, I have no idea what it was called but here it is:

[Caribbean Amphibean]

Julie, thanks so much for recapping your cruise. I will be boarding Reflection in less than two weeks, and reading about your cruise has been a real treat.

[Ottawamomof2]

It's been great recapping our cruise too!! I can't believe we have no cruise booked at this time...I'm depressed Lol. But we have lots of other things to look forward to (designing our backyard and a week holiday with the kids) and I am fairly certain we will book a 2016 European cruise...either with Celebrity or Royal. It will all depend on the itinerary and price!

 

So here are my overall Ratings of the cruise:

 

Ship - 9.5/10

The ship is beautiful and very clean! It's a great size and we often felt like it wasn't full at all! There are lots of bars and dining options. The pool deck is laid out very well and the deck furniture is very comfortable. I can't really think of anything wrong with it!

 

Cabin - 9/10

We really loved our cabin. It was bigger than we expected, our attendant was awesome, there was enough storage and space and the balcony was quite big! We would have liked to be a bit closer to the middle of the ship and a bit higher but we didn't want to book Aqua or Concierge. We liked our cabin more than Royal.

 

Oceanview Cafe - 9/10

We ate some of our breakfasts at the buffet and most of our lunches there too, and lots of "in between" meals :p It was always delicious. I really enjoyed the different stations, the pizza was tasty as well as the sushi and the little tea sandwiches. It was always full and the tables were always clean. I liked this buffet way more than Royal.

 

MDR - 8/10

Initially I thought I would give this a 9/10 but when I looked at my pictures again and thought about my meals, I downgraded to an 8. I really did not like the prime rib the first night and some of the other meals were just ok. I did like that there were 4 courses but we often skipped dessert. And I never saw a cheese plate option which we did have on Royal and I was looking forward to. Another "pain point" was that we always had one of the worst tables, either right beside the "waiter/waitress stations" so it was very loud and we never had a nice view. We did like the select dining and would probably do it again. I liked the MDR on Royal better than Celebrity...but just a smidge.

 

Tuscan Grill 9/10

We really loved the food here and the service was amazing. We had a very nice table and the restaurant was very quiet and relaxing. We thought it was just a tad pricey, especially compared to Royal. But we would definitely eat here again. The edge does go to Royal though because of the price.

 

Bars - 10/10

Of course we had our favorites: Martini bar and the sunset bar. We regret not trying Molecular bar. Every bartender we had was great and treated us very well. I can't really like of anything bad! The drinks were plentiful...probably a little too plentiful LOL

 

Pool - 8/10

We actually didn't use the pools very much because it was too windy the first few days and the last day. And we never used the Solarium pool. When we did use them, they were crowded!. But the pool deck is very well laid out and there are tons of chairs available. I do wish there was another pool, maybe at the aft? I don't really remember the pools on the Brilliance so I won't really compare them.

 

Ports of call - 9/10

We LOVED St. Thomas and St. Martin and would go back in a heartbeat. We did our own thing and booked our own excursion so I can't comment on the Celebrity excursions. We weren't crazy about Puerto Rico but I know we will need to give it another chance.

 

Entertainment - 8/10

We were a bit disappointed in the entertainment but we knew it wasn't going to be exciting and active as Royal. But we thought they could have done a better job with the Super Bowl viewing party and they really need to play better music around the ship, especially on the pool deck. That being said we LOVED Skylab sounds, they were super cool. And the DJ always played good music. We also thought the pool olympics was funny. But Royal does have the edge on entertainment.

 

Overall - 9/10!!!!!!!!

This is not a scientific calculation by any means, it's just the number that popped in my head! I believe what makes for a great experience, all depends on YOU! and we definitely made it a great experience. From pre-cruising in Miami, to relaxing on our awesome balcony, to drinking, dancing, and having fun and to our wonderful beach moments at the ports of call, I hardly have any complaints...it almost seems silly to complain about one bad meal when everything else was awesome. And we were treated like royalty.

 

I highly recommend this cruise to all of my friends and colleagues that ask me about cruising. I am glad we went on this ship. I am anxious to try out bigger ships though! I am still so in awe of such a big floating hotel so I can't wait to go on the Epic and the Oasis!!!!

 

Will I cruise Celebrity again - absolutely. Will I try other cruise lines - absolutely!

 

For those of you going on the Reflection soon - Have fun!!!!!

[helen haywood]

Sorry about the bad table placement. Next time you can ask the hostess for a specific table or area....something along the railing looking over the lower MDR or by the window...you might have to wait a few minutes but you would get a table you'd be happier with.

[fninsn]

Thanks for your review. We just returned from a fantastic cruise on Reflection last week and I can't wait to sail on the Summit in 2016 :D

[Nanatravel]

Thanks for taking the time to write this great review. Even though our itinerary will be different, I really enjoyed reading your review and seeing your great pictures.

[dennbr9]

And this was our balcony. Again, I think it was bigger than our last one. The chairs reclined which was a nice bonus. We had a balcony last time and I really don't think we can do without! We sleep with the door open so the ocean waves are in the background, we have our coffee and breakfast out there and of course a glass or two of wine at night ;). We know it's expensive but we think it is worth it. Now we do want to take the kids on a cruise which will cost a lot and we are torn between getting two adjoining balcony rooms or just oceanview but what do kids need a balcony for? LOL...I would love to hear opinions if anyone wants to share!

 

 

 

We Cruised with our two daughters 8 times, they got the inside Cabin across the Hall from our Balcony each time.

 

Dennis

[dennbr9]

Always a good idea to book an Future Cruise on Board, if your not sure what or when, book an open one. Only $200 deposit and you get a nice on board Credit. If they offer a promo later such as the free Classic Pkg, you still keep the OBC.

[murph219ca]

Terrific review OttawaMom... We're sailing the Reflection TA in a few weeks and you've helped really amp up the excitement!

[IAMLIZMAC]

Love your review. We will be on the Reflection in November, with different ports, but have been to some of the ports you mention on a previous cruise on the Infinity back in 2001. If you ever get back to San Juan, I would recommend a trip to the Rain Forest. We stayed precruise for 2 nights at the El Convento, in San Juan and had a wonderful day with another couple and a guide, who was recommended to us by the front desk.

[fflashh]

Super trip review!!! Thanks so much for taking the time to relive and post it! It's helping us make up our minds for our first Celebrity cruise. Great job, Ottawamomof2. :cool:

fflashh gordon