Why so many horrific reviews about Reflection?

[dogsambam]

We will be sailing on the Reflection on this year's Christmas sailing. I have been on lots of cruises, and I have never heard so much negativity. We know we will be on a full ship, with lots of families. We already know everything won't be perfect, as it never is on any trip, but why so much negativity? I am very fearful of our decision to be on this ship. Can some folks who have sailed recently please give me some positive reinforcement that this ship is still great? We went between RCCl and Princess, and decided on Celebrity for a little bit nicer experience to celebrate father-in-law 70th. We are elite members and I have full faith in the line, but I'm having my doubts.

[TeeRick]

We were on Reflection Nov 7-14 out of Miami. Honestly one of the best cruise experiences we have had. The ship is beautiful, very clean, and the staff is very friendly and highly attentive. We thought the food was very good. Don't worry about the negative reviews here. People tend to complain about any little thing- but they still keep booking Celebrity and Reflection is always full to capacity.

[Caribbean Chris]

I share your question - I'm sailing in a week and have read the same complaints. On the other hand, there has been more negativity overall on Cruise Critic lately I think.

 

Did you read any of the LIVE BLOG from Reflection post? He's very upbeat and has had a lot of good things to say.

[kenevenpar]

Reflection is, without a doubt, our favorite ship!

[vickykay]

We loved the Reflection on our cruise this past May. One of our Cruise Critic members from our roll call had also read so many negative things about Celebrity that he was rally having doubts about the cruise but also loved the ship and the cruise. Enjoy,

[dogsambam]

Thank you. The live blog by Chicagopaul is fantastic. It has made me feel a little better. We have some first time cruisers going with, and they are beginning to freak.

[Tommy3putts]

We love Reflection. Are set for a second cruise on the October 2016 TA . Here is my review of our 2014 cruise.

 

Bravo Celebrity! My .02 on our June 23, 2014, 11 Night Cruise Mediterranean

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2066933

Edited December 5, 2015 by Tommy3putts

[warmwinds]

Don't tell the first time cruisers anything you have read!

 

My husband knows someone in a different office who went on the Reflection recently, it was her first cruise (went with family that cruise a lot), and she had a great time. He asked her about the music she said "it was fine" - so don't plant negative seeds.

[MR_T]

If you based your booking on cruise critic reviews/posts you would never book with celebrity again on any ship...

 

I'd say for every negative post I've ever seen posted on hear there will be 50+ great experiences that just don't get posted as like the saying goes "bad news sells papers" and some people just like to spread bad reviews that can come from just about anything and some times the cruise is terrible because of something that's completely not connected to their cruise... What I mean is someone can have a terrible flight that puts them in a bad mood then subsequently everything after is elevated 10 fold so suddenly a small slight problem is another huge issue and blown completely out of proportion... And the snow ball effect to the cruise was the worst experience of my life goes on & on...

 

I don't tend to pay too much attention to reviews on cruises/hotels etc as I like to make my own mind up, and if it's no good then I know for myself... I'd never worry about something I had booked because of something someone I don't know says as we are all different and what I love could easily be what they hate...

 

Just about every cruise I've done there's been negative comments on here and I can honestly say I've never experienced any of them... We have loved every minute on every cruise ship we have been on (except 1 night on p&o in an inside cabin where the air con packed up😱)

 

I guess what I'm saying is go with an open mind, don't have any predetermined negatives in your mind about what migh happen or not and look forward to what you have been looking forward to... A great cruse experience on a great ship and cruise line... :)

 

And most importantly enjoy it and have a great cruise :)

[phbr]

We were on the recent Reflection TA and had an absolutely memorable cruise.

 

Since returning home, I have also been reading the all too frequent negative comments about a number of`Reflections recent cruises, and while some of the complaints are legitimate, on the face`of it, many are trivial and are in line with the increasingly negative vibes presently evident on many CC boards, and not only the Celebrity ones.

 

In recent days, Ive seen Reflection based posts asking for named members of the ships staff to be reprimanded for alleged 'poor service'. The place to raise such matters in on the Survey at the end of the cruise, not in a public forum like this. Innocent till proven guilty still applies most places, why not here ?

 

There now seems to be disquiet amongst the top Suite customers that 'all suites' are now being admitted to Michaels Club. Maybe these people would like their own dedicated lifeboat as well ?. Maybe Ive seen 'Titanic' too many timeshttp://boards.cruisecritic.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

 

We have done 15 plus cruises and never had a reason to make a complaint during any of them. Certainly, there have been occasions when things have not gone according to plan, but nothing that would have me going public, baying for someones head. Our room attendant on the Reflection recently was telling me that a European guest had an issue with his baggage, something that had nothing to do with the room attendant. The guest only gave him a 2 on the survey because of this issue, which led to the staff member being called in front of his Line Manager to explain. He was unsure whether his contract would be renewed when we were leaving.

 

I would love to see more positive posts generally on CC

[casper106]

Remember that only a tiny number of people who actually cruise post here and I have observed that many are frequent cruisers who also have the higher status. They remember cruising from "back in the day" when things were different in so many ways. Not to mention,there are cruisers from many parts of the world with differing opinions on what they think is good or bad.

 

You will have a great time.Enjoy!!

[pete_coach]

Remember that only a tiny number of people who actually cruise post here and I have observed that many are frequent cruisers who also have the higher status. They remember cruising from "back in the day" when things were different in so many ways. Not to mention,there are cruisers from many parts of the world with differing opinions on what they think is good or bad.

 

You will have a great time.Enjoy!!

I have noted that too. It seems the "entitled" are complaining about things they thought they were entitled to and did not get and then have to put up with us riff-raff.

I have been in a suite, in Aqua, concierge class and our next cruise will be a lowly balcony but, each time we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We do not expect us to be better than others and certainly would not complain about not being treated special. Name recognition? Really? I would hope someone remembers my name by my actions as opposed to the status I hold. If I brushed past into a RS occupant, am I supposed to know somehow?

Edited December 5, 2015 by pete_coach

[JHUNTGOLF]

We love sailing on the Reflection. Back in February, we had a group of 14 couples on the Reflection for what I refer to as the Superbowl cruise because you watch the Superbowl (the day after you board the ship) in the main Celebrity theater's big screen. They set up tailgate food at the back of the theater, with bars set up on both sides. Then, the theater is decked out with team items/colors with one side designated for the NFC team and the other for the AFC team. They put on a pretty good party. We love it so much that we're doing the Superbowl again this coming February on the Celebrity again. We have 14 couples again, but not all the same as last year. This will be our third Superbowl cruise in a row on the Reflection. Just to show you how much we enjoy it, we've already got six couples booked for the February 4, 2017, Reflection Superbowl cruise--our fourth Superbowl cruise in a row.

 

John

[dogsambam]

I so agree with everyone on this topic. I have been on 30 cruises, all being awesome. One bad cruise was that the ship lost all power for days. In the 90s we were on a Princess ship which literally lost all power for 2 days, had engineers helicoptered onto the ship, to fix, and it never made the news. I still have fond memories of that cruise, and the staff was wonderful. Yes it was a negative experience, but we made the most of it, and our family and cruise friends still are talking about it till today. My family loves to cruise. My oldest went on her first cruise at 1 year old, and looks forward to her next cruise, always. Cruising is part of my life and my family's life, and I still get freaked out when I read the negative reviews. Can't wait, even if the negative few want to poison the positive many!!

[Tommy3putts]

We love sailing on the Reflection. Back in February, we had a group of 14 couples on the Reflection for what I refer to as the Superbowl cruise because you watch the Superbowl (the day after you board the ship) in the main Celebrity theater's big screen. They set up tailgate food at the back of the theater, with bars set up on both sides. Then, the theater is decked out with team items/colors with one side designated for the NFC team and the other for the AFC team. They put on a pretty good party. We love it so much that we're doing the Superbowl again this coming February on the Celebrity again. We have 14 couples again, but not all the same as last year. This will be our third Superbowl cruise in a row on the Reflection. Just to show you how much we enjoy it, we've already got six couples booked for the February 4, 2017, Reflection Superbowl cruise--our fourth Superbowl cruise in a row.

 

 

 

John

 

 

We are doing our Super Bowl cruise on Allure of the Seas. Hoping to be at the aqua theater for the game.

[FKGirl]

We were on the Reflection over Thanksigiving. Fabulous time all around. We were friends and family - first time cruisers to those with 30+ cruises in the past... Everyone enjoyed immensely. Was everything perfect? No. Was it awesome? Absolutely.

 

 

I've posted the first installment of the review in my blog here. http://floridakeysgirl.com/2015/12/04/celebrity-reflection-thanksgiving-cruise-review-part-1-luminae/

[Gracie115]

We love sailing on the Reflection. Back in February, we had a group of 14 couples on the Reflection for what I refer to as the Superbowl cruise because you watch the Superbowl (the day after you board the ship) in the main Celebrity theater's big screen. They set up tailgate food at the back of the theater, with bars set up on both sides. Then, the theater is decked out with team items/colors with one side designated for the NFC team and the other for the AFC team. They put on a pretty good party. We love it so much that we're doing the Superbowl again this coming February on the Celebrity again. We have 14 couples again, but not all the same as last year. This will be our third Superbowl cruise in a row on the Reflection. Just to show you how much we enjoy it, we've already got six couples booked for the February 4, 2017, Reflection Superbowl cruise--our fourth Superbowl cruise in a row.

 

John

 

THIS sounds like a blast!! We sailed during the playoffs a few years back on Solstice and had so much fun. I'm sure Super Bowl would be even better.....may have to think about doing one of those in the next few years!!:D

[JHUNTGOLF]

THIS sounds like a blast!! We sailed during the playoffs a few years back on Solstice and had so much fun. I'm sure Super Bowl would be even better.....may have to think about doing one of those in the next few years!!:D

 

What's made it even better has been having that "free" Classic Beverage Package on these cruises. Somehow all those beers/martinis consumed taste so much better when you know you've got a "0" bar bill at the end of the cruise!!!

 

John

[HardToPort]

I do a cruise annually with my Dad since 2009. We've done Carnival's, NCL's and Celebrity. Did Reflection last January. Loved the ship so much we're going back this January. Great ship, great staff, great guests, great music. As nice a cruise as we've ever done.

 

Take the whining with a grain of salt. Some folks are never happy.

[doneall50]

We just disembarked Reflection this morning, after visiting San Juan, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. We loved the ship! We've cruised on Solstice before, but this was our first time on Reflection. The ship is gorgeous and spotless. The staff was pleasant and efficient. The food was fine in the MDR and in the Oceanview Cafe. We did not do any specialty restaurants, but know people who did and they were happy about it.

 

My only negative comments were about several of the shows. If Jayne Curry is on the ship, her show is a must see. She moved over to Constellation in St. Maarten but may come back. The Momentum show doesn't have any momentum, despite apparently having stolen a circus' entire acrobatic troupe. My wife and I both fell asleep in the middle of it. However, these same acrobats were really impressive in Reflection The Show. Find something else to do when the Elton John tribute guy is performing, as he is really awful. The comedian was ok, but not an act I'd pay to see.

 

The port visits were fine, but the ship arrives in San Juan at 3:30, which is too late for the walking tour because darkness falls quickly. Also, San Juan would be well advised to stop running a mosquito fogging truck past the walking tour. It passed us, and fogged us, three times before we heard it coming back and ducked into a store to avoid it! Besides, there probably aren't that many mosquitos breeding on the paved streets anyway.

 

All in all, loved the ship and the experience and would recommend it.

[HappiTravels]

You obviously are going with the right attitude. Nothing in life is perfect and just roll with the punches. We were on the Reflection last December and had a wonderful vacation. Very few complaints. Enjoy your cruise.

[Bo1953]

i have noted that too. It seems the "entitled" are complaining about things they thought they were entitled to and did not get and then have to put up with us riff-raff.

I have been in a suite, in aqua, concierge class and our next cruise will be a lowly balcony but, each time we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We do not expect us to be better than others and certainly would not complain about not being treated special. Name recognition? Really? I would hope someone remembers my name by my actions as opposed to the status i hold. If i brushed past into a rs occupant, am i supposed to know somehow?

 

a++

[Shellifino]

Just off Reflection today and had quite possibly the best cruise of my life. I was worried last week that I'd made a mistake booking the Reflection, but that worry was completely unfounded. Service, food and beverage quality, and ship maintenance were all top notch. It was also the best group of fellow passengers we've ever experienced.

 

There were minor annoyances too, but nothing to get all worked up over. I'd prefer the a/c a touch cooler. Some of the entertainment was amateurish at best. Some bar drinks were inconsistent. But what a great time we had!

 

So much of travel is what we make of it. The Reflection gives you plenty of opportunity to make the most of a week. Enjoy. :-)

[elsieperalta]

We just got off the Reflection cruise as well and it was the best! MDR room food was delicious. Ship is modern and clean. The best cocktails I've had in a long time were from the Molecular Bar. Our mixologist, Chairul was the best! Really enjoyed my cocktails there better than at the Martini Bar. The entertainment was good too. My balcony cabin was on the 7th floor midship and it was at a perfect location. I'm ready to book my next cruise with Celebrity!

Edited December 6, 2015 by elsieperalta

[INSIDERS CABIN]

Doneall50-I am happy to hear mosquito fogging done in SJ- got bit there last winter by dock and worried for days! Check out chikungunya alert for Caribbean ( last couple of years, started in St Martin 2013) and note that carrier mosquitoes are in urban areas, concrete and brick, during daylight hours. When we go in January, I will have repellent on in Caribbean.