Reflection Review W. caribbean 1/30/16 - 2/6/16

[Sonoma fans]

BACKGROUND: We are Elite Level with Celebrity and in our mid-fifties (54 and DW 52). We are from Massachusetts near Cape Cod. This was our third sailing on Reflection and our fourth sailing on S Class ships with one sailing on Eclipse to the Norwegian Fjords last august. We usually sail alone, but were joined by seven other friends for this trip.

 

PRE STAY: We flew down to Miami the day prior to departure to reduce risk of potential storms making us late. We stayed at the Marriott Biscayne Bay, which is a twenty minute ride from the airport and a flat rate fee of 27.00. We met some friends for dinner on South beach at a restaurant called Prime 112. Outrageously expensive but the 28 day dry aged filets were magnificent. The hotel is on the Bay, and you look at the Reflection docked while eating breakfast at the outdoor seating area. We caught a cab to the port at 1030, and were at the port by 1040. The cab was 13.00.

 

EMBARKATION: Once at the port, we dropped our luggage with the porters and made our way into the terminal. There were no lines through security or to check in. Once we had our Sea pass cards, we waited 5 minutes and at 1100 the suite passengers were boarding. We were right behind them. Once on board, we immediately went to the specialty dinner table that was set up just inside on deck 5. We signed up for the Ultimate dining Package (29.00 pp/day or 406.00 for two for the week) as we enjoy the specialty restaurants. We had the days and times of the reservations we wanted for the week written up ahead of time, so it was very easy for the gentlemen inputting the reservations into the computer to get them set. We got dinner times between 6:30 & 7:00 each night. We also upgraded to Premium package utilizing our OBC while we were adding our dinner reservations.

 

The other folks that were travelling with us did the four night specialty dinner package. They were able to join reservations by providing our cabin number to the gentleman loading the reservations. We ate together for their four nights.

Having been on Reflection previously, we headed to the sunset bar for a few cocktails, and went to Bistro on five for lunch (covered under the UDP). The Bistro on 5 menu was the same as last February, with the crepes, sandwiches, and specialty’s each night. Lots of chatter about this becoming a sushi restaurant, but not in affect yet.

 

We went to muster at 3:15, and enjoyed sail away from the Mast Bar. At 4:45 our bags were in the cabin and DW had everything hung and put away.

CABIN: We stayed in Concierge class accessible cabin 1026. Due to a progressive muscle disease, I require grab rails etc..I also rent a mobility scooter for the week, so require the accessible cabin for the scooter. We looked into the Accessible veranda cabins on deck 6 & 7, but they were in areas that could have some noise from deck 5. For us it is worth the Concierge class to get the cabin on deck 10. If I did not need the accessible cabin, I am sure we would book the regular veranda cabins on deck nine as the perks for concierge are not worth the increased cost IMO.

 

FOOD: We can only speak for the specialty restaurants as we did not eat in the OPUS dining room with the UDP. We felt that the food and service was very good. We ate at the Lawn Club Grill twice, Tuscan twice, Qsine twice, and at Murano once. There was a special lunch offered on the last sea day at LCG, Tuscan, and Murano. It was free for UDP or for a 25.00 fee.

LCG: We got three pizzas for the table, and most folks got the Filet which was done a perfect medium rare, and combined that with the scallop and shrimp kabobs.

 

Tuscan: The server brought three different pastas for the table to share, meals ordered were the lasagna, the raviolis, the Mediterranean Sea bass, and the 18 oz dry aged sirloin (upcharge for this)

 

Qsine: Great tastes throughout the meal…Full, Full, Full

 

Murano: We ate at Murano on the first sea Day. We were able to reserve the wine room within Murano for the 9 of us. This is a private area inside Murano and is their wine cellar. Meals ordered included the Chateaubriand for 2, Dover sole, & Lobster Tails. These are final prepared at table side and it is a nice touch. Really Good Meal.

 

The ALCOVES: The alcoves are the cabanas that are on Deck 15 on the Lawn. We have rented one for the week on our last two cruises and really enjoy them. With my condition, I struggle to get into/out of the lounge chairs by the pool area. The Alcove has wicker furniture (two club chairs with ottomans and a couch). I am able to get in/out of these chairs and I am comfortable. With the sliding panel doors open you see the ocean and get a great breeze all day. We never have to “fight” for territory, or for chairs that have items thrown upon them to save for the morning…The alcoves have an attendant that will bring water, drinks, food etc..all day as requested. The down side is they are expensive. We figure the cost into our vacations on Reflection and will continue to rent for the week when we cruise Reflection or Silhouette. (20% off rates when booked for the week)

 

BARS: As you can tell by our cruise critic name, Sonoma fans, the Wine Cellar was our favorite place for drinks on the ship. The Sommelier named Stefania does an incredible job running this venue. There were always fellow passengers in the wine cellar, unlike the previous cruises on Reflection. I believe Stefania is personally responsible for the increased visitors. OK selection by the glass, with an upcharge for those over 14.00 per glass. The Reflection still has the Enomatic wine dispensers. You purchase a separate wine card and are able to try over 60 different wines. A lot of folks complain that these are charged separately, but there is no way they would offer that many wines if they did not have them.

 

The Martini Bar: This was the bar that we would all meet at for before dinner martinis. Bartenders were good, and the wait for drinks was reasonable. The DJ played some decent music, but it makes you talk pretty loud to carry a conversation with a big group. If you are with a group, order “the Flight” and have the bartenders do it with 12-16 shakers…Impressive if you have not witnessed it yet…..

 

The World Class Bar: The World Class bar signs were up, but the menu had not been changed over yet. The bartender on board stated that they were in the final 2 weeks of training, and that it would be officially rolled out shortly.

 

 

 

ENTERTAINMENT: We saw two of the shows in the Theatre during the week. 1 comedian on the first sea day night, and the Rock city show which was done to some rock classics. Both were OK but we do not go to many ship board shows so not much to compare to. An R rated show was offered in Celebrity Central (the smaller theatre) several times during the week but we did not attend. The folks in our group that did attend said it got pretty raunchy.. The house band blind vinyl were good as well as the other singers that played in the centrum area at night.

 

PORTS: This was the western Caribbean itinerary, with stops in Cozumel. Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios Jamaica, and Coco cay. We have been very fortunate to have visited and stayed on most of the islands in the Caribbean, so we normally do not get off the ship. Grand Cayman holds a special place so we got off to rove around the downtown area and to have a few cocktails. The Roll on.Roll off tenders they use in Grand Cayman allowed me to drive my scooter right on/off the tender. It was as calm as I have ever seen it in the harbor so loading was easy. The other folks in our group did excursions at all of the islands. They did the Celebrity sponsored excursions and had good things to say about all of them. Due to rough seas at Coco Cay, the ship called upon Nassau Bahamas instead. Most of our group went to Atlantis for the day and had a blast. We stayed on board and enjoyed our alcove for the last day.

 

OTHER: We did the Riedel Wine Glass Tasting and another Premium wine tasting. If you like wine and have not done the Riedel tasting, I recommend it. For 92.00 pp, you get the wine tasting plus four Riedel wine glasses. The difference in tasting from the proper glass is incredible. The premium tasting consisted of 5 wines and cheeses (all bottles retailed for over 100.00). It was a nice selection of wines for the 45.00 pp fee.

 

DEBARKATION: We signed up for the luggage valet at 20.00 pp. This allows you to not touch your bags once put out on the last night, until your final destination. The only mis cue was that guest relations told the luggage valet folks to wait on deck 3 at the passport bar at 0815. As it became 0840, had to go to guest relations to inquire. They sent us to deck 4 OPUS dining room. Once there inquired with representative and they stated Luggage valets were cleared. This is offered each week and I would have thought there would be less confusion. Got off ship, waited 5 mins for Immigration, and were on our way to the airport.

 

The Reflection is a wonderful ship with a great staff. All areas of the ship were kept spotless, and all staff were friendly and willing to assist however they could. Looking forward to more cruises on her in the future.

Please let me know if there are any questions I can try to answer…

[tybeelucy2]

Great review, thanks for sharing. We booked this itinerary for Dec when we were on the Reflection last November (E. Caribbean), but I don't know if I can wait that long!

[wallysdtr]

thanks for the review! We will be on the Reflection March 12 and will also be staying at the Marriott Biscayne Bay - Bayview room as my husband is a Marriott Platinum elite member.

 

So glad you had a good stay there. The information regarding transportation is very helpful for us as well.

[Bimmer09]

Thanks for a well-written and comprehensive review!

 

I'm 11 months away from my first Reflection cruise.

 

I will check into the Marriott Biscayne Bay on TripAdvisor .

 

Noris

[Spoofa1]

thanks for sharing your recent sailing. We are also Elite and sailing April 2nd, did you attend any breakfast specifically for Elite members and where was it held? Did you attend any Elite cocktail hours? We have sailed 12 times w Celebrity but never on any S class ship. Thanks for your response

 

Eileen and Norm

[Boiler Fan]

Thanks for your review! We will be boarding the Reflection for the same cruise this Saturday (leaving cold and snowy Detroit on Friday). We have done several Celebrity cruises in past years, and my husband has enjoyed the Celebrity Life lectures in the small theatre during sea days. They are often about interesting topics and he wondered if this was still offered. Any info would be appreciated! Thanks! :)

[Clarea]

Enjoyed the review, thanks!

[landj999]

What is a roll on tender in Grand Cayman? New one for me.

[irishgal1970]

Thanks for your review! We will be boarding the Reflection for the same cruise this Saturday (leaving cold and snowy Detroit on Friday). We have done several Celebrity cruises in past years, and my husband has enjoyed the Celebrity Life lectures in the small theatre during sea days. They are often about interesting topics and he wondered if this was still offered. Any info would be appreciated! Thanks! :)

 

I was also on this cruise and am working on scanning in the daily newsletters. I should have them done and posted later tonight.

[Keith1010]

Thanks for this comprehensive review.

 

Keith

[TexSea]

Thanks for the review. And for mentioning that Stefania is still onboard. We've known her since our first Reflection cruise when she was in Blu. Makes me want to change our Silhouette cruise in December back to Reflection....

[Sonoma fans]

The tenders used in Grand Cayman are from the port. They are 2 level tenders that hold 250 passengers. I call them roll on roll off as there are no stairs when loading to the upper level. This allows wheel chairs and scooters to just "roll on and off" very easy. If they were using the ship life boats as tenders, would not be able to do this.

[MCKC]

My hubby and I were on this cruise and enjoyed Stefania so much! Not only is she knowledgeable but so friendly. We loved visiting "her home" aka Cellar Masters everyday. The premium wine tasting was fantastic and we highly recommend it as well.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Texed]

Fans,

 

Thanks for posting. :)

Edited February 11, 2016 by Texed

[lola2013]

Thanks for the great review. Our first Reflection cruise is booked for March, 2017 (having done two Equinox in the past and booked on Solstice for this coming April). I especially like hearing how great the Alcoves are. We have one booked for just one of the sea days and I'm really looking forward to that. I was told that the Alcoves face in toward the lawn so hearing that I will be able to open a panel to see the ocean makes me that much happier that we were able to snag a space. I was told that we got the last Alcove for the day we wanted...and that was 15 months ahead of sailing.