NCHPcruiser

Sue Denning was the CD on our recent Reflection cruise. It was our best cruise yet (all Celebrity) partly due to the nightly entertainment. I doubt I will forget her and I can't even recall the name of the CD of our cruise last October (or any of the other five we've been on). She may have her faults-she interrupted our conversation with a couple-B2B cruisers we had become friendly with at the bar in Michaels and never acknowledged us whatsoever. But still it was the best shipboard entertainment we have enjoyed!

For the Alaskan cruise (6/2017) we booked onboard last October, 2017 we paid $100 pp deposit for an S1. For the Australian cruise (2/2019) we booked onboard two weeks ago we paid $900 pp deposit for a Celebrity suite. Quite a difference!

On our Reflection cruise earlier this month there were a few men who wore tuxedo's but I would guess less than 10%. (Even fewer women are wearing long formal dresses.) A few more wear suits and ties but the vast majority (including my husband) wear jackets over dress shirts, no tie. My husband will pack his tux for a longer cruise (and on our last one he only wore it once!). I actually prefer the way he looks in a jacket and dress shirt and he is definitely more comfortable. Unless your husband loves to wear a tux and has no other opportunity during the year, I would leave it at home, especially on a Caribbean cruise. You can still dress in cocktail attire even if he chooses to wear only a jacket (which is what I occasionally do). Have a great time!

We booked our June Alaska cruise (S1) on a cruise in September. The booking was automatically transferred to our travel agent. Later we decided we would splurge on a Celebrity Suite since we are traveling with friends and thought the extra space for the four of us at times would be nice. We decided against changing after our TA gave us the prices. Two weeks later (only two weeks ago) while aboard the Reflection we were booking a cruise for 2019 and mentioned that we had wanted to upgrade to a CS on the Alaska cruise. We were able to get the upgrade to a CS through a completely new booking at a good rate plus more onboard credit (which I love!), much less than our TA had quoted (less than two weeks earlier). The cabin position is slightly preferred over the one offered by the TA as well. We like booking onboard and know we can always cancel, switch cruises, transfer TA, etc. The onboard agents have given us good advice in the past regarding location on the ship.

I hope you receive good news concerning the medical test and are able to travel. Also hope that it won't be complicated to meet the ship as soon as possible. Good luck and prayers!

We have been in two Sky Suites. Our first butler was fine, but we were fairly new to cruising and had few if any request. He did deliver our breakfast each morning with white table cloth service. Our second SS1 (last September) our butler was barely visible although our friends butler (also in a SS) had a fabulous butler. We were on the Reflection two weeks ago in a Royal Suite and had the type of Butler everyone dreams of having. Dominic was fabulous! We think it's just the luck of the draw. I would never book a RS again based at all on the great service we received on our last cruise.

I was on the Reflection two weeks ago. Signs stating the minimum age of 18 (though it could have been 16) were visible in several places. We spent quite a bit of time in the solarium and never saw a child. This is probably dependent on the cruise. I expect we may see children in the solarium in June while cruising Alaska.

We disembarked the Reflection last Saturday, March 4th and enjoyed two comedians, both very good. Savannah Smith (from Vegas) performed mainly Broadway songs was also enjoyable. Willian was also onboard and as Watchdiva said was outstanding. We did not care for either of the production shows and left both very early, one simply makes no sense. Celebrity really needs to rethink their production shows! The ships house band, Blind Vinyl, however, is fantastic, the best we have heard on any of our cruises. The lead singer can sing anything and the other musicians in the band are top notch! I would actually consider booking a Caribbean cruise because if they were the band rather because of the itinerary. The poolside party one evening with Blind Vinyl including the horn section from the theater was the most fun we have ever had on a cruise ship. Sue Denning was the cruise director and joined in on several songs. I passed my Celebrity Today dailies along to a friend who boards the Reflection tomorrow or I would post those for you.

We have had good sky suite butlers and very mediocre sky suite butlers. Our last S1 butler this past October was rarely seen and really pushed us to go to Michaels for afternoon snacks which we had no intention of doing. I have no desire to disturb my afternoon by getting passably presentable for tea in Michaels. It was only after mentioning our friends butler who was superb (also S1) that our butler upped his game somewhat.

 

We are just off the Reflection in our first Royal Suite and had an unbelievable Butler, Dominic. We are now completely spoiled when we go back to our S1 in June. Dominic noticed on the first day we were getting our own plate of cheese and crackers from Oceanview Cafe and from then on absolutely insisted on bringing us a special plate each afternoon. There were any number of special things he did to make this cruise special. Unfortunately a RS is not in the cards again and was really too much room for just two people traveling alone anyway.

 

We have never had a butler unpack for us.

SHIP: Reflection

CABIN #: 1607

DECK #: 11

CLASS: Royal Suite

AREA: Port Mid-ship

BED NEAR: Separate bedroom

QUIET?: Very Quiet. Never heard anything, except for the loud toddlers on the adjacent balcony (another RS). After they started playing kazoos and other "horns" we did ask for them to calm down a bit which they did somewhat. It's the parent we were irritated with. Children will be children but the parents were not very respectful of the adjoining cabins at all.

BALCONY VIEW: Completely unobstructed

BALCONY SIZE: Not terribly deep, but the width of the suite which is quite wide. There was a nice lounger, two dining chairs, dining table, one footstool and a wood paneled jacuzzi.

WIND A PROBLEM?: No

SOOT A PROBLEM?: No

PROBLEMS/COMMENTS: No problems whatsoever (except the noise from the next door suite balcony) and couldn't imagine a better Royal Suite. Our butler (Dominic) was absolutely topnotch (though we had very few request). Much more storage than we required on a 7 night cruise!

Thanks for the quick replies since we leave in the morning. I noted on our last cruise in October that port security (at least in several places) was separate from the ships. The port security didn't care what we carried on and then the ship simply scanned our sea pass. Had we wanted to, we could have easily carried wine or liquor back on board. Last January in Fort Lauderdale, my husband and I and another couple traveling with us somehow all got in separate security lines unintentionally. None of us were carrying alcohol. We could have all carried on two bottles each easily. In any case, we will pack the wine in a carry on upon embarkation. Thanks again!

We usually don't bring wine🍷 aboard but on our cruise leaving Saturday we plan to take two special bottles. Should we pack it in the bag we carry onto the ship or in the larger luggage we leave with the porters? Or will it matter? I've read so many threads about people trying to sneak on more than the allowed two bottles that I don't want there to be a problem from the outset. (Of course it will be specially packed in our checked luggage on our flight tomorrow.)

 

Thanks!

 

Martha

What is served at the spa cafe?

I wish I could be more specific but I had salmon many days on our last cruise in October on the Equinox. There are items to choose from under glass but you can also order from a centrally posted board. The offerings are limited but salmon was always available. I found it much easier to eat "clean" there than anywhere else.

Enjoy! You know what they say about suite cruising, though....hard to go back!

 

Isn't that the truth!

Totally unnecessary to post this

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Agreed

We enjoyed Sushi on 5 very much on the Equinox last October. My husband eats sushi all over the world and thought it was great. I like sushi somewhat. I thought several of the other items were outstanding and we are looking forward to Son5 next week on the Reflection. I'll report back our thoughts.

Our experience has been as long as the extension cord is packed in the CPAP case there has not had a problem.

In suite afternoon canapés and tea have been discontinued. I can't believe they still have this on the list of perks, though I really shouldn't be surprised. Upon request your butler will bring something to your suite (although in our case it came so late in the afternoon we were no longer interested).

I don't think you should have a problem. I've had plenty of space for my workout including lots of weighted walking lunges. On occasion I've had to wait for a bench. I usually go late morning after it's calmed down a bit.

There was not an IPad dock in our S1 on the Equinox last October or the previous year on the Silhouette. I'll be boarding the Reflection next Saturday and will try to remember to report back.

I know everybody talks about the "nickel & diming" but I haven't felt this. Perhaps those that have sailed for years notice it more than someone like me who only started cruising about five years ago. Yes, there are people around to sell drink packages, dining packages, photo packages, etc. but if you aren't interested you simply walk past them. They have never seemed annoying to me at all.

 

You seem to have a great attitude toward trying a new cruise line and I have no doubt you will have a great time whether or not it meets the standards of your previous cruises.

Happy Anniversary! I'll look forward to reading your review as I pack for our cruise beginning next Saturday aboard the Reflection to celebrate our 36th! Have a wonderful trip!

We did the Chefs Table on the Equinox last March. I don't think it was advertised although a waiter in Tuscan Grill who we had run into a couple of times earlier in the day mentioned it to us (two couples). We thought it sounded good and signed up. I believe they need 8 participants to do it. It was fun but we would not do it again. We met in Cellar Masters for champagne, etc. and appetizers and to meet the other participants (a total of 4 couples). We then had a behind the scenes tour of the galley which was very busy with dinner service. We had done this tour before but if you haven't it's very interesting. After that we went to a small private dining room in Murano where we chose between two entrees, both good. None in our group cared about the two desserts offered (I was really hoping for the soufflé which is wonderful!). The wines were good but not anything special and didn't seem to be paired very well with the food. An officer (I think from the engineering department) joined us for dinner. He was rather quite. We would prefer to dine in Murano, decide what we want from the menu and spend the extra money on wine we choose (with help from the sommelier if needed). This is what we will do on our next cruise on the Reflection in eight days.

I appreciate all this information, as I'll be sailing in a Sky Suite on Reflection in April with my adult daughter.

 

 

Did you tip the bar servers in MC at the end, or each day? On our last cruise, Harmony of the Seas, I believe my husband tipped our bar servers in the suite lounge every evening. $10 after a couple of rounds and extra at the end of the cruise. They provided excellent service.

 

We tipped on the last night (MC concierge and three separate bartenders in Michaels, several people in Luminae including the sommelier but not the maitre d'). They all provided excellent service! It has been obvious on our last two cruises that the maitre d' has been more visible on the last one or two nights. I'm thinking he's hoping for tips but perhaps I'm jaded! We were aboard the Equinox in October. Manuela was the MC concierge and she was excellent. There were others around the ship we tipped (two very special bartenders in World Class Bar, two servers in the coffee shop, etc. as well. We are generally happy to tip (on a cruise ship) for service that is above what is expected.

While is a Sky Suite we really haven't had many request regarding our cabin other that some days we have asked for an afternoon snack since they have discontinued automatically bringing anything. They now prefer for suite guest to go to Michaels Club where they serve nibbles and such at 3:00 (I think). We have never wanted to interrupt our day (or get presentably dressed) to do this. On our last cruise we were with friends and alternated between cabins for sail-aways and had our respective butlers set something up for us. This was done with no problems and always looked nice. In general when we needed a reservation, etc. we had the concierge in Michaels take care of that. To be perfectly honest our last butler was not that personable but ok otherwise but our friends (also in a sky suite) had an awesome butler. I guess it's just the luck of the draw. We were always supplied large water bottles but when he discovered we preferred smaller bottles (because they fit better in the spin bike water holders) he kept us supplied the entire cruise. We have splurged this cruise (special occasion) on a Royal Suite. The shoreside concierge made a few suggestions such as whether we wanted sliced lemons/limes (which we did), special soda (didn't), what type of sparkling water, liquor preferences (two bottles are included in RS although we subbed a premium bottle of chardonnay for one bottle) and dining reservations. We made two but generally don't care about making those until we are onboard. In a SS you can ask for the sparkling wine left in your suite to be subbed for some other type of wine if you prefer. Not sure if any of this helps. We really made few request of our butler other than we did have breakfast each morning in our cabin.