floridaag

But that is only a small percentage of the public areas of the ship. Yes, I also do not like how the Sky Lounge has been truncated. But, most people spend little time there, instead enjoying the other areas of the ship which do not feel any more crowded than they do on other S-class ships. Rather than focusing only on how a small percentage of the ship's total public areas feel, how about commenting on the rest of the ship where most people spend their time.

 

Besides, I rather doubt that you spend all your time in the Sky Lounge or in Luminae - or do you? ;)

Just trying to answer the question - those 2 areas feel crowded to me (especially compared with other Solstice ships) - the rest of the ship does not - and I love the Sunset Bar set-up as others have commented. The stepped couch area is amazing and very clever and a great place to watch sunsets

I chuckle at comments like this. I challenge anyone to be able to notice the difference between 2,852 and 3,046 passengers in an area that is 1/5 of a mile long and 17 stories high. ;p

 

Heck, I would bet that they wouldn't even notice the difference between a long cruise with few families compared to a cruise with lots of families - on the same ship! Add 100 families with 2 kids and the difference in passenger counts on Solstice would be more than the measly 196 difference between Solstice and Reflection. So, in actuality, a 7-night Caribbean cruise on Solstice with families could very well be physically more crowded than a 14-night Baltic cruise on Reflection. :evilsmile:

As a general matter, you cannot notice a difference apart from specific areas. If you look at how they cut the Sky Bar - you can quite easily notice the difference - it hits you in the face.

Similarly, the increased number of Suites make the difference quite obvious in Luminae -

I agree the Sunset Bar design on Reflection is one of its big improvements over the other ships.

Luminae is definitely more crowded on Reflection. The Sky Lounge butchery is one of the things I like least on the ship

I like the Reflection but I do think it feels more crowded than Silhouette or Solstice - but generally does not feel crowded only in comparison

They also have Basil Hayden

No suggestion as to specific companies, but arrange for Transfer in advance - at least when we were there, cannot rely on taxis and Uber not allowed

Lawn Club, Murano and Porch are the ones I continue to eat at. QSine was fun once but I would not do it again unless everyone I was with wanted to go back. I don't care for Tuscan personally. Yet to try Sushi on 5

I have found the Sky Lounge service slow on each of the 5 Solstice class cruises I have been on. I think they are perpetually understaffed at that location. The Silhouette is my favorite and we will be on it again in August

I agree with the comment above - if you have no trouble with stairs, you likely will have no problems. We had people of similar age when we did this cruise in February. Other than one day when the swells were high - most had no issues. We did have 2 people with prosthetic legs on our trip who somehow were not aware of the wet landings. They were the only ones that had issues that I was aware of.

First cruise 2000 HAL Zandaam - countless since then -some on Royal Carribean, the most on Celebrity - 5 or so on Seabourn and 1 on Wind Star

Crew is extraordinary - I agree

Tauck passengers wore a little pin or something on our ship - not all of them did and not all of them did all the time - was a non-issue on our Panama Canal cruise

We enjoyed L'Hermitage a couple years ago

Probably depends on the height of the suitcase and clearance of the bed -

Had a group of 30-40 or so (? - maybe fewer) on a Tauck Tour on our recent Panama Canal cruise - was not really an issue at all that we noticed

Ours went under bed

They definitely have puzzles in the Yacht Club on the Breeze. Not sure about games, but there were people playing cards and other games on most days - just not sure if they brought their own or used the ship's

Think it is still Nico

Karl is definitely worth following. I've never seen one person be in so many places at one time. What a loss to SB.

Agreed - Karl is amazing and has set the standard I measure all by. I love that when something needed to be done, he just did it - and left instruction etc., to be done privately. 6:30 and Seabourn Square barista is overwhelmed - who made my Cappucino for me? Karl

Band usually played until 11-11:30 if I recall and then DJ

Last time we were on - there was a duo and a solo guitarist that played regularly in Ensemble. There was 1 or 2 bands that played in the Atrium and Sky Lounge although in short bursts with lots of DJ time

We always stay in Sky Suites Aft and have done so on Deck 12 - no problems with bumps - although as it is both in the back and near the top there is more movement than if it were central and lower in my experience but nothing dramatic. I prefer Deck 11 to 12 personally but that is a matter of opinion.

We stayed at L'Hermitage Hotel and it was wonderful - not at Canada Place or walking distance to the Port though - 5 minute cab ride. Vancouver is relatively small. From memory, the Fairmount and the Pan Pacific are the closest - the check-in and embarkation is actually connected to the Pan Pacific so ignoring cost - it would be the most convenient

Many of us who cruise regularly and are dedicated patrons of a single line have developed friendships with specific members of the staff & crew. While we do not snapchat with them on an hourly basis throughout yhe year, it is oftentimes nice to see them again on future cruises to "catch-up" with them. This ranges from the captain down to a waiter. That is why we are curious whos on board. While i have sailed with many of the same captains over & over, i have yet to run into the same butler or waitstaff in Luminae.

Peppas was the Captain on our Thanksgiving Silhouette cruise (and also was for the previous year's Reflection cruise).

Re Luminae- we had a number of carryover in staff from the Reflection to the Silhouette - including the excellent Adem.

Purified flat and sparkling water at all restaurants. Purified bottles in room. We also had pellegrino in our suite at all times on the cruise after asking the our cabin attendant for it on the first day