Celebrity Reflection - March 23, 2013

[ken85121]

Were the gatherings well attended and what was your impression of the ship/ cruise?

 

 

Yes, there were quite a few people. One evening, I think we had about 10-12 others. It was a great group.

 

The ship is really beautiful and first impressions were very good. The food was great and we loved Qsine and Blu. There did seem to be some customer service issues that I assume are being worked out. The cruise director was changed mid sailing. There was no mention of it just a change. No idea what that was all about but it was odd. There was no Captains Club host onboard either. We don't drink much but it was very noticeable that there were hardly any pool side servers during the cruise. Whenever we wanted a beverage, we went to the bar to get one. We only saw our room steward 3 times during the entire 10 nights we were on board. He was nice, but we never say him. We always had other people. We counted 4 different people working on our cabin. That was new for us. Not a problem, just odd.

 

The Porch is a cool concept and we enjoyed lunch there one day. Prior to the cruise, I tried to book some spa treatments. However, when I tried, I found that the only times available were late a night or not at all. However, when I got on the ship, I had my pick of times. I almost didn't bother going into the spa to ask because I assumed they were all booked up based on the pre-booking attempt. The Alcoves are actually pretty cool. We were able to enjoy one with friend we met onboard. We had also tried to book those in advance but they were also listed as not available. However, we noticed only a handful were ever book during the entire trip.

 

I was really looking forward to Michaels. My other half loves his beer so we thought it would be a great place to hang out from time to time. However, with the exception of one night, every single time we tried to go, it was closed for a private event or not open at all. They advertised that place a LOT when the ship was being rolled out. It is a shame we could never enjoy it.

 

We were on the Eclipse previously and had taken photographs of the cabin we stayed in. It just happened to be the same location as the one we had on the Reflection (largest hump cabin 2153). The thing that was odd to us was that there was less storage on the Reflection even though the room seemed the same size. We have a photo that shows the desk/tv area on both ships. The Eclipse had 5 drawers for clothing and the Reflection had 3. In addition, the end of the desk on the Exlipse had small shelves on the bottom side that were missing on the Refleciton. Also, if your bed is next to the window, as ours was, the coffee table does not fit between the couch and the closet. It is too big by 1". If your bed is next to the closet, the table does fit between the slider and the couch. (our friends were in that type). It makes a big difference because if you want to move the coffee table out of the way in a cabin like ours, you can't. The cabin was great, but storage was minimal.

 

The final piece that was weird to us was the smoking situation. I may be wrong, but I seem to remember that smoking is reserved to one side of the ship in most cases. On this one, there was smoking on deck 15 in 3 different places that included both sides of the ship. And, one of them was in part of the coveted Sunset Bar. Most of those places were empty except for 1-2 smokers most times. However, it just seemed like a lot of space devoted to smoking. JUST MY OPINION. Not trying to cause a smoking "issue" but if you are a non smoker, you will see what I mean when you are on board.

 

We are really looking foward to going back in March. It is really a very nice ship. :)

[neilrr]

Yes, there were quite a few people. One evening, I think we had about 10-12 others. It was a great group.

 

The ship is really beautiful and first impressions were very good. The food was great and we loved Qsine and Blu. There did seem to be some customer service issues that I assume are being worked out. The cruise director was changed mid sailing. There was no mention of it just a change. No idea what that was all about but it was odd. There was no Captains Club host onboard either. We don't drink much but it was very noticeable that there were hardly any pool side servers during the cruise. Whenever we wanted a beverage, we went to the bar to get one. We only saw our room steward 3 times during the entire 10 nights we were on board. He was nice, but we never say him. We always had other people. We counted 4 different people working on our cabin. That was new for us. Not a problem, just odd.

 

The Porch is a cool concept and we enjoyed lunch there one day. Prior to the cruise, I tried to book some spa treatments. However, when I tried, I found that the only times available were late a night or not at all. However, when I got on the ship, I had my pick of times. I almost didn't bother going into the spa to ask because I assumed they were all booked up based on the pre-booking attempt. The Alcoves are actually pretty cool. We were able to enjoy one with friend we met onboard. We had also tried to book those in advance but they were also listed as not available. However, we noticed only a handful were ever book during the entire trip.

 

I was really looking forward to Michaels. My other half loves his beer so we thought it would be a great place to hang out from time to time. However, with the exception of one night, every single time we tried to go, it was closed for a private event or not open at all. They advertised that place a LOT when the ship was being rolled out. It is a shame we could never enjoy it.

 

We were on the Eclipse previously and had taken photographs of the cabin we stayed in. It just happened to be the same location as the one we had on the Reflection (largest hump cabin 2153). The thing that was odd to us was that there was less storage on the Reflection even though the room seemed the same size. We have a photo that shows the desk/tv area on both ships. The Eclipse had 5 drawers for clothing and the Reflection had 3. In addition, the end of the desk on the Exlipse had small shelves on the bottom side that were missing on the Refleciton. Also, if your bed is next to the window, as ours was, the coffee table does not fit between the couch and the closet. It is too big by 1". If your bed is next to the closet, the table does fit between the slider and the couch. (our friends were in that type). It makes a big difference because if you want to move the coffee table out of the way in a cabin like ours, you can't. The cabin was great, but storage was minimal.

 

The final piece that was weird to us was the smoking situation. I may be wrong, but I seem to remember that smoking is reserved to one side of the ship in most cases. On this one, there was smoking on deck 15 in 3 different places that included both sides of the ship. And, one of them was in part of the coveted Sunset Bar. Most of those places were empty except for 1-2 smokers most times. However, it just seemed like a lot of space devoted to smoking. JUST MY OPINION. Not trying to cause a smoking "issue" but if you are a non smoker, you will see what I mean when you are on board.

 

We are really looking foward to going back in March. It is really a very nice ship. :)

 

Ken85121- Thank you for all of the valuable information. Some of the things you mentioned are the reasons we have not been on Celebrity for a while. It is one of our favorite lines, but we prefer the M class ships, as we feel the space was better utilized in the cabins and the public areas. This included the number of drawers in the room and storage, size of the outdoor pool area and no thallostherapy (sp) pool. Also, we could barely get into the closet due to the sofa being right next to it and I had to crawl on the floor to get into the safe on Solstice, though I believe they fixed this issue.

 

We were on the Ruby Princess 3 times in the past two years and though it was maybe a 1/2 step down in overall atmosphere there were many positives. We had 18 drawers in our room, the service was very good to excellent, but the biggest improvement was in the menu and food quality - though subjective - me and my partner Jerry are into quality food. The Maitre D even cooked a table side pasta dish with fresh clams for us. He brought us whatever we wanted. One night he showed up with three orders of Escargot. We absolutely loved him and he gave us both big hugs when our trip was ending. We made sure he was well taken care of for his wonderful service.

 

We hope that Celebrity will continue to provide the level of service and atmpsphere they had in the past. We even go back to traveling on the Horizon. What week are you travelling in March? Weren't you originally on our sailing?

 

Take care.

[ken85121]

Ken85121-

We hope that Celebrity will continue to provide the level of service and atmpsphere they had in the past. We even go back to traveling on the Horizon. What week are you travelling in March? Weren't you originally on our sailing?

 

Don't get me wrong, we had a wonderful time. Something just seemed "off" on our cruise. We are still on the March 23 sailing. We had all of these cruises booked all along. The ones in December were for our honeymoon. The trip in March is just for fun :):)

[neilrr]

Don't get me wrong, we had a wonderful time. Something just seemed "off" on our cruise. We are still on the March 23 sailing. We had all of these cruises booked all along. The ones in December were for our honeymoon. The trip in March is just for fun :):)

 

Ken85121 - Congratulations on your marriage. I did not think you were still on our sailing. Come join us in the regular roll call, as the people appear to be very nice. Also, we are having a Sail Away Party and some other activities. Look forward to meeting you both. :)

[cruzbynite]

Don't get me wrong, we had a wonderful time. Something just seemed "off" on our cruise. We are still on the March 23 sailing. We had all of these cruises booked all along. The ones in December were for our honeymoon. The trip in March is just for fun :):)

 

I would also like to echo the words of Neilrr and congratulate you on your marriage as well and thank you for your Reflection comments.

[ken85121]

RE: my previous comments about the Alcoves and not being able to book them... I called Celebrity tonight rather than trying to book on the website and I am very happy to say that I was able to reserve them. I booked one for both of our last two sea days. :)

[neilrr]

Too Funny... Jerry and I loved the comments about the 100 sailors on a submarine becoming 50 couples... Sounds like we have a rather interesting crowd to say the least...:p

[cruzbynite]

Too Funny... Jerry and I loved the comments about the 100 sailors on a submarine becoming 50 couples... Sounds like we have a rather interesting crowd to say the least...:p

 

So funny you thought the same as me. I had to scratch the back of my head when I read that. I should have posted WHAT????

[neilrr]

So funny you thought the same as me. I had to scratch the back of my head when I read that. I should have posted WHAT????

 

cruzbynite - I'll drink to that!!! LOL:p

 

Have a great weekend.

[my1sammie]

We are looking forward to this cruise.

 

Do we need to sign up for any of the parties you are referring to or will they be listed at Guest Services when we board?

 

Count us in on your get-togethers. We have been on several cruises and have had more fun with you two than any other time.

 

Jim & Melanie

[neilrr]

We are looking forward to this cruise.

 

Do we need to sign up for any of the parties you are referring to or will they be listed at Guest Services when we board?

 

Count us in on your get-togethers. We have been on several cruises and have had more fun with you two than any other time.

 

Jim & Melanie

 

my1sammie - Jim and Melody - So funny to find you here in this section of Cruise Critic. Come meet all the others in the Reflection Roll Call section. You may want to see all of the happenings in the regular Celebrity Reflection Roll Call for March 23, 2013. We will have an unofficial Sail Away party at the Mast Bar, after muster drill, for Sail Away. We usually wear inexpensive beads or leis to identify everyone.

 

From that page, on the top left (in the Celebrity Reflection roll call), you can access the Celebrity M&G link, so you will be included in the officical get together, as Celebrity usually sends invitations.

You will need your booking number to register.

 

We are really excited to see you both again.

 

Talk to you soon..:)

[neilrr]

Sorry Melanie - I mistakenly put Melody instead, in my last post...:p I was thinking of one of my students...

[cruzbynite]

my1sammie - Jim and Melody - So funny to find you here in this section of Cruise Critic. Come meet all the others in the Reflection Roll Call section. You may want to see all of the happenings in the regular Celebrity Reflection Roll Call for March 23, 2013. We will have an unofficial Sail Away party at the Mast Bar, after muster drill, for Sail Away. We usually wear inexpensive beads or leis to identify everyone.

 

From that page, on the top left (in the Celebrity Reflection roll call), you can access the Celebrity M&G link, so you will be included in the officical get together, as Celebrity usually sends invitations.

You will need your booking number to register.

 

We are really excited to see you both again.

 

Talk to you soon..:)

 

This is the second person to "find" this page. I think it's funny.;)

[neilrr]

This is the second person to "find" this page. I think it's funny.;)

 

Cruzbynite - Yes -we were surprised too... These are our straight friends and we told them how to get on CC and where to go... Funny how they ended up here and they still have not made it to the regular roll call. Don't ask me...

 

Look forward to meeting you in person...:)

[cruzbynite]

Cruzbynite - Yes -we were surprised too... These are our straight friends and we told them how to get on CC and where to go... Funny how they ended up here and they still have not made it to the regular roll call. Don't ask me...

 

Look forward to meeting you in person...:)

 

Ditto. The roll call seems to have some really fun and outgoing people.

[neilrr]

Ditto. The roll call seems to have some really fun and outgoing people.

 

cruzbynite - I am sure they will really enjoy meeting you...:p

[my1sammie]

This is Jim & Melanie Pollard, sailing on the Reflection March 23.

 

We have our Beads, to distinguish ourselves, and are ready to meet for the sail-away party and more.

 

Neil & Jerry taught us about cruises 8 years ago when we met them on our first cruise ever. It was an Alaskan cruise and we've now cruised at least once a year, sometimes two or three, and usually on Celebrity.

 

See you three weeks from today; it will be Melanie's birthday so this will really be a special day.

 

Jim & Melanie

The Woodlands, Texas

[neilrr]

This is Jim & Melanie Pollard, sailing on the Reflection March 23.

 

We have our Beads, to distinguish ourselves, and are ready to meet for the sail-away party and more.

 

Neil & Jerry taught us about cruises 8 years ago when we met them on our first cruise ever. It was an Alaskan cruise and we've now cruised at least once a year, sometimes two or three, and usually on Celebrity.

 

See you three weeks from today; it will be Melanie's birthday so this will really be a special day.

 

Jim & Melanie

The Woodlands, Texas

 

Jim & Melanie - You are getting better with Cruise Critic -- now go to the regular Celebrity Roll Call area - look for Reflection - then the March 23, 2013 roll call sailing and you will see a ton of information on the cruise. You will also see the entire group going (90 people)... See you both soon... :)

[cruzbynite]

Jim & Melanie - You are getting better with Cruise Critic -- now go to the regular Celebrity Roll Call area - look for Reflection - then the March 23, 2013 roll call sailing and you will see a ton of information on the cruise. You will also see the entire group going (90 people)... See you both soon... :)

 

OK seriously...we are going to have the best crowd ever. Just wait until we all meet. This is gonna be fun.

[neilrr]

OK seriously...we are going to have the best crowd ever. Just wait until we all meet. This is gonna be fun.

 

cruzbynite - I agree... It should be a lot of fun. Let the games begin...:p

[neilrr]

3 1/2 days until Sail Away...:) We are ready to go.....

[ken85121]

3 1/2 days until Sail Away...:) We are ready to go.....

 

We are still in the middle of a snow storm up here. :mad: Friday can't come soon enough!

[neilrr]

We are still in the middle of a snow storm up here. :mad: Friday can't come soon enough!

 

Ken85121 - Hang in there... You will be sipping on a Pina Colada shortly. That is why we moved to S. FL 18 years ago... But it does have to be the right time for everyone. We really feel we could never go back -- once you get use to living down here - you forget all about winter - when it's in the 50's we are cold...:eek::) Here it is two seasons Spring and Summer.

 

Look forward to meeting you and your partner in person... Don't forget your leis and beads... Be careful on the snow and ice... See you soon...