Tips and Experiences From our 1/5/13 Cruise on Reflection

[drychi]

My wife and I were fortunate to spend 7 fabulous days on Reflection from 1/5/13 to 1/12/13 which was the ship's tenth cruise. It is a truly beautiful ship. I am not going to write a traditional review on this voyage, but instead I would direct you to the long review written by Artemis on this board. I agree with what he wrote. Instead I thought I would just share some tips and experiences I hope you will find useful on your cruise.

Embarkation: Very smooth for Aqua Class. Arrived at 10:30 a.m., no line for Aqua Class check-in. Waited approximately 45 minutes and were escorted onto the ship by a Celebrity employee. We entered Reflection on deck 5 and went immediately to Bistro on Five where we had a relaxed meal until our cabin was ready. I also learned that The Porch is also open for embarcation day meals on deck 15. These are both good alternatives to the crowded and chaotic OceanView buffet.

Aqua Class: This was our first time in Aqua Class. This is my new preferred style of travel on Celebrity. Our cabin was as advertised with all amenities we expected. We asked for the firm pillows from the pillow menu and our cabin steward was there within 30 minutes with memory foam pillows. We asked for cheese and crackers instead of canapes and we received a plate of 3-4 types of cheeses with grapes, dried fruit, and crackers each day. I really enjoyed the shower tower. The jets were forceful and helped ease those sore knees and muscles after our port days. We also had our breakfast delivered to our room on one occasion and our steward had it there on time and correct and set it up on our veranda for us to enjoy.

Blu: I am a middle aged mid-western male. When my wife first explained to me about the "health food" menu I was going to enjoy I was a little skeptical. Boy was I wrong!! I loved the food in this restaurant. Each evening we had a choice of 3-4 appetizers, soups, salads, and 3-4 entrees. They were reasonably sized portions, not the huge ones we have become accustomed to in our restaurant portions. Each evening you had a choice of beef, seafood, pasta, vegetarian, or game, lamb, etc dish. I even ate pheasant one night. We discovered that the pasta dishes were very good, so we would order one as a side dish to our meal. It was easy to do since the pasta portion was small and easy to split between 2 people. We also learned that you could get shrimp cocktail if you wished to have it. Our dining room team of Lestarte, Rolando, and Anna were very professional and made our dining experience very nice. The desserts were particularly nice.

For breakfast in Blu, I would recommend the french toast. I also ordered eggs each day and they were prepared exactly as requested and served with a small helping of potatoes and mushrooms.

Captain Nicholas Pagonis and Crew: What an interesting man. Capt. Pagonis was interesting and visible throughout the cruise. The crew was always greeting us in the hallways and decks of the ship and asking about our day. They would also ask if they could be of assistance if it looked like we needed anything. You should not miss Capt. Pagonis' speech on navigation on the next to last sea day in the Reflection Theatre. It is interesting and he spent 20 minutes answering questions from the audience after the presentation. The questions ranged from questions about his background, size of his cabin, engine problems with Reflection (more about that in a minute), the Costa Concordia disaster, Celebrity policy and crew life at sea. He answered each question gracefully. You should also make sure you catch his 10:00 a.m. morning announcement because he gives you information not only about the ship, but also things about the land areas and history of the areas near the ship at that time. His weather reports on the Cruise Director's Channel on the television in your cabin are also very informative and worth watching.

ENGINE PROBLEMS: The Captain was kind enough to offer to answer this question for me after his presentation was finished. He told me that the specially manufactured part for the famous transformer should be on the dock in Miami upon the ship's return from our cruise and would be installed forthwith. It is clear from our cruise that this has not affected the ship's performance on our cruise itinerary as we were at each port of call at least one hour earlier than expected. People who have been worrying about this issue should stop.

 

PROGRAMS; My wife and I enjoyed the artwork onboard this ship. While not big fans of modern art, it suits this ship's personality and is beautifully displayed. You can take an escorted tour of the ship's collection on the next to last sea day offered by the Art Studio. It began at the Art Studio on deck 15 and lasted approximately one hour. You do walk all over the ship so be prepared. We also enjoyed the Art History in 30 minutes talk given by the Park West Art Auctioneer in one of the ship's conference rooms. He has a degree in Art History and a good sense of humor, so it was a good way to spend some time. I attended lectures on the Red Baron of World War 1, aviation safety, and the future of aviation. My wife went to some of the cooking presentations and enjoyed her yoga classes. I also want to say the Celebrity Reflection went out of its way to accomodate those of us who wished to watch the College Football National Championship Game. They were able to get it on the satellight and showed it in Celebrity Central complete with a buffet of hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken fingers, fries, chips, and a full bar. Wow! I suspect they will do the same for other notable televised events when their position allows them to get the television signal. We would also recommend you pack early on your final night aboard so that you can attend the Wonderland Party in the Grand Foyer. You will have a great time interacting with the Reflection singers and dancers on the floor, stairways, and even the elevators at this great final event of your cruise. Don't miss it.

Disembarkation: We had a 2:00 p.m. flight so we asked for a 10:00 a.m. debarkation time which was granted. We had a leisurly final breakfast in Blu and then sat in nice comfortable chairs on deck 3 near the Guest Relations desk. Used the time to catch up on e-mails and watch the frenzy as people lined up to get off the ship. At 10:00 a.m. we went to our debarkation assigment which was the Opus Dining Room Starboard and side and was told at the door to proceed off the ship. From that point to the airport shuttle outside was 30 minutes. This is the way to go if your airline schedule will allow it.

I am always happy to answer questions and wish all of you smooth sailing.

[Superweezie]

Nice review. My new favorite way to go is aquaclass as well. Loved mushrooms as a side for breakfast. Who would've thought but they are my new favorite breakfast side. Too bad I can't find them anywhere else.

[Ozzmund]

Thanks drychi. We will be on the Reflection in March. This will be our first Aqua Class experience as well.

[tangerinebunny]

Do the Aqua class cabins have all the Concierge class benefits?

 

We've never sailed Celebrity but reviews such as yours have convinced us to give it a try.

[pete_coach]

Do the Aqua class cabins have all the Concierge class benefits?

 

We've never sailed Celebrity but reviews such as yours have convinced us to give it a try.

 

Aqua class has it's own set of benefits and amenities. Some say, better than Concierge.

http://www.celebritycruises.com/explore/ships/detail.do?shipCode=RF&tab=staterooms%2Fexplore%2Fships%2FstateroomDetails.do%3FcabinType%3DAS%26cabincls%3DD%26shipCode%3DRF

[Artemis]

drychi, welcome back! I am so glad you enjoyed a wonderful cruise on Reflection. Thank you for sharing your experiences. I am going to have to share your Blu observations with my hubby, who is a meat and potatoes guy. Maybe there's hope for me going AQ yet! ;)

[PathfinderEss]

Very nice review, glad you had a good cruise.

[Bestbubba]

Nice review. My new favorite way to go is aquaclass as well. Loved mushrooms as a side for breakfast. Who would've thought but they are my new favorite breakfast side. Too bad I can't find them anywhere else.

 

Come to the UK, you will find mushrooms on most English breakfast menus....I'll swap our mushrooms for your French Toast;):D;)

 

Sue

[penguinchick24]

Thanks for the review. I was on this cruise as well and think that you put things wonderfully. Your profile photo is small, but I believe we were on the same tour in St. Kitt's! I can't say enough great things about the wonderland party the last night as well. This is not to be missed!!!!!

 

Melissa

[drychi]

Good morning from a cold Columbia Mo. My wife and I were on Thenford Grays Tour in St. Kitts. What a great day that was! Were you the young lady who was an animal trainer? Hope your return to daily life was better than ours. We travelled home from the St. Louis airport in a sleet storm. Happy Future Travels!

[Anthony&David]

Aqua class has it's own set of benefits and amenities. Some say, better than Concierge.

http://www.celebritycruises.com/explore/ships/detail.do?shipCode=RF&tab=staterooms%2Fexplore%2Fships%2FstateroomDetails.do%3FcabinType%3DAS%26cabincls%3DD%26shipCode%3DRF

 

This link brought me to the page for the aqua class suites, not the regular aqua class cabins. We have not yet been in an aqua class cabin, but will be for our next Celebrity cruise, which is on the Reflection. Based on the Celebrity website, we are not expecting to have access to concierge or butler services (although, on our last Celebrity cruise in a suite on the Summit, we found that we rarely accessed these services). But, we are looking forward to Blu for breakfast and dinner, access to the Persian Garden and Aqua Spa Relaxation Room, and the other smaller ammeneties such as the shower upgrade and bottled water in the cabin.

[penguinchick24]

Good morning from a cold Columbia Mo. My wife and I were on Thenford Grays Tour in St. Kitts. What a great day that was! Were you the young lady who was an animal trainer? Hope your return to daily life was better than ours. We travelled home from the St. Louis airport in a sleet storm. Happy Future Travels!

 

 

That would be me! It's always nice to find people on here that I know! My return was wonderful, back to all of my animals at the zoo and the warm weather here in FL. It was so nice meeting both of you!

-Melissa

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[drychi]

Thanks for the nice comments about my small review. I love cruising and will be happy to answer any questions when I can. Smooth Sailing To All!

[LuckyDogsV&E]

drychi,

 

Thanks for the review but I have a question about if you had an Aqua Class Suite or an Aqua Class Veranda. I think you get more with the suite.

 

We are booked in a aqua class veranda in March and are looking forward to dinning in the Blue. It will be our first time on the S class ship.

[drychi]

We were in AQ 1584 which is not a suite. It was our first time in Aqua Class and we loved it. I am sure you will also. I don't know about the suite amenities but I believe they may have a butler and they are larger. The Celebrity website would have this information. We loved Blu. We really liked their breakfasts. Try the french toast.

 

Another tip I will pass along is the Relaxation Room. It has floor to ceiling windows overlooking the bow of the ship. This is a great place to watch the ship arrive into port. It is really comfortable and you have the same basic view as the Captain! It is nice for reading at any time, but go there to watch the ship's arrival, particularly San Juan.

[gelo7]

Nice review.

[LuckyDogsV&E]

We were in AQ 1584 which is not a suite. It was our first time in Aqua Class and we loved it. I am sure you will also. I don't know about the suite amenities but I believe they may have a butler and they are larger. The Celebrity website would have this information. We loved Blu. We really liked their breakfasts. Try the french toast.

 

Another tip I will pass along is the Relaxation Room. It has floor to ceiling windows overlooking the bow of the ship. This is a great place to watch the ship arrive into port. It is really comfortable and you have the same basic view

as the Captain! It is nice for reading at any time, but go there to watch the ship's arrival, particularly San Juan.

 

Thanks so much for your reply. We will be in 1587 on our March cruise. Looks like about the same area only on the port side. Thanks also for the tip about the relaxation room. We will try to be there when we come in to San Juan. We are getting excited about our up coming cruise because of great reviews such as yours. Thanks again.