We're back :) Quick review of Reflection 7/25 eastern Mediterranean

[Kteacher]

We're back! I'll put up a longer and more detailed report in the review section, but here's a quick rundown:

Pre-cruise stay in Rome: Empire Palace Hotel- very nice, quiet, would definitely stay again

 

Embarkation: transfer from hotel was through Celebrity, and was later than I would have liked. We arrived at the pier at around 2:30. We were quickly greeted by Elaine Gan, Captain's Club host, who asked if we would be interested in dining with the Captain- yes,please!

 

Cabin- 1638, deck 11, mid-ship, CS : perfect location, great balcony, lots of storage- it's a suite- what's not to like :)

 

Michael's Club: in a word- awesome. The staff were amazing, so much so that I wanted to take them home with me.

 

Dining: MDR- best I can do is say that it was inconsistent. Food is such a subjective matter. We loved some things, liked some things, and so e things were just bad.

Specialty restaurants: we had 2 included with our suite. I had called specialty dining before getting on the ship to reserve, but these were mysteriously cancelled. We dined in Murano, Qsine, Lawn Club Grill, and a fairly new concept called the Progressive Dinner, where you have a different course in different specialty restaurants. Our favorite meal was Murano.

 

Ports: we did a combination of ship excursions, DIY/ wing it when you get off the ship, and private excursions organized on our roll call. All were wonderful, ports were amazing- we were like little kids looking at everything :).

 

Ship: beautiful!

 

Suite amenities: we had access to Persian Garden, Michael's Club, an amazing butler. Some have mentioned the lack of selection for afternoon tea service, but we were very happy with the service we received. Would definitely book a CS again (actually, we did!)

 

Entertainment: on such a port intensive itinerary, we didn't see as many shows as we usually do on a cruise.

 

Extras: we had an alcove booked for the first sea day. We enjoyed the quiet space all day ( pool area as well as solarium were packed on sea days). Would definitely book it again, but YMMV.

 

We were invited to dine with the Captain, which was very nice, and the other passengers at the table were lovely. It was a great evening;)

 

We were invited to Indulgence by Lenny, the amazing Concierge. Very neat concept. My husband loved the food, I loved the costumes and the drinks ( they had me at " drunken doughnut".

 

Onboard booking incentive: there was an offer called " All in" for Bermuda sailings on the Summit. The offer included classic drink package, OBC, and gratuities, so instead of 1,2,3, which was also offered on other sailings if you booked onboard, you received all three. We love Bermuda, so for us it worked. We booked another CS, and received 350.00 OBC. Just to note- I know there has been discussion regarding roll out of suite amenities for April 2015. The info sheet we were given showed drink package included in Royal Suite and up, not CS. We're looking forward to sailing on the Summit to Bermuda next July!

 

So, a great cruise. Were there some glitches? Yes, but, other than a rather confusing issue in the MDR, everything was handled and remedied quickly. As I mentioned at the beginning, I'll be writing a more detailed review. I always receive such great info here, and as first time Mediterranean cruisers, wanted to pass on info to others who are in the planning stages :).

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[rickdent]

Thank you for taking the time to post in such a timely fashion. We are on Reflection 8/25 sailing in CS 1638!

[drarill]

Thanks for the report. We cruised the sailing before yours and loved it!! I agree with you, Lenny and his staff are wonderful. Do you remember the Captain's name? Was told that our captain left the ship almost at the end of our cruise, but I never heard the announcement. Welcome back and thanks for taking the time to share your cruise with us. 😀

 

 

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[kenevenpar]

Thanks for the snapshot!

 

Can you tell us a little about your indulgences experience?

 

Thanks,

 

Ken

[Kteacher]

I hadn't heard about the indulgence s event before. We were invited by the concierge,Lenny. There were entertainment staff in cool costumes, servers with some interesting drinks, appetizers from the specialty restaurants. It was in the Ensemble Lounge one evening at 10:30. The cost was 39.00 pp, but we were there as guests of the concierge.

[hcat]

I hadn't heard about the indulgence s event before. We were invited by the concierge,Lenny. There were entertainment staff in cool costumes, servers with some interesting drinks, appetizers from the specialty restaurants. It was in the Ensemble Lounge one evening at 10:30. The cost was 39.00 pp, but we were there as guests of the concierge.

 

Nice for free but seems pricey...did they block off part of the Ensemble Lounge or could others walk through?

 

Progressive dinner sounds nice..did you go on your own or a with a group? How much pp was that?

 

How were the shows and music on bd?

 

Thanks for the nice review...we are booked on Refl for Nov

Edited August 5, 2014 by hcat

[Lois R]

I am on Reflection with hcat in November too:)

 

Is "Indulgence" now a regular thing on all sailings? Or just for Europe?

 

Progressive Dinner? Normally that is when you go to different places...

Hertha, did I miss that? Where did they post about a Progressive

Dinner? Or were you referring to the item in the Ensemble Lounge?

Sounds fun to me:D

[need2bespoiled]

I am on Reflection with hcat in November too:)

 

Is "Indulgence" now a regular thing on all sailings? Or just for Europe?

 

Progressive Dinner? Normally that is when you go to different places...

Hertha, did I miss that? Where did they post about a Progressive

Dinner? Or were you referring to the item in the Ensemble Lounge?

Sounds fun to me:D

 

Indulgence is defintely on Summit. I think it is just on Summit and Reflection (for now).

 

Progressive dinner sounds interesting, but unless they included the kitchen, Blu, Bistro on 5 and Aqua Spa, here aren't many stops on a M-Class ship...

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[portofrome]

Thanks for the review.

[Kteacher]

Indulgence is defintely on Summit. I think it is just on Summit and Reflection (for now).

 

Progressive dinner sounds interesting, but unless they included the kitchen, Blu, Bistro on 5 and Aqua Spa, here aren't many stops on a M-Class ship...

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

The Progressive Dinner was suggested to us by one of the sommeliers. We were told it was 50.00 pp, and then it was recommended that we include the wine pairing (caveat emptor on our part, I know). It started with Prosecco and flatbread appetizers in the Lawn Club Grill, then lobster bisque and wine in Murano, filet mignonette or Black Sea bass in Tuscan Grill, and finally dessert and sangria in Qsine. The hotel director dined with us, and I think there were 8 couples all together. We were charged 100.00 as well as 22.50 in each of the restaurants, and were told this was the beverage up charge. While it was a neat concept, the meal w/ pairings was in no way worth close to 200.00:eek:

 

We spoke to one of the other couples at the dinner, and they were never given the option of not choosing the beverage pairings, and they were very surprised to see the additional charges.

[need2bespoiled]

The Progressive Dinner was suggested to us by one of the sommeliers. We were told it was 50.00 pp, and then it was recommended that we include the wine pairing (caveat emptor on our part, I know). It started with Prosecco and flatbread appetizers in the Lawn Club Grill, then lobster bisque and wine in Murano, filet mignonette or Black Sea bass in Tuscan Grill, and finally dessert and sangria in Qsine. The hotel director dined with us, and I think there were 8 couples all together. We were charged 100.00 as well as 22.50 in each of the restaurants, and were told this was the beverage up charge. While it was a neat concept, the meal w/ pairings was in no way worth close to 200.00:eek:

 

We spoke to one of the other couples at the dinner, and they were never given the option of not choosing the beverage pairings, and they were very surprised to see the additional charges.

 

Thanks for the information. We're usually game for a fun meal like this. It sounds like it was something they were trying, and an evolving thing, but they should have been a bit more upfront on cost. It is however a similar cost / experience to the Chef's table (4 courses, with wine pairings, with an officer). One thing I would really like to see them do for these "special" meals would be to really step up their game and prepare items off the menu.

 

It sounds as though maybe the new Suite restaurant will provide more of what we're looking for next year.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[Kteacher]

We've done the Chef's Table on a couple ships, and were hoping this would be similar. Unfortunately, there was no information given on any of the wine/ food pairings. We had to ask what we were being served.

[kenevenpar]

Very interesting! Thank you for all the information.

[need2bespoiled]

We've done the Chef's Table on a couple ships, and were hoping this would be similar. Unfortunately, there was no information given on any of the wine/ food pairings. We had to ask what we were being served.

 

So frustrating! It's not necessarily about how much you spend, but more about the experience / value being worth it! It would be very easy, and cost nothing to make sure they had these "rough around the edges" areas taken care of. They seem to take such good care of some things, but often don't think everything through when they roll out new ideas or products. I have had exceptions, such as our chef's table up on deck 12 on the back of Constellation overlooking Maramis in Nov. They rolled out the red carpet, litterally.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna