Just off Reflection

[Iamthesea]

Dress code is "smart casual" every night. I wore black silk pants and a sleeveless silk black and gold patterned blouse. Black Gucci sandal heels. Hubby wore his vacation uniform, Hawaiian shirt with nice khaki slacks, woven leather shoes.

 

I wouldn't say a bad experience. Maybe a new, learning experience?

 

I can see that she might not think that an Hawaiian shirt was "smart casual". I know it 'counts' as a collared shirt, but many would think that the fabric/colour mix of a shirt impacts on the concept of "smart" given the ambience of Blu.

 

That was a nice outfit that you had on. Not much different than what I wear for formal nights. ;)

 

Believe it or not, the Hawaiian shirt is considered to be formal attire in Hawaii. :D

 

Aloha shirts manufactured for local wear are considered formal wear in business and government, and thus are regarded as equivalent to a shirt, coat, and tie (generally impractical in the warmer climate of Hawaii) in all but the most formal of settings.[1]

 

It is so different because there are only marginally more tables, in a very similarly sized space, with MANY more cabins currently eligible / assigned to dine there.

 

There are all of the Aqua Suites, plus extra Aqua Cabins, PLUS more suites (Signature Suites) AND more sky suites. It makes for much more opportunity to be more crowded, especially with the extra seats horseshoed in.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

Oh, I see what you mean. ;) Wine-O is correct. The Suite dining is now open on the Reflection, so hopefully the crowding will not be as bad when we sail. :)

[Chitown12562]

That is your opinion. To be quite frank, the last place on earth I count carbs is on a cruise! I happen to like risotto, at least if it's prepared properly. It's not my favorite, but the only thing even vaguely interesting on the menu.

 

That says to me that you should have definitely eaten in the MDR. It's great that there is something for everyone on the ship. I love Blu, but I have also had some nice items in the buffet.

 

Also it's possible that the person you made the comment in Blu was sincere in her comment. I don't know if people who dine in Blu automatically say something negative about how a person is dressed while those in the new suite dinning area automatically do not. Again it's nice that a person can wear whatever they want and fine a great place to dine.

 

Looking forward to the pictures!

[S&G1968]

Thank you for posting. Very nice read and I'm glad you enjoyed yourself!

 

~Steve

[wallysdtr]

We too just got off the Reflection and ate in Blu on formal night. No tux for my hubby either. I wore a nice dress and he was in a nice polo shirt with dress pants. It is unfortunate that comments were made to you as we had no problem. I believe we were in Blu same time as you 7pm seating. Keith was our waiter and he and his assistant did a great job.

Last year on the Constellation we also ate at Blu. Loved Blu dining on the Connie! It felt more like an intimate dining bistro there.

The things that I love about Blu are the variety of choices for appetizers as well as main courses. Keith always gave us a "side" of the carb choice with what we ordered. Perfect to taste and then enjoy the the menu item without the heavy carbs.

[gryffin123]

We were on the Reflection 2/28-3/7, and had a completely different experience with Blu- with one exception. We had the same table in the back every night, and it was a relaxing, quiet location where we could carry on a conversation with each other easily. By contrast, the night we ate in Tuscan Grill, we gave up trying to converse because it was too loud to hear each other (and the wait staff). Our waiter, assistant waiter and the maitre d' all gave impeccable service- and their recommendations were always spot on. They often brought out extra appetizers/entrees for us to try- without us asking for them. Honestly, sometimes it felt like we were the only ones there because the service was so personal. We felt that our experience with Blu on Eclipse last year was great and we couldn't imagine better, but our experience on Reflection actually exceeded our experience on Eclipse. Now we learned on the Eclipse that 7 was the busiest time for Blu, so we avoided that time if at possible, tending to get to the dining room around 7:30. The one thing we didn't like in Blu was the risotto- my husband was unhappy with it for the same reasons you mentioned (note that it wasn't the entree the waiter recommended that night). I had the lamb and it was very good.

 

Now at the Lawn Club Grill, my husband's steak was cooked completely wrong- very overdone- and he was very unhappy with it. Mine was perfect though.

 

We dressed up a bit on formal night, but certainly not formal- my husband wore a jacket over a dress shirt with no tie.

[Miss SeaBee]

While the woman who said that it was "formal" in Blu was totally wrong, I can see that she might not think that an Hawaiian shirt was "smart casual". I know it 'counts' as a collared shirt, but many would think that the fabric/colour mix of a shirt impacts on the concept of "smart" given the ambience of Blu.

 

Just my personal perception.

 

Stuart

 

 

Exactly why were unhappy in Blu, and enjoyed the more relaxed quiet of Luminae.

 

 

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[Keys life]

We had a fabulous cruise, my favorite so far! Reflection is better than ever. I'll do a full review soon, but here are some quick impressions:

 

Cabin: Aqua Suite 2109, forward, port side, right beside the entrance to the Aqua Spa on deck 14. Lovely cabin, nice location, especially if you're a spa-fly like me! Generally quiet. Aqua suites are being eliminated, so this would be a very nice Sky suite. Love the jetted tub and multiple shower spray heads. I would not miss the Aqua perks. Tried it mainly for Blu, not a good fit for me. With the new suite perks, I will only book Sky suite or above from now on.

 

Spa: Elemis is out, Canyon Ranch Spas is now the operator. I didn't notice a difference in price or quality of spa treatments that I had. I think I prefer the Elemis products. Otherwise, not very different. We had treatments with 3 different massage therapists, and I highly recommend Nicky. BTW, if you had a favorite staff member from previous cruises with Elemis, Canyon Ranch replaced them all with new staff. Persian Gardens was lovely and peaceful, most of the time. During peek times on sea days, people could get a little nasty about heated loungers, so take your towel with you when you go into the sauna for 5 minutes. Just because there are 6 empty loungers when you go in doesn't mean anything. Apparently, they can fill up that fast! People made some pretty ugly comments about me while I was in sauna for less than 10 minutes, my husband got up and gave his lounger to a waiting pax and moved my towel, which I certainly would have done. It was embarrassing to me to hear how mean people were, and I didn't go back to PG after that. Left it for the ladies who lie in there all day long and read.

 

Food: Even though Luminae is now open for suites, as an Aqua Suite, our assigned dining room was Blu. The first night, we ate in Murano, 2 for one offered as we were on our way into Blu. I love Murano, so couldn't resist. Food and service was top notch, as expected.

 

The next night, we dined in Blu. It was first formal night. I have always participated in formal nights in the past, but this was my husband's first cruise, and he does not do formal, one of the reasons we decided to try Blu. Celebrity website and cruise critic have reported Blu as smart casual dress code every night, as all specialty restaurants. We arrived to find that we were the only Blu patrons not in formal. That was the first little clue that this wasn't going to be a great experience for us. We were seated immediately at 7:00 pm, no waiting. However, the restaurant was full, and it is very crowded when full! The tables were jammed into the small restaurant, making it hot, stuffy, loud, and not relaxing at all. Our waiter must have been overloaded with tables, because he was clearly not enjoying his job. Service from him was surly, condescending and rude. Luckily, our assistant waiter was a delight, and he tried to make up for the attitude of the waiter. The couple at the table next to us gently chastised us for being in smart casual, she said, "havent you cruised before? The whole ship is formal tonight." I didn't answer or argue. Whatever.

 

My husband had the lamb, and I ordered crab risotto. The lamb was very mediocre. Not bad, but not really good, either. Lamb elsewhere later in the week was much better. My risotto was the worst food I have ever had on a cruise, including in the buffet. The risotto was over-cooked into a glutinous mass the texture of oatmeal. There was no discernible crab meat in it, but it tasted a bit like canned tuna. We ordered Perrier(we are noth non-drinkers), but they didn't have it, nor did they offer to get it, so we settled for Pelligrino. The bad food, bad service and stares from formally dressed diners influenced our decision to switch our dining to Luminae.

 

Luminae was divine!!! They are currently still serving the same menu as the main dining room. The new menu goes into effect in April. Everything was delicious. Service is amazing. Most nights, at 7:00, there were only 4 or 5 other tables. The busiest, Friday night, was maybe 8 tables. No problem with table for 2. One night, the hostess apologized because she couldn't seat us at a window seat! We hadn't asked, she just likes to out you by a window if she can. Service is friendly, very attentive, and quick. The restaurant is gorgeous, and I'll post photos soon! Also, we noticed that the clientele didn't seem to be trying so hard with dress. Truly smart casual, we were very comfortable here. Can't wait to try the new menu from the the dedicated kitchen! Just to be on the safe side and not to offend anyone, we ate in the buffet the second formal night, although I'm sure Luminae would not have treated us like Blu did for not wearing a prom dress and tux to dinner! I had never done dinner in the buffet, so it was kind of fun to try everything without the lunch crowd. It was one of my favorite cruise days - at sea, no schedule, low key. Would do again on a formal night!

 

Public areas: my hangout is the Solarium pool. It was never very crowded, even on sea days, and pool butlers were doing a great job keeping unused loungers cleared. I did not venture to the main pool area. We skipped the shows this year. Many are the same ones they had on my last cruise 2 years ago, and they were bad then! I don't stay up late, anyway, so I didn't care. Spent evenings walking around, reading or on my balcony. We don't drink, but bars provided quick, friendly service even with the beverage package and even at the pool bar on sea days.

 

Embarkation/debarkation: non-issue. Fast, minimal waiting. I highly recommend the Luggage Valet program. It is under-advertised, but a fabulous deal that makes debarkation and customs a breeze.

 

More details and photos soon!

Thank you for your review... Not sure if I'm allowed to ask about shore options in Santorini... Would love your input.

[lovemylab]

Thank you for your review... Not sure if I'm allowed to ask about shore options in Santorini... Would love your input.

 

This thread is a cruise review from a March sailing on the Reflection, which means it was likely a Caribbean cruise.

 

For shore options in Santorini, I recommend checking the Ports of Call forums.

[DaisyD50]

When you really come down to it, formal dress is not REQUIRED anywhere on formal night. Glad to see everyone chose to go formal. Also, not being sarcastic, why would anyone order risotto. It's just a dish full of rice! More carbs than you need for a week!

 

FYI. Risotto is orzo pasta. Not rice

[groryjm]

FYI. Risotto is orzo pasta. Not rice

 

Simply not true. Risotto is made with arborio rice. Orzo is sometimes called risoni as it resembles risotto rice is may be used to make a quick easy cook alternative to risotto :)

 

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[Karynanne]

Simply not true. Risotto is made with arborio rice. Orzo is sometimes called risoni as it resembles risotto rice is may be used to make a quick easy cook alternative to risotto :)

 

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You're correct. Arborio rice is used for risotto. Orzo is rice-shaped pasta.

[Kiwi65]

Hi Greensuz

How do I find the luggage valet program