Reflection AQ Feb. 13 Western Caribbean

[keesar]

We just returned from a top notch cruise on the Reflection cruising the Western Caribbean. This was our 3rd on the Reflection. The crew and fellow passengers were very friendly on this cruise. People seemed to go out of their way to be friendly which has not always been the case. The weather was fine especially South of Cuba with unusually calm seas and mostly sunny skies. We had to bypass Coco Cay for Nassau due to strong winds and high seas.

 

We went on the ship at 12:30 and breezed right through. Our room was ready early. We were in 1601 with the larger balcony. Our attendants were just fantastic! They were Michael and Flavio. Both very friendly. We received 2 welcome bottles of water, flowers, fruit, daily flavored tea and canapés, lip balm, those beautiful slippers, a bottle of sparking wine, and a pillow menu.

 

There was a 50% discount for any Specialty Restaurant on the first night for Aqua Class cruisers. 20% for others. We went to Lawn Club and it was fantastic. Very few dining there on the first night. We also ate at Tuscan Grill and that was outstanding as well.

 

Food around the ship was definitely improved since our last cruise on Reflection. The chocolate cakes were moist and the offerings at Cafe al Bacio. were improved. Our breakfasts in Blu were very good, especially the table side muesli. Blu was the only restaurant offering this as we had several cruisers from Luminae come to Blu for this. Blu was real busy for dinner and the staff had their hands full. Our waiter and assistant were responsible for 11 tables of 2 and 1 table of 6. Not an easy task but they pulled it off. We did not have an "average" meal in Blu as they all were excellent. Fantastic chef!

 

Entertainment was also improved. We had live music by the pool and the dj was real good as he played party music. At night, he had the venues packed with his choices of high energy but recognizable music. There was a solo guitarist, a duo, a jazz band, Big Mike's orchestra band, and the house band, Blind Vinyl. Very talented and enjoyable groups. The production shows were very good and they will be winding down in March as Celebrity takes over from the current company. We have really enjoyed those shows over the years. The dancers were excellent on this cruise. The choices of comedians were much better than most cruises and were very entertaining.

 

The Activity Staff has been increased to two. They were real fun individuals. There was plenty of trivia, events, and we really enjoyed the free dance classes sponsored by the production dancers.

 

Bar service was quick and the staff was friendly. We needed a drink or two to accompany our burger at the Mast Grill with grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, and bacon. They are GOOD!

 

Internet connection. OMG. The first two days it was slower than slow. Slower than years ago. I went on twice and in 35 minutes, I could only retrieve one e-mail. I was not the only one. There were many of us. Information technology person tried to sell us an upgrade service but I declined. He told us that only Google mail accounts worked well. It did get better on Port days. Forget about sea days. Most people went into the free WIFIs at the ports and checked their mail while having a drink or two or three.

 

Also, for those taking planes home, the liquor stores on board no longer carry those cardboard boxes for your purchases. Our bottles made it home safely packed in our clothing and we were very fortunate.

 

Leaving the ship was a breeze. We left the ship at 7:00 carrying out luggage and were outside in about 5 minutes.

 

We really enjoyed our cruise! I will try to answer questions.

[Dunmore2]

Thanks for your review. Sounds like your vacation was perfect, gotta love that muesli!

[number one eagles fan]

We just returned from a top notch cruise on the Reflection cruising the Western Caribbean. This was our 3rd on the Reflection. The crew and fellow passengers were very friendly on this cruise. People seemed to go out of their way to be friendly which has not always been the case. The weather was fine especially South of Cuba with unusually calm seas and mostly sunny skies. We had to bypass Coco Cay for Nassau due to strong winds and high seas.

 

We went on the ship at 12:30 and breezed right through. Our room was ready early. We were in 1601 with the larger balcony. Our attendants were just fantastic! They were Michael and Flavio. Both very friendly. We received 2 welcome bottles of water, flowers, fruit, daily flavored tea and canapés, lip balm, those beautiful slippers, a bottle of sparking wine, and a pillow menu.

 

There was a 50% discount for any Specialty Restaurant on the first night for Aqua Class cruisers. 20% for others. We went to Lawn Club and it was fantastic. Very few dining there on the first night. We also ate at Tuscan Grill and that was outstanding as well.

 

Food around the ship was definitely improved since our last cruise on Reflection. The chocolate cakes were moist and the offerings at Cafe al Bacio. were improved. Our breakfasts in Blu were very good, especially the table side muesli. Blu was the only restaurant offering this as we had several cruisers from Luminae come to Blu for this. Blu was real busy for dinner and the staff had their hands full. Our waiter and assistant were responsible for 11 tables of 2 and 1 table of 6. Not an easy task but they pulled it off. We did not have an "average" meal in Blu as they all were excellent. Fantastic chef!

 

Entertainment was also improved. We had live music by the pool and the dj was real good as he played party music. At night, he had the venues packed with his choices of high energy but recognizable music. There was a solo guitarist, a duo, a jazz band, Big Mike's orchestra band, and the house band, Blind Vinyl. Very talented and enjoyable groups. The production shows were very good and they will be winding down in March as Celebrity takes over from the current company. We have really enjoyed those shows over the years. The dancers were excellent on this cruise. The choices of comedians were much better than most cruises and were very entertaining.

 

The Activity Staff has been increased to two. They were real fun individuals. There was plenty of trivia, events, and we really enjoyed the free dance classes sponsored by the production dancers.

 

Bar service was quick and the staff was friendly. We needed a drink or two to accompany our burger at the Mast Grill with grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, and bacon. They are GOOD!

 

Internet connection. OMG. The first two days it was slower than slow. Slower than years ago. I went on twice and in 35 minutes, I could only retrieve one e-mail. I was not the only one. There were many of us. Information technology person tried to sell us an upgrade service but I declined. He told us that only Google mail accounts worked well. It did get better on Port days. Forget about sea days. Most people went into the free WIFIs at the ports and checked their mail while having a drink or two or three.

 

Also, for those taking planes home, the liquor stores on board no longer carry those cardboard boxes for your purchases. Our bottles made it home safely packed in our clothing and we were very fortunate.

 

Leaving the ship was a breeze. We left the ship at 7:00 carrying out luggage and were outside in about 5 minutes.

 

We really enjoyed our cruise! I will try to answer questions.

 

I thought the new lightning fast Xcellerate high-speed internet was activated on the Reflection. Hmmm.

[keesar]

I thought the new lightning fast Xcellerate high-speed internet was activated on the Reflection. Hmmm.

 

It is activated but at an additional cost. There is the standard internet which comes with all packages and you can upgrade from there.

[wallysdtr]

Thanks for your review. We were on the Reflection last year and will be doing western on March 12. Glad to hear things are improving. Sad to hear that Blu was crazy busy. Sounds like that hasn't changed since last year.

We too have an extended balcony in Aqua. Can't wait!

 

Last year we spent a lot of time at the sunset bar. Best place on the ship to hang with new friends to have a cocktail. Our favorite bartender Nik was so awesome and DH and I just heard he will be on the Reflection when we sail! So glad to be able to see this young man again. No one better than he making a drink. Seriously - and we tipped him daily.

[20pluscruises]

Thanks for your review. We were on the Reflection last year and will be doing western on March 12. Glad to hear things are improving. Sad to hear that Blu was crazy busy. Sounds like that hasn't changed since last year.

We too have an extended balcony in Aqua. Can't wait!

 

Last year we spent a lot of time at the sunset bar. Best place on the ship to hang with new friends to have a cocktail. Our favorite bartender Nik was so awesome and DH and I just heard he will be on the Reflection when we sail! So glad to be able to see this young man again. No one better than he making a drink. Seriously - and we tipped him daily.

 

Awww...we will miss you by a couple of weeks. Def gonna belly up to the bar with Nik. Thanks for the heads up!

[number one eagles fan]

It is activated but at an additional cost. There is the standard internet which comes with all packages and you can upgrade from there.

 

That's disappointing. I didn't know they had two service tiers of internet. I thought the service that was included in my package would include the xcellerate.

[SAC69]

It is activated but at an additional cost. There is the standard internet which comes with all packages and you can upgrade from there.

 

Nickels and dimes...:rolleyes:

[KirkNC]

Thanks for your report.

[keesar]

That's disappointing. I didn't know they had two service tiers of internet. I thought the service that was included in my package would include the xcellerate.

 

When several of us were struggling and just seeing the whirling and whirling and… , the computer lab attendant came over and showed us how quickly he could connect on his iPhone. It was really fast! He could get my iPhone to work that quickly if we upgraded. We declined and came back when the ship had docked and we were able to connect much more quickly. So my advice, if you are using the standard package which either comes free with Elite or thru purchase, you may want to try it and if you have difficulties, wait until you get into port when there is less demand. The first two days were nearly impossible for us and we lost alot of minutes.

[keesar]

Thanks for your review. We were on the Reflection last year and will be doing western on March 12. Glad to hear things are improving. Sad to hear that Blu was crazy busy. Sounds like that hasn't changed since last year.

We too have an extended balcony in Aqua. Can't wait!

 

You are lucky! The contracts for the singers and dancers end on March 17th. You may be the last ones to see Reflection The Show. An award winning show for years and it has been our favorite. Sad to see it go.

 

The food was much improved in Blu. There were new menu items :) and the dishes were all tops. The lamb and duck dishes were outstanding as were the steaks. I heard the same was true in the MDR. We also met a number of suite guests that ate in Blu for various reasons. That is one hard working staff!

[hockeymom21]

it is also very easy to share the internet between iPhones or devices. my husband and i shared the faster accelerate.

[Clarea]

Thanks for the review.

[SAC69]

When several of us were struggling and just seeing the whirling and whirling and… , the computer lab attendant came over and showed us how quickly he could connect on his iPhone. It was really fast! He could get my iPhone to work that quickly if we upgraded. We declined and came back when the ship had docked and we were able to connect much more quickly. So my advice, if you are using the standard package which either comes free with Elite or thru purchase, you may want to try it and if you have difficulties, wait until you get into port when there is less demand. The first two days were nearly impossible for us and we lost alot of minutes.

 

What was the upcharge for internet that actually works?

[Sonoma fans]

Thanks for t he review. On our 1/30/16 reflection cruise free elite Internet (180 minutes) was extremely fast. It was like being at home with Fios. Did not know there was a separate rate as we did not experience it.

[keesar]

What was the upcharge for internet that actually works?

 

We tried connecting through the computer facility on Deck 6. It was improved after the second day. When in Cozumel, it worked fine---just being a bit slow.

I wonder if it was related to the number of people using the system. Some people did not experience problems on their particular personal devices but others did. We were told our problem was having AOL. Others were told their problem was Yahoo. Others had problems getting to FaceBook.

 

We were so frustrated with the person in the computer facility that I did not ask for a price. I felt bad for people who had spent $105 and could not get online on either their personal devices or in the lab. Ours was the 90 free minutes.

[wallysdtr]

Awww...we will miss you by a couple of weeks. Def gonna belly up to the bar with Nik. Thanks for the heads up!

 

Hello! have a wonderful time and let us know how it went. Please give Nik a hug for us and tell him Kevin and Susan will see their "mr Mojito" soon.

Edited February 21, 2016 by wallysdtr

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Thanks for the review! I'm on the Reflection in AquaClass this time next year! :)

 

It's always puzzled me how they say that suite guests can come to Blu on a "space available" basis - but with it not being reserved/set times, it seems like it's sort of "if we have a table when you want to come you get it even if you're in a suite" thus potentially making AquaClass cruisers wait. (Yes, I know that without reserved times you could wait anyway, but it seems like allowing the suite guests to dine there potentially adds to the wait.) Not really a question - just a pondering.

[Sailin'Showman]

We just returned from a Feb 6 sail on Reflection - San Juan/St Thomas/St Martin - and are happy to report that she is still the beautiful girl of two years ago. Yes, we were suite passengers, but the food was fantastic in Luminaes & Murano. Please don't miss the Filet Mignon in the Tuscan Grill. We frankly feel the food is better in the buffet than in Opus if you can abide the zoo. We think the Bistro on 5 is under appreciated

 

No problem with embarkation - about 10 minutes - and upon disembarkation try the Luggage Valet service. We will never have to graze through hundreds of look alike luggage again.

 

 

enjoy your

[20pluscruises]

Hello! have a wonderful time and let us know how it went. Please give Nik a hug for us and tell him Kevin and Susan will see their "mr Mojito" soon.

 

Will do! Mr Mojito :)

[keesar]

I did forget to mention that there were about 130 Elite and over cruisers on the sailing. The cocktail hour (5-7) was held in the Sky Lounge and there were never more than 25 there at one time. Very quiet.

[bothluv2cruise]

it is also very easy to share the internet between iPhones or devices. my husband and i shared the faster accelerate.

 

If you purchase only 1 internet package you can share? DH and I will be on the Reflection, April 9th transatlantic and need to check work email :(, and that was one of my questions- can we use various devices?

[pretty princess]

Thanks for your review. I also was on this sailing. We had a wonderful time as well. Hated to leave yesterday. My husband and I purchased the unlimited internet for $109 first device, second device was 1/2 price. It served us very well and had no problems. (we have I-phones, not sure if that makes a difference.) They did offer the $199 unlimited (one device only) that you should only really need to stream movies ect) Beautiful ship and staff for sure!! Thanks again.

[riclop]

Thanks for your thoughts.

[globevest]

keesar....thank you for your report.....we were with you on the 13 Feb cruise in Aqua 1583 and had a very similar all round experience to you. We must have walked off with you in Miami. From leaving our cabin at 6.55 am we cleared customs, took a taxi to the airport and we were checked in by AA before 7.30 am. Less than 5 minutes through customs and almost no traffic on the road to MIA. I hope this happens next time we travel....I will think about booking an earlier flight.....lol

Blu was very good as usual....busy but still very good. We were two of the '25' at the elite cocktail time....quite but nice.