Celebrity Reflection - Experience traveling in a "standard" balcony cabin

[crusingatthebuffet]

We have a transatlantic cruise coming up aboard the Reflection, and I've been reading through all the posts about getting a suite, aqua class, concierge class, etc and what perks you get with each one. We will just be traveling in a standard balcony cabin on deck 8, and was wondering if some of you could describe your overall experience in these rooms, and what areas of the ship are potentially off-limits for those of us that don't have an upgraded room?

 

Thank you!

[killsport]

The suites have exclusive* access of Michael's Lounge and Luminae restaurant. The Persian Garden and Relaxation Room** and Blu restaurant are for Aqua class.

 

The rest of the ship (I think) is open to everyone.

 

The balcony room itself is pretty much the same in Aqua, Concierge, and "regular". There are differences in the robes and things like water / snacks, etc.

 

For my $0.02, if you don't need the extra points for Captain's Club to move to another level, it is a tough sell (for me) to go from a regular balcony to CC... The price would have to be right (or additional perks that I actually want/will buy are offset in the price difference). AQ is a bit different, as you have a "specialty" restaurant and the PG included. Those are pretty nice. But everything is a cost/benefit equation, and you need to determine how much those "extras" are worth to you.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

*pretty much (sometimes you have Zenith or suite guests)

** you can buy a day or week pass to the PG

[royalcruz]

We only have cruised in regular balcony rooms on Solstice class ships. The rooms are very nice and we never felt restricted because we couldn't access the aqua or suite areas. As Elite CC members, we used to have breakfast in Michaels Club but they no longer have that...no big deal, it was very nice, but it's just another room. I'd rather save the money for a second vacation.

[Kitekat]

In Concierge class you can have canapés delivered in the afternoon. You need to pre-book and be in your cabin to receive them. Many don't find them appetising and with the Oceanview cafe open with afternoon tea - scones, cream and jam - plus other things to eat, if you need something, we have never found the need.

 

If you join the Captain's Club and build your points, you get more points by staying in Aqua, Concierge and Suites.

 

We find the 'standard' balcony rooms perfectly adequate, with plenty of space.

[richsea]

Life in a standard balcony forbids you to dine in Blu or Luminae, or entrance to Michael's Club. The standard balcony rooms are pretty much the same as those in Concierge or Aqua. Aqua does have a different shower, with additionsl jets.

 

Stanard balcony rooms on S class ships are spacious & comfortable, & the bathroom is roomy enough with plenty of storage. Deck 8 is quiet, with rooms above & below.

 

There are fans of Concierge & Aqua class, & those who can afford suites seem to love the experience, but for us at least, standard balconies are just fine.

 

Have a great cruise!

[Gracie115]

We only have cruised in regular balcony rooms on Solstice class ships. The rooms are very nice and we never felt restricted because we couldn't access the aqua or suite areas. As Elite CC members, we used to have breakfast in Michaels Club but they no longer have that...no big deal, it was very nice, but it's just another room. I'd rather save the money for a second vacation.

 

Now that breakfast is in Tuscan Grill...actually a nicer location for it, with wonderful aft views of the water.

[Azulann]

CC perk on embarkation day is lunch in MDR.

It was a nice perk for us in July

 

 

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[Holly2]

To clarify, CC= concierge class, not Capt Club...

[jelayne]

We have sailed in Suites, Aqua, Concierge and regular veranda rooms. In fact if you are on the Oct Reflection TA we are also on deck 8 in a veranda on the slant.

 

If price were no object, we would always sail in suites - but that's not always an option. Aqua, Concierge, and standard verandas are all the same size on the S class ships. On M class ships Concierge cabins are a bit larger than standard balcony cabin.

 

We love Aqua for Blu but sometimes the price is above what we are willing to pay -like the TA where Aqua is still selling for $1,500+ more than we paid for our veranda with an oversized balcony. We don't us the Persian Gardens so it is of no value to us. Blu is excellent but not a $100+ a day more. We can book the UDP for $58 a day, but will eat in the MDR most nights, a dinner or 2 in the Lawn Grill and Tuscan and a relaxing evening eating outside at the buffet.

[Lastdance]

My DH and I were in an A1 cabin on the forward slant of hump, but an S1 aft came available. I put it on hold for my TA to grab. It was certainly more than I wanted to pay, but the Cruise is 16 days! I guess I am lucky being retired and still working. I am able to work a little more to pay the extra and not use any savings. After all, you can't take it with you! However, it is very easy to get spoiled...there is absolutely nothing wrong with a balcony cabin and you save a lot!

 

 

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Edited September 3, 2016 by Lastdance

[crusingatthebuffet]

Thank you for all of the information so far, this site is great!

 

I'm glad to hear that the size of the room and the majority of the basic offerings are the same across the board. What about the lawn club? I probably wouldn't spend a lot of time there anyways, but thought it would be interesting to walk through and check out unless access is reserved for the suites/etc......

[jelayne]

The Lawn area is available to anyone. You will see folks playing

Bocce ball, some evenings at sail away they will have music, wine and cheese on the lawn ( charge for wine).

 

There are some Alcoves that you can rent for the day that provide a cabana, loungers for your use -believe they are $150 a day on sea days & $100 on port days. The Lawn Grill restaurant & Porch Restaurant are adjacent to the lawn & the Art Studio is also up there. Of course the popular Sunset Bar is in the same area.

[Peteymil]

Thank you for all of the information so far, this site is great!

 

I'm glad to hear that the size of the room and the majority of the basic offerings are the same across the board. What about the lawn club? I probably wouldn't spend a lot of time there anyways, but thought it would be interesting to walk through and check out unless access is reserved for the suites/etc......

 

After 5 cruises in Aqua class, our last cabin was a regular balcony. Although we loved the size and service in Blu, that to us was the only important perk of Aqua. The price difference was huge, so it just wasn't worth it. We ate in specialty restaurants 6 of the nights and still came out over $1000 ahead.

There was nothing else that we missed, and we were extremely happy with our cabin.

[2calgarycruisers]

Now that breakfast is in Tuscan Grill...actually a nicer location for it, with wonderful aft views of the water.

 

 

Breakfast in Tuscan Grill? Is this available to all? All days?

 

 

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[Holly2]

Tuscan grill is the elite capt club breakfast.

[krb1000]

We have stayed in cc, aqua and Sky suites...and enjoyed every minute of every cruise :) As others have noted, balcony cabins are all pretty much the same. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time ...there's nothing like those sea days. Enjoy!

We have a transatlantic cruise coming up aboard the Reflection, and I've been reading through all the posts about getting a suite, aqua class, concierge class, etc and what perks you get with each one. We will just be traveling in a standard balcony cabin on deck 8, and was wondering if some of you could describe your overall experience in these rooms, and what areas of the ship are potentially off-limits for those of us that don't have an upgraded room?

 

Thank you!

[DYKWIA]

We only do Standard Balcony cabins. It's quite easy, in our opinion, to be unaware that there are areas off limits to us - the vast majority of the ship is open to you.

 

Michael's club is a small lounge tucked away off the Ensemble Lounge and Blu is at the end of a corridor along from the Ensemble Lounge. The Ensemble Lounge, unlike a few other bars, isn't on a major thoroughfare for the ship so we rarely find ourselves in there.

 

The entrance to Luminae is located near to one of the entrances to the MDR - but the restaurant is very private - you can't see in, so it's not as though you even see what you might be missing.

[akowilm]

We also have done Aqua and Concierge, but now find the standard cabins suit our needs. On S class, they are all the same size. Our upcoming sailing is in a 1B, prime midship location on Deck 8, and we saved about $800 by choosing that over Aqua or Concierge. That pays for a lot of specialty dining and even a visit to the Spa!

There are so many wonderful public spaces on the Reflection that the few private spaces will not be missed. Enjoy your cruise!

[wallie5446]

We were in a CC deck 9 in 2013, needed the points.

Booked a deck 8 regular 1B balcony in 2014.

Stepped up to a deck 11 Aqua 2 in 2015,

and are booked in a deck 7 1A for our next sailing.

 

All the cabins are the exact same size and layout, only the ones on the angle of the hump had a tad larger balcony. The differences that come with the different categories at a different price offer different value for each of us. So that is something only you can decide as to benefit or not.

 

Our first visit to Michaels was in 1996 on the Century when it debuted as a cigar lounge, our last was in 2013 when it was the craft beer bar. It is a dark cave like feel, with very few others. Much prefer a bar with at least a window :o

 

BLU was ok, but as others mentioned, not worth a lot more $$ than the MDR.

Persian Garden, went 1-2 times, nothing truly special, again, another place away from the activity of the ship. Which can be ok at times.

EW

[travelpeon]

My DH and I were in an A1 cabin on the forward slant of hump, but an S1 aft came available. I put it on hold for my TA to grab. It was certainly more than I wanted to pay, but the Cruise is 16 days! I guess I am lucky being retired and still working. I am able to work a little more to pay the extra and not use any savings. After all, you can't take it with you! However, it is very easy to get spoiled...there is absolutely nothing wrong with a balcony cabin and you save a lot!

 

 

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We had our first stay in Aft S1 and it was lovely. The view, the extra space, and the bathroom were all fantastic. For a TA, if the price is right, S1 aft provides that gorgeous view and Michael's has free premium tea, coffee, bottled water, ice tea, and sodas. Useful since repositioning cruises don't come with beverage package perks. I think this is true for suites, too.

 

If the price between a balcony cabin and Aqua is large, a Persian Garden Pass and Unlimited Dining Plan brings the amenities pretty close. A 3/5 night specialty dining package and perhaps a lunch when the specialties are open (less expensive than dinner) is also a nice change of pace on a TA. The Aqua Spa cafe has enough seating outside the busy lunch rush hours is open to all guests.

Edited September 5, 2016 by travelpeon

[Nebr.cruiser]

CC cabins on S ships just aren't worth much, if anything, extra to us. The last one we had was only $50pp more and had more on board credit than the regular balcony so it was an easy decision.

 

None of the so-called perks mean much to us except I did like having a footstool on the balcony and extra loyalty points. The afternoon snacks were so awful we quit ordering them.

 

The Cc rooms on M class ships are slightly larger than regular balcony cabins, but not enough to make much difference, IMO.

[Lastdance]

CC cabins on S ships just aren't worth much, if anything, extra to us. The last one we had was only $50pp more and had more on board credit than the regular balcony so it was an easy decision.

 

 

 

None of the so-called perks mean much to us except I did like having a footstool on the balcony and extra loyalty points. The afternoon snacks were so awful we quit ordering them.

 

 

 

The Cc rooms on M class ships are slightly larger than regular balcony cabins, but not enough to make much difference, IMO.

 

 

I thought the CC cabins were smaller; at least they seemed that way to me.

It really is just a matter of what you like and it it is worth the extra money. On a TA, a suite is sweet! However, it is expensive...

 

 

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Edited September 5, 2016 by Lastdance