Some thoughts from our Reflection March 11th Cruise for a Family of 5

[spart02]

Hello! We tried Celebrity for the first time last week and LOVED it! We are a family of 5 with kids ages 17, 13, and 9. We have taken one Carnival cruise many years ago, 4 Disney cruises on each of their ships, and one Royal cruise on the Brilliance of the Seas. We had low expectations about the entertainment on Celebrity, but high hopes for good food, and we were not disappointed by either!

 

My boys didn't try the teen club out, but my daughter seemed to really enjoy the Fun Factory. They stuck to the printed schedule of the Fun Factory pretty well, which is a plus, as my daughter likes to pick and choose what she does and when she's there. It doesn't compare to a Disney ship, but there was plenty to do and my daughter was quite happy there, as opposed to our Brilliance of the Seas experience. The Fun Factory employees were very nice and friendly. They kept very good track of the kids when they took them to activities outside of the Fun Factory. I never worried about her when she was in their hands.

 

We are not sit-by-the-pool kind of people and were worried about finding enough to do on the sea days. In fact, none of us ever sat by the pool or used the pool the entire week! We brought some games to keep us entertained, but rarely needed them. They had several talks that we went to about other cruise destinations, which we thoroughly enjoyed. We also went to trivia a few times. Our itinerary was fairly port-intensive, so that helped as well. We were never bored and always felt like there was enough to do for all ages. There was a decent offering of family programs also, which was unexpected. The shows were enjoyable and Elysium was spectacular!

 

We only dined in the main dining room for dinner and had very good quality food with plenty of selection. The only complaint that we have about dinner service was that we were never offered drinks beyond water. Every night except one night (the night we practically had to beg for someone to take our drink order), we ended up sending runners to a bar to get drinks between our appetizers and dinner. We were never offered ice tea or anything beyond water. There were other tables that seemed to get beverage service just fine, but not us. Our wait staff was good, but not exceptional.

 

The Reflection itself really wowed us. It is in excellent condition and extremely well taken care of, exceptionally so. Our stateroom was also in immaculate condition and we had zero complaints about it at all. Our room attendant was fast and thorough. No towel animals, but no biggie. He always arranged my daughter's blanket and animal in a new way each day, which she liked.

 

The crowd on the Reflection was older than we are used to, but very kind, respectful, and controlled. Far less party-type than on the Brilliance of the Seas and mainly adults, as opposed to the Disney ships. As a family with kids, we never felt out of place or unwanted. The people that were near us in the dining room seemed to enjoy watching our kids enjoy their meals and many of them complimented the kids on their attire in the dining rooms. Our kids are well traveled and well behaved, so we felt like Celebrity was a good fit for us. If your kids are a bit rowdier, I wouldn't suggest Celebrity. All of the kids onboard that we saw were very well mannered. No running down the halls or up and down the steps; no craziness at all. We appreciated that a lot, but those with different parenting philosophies than ourselves may not feel quite as comfortable. We also noticed that when the Fun Factory took the kids out to different areas of the ship, they kept the kids in areas that those without kids wouldn't be disrupted. For example, the Camp Out night was held on a quiet upper deck away from anyone else. The kids were free to be kids and frolic, but without annoying anyone else.

 

I think that's it for now. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I just thought I would post from the perspective of someone who has kids and hasn't sailed on Celebrity before. It was such a great experience that we booked another cruise for next year!

[sandc4e]

Great review and wonderful to hear! We will be taking our first Celebrity cruise in just under 4 weeks.

 

Sheila

[Fun Redhead]

Hello! We tried Celebrity for the first time last week and LOVED it! We are a family of 5 with kids ages 17, 13, and 9. We have taken one Carnival cruise many years ago, 4 Disney cruises on each of their ships, and one Royal cruise on the Brilliance of the Seas. We had low expectations about the entertainment on Celebrity, but high hopes for good food, and we were not disappointed by either!

 

My boys didn't try the teen club out, but my daughter seemed to really enjoy the Fun Factory. They stuck to the printed schedule of the Fun Factory pretty well, which is a plus, as my daughter likes to pick and choose what she does and when she's there. It doesn't compare to a Disney ship, but there was plenty to do and my daughter was quite happy there, as opposed to our Brilliance of the Seas experience. The Fun Factory employees were very nice and friendly. They kept very good track of the kids when they took them to activities outside of the Fun Factory. I never worried about her when she was in their hands.

 

We are not sit-by-the-pool kind of people and were worried about finding enough to do on the sea days. In fact, none of us ever sat by the pool or used the pool the entire week! We brought some games to keep us entertained, but rarely needed them. They had several talks that we went to about other cruise destinations, which we thoroughly enjoyed. We also went to trivia a few times. Our itinerary was fairly port-intensive, so that helped as well. We were never bored and always felt like there was enough to do for all ages. There was a decent offering of family programs also, which was unexpected. The shows were enjoyable and Elysium was spectacular!

 

We only dined in the main dining room for dinner and had very good quality food with plenty of selection. The only complaint that we have about dinner service was that we were never offered drinks beyond water. Every night except one night (the night we practically had to beg for someone to take our drink order), we ended up sending runners to a bar to get drinks between our appetizers and dinner. We were never offered ice tea or anything beyond water. There were other tables that seemed to get beverage service just fine, but not us. Our wait staff was good, but not exceptional.

 

The Reflection itself really wowed us. It is in excellent condition and extremely well taken care of, exceptionally so. Our stateroom was also in immaculate condition and we had zero complaints about it at all. Our room attendant was fast and thorough. No towel animals, but no biggie. He always arranged my daughter's blanket and animal in a new way each day, which she liked.

 

The crowd on the Reflection was older than we are used to, but very kind, respectful, and controlled. Far less party-type than on the Brilliance of the Seas and mainly adults, as opposed to the Disney ships. As a family with kids, we never felt out of place or unwanted. The people that were near us in the dining room seemed to enjoy watching our kids enjoy their meals and many of them complimented the kids on their attire in the dining rooms. Our kids are well traveled and well behaved, so we felt like Celebrity was a good fit for us. If your kids are a bit rowdier, I wouldn't suggest Celebrity. All of the kids onboard that we saw were very well mannered. No running down the halls or up and down the steps; no craziness at all. We appreciated that a lot, but those with different parenting philosophies than ourselves may not feel quite as comfortable. We also noticed that when the Fun Factory took the kids out to different areas of the ship, they kept the kids in areas that those without kids wouldn't be disrupted. For example, the Camp Out night was held on a quiet upper deck away from anyone else. The kids were free to be kids and frolic, but without annoying anyone else.

 

I think that's it for now. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I just thought I would post from the perspective of someone who has kids and hasn't sailed on Celebrity before. It was such a great experience that we booked another cruise for next year!

Wonderful review...my favorite cruise line is Celebrity and I cruise mostly solo, but 2015/2016 with my family of 8 and my then 11 year old granddaughter had a ball and would go back anytime..so would the older ones...we had not one boring minute...😊Rose

 

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[Pier290]

What type of cabin were u all in ?

 

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[spart02]

I believe it was an AF...it was a family suite, number 7107.

 

 

What type of cabin were u all in ?

 

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[themoreyfamily]

Thanks for your review- really great to hear from a family. We are going with our kids (age 12 and 10) in the summer and really pleased to hear there was plenty to keep you all entertained.

 

 

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[easyboy]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[hcat]

Great review..Welcome to Celebrity!

[dmcburnie]

Hi

 

We are on reflection 8th april cruise with our two girls aged 9 and 7. What are the typical activities within the kids club and were there many children there? Would be great to see kids club schedules if anyone has?

 

thanks!

[spart02]

I have at least 3 of the days:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi

 

We are on reflection 8th april cruise with our two girls aged 9 and 7. What are the typical activities within the kids club and were there many children there? Would be great to see kids club schedules if anyone has?

 

thanks!

[dmcburnie]

thank you, that is really helpful!

[benjaminhuf]

Great review. Thanks!

[Nauriel]

Great review! Always nice to get a family cruise perspective.