Another Celebrity Reflection Trip Report for 12/8 - 12/18

[Wonderbred]

I've seen a couple of posts on this trip (including the hilarious "Live" report) so please excuse me for anything repetitive. A couple of bio details to give you a perspective:

My husband and I both turned 40 recently and are from Florida. We are newer to cruising and initially we thought we would hate it. Our friend got married on a Carnival cruise and so we went on that cruise and enjoyed the experience (not the line or ship as much) and then found Celebrity. We have done 4 cruises with Celebrity since December of 2015. 3 on Reflection and 1 on Summit this June for the America's Cup. This was our last cruise as Classic members and we have always stayed in a C3 cabin.

 

This was our 3rd December voyage on the Reflection in a row and we have stayed in cabin 1289 each time. I didn't notice any extreme wear and in fact, the balcony in our cabin was in slightly better shape than last year. Embarkation at Port Everglades was soooooooooo slow. There were 4 people checking in concierge class and the line was really long. That was probably the most frustrating part but knowing that drinks and relaxation was just around the corner made it bearable.

 

We finally got onboard and the first thing I did was walk down to Murano and made our specialty dining reservations, we had a dining package for 9 nights. We ate at Murano, Tuscan Grille, Lawn Club Grille and Sushi on 5 twice and Qsine once. All of the specialty restaurants were great (as usual). They are all good in such different ways and we enjoy the more personalized service. We were planning on eating at the MDR on the next to last night (evening chic) but both felt a little tired and ended up doing the buffet. Lunch most days for us was either the Mast Grille, room service or onshore. I did the buffet once for lunch. I think we were still a little leery from the Noro problems from the previous cruise and also trying to not gorge before our specialty restaurant dinners.

 

We had upgraded to the premium alcohol package and visited most of the bars on board. We spent a lot of time at the Passport bar this trip (down on 3) and I have to say that the lead singer of The Accents (the house band) was pretty abysmal. The Accents performed in the alcove by the glass elevators almost every night and we heard a lot of their material. The lead singer tried hard but was just underwhelming at best, off key at worst. It didn't matter what genre she tried, it was all pretty bad. I've heard much better voices at any random karaoke night. My husband wanted to know how bad the competition must have been if this was the group that was chosen. A lot of other guests agreed and it almost became fun to hear what she would attempt next. Some of the other random performers were decent, the cello/violinist in the Ensemble usually did a good job. We didn't go to any of the main shows so I'll let other people speak to those.

 

We played a lot of trivia (quality can vary from host to host) and did pretty well. We also enjoy doing the daily paper crossword and sudoku challenges with a pasty from Cafe Al Bacio. For us, we love to check out and relax so we grab a hammock, enjoy some drinks from the sunset bar and relax the mornings and early afternoons away. We did some excurions in Antigua, St. Lucia and St. Thomas and stayed on the boat in the other ports.

 

We found the staff helpful and friendly, the boat was in good shape and always looks nice with the holiday decorations and the food was very good. We look forward to more sailings in the future!

[Keith1010]

Enjoyed reading your report.

 

Keith

[NoName]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review. Quick question, I will be sailing on Reflection for the 1st time in Feb, are the hammocks hard to come by, or is the amount sufficient?

 

Kim

[Clarea]

Thanks for the review.

[Wonderbred]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review. Quick question, I will be sailing on Reflection for the 1st time in Feb, are the hammocks hard to come by, or is the amount sufficient?

 

Kim

 

Surprisingly so easy to come by! There are 8 in total and they stay empty most of the morning and then by early to late afternoon they are no more than 1/2 full. The hammocks are mostly in the shade and I think many people up on the high decks are looking to sunbathe.

[Cruzin&Snuzin]

I’m disappointed to hear about the house band. We set sail on Reflection in Feb.

 

On our prior cruise - also on Reflection - the house band (Blind Vinyl) was a trip highlight.

 

 

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[davekathy]

Wonderbred...thanks for taking us along on your cruise.

[Wonderbred]

I’m disappointed to hear about the house band. We set sail on Reflection in Feb.

 

On our prior cruise - also on Reflection - the house band (Blind Vinyl) was a trip highlight.

 

 

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You never know, they could have a new group by then! Our bartender shared that several patrons had said that the band was one of the first things to be addressed on their guest survey. Every time Maarten announced them (with a straight face) as "the best house band on the ocean", I'd look around thinking maybe another band was going to jump out and perform.

 

It was still a whole lot of fun and I really overall enjoyed the entire experience. I'd gladly be sitting down there tonight sipping a Baileys on the ice and listening to them warble if I could. :)

[Silkroad]

Thanks Wonderbred! You’ve given me hope that I didn’t choose unwisely when I booked that 7 December 2018 cruise on Reflection:D DH and I had such a wonderful experience on our Reflection TA this April that I decided to book her for our first Caribbean cruise.

 

Cruzin&Snuzin I agree that Blind Vinyl was brilliant! I hope they’re back for your February cruise (or that you have a better house band than Wonderbred did).

[qplushq]

This was our 3rd December voyage on the Reflection in a row and we have stayed in cabin 1289 each time. I didn't notice any extreme wear and in fact, the balcony in our cabin was in slightly better shape than last year. Embarkation at Port Everglades was soooooooooo slow. There were 4 people checking in concierge class and the line was really long. That was probably the most frustrating part but knowing that drinks and relaxation was just around the corner made it bearable.

 

 

Can you please tell me if that stateroom had the bed by the balcony... or couch by the balcony? Thanks!

[Tiggertastic]

We had to bands on over Christmas, I agree about the accents, wow that lady was out of tune. We got a band called cardinals and although some songs were sung a little slower than normal, I thought they were great.

 

 

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[Vacation Nut]

We were on board over Xmas and I agree about the Cardinals (and I am old(ish) ) I thought they were amazing. "Accents" were just hum-ho. Of course the Celebrity band was amazing particularly the saxophonist, the bass, the drummer, the guitarist and the pianist. I thought the trombone player and the trumpeter were less good, but when they played all together it was great. We enjoyed some good guest artists too, Jesse Hamilton was a standout.

[Wonderbred]

Can you please tell me if that stateroom had the bed by the balcony... or couch by the balcony? Thanks!

 

The bed is by the balcony.

[pugdad1]

Would you happen to know who the bartenders were at the World Class Bar?

[cruise47]

Thanks for your review, we will be sailing her in April.