Celebrity Reflection - Western Mediterranean 07.05.18 - our impressions

[Georgeven]

background information:

We are Jorge & Stian Kristiansen aka the arctic husbands, we are 39 and 40 and we live in Svalbard, enjoy the arctic and cold weather and our favorite kind of vacation is Cruising (surprise!w!!!)

This cruise was booked on board The Reflection during our last cruise in September 2017. The original plan was for my birthday but we couldn’t manage one year without going on the high seas... we moved the reservation to May and kept the Sky Suite since it was a so good deal that it was a no brainer...

Pre-Cruise

We decided to fly to Civitavecchia one day before and stay there for one nifght.

• Accommodation: Hotel Mediterranean, works for one night, helpful staff, bed and pillows not the most comfortable (for what we like) but good price and helpful with booking a taxi (weeks in advance) for the morning to the pier. I wouldn’t stay there again basically because of the kind of bed and the cleaning products that smell so strong. It was clean like heaven but it smelled to much of cleaning products.
  

• Dining: we had late lunch at La Ghiacciaia, it’s very close to the port out of the tourist road... kind of hidden, I can not recommend this place enough... we had a very good lunch in an authentic Italian atmosphere with families and couples around, I think we were the only tourists in the place... prices were cheap and food was very good. Thpe portions are huge so be careful, we didn’t manage to eat all.
  

• After that huge late lunch we walked around the beach promenade and ended up at Bistrot Turquoise and had a couple of spritzers at happy hour, nice view but definitely you pay for that, price was double than in the first place we had lunch, but it was happy hour. We didn’t like the place it was stressful...
  
• Around 20:00 in the evening we decided to have a drink and a soft dinner, we ended up at the Grand Caffé, got a table outside to enjoy the evening breeze, we had a couple of bottles of Prosecco and two apperitivs (a plate with different cheeses, bruschettas and charcuterie) and we were surprised by how cheap it was... really cheap for the location, quality and service...
  
• Breakfast: we didn’t have breakfast included at the hotel so we went out and found Bar Europa, a little hidden local gem, had the best mortadella sandwich ever, and super natural and tasty juice and a espresso how it should be.. loved it.
  

Now getting ready for embarkation... WOHO

[Georgeven]

EMBARKATION: It was OK. worked fast and in less than 10 minutes we were checked inn. Once checked inn everybody had to wait since it was raining like a tropical storm with thunder and lightning and it was not safe to walk to the ship, Once the thunder and lightning stopped those who wanted to walk under the rain received an umbrella to do so.

 

SHIP: Reflection is an amazing ship We loved and is the only ship we have repeated traveling without family.

CABIN: we booked an S1 Sky suite in deck 12, cabin 2127. Loved the cabin, tons of storage space, too much for us. But that’s good. The Balcony was just amazing, we loved the extra space in the balcony, the full size table and the extra shadow provided in this deck. The bathroom was a big plus loved the storage space, the bathtub and the shower & micro jets. Given its location under the solarium and next to the service door for the staff sometimes you could hear a little bit of noise but it wasn´t really a problem, you get use to it and it didn’t disturb at all.

SUITE CLASS PERKS:

Michaels Club: Nadya and Adriana were the hostesses of the Muchaels Club during our sailing, they were very nice and attentive and make sure that every single small problem we had during our cruise was handled and solved promptly (a problem with the bathtub draining, a problem with the toilet not flushing, a problem with laundry charges and a Cachaca tasting where no staff showed up. The rest of the staff was great. It was great to have a place where you could relax and find assistance (if needed). Our Butler introduced himself just shortly after we were in the suite and was of great assistance when we needed, with that said we could notice that he was new and lacked a little bit of the initiative taking that we got last year with our previous butler. Also our Stateroom Attendant was great and kept our room spotless during the length of the cruise. Luminae will be commented under Dining. We think is worth to pay the extra for the Sky Suite and the perks that come along, would we book it again?, Yes… if the price range / Value is Ok for us. We also had the Premium Drinking Package, that we used a lot for drinks, coffees and Vitamin Waters / Arizona iced teas. During this sailing we had our 9th anniversary and we got a card with beautiful words from the hostesses of Michaels Club and from our Butler, with some chocolate strawberries, we loved the detail and that they remembered also when they saw us that day.

DINING: as part of the Suite perks, we had access to Luminae as our main restaurant for dinner and breakfast everyday and lunch on embarkation and sea days. In general we loved Luminae, the dinner menu changes everyday and for some it could be very limited but we loved it. We noticed that a lot of guest asked for the main dining room menu and order form there. We just asked once for the onion soup from the main dining room (that we love ) and we got it. It was impressive that the staff recognized us from last year sailing, that made us felt at home. In general the staff made its best to make us feel welcome and at home (Katja, Vishal, Diana - she was amazing -and the rest of the waiters and the Sommelier also). Ocean View Cafe: Very good and varied selection for lunch (when we were there), good quality and tastes, also good service from the waiters. Specialty dining: 1) Qsine (Now Le Pettit Chef), funny and entertaining video and good and simple food, overpriced for the quality of dinner, won´t do it again. 2) The Lawn Grill Club: Grill steakhouse, outdoor, dining al fresco, extremely good meats and the best dessert on board, just ask for the freaking cookie:amazing. 3) Murano: One word: perfection. 4)Tuscan Grill: we had the best dinner ever in Tuscan Grill.

BARS: as said, we had the premium drinking package as part of our suite perks and booking promotion, we had the same package before and we found it is still worth it. In general we found the service around all bars to be OK with no long waiting. Al baccio Cafe, was great all time for our coffee or tea fix with small desserts. Martini Bar was our favorite spot this time, best bartenders ever this time... crowded most of the time you just need to time your martinis right. Pool Bar was OK not so service minded staff but got our drinks. The World Bar: this time it was a miss, we loved it last time but the bartenders this time were good but not Amazing as Lazar and Sasha in our previous sailing. We wanted to try the Cachaca tasting and pre booked it using the cruise planner. We got our invitation for the first day In Barcelona at 15:00, since we didn’t have big plans for that day we decided to plan around it so we went out early and then came back to the ship just for that and dinner and then maybe go out or relax. Surprise: nobody showed up at the location stated on the invitation (world bar), then we tried to contact our Michaels Club concierges that were not around at that moment so we went to Guest services, and it was a downhill the person we talked to couldn’t care less. We decided to wait and then to the girls in Michaels club a little bit later, so we went for some drinks. After we talked with Adriana and Nadya they just told us they will contact someone and fix something for us. later that evening we got a call from the beverages manager assistant apologizing and telling us to re.schedule and we could decide day and time, so we did, they also sent us a bottle of wine, an apologize letter and a complimentary martini flight.

ENTERTAINMENT: we didn’t see all the shows but The broadway / westend cabaret was AMAZING, the singers killed it. Claire Maiden was a guest entertainer for one night and let me tell you something, I haven´t seen a singer like her in a long time, she was INCREDIBLE... The band, the duo and the guitarist were all OK. Richard Spacey as a Cruise Director paired with Valentina as Activity Manager were great...

SERVICE: I would say the service all around the ship was great… nothing to complain, even if you can feel that it´s not the same as it was back just few years ago, the reflection staff makes sure you have an amazing holiday.

CELEBRITY SHORE EXCURSIONS: we booked couple of excursions on line and the one to Montserrat was GREAT, very early but GREAT... we arrived before the other busses from other ships and it was very quiet and lovely before the crowds

FUTURE CRUISES OFFICE: they did their job and we booked two future cruises for 2020 with very good deals and promos

SHOPPING: stopping in Gibraltar gives you the Duty Free benefit, that works well in the perfumes and cosmetics department.

POST CRUISE INFO: We used Rome Shuttle Limousine from the port to the Airport and it worked perfect; 110 Euros for 2 persons private transfer.

 

PS: sorry for typos... I’m still getting used to just write in the iPad :-)

[luvcdays]

Thank you for posting such as nice detailed review! It sounds like you had a great cruise. We can't wait to sail on her next year...

[abbydancer2003]

Thanks for posting this. I was on the Reflection last September (I think maybe we met at the Celebrity Connections thing briefly), and I loved the staff at Michael's - I think Adriana was there) and Katja and Vishal in Luminae were amazing. Thanks for bringing back the memories.

 

I hope the Michaels and Luminae staff are even close on my Equinox cruise next month, and the Eclipse cruise next year.

Edited June 19, 2018 by abbydancer
typo

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review!

[Georgeven]

Hi there Abby,

 

This Adriana was not the same than last year in september but she was very effective sorting things out...

 

Wish you an amazing cruise on Equinox with Cap. Kate....

 

J.-

 

Thanks for posting this. I was on the Reflection last September (I think maybe we met at the Celebrity Connections thing briefly), and I loved the staff at Michael's - I think Adriana was there) and Katja and Vishal in Luminae were amazing. Thanks for bringing back the memories.

 

I hope the Michaels and Luminae staff are even close on my Equinox cruise next month, and the Eclipse cruise next year.

[abbydancer2003]

Hi there Abby,

 

This Adriana was not the same than last year in september but she was very effective sorting things out...

 

Wish you an amazing cruise on Equinox with Cap. Kate....

 

J.-

 

 

 

Thanks. I think Kate's on vacation this summer. I'm bummed about it, but we'll still have fun.

[Esprit]

Hi Jorge

 

Thanks to posting your review and the kind words about Richard and Valentina.

 

She "debarked" yesterday and returns to England Thursday so I'll make sure she reads your review too.

 

Peter