Reflection from Dublin to Amsterdam: first impressions

[ak1004]

We are currently sailing on the Reflection from Dublin to Amsterdam, and I wanted to share some impressions while it's fresh.

 

This is our 13th cruise and third with Celebrity. We sailed on Equinox in 2016 and Silhouette in 2013. Lately we sailed on Oceania and Azamara, and it was interesting to see how it would be to go from Oceania back to Celebrity.

 

So first, is Celebrity going down the hill as many posters here claim? In our opinion, the answer is NO. We actually have seen some things improved compared to our previous Celebrity sailings, I will go into more details later.

 

Second, can you go back from Oceania to Celebrity? The answer is YES, as long as you come with proper expectations. Don't expect service and food similar to Oceania - they are in a different league. But you can still have a very enjoyable experience on Celebrity.

 

Now to some details.

 

Entertainment: excellent, beats Oceania hands down. The ship is very alive in the evening, the shows are very professional and evening activities are very attractive.

 

Food: We like the buffet very much. Huge selection and pretty good quality. MDR so far is a bit disappointing. I wouldn't call it bad, just not inspiring.  Presentation is good, the taste so so, with few exceptions. Deserts are amazing, probably among the best we had on any ship. We also like the fact that buffet is open long hours, unlike Oceania and Azamara where after 10pm there is nothing to eat except room service.

 

Service: good overall, considering the amount of passenger and crew passengers ratio. The wait for coffee can still be long, but they are trying their best. Just take it with patience and smile and don't expect the service to match Oceania. The staff is very friendly and helpful.

 

Excursions: very impressed so far. We had 2 excursions so far, both were very well organized, with excellent guides, and the groups were small (around 20 people on both).

 

Daily activities: a bit disappointing. We are missing the art seminars and guest lectures that we had on Oceania, Azamara and Cunard. I was surprised to see the art gallery shrinking in size by more than half.

 

Internet: It was pathetic and miserable on our previous Celebrity cruises, I can see some improvement now when most people are in port. In the evening when people are on board, it is still pathetic (speedtest shows less than 0.5 mbps). 

 

Overall we are impressed with Celebrity and would return, given the right itinerary and price. 

[chemmo]

Hope you continue to enjoy Reflection! We had a fantastic time on her last Spring. Make sure you have lunch in the Porch one day.

 

We are presently on a North Wales hilltop enjoying the view of the Irish Sea. We will look out for you passing this evening on your way to Cork and wave our good wishes!

[Morgsmom]

Thank you!  We sail on her in 3 weeks from AMS!

[txtechmk]

Please continue posting about your cruise.  We will be on the Reflection next year and are very interested in your experiences both on and off the ship.  Thanks.

[ak1004]

Just returned from another great excursion in Liverpool. Small group again, great guide.

 

However spent about 20 minutes getting back on ship. This is one of the things we miss about Oceania and Azamara. No lines at all. Never.

[cruiserchuck]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

Just returned from another great excursion in Liverpool. Small group again, great guide.

 

However spent about 20 minutes getting back on ship. This is one of the things we miss about Oceania and Azamara. No lines at all. Never.

 

On our recent Reflection cruise, there were huge lines to get off the ship in several ports.  We had never experienced this before for non-tender ports.

 

[ak1004]

4 minutes ago, cruiserchuck said:

 

On our recent Reflection cruise, there were huge lines to get off the ship in several ports.  We had never experienced this before for non-tender ports.

 

 

Getting off was actually fine so far. They controlled the flow pretty well. But getting back was annoying. 

[LEtue]

Will be on board next June so following along.  We have some independent excursions planned so I hope we can get off quickly in the ports.....   

[Suzanne123]

Will be on the Reflection in a couple weeks.  Can you tell me which excursions you had so far that you liked?  Thanks.

[LINGBER]

Thanks so much for your review thus far! We are also going to be on the Reflection in a few weeks. May I ask which internet package you have? The surf or the high speed one with streaming capability?

 

Thanks!

[Lost in Italy]

Thank you for this posting. We'll be on the Reflection from Dublin to Amsterdam In July 2020.  Did you happen to have a stay in Dublin? Any recommended reasonably priced hotels?

Hope you have a wonderful time on the remainder of your cruise.

 

[cruiserchuck]

8 minutes ago, Lost in Italy said:

Thank you for this posting. We'll be on the Reflection from Dublin to Amsterdam In July 2020.  Did you happen to have a stay in Dublin? Any recommended reasonably priced hotels?

Hope you have a wonderful time on the remainder of your cruise.

 

 

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express on O'Connell Street.  It was centrally located, near many good restaurants and stores, and was right across the street from an airport bus stop, and a block from the hop on hop off bus stop. Others on our cruise stayed there also.  

 

It is a newer hotel, and we enjoyed our stay.

Edited June 18, 2019 by cruiserchuck

[Lost in Italy]

Thanks  Cruiserchuck. I'll look into your suggestion. 

[smalltimecruiser100]

How is the food at Lawn Club Grill? We have OBC and would use it for this venue if the food is good.

[ak1004]

10 hours ago, Suzanne123 said:

Will be on the Reflection in a couple weeks.  Can you tell me which excursions you had so far that you liked?  Thanks.

 

We did Dublin Belfast and Liverpool all of them walking tour. It's a bit of effort and our daughter was constantly complaining but we feel this is the best way to feel the destinations. 

 

[ak1004]

9 hours ago, LINGBER said:

Thanks so much for your review thus far! We are also going to be on the Reflection in a few weeks. May I ask which internet package you have? The surf or the high speed one with streaming capability?

 

Thanks!

 

We have the high speed. We are able to stream and send pictures on whatsup but the surfing itself can be slow. Speedtest shows speeds well under 1 mbps but they claim it's not reliable since it's satellite. I'm not sure it's true. The best internet we had was last year on princess and you could see it on speedtest that showed over 10 mbps.

[ak1004]

4 hours ago, smalltimecruiser100 said:

How is the food at Lawn Club Grill? We have OBC and would use it for this venue if the food is good.

 

We didn't try it yet but all specialty restaurants are expected to be excellent in terms of service and food. 

[ak1004]

Day 5 Cork

 

 

[happy cruzer]

18 hours ago, ak1004 said:

Just returned from another great excursion in Liverpool. Small group again, great guide.

 

However spent about 20 minutes getting back on ship. This is one of the things we miss about Oceania and Azamara. No lines at all. Never.

You have hit on the very biggest difference in our opinion - size of the ship.  We calculate that visiting any port you save on average one hour in leaving and returning when on the smaller ships.  Also all the service is based on a higher crew to passenger ratio.    Larger ships will have more usually variety in entertainment. So size matters.

 

The rest falls more into more of just the difference in lines.

 

Enjoy!

[ak1004]

11 minutes ago, happy cruzer said:

You have hit on the very biggest difference in our opinion - size of the ship.  We calculate that visiting any port you save on average one hour in leaving and returning when on the smaller ships.  Also all the service is based on a higher crew to passenger ratio.    Larger ships will have more usually variety in entertainment. So size matters.

 

The rest falls more into more of just the difference in lines.

 

Enjoy!

 

Agree 100%. Of course it depends on the time you get off or on. Today in Cork it was very quick. But on small ships it's never an issue.

 

The biggest tradeoff of a small ship is entertainment. Oceania and Azamara are not same level as Celebrity or Princess. They were also pretty much dead after 10pm.

[buggins0402]

Thanks ak1004 for the comparison to Oceania.  Oceania is our preferred cruise line, but I saw a Reflection Caribbean itinerary which I liked very much,  so I booked it for this December.  It has been a few years since we have sailed Celebrity. It is nice to hear you are enjoying the entertainment on Celebrity.  We usually prefer lounge musicians.  Celebrity used to have a few, do they still? I understand what you mean regarding the entertainment on O.....we usually consider a nice long late dinner the evening’s entertainment on O.

 

How much more frantic is the buffet compared to Terrace Cafe?  Earlier this year we sailed in a suite on NCL for a South America “around the horn”.  DH loves Indian food, so we attempted skipping the suite lunch dining for the lunch buffet a few times.  It was a horrible experience.  Thankfully, after a few days, the suite dining hostess offered to have some Indian food sent there so we could enjoy a meal in a sane environment. 

[cruisingaussies]

Thanks so much for your post ak1004.  We have been travelling on Azamara the last few years and most recently Seabourn. We’ll be on Reflection in three weeks, our first Celebrity cruise in three years. We also were wondering how we’d find X after the smaller ships, so your positive views are appreciated. 

[muenchner]

Thank you for the interesting report. I'm looking forward to hearing more. For me it is very good news that the so-called art auctions no longer play a major role. I hope that these fraudulent poster vendors will soon disappear completely.

[ak1004]

2 hours ago, buggins0402 said:

Thanks ak1004 for the comparison to Oceania.  Oceania is our preferred cruise line, but I saw a Reflection Caribbean itinerary which I liked very much,  so I booked it for this December.  It has been a few years since we have sailed Celebrity. It is nice to hear you are enjoying the entertainment on Celebrity.  We usually prefer lounge musicians.  Celebrity used to have a few, do they still? I understand what you mean regarding the entertainment on O.....we usually consider a nice long late dinner the evening’s entertainment on O.

 

How much more frantic is the buffet compared to Terrace Cafe?  Earlier this year we sailed in a suite on NCL for a South America “around the horn”.  DH loves Indian food, so we attempted skipping the suite lunch dining for the lunch buffet a few times.  It was a horrible experience.  Thankfully, after a few days, the suite dining hostess offered to have some Indian food sent there so we could enjoy a meal in a sane environment. 

 

Yes they have live music as you can see in daily program i posted. 

 

Buffet is more crowded than Oceania but i definitely wouldn't call it horrible. It can take couple minutes to find a table but was never a real issue so far. Lines in food stations are very reasonable. Even omelette stations are pretty quick. 

[buggins0402]

13 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Yes they have live music as you can see in daily program i posted. 

 

Buffet is more crowded than Oceania but i definitely wouldn't call it horrible. It can take couple minutes to find a table but was never a real issue so far. Lines in food stations are very reasonable. Even omelette stations are pretty quick. 

Thanks...missed it the first time. I only scanned the daily planning on the left and missed the box in the lower right. 

 

Buffet sounds like it will work.  My recollection was Celebrity’s was decent for breakfast and lunch, but it has been almost 8 years.