Which ship would you chose... Apex or Reflection?

[crusinthrough]

 I found ridiculously low single fares on both in Dec.  

 

The Apex is a AQ stateroom.  For $200 more I can get a S1 suite (deck 12 not corner) on the Reflection.  A Caribbean itinerary on both and I've been to all islands except Key West, which is on Apex's itinerary.  Airfare and pre hotel are comparable.  I've been on Equinox and Edge but not the Reflection or Apex.  I prefer bar options  on S Class but like the new stateroom decor and technology on the E Class.  

 

The Reflection not being Revolutionized is giving me pause.     

 

 

 

 

[Ride-The-Waves]

Reflection all the way...  

[Redtravel]

Key West closed to all large ships.  Likely that you won’t go there on any Celebrity ship.  

[Jeremiah1212]

AQ on Apex would be an easy choice for me. A Sky Suite on RF is a bare bones suite experience. We had the same situation come up this spring and rebooked Reflection over Edge and ended up having a little regret after making the switch. 

[cruisestitch]

Reflection — no question

[terrydtx]

I would take a Sky Suite on any Celebrity ship over an Aqua on an E Class. I do not like the IV balconies and a suite or SV is the only way to not have one.  We board the Reflection in August in a Sky Suite. Next year it's the Apex in a Sky, and 2024 B2B on the Edge in a Sky.

 

Edited June 18, 2022 by terrydtx

[floridatravelersforlife]

Reflection hands down

[mafig]

1 hour ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

AQ on Apex would be an easy choice for me. A Sky Suite on RF is a bare bones suite experience. We had the same situation come up this spring and rebooked Reflection over Edge and ended up having a little regret after making the switch. 

 

What would you consider bare bones?  Have been in suites on other lines, but not Celebrity.  

[Sam.Seattle]

1 hour ago, Redtravel said:

Key West closed to all large ships.  Likely that you won’t go there on any Celebrity ship.  

Old outdated news....  Key West is open.  Key West, Florida Cruise Ship Schedule 2022 (crew-center.com)

 

[Sam.Seattle]

1 hour ago, floridatravelersforlife said:

Reflection hands down

Per you signature it looks like you have not been on the Apex or any ship since 2008?  I was skeptical of the Apex, but after trying her out, found her to be amazing.

[terrydtx]

31 minutes ago, mafig said:

 

What would you consider bare bones?  Have been in suites on other lines, but not Celebrity.  

Good question, we book  "Bare Bones" Sky Suites and we get almost all of the Suites amenities and benefits of the Retreat that includes:

 

1) A personal Butler

2) Premium drinks up to $15

3) Streaming WiFi

4) Suites only Luminae for all meals except lunch on port days

5) Exclusive Retreat or Michaels Club lounge with full service bar and bar tender at no charge

6)VIP check in and VIP waiting lounge at home ports that have them

7)Priority Embarkation and tendering

8)priority disembarkation

9)enhanced room service menu that includes gourmet breakfast items like Crab Benedict

10) Afternoon canapes and appetizers in your suite cabin

11) Exclusive Retreat Sun deck on E Class and M & S class Revolutionized ships

12)Reserved Theater seating on Evening Chic nights

13)Full time concierge services to book dinners and shore excursions

14)OBC of $300 to $600pp depending on cruise length

 

What of the above listed included Sky Suite benefits and amenities makes a Sky Suite "Bare Bones?" About the only things a Sky Suite doesn't get that the Royal and higher suites get other than larger 1 bedroom cabins are the 2 bottle sprits set up and unlimited specialty dinning.

 

 

Edited June 18, 2022 by terrydtx

[mafig]

That sounds like a pretty nice cruise experience.  

[terrydtx]

2 hours ago, Redtravel said:

Key West closed to all large ships.  Likely that you won’t go there on any Celebrity ship.  

In 2021 the Florida legislature passed a bill that overturned the Key West local ordinance that banned cruise ships.

[Swampbabe]

Having actually sailed on both, Apex all day.

[Luvcrusn]

Ref!lection without hesitation! They have real balconies not the IV fake ones.

[Cruise a holic]

6 hours ago, crusinthrough said:

 I found ridiculously low single fares on both in Dec.  

 

The Apex is a AQ stateroom.  For $200 more I can get a S1 suite (deck 12 not corner) on the Reflection.  A Caribbean itinerary on both and I've been to all islands except Key West, which is on Apex's itinerary.  Airfare and pre hotel are comparable.  I've been on Equinox and Edge but not the Reflection or Apex.  I prefer bar options  on S Class but like the new stateroom decor and technology on the E Class.  

 

The Reflection not being Revolutionized is giving me pause.     

 

 

 

 

We were on the Reflection past March.  Yes, it does need to be revolutionized- It is still a great ship.  Love the Lawn Club grill and other sp restaurants.  Suite perks very good-   It really depends on your budget!  Cannot go wrong with either. However, I would book a regular well located balcony or Concierge class stateroom with unlimited dining at specialty restaurants- not a fan of blu or AQ "perks"

 

However, the Apex is just beautiful!  New, modern and very inviting.  We will be on her in Dec and January. Better suite perks as the lounge, luminae and suite deck are wonderful.  We were on the Edge previously and it was fabulous.  Heard the Apex is even more spectacular.  Try both someday.

Edited June 18, 2022 by Cruise a holic

[TeeRick]

Kind of mixing up the question by different categories of cabins.

If it was suite vs. suite, I personally would choose APEX for the much better Retreat experience.

For AQ (APEX) vs Sky Suite (Reflection), I definitely would choose Reflection.  The suite experience will always be better than the AQ experience IMO.

[Miaminice]

Apex… currently on Apex for the 3rd time in AQ and love it.

We have been in a Sky Suite on Reflection but would prefer AQ on Apex.

Even a regular stateroom… the 4 MDRs are fabulous.

Edited June 18, 2022 by Miaminice

[Jeremiah1212]

2 hours ago, mafig said:

 

What would you consider bare bones?  Have been in suites on other lines, but not Celebrity.  

 

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

Good question, we book  "Bare Bones" Sky Suites and we get almost all of the Suites amenities and benefits of the Retreat that includes:

 

1) A personal Butler

2) Premium drinks up to $15

3) Streaming WiFi

4) Suites only Luminae for all meals except lunch on port days

5) Exclusive Retreat or Michaels Club lounge with full service bar and bar tender at no charge

6)VIP check in and VIP waiting lounge at home ports that have them

7)Priority Embarkation and tendering

8)priority disembarkation

9)enhanced room service menu that includes gourmet breakfast items like Crab Benedict

10) Afternoon canapes and appetizers in your suite cabin

11) Exclusive Retreat Sun deck on E Class and M & S class Revolutionized ships

12)Reserved Theater seating on Evening Chic nights

13)Full time concierge services to book dinners and shore excursions

14)OBC of $300 to $600pp depending on cruise length

 

What of the above listed included Sky Suite benefits and amenities makes a Sky Suite "Bare Bones?" About the only things a Sky Suite doesn't get that the Royal and higher suites get other than larger 1 bedroom cabins are the 2 bottle sprits set up and unlimited specialty dinning.

 

 

 

A nice copy/paste of generic Retreat inclusions but not quite. You can get items 2, 3, 7,  9, 10, and 14 depending how you book AQ. Reflection has no Retreat Sundeck. Swap Luminae for Blu. If Reflection is anywhere but Terminal 25 in FLL, the 'VIP check in' area is a roped off area with chairs that you are in maybe 3 minutes. We also saw our PRH 3 times in 7 days on Reflection but that issue obviously isn't ship-specific. You're really getting slightly more space, Michael's Club that kind of looks like a funeral home and Luminae. I know I'm in the minority but I much prefer the design and look of E class over S class at this point. 

 

 

[OysterD]

Reflection should have had at least a bit of a refresh by December, it's scheduled for a 2 week dry dock in October I believe. Or at least there are no cruises scheduled for 2 weeks. 

 

With the S1 suite on Reflection at the moment, you're paying more for the other perks which come with it rather than the cabin itself. S1 is pretty much identical to other veranda cabins on the ship, but they're a little bit wider. Is that itself worth more money, I'd say definitely not, but we all have our own priorities. 

 

The list provided by terrydtx seems like a lot, but realistically some of them are just fluff and others might not matter to you.

 

Personally I don't care about reserved theatre seating once a week, neither do I care about priority boarding or disembarkation. Afternoon canapés in your cabin, you get that in AQ class anyway. I would probably not use the services of a butler, nor would I need a concierge to book me a place in a restaurant (what's the difference between talking to the concierge and talking direct to the restaurant lol). 

 

On the Reflection, Michael's lounge is still just that, yes its for suite passengers only but some people dont particularly like it. The ship also doesn't have a retreat sundeck. When it comes to Luminae, that again comes down to personal taste. I've read and seen a lot of people's reviews where they prefer Blu over Luminae. 

 

I'm booked in AQ on Reflection in September. There was a considerable price difference between AQ and an S1 suite which in our mind definitely wasn't worth it. We would rather save the money, stay in AQ and pay for a few specialty restaurant nights, the extra 15/day for premium drinks and there would still be money left over to pay for all our shore excursions!

 

If the itinerary of both cruises that are being considered are roughly similar and don't really factor into the decision, I would probably book AQ on Apex. I've not sailed on it yet but definitely want to (or Beyond). 

 

Don't forget most balconies on deck 12 on Reflection have a large overhang, again, personal preference. 

 

I'm sure you'll love whichever you go with though!

[crusinthrough]

Thank you for all the replies.  I was expecting more votes for Apex because it's newer but replies are fairly equal between the two.  

 

I know it's hard to compare two different stateroom categories.  The AQ class price  is the same on both ships with the Elevate package.  However, for some reason a suite on the Reflection was a small upgrade, which made the decision harder.  

 

I'll probably go with Reflection since she departs on a Sunday.  I can save a vacation day with a pre cruise stay on a Sat vs a Friday.  

[TeeRick]

You cannot go wrong choosing a sky suite on Reflection.  Enjoy!

[PTCruizer]

Done both recently. AQ on Apex and SS on Reflection.  Loved Apex but the ability to hang out in Michaels and eat in Luminae make it an easy choice for us. Reflection. 

[terrydtx]

49 minutes ago, crusinthrough said:

Thank you for all the replies.  I was expecting more votes for Apex because it's newer but replies are fairly equal between the two.  

 

I know it's hard to compare two different stateroom categories.  The AQ class price  is the same on both ships with the Elevate package.  However, for some reason a suite on the Reflection was a small upgrade, which made the decision harder.  

 

I'll probably go with Reflection since she departs on a Sunday.  I can save a vacation day with a pre cruise stay on a Sat vs a Friday.  

We booked our August 5th Sky Suite on the Reflection when Celebrity had a great sale promo back in January. We are on the 12th deck midship and out cost was only $4108pp for 10 days and that was the all included rate at that time. Today that same cabin costs about $1400pp more because they are almost sold out.

 

At the time we booked, the S1 Sky Suite was only $300pp more than  Aqua Class on the 12th deck with the Indulge package added.  I have to admit we got a great deal back in January.

Edited June 18, 2022 by terrydtx

[keesar]

8 hours ago, crusinthrough said:

 I found ridiculously low single fares on both in Dec.  

 

The Apex is a AQ stateroom.  For $200 more I can get a S1 suite (deck 12 not corner) on the Reflection.  A Caribbean itinerary on both and I've been to all islands except Key West, which is on Apex's itinerary.  Airfare and pre hotel are comparable.  I've been on Equinox and Edge but not the Reflection or Apex.  I prefer bar options  on S Class but like the new stateroom decor and technology on the E Class.  

 

The Reflection not being Revolutionized is giving me pause.     

 

 

 

 

Don't allow not being renovated give you pause.  With the price difference, it is a no brainer.  Reflection would be my choice.  It would even be my choice if sailing AQ.