First time on Celebrity (Reflection), tips for our first time?

[kaz828]

We are two adults, mid forties and doing our first Celebrity cruise on the Reflection in June. Anything we need to know? 
Anything we for sure should check out or do? 

[billc23]

10 minutes ago, kaz828 said:

We are two adults, mid forties and doing our first Celebrity cruise on the Reflection in June. Anything we need to know? 
Anything we for sure should check out or do? 

Check out the porch for lunch. Really good and only on 2 Celebrity ships.

[m8zenblue]

Definitely be patient, relax and enjoy the cruise !

[redwings1958]

Book the Le Petite Chef ASAP.  On our last X cruise, it was the highlight dinner experience.

[keesar]

13 hours ago, kaz828 said:

We are two adults, mid forties and doing our first Celebrity cruise on the Reflection in June. Anything we need to know? 
Anything we for sure should check out or do? 

If you want to dine in a Specialty Restaurant, I suggest Murano.  Great food and service.  Nice for celebrating a special occasion.  Another option would be the Lawn Club Grill with its outdoor seating.  Check out the menus.

A nice place to relax and to enjoy a drink is the Sky Lounge.  Great views.

[cruisestitch]

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3002524-a-great-first-cruise-on-celebrity-reflection-review-dailies-menus-food-and-cabin-pics-march-2024/

check out my review of our very first Celebrity cruise which also happens to be on Reflection. We really liked it.

If you like dancing, don't miss the silent disco. 

Check out lounges for musical entertainment.

Queen sing-along was marvelous. 

They have Truvia at the buffet and MDR in case that's what you bring with you on a cruise.

You can bring your own soda onboard - whatever you can carry on at embarkation. We stopped by Publix and got some for us. Otherwise, if you don't have a package, it's almost $5 per can. Oh, and apparently they don't have Dr Pepper on board if that's what you like.

Oh, and something we didn't know but if you need beach/pool towels on a port day, they check them out to you by the pool the day of (as in - they write down the cabin number). If we knew that, we'd have grabbed some by the pool the day before when they don't take your cabin number down.

Edited April 28 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Mike981]

Oh you are going to love it, my wife and I had a great trip. It is a great ship.

[buzz031]

Just got off the Reflection a week ago. Don't miss the Elysium show. Enjoy!

[AnnualGuysTrip]

Murano. That is all 😁

[peterde]

4 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3002524-a-great-first-cruise-on-celebrity-reflection-review-dailies-menus-food-and-cabin-pics-march-2024/

check out my review of our very first Celebrity cruise which also happens to be on Reflection. We really liked it.

If you like dancing, don't miss the silent disco. 

Check out lounges for musical entertainment.

Queen sing-along was marvelous. 

They have Truvia at the buffet and MDR in case that's what you bring with you on a cruise.

You can bring your own soda onboard - whatever you can carry on at embarkation. We stopped by Publix and got some for us. Otherwise, if you don't have a package, it's almost $5 per can. Oh, and apparently they don't have Dr Pepper on board if that's what you like.

Oh, and something we didn't know but if you need beach/pool towels on a port day, they check them out to you by the pool the day of (as in - they write down the cabin number). If we knew that, we'd have grabbed some by the pool the day before when they don't take your cabin number down.

Is this something new? I was just on her in January and beach towels on port days were always left in our cabin the night before. Pool towels were always available by the pool, no signing out needed. 

[dcbiker97]

9 minutes ago, peterde said:

Is this something new? I was just on her in January and beach towels on port days were always left in our cabin the night before. Pool towels were always available by the pool, no signing out needed. 

It’s not something Celebrity has ever done. Other lines do. But Celebrity does exactly what you remembered.  

[Itchy&Scratchy]

18 minutes ago, peterde said:

Is this something new? I was just on her in January and beach towels on port days were always left in our cabin the night before. Pool towels were always available by the pool, no signing out needed. 

I wouldn't know if it's something new because it was our first time on Celebrity. Towels were freely available by the pool on sea days, but on a port day we had to check them out if we were going to take them off the ship.

[rrraydon]

On 4/27/2024 at 3:08 PM, kaz828 said:

We are two adults, mid forties and doing our first Celebrity cruise on the Reflection in June. Anything we need to know? 
Anything we for sure should check out or do? 

I leave in 2 weeks for my first cruise on X (Reflection)...super excited!! 😁

[Kteacher]

You will love this ship and the crew! We just finished a B2B and had the best time. A few tips- if a specialty restaurant is showing no availability online before you board check again once onboard, and check the app. We were able to get a Lawn Club Grill dinner reservation this way. Beach towels for port days were always left in our cabin the night before. There are plenty of towels by the pool. Cafe el Bacio is the best spot - they have small sandwiches pastries, and cakes available that are included with any beverage you get there. Try the cajillo or a shakerado 👍. 
Happy sails!

[Saturngrl]

• The Reflection has cloth towels in the public restrooms. 
• You can drop your carry-on bags and pick up your Sea Pass card at your stateroom after boarding.  Your room may not be ready yet, but it's nice that you don't have to wait until your room is ready to do this. 
• Lawn Club Grill is a must! 
• The Martini Bar is a lot of fun. 
• The Sky Lounge has beautiful views. 
• Play Bocce on the Lawn.
• The World Class Bar has amazing crafted cocktails. 
• Expect a quieter vibe than the family cruiselines. 
• Cafe' El Baccio is awesome! 

[PelicanLvr]

If you go to the beach, upon return, head directly to the outdoor showers by the pool or the spa showers to "de-sand".  Keeps the sand out of your stateroom!

[hcat]

take time to read some reviews on Cruise Critic and elsewhere..many U tube videos as well.

 

Enjoy your own discoveries!

[kaz828]

On 4/27/2024 at 3:18 PM, billc23 said:

Check out the porch for lunch. Really good and only on 2 Celebrity ships.

Is that considered a speciality dining?

[kaz828]

18 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3002524-a-great-first-cruise-on-celebrity-reflection-review-dailies-menus-food-and-cabin-pics-march-2024/

check out my review of our very first Celebrity cruise which also happens to be on Reflection. We really liked it.

If you like dancing, don't miss the silent disco. 

Check out lounges for musical entertainment.

Queen sing-along was marvelous. 

They have Truvia at the buffet and MDR in case that's what you bring with you on a cruise.

You can bring your own soda onboard - whatever you can carry on at embarkation. We stopped by Publix and got some for us. Otherwise, if you don't have a package, it's almost $5 per can. Oh, and apparently they don't have Dr Pepper on board if that's what you like.

Oh, and something we didn't know but if you need beach/pool towels on a port day, they check them out to you by the pool the day of (as in - they write down the cabin number). If we knew that, we'd have grabbed some by the pool the day before when they don't take your cabin number down.

Thank you, I noticed in your other post you said you booked with valuetrips for the Hyatt . Have you booked with them before, we are needing a place for June for this cruise. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

19 minutes ago, kaz828 said:

Thank you, I noticed in your other post you said you booked with valuetrips for the Hyatt . Have you booked with them before, we are needing a place for June for this cruise. 

also first time. But I checked on Hyatt's page after I received my confirmations from valuetrips, and both of my reservations for May 31 are there (even though my name is grossly misspelled, lol, like Stephanienienienienie). Many people on cruisecritic vouched for this travel agency on the Florida Departures board (although this travel agent sometimes makes mistakes - hence, double checking on Hyatt's site).

[Kteacher]

1 hour ago, kaz828 said:

Is that considered a speciality dining?

Yes, it’s one of the more popular specialty restaurants onboard.

[helen haywood]

6 hours ago, Kteacher said:

Cafe el Bacio is the best spot - they have small sandwiches pastries, and cakes available that are included with any beverage you get there.

The food at Cafe al Bacio is free whether you have gotten a beverage or not.  You can get it to go as well.

Edited April 29 by helen haywood

[D. B.]

On 4/28/2024 at 1:52 AM, keesar said:

If you want to dine in a Specialty Restaurant, I suggest Murano.  Great food and service.  Nice for celebrating a special occasion.  Another option would be the Lawn Club Grill with its outdoor seating.  Check out the menus.

A nice place to relax and to enjoy a drink is the Sky Lounge.  Great views.

Unfortunately the Forward-facing Sky Lounge on Reflection is not as Nice as the one's on the other 4 Solstice class ships because X walled off 40% of it (the Port side) to have room for more Suites.

   Do Not let that influence your decision to book future cruises on the Solstice or Millenium class ships!

   The Newer Edge class ships Do Not have a Sky Lounge.

  The Lawn Club Grill is one of my Favorite (Specialty) Dining options. 😋

 It is simi unclosed and can be a little windy on sea days when the ship is underway.

   Only 2 Solstice class ships (Reflection and Silhouette) have the Lawn Club grill shielded from most of the  wind while the ship is underway by a forward wall.

 There Is a version of the Lawn Club Grill on the Edge class ships but it is simi open to wind from the forward motion of the ship and they have an Aft wall.

  Le Petite Chef has at least 2 different Menu's so once onboard you can ask about them as they will be different on part of the cruise and not the same every night.

   Some people think it is a kids cartoon but I have done it 12 times and would recommend trying it once. There are 5 different Videos and so far My favorite is the 4 chefs competition. 

 Murano has a Lobster offering that is Prepared right at your table on a trolly with a burner and it is a real production to watch.

 Same with Murano's Crepe desert also done on a burner right at your table!

  Tuscan is at the very back of the ship with wall to wall windows and a view out to sea from the rear of the ship. The 3 meatballs appetizer can fill you up by itself.

 

 

Edited April 30 by D. B.
added content.

[miched]

Don’t miss the ship.

 

Dont be an idiot and get sunburned the first day or any day.   Even in the shade you can get burned from the reflection of the rays 

 

Don’t drink too much on the first day.  It will still be there tomorrow.  
 

Don’t enter the raffles unless you want to be flooded everyday with useless sales papers and phone messages. 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅