Beyond or Reflection?

[ItsADryHumor]

Hi there! DH and I are celebrating our 20th this month, and we’re considering a cruise on Reflection (4 day) or Beyond (6 day) next month. 
 

I know Reflection is older and smaller, but we are usually Carnival people, so…🤣 That said, we’ve been on Edge and loved the ship, but the IV wasn’t for us. The Mister wants to do an inside to sleep in total darkness. 🤷🏻‍♀️

 

I’d love to hear options from anyone who’s sailed either of these recently. 
 

Thanks in advance! 

[zitsky]

18 minutes ago, ItsADryHumor said:

Hi there! DH and I are celebrating our 20th this month, and we’re considering a cruise on Reflection (4 day) or Beyond (6 day) next month. 
 

I know Reflection is older and smaller, but we are usually Carnival people, so…🤣 That said, we’ve been on Edge and loved the ship, but the IV wasn’t for us. The Mister wants to do an inside to sleep in total darkness. 🤷🏻‍♀️

 

I’d love to hear options from anyone who’s sailed either of these recently. 
 

Thanks in advance! 

I was on Beyond in a Sky Suite.  I want a balcony so I won’t do an IV.  It was a good experience.  Good amount of restaurants.  The Retreat and Luminae were good but the Luminae manager ignored us for two weeks until the last day.

[odyssyus]

Just off the Reflection this w/e.  I prefer smaller ships and balconies.  The Reflection is/has both.  Food was great, staff was friendly.  You can't go wrong.  I like Carnival as well, but sometimes I want to get away from the Vegas vibe.

[hcat]

9 hours ago, zitsky said:

I was on Beyond in a Sky Suite.  I want a balcony so I won’t do an IV.  It was a good experience.  Good amount of restaurants.  The Retreat and Luminae were good but the Luminae manager ignored us for two weeks until the last day.

we were pretty much ignored in Luminae as well,  but we only ate a few meals there..not to our liking!

[twins_to_alaska]

Folks... the OP said thinking inside... didn't ask ask about suites.

 

The itinerary doesn't matter?

 

I was on Ascent (basically twin ship of Beyond) Nov 2023 and Reflection Apr 2024. I loved both the ships. Ascent was gorgeous and I liked all the outdoor areas, many with shade. Eden Cafe had free desserts at lunch which rilvaled Cafe al Bacio. Reflection was the nicest of the 3 S class ships I've been on with the extra deck and larger outdoor seating area for the buffet. It also has access for everyone at the front of the ship and plenty of outdoor space.

 

I have trouble getting away for longer vacations so if I had the time I'd definitely do the 6 night on Beyond. You probably get more bang for your buck, especially if you're flying to the port. And it will feel more like a vacation with the extra two nights.

 

I was in a sky suite for Ascent (just 2 day pre-inaugural cruise to Nassau - I was on it FOR the ship and to try out the suite areas) and in a concierge huge slanted off the hump balcony for Reflection (3 night to Key West/Bimini).

 

I've got another cruise booked in a slanted off the hump concierge on Reflection for Nov to go to Coco Cay, which I like and have been to twice with RC.

 

Hope you have a great Anniversary whichever you pick.

Edited August 4 by twins_to_alaska

[twins_to_alaska]

There have been other threads on the comparison... here are a few... just google "reflection vs beyond"

 

[zitsky]

19 minutes ago, twins_to_alaska said:

Folks... the OP said thinking inside... didn't ask ask about suites.

 

The itinerary doesn't matter?

 

Not sure what you are scolding people about if OP is open to other categories or itineraries?  Have they said only inside cabins?  

[Oville]

14 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Have they said only inside cabins?  

“TheMister wants to do an inside to sleep in total darkness.”

 

Pretty much so.

[Mr. Click]

My vote goes to the Reflection. Even with an inside cabin the Beyond does not have a sky Lounge and I really like the forward looking lounge.  Take the inside cabin out of the equation and it Reflection hands down. I don't like the whole IV idea, the port hole verandas on the E class ships are tiny with a limited view and the SVs are hard to find and pricey when you can find them.   Been on both E Class ships are on the bottom of my liist now.

 

[Zoedokey]

12 hours ago, odyssyus said:

Just off the Reflection this w/e.  I prefer smaller ships and balconies.  The Reflection is/has both.  Food was great, staff was friendly.  You can't go wrong.  I like Carnival as well, but sometimes I want to get away from the Vegas vibe.

Looking at a three night reflection, and worried it will have a weekend party atmosphere like a carnival cruise.  Are short reflection cruises still restful?

[odyssyus]

@Zoedokey We knew going in there would be kids and more party than usual.  Granted when you go the kids will be in school, but 3 days' always have a livelier crowd & kids.

That being said, it was quiet on my balcony and there are places to get away from the crowd.

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, Oville said:

“TheMister wants to do an inside to sleep in total darkness.”

 

Pretty much so.

So if they want inside cabin there isn’t a huge difference.  Having been on several ships I’d vote for Beyond OR S class.  I like any ship with Murano and Le Voyage on Beyond is worth trying once.  
 

Yes Sky Lounge on S class is nice but last time it was so loud there most of the day with the stupid games going on that it was miserable to sit there and try to read.  So I say Edge and S class come out even.

[George C]

16 hours ago, ItsADryHumor said:

Hi there! DH and I are celebrating our 20th this month, and we’re considering a cruise on Reflection (4 day) or Beyond (6 day) next month. 
 

I know Reflection is older and smaller, but we are usually Carnival people, so…🤣 That said, we’ve been on Edge and loved the ship, but the IV wasn’t for us. The Mister wants to do an inside to sleep in total darkness. 🤷🏻‍♀️

 

I’d love to hear options from anyone who’s sailed either of these recently. 
 

Thanks in advance! 

I would definitely do beyond it’s a newer ship with better entertainment. Plus 6 days is way better than 4 . 

[NCTribeFan]

I have well over 60 cruises, many solo, and close to 40 on Carnival.  I'm typically an inside cabin person, partly to keep the cost down as a solo but mostly because I love a nice, dark cabin for sleeping.  I've only sailed X once, a 5-night sailing 2 yrs ago on Summit and loved it.

 

I'm booked on a side-to-side in November.  First is 5 nights on Reflection in a Prime Inside, then moving to Beyond for 6 nights, again in a Deluxe Inside.  I use cruisedeckplans dot com to find actual photos of similar cabins and their Deck Drag function so I can see what's above and below the cabins I'm looking at before I book. I want dark and quiet! 

 

Most recently, I've been sailing HAL.  I love their ships.  The size of the Vista & Signature class ships are just right for me.  If you've sailed often on Carnival, the Spirit-class ships are much more like those HAL ships than they are like the others in Carnival's fleet.  I love that size, and on HAL, you don't have the hideous decor.  I also love the Pinnacle class on HAL, which are their 3 newest ships.  Despite what a lot of HAL loyalists think, these are NOT "big ships" at only 100k gtw.

 

After I disembark Beyond, I'll spend 2 nights, then board HAL's Nieuw Amsterdam for a week. It will be interesting to compare and contrast the two X ships, followed by one of my favorite HAL ships.

[Iamcruzin]

We are booked on Reflection for a short 4 day Key West Bimini Itinerary.  For us it is about itinerary and since we haven't been to either of these places the ship didn't matter. I would not go out of my way to an E class unless we wanted the itinerary because we like a real balcony. However, since you want to book an inside I would book Beyond for the longer itinerary.  

[gordylad]

Reflection....

[Jazzbo]

We love balcony cabins and we love Reflection. But taking balcony cabins out of the equation, I would choose Beyond — 6 days is better than 4!

[NMTraveller]

I would do a 6 day cruise on an S class ship...

[Lena11033]

20 hours ago, ItsADryHumor said:

That said, we’ve been on Edge and loved the ship, but the IV wasn’t for us. The Mister wants to do an inside to sleep in total darkness. 🤷🏻‍♀️

 

If you liked Edge I'd say do Beyond as they are similar but Beyond has a couple more things to it.

[ItsADryHumor]

51 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

I would do a 6 day cruise on an S class ship...

Sadly, that’s not an option. My husband’s work schedule is pretty crazy, so we are stuck with FLL (not a bad place, but our options are limited). 

[Oville]

2 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

I would do a 6 day cruise on an S class ship...

Not the option

[Oville]

Beyond

[Team Stag]

20 hours ago, Zoedokey said:

Looking at a three night reflection, and worried it will have a weekend party atmosphere like a carnival cruise.  Are short reflection cruises still restful?

We did a 3 day cruise in June.  I would say the crowd was "lively" but it was not a full on party cruise like I've seen on Carnival or Norwegian or Virgin.  There were several graduations parties & even one 75 bday party with 60 rooms attached to it.  Things like Silent Disco & Dj events were packed and people really seemed to be enjoying themselves yet it wasn't full of stumbling drunks.  We had no trouble relaxing & recharging during it.

[PhillyFan33579]

On 8/4/2024 at 12:25 PM, Zoedokey said:

Looking at a three night reflection, and worried it will have a weekend party atmosphere like a carnival cruise.  Are short reflection cruises still restful?

I just got off a weekend cruise on Reflection yesterday. The atmosphere on the ship is nothing like a Carnival cruise. I used to cruise on Carnival frequently when I was younger, but I haven’t cruised on Carnival in five years and have no plans to cruise Carnival again. I don’t think there is anything wrong with Carnival, I just stopped enjoying the party atmosphere that was present on every Carnival cruise I took, no matter how short or long the cruise. I find Celebrity ships very relaxing and I enjoy the atmosphere on their ships. People still drink on Celebrity, there are themed parties, pool games during the day (I always enjoy watching volleyball with the officers), but their ships have a different vibe than Carnival ships and in general a lot fewer kids.