nekzaadvakil

such a beautiful ship! I also love sea days

Yup, we've stopped looking at cruises that don't have atleast 2 sea days. Excellent time to relax, unwind and enjoy the sea and the ship. Without these sea days, on port intensive cruises, we will need a vacation from recuperate AFTER our cruise ;)

Very interesting discussion. From my perspective, a 10/11N itinerary is ideal from a working professional's perspective. Typically, we can get up to 2 weeks off from work or 15 days at one go. Keep 1 day for travel and a couple of days in the port you're leaving from, leaves one with 10-11 days for a cruise.

A 14N cruise means one needs to take 17-18 days off from work at one go which is very difficult for a working professional. Once I retire ( 7,539 days to go), i definitely will look at doing longer cruises.

Did I also mention how BEAUTIFUL the ship is? I loved some of the art that was there all around the ship!

This one was one of my favorites. I think it was sold out. I lost my golden retriever exactly on this date 6 years ago (4th June 2011) and this picture really struck a chord.

More pictures of the ship, beautiful on the inside and outside.

Something that I loved on this ship was that the Oceanview cafe had 1 counter which had a Chef's daily special. Alot of cruisers seemed to love it since that counter was always crowded. I really enjoyed the huge selection of burgers that was there one day.

We spent the rest of the sea day in the jacuzzis, playing table tennis, eating, in the arcade (which was really good fun), lazing around, eating, in the casino, and taking part in the multiple activities which the Activities managers hosted. Yet another amazing day at sea.

Saturday, 3rd June 2017: Sea Day

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I LOVE Sea days. Don't get me wrong, I also love packed itineraries, going out and seeing new places, but sea days are so soooo relaxing! It also gives me the opportunity to really enjoy the views of the ocean, the sound of the ocean, and most importantly our gorgeous ship.

And that's exactly what we did. We had been on the Silhouette thrice before on port intensive itineraries and hadn't seen everything on that ship! We were determined to not let that happen on the Reflection. Thanks to fellow cruisers on cruise critic, we also picked up tips on where to go, which would have been easily skipped if we were not looking for it (eg the amazing sunset bar)

DW and I are very competitive and we always get a few dozen games of table tennis in on every cruise. We played alot of Table tennis between us and with others. The final score over multiple days was 12-12. We were happy to leave the ship with each of us winning 12 games each.

You can only enjoy these views on sea days....

We played BINGO which was great fun. We were 1 number away in 3 of the 4 games and yet didn't win anything. Bingo was priced the same as a couple of years ago. I think we paid $59 for a 6 card game ( x 4 games) and since we're Elite members we got a free card to play for the last game.

Exploring the ship in the morning

We were back on the ship after a wonderful day in Barcelona, well half a day, but we really didn't mind since we love being on this ship. Here's a view of the hideaway and the tree in the centre of the ship from our elevator.

For dinner, we decided to eat at the MDR. I usually love Greek food, so I was thrilled to have some Chicken Souvlaki on the menu. However this was one of the only dishes which was disappointing.

The creme brulee was excellent and a nice change from my usual strawberry cheesecake. Our head waiter Allan was quick surprised to see me order something else.

After dinner we headed to the silent disco, which was at a different venue. This time at the Solarium. We really enjoyed ourselves this time round as the music was more to our taste (we love the 80s and 90s music). Our CD Maarten really knows how to get a party started and was in his element. The crowd was having a really good time. We also got a chance to meet up with Maarten and he was very friendly and down to earth. We told him that we remembered him from our cruise 4 years ago on the Silhouette.

After dancing away, we headed to the casino where I played roulette till around 1 AM. I was pretty much the last person out of the casino everyday. And yet I think I walked away from the cruise without any profit or loss. Well maybe a slight loss of $200-300 at the most.

We grabbed some chips at this place called Las Fritas close to the beach.

And some ice cream as well. We love the snickers/mars/twix ice cream bars and really grab them at every opportunity we get when in Europe. These were available in India a few years ago, but not any longer

The beach was beautiful. We grabbed some snacks and drinks and enjoyed our day at the beach. There were a few people offering 15-20 minute foot massages for 10 Euros, so we got one of those, nothing great though.

I can imagine that the rooms from the W hotel must have a gorgeous view of the beach.

After a lazy afternoon, we started to make our way back to the ship.

I'd suggest for you to take 2 oceanview staterooms on Deck 3 if its the same price as 1 balcony room. Its literally double the space and 2 bathrooms. My friends were on Deck 3 recently and they loved it. Deck 3 on S class ships (including the Eclipse) is very close to the central atrium, guest services, the Main Dining Rooms(Deck 3,4), the Theatre (Deck 3,4), the Casino (Deck 4), the shops (Deck 4,5), Celebrity Central (Deck 4) for comedy shows/ Bingo, and the famous Martini Bars (Deck 4). And yet, the rooms were quiet and close to the ocean.

Lots of places to grab food thats included in your cruise fare. Main Dining Rooms, Oceanview cafe, Mast Grill for Burgers on the pool deck, pastries at Cafe al Bacio to name a few. However, the Oceanview cafe is literally on all the time and has plenty to offer. Also Room service is included and one can order food from the TV screen in the stateroom.

We're big fans of Royal Caribbean and their modern big ships. We managed to cruise on the Allure only last year and she quickly became our favorite ship. However, Celebrity's S class ships are more modern and it feels more luxurious. We just sailed on the Celebrity Reflection and I've got to say, that we're definitely sliding towards Celebrity again.

Loving most the photos, but why do you turn the camera sideways? Does not help the artistic view....hard to look at some of them...:confused:

Loving your review, nice pictures (not the sideways ones though, they make me feel dizzy flipping my head back and forth.)

Just some yoga exercises for the neck since the review will get long. ;);p

Been on the fantastic Baltic cruise on the Silhouette in 2015. We had no problems using our credit cards at every port. Smaller restaurants will need cash.

I really need a good TA who can give us options without the perks! We're in India and our TA gives us the same rates as we see online.

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Friday, 2nd June 2017

Barcelona Day 2: After a nice heavy breakfast, we headed out again. We knew we had just half the day since we had to be back on board by 4:00-4:30 PM.

We took the transfer from the cruise terminal to Las Ramblas. It was 5 Euros per person for the return trip. From Las Ramblas we walked along the sea front towards the beach. We had done the segway tour 7 years ago, so we knew our way around and the walk was amazing. I'll let the pictures do the talking...

After spending some time at Las Ramblas, we walked towards the Columbus Monument and straight up towards the Maremagnum centre for which you have to cross a small foot bridge over the river. This is a very unique experience as the bridge folds up to allow boats from one side to another.

After some retail therapy, we decided to head back to the ship to grab a quick bite, before heading out again. Or so we thought. After dropping off our shopping bags in our stateroom, we headed up to the Oceanview cafe for a quick dinner. We decided to sit in the open air area right at the back of the ship and the view from our table was spectacular.

The sunset allowed us to see the city switching on her lights and glowing in the dark. Barcelona is really beautiful. We had a really long dinner and decided against going out again to the W hotel, something to do the next time we're in Barcelona.

Celebrity had also arranged a special flamenco dance troupe to perform on the ship and they were really really good. As you can see, there was a pretty large crowd on the pool deck.

We really enjoyed our first day in Barcelona, cramming in alot of stuff. More to come on Day 2!

That was an excellent Review! We were on the same cruise and we had a fabulous time as well. 4 cruises on Celebrity (S class ships) have finally convinced us that we prefer Celebrity over Royal Caribbean and we will probably be cruising on Celebrity henceforth.

We can't wait to get back on Celebrity and try out the Eclipse/ Equinox or Solstice next.

Thanks again for the review.

Cheers!

Nick

After stuffing my face with those amazing Churros, we got into a cab and headed to Park Guell, which was a short 10 minute drive away. Having seen many pictures of this place, we were really looking forward to visiting this park. We had also been to some amazing parks in the region (our favorite is yet Gorky Park in Moscow) so we were keen to see how this stacked up.

As you can see from the pictures, the park is HUGE! One can climb up and get some really good views of the city. We could even see our ship and the W hotel in the distance.

We really enjoyed our time at Park Guell and once we were done, we took a cab back to Las Ramblas. We spent some more time there, buying some souvenirs. Time really flew by and the walk on Las Ramblas in the early evening was much better than in the morning, since it was cooler.

I must admit, that when we passed by La Sagrada Familia way back in 2010, we really were not too impressed and wondered why there was so much hype about it. However, this time, when we got a closer look, we really appreciated how beautiful it is. And how much time and effort must have gone into making it.

The line at the entrance was long, but moved quickly. Quick but thorough security check and it was very organized, someone at the entrance of the line was checking that your entry time mentioned on the confirmation was correct.

The carvings on the exterior were really impressive.

But the real beauty of La Sagrada Familia is on the inside. Here's just one picture of the beautiful coloured glass and white interiors which together looked stunning. This is seriously one of the MUST DO attractions in Barcelona. We were so glad that we had a chance to check this out (primarily since our friends were keen to see it).

After spending some time at La Sagrada Familia, we had around 45 mins to kill before we moved to our next stop - Park Guell. We grabbed some churros and hot chocolate which was excellent just off the street. That hot chocolate really hit the spot. Yum !

Just past the amazing Columbus Monument is what I personally feel, is the the best walking street in all of Europe - Las Ramblas. Amazing hotels, shops on either side of the broad street. Small eateries serving tapas and HUUUGE drinks (1 litre of sangria) along the pathway. Artists drawing portraits of people (as is famous in Montmartre, Paris). And real artists who cover themselves in paint and sit still like statues for hours just adds to the aura of this street.

We spent a considerable time at Las Ramblas. We decided to head to a falafel place called Maoz. We had eaten here in 2010 and then again at Maoz, Amsterdam in 2015. We love this place so we grabbed a quick bite here.

We had pre-booked our tour inside La Sagrada Familia, and since we lost track of time at Las Ramblas, we decided to grab a taxi to the place instead of walking. Cab cost less than 15 Euros for 4 of us passengers. Here's our first view as soon as we reached the place.

Thursday 1st June 2017

Barcelona - Day 1. We were absolutely thrilled to be back to Barcelona after 7 years. In 2010, DW and I started our cruise from Barcelona and we loved this city. We're always in 2 minds whether to start our cruises in Rome or Barcelona, and somehow it always worked out in favour of Rome. Having 2 days in Barcelona on this cruise was one of the main reasons why we chose to join our friends on this cruise.

Since we knew our way around, we planned our 2 days properly. Day 1 - Walk to Las Ramblas and spend some time on the best street in Europe. Then go to La Sagrada Familia (we had only seen this from outside when we were in Barcelona last time). A trip to Park Guell. Onto some shopping at the Maremagnum centre which is at the end of Las Ramblas. We aimed to get back to the ship for some rest and dinnner and then go to the W hotel rooftop bar for a drink at night.

The walk from the ship to Las Ramblas was a short one (although in hindsight, we should have saved up the energy and just taken a cab to Las Ramblas). It was a nice 15-20 minute walk over the bridge from where our ship looked magnificent.

View from the bridge that connects the cruise port to Las Ramblas.

The amazing Columbus Monument that welcomes you at one end of Las Ramblas. I'm not someone particularly fond of art or history or monuments, but this one is really one of my favorites. It really stands tall and the carvings/ statues are amazing. I don't think any pictures do justice to how good this monument is.

Really enjoying your review and pics.We will be sailing the same itinerary on Reflection in September, so we appreciate your posts.:D

Super review! Looking forward to more! We will sail the same itinerary in October, so this is making us anticipate our trip even more.

Thanks guys. A lot more coming up today!

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Wow!!!! You have some of the most amazingly beautiful pics I have ever seen. Thank you for sharing.:cool:

Thank you for those kind words. Encourages us to keep sharing [emoji4]

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Inside cabins are dark - so it's easy to sleep later than you might want. You might want to have a watch with a light on it by the bedside and a small flashlight as well.

On our last cruise (last week on the Reflection) we had an inside stateroom. The bedside phone panel can be turned up, and it glows, so at night you can easily see what time it is.

Without this, you will definitely need a glow clock, else you risk sleeping in way into the day.

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Am enjoying your photo review since we are on the Reflection with the exact itinerary as yours this fall. Loved your Cinque Terre pix especially since we are in Monterosso al Mare 3 nights before heading to Civitavecchia the day prior to sailaway.

 

Thanks!

Thanks! Cinque Terre was really beautiful. 3 days will do justice. We love Italy and can't wait to go back.

This was the first time we were on Celebrity after they changed Formal Night to Chic Night. However we were pleasantly surprised to see ALOT of people dressed quite formally and there was really a lively atmosphere on Deck 3,4 and 5.

On the upper decks closer to the pool, the atmosphere was more informal and relaxed. I noticed this on both the Chic nights, if you were dressed formally and headed up, you would be in the minority, where as if you were dressed informally and on deck 3,4,5 - you may feel out of place.

Again, its a holiday that everyone has paid good money for, so its completely their call on what they want to wear. I think everyone was quite comfortable and everyone was having a good time. Alot of people were taking pictures too. We had some time to spare so DW and I headed to the casino for a bit. We actually managed to convert $20 to $70 in slots!

Since it was Chic Night, we decided to dine in the MDR / Opus Dining Room. Here's a better view of the table we spoke about earlier. It was right next to the window, from where we had some amazing views of the sunset.

The food and the dessert was excellent. Celebrity really offers quality food (and service) in the MDR. I think our sommelier was over worked/ confused. DW asked for a Cosmopolitan and she got us the wrong drink thrice.

After a heavy meal, DW and I headed to the Refelection Theatre to catch the Wedding show which was hosted by CD Maarten and featured 3 couples - newly married, married for 15-20 years and a couple which was married for 30+ years. It was really funny and great fun.

We also decided to check out the silent disco at the sky lounge on Deck 14. Very innovative concept. Everyone is given a pair of headphones, with 3 different channels - each represented with a different colour - blue, green and red. The headphones change colour depending on the channel that you're listening to. So everyone can listen to music of their choice.

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It was fun and after an hour or so, around midnight, we decided to head to bed and catch up on some rest, before our 1st of 2 days in Barcelona.

A short 15 minutes later we reached the Promenade des Anglais, the Uber was only 20 Euros and made sense since there were 4 of us travelling. We then spent the day walking along the promenade and the multiple shops in the by lanes.

We also spent some time on the beach. We bought crisps, drinks, snickers ice cream, and some croissants and had a lazy afternoon. The beach was quite pebbly and certainly wasn't one of the best beaches that we had been to. The weather too was quite overcast. But hey, you're on holiday in the Mediterranean, so we were certainly not complaining.

We also managed a bit of shopping at H&M, Zara and the Tiger store. The tiger store is an amazing store with really innovative knick-knacks. We love this store and we usually always visit it when we come across it. We took an Uber back to the port from where we took the 3:30 PM tender to be back on the ship by 4 PM. It was good since this was the first chic night, and we wanted to relax for a bit before getting ready for our dinner.

After heading back to the ship, DW and I were hungry, so we headed up for a quick snack to the Mast Grill on Deck 15. This has always been one of our favorite places to eat. They do awesome beef, turkey and vegetarian burgers along with hot dogs and freshly made french fries. Since DW is a vegetarian, she really enjoys the vegetarian burgers here, while I get some amazing beef burgers and fries. Perfect way to unwind after a nice day at port.

We decided to catch the evening show at the Reflection Theater. The performer that night was a guy called Kev Orkian. This turned out to be the best show of the entire cruise. He was absolutely hilarious and super talented and had the entire audience in splits. We are not allowed to take pictures/ videos of performances, hence the no-flash picture below.

Of all our cruises so far, he was in the top 3 shows we had seen. Mama Mia on Allure of the Seas (2016), Fred Klett on Celebrity Silhouette (2013) and Kev Orkian on Celebrity Reflection. Do not miss his show.

I tried my luck in the Casino after the show, I think I lost $75 at the roulette table, but managed to play there for a couple of hours. We decided to get to bed by midnight since we had another long day in Nice the next day.

Wednesday, 31st May 2017

Nice was our 2nd port of call and the only port where we would be tendered. We left the ship quite late, around 10:00 -10:30 AM and there was a long queue for the tender boats. I think we waited for at least 20-25 minutes before we got on the tender boat.

After the tender boat dropped us off, we walked around the port area which had some nice eateries and shops. We wanted to go to the Promenade des Anglais and we decided to Uber it. So while we waited for our Uber, we took a quick stroll to check out the sites.

I've done veranda staterooms twice on the Silhouette, and inside rooms on the Silhouette and recently on the Reflection (just got off last week). At first, you will definitely feel the difference. The room feels darker and not as airy as a veranda stateroom.

To answer your question - No, the rest of the room is exactly the same. The bathrooms are the same and sized exactly the same as a normal veranda. We also did the Med cruise on the Reflection last week and we were hardly ever in our cabin. Our friends had a inside stateroom on Deck 3, and they got quite used to it in 2-3 days, although they also said that they would prefer a balcony room the next time round.

I think the Reflection is a beautiful ship, with so much going on outside, that you shouldn't really spend too much time in your cabin anyway. The cruise director Maarten is hilarious, the staff is eager to delight each cruiser, so I'm sure you will have a wonderful experience.

I've posted a couple of pictures of our Accessible inside stateroom on the Reflection in my review below, feel free to check it out.

Cheers!

Nick