pete_coach

Hi All,

 

Thank-you for the quickly and helpful replies. The suggestion of research is a good one and I have already begun.

 

What would be helpful is to know what they are currently carrying beyond Citizen-- any thoughts there?

 

Thank-you all.

 

PK

They carry numerous very high end brands (Rolex, TAG, Breitling etc) and some Citizen and then the no name sets that have a watch earrings or watch and pen or watch and necklace. 1/2 way through the cruise they go on 1/2 price sale and on the last sea day they go on sale for about $20.

Also are apple watches available?

 

Thanks,

 

PK

Yes, at the Apple Store on board. The pries are the same as at home with the exception of no tax.

We have been on 4 S Class ships and got off the Reflection a week ago.

Reflection is a bit different than the others in that the Sky Observation lounge is smaller because of the suites they put on the port side. It is also the most underused lounge onboard even though it is a wonderful spot.

I disagree with the Alcoves. I do not feel they are worth the exorbitant price. We have never had a problem getting loungers on the ship. There are so many and in so many places on the ship.

We found the food and service very good in the MDR. While food and service are very subjective, it is all a matter of what your expectations are. For sure the MDR is not a Michelin star restaurant (and neither is any eating establishment on any ship) but, it beats cooking, serving and cleaning up by yourself :). The Ocieanview buffet always had a variety of foods and was, in our opinion, always fulfilling and good. You could get anything from sandwiches to salads to soups to pasts to curries to roasts etc. A very good selection. The only thing was if you wanted a burger or hot dog and fries, the only place to get that was at the Mast bar and it was quite crowded on sea days.

Almost every cruise has different "programs". The entertainment can change, not so much the production shows but the individual entertainers, comedians or singers. The lectures can be different as well, depending on the itinerary of the ship.

The cabins are all the same.....balcony cabins are all the same regardless of deck, oceanviews are the same, insides are the same regardless of location. Suites are different depending on locations.

The ship is just great. Lots of bars and lounges, lots of things to do, if you wish to take advantage of them and, the casino is there to take your hard earned money. If you wish to pick up a few items shopping, they have "sales" . Near the end of the cruise they have 50 or more % off many things in the shops form deck 4 except for the high end shops on deck 5. While they have "sales" on deck 5 shops too, it behooves you to be really aware of the prices.

On our recent cruise we did not have a brunch on the last sea day and it was very disappointing as they were always very good.

All in all, it is a vacation, you unpack once and see several Caribbean Islands and pack up and go home 7 (or so) days later. Things are good when you can do that.

Everybody has complaints or criticisms but really, it is a vacation and you are catered to. You can spend as much as you want (additional costs for specialty restaurants) but you do not have to.

You will have a very good time onboard.

So, now you can get sushi at the Oceanview buffet, at Qsine and now Bistro On 5 too? Where are they going to serve crepes?

Is sushi in such demand that one ship has 3 venues for it?

Me, well, once in a while sushi is OK but to have 3 spots to get it seems overkill....and 15 bucks each person for it seems a bit steep.

Just got off Reflection last week and Bistro on 5 was still as it was...good crepes.

I just got off the Reflection and was not pleased with the World Class bar, its offerings and in particular, the bartenders (one in particular). It is not as good as the Molecular bar but, having said that, World Class is brand new and the Molecular Bar had many years to become what it was.

Here is a thread that has several posts about the World Class Bar.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=49108014#post49108014

This might be a step forward....to date, most of the supplies, other than fresh vegetables, milk, ... has been shipped to the ship by Celebrity...most of the meats and fish are frozen.

 

I'm hopeful....

The statement is sourcing from local vendors, not procuring from local producers of the products.

Vendors are the distributors or stores. Sourcing is the farm or producer where the product comes from. Salmon was used in the OP post and really, there are no local producers or fisheries for Salmon in the Miami area :)

Marketing...playing with words but in reality, they are and have been doing this all the time anyway.

It seems to me that cruise lines always get their food from "local" vendors. They get food at the major embarkation ports and even at ports that they visit. I have seen them load food products at ports everywhere in the Caribbean and in Europe.

This is like a burger chain stating that they only serve hormone free beef in their burgers (in Canada)....thing is that all beef sold to the public must be hormone free anyway.

This is just a marketing ploy at it's best.

With today's storm in Ottaw, talking cruises is a great way to take one's mind off snowblowing!

 

While the Internet is sluggish, it will do the job. As others have said, try to read and write off line and only connect to send and receive. If you have only a few family members to keep in touch with, open a new account with a different service and only open that account. You'll avoid the great volume of other mail that takes time to download.

 

Also take advantage of free or cheap Internet at all of the ports of call. We will usually download our "other" mail then, and also take advantage of the higher speed to Facebook or Skype the family back home.

 

Enjoy your first cruise!

I think you need to read my Post #5. The internet is fast and reliable now. Logging on is quicker and easier and seeds are consistent. We did not try Facetime but everything else was working just like home. Videos came in good with very little buffering.

I am not sure where you read others saying things but Celebrity has rolled out hi speed internet on it's ships (some are still not reconfigured but are undergoing it).

Yeah as for the Ottawa comment, we were in plus 28 C and 50cms of surf last week and now in minus 20 C and 50cms of snow LOL.

OMG...another dress code posting.

Are people that vain that they need to dress up for dinner? Geez, this is getting old. Celebrity is getting with the times, why can people not get with the times.

Fact is, you can wear what you want....any time you want. If you want Tux and long gowns, go for it. Why does someone have to dictate what you wear? Be a grown up and wear what you choose.

I can not get over why some folks are so enraged by what I choose to wear. Does my choice in clothing somehow make you less than what you are? Or take away from your sense of dignity?

It was only one or two nights of an entire cruise to begin with anyway...were you clothing police disgusted at the dress of others in the non formal nights?

The true luxury lines Azamara, Seaborn, Oceana, Regent, Silverseas, Crystal, have enforced dress codes for dinner. Try them.

I was on the same cruise and also did not enjoy the World Class Bar. I thought the bartenders were not interested in working there and it really showed. They were abrupt to me and others sitting there and seemed disturbed having to answer questions about the drinks. the did not have equipment to make some drinks and did not have ingredients to make others. Rather than blanking out or striking them off the menu they were gruff in telling folks that they could not have those drinks. By far, the unfriendliest servers on the boat.

We went twice (3 couples) and never went back.

If it requires 2 long posts to justify and make excuses for the the bartenders attitude, then perhaps they have other problems and should move on.

Sorry, I have been on 4 Celebrity cruises now and miss the Molecular Bar and the "flair" bartenders that served those drinks..

I was just on the 6 Feb sailing (Super Bowl at Sea).

I purchased the unlimited internet package ($149 I think) and it was great. It was fast and only once did we have an outage but it also affected the ship computers too. They fixed it after a couple hours.

The logon was quick and did not take the 5 minutes it used to. You get a temporary username and password and away you go.

In my opinion, it is now worth paying for.

http://www.celebritycruises.com/onboard-celebrity/internet-packages

We were on Reflection the week before this review..... Loved it great week. Our review is on here somewhere.

 

The thing I wanted to address arethe comments regarding scooters.

First my DH uses one, he does not consider himself entitled to skip to the head of any line, at any time. That said he also doesn't feel he should wait while people cut in front if him as if he doesn't exist because he requires assistance. Although I must say that on our trip most people were very considerate and payed attention to who was in line first. One lady even said to another group of passengers waiting for an elevator that my DH was there first, when they crowded on to it ahead of him.

He has never intentionally hit anyone, although there have been close calls when someone suddenly stops or changes direction in front of him........ Remember he cannot dodge, or swerve out of the way one a dime like we on two legs can.

 

I'm sorry if I sound like I'm preaching, this scooter business is new to us, and it is certainly an awakening to see how differently people look and behave around you.

I had a similar experience with a relative at Disney World who needed one for a few months after surgery. By that point, he was a pro at maneuvering the scooter to avoid hitting people, but it was amazing to see how many times someone just stepped right in front of him, even in uncrowded conditions. These scooters are pretty nimble, but you can't stop on a dime. If someone is new to using one, I can see it being a little unwieldy, especially on a rocking ship. Anyone using one is entitled to respect and consideration for their mobility issue, including providing appropriate personal space.

Please understand that in my comments I was making an observation.

As I said in the beginning of my diatribe, I apologized for mentioning this and did not want to offend anyone but, it was a valid observation and actually happened to me.

I am very conscious of and considerate of folks with mobility issues. I appreciate the circumstances of requiring mobility assistance as I needed it after cancer surgery but my point was these individuals that I encountered at the time seemed rather entitled and very unapologetic of their actions.

I will not go as far as saying that a person with mobility issues is entitled to respect (dictionary definition of entitlement: "the feeling or belief that you deserve to be given something (such as special privileges)") but certainly for considerations.

It was just an observation and I thought I should share my experience.

One thing to add to the comments I had, for those that like to use the internet, the unlimited package was great. The speed was as good as your home. We were even able to Facetime.

It is a huge improvement over the past internet. You only had to log on once a day unless you actually logged off s opposed to the old way where log on was needed each time you used it and it took forever to log on, wasting your minutes.

Comments on a few of the posts.

 

No complaints about service. I strongly disagree that service has suffered since gratuities are added to the bill. I always tip more.

 

I told the Maitre'D exactly what I wrote. He thanked me and walked away.

 

The number of passengers has nothing to do with entrée selection, meat quality and quality of appetizers, soups, salads and deserts which are all prepared in bulk in advance. But cruise lines love to hear people accept this as a reason for inferior quality.

 

I never compare food quality to 5* or any star restaurants. If your meal on a Modern Luxury vacation is not as good as a local shopping center restaurant, something is wrong.

 

Celebrity advertises Modern Luxury. Nowhere in their literature do I see a statement that says "You cannot expect really good food in the MDR because we have too many people to serve".

 

Addition of Luminae is an admission of decline in quality in MDR. People are certainly not going to pay $3500 per person or more for the food now served in the MDR!

 

Do we really need to set our expectation low so we are not disappointed? If everyone thought like that we would still be living in caves!

 

My remarks are not frivolous! This site is named CRUISE CRITIC not CRUISE LOVEFEST!

As you can tell, the quality of food is very subjective ad while some , like you seem disappointed, others, like me were quite OK with it. Some do not need to compare or put a tag on it. Modern Luxury is an overall tag Celebrity puts on the cruise and it's ships. While the food is a small part of that descriptive tag, it is far from THE only part of the definition. It is the ship, the style, the service, the decor, the amenities etc as well as the food.

"Do we really need to set our expectation low so we are not disappointed?" No, perhaps some have "higher expectations" than really are offered? Perhaps expectations are over-inflated?

As for your Cruise Critic comment, certainly it is not a Cruise LoveFest site but it is a site for discussion and passing of information and even debate. Just because they have differing opinions than you does not mean they are wrong. No one accused you having frivolous opinions, that is only your belief of the comments, discussions and opinions of others because they may disagree with you.

Good review.

We were on the same cruise.

We ate at the MDR every night. In our (10 of us and the surrounding people) the food was very good. A point made by me and others of the food being subjective is true and we thought it was good.

The lunches at the Oceanview was equally good in our opinion. There was significant variety ranging from ethnic cuisine (really enjoyed the Indian curry's and Mexican fare) to roast turkeys and hams and beef. Lots of salads and fruits were always available. Of course the deserts were very good. One thing I did not like was that you could not get a burger or hot dog and fries. They were only available at the Mast snack bar. Lots of folks went here to get their burgers and fries and brought them back to Oceanview. Probably because there are so few tables and chairs at the Mast.

I totally agree with the World Class Bar comments....we went once to a expensive drink that was well so so at best and a very un-enthusiastic bar staff. The only place on the ship that staff seemed uninterested.

The shows were quite good and the last evenings Comedian was hilarious.

I have always complained about the use of, or lack of use of the Sky Lounge. What a great venue. If it opens at all it is rather late at night while it should be open from 6 PM onward.

We have been on a number of Celebrity S Class cruises and enjoyed this itinerary, the ship and, it's amenities just fine.

One complaint, if any is some of the passengers seem to be very entitled. We make noise about young people but really, there are some very entitled "older" folks too. Butting in line, forcing themselves in front to get an elevator, stepping up to the bar and calling for a drink while others are waiting too and, sorry to say this (and I truly apologize but I never experiences this before) but there are some folks with walkers and carts that seem to think they have the right of way regardless where they are. I, and some of my travel mates, were bumped into by theses "drivers". We all stand in line for our Oceanview food and just because you have a cart or walker does not mean you can bump my legs, butt in and get your stuff. Again, I apologize for saying that but I was really quite annoyed at the number of times it happened. If we are older, we should set an example and not behave as bad or worse than the young people you are complaining about.

Just got back from Reflection and MDR food was very disappointing. Entré selection in particular was the worst I have ever experienced. They basically served all the best selections on lobster night. I guess they thought that's all I would remember. I really do not get excited about eating a little piece of fish. Forget Italian food on a ship. I live in South Jersey and I literally have over 50 good Italian restaurants within a 10 mile drive, and that doesn't include Philadelphia Little Italy. I really enjoy baked onion soup but only when it actually has onions in it. I had braised beef ribs one night and gave up after trying to chew one. Salads, soups and deserts were nothing special. Except for lobster night ,I did not have one meal I would go back for to any restaurant. I told the Maitre'D and he just walked away. VERY VERY DISAPPOINTING!

We just got off the Reflection. our group of 10 sat in the MDR at a large table and we thought the food was very good. I also live in a city that has a tremendous amount of very good Italian (as well as other) restaurants. We do not go to them every night though. We go occasionally or on special occasions as I am sue the OP does as well. We certainly do not eat as well as we were fed on Reflection every night at home either, as I am sure the OP doesn't either. We thought the selection was varied and offered a good choice every night. There were no complaints from us and we heard no complaints from others.

Sometimes I wonder what some folks expect from the MDR. If you wanted that "special" meal, it is offered at one of the specialty restaurants.

Anyway, I find complaints about the food, especially when you have choices not only of the apps and entrees as well as choice of places to eat, are frivolous.

I was just on Reflection. The alcoves were mostly empty. It may have something t do with the $200 (approx) day cost. There are lost of places to relax onboard and paying an exorbitant amount seems a bit much.

You need to get onto My Celebrity and request them.

I asked for them 2 weeks before sail date and they never came so we had to print them from the documents booklet.

If I remember correctly, once you have done the check in, on the way to the ship, there are some shops and one of them sells wine.

We are leaving Saturday on Reflection cabin 7292. It is a angled aft cabin.

We have stayed on an angled balcony cabin before and found the balcony much bigger and really liked that. It was facing forward and we found that it was quite windy all the time.

As for seeing into other cabins, well, we don't really care and never looked so I cannot tell you if you can see into other cabins or not.

We have 5 couples on this cruise and we are all on the hump adjoining cabins....we cannot wait to open the partitions and have one big huge balcony... :)

Curious if it really matters what side of ship to be on when entering ports along the Pacific Coast?

 

Also on sea days is there much to see on the starboard side? I realize going north there is only water on the port side :D

 

Thank you!

Depends what ports. Coming into Vancouver it makes no difference, you will probably be on the top deck outside anyway but, if not, going into Vancouver you get to see one side and going out, you see the other.

Same as going up the coast, if you have the sea side on the way up, you will have the land side on the way back down.

Sailing up the inside passage you will probably be on deck as well but if not, you will see the mainland or Vancouver Island on the way up and the opposite on the way back down.

So, we are on the Reflection for the Super Bowl and I get that the game will be shown in the theater (minus the commercials :(). Great but, will it also be shown elsewhere?

Are there any TV's out on the deck? The pool area or even in the cabins? Or, if you ant to see the game you need to stay down in the dark theater?

From time to time the question of distribution of gratuities comes up so I did some research on previous threads and found the following:

 

Gratuity of 12.50 per day

 

Waiters : 3.65

Asst Waiters 2.10

Dining Rm Management 1.00

Stateroom 3.50 extra 50 cents for concierge and Aqua

Other service personnel 1.25

 

Total 12.50

 

We were on the Century in December 2014 and were informed by our MDR waiters that their sole income is determined by the amount of gratuities paid. The more tables they look after the more gratuities get paid. One can take that comment at face value or whatever.

 

It will be interesting now that rumours are abound that select diners don't have to prepay gratuities how many customers will remove gratuities in toto

Good information but I think you may have posted it in the wrong thread :)

Thanks so much

 

The Eclipse has that bar on the deck (same position) as the Sunset bar..and the little symbols have that crescent par shape still in palce yet not labelled on the Reflection.

 

Was wondering whether it was a labeling oversight---

Just like deck plans will have a line indicating a wall when its actually an open hall intersection....sometimes the web site plans are not accurate (even cabin door positions have been off from drawings) It happens.

 

With the Eclipse sailing--it was jammed with CCers and lots of other pax...

Hard to get a drink and the bartenders at the Sunset bar were super cranky/rude. ( :(The only rude/poor service of the entire cruise)

 

Thanks for the info

The Sunset Bar is a zoo on departure. No getting around it. Everyone want to be at the top deck watching the ship leave port.

Thanks for all the comments but still, the question is when at St Maarten, "pick up is 10 AM island time...is that 09:00 or 11:00 or actually just 10? "