schlimazel_traveler

would think it should be the same coverage though as there is no alcohol in an iglu.

 

 

from what I read on these boards, the only way to know for sure is to ask for it on board and see what happens.

 

thanks!

Yes, of course that seems logical! But, alas, not so.

The classic NA covers very little, as far as we could tell.

Which is why it irks me that <21 passengers under the 123 promo get the Classic NA and not the Premium. Price difference is $4/day! And they are "entitled" to the package that costs more than twice what the Premium NA does!

You had the Classic Non-alcohol package?

The iglu is on the Classic alcohol package, but we were told it was not in the Classic NA because that covers premium, not specialty, coffee.

Can I piggyback on this thread?

What about Summit vs NCL Gem?

We're still looking for the best fit for us.

First 2 cruises were on Royal Vision Class ships from Baltimore.

Fun, but food was eh and we didn't meet other interesting passengers.

3rd cruise--Reflection from Miami.

Food was good, passengers seemed more cultured, tasteful, interesting, but the "fun" wasn't there--almost like an afterthought because cultured, tasteful, interesting people wouldn't be into silly games. (And mostly, they aren't.)

Also...really didn't like having to fly to and especially FROM the cruise. Sucked the vacation feeling right out.

And we felt the ship was too large for us. Everything was such a hike! Even though our cabins were quite close to the forward stairs.

So, this leaves us Baltimore or NYC, Grandeur, Gem, or Summit.

The prices for Grandeur are insane and the cruises are longer than we have time for. Plus, we've tried that already.

Thoughts?

Has anyone tried an iglu without espresso? My kids (7 and 8) have the classic non-alcohol on our next cruise. They would enjoy this - but they're not ready for espresso just yet : )

 

would they make the drink minus the coffee?

We were told the iglu was not covered on the classic NA package. You'd need the premium for that. (It's an extra $4/day, so if you bought an iglu on Day 1 and they liked it, you could upgrade to cover future days. The iglu costs more than $4.)

Their package will cover hot chocolate, though.

One of our party had the classic NA package and the covered items were all the hot drinks on the first page. Turns out she didn't care for espresso or cappucino. She stuck with hot chocolate.

PREMIUM coffee is hot drinks like you'd get at Starbucks--cappuccinos, lattes, etc.

SPECIALTY means frappucino-type drinks, and drinks with alcohol.

We were told this on our recent cruise.

The classic NA package covers premium, not specialty, coffee.

The premium NA says it covers both, but obviously not the ones with alcohol.

The classic alcohol package says it covers both but does have a price limit.

I know they had mac & cheese, chicken fingers, and grilled cheese.

I didn't actually see it. The member of our party who orders from the children's menu is 18 and can read! But she's a picky eater.

It was a real menu, on a nice menu card, not a placemat with crayons like on Royal Caribbean. So a little less humiliating for the adult-who-eats-like-a-child.

We were just on the Reflection in a veranda cabin, and while our printed room service menu didn't include eggs other than scrambled or "plain omelet," when we ordered through the interactive TV screen, we were presented with other options. I know we had poached eggs and hash browns and toast.

I see DJ TX (Brad) is still onboard although it looks like there's a different CD since our 1/3 sailing, and I know the activities host, Oz, is on vacation as well.

That guy needs a better hostage negotiator because he is clearly unhappy to be there! He told us his contract had been extended several months somewhat against his will.

On our recent cruise, there really wasn't any bottled juice to speak of. Not sure from your phrasing if that is what you expected. As noted, you can get bottled water at any bar, or at the coffee bar.

Which NA package do you have? If you have the Premium, you can get your coffee, water, soda, etc., plus frozen drinks without alcohol, if that would satisfy your yen for something fun and tropical. I'm not much of a drinker, so I might try virgin cocktails and frozen drinks for the most part, and pay by the drink for the occasional alcohol.

The difference between classic NA and premium is only $4/day.

Upgrading to an alcohol package is closer to $40

... There should be an accurate up-to-date list in every stateroom..... Remember that most people are not on cruise critic and don't know about the partially correct list and where to get it.

We ran into this issue with the classic nonalcohol package. One of our party had that package and did not know until halfway through the cruise that Arizona iced tea was available to her. There may have been other things available to her that she didn't know about as well. It would have been nice to have a list. I know that the stock available on board is going to vary from sailing to sailing, but she didn't even know what she could ask for.

just a reminder of the lovely art

 

I kept bumping into that stupid rose while trying to learn the choreography to "You Can't Stop the Beat." Then I gave up. Just another example of how the spaces used for activities are not really suited to them.

I will say, regarding art, we were pleasantly surprised by the art history lecture. We expected the lecturer to be reading uncomprehendingly from a set of provided PowerPoint slides, the way port shopping lectures have been. However, he was very knowledgeable, it was very informative, and we enjoyed it. It might have been less informative had we known anything whatsoever about art history, but we do not.

Sure:) Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, fruit punch, lemonade etc all available at the buffet. Coffee and tea in the MDR.

I got a soda package because I like diet soft drinks. It was also convenient for being able to grab a drink at any bar I passed.

If calories were not an issue, I would have been quite happy with the surprisingly good fruit punch. Because it's not available everywhere around the ship, a refillable mug would help. (Dispense into a clean glass and pour the glass into your mug.)

The complimentary coffee was more drinkable than I've had on cruise ships before. It is available in the Oceanview and in the Hideaway.

My husband had the soda package and bought 1-2 beers or whiskeys each evening. I think that was a more economical approach than an alcohol package.

I would rather use my calories for ice cream. And I did.

I agree that the venues for trivia, dance lessons, game shows, etc., were not really ideal. They weren't good for the people participating (poor lines of sight, not enough dance floor, etc), and worse for the people not participating (because of the noise and obstructions...particularly the activities that take place in that bit of hallway outside the theater known as the "entertainment court"). I did wish there was more appropriate dedicated space for the people who want to do that sort of thing (me) to do their thing and not be in the way of the people who didn't.

One could get a plate of cheese slices and some bread, or a plate of sushi for a pre-dinner appetizer. I wasn't wowed by the sushi selection, but it was nice that it was available. I have to say, though, that there was a nicer selection of cheeses on the Grandeur of the Seas and I would have liked some crackers that weren't saltines.

Select dining in the MDR worked perfectly for us. We forgot to make reservations a couple of times and never had to wait for more than a couple of minutes.

Ah, not kids then. They may like them. They are kind of health/spa concept.

I am sure someone knows for sure what package the under-21s get. I was told Classic NA but our just-completed cruise was not booked under that promo and we bought our own. (2 soda packages, 1 classic NA)

Here is a picture of the descriptions.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=44916001&postcount=52

Maybe call and check?

I may have been told the wrong information.

Worst case, you can upgrade for $4/ day.

The smoothies are weird, though.

I don't know if they would appeal to kids.

Other than Evian, Pellegrino, Vitamin Water, and Red Bull, it's not clear to me what the Premium NA covers that the Classic alcohol doesn't.

But if you want those specific things, it's worth asking to swap.

It frosts me that under-21 passengers get the Classic NA under the 123 promo, because that really doesn't include much besides soft drinks and regular bottled water. Would it kill them to make it Premium NA?

Premium coffees are lattes and cappucinos, available at the coffee bar on 5 or in the Ocean View or the restaurants.

Specialty coffees are frappucino-type options from the coffee bar.

I'll be interested in the replies. I think we're still looking for "our cruise line."

We liked the beautiful ship, the pleasant crew, the other passengers, and the food on Reflection, but I think we missed the more "action-packed" schedule of onboard activities we found on Royal Caribbean, AND we'd just like a smaller ship. I'm wondering if NCL's smaller ships (Gem/Jewel/etc) would be the ticket. If people who have cruised both can comment, I'd find that really helpful!

I just returned from 1/3 sailing on Reflection with my 18 year old son and would say the same thing about his experience socially. We participated (like you) in a lot of activities as a family but he didn't meet any kids his age at these activities. It seemed there was zero options available to the 17-21 year old demographic. He actually said that he had a good time and was grateful to be with his family but would not be interested in going again(not enough to do).

Our 2 previous cruises (on Royal Caribbean) had a meet-up for the 18- to 20-year-olds on the first night of the cruise. I know my girls would have gone to that if Reflection had had one. I was surprised that they didn't, because just from the roll call I knew there were quite a few kids and that demographic. I'm sorry your son never met my girls. They might have had fun together.

The mushroom risotto in the Opus Dining Room was delicious. An Indian vegetable dish (I don't recall what the menu called it) was disappointing. Mostly potatoes. The bread was nice, though. The gnocchi on the last night was a mushy texture, although the sauce was nice enough. (They called it quattro formaggio but it seemed like Alfredo.) You can also get mac and cheese, a grilled cheese sandwich, and maybe pizza from the kids' menu, even if you are not a kid.

In the Oceanview, the lentil dal was good. You could get a cheese sandwich at the pannini station. There's vegetarian sushi. Pasta is always available. And the pizza wasn't bad.

Just off the 1/3/15 Eastern Caribbean sailing of the Reflection. My husband and I have done only two previous cruises, both on Royal Caribbean out of Baltimore on smaller ships. This was our first experience with cruising from Florida and first on Celebrity.

Our party: my husband and me (50's), our 18 year-old daughter and her 19 year-old friend (I'll call them Princess 1 and Princess 2). Neither is an adventurous eater and they don't drink. I don't really care to drink myself. Just not my thing. These are girls who know how to have fun. They are fun and friendly and outgoing. They (and we) were looking forward to dance lessons, karaoke, games, dancing, and hoped the girls would meet other college-aged passengers to have fun with.

Long story short: they never met any other young people at all! I'm not sure where they were, because I know there were several on the Roll Call. Now, we did miss the Connections party (it conflicted with trivia!), but didn't even spot many other young adults!

We got to almost all the trivia games, a number of dance lessons, and almost every night of karaoke, and the girls also made a game of getting as many portraits as possible (they changed outfits three times the second formal night), and made friends with the ladies at Cafe al Bacio and with all the photographers (to the point that the photographers were taking portraits WITH them). But it did feel like activities are kind of an "afterthought" for Celebrity. If we lost our copy of Celebrity Today, it was tough to get another one (they'd run out at the display at Guest Relations, unless you could read it in another language), and there isn't a touch-screen display in the elevator lobbies with a "what to do right now" button the way there is on Royal. Also, the spaces used for the activities are really not suited to them. The way the staircase lands in the middle of what could otherwise be a dance floor on Deck 3 cuts the space awkwardly, limiting both the room for dancing and the sight lines for people watching the band. The odd "entertainment court" that is essentially a spot in the hallway outside the art gallery was used for various game shows, indicating that they really don't much expect people to watch. I mean, there were only a handful of chairs. The karaoke host was the surliest, most unhappy person, almost like he'd been kidnapped off the street and forced into indentured servitude as a cruise DJ.

On the good side: Princess 1 is a picky eater in the extreme. We had select dining but were seated every night but one in Raul's section where he took GREAT care of us and never made her feel silly for wanting chicken fingers or a grilled cheese sandwich. Princess 2 liked to try different things and Raul was happy to bring her something else when her selections didn't work out. Nor did he embarrass me for trying two different entrees a few nights!

Princess 2 bought the "classic non alcohol package," and this was a puzzling thing. It was never clear to us what was included and what was not. She chose it because it said it included "juices" and she was envisioning that she could get bottled juice drinks, but the juices seemed to be limited to whatever is behind a bar (cranberry, orange, grapefruit, essentially). Eventually, it turned out that she could get Arizona Iced Tea, which made her very happy, but you couldn't have figured that out reading the description. At Al Bacio, she could get the hot coffee drinks (which she didn't care for) but not the frozen drinks--those are "specialty," while the "classic" NA package covers only "premium" coffees. She'd need the next level up to get those. I really don't know if it was worth $16/day, because the girls liked the lemonade and fruit punch in the Oceanview a lot. (It's surprisingly good fruit punch.) And that's accessible 24 hours. I had brought some big drink mugs along that they could pour a couple of glasses of juice into, and that probably would have been fine.

I'll share more detail in my official review. Thanks to all who gave me advice on this forum.

My girls are in 8197 on Reflection right now. We are in 8199. Their verandah is bigger (has three chairs). In case you are wondering, the bed is by the door in 8197.

I keep getting emails telling me to check in for my cruise. This makes me a little concerned because, as far as I know, I checked in a week or two ago. Should I be concerned? Is this just a website "feature"?

Interesting. I noticed in recently-posted daily schedules from the Reflection that there was karaoke almost every night. I am sure it depends somewhat on the mix of passengers.