Different Strokes for Different Folks on the Reflection

One of the things I like about cruising is that there is usually a cruise line or ship, and within those categories a dining venue, bar or entertainment to suit many different tastes. We were on the same Reflection Feb 6-13 sailing and had some similar but many different preferences and experiences than other reviewers.

Dining - We love fine dining and have dined in specialty restaurants on other ships and had anticipated using some of the $800 OBC we had to dine at a specialty restaurant. I was so impressed with my first two dinners in the MDR that we never thought any further about making a reservation. While some of my dinners later in the week were only very good rather than excellent we still enjoyed dining there and decided to use our OBC elsewhere and continue dining in Opus. Lunch in Opus we did not enjoy as much as we have on other ships. We don't care for buffets so had lunch at the Mast Grill most of the cruise. Breakfast, however at the Ocean View was very good when we ate there on days in port where we didn't want to take the time for the main dining room and it was much much better than the Concierge room service breakfast we tried. The buffet did have sushi available at 5:30 so my DH did have some one day that he said was good, not excellent but good.

Entertainment - A weak point on Celebrity. We saw 3 performances in the theater and they were just okay and just something to do for a little while as we certainly weren't expecting broadway type or even off broadway type performances. We would have preferred availability of nightly comedy club type performances available on the ship or a nice piano bar. The other bands and performers around the ship were a better than we had expected based on other reviewers experiences and preferences. DH really liked the Johnny Manthus. He also like a girl duet he saw while I was in the casino one night.

World Class Bar - As I said different strokes for different folks. This was our favorite bar on this ship or any ship we have been on and actually tops many New York and Vegas classic drink cocktail lounges and" speakeasys" we have been to. It has a much calmer, refined atmosphere and the bartenders are more subdued and not as showy although Chirourl broke out and demonstrated his flaring skills from previous bars one evening when only a few of us were sitting around. I think the demeanor of these bartenders suits the atmosphere they are trying to create. To start with the World Class Bar opened for the first time on the Reflection at 5:00 the day we embarked. Previously on a B2B last year we discovered the Molecular Bar after deciding the Martini Bar was not a good fit for us. While the Molecular Bar menu had many drinks that were sweeter than we preferred there were a few we enjoyed and we liked the quieter atmosphere. One of the bartenders at the pool bar told us World Class was opening and DH and I were the first drinks made there (and the last before they closed the last night). First of all we are classic cocktail drinkers. We don't drink cosmos or sweet drinks although I did have a couple mudslides around the pool and enjoyed them because they weren't as sweet as many of them are. DH's "hobby" is finding old classic or new classic cocktails to try and experimenting with different bitters. So a description of a bar that starts out "To you, as the discerning drinkers with the preference for small batch gin and home made bitters....." We knew this would be our kind of place.

First of all the bartenders Niksa and Chirourl (sp) had trained and prepared to open the World Class Bar all week and then Celebrity threw them a curve ball and gave them a menu that was not what they had been given to prepare for for all week and did not even give them all the equipment or ingredients they would need to make some of the drinks in the new menus. That alone was a bit stressful for them as it would be for anyone who is a perfectionist as these two bartenders are especially Niksa. Classic drinks, they don't carry wine or beer, or even vodka as far as I could tell. At least this is not a bar to make vodka martinis that is what the Martini Bar is for. Niksa was very careful to tell patrons looking for those type drinks where the nearest bar they could get that was, usually just around the corner or down the steps to the Martini Bar. I think Celebrity could do a better job making clear what is available or not available at this bar but the same thing happened at the Molecular Bar. Longer waits for drinks as they take longer to prepare and many times having to direct people to other bars for the drinks they asked for. My DH tried a couple drinks from the menu but the best thing about this bar which the Molecular Bar couldn't do is prepare drinks off the menu. All week with several cocktails before dinner and several more later in the evening every day I never had one from the menu. While both bartenders we felt were excellent, Niksa was just about the most knowledgeable bartender we have come across in all the speakeasy type and classic cocktail lounges we have bee too and we have frequented many many of them as that is where we find our favorite types of drinks. Once Niksa knew that my favorite drink is a negroni, he made me different drinks all the time that were excellent and always fit my preference for more bitter and lots of flavor type drinks. He even got some compari (not stocked there at this point) from one of the other bars later in the week so he could make me a traditional negroni. His knowledge of how to use bitters and how to tweak a drink to make it fit your palate was the best we have experienced. DH also had some wonderful drinks made to suit his preferences by both bartenders. There were a number of us that were there frequently and we got to know each other and they also had similar tastes in cocktails which is why they enjoyed it. It is a bar that isn't for everyone. It isn't listed on the maps of the ship, not at the elevators, not on other places but I was told that is because they were trying to avoid people that just saw bar and didn't realize what type it was from coming there for their wine or cosmo. Along with opening and still trying to get equipment ordered that they didn't know they were going to need for the menu, they were busy working on new drinks that were going to be sampled for the higher ups and a new menu was coming out for the next week. They are still evolving and it would have been fun to be around to experience another week of it. If I had know this bar was going to be here we would have booked a B2B. So disappointed to have to leave. We will be on the Constellation later this month and it will be a let down to not have a World Class Bar.

Cellar Masters - Along with classic cocktails DH prefers craft beers and I prefer fine wines so the Cellar Masters was another stop before dinner or earlier in the day. There was a nice assortment of draft beers, better than any other cruise line we have been on, for him to choose from. I enjoyed some nice wines recommended by Stephanie in a relaxing atmosphere. Stephanie was an excellent "hostess" as she bustled around keeping her "house" as she referred it in order and helping with wine selections. I only saw 2 people get wine out of the dispensers and I was surprised to see they were still there with so many other wines available and a knowledge sommelier. Actually our second favorite drinking venue on the ship.

Our Concierge Cabin was fine and we enjoyed the balcony frequently. Our preference is for the Solarium where is is calmer and we don't like being in the direct sun although we did spend a little time around the pool.

As I said different strokes for different folks and on any given cruise you could have a different experience in the same place on a different day or time of day depending on so many different factors. Either way there is bound to be someplace that will suit your taste in dining, entertainment or drinking on this ship, it just may differ from someone else but that is what makes the world go round.

Really interesting comments especially regarding the insight into the world class bar. Do you pay for drinks in Cellar Masters or is that only for the dispenser wines?

Thanks for your review. I loved reading it. And thanks for the detailed info on the World Class Bar. Before your review I was worried; now I can't wait to try it.

An additional comment. We had select dining. We never made a reservation and would go to the dining room anywhere between 7 and 8 pm. None of those times was there more than one party ahead of us and the only 2 times we waited, which was for about 15 minutes is because we had found a waiter/assistant waiter/sommelier we liked by the 3 time and requested their section even if we had to wait. Both times we just stepped back into Cellar Masters with our beeper and got wine or beer while we waited. No big deal to us. All the other times we were seated right away.

Really interesting comments especially regarding the insight into the world class bar. Do you pay for drinks in Cellar Masters or is that only for the dispenser wines?

There are dispensers for some wines and we never used it so I am not sure how that worked perhaps swiping your card I don't know. For some reason I thought perhaps the drink packages wouldn't work for them but I am not sure. We used our premium drink package and had Stephanie bring us the wine and and they are poured from the bottle. . There are wines that fit the classic drink package as well I am sure. The sommelier can suggest wines based on your drink package.

Thanks Sharon that is good to know. On our last trip I did look in but wrongly thought it was only the dispensed wines. Will give it a try on our April cruise and also now really looking forward to the world class bar!

Thanks

We were on the sailing with you and were one of the ones that had a very different experience than you at the World Bar. I suspect that Nikasa really helped make your time there better.

My blog post about the bar (including pictures of the menu) is here:

http://celebrityreflection2016.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-world-bar.html

We were on the sailing with you and were one of the ones that had a very different experience than you at the World Bar. I suspect that Nikasa really helped make your time there better.

 

 

 

My blog post about the bar (including pictures of the menu) is here:

 

 

 

http://celebrityreflection2016.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-world-bar.html

Chairul(sp) was a very different personality and while he also made me some drinks they were good but not as spot on as the ones Niksa made. I saw your blog and I was sitting at the bar when you ordered the Don Juilo and that wasn't his best day. He had been stressed over something not including he really seemed to get upset when they couldn't make a drink on the menu because celebrity gave them a new menu than they had been given the day we sailed and not all the equipment or ingredients. It probably would have been poor taste to bad mouth their employer and tell everyone that asked for a drink they couldn't make exactly why they couldn't. I think he also stressed more when busy and because the drinks take longer to make with all the fresh ingredients and bitters they can get backed up quickly with s full bar. Niksa seemed to take it more in stride. I also found Chairul harder to understand at times and sometimes did come across more surly but I really doubt it was intentional. At other times he was more amusing, outgoing and talkative than Niksa. The first night was amusing to watch them have to use the menu to figure out how to make the drinks until they had a chance to make up post-it's they hid behind the bar till they got familiar with the drinks. We just were ones that spent enough time there that we gradually learned what had happened. And the menu you posted from we learned was not going to be the same for the next week. They wee expecting to get a new printed menu for the next sailing. Any new bar would have glitches to overcome and if they had made it more well known that that was the first week of a new bar patrons may have had understood why things weren't up to what it will be. We enjoyed our experience there with both bartenders although Niksa was our favorite and your experience may have been more to your liking if he had made some of your drinks. He certainly added greatly to our experience there but we would have enjoyed the bar even if he hadn't been there. It was still the best place for the drinks we like. Like I said everyone has different likes, experiences and expectations. That is why a cruise is so fun. There is usually someplace that is the right place for you. You just keep looking till you find it.

Great Review!

~Steve

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 also one of the ones who had a somewhat different experience than you. I agree that for the most part, the cocktails were well made and pretty tasty. I think I tried all of the $13 ones except the one with grapefruit juice (gag!) and the old-fashioned (I felt bad that they had to chip that big ice ball by hand for every one that was made), and I had several of them more than once. The bartenders also mixed some off-menu stuff up for me. My main issue was the inconsistency in preparation between the two bartenders (same drinks tasted different depending on who made them), and the extremely long time it took for drinks to be prepared. I get that they may have been short on supplies and that they were new to these particular recipes, but there was a level of disorganization apparent that prevented them from being more successful in not being stressed out. And it shouldn’t take 5 minutes to make an El Don Julio or The Buck Stops Here when you’re simply mixing four liquors and using ice from the ice bin. All of their bars are inconsistent, though, so it ultimately is a Celebrity management issue.

I also find it a bit hard to believe that they were trained on a different menu. The menu that’s been posted is the same menu they’ve used on other ships. Stranger things have happened, but this one just doesn’t make much sense, unless you’re saying they’re saying they were trained on a revamped menu that is being rolled out fleet-wide in the next week or two. Even still, these recipes are not overly complicated and there was only one drink in which ice had to be chipped into a ball.

They kept replaying a clip on the Cruise Director TV channel about how this was a brand new bar, so I don’t think everyone on the ship was completely unaware that it was the grand opening or what the concept was. They even addressed the price issue ($13 and up). Nevertheless, over the course of the week, I saw at least a couple dozen people turned away to another bar because they couldn’t be accommodated in some form or fashion, and I was usually only there for less than an hour. It’s a bit naive to expect people in a well-trafficked area (this is right outside shops and on the way to the second level of the theater as well as the photo gallery) to automatically know that it’s a limited service bar when you can get basic items at every other bar on the ship. Even the martini bar was stocked with Corona to hand out to anyone who asked. This bar concept would be better served by a different location (the Passport Bar area comes to mind or maybe one half of the equally under-used Cellar Masters) and much better oversight until it is humming like a machine. But I also think the martini bar needs the same level of supervision still.

Can you tell me if there were any concerts on the Lawn?

Last time we were on the Reflection (2014) we enjoyed

"Jazz on the Lawn" but I haven't seen any recent comments.

Thanks.

We were on the sailing with you and were one of the ones that had a very different experience than you at the World Bar. I suspect that Nikasa really helped make your time there better.

 

 

 

My blog post about the bar (including pictures of the menu) is here:

 

 

 

http://celebrityreflection2016.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-world-bar.html

Thanks for posting your blog with the menu. Twelve friends and I sail on the Reflection in a couple weeks from today and are curious about the World Class Bar. A subset of us cruised together before and loved the Molecular Bar and were disappointed to learn it is no more. Thus, we were hoping this would be a good replacement.

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