The Brilliant Reflection - A Review of 1-12-2013 Sailing with Photos (Very Long)

[librarylady19]

Thanks for all the positive comments everyone; lots more to add yet so thanks for sticking with it!!

Here are more of the Celebrity Todays....

Celebrity TOday - Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013.pdf

Celebrity Today - Tuesday, January 15, 2013.pdf

Celebrity Today - Monday, January 14, 2013 - Pt. 1.pdf

Celebrity Today - Monday, January 14, 2013 - Pt. 2.pdf

Edited January 21, 2013 by librarylady19

[librarylady19]

Thank you for all the helpful info about cruising on the new Reflection.

 

We will be going on her on 2 March. We will also be in Aqua Class.

 

We love Celebrity, too. We will be Elite after this 7-night cruise. We will then follow it with a 14-night cruise on 9 March.

 

I have one question. I did not see any drawers. On other Celebrity ships there have been drawers next to the closets. If there aren't any, I can understand wanting to bring those Target storage cubes. We have to pack for this 23 day trip and are hoping to keep our weight down to just two large suitcases. But if there are no drawers, I will definitely want to get some of those cubes.

 

Looking forward to reading more of your review.

 

Thanks again.

 

GiGiAnn

 

 

 

Hi Gigi Ann,

No drawers, other than 3 in the vanity to the left of the safe/fridge.

 

 

The nightstand has actually been made a bit bigger and has 2 cubbies where you can store small items (such as evening bags, ereaders, etc.) as seen here.

 

 

That's why the cubes were a lifesaver! You could even put them on the floor of the closet in addition to above the bed.

[Cruising89143]

Muster drill (next up in my review!!) took no more than 15 minutes I recall; painless.

 

Thanks.:)

[fish321]

We will be on the Reflection 2/2 and really appreciate all the wonderful information you have shared.

 

I can no longer write in more than 140 characters so thanks again for enabling us to get even more psyched for this cruise.

 

Fish

[librarylady19]

As I mentioned earlier, the Reflection is strikingly beautiful. There are many breathtaking views and stunning decor in public areas to appreciate, as can be seen here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 22, 2013 by librarylady19

[dodger1964]

Thanks for review. We are on ship in 2 weeks. Can't wait. I'm bigger fan of m class, but any cruise is great.

 

Celeb today mentioned " due to early departure from Miami..would be early to San Juan". Do you remember leaving "early" and if so what time did ship leave?

 

Also, how much was cab fare to ship? We are looking into various options for our upcoming cruise. We arrive late on Thursday and will prob stay near airport that night, but not yet sure where to stay Friday night.

[librarylady19]

We headed to the main dining room - the Opus - for Muster Drill at 3:30 p.m.

We sat on the upper level and watched a short video safety presentation.

Scott took some photos after the drill; we did not eat there at all this cruise (we usually try to have lunch on a sea day in the MDR but ran out of time). I did speak to a number of people who were very pleased with the food and service, however.

 

 

Edited January 22, 2013 by librarylady19

[librarylady19]

We then headed up to the Sunset Bar for our Roll Call meet and greet at the Sailaway from Miami (scheduled for 4:30 p.m.).

 

 

It was nice to meet some of the folks from our Roll Call. I learned that the Cruise Critics Connections gathering was on Sunday morning; I had not received an invitation myself :confused:

 

I had a chance to try another of the fine cocktails from the new Sunset Bar drinks menu:

 

 

 

I really liked the Eureka and the Aurora :)

 

I think we actually got underway before 4:30 p.m. because at one point I was surprised the ship was already moving!!

Edited January 22, 2013 by librarylady19

[cruiserone]

Wow! so good of you to take the time to review the ship for all of us that have yet to step on board. We sail in February with friends that have never sailed on Celebrity before so they are in for a treat. We sailed on the Silhouette in March and loved it. I am so glad that Donnette is on board as we thought she was extremely friendly and social with everyone.

 

We are on the bump out for the first time and looking forward to it.

 

Carol

[librarylady19]

 

 

Edited January 22, 2013 by librarylady19

[Hart10]

Wonderful review we are in 1618 in Feb, room looks amazing. Can't wait for more:) hope you had a great trip:)

[Artemis]

Welcome home, Sandi! I am delighted to hear you enjoyed Reflection as much as we did. Your review with photos and all manner of downloadables is such a great resource; but I'd expect nothing less from CC's very own librarylady!

 

Thank you. I will be following your installments with interest and a bit of wistfulness...oh to be back on board. :)

Edited January 22, 2013 by Artemis

[librarylady19]

 

 

Unfortunately, we couldn't stay too long at the Sailaway, as I had to sign up for some jewelry classes at the Art Studio (which didn't open until 4:30 p.m.)

 

 

We then headed down to Deck 3 to Captains Club office to get the Elite snafu straightened out. Donette was able to take care of this quickly and provide us with our Elite letter and coupons (apparently only Captains Club office has access to the "master computer" that allows the status to be corrected :confused:) then a quick visit to Guest Relations to get new Sea Passes issued with the correct ELITE status - woo hoo:rolleyes:

Edited January 22, 2013 by librarylady19

[Cybercsp]

Love seeing the cocktail menus...what fun to pre-plan! Thanks.

[librarylady19]

One more errand yet to be accomplished was signing up for our internet package, now that we had our coveted Elite coupons in hand. We took our iPads to the iLounge and each signed up for the $49.99 package - aka 90 minutes of free internet. Mr. Personality aka the iLounge geek was brimming with enthusiasm and thrilled with the opportunity to assist me - NOT:rolleyes:

 

 

 

 

Note: If you have portable devices, you still need to visit the iLounge and get an account and turn in your coupons. The charge appears on your daily account but is then credited off the next day. As I mentioned earlier, we had no issues connecting to the WIFI at all!

 

There was a full evening of activities to enjoy and bars to explore coming up.....cruising is so much fun!

Edited January 22, 2013 by librarylady19

[librarylady19]

We headed back to our cabin to shower and change for our 6:00 p.m. dinner reservation at Qsine. I had prebooked this online as I wanted to be assured of an early dining time (NOTE: later in the cruise, a 20% discount was credited to our onboard account, I'm assuming because this was the first night....I heard others in Aquaclass say that Blu had offered them a 50% discount that night to eat at any of the specialties).

 

We had really enjoyed Qsine on both Eclipse and Summit and were looking forward to trying this unique dining option on Reflection. Not to be a hater, but it fell slightly short of the mark for us this time. I think it was a combination of the service and the fact that the novelty had worn off for us. I would definitely recommend it as a one-off experience to groups of all sizes though.

 

Our waiter was not very enthusiastic in presenting the options or explaining anything about our choices so it was fortunate we knew the drill! He tried to tell us we should only order 4 items and we were like "no way buddy!!"

We had no issues with the wine service, each ordering wine by the glass (cocktails at Qsine are not included in the drinks package, but you can get the sangria by the glass).

 

We had many of our "old favorites" from previous Qsine visits: spring rolls, lobster escargot, M's favorites (which remains our favorite dish), lava crab, and sushi lollipops. I didn't take a lot of photos, as we had done so on past visits. This was the one new dish we tried, the soupe and souffle:

 

 

The souffles were tasty but the soups were pretty nasty (I don't recommend lukewarm pea soup through a straw:)). I think we probably should have mixed the soups into the souffles in hindsight but were not told that at the time :D

 

On to dessert....the waiter presented us with the "dessert menu"

 

 

It was a no-brainer - no matter how full we were, we were not going to miss out on the Chocolate Tombstone, a long slab of chocolate cake and rice krispie deliciousness and the chocolate strawberries.

 

Edited January 22, 2013 by librarylady19

[GigiAnn]

Hi Gigi Ann,

No drawers, other than 3 in the vanity to the left of the safe/fridge.

 

 

The nightstand has actually been made a bit bigger and has 2 cubbies where you can store small items (such as evening bags, ereaders, etc.) as seen here.

 

 

That's why the cubes were a lifesaver! You could even put them on the floor of the closet in addition to above the bed.

 

 

Sandi,

 

Thanks for your reply. I don't know if it is my imagination or what. But the cabin and the balcony look so much smaller than on the Equinox.

 

DH says he doesn't want the weight of the cubes. But I think I will get at least two for my side. Of course, I always take so much more clothing than I really need. I am not sure how we are going to do this. We are on the 7-night first and then the 14-night. At least we will get some free laundry and drycleaning on the 14-night.

 

Our Seapass for the 14-night will say "Select." But we will have completed the 7-night and have enough credits to then be "Elite." Celebrity told me to go to the Captain's Club Office and they will issue a new Seapass. I was glad to hear about your experience with a similiar, if not identical, situation.

 

By the way. We, too, have a hump cabin. In fact it is next to the one you had, only on a different deck. LOL

 

Maybe we will see you someday on a Celebrity ship. We have a cruise planned for Sept '13 and one for May '14.

 

Thanks again.

 

GiGiAnn

 

 

[librarylady19]

Having been on the Equinox also, I don't think the cabin/balcony were any smaller.

 

Bring the cubes, they weigh hardly anything and will make your life easier:)

[ANIA27]

thank you so much for posting your pictures and sharing your views regarding cruise and restaurants, very helpful, looking forward to more of your blog SandI :)

[librarylady19]

We were finished with our dinner in plenty of time to get to the Theatre for the opening night show at 8:30 p.m.

 

 

I didn't really notice any changes to the theatre design and layout, although others might have.

 

 

 

The seats were comfortable and the views good; we never had trouble finding somewhere to sit. We liked to sit on the upper level (enter from Deck 4) as the view was quite good and you weren't trapped.

 

NOTE: bring a drink from one of the bars with you as there was not a lot of waiter service in the Theatre.

 

The show, hosted by CD Paul Baya, was pretty good. It featured snippets of acts to come, including the comedian Steve Caouette, the accapella group, acoustic guitar duo Matt & Riley and the Celebrity Orchestra (RORY!!!)....

Paul Baya was an OK CD for my money...I had really enjoyed Mike Gibb's energy, humor and accent on the Eclipse, and Paul was a different type...some have called him "full of himself." I could take him or leave him honestly. He did a fine job introducing the shows, and that's all I need from a CD. Never ran into him around the ship to meet him personally but that is of no consequence really.

Edited January 22, 2013 by librarylady19

[ANIA27]

Sandi, which restaurant would you recommend to try and how does it work w drink package, we purchased the regular spirits and wine by glass pkg I think

[hansolosmom]

Thanks for the review. Love seeing all the pictures

[librarylady19]

Here are a few photos from the Opening Night Show:

 

Matt & Riley:

 

Orchestra (Rory on the far left):

 

The night was still young (and we didn't have to get up early in the morning) so we decided to check out the Ensemble Lounge, which had been one of our favorite bars on Eclipse.

 

Note: These photos were taken earlier in the day when it was light enough to get decent pictures!

 

 

 

The Vivian Clement Jazz Trio was playing a set.

Edited January 22, 2013 by librarylady19

[librarylady19]

Here are some photos of Qsine, which I forgot to add earlier....long day

 

 

 

We had a lovely table for 2 by the window:

 

 

 

I liked the decor (which seemed identical to the Eclipse version) but felt that Qsine on Summit was a more impressive space occupying the former Conservatory and taking advantage of the round space and high ceilings.

Edited January 22, 2013 by librarylady19

[librarylady19]

Vivian Clements:

 

 

We enjoyed listening to the jazz music from time to time but found other bars we liked better (particularly Michaels and the Molecular Bar) so didn't spend too much time here. The bartender was pretty inept when it came to prepare mixed drinks!! Here are the bar menus for those interested:

 

 

 

Edited January 22, 2013 by librarylady19