Reflection cruise February 1-8

[JEBSON]

My wife and I along with 8 friends cruised on Reflection out of POM February 1-8, 2014. The itinerary was POM-San Juan-St. Thomas-St. Martin-POM.

 

DW and I flew AA 1078 out of ORD on January 31. We always fly out 1 day prior to cruising in order to have contingency options if flight or weather problems occur. Our flight to MIA was uneventful and landed on time. One couple in our group flew out February 1 during a significant snowstorm at ORD and as a result of delays at ORD arrived on Reflection at 2:42 pm. That's cutting it close! IMHO the cost of a hotel room and a couple of meals is worth price in terms of peace of mind and reduced travel related stress

 

Dw and I checked in to our hotel and walked to Bayside Market to have lunch and wait for our travel companions who had slightly later flights than we did.

 

Eight of us stayed at the Marriott Courtyard Downtown/Brickell. Dw and I prefer the Intercontinental but we were not part of the hotel selection process so we went with the flow and stayed with the group. The Courtyard was not bad but did not offer the room size, amenities and harbor views that the Intercontinental does. Additionally, there is significant building construction taking place across the street and the concrete pour lasted all night keeping me awake for the majority of the overnight hours. This was not the fault of the hotel but it detracts from the appeal of this hotel. We stayed at the Intercontinental for a cruise in November 2013 so we have recent experience to reinforce our preference.

 

We arranged transportation to POM through the hotel staff. The price was a very reasonable $5.00 per person and the trip was fast and safe. We left the Courtyard at 11:00 am and we were at the pier luggage dropoff location at 11:20 am. We were in the check-in line at 11:25. Check-in was slow due to some Celebrity computer system issues and due to what I considered a very slow and incompetent check-in clerk. We were on the Reflection shortly after noon and proceeded to the Oceanview Cafe for our first cocktail and lunch.

 

The cabins were available at 1:00 pm which was perfect. We had cabin 7262 which was a forward looking cabin on the starboard hump. DW and I have had hump cabins before but the forward looking angle provided a unique view in the direction of travel. This made for some great early morning coffee time and pre-dinner cocktail time. Since we periodically traveled into stiff 25 knot winds this balcony was very windy at times but did not diminish our enjoyment of the special balcony location. At the risk of increasing the competition for these rooms I will state the the angled hump cabins are wonderful and I will pursue them in the future. Our cabin was sufficiently large for our needs. It had a medium size flat screen tv. Closet space, drawer space and over-the-bed storage was more than adequate for our needs and we bring way too many clothes. Our stewards were accessible and did a very good job of cleaning and tending our cabin. 7262 is steps away from the elevator lobby and is immediately adjacent to the Hideaway. Initially, when booking this room I was concerned that noise from the Hideaway may be troublesome but it is actually a very quiet place and does not impact the cabins at all. Incidentally, some of the best coffee on the ship can be obtained at the Hideaway at no charge.

 

DW and I opted for the 123 GO classic beverage package. I used it like I was going to the electric chair. I enjoyed morning juices and special coffees. afternoon beers, pre-dinner cocktails, wine with dinner, and other assorted beverages. DW also enjoyed the beverages listed above but certainly not in the copious quantities I consumed. Let me state emphatically that I did not encounter any limit or restriction related to the 123 GO beverage package. If there is one I never exceeded it and I never went thirsty the entire cruise. Those in our group of 10 that had the 123 GO beverage package also exceeded the published value of the package on a daily basis when coffee, pop, spirits and wine costs were aggregated.

 

We had Select Dining and we varied our dining times to fit our port activities schedules. We made our dining time reservations several weeks in advance of our departure date.This flexibility is priceless. Our reservation times were always honored without delay. I recommend Select Dining to everyone who wants flexibility. Service was good in the Opus dining room. When 1500-1800 people are served simultaneously my expectations are realistic. Waiters, beverage servers and wine stewards are challenged to accommodate a tremendously large group of diners and I feel they did a good job. My needs and requests were always addressed and honored. Ramsom, our Opus sommelier, always kept our glasses full and was very helpful making suggestions to us. The food quality and quantity was also good. I especially enjoyed the lamb and duck entrees. Being the gluttonous being that I am, some nights I avoided appetizers, soups and salads and simply ordered 1 entree as an appetizer and 1 entree as my main meal. In theory, I probably consumed less overall calories those nights. I enjoy escargot and it was offered every night but I did not care for the "butter?" sauce that accompanied the escargot. C'est la vie.

 

I am always impressed with the food station concept in the Oceanview Cafe on the S-class ships. This concept reduces the number of people waiting in lines and reduces the wait times. Rarely was I behind more than 4 or 5 people at any station except the egg/omlette station. Celebrity has developed a great buffet concept in my opinion. Food in the Oceanview Cafe was generally good. You can not go hungry here. There is quality food and good variety every day. I especially appreciated the salad offerings. One negative comment- the scrambled eggs on the steamtable are nearly inedible but I understand the challenge of the serving of scrambled eggs on a buffet and I simply avoid them.

 

The pizza is acceptable but not award winning. It is good for a mid-afternoon snack with a cold beverage.

 

The burgers at the Mast Grill are very good. The burgers are a great alternative for lunch or just as a snack.

 

I went to two shows- the first night and the last night. Both were very good with talented singers, dancers and well designed sets. These two shows were some of the best I have attended during my 14 cruises.

 

Sunday was Superbowl Sunday and Reflection hosted a Superbowl party in the theatre and telecast it in many public venues on board. The Party in the theatre included complimentary stadium food(dogs, burgers,chili, etc.), beer specials,prizes, etc. Although this was our third cruise during Superbowl Sunday it was the first time we viewed commercials and halftime entertainment on a cruise ship. Thank you Celebrity for obtaining this telecast feed of the Superbowl.

 

We were over 1 hour late arriving in San Juan due to headwinds and opposing currents. The Captain apologized but clearly it was not his fault. In San Juan we did a self guided tour of Old San Juan. We stopped in a few shops, had a beer in a cafe, lost some money in the casino and returned to Reflection after less than 3 hours. We had visited the forts during previous cruises so that was not an appealing option for us. OSJ was less than a stellar port for us.

 

Several weeks prior to our arrival in St Thomas we arranged a chartered sailboat through Captain Dave Parker and Oh Be Joyful Sailing. This was the highlight of the trip. We were on a 44' sailboat. The trip was outstanding. We sailed, snorkeled, swam, ate and drank for 4.5 hours. It was heavenly. We sailed in both the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

Snorkeling was in a secluded bay off the popular path. I can not overemphasize what a great excursion this was. Travel to and from the Red Hook American Marina was easy and reasonably priced

($20 pp r/t). We did not encounter any traffic issues on either leg of our trip. The fact that we had this sailboat as a private charter made it a very special and memorable experience.

 

In St. Martin we grabbed a taxivan for 10 and went to Orient Beach. We rented chairs on the beach at Orange Fever. The chair rental was $7 per chair which included a drink. The beach and water in front of Orange Fever are spectacular and we spent hours in the water. Service and food at Orange Fever was very good and I would not hesitate to return. Oliver, the owner is very accomodating and friendly. He tolerated my poor French linguistics and we talked about France and Paris at length. It was a truly enjoyable day.

 

One word of caution- there is full frontal nudity and toplessness on various parts of Orient Beach. South of Pepes (the rocks) FFN is prevalent. North of Pepes toplessness is rather common. Some visitors are offended-some are not. Just be aware that this piece of paradise has exposed body parts in place.

 

We did 2 wine tastings on board Reflection. The first was a wine/food pairing event($15pp) with Victor. We compared and contrasted 5 wines with 9 food nibbles. Victor is a very knowledgeable and articulate sommelier who taught us and entertained us. This is a great on-board activity. We also did a wine tasting as part of the Celebrity Captain's Club on-board event program. The sommelier in charge of this event was also very knowledgeable and articulate.

 

We had two days at sea after we left St. Martin. Sea days bore me to tears. I took several naps and read at least 3 pages of a book I foolishly carried on this trip. The music played poolside was not loud, obnoxious nor offensive. In fact, it was a rather eclectic mix from a multigenerational list. I spent time on the Solstice deck and on Deck 15 working on a souvenir sunburn. I also participated in requisite people watching. People watching is never a disappointment on a cruise.

 

Our group opted to self-disembark. We met for breakfast at 7 am in the Oceanview Cafe and enjoyed a leisurely meal. Since we were all on deck 7 we met in the Hideaway at 8 am and sat on comfortable chairs and couches until the maintenance staff politely asked us to vacate so they could go to work. We left and went to the Tuscan Grille where we played Dominoes at a large table until the staff asked us to leave at approximately 9:30 am. We reluctantly left Reflection and began our journey home.

 

We waited in line for Customs for about 30 minutes and then waited in line for a cab for 20 minutes. Once in the cab reality set in and we knew our vacation was over.

 

Our Reflection cruise was very satisfying and rewarding. Our group will soon begin the planning process for next years cruise. Our group has now cruised on Solstice Millenium and Reflection. Who knows what ship is next!

[JEBSON]

I should have posted this as a review of Reflection.

[kroberst]

Thank you for taking the time to post the review! We are looking forward to joining the Reflection family in April - sounds like we won't be disappointed!:D

 

K

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[AJY64]

Thanks for writing this wonderful review! We will be on the Reflection in a couple of weeks. I am glad to hear that you enjoyed it so much.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review.

[wpgcycler]

Thanks for a great review! This line gave me the best laugh I've had since following this board. Just the thing for getting me in the mood for our Saturday Boarding!

 

DW and I opted for the 123 GO classic beverage package. I used it like I was going to the electric chair.