Review: Mar 22 Reflection, with comparisons to Summit

[carolslc]

We joined a large group last minute on the Reflection Eastern Caribbean March 22-29 sailing. We were on the Summit Southern Caribbean in January. After the Summit, a few people said “wait until you try the S-class” as if the S class was so far above the “M”. So, I thought there might be some interested in our thoughts of the S class vs the M class. We were in Aqua Class, A2, on both cruises.

 

Embarkation

The Reflection sails out of Miami. I read on here from our hotel that embarkation was delayed that morning. We were part of a large group with shared transportation and didn’t arrive until 1 anyway. By the time we got there, there was just a few minute wait in the Aqua Class line. There was a long line for standard cabin categories, so the priority embarkation was definitely a benefit this time. Cabins were ready, so we went straight there and dropped off our bags. I got in a long line for specialty restaurant reservations as we had decided to try Tuscan Grill the first day with a 50% discount for Aqua Class. We then went to buffet for a late, light lunch from the salad bar.

 

Buffet

I had read so much here about how much nicer the buffet was on S class vs. M class, but I didn’t see much difference. I generally don’t like buffets so on both I felt like I was wandering around too much trying to find what I wanted or needed and by the time you get everything your food is cold. No trays so I would use the biggest plate I could find. But it was hard to juggle a plate, silverware rolled in a napkin, a drink, then find a table. You can’t really just set your things down at a table, then go back unless you have two people with one to stay at the table. If you don’t want tea or water, you also have to wait in line at the bar for a drink to go with your meal. They did have some drink servers, but I was never asked if I wanted anything while eating there - I don’t think there are enough servers. I’d pay $5 a day to eat at Bistro on 5 for lunch every day if it was me, but my husband likes to eat light and liked just getting salads. The pizza was okay, not great, in my opinion. It was a rectangle shape of premade dough (perhaps on the ship just before – I have no idea) that they put toppings on, baked, then cut into squares. The toppings were sparse. I tried the pasta bar where they make it up for you – again, okay – but nothing I would pay money for in a restaurant. The salad bar was good. It is nice always having a place to get a snack any time, although from 2 to 4 in the afternoon there is not much available. I did usually go up for the little sandwiches for tea time at 4 to take back to our balcony.

 

Tuscan Grill

Very disappointed here. We went the first night. I had read such rave reviews about the food, but the only thing that was really good was the calamari appetizer. The crab cake was mostly breading and the crab in it was ground so fine it was indistinguishable from the breading and I couldn’t even really taste the crab. My rib eye steak was ordered medium rare, and looked like it was that, but it was so thin that it was just a sliver of red in the middle. It was so tough it was inedible. I took 2 bites and left it and the waiter never asked about it. Yes, I could have said something, but luckily in addition to steaks, we had ordered the lobster pasta to share, so I just ate that. That was good, although just a few small pieces of lobster in it. Overall, I thought the food and service in Blu would have been better. Everyone was raving about the filet mignon served in Blu that night. I wouldn’t recommend Tuscan Grill based on our experience even at the 50% discount. I’m glad we at least didn’t pay full price.

 

Bistro on 5

I came back from an excursion on St. Maarten exhausted and hungry, and it was 2 pm. I just wanted to be waited on and not scrounge for what might be left in the buffet or stand in lines, or wait for room service. Luckily I had read about Bistro on 5 on Cruise Critic, so went straight there. It was heaven. I had the cowboy crepe and the Italian crepe for dessert. I spread the word among our friends on the ship – most had never heard of it and wouldn’t have known it was a food option if I hadn’t mentioned it. Totally worth the $5.

 

Pool/Chairs

Lots and lots of chairs and I was shocked that they were almost always all taken. The Celebrity Today states that belongings will be removed after half an hour, but only one time did I see a pool butler remove someone’s belongings. I saw the same towels and a belonging or two (one paperback, one flip flop) on chairs with no people for hours and hours many times throughout the cruise. It was very difficult to find two chairs together at any time on the cruise and yes, that included deck 15 above the pool and I wasn’t picky about sun or shade. We had the best luck in the Solarium, but even then we usually had to wait and watch for someone to leave. Often the solarium was too cold for me – especially in the mornings – so I ended up sitting in there covered in pool towels. The experience on the ship could be much improved if they enforced the 30 minute limit on chairs left unattended. By the way, generally the chairs are so close together you can’t sit a drink next to your chair. I was always happy if I found one on the end of a row.

 

Blu

Service and food in general was better in Blu on the Summit than on the Reflection I thought. The only area that Reflection did better was breakfast. The pancakes tasted freshly made and the eggs were better. The pancakes on the Summit tasted like they were premade and microwaved – weird consistency. However, in general on the Reflection, I found the service to be haphazard and slow and the restaurant crowded. One evening it took 2 hours and 45 minutes to finish our meal because the service was so slow, and we had a tough time getting refills on our drinks – even water. Some food was great, and other items were not. The salmon was consistently overcooked, flavorless and dry even though I ordered it “medium”. When we didn’t see a dessert that interested us, our go-to dessert was always the crème brulee and it was excellent. I especially loved it with a bowl of fresh berries.

 

Aqua Spa Café

Grabbed food a couple of times here. They had some pretty good options for a healthy snack or very light lunch. I did not see any option to have food cooked to order – it was just small bowls of premade salads (not meal size) and a light dessert offering. They had another side of offerings that you paid for like smoothies but I didn’t check that out. I did really enjoy a rice pudding one day and a peach bread pudding another day. Never room at a table to sit though – we had to carry it back to our lounge chairs. Tricky when there were no trays and no one item was enough for a meal – you needed to carry several bowls plus a napkin wrapped around flatware. Not to mention a drink.

 

Mast Grill

Had burgers and fries for lunch on two days. Get there at 11:30 and there’s no line and lots of patties made and ready to go. They really are good. I preferred mine with bacon, cheese, and grilled onions. Yum!

 

Other Food Comments

We didn’t try the Porch or Lawn Club, but they are both outside and didn’t appeal to us. Neither did we try Qsine or Murano but for AQ, they offered 50% off the first night in all specialty restaurants. Then the next two nights, they offered 50% off for Qsine and Tuscan Grill. There was no brunch in the MDR that we saw and I tried to remember to check every day in the Celebrity Today in the MDR hours where it was posted on the Summit. I asked others in our group and no one else saw it either.

 

The Lawn

They had signs to stay off the lawn throughout the cruise so I never saw anyone on it. Most of the alcoves were empty whenever we walked by. If someone had them reserved, they weren’t using them much. It was a pretty area, but a waste of space the week we were there.

 

Drink Package

I got the premium nonalcoholic drink package as I did on the Summit. I had no problem getting a Diet Coke on this cruise as I had on the Summit. The supply issue on the Summit must have been a one-time thing with that cruise, or an issue just on the Summit. I do still wish they had fountain coke available – it was always a can, and having to wait at bars just to get a can of coke gets old – especially if you’re holding a plate of food. I really wish they would put in the machines like they have on some of the Royal Caribbean ships. I did enjoy lots of frozen virgin pina coladas.

 

Shows

We went to the two big production shows during the week and they were both really good – I recommend them. The aerialists and contortionist were especially amazing. We didn’t go to the rest of the shows in the theater but people in our group enjoyed the hypnotist. We did go to the Sin City comedy show. You line up for tickets I think the first night – watch the Celebrity Today. Then there’s a standby line each night I think for those without tickets. The headliner comedian was really funny and his act was actually clean up until the end when he included some jokes that seemed more like an afterthought – like he was told this is “sin city” so you’ve got to put something about sex in your act somewhere. :) The burlesque dancer was not really a stripper – I actually thought she was a talented dancer, but her inclusion in the show just seemed odd. I’d have rather seen 2-3 comedians and skip the dancer and even the guys in our group said the same.

 

Passengers

We are 50. On the Summit, it seemed like it was mostly retirees a generation older than us. On the Reflection, the crowd was much younger. I’d guess the average age was 40. We liked that. However, it was spring break. On the Summit it looked like there were about 10 kids. I heard someone say on the Reflection that there were 400. So, very different passenger mix. I saw Celebrity employees leading small children – maybe 3-6 – around. But it appeared that from around 8 and up, gangs of kids just ran around the ship wherever they wanted without adult supervision – riding the elevators for fun, taking over hot tubs. One morning during breakfast in Blu, a family had a screaming baby that screamed through most of our meal. At any restaurant, I think it would have been polite to remove the child. I’m sorry but you can always order room service. I have kids and am very understanding, and I could see that they were trying to soothe the child, but when it doesn’t work after a few minutes, you have to do the right thing. Other than these few things, the large number of kids didn’t affect us too much, but reinforced to me that if we are choosing the week, we would not choose spring break next time, although the weather in March in the Caribbean was perfect.

 

Persian Gardens, Fitness Center

If you’re in AQ, definitely take advantage of the heated tile loungers overlooking the ocean in the Persian Gardens. This was one of our favorite places on the ship. We didn’t care for the Persian Gardens on the Summit so this is one area the S class beats M class hands down. The last night, we heard that there was a nice relaxation room on the 11th floor that we never found that is also part of the Persian Gardens. The fitness center is available to all for free, and it was packed all the time. It was difficult to find an open machine, but when I did get a treadmill, it was fun to run while looking at the ocean. Nice equipment and locker rooms. You get a locker room key at the Persian Gardens/Spa desk.

 

Other Entertainment

This is one area that Celebrity is failing in if they are seeking a younger crowd. We were in a large group and this was a common complaint from everyone and one that I had from the Summit as well. It is DEAD in the evenings after dinner. There is no night club/disco. There would be times after 10 pm where nothing was going on in the Sky Lounge – not even recorded dance music. And when they do have a DJ in the Sky Lounge at night for dancing, he would play obscure songs that were not good for dancing. That isn’t a 50 year old talking – we had a large group and many in their 30’s who were there to dance, and it was lame. Any decent DJ should know what songs to play to get people dancing, and he was not playing them.

 

I know people say the Martini Bar is where it’s at, but there are a lot of people who want to dance- not just stand around and drink. We did listen to the “Miami DJ’s” for about an hour at the Sky Lounge. It was supposed to be for dancing, but they started late, had audio problems, and when it was working, was an odd mix of partial songs mixed together with a drummer that was difficult to dance to. We just didn’t get it and neither did others. The dance floor was mostly empty. I’ve read positive reviews before about them, so maybe they were having an off night or got better later, but we gave up. The house band was okay, but I preferred the band on the Summit. I didn’t see a piano or guitar player like they had on the Summit. A time or two there was some good music for dancing in the atrium after dinner but it wasn’t consistent. Some in our group went to Liquid the one night they did that – they said it was odd and they didn’t get it and these were younger people who Celebrity is probably trying to attract with this event? We didn’t make it so can’t say more than that.

 

Music Volume

We’ve seen reviews about loud music on the Reflection. They’ve either fixed the issue, or I’m not sensitive to it. I didn’t hear a problem at any time. Yes, the music by the pool can be loud if the band is playing, but they don’t play that often, and you can always go up a deck or to the Solarium (assuming you can find a chair). Otherwise, I didn’t even notice the music at any venue. It was loud when the DJ’s were playing music to dance but I would expect that in the Sky Lounge for dancing.

 

Cabin

Our steward was great, as was our steward on the Summit. We got towel animals two evenings. I actually preferred the A2 room on the Summit however. There was less storage on the Reflection and the room felt more cramped. The only place the Reflection room excelled was with the shower – much better than the leaking 9th deck AQ showers on the Summit. We were in room 1650 on the 11th floor. The first couple of nights we heard a banging every 4 seconds in the ceiling that would wake us up and keep us awake in the night. I told my dh we should call, but because it was so rhythmic, he said it must be something within the structure of the ship and we’d just have to live with it. However, it stopped after our first port stop in San Juan. So, I wonder if a door or something got left unsecured somewhere that was fixed when we stopped. It didn’t happen the rest of the cruise. I assume the balcony was standard. I did like the foot rests which we didn’t have on the Summit. I actually liked the big overhang on the Summit better though. Depending on which way the ship was facing, our starboard facing balcony on the Reflection was sometimes too sunny and hot in the afternoons to enjoy. I always enjoyed sitting on the shady balcony on the Summit. We asked our steward to empty our mini-fridge, remove the tea and not to bring it, and bring cheese and crackers instead of canapés. We placed the two free AQ bottles of water in the fridge, and from then on, he put them there each day which was nice. The cheese plate had the same cheese as the Summit, but instead of the nice water crackers on the Summit, the Reflection just had packages of Saltines. It was much less appetizing that way. I looked at the buffet for better crackers and didn’t find them there either. We asked for firmer pillows and ended up with two nice size firm pillows and a memory foam pillow, in addition to the small down ones that were there to begin with.

 

Room Service

We had room service breakfast a couple of times and both times it was on time and hot. Very enjoyable. Otherwise, we didn’t use room service.

 

Itinerary

This was our second cruise. While a couple of sea days are very nice and relaxing, I found that I was tired of sea days on this one – it was too many. We realized we prefer a more active cruise. This was a 7 day cruise that stopped at San Juan Puerto Rico Monday evening, then 8-5 the next two days at St. Thomas and St. Maarten.

 

San Juan - We were docked in Old San Juan from 3-10 pm which was a difficult time to find something to do. I would have liked a bio bay excursion, but it wasn’t offered through Celebrity for this cruise. We just walked around Old San Juan, saw San Cristobal (we saw El Morro last time), and had dinner at Café Puerto Rico. I guess since we’d seen Old San Juan before, it just wasn’t that exciting. We did do some shopping in OSJ. Café Puerto Rico was a very small place, cramped tables and dark. It was expensive for what you get. The food was good, but we wouldn’t go back.

 

St. Thomas – we did St. John on our own – taxi to Red Hook, public ferry over, then took a taxi to Cinnamon Bay. It was gorgeous and very enjoyable. The ship was a little late docking in St. Thomas, so making the 9 am ferry was close, but we did it along with a taxi full of other people from the ship. We took the 2 pm ferry back. The snorkeling was great around the island out from the beach at Cinnamon. We were surprised that not many people were snorkeling although many enjoying the beach and water. DH and I both saw a shark on separate swims and tons of fish and nice coral. My husband saw a sea turtle. We love St. John and would welcome a stop at St. Thomas on every cruise for that reason. Some in our group went to Magen’s Bay on St. Thomas and enjoyed it.

 

St. Maarten – we took a private jet ski excursion around the island. Our guide seemed to think going as fast as possible was the most fun, but it’s difficult to see anything when you have salt water spray in your eyes the whole time. We just followed him around and tried to keep up. We did see some pretty beaches, and saw a plane coming in over Maho. Next time we’ll just go to a beach. Some in our group when on a private boat/snorkel trip and said it was great. Overall the island however appeared very crowded and not that nice, at least near Phillipsburg. The traffic was terrible – to the point that people were being told not to take a taxi to a beach as you might not make it back to the ship in time. If you do go somewhere, I would recommend leaving early and allowing plenty of time to get back. There were many ships in port including the Oasis so maybe that’s why it was so crowded. One couple in our group tried to do a “swim with the dolphins” excursion on Anguilla. When they got there, the credit card machine wasn’t working as all power was out and they didn’t have enough cash so couldn’t do the swim – very sad. Apparently Anguilla is pretty poor and has power issues, so warning – take cash if you’re going there.

 

Disembarkation

Very smooth. We put bags in the hall this time rather than self-disembark and had no issues. Customs at Miami was very fast. There has been some discussion on here about using self-disembark and how it’s not fair to others if you hang around after 7:30. When trying to decide whether to give Celebrity our bags or keep them, Guest Relations made it clear to me that if you choose self-disembark, yes, you can get off earlier than everyone else if you want, but that you don’t have to. As long as you’re out of your room by 8 and off by “last call” (around 9:30?), you choose when you leave the ship.

 

Overall

While the Reflection is sparkling and new and “fancy”, in things that mattered to us – quality of food and service, itinerary, lounging by the pool (finding chairs), hot tubbing (without so many crowds), and entertainment, we actually thought the Summit edged out Reflection. Reflection is a beautiful ship and we had a very nice time though. All my complaints are really just constructive criticism for Celebrity, and to answer questions that others might have. If I can help with anything, let me know.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I've sailed all the m class and equinox and solstice and prefer the m class

[Purplsmurf]

We sailed the Summit last year and loved it.....going on the Silhouette in two weeks. Anxious to see our comparisons.

[librarylady19]

Thanks for your very well balanced review. I have been on both ships also and preferred Reflection for the variety of entertainment, dining options and design. I did prefer the storage in the Summit cabin however.

Edited March 31, 2014 by librarylady19

[Cruising89143]

Thanks for your very well balanced review. I have been on both ships also and preferred Reflection for the variety of entertainment, dining options and design. I did prefer the storage in the Summit cabin however.

 

Sandi I will be interested in your thoughts on Azamara. :) We are trying a Millie class next year but I do like the Reflection. We had a great cruise on here again two weeks ago. Booked her again for next year.

Edited March 31, 2014 by cruisingator2

[portofrome]

Thanks for the review.

[drarill]

Excellent review and comparison with the M class ships. Thanks for taking the time to share your cruise with us. :)

[foodgirl]

Thank you for your review. We will be on Reflection Saturday. Very excited although I hope not that many kids. Doesn't bother me so much but DH prefers to have fewer but it is spring break time I told him so we shall see. The ship sounds great and we are excited to try a new line. I have friends that just returned from the Summit and loved it very much. That may be our next one as it has some ports we haven't tried yet.

[HeatherC430]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review! I enjoyed reading!

[fridaythe13th]

We've done the Summit a couple of times and opted for the Reflection just last month. We were a little disappointed with the Reflection comparing it to The Summit but had a good cruise overall. They really don't advertise the brunch and since we had done it on the Summit I made sure to look hard. It was on the last sea day but it just wasn't the same as the Summit. Maybe just because the second time just doesn't have the WOW factor. Maybe we didn't care for the Reflection as there was so much wasted space and there could have been more to do if they filled "The Lawn" with something different. Perhaps just getting off RC Allure had to do something with it. Now there's a ship that has something for everyone and more!! I actually just changed our Equinox booking to The Summit. There's just something about it that we like better. To each his own... :D

[cherylxox]

My husband and I were on this cruise as well and I enjoyed your review. I agree with your review of the Tuscan - we ate at all speciality dining and Tuscan was by far my least favourite. I ordered the steak medium and it was certainly more on the 'well' side which was slightly disappointing + it was thin and not very good considering the multiple other steaks I had throughout the week.

 

My husband and I are in our mid/late 20's and I didn't really notice the amount of children until the last two days - tons of young children/teens running around - with that being said their parents probably want a vacation too and it was the middle of March - is what it is!

 

Also extremely disappointed about Michael's Club closing - it was one of the reasons we booked Celebrity, we love a nice craft beer.