Still here in Civitavecchia... Celebrity Reflection

[sasset]

Sorry that your cruise started off on a negative note but it looks like X has resolved the issue and they gave a OBC to help with the disappointment. Ship happens and hopefully most will have made the best of it.

 

As far as the comment about kids being on board. That is to be expected this time of year. We had kids on out 6/01 EQ 13 night Med cruise but they were very well behaved.

 

Hope rest of the cruise goes as planned. :)

 

Was the OBC in addition to a refund of the port tax for the port being missed?

[margeecruiser]

We missed a port due to bad weather on our last Med cruise. We had booked and paid for a tour with a reputable private vendor. Our refund in full was waiting for us when we got home. We didn't even contact them because their web sight said they would refund if the ship couldn't port. I did not let this upset me at all. These things happen all the time.

 

Margee

[TeaBag]

When we were on a B2B in Civitavecchia, we took a shuttle to the town and had a great time walking around.

 

I guess we have been lucky in that we have only missed two ports in our cruising experience. The one, with Princess, we got nothing, nada. The other, Celebrity, we got port charges refunded. It's disappointing to miss a port for sure, but I wouldn't stay in my room most of the day because of it. There are lots of things to do on such a beautiful ship.

[Lady Chew]

It's a bus ride and a decent walk to town or a taxi ride to anything in Civitavecchia.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

I guess that depends ... when we were there a few years ago we had a turn-around day in port and they kicked everyone off the ship for a Noro-cleaning. We walked off the ship, and walked along the port road into the town. We thought it was a pretty easy walk (and we're not in the best shape, although we do walk quite a bit) ... We visited the fort and some of the churches, saw the market ... had a nice lunch at one of the outdoor cafes, and then we had shopping to do, we even bought a suitcase, put our purchases in it and walked back to the ship when we were done!

 

I don't think there were many others who walked through the port to get to & from the town, but it can be done without too much difficulty.

[need2bespoiled]

I guess that depends ... when we were there a few years ago we had a turn-around day in port and they kicked everyone off the ship for a Noro-cleaning. We walked off the ship, and walked along the port road into the town. We thought it was a pretty easy walk (and we're not in the best shape, although we do walk quite a bit) ... We visited the fort and some of the churches, saw the market ... had a nice lunch at one of the outdoor cafes, and then we had shopping to do, we even bought a suitcase, put our purchases in it and walked back to the ship when we were done!

 

I don't think there were many others who walked through the port to get to & from the town, but it can be done without too much difficulty.

 

I donut disagree. We walked as well to the train station but it likely depends on which berth and the busses from the berth too. It's bit so much about the walk vs the inconvenience.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[jaybird from SC]

My sister and her husband are on this cruise for their honeymoon. Heard from her around time orig. thread owner posted. She said the ship is full of kids, room is sub par, and their table count preferences were not met. Plus onboard shops have remained closed while stuck in port, so unable to purchase some forgotten items. Due to the technical problems the ship is skipping the first stop-which means they lose out on their booked all-day tour and will be at sea for 2 straight days if the ship leaves today as rescheduled.

Hopefully for all, things will only go better.

Cabin on Reflection "sub-par"???? I don't think so. How could that be?

[wpgcycler]

Cabin on Reflection "sub-par"???? I don't think so. How could that be?

 

Spell-check strikes again maybe - supposed to say "superb"? :D

[Wine-O]

Too many kids on board? LOL There's one way to fix that -- stay in the adult-only areas. We were on a Summit cruise to Bermuda in mid-July. Lots of kids did not bother us. We stayed in the solarium, martini bar, casino, and ate at the late seating. Also, we don't do buffets. We had no problem with lots of kids. :rolleyes:

[TheBeeSea]

I suspect that the comments reference the cabin etc was due to the OP being a bit upset that there was a problem...not a great way to start a cruise but now there is time to relax and enjpy and get accustomed to the environment. Would love to know how much OBC was given

In Europe the school summer holidays have started - expect kids.

Edited July 5, 2014 by TheBeeSea

[daydreamer16]

Tell them to use their OBC at the Lawn Club Grill--lots of fun and awesome food! We were on the Reflection in February and loved it! Probably not too many kids since it's about $40 per person for dinner--Enjoy

 

 

Lois- (delayed honeymoon, second marriage for both) they are there to enjoy the cruise and ports not spend the time in their room the whole trip :p

 

Not sure details about room. Our texting was brief during spotty wifi while she was off-ship for a little bit (guess they allowed passengers to disembark while stuck at original port).

[boogs]

Cabin on Reflection "sub-par"???? I don't think so. How could that be?

 

I'd sure like to know what they were comparing their cabin to. S-class standard cabins are just about the best in the business when compared to cabins in the same category on other ships. If they are comparing an inside cabin to a suite on another line, then yeah, the cabin would be "sub-par". But, they would be comparing apples to oranges.

 

I just file such odd comments in my "they are ticked off and nothing will make them happy" circular file.

Edited July 5, 2014 by boogs

[CruiserFromMaine]

Did you get two sail away parties or just one?

[TourDeCruise]

Most of us frequent cruisers have had itineraries altered or ports skipped, albeit infrequently, due to rough seas, inclement weather, mechanical issues, or other unplanned delays; it is disappointing but certainly nothing to ruin the cruise.

 

Sub-par cabin? I highly doubt that based on my experience on three different Solstice-Class ships, including my favorite, the Reflection, unless their cabin has atypical issues, most of which can be resolved with a simple request/complaint to the proper Celebrity person. The Reflection is a beautiful ship with a lot of amenities, activities, delicious meals, and excellent service (at least that was the case in May of this year).

 

In addition to other quiet restaurants & locations mentioned, Bistro on Five and the Porch are wonderful and reasonably priced alternatives to have a quiet meal. Cafe al Baccio is another pleasant place that usually is not crowded until evenings. Also, children are not allowed in the fitness center, so that is a productive place to spend time.

 

Did they allow you to get off the ship in Civitavecchia? In addition to walking around town, one can get a bus from Civitavecchia to Tarquinia. Time and logistics (your not knowing when you would be departing likely precluded this option) probably didn't permit a visit to Tarquinia, but, if it did, that would have been a nice way to spend the day - seeing ancient Etruscan tombs and another nice town.

 

Hope you all onboard have a wonderful cruise and mechanical problems are all resolved at this early start to the cruise.

 

Kathy

Edited July 5, 2014 by TourDeCruise
Bon voyage for rest of cruise

[MaxiKK]

We have set sail...and all seems well! Yes there are lots of kids, but that's to be expected mid-summer!

 

They did give a ship board credit for the missed port. I would have hoped for 10% of cruise price, but happy with what they did!

 

Shops were closed , that I noticed but bars, pools and restaurants are open and they adjusted some restaurants to be open for lunch the same as a sea-day.

 

So far very happy with staff and ship, just disappointed we missed the first port!

 

I did the same 10 night last year, enjoyed every minute of the cruise, only port that I was disappointed with was Messina, maybe it was the rain, have a fab time, can't wait to go back on the Reflection again next Monday.

[DebbieMacG]

It's a bus ride and a decent walk to town or a taxi ride to anything in Civitavecchia.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

It's a short free shuttle ride and you are on a very pretty sea front with lots of shops leading into the town, very easy walk (been there five times in last few years) even with a 5 year old :)

[Hlitner]

Do you think the OBC they provided on this cruise was enough to compensate you for missing one day of your cruise?

 

They did not miss a day of their cruise (they were aboard the ship on time) but rather just missed a port. Having been on an awful lot of cruises (more then 3 years at sea to 6 Continents) we are used to missing ports. It happens for many reasons including bad weather, mechanical problems on the ship, labor strikes at ports, and sometimes no docking location because another ship gets stuck in the port. The cruise lines are only obligated to refund any Port fees you have paid for the missed port. Anything else, such as an OBC is just a nice gesture but not necessary. In fact, on a majority of our missed ports there was no compensation (other then the port fees). Depending on the missed port some of us actually enjoy another day at sea :).

 

Hank

[Wine-O]

It's a short free shuttle ride and you are on a very pretty sea front with lots of shops leading into the town, very easy walk (been there five times in last few years) even with a 5 year old :)

 

I'm sure they kept people on the ship so they could sail when the problem was fixed and not having to wait for people to return from ashore.

[rtutton]

We just left Reflection on July 4. We enjoyed the ship and the cabin. We loved all of the ports on the Med. The crew is excellent. I am disappointed in the things to do on the ship. They have fewer public areas because of specialty restaurants everywhere. I don't like this and will look for ships without this.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Tommy3putts]

Just off the ship on July 4th. Great crusie!!! Enjoyed Reflection and the 11 night itinerary. There were a few disappointments but not many. Will post review in a day or two.

[drarill]

Just off the ship on July 4th. Great crusie!!! Enjoyed Reflection and the 11 night itinerary. There were a few disappointments but not many. Will post review in a day or two.

 

Looking forward to your review. Leaving in four days to enjoy Rome before the cruise. BTW, do you remember which nights were formal? I'll appreciate the info. :)

[Tommy3putts]

On the 11 night itinerary, formal nights were on the first and third sea days.

[tnterry]

It happened to us on the Carribean Princess, w left on day late due to a bilge pump problem.

 

 

We were on this cruise too Kirk. I remember everyone being upset, but I was glad we weren't at sea when it happened. I recall they would not let us off to look around Southampton so we waited for a day before departing.

[fortinweb]

We just left Reflection on July 4. We enjoyed the ship and the cabin. We loved all of the ports on the Med. The crew is excellent. I am disappointed in the things to do on the ship. They have fewer public areas because of specialty restaurants everywhere. I don't like this and will look for ships without this.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Not sure I understand what you are claiming by that "everywhere" comment. The only public area converted to a restaurant is the glass show which is now The Porch and the Lawn Club Grill (same as on the Silhouette), both of which we enjoyed much more than we ever did the glass show. Other than that, no other public area has been turned into a specialty restaurant. A quick comparison of the deck plans will prove this.

 

It’s not nice to make stuff up! :(

Edited July 6, 2014 by fortinweb

[cherylroslyn]

We just left Reflection on July 4. We enjoyed the ship and the cabin. We loved all of the ports on the Med. The crew is excellent. I am disappointed in the things to do on the ship. They have fewer public areas because of specialty restaurants everywhere. I don't like this and will look for ships without this.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Good luck with that.....

[royalcruz]

We just left Reflection on July 4. We enjoyed the ship and the cabin. We loved all of the ports on the Med. The crew is excellent. I am disappointed in the things to do on the ship. They have fewer public areas because of specialty restaurants everywhere. I don't like this and will look for ships without this.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

I was on the Reflection the week before July 4. There was plenty to do (for free) on the ship and the best entertainment we've ever seen at sea: shows every evening, dance parties maybe every night (martini bar, wine bar, deck, lobby, Sky), live music somewhere at almost all times, dance classes most days, etc. Dinner in the MDR was so good that we never even went to the specialty restaurants. Did you spend the whole cruise in your cabin or what?

Edited July 6, 2014 by royalcruz