We always go on RCCL, now going on Reflection, what do we need to know?

[leeselee]

All of our cruises have been RCCL and we are going to try Celebrity Reflection in November. I know they are owned by the same company but looking for tips, advice, major differences, anything thing else we need to know. It'll be weird being newbies so we know all of the how toos on all of our previous cruises and we haven't been a newbie in a long time. We never get off the ship so not looking for island help or anything like that. :)

 

After cruising on another smaller cruiseline, we stayed loyal to Royal for 8 cruises and cruised in a GS around the Med with our teenage daughter.

 

We chose RC as we felt that when we started cruising when she was a young teen we thought Celebrity would be too stuffy for her and RC would offer more for a younger prson.

 

This year she went off with friends and we got to do our own thing! We booked a concierge balcony room which we found to be spacious and very confortable.

 

As we stepped onto the ship we knew we would be in for a classier holiday.

 

Celebrity target more towards food and drink and less towards getting everyone doing something they don't want to to do (like belly flop competitions).

 

Don't get me wrong - there is plenty of activities and lots of entertainment - but it just feels that more money has been spent on it.

 

The food in the MDR is on another level compared to RC. Much better - so much so, we did not feel the need to book a specialist restaurant booking for the entire 7 night cruise.

 

It gave us back our passion for cruising again - just like our first cruise with RC.

 

We can't go back to RC again. It would be like cruising in an inside cabin after having the luxury of a balcony!

 

We have been spoilt.

 

Have a wonderful cruise.

[sailawayjack]

If you are Diamond Level with Royal you would qualify for Celebrity's Elite program after your first cruise.

 

The Sunset Bar on Reflection is the best in the whole fleet!

 

:cool: Elite status is granted during your FIRST cruise. Give your RCCL info when booking. You will not earn additional points with RCCL, but will earn your first Celeb points, and you will be treated in the level you have with Royal:cool:

[blubelle57]

We're just back from our first Celebrity cruise on Reflection. Previouly sailed twice with RCCL. Didn't find that many differences between them. Ship is beautiful, staff great and food great but we would say the same about both our previous experiences with RCCL. For us we enjoyed entertainment a bit more on RCCL and also felt people were more polite. We met lots of really nice people on all our cruises this one incluced but were disappointed with how many rude people we encountered on Reflection - maybe we were just unlucky this time. Still had a wonderful time and would sail Celebrity again. We went to shows in the theatre several times and always got a seat no problem.

[suzieq1956]

When in port and going back to the ship you look for the one with the "X" on it, plus there will be the sofa, canopy with the refreshment station and sometime the red carpet by the gangway.

 

Since you sailed before you will know the procedures and the layout of the ship as they are basically all the same. You will find that they are more alike than different.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

 

 

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Miched, what do you mean you can't use an unlimited drinks package all day...

cheers suzieq

[RoofingPrincess]

If you are Diamond Level with Royal you would qualify for Celebrity's Elite program after your first cruise.

 

Actually, you can sign up for the Captain's Club before your first cruise with Celebrity. One of the questions in the enrollment process is whether you've cruised before, and how many times. They didn't ask which line, but gave me Elite status immediately based on my answer. So either they have a great computer system which found me right away in the RCCL system (yeah, right, we know IT is not a strong point for RCI) or they're not picky about who you sailed with in the past or even verifying your cruise history.

 

And with that membership, our TA was able to get us a one-level automatic upgrade when we booked.

[sweet angel]

Someone mentioned Celebrity costs more and that isn't true. We've paid less for our Nov.15 reflection than we did for either FOTS or OOTS (comparable cabin).

 

 

Which sailing are you on OP?

We also paid (much) less for our Reflection, than our previously scheduled Explorer of the Seas. We have an oceanview vs Promenade inside, and got the free beverage package. I was quite surprised.