Reflection - Nov 14/21 - Some Thoughts

[SuzCruise]

My MDR waiters always say on Top Chef menu night, most people order from the traditional menu, the Top Chef menu is not really a hit.

 

This was a Top Chef at Sea sailing with the "cheftstants" on board making the menu from their recipes they have been cooking in the challenges in the theatre. It isn't the normal Top Chef night menu. The chefs are all there greeting folks. Our waiter in Luminae told us one of the Top Chef's was in the kitchen directing how her dish was to be plated. The dishes I sampled from that menu were very good. I loved the beef cheeks as did the table next to us. But I love beef cheeks, so perhaps it's just not your thing. And the carbonara was surprisingly good from a banquet kitchen. I had seen Doug make it in the challenge and was encouraged (there was no cream in his version, as there isn't supposed to be but many screw that up) but didn't think they could pull it off. They did!

 

As far as tuxes, I saw quite a few, but that was just in the martini bar as we ate in Luminae. I don't recall seeing any in Luminae but the dress code was smart casual so I wouldn't have expected to. I can't imagine anyone will mind if you dress up more than is required one night.

[hcat]

We also like to go to the Sky Lounge during the day.

 

Two days (maybe three? my memory is already fading), the lounge was taken over by the art people. You could get in but seating was very limited except for one day when the entrance was blocked off because they were setting up.

 

They used to clog up the passage ways and the area near what became molecular bar.....too bad they apparently now take over Sky..used to have the anniv party there and other special daytime events..or just a quiet space by day with a panoramic view of the sea...

 

Guess folks still buy so of course they will be on the ships selling..

[vincesm]

We were on the Reflection Nov 14-21. This was our twenty second cruise, our fifth on Celebrity (seven on Princess, three on Costa, three on HAL, two on RCI, one on Crystal, one on NCL). We have never, ever had a bad cruise and this one was no exception. We had a grand time.

 

The following is not a review, per se; rather, it is a collection of random experiences and personal observations.

 

Food in the MDR

I thought the food never dipped below very good. No complaints whatsoever. The portions tended to be on the skimpy side (no surprise). What I didn’t expect was that instead of the appetizer/soup-or-salad/entrée/dessert meal sequence, the appetizers, soups and salads were all lumped together in a single “Starters” section of the menu, followed by the entrée choices, effectively giving the impression of a three-course meal (starter-entrée-dessert). Of course, the wait staff is more than happy to bring you any number of choices from the Starters, but this is not how the menu was organized on our Millennium cruise in June. Is this a subliminal way of getting people to order one less course?

 

Bar Service in the Lounges

Terrible. We had late seating dinner at 8:30. Live music was scheduled in the Grand Foyer for 8:15, so we would take seats at that time and spend 15 minutes there before dinner. We were never once approached by a server for cocktail orders.

 

Do they even have servers in the Sky Observation Lounge? If so, they must have been disguised as passengers. Everyone is expected to belly up to the bar and fetch their own drinks. Tacky.

 

French Martinis

Our cocktail of choice is a French martini. On the rocks. This is hardly an exotic drink, consisting as they do of just vodka, Chambord raspberry liqueur, and pineapple juice. When we ordered those in the casino, we were told, “No, sorry, those can only be made at The Martini Bar”. What? Why can these not be made at any bar? The typical answer was a non-verbal shoulder shrug. Some servers in the casino could be cajoled (read: tipped) into going to the Martini Bar to have them made but others steadfastly refused. And in the Sky Observation Lounge? Forget it. The bartenders there simply said, “No. I can’t make those here”. Is this supposed to enhance the cachet of The Martini Bar? I don’t get it at all.

 

One time we tried ordering them at the bar in the Grand Foyer. When the bartender lifted up a stemmed martini glass, I said, “On the rocks, in a cocktail glass, please”. A look of consternation swept over his face. He said he had no cocktail glasses and asked if he could instead make them in wine glasses. Gee, OK, wine glasses are fine.

 

Theatre Shows

We went to every show and we enjoyed every show. This was, far and away, the top show lineup of any of our 22 cruises. Every act, every performance, a cut above the usual cruise ship fare.

 

We saw Claire Vinkesteijn, a pianist/singer who won the Holland’s Got Talent TV show. If she were only a singer, she would be incredible. If she were only a pianist, she would be incredible. But she is both and her shows, an evening show and a matinee later in the week, brought the house down.

 

We saw Rondell Sheridan, comedian, best known for his role on the Disney Channel’s sitcom, That’s So Raven. Good show. He had the theatre roaring. Little did I know, with his hat pulled low and glasses on, that I had been playing next to him at the Ultimate Hold’em table in the casino on several occasions.

 

We saw Paul Palisoul, another comedian. We had seen him previously about a year and a half ago on the NCL Getaway. I wondered if he might repeat the very same show, but it was 98% new material. And funny.

 

We saw Jesse Hamilton Jr., a very good singer and energetic performer. He was a last minute replacement for a production show that was cancelled for some unspecified technical difficulty with the stage. Very enjoyable.

 

We saw Gareth Oliver, a ventriloquist with a unique act who lost out to Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent in 2009. Good show.

 

The Reflection singers and dancers did a Broadway tribute show and later in the week also did a combo rock musical/Cirque type show. Both good, led by two talented male singers, one average female singer and one decidedly below average female singer. This is not Cirque du Soleil in Vegas, and I didn't expect it to be, but it was fun and diverting and performed on a night when the ship was churning through heavy seas.

 

LAX

LAX is the Reflection house band – they are four 20-somethings providing musical entertainment for a demographic that skewed way, way older than that. Their music was enjoyable, but don’t expect to hear a Frank Sinatra song. But they are repetitious and limited, with some of the songs being played night after night in the Grand Foyer. And their songs were long: our 15 minutes of listening pre-dinner might include just two 7-minute selections.

 

Dancing

We enjoy dancing on our cruises. As a reader of this forum, I went on the Reflection, it being an S-class ship, knowing full well that dancing opportunities would be meager. They were. Dancing in the Grand Foyer was a giant practical joke that Celebrity is pulling on its passengers. A completely unsuitable venue pressed into service because no workable alternative exists. What is sorely missing is the Rendezvous Lounge we found so enjoyable on our June cruise on the Millennium. To think that Celebrity would opt for wasting precious real estate on the ghost towns that are the Bistro on Five and Cellar Masters, as opposed to a lounge where people could enjoy a pre-dinner cocktail, music and dancing is completely baffling to me. Compare this to Holland America’s new Koningsdam which will have a huge dance floor; a fact that HAL is already trumpeting even before the ship is launched.

 

Then there was the dancing at the Martini Bar. At least I think it was supposed to be dancing. This consists of DJ Drag@n setting up shop in the hallway adjacent to the bar. This allows the drunks to congregate, stagger and sway, and create a traffic jam with no fear of a DUI arrest. Boogie on down in a hallway? Really?

 

One night the Solarium was transformed into a "Miami Night Club" (their description). But it's not a night club. It's the Solarium. It was hot and stuffy. Another case of needing to kludge up something to make up for the fact that there is no appropriate venue with a dance floor.

 

Concierge Class

I booked a regular veranda cabin. Our TA swung an upgrade to Concierge Class for no extra money. I had the concierge make our reservation for the Lawn Club Grill and that was the extent of the value provided to us on this cruise. I can’t even imagine what needs Celebrity envisioned could be filled by these concierges who dutifully sat at their desks during their on-duty hours, seemingly with little to do. No value add for us - I would never choose to pay for this.

 

Cruise Director Alexander Yepremian

Some people might find him personable, glib, engaging and funny. Some might find him snarky and irritating. Others, like me, might find him all of the above.

 

Lawn Club Grill

As this was our first Celebrity cruise on an S-class ship we decided to try the Lawn Club Grill. Disappointing, to put it mildly.

 

1. We ordered two glasses of wine from the (not extensive) list of wines offered. After 10 minutes they still had not been served. When we inquired about the delay, we were told they had run out but some was being sent up from below. Ten minutes after that we got our first glasses. Since the LCG offers such a small number of wines, why wouldn’t somebody ensure, daily, that there was an adequate supply available for that night’s dinner? Then, when our entrees were delivered, and our now empty glasses needed refilling, the waiter appeared oblivious, and did not bother to ask if we wanted another glass, we had to ask him as he prepared to step away.

 

2. At least half the items in the salad bar were close to empty. Some, like the sun-dried tomatoes and sliced peppers, were completely empty. The ranch dressing was ¼ inch away from empty. No one was refilling anything, a situation that seemingly never occurs in the OceanView Café. Why should it be happening in a for-fee restaurant? Celebrity says, “We promise to make the “All You Can Eat” salad bar cool again…”. Totally not cool.

 

3. The lobster mac-n-cheese side may have had two teeny pieces of lobster in it but I had neglected to bring my magnifying glass.

 

4. The baked potato side was served with butter and sour cream; that was it. No bacon bits, no chives, no cheddar cheese, which, to me, could reasonably be provided for those who might enjoy a loaded baked potato.

 

5. Our filet mignons were both ordered medium well and we specifically requested them to have “a little pink”. Both were cooked well done with not a trace of pink.

 

6. I ordered the chocolate chip cookie for dessert. The waiter didn't mention that the dish it came in was the same temperature as the surface of the sun. I grabbed it to rotate it and as the late comedian Jonathan Winters used to say, "That'll set you free".

 

This would have been disappointing in the MDR, but to be expected to pay for mediocre service and pedestrian food? First and last time for this venue.

 

Tuscan Grille

Again, as this was our first Solstice-class cruise we opted to try the Tuscan Grille. At the Tuscan Grille I received a ribeye steak that was fit for a king, as in "Here King, here boy". This steak should never have made it out of the kitchen: 1/4 inch thick, it resembled a cube steak. Worst of all, only one half was edible, the other half was a blob of fat and gristle. Overall, a letdown, especially for $100 (for two). Not going back.

 

Casino Raffle

During the last two days of the cruise the casino gave out raffle tickets for various reasons, like getting a blackjack at a blackjack table, entering a poker tournament, etc. They did the same thing on our June cruise on the Millennium. On that cruise we won the second prize: $125 in cash and a (very nice) Celebrity Fortunes Casino polo shirt. Shockingly, we won top prize this time. Only now, instead of cash we were given $250 in special Celebrity promotional chips which could not be redeemed for money. They could only be used to gamble at the tables. And instead of a polo shirt, it’s now a chintzy white t-shirt that says, “Fortunes Casino” in tiny unreadable yellow letters. Size=medium, “Sorry, that’s the only size we have”.

 

Top Chef at Sea

This was a Top Chef theme cruise based on the Bravo TV show. We didn’t know that at the time that we booked. We went to one of the cook-offs where two of the “cheftestants” battled it out and one night in the MDR was Top Chef night where the cheftestants created the menu. That was the extent of our Top Chef involvement.

 

Cabin Storage

No shelf at all in the closet. Sorely missed and a cruise ship first for us. Scant drawer space. The bins over the bed are a poor alternative.

 

 

Wow this review makes me want to cancel our upcoming cruise cannot belief Celebrity has sunken to such a low in service and value offering. We have sailed Celebrity multiple times on the S class ships and not encountered such issues. But then again the majority have been in Europe.

[xkisses]

When the bartender lifted up a stemmed martini glass, I said, “On the rocks, in a cocktail glass, please”. A look of consternation swept over his face.

 

Well, to be picky, a cocktail glass *is* a martini glass. I'd probably give you the same look if I presented you with a cocktail glass and you told me to put it in a cocktail glass. :)

 

 

(bartender, here)

 

Thanks for the detailed experience review. We're sailing on the 12th, and it's nice to see some of the downsides so we aren't disappointed.