Mid-Cruise Review - Celebrity Reflection - Room for Improvement!

[adamtennis]

Mid Cruise Review - Room for Improvement

 

Let me start by giving you a little information about our current group. We are a group of 10 adults, ranging in age from 30 - 61. A few members of the group have been on 20+ cruises and there are a few first-timers. We have a couple of married couples, some parents traveling with their adult children and several single adult females and males ... a pretty diverse group :)

 

This past January, five of us had sailed on the Celebrity Reflection together. We had such a good experience, that we convinced five more to join us on this trip. While we are holding out hope that our experience on the last half of the cruise will improve, unfortunately, our experience has been somewhat disappointing thus far.

 

We embarked on the Celebrity Reflection this past Saturday (11/21/15) for a 7-night cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. The embarkation process in Miami was a breeze. Despite a large number of people embarking at the same time, the land-based team at the port did a great job of providing both efficient and pleasant service. We were on board the ship within 20 minutes. That was great!!!

 

As soon as we boarded the ship, we encountered several Celebrity personnel in various positions (from Guest Relations to food and beverage servers in the Oceanview Cafe) who seemed less than thrilled to be working that day. As a well traveled group, we believe we have reasonable expectations - a simple smile and/or pleasant demeanor goes a long way with each of us. However, when making several benign requests, such as politely asking a bar server for a drink or kindly requesting some additional information, a few of our travel group were met with grumpy and/or irritated personnel. A few of us quietly commented to each other about the fact that this was probably an anomaly - and we all looked forward to the great service we had previously experienced.

 

Overall, the ship itself is remarkable - it appears well cared for and looks great. The layout of the Solstice-class ships is one of my favorites. In that regard, there are no complaints!

 

There have also been some standout personnel - including our room steward (Martin), who has the difficult task of meeting the diverse needs of many different adults. He is doing a FANTASTIC job ... we have sincerely appreciated all of his hard work! Additionally, the staff at Blu (we are in AquaClass cabins) have been very good. A few of the waiters (Iresh & Reymond) have provided our group with outstanding service.

 

Unfortunately, the majority of the other services and other experiences over the first 3 days of the cruise have not been so great. The bar staff, across the board, appear to be less than happy. The Molecular Bar, which was a standout in our previous cruise, has been a HUGE disappointment. The menu has been ridiculously reduced (probably in an effort to accommodate the upcoming changes) and the bar staff appear overwhelmed. The same has been true at several of other bars that we have visited (including the Martini Bar and Pool Bar) ... the overall bar experience has been very disappointing!

 

The overall quality of the food has also been somewhat disappointing. None of us expect gourmet quality food when we cruise (even in the specialty restaurants). We are very aware that the ship is serving thousands of meals. However, we do expect the food to be well-prepared and to taste relatively good (recognizing that people may have different palates). As a fan of the AquaClass cabins, we have dined in Blu many times before and on several different Solstice-class ships. Over the last 4-5 cruises in AquaClass cabins, many of us feel as if the quality of the food has been going downhill. It's truly a shame - we enjoy the ambiance and staff at Blu. We only wish the food (which should be of at least reasonably good quality) would live up to the rest of the experience.

 

Having sailed on other cruise lines this past year, the internet service on the Reflection appears quite slow (in comparison). Several of us purchased the unlimited internet package and have been utterly disappointed in the connection. Again, we don't expect land-based speeds while at sea, but it would be nice if an email (with only plain text) could be received in less than 5 minutes. There have been several times in the past few days when the internet was totally unavailable. If a passanger purchased a plan with a specific limit to the number of minutes they could use, they would likely spend the majority of their time 'waiting' for a stable connection and/or for a process to complete.

 

Lastly, a few members of our party have purchased spa packages. While there are a lot of services to choose from, it appears as if the prices have climbed and the service has not. One of the women in our group chose to get a pedicure - which cost approximately $140. There was absolutely NOTHING special about this pedicure - other than the fact that it was done at sea. In fact, the actual pedicure itself was not very good. When my friend went back to very politely ask for the technician to redo one of the toenails that appeared to be polished haphazardly, the spa service personnel defensively insisted that my friend deliberately "smudged" her nail and that it was not her fault.

 

As you can see from my mid-cruise review, the service and experience we have received on the Celebrity Reflection over the first 3 days of our cruise has been a mixed bag. We are all hoping that things will change and we will see some improvements ... at a minimum, our fingers are crossed :)

 

Adam

Edited November 24, 2015 by adamtennis

[C-Dragons]

The best way to get results is to speak to those in charge now. Do not wait until your cruise is over to see if things may or may not improve.

 

If you mention to the Hotel director about the not so friendly demeanor of the staff, I can assure you the message will be relayed at one of their morning meetings. The same goes for guest relations, and bar sevices. The Guest Relations manager and the Bar manager would prefer to hear about your experiences now, so that they can rectify the problems asap. If no one speaks up, the managers have no idea that a problem exists.

 

Don't know what to say about the Spa service as they are a contracted service.

[kenevenpar]

FYI - =X= lost their contract for Molecular, so they cannot serve the full menu of Drinks that they previously served. Hence the upcoming and ongoing change over to World Class Bar.

 

Hope things improve!

[tybeelucy2]

Thanks for sharing. We are boarding the Reflection next Saturday, hope everyone is in a better mood by then :)

[DuncanHusky]

We were on Reflection for the November 14 sailing (and I wish we could have stayed on the ship rather than come home to foot of snow in Chicago!).

 

Additionally, the staff at Blu (we are in AquaClass cabins) have been very good. A few of the waiters (Iresh & Reymond) have provided our group with outstanding service.

 

We were in a suite but we did go to Blu one night. I was very mpressed by the quality of the service (I also liked my chicken paillard wrapped in pastry!).

 

The Molecular Bar, which was a standout in our previous cruise, has been a HUGE disappointment. The menu has been ridiculously reduced (probably in an effort to accommodate the upcoming changes) and the bar staff appear overwhelmed.

Stefan and his compatriot worked extremely hard on our cruise but it was clear that they had to make numerous substitutions to the drinks on the menu since they were letting the stocks of the specialty ingredients run out. This won't be a problem after your sailing, though - the last day of the Molecular Bar on the Reflection is November 28, then it will become World Class Bar, like the rest of the fleet.

 

The same has been true at several of other bars that we have visited (including the Martini Bar and Pool Bar) ... the overall bar experience has been very disappointing!

One thing that I noticed was there was an extreme lack of consistence in how drinks were prepared from bar to bar and bartender to bartender. This led to some really awful drinks sometimes, unfortunately.

 

Over the last 4-5 cruises in AquaClass cabins, many of us feel as if the quality of the food has been going downhill.

This is of course subjective and for your experiences you may well be correct. We have been fortunate that in the 4 years we've been sailing with Celebrity the food quality has stayed pretty much the same, which I would rate above average but not stellar. We ate most of our meals in Luminae, and while it wasn't quite the amazing gourmet experience I could have hoped for it was still a slight step up from the Main Dining Room.

 

Having sailed on other cruise lines this past year, the internet service on the Reflection appears quite slow (in comparison). Several of us purchased the unlimited internet package and have been utterly disappointed in the connection.

Ugh, this is so very true. Tip: If you wake up at 5 AM, the Internet speeds are much faster! :) We were speaking with someone in Future Cruises and she assured us that RCI's Voom Internet is coming to Celebrity within the next year or so. So there's that at least?

 

I do hope that you enjoy the rest of your cruise, Adam, and thanks for taking the time to post!

 

Duncan

[joyce&bob]

Do you receive any perks fron cruise line or travel agent when you book a group of more then ten cabins?

[dmk]

We were on TA cruise and returned November 7th. We found the bartenders to be very friendly. However, we mainly had drinks at the Martini and Casino bars. Since you are only half way through your cruise why don't you one of try these bars.

[junetraveler2014]

We are sorry you are experiencing this negativity from some of the staff and do hope the food does show signs of improvement for you. Hope your trip gets better;)

[JERSEYGIRL1983]

Can you please tell us what time you arrived in Puerto Rico?

[seasearider]

 

This past January, five of us had sailed on the Celebrity Reflection together. We had such a good experience, that we convinced five more to join us on this trip. While we are holding out hope that our experience on the last half of the cruise will improve, unfortunately, our experience has been somewhat disappointing thus far.

 

Adam

 

Adam, just curious. When you were on the Relection in January and had such a "good experience" did you come on CC mid-cruise and let us know how great things were?

 

Hope the second half of your cruise improves.

[adamtennis]

Can you please tell us what time you arrived in Puerto Rico?

 

 

Hi - we arrived on time (3:30pm).

[adamtennis]

FYI - =X= lost their contract for Molecular, so they cannot serve the full menu of Drinks that they previously served. Hence the upcoming and ongoing change over to World Class Bar.

 

Hope things improve!

 

 

Yes - we had heard that the contract with Junior Marino had ended prior to taking the cruise. So we were prepared for some changes. In our opinion, the transition is not as smooth as it could have been :)

[adamtennis]

Do you receive any perks fron cruise line or travel agent when you book a group of more then ten cabins?

 

 

Hi - we have 5 cabins (a total of 10 adults). I would imagine that if we had more people, we might have been able to book as a "group."

[adamtennis]

We were on Reflection for the November 14 sailing (and I wish we could have stayed on the ship rather than come home to foot of snow in Chicago!).

 

We were in a suite but we did go to Blu one night. I was very mpressed by the quality of the service (I also liked my chicken paillard wrapped in pastry!).

 

Stefan and his compatriot worked extremely hard on our cruise but it was clear that they had to make numerous substitutions to the drinks on the menu since they were letting the stocks of the specialty ingredients run out. This won't be a problem after your sailing, though - the last day of the Molecular Bar on the Reflection is November 28, then it will become World Class Bar, like the rest of the fleet.

 

One thing that I noticed was there was an extreme lack of consistence in how drinks were prepared from bar to bar and bartender to bartender. This led to some really awful drinks sometimes, unfortunately.

 

This is of course subjective and for your experiences you may well be correct. We have been fortunate that in the 4 years we've been sailing with Celebrity the food quality has stayed pretty much the same, which I would rate above average but not stellar. We ate most of our meals in Luminae, and while it wasn't quite the amazing gourmet experience I could have hoped for it was still a slight step up from the Main Dining Room.

 

Ugh, this is so very true. Tip: If you wake up at 5 AM, the Internet speeds are much faster! :) We were speaking with someone in Future Cruises and she assured us that RCI's Voom Internet is coming to Celebrity within the next year or so. So there's that at least?

 

I do hope that you enjoy the rest of your cruise, Adam, and thanks for taking the time to post!

 

Duncan

 

 

Hi Duncan,

 

I typically experience a post-cruise depression that often begins on the 5th or 6th day of a cruise. In fact, there are times when the only way I can feel better is if I know when my next cruise is booked :)

 

As you stated, Stefan (at the Molecular Bar) is working very hard. We have thoroughly appreciated his efforts (and let him know). It is just unfortunate that the cruise line could not have made the transition a bit more smoothly.

 

There have definitely been hits and misses on this cruise. While we always expect some misses on every cruise - this one seems to have had a bit more than usual. Given how much we have enjoyed Celebrity in the past, that part of our experience has been somewhat disappointing. Thankfully, no one in our group will allow the 'misses' to linger. We are having a great time traveling with each other :)

 

Adam

[Jem 12]

Hi Adam in my own experience I find that when I persuade others to join us on a cruise it makes me much more aware of any shortcomings, I worry that the newbies aren't enjoying their cruise and so on, it has made me much less keen on inviting friends to join us. Plus we to enjoy chatting with others but find when we travel in a large group we don't tend to mix with others so much. Thanks for posting and enjoy the rest of your cruise.

[slm wjd]

We were also on this cruise and shared many of the same experiences, which were disappointing compared to other cruises on Celebrity.

 

Bar service in general was poor at most locations around the ship. Staff was grumpy and sometimes acted put-out at an even simple request. We are disappointed that Molecular is going away, but understand why. Stefan was terrific, but they both seemed consistently overwhelmed, an experience we have seen with bartenders on other ship's Molecular Bars...so maybe it's not all that bad that it is being discontinued...those drinks are complicated and time consuming to make. Poolside service was very hard to come by. On past cruises the poolside waiters try to get to know you so you are 'their' customer. And getting a drink, even a simple vodka martini, at the Martini Bar was next to impossible on most evenings, so we basically stopped trying and quit going there. They pushed the drink packages hard the first day all over the ship...maybe too much so?

 

Beyond the bar service, things just seemed 'off' in many areas compared to past Celebrity cruises. Don't know if it was specific to the Reflection but it added up to a less than expected experience. Not horrible, but definitely not up to what we've grown to love about Celebrity. I hope this isn't an indicator of what's happening across the line as we have future Celebrity cruises booked and are optimistic that this was a one-time experience.