First ever cruise

[jacdoh]

I have booked Celebrity Reflection for our Silver Wedding Anniversary next year. We have never cruised before and I would welcome any hints, tips and advice that you can give. I have booked a C3 stateroom with a classic drinks package. Is it worth upgrading for premium dining and drinks? Are the excursions value for money. Anyway you know so all help is appreciated

 

 

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[wallie5446]

Congrats on the up coming Silver Anniv!

 

IMHO, you have picked a wonderful ship for your first cruise. After 29 years and 7 diff lines the Reflection is our favorite.

 

You will get all kinds of do this and don't do that, take us all with a grain of salt, but yet be a sponge and soak it up. ( If that makes any sense at all )

 

Only word of advice, slow down, there is way to much to do and experience on the Reflection to get it all done on one cruise!:eek:

 

If ya'll like better than well brand liquor, and good wines, upgrading the bev pkg is a must.

Excursions depend on what you like to see and do. we still use the ship's offerings from time to time.

 

EW

 

ps: How did you find out about Cruise Critic?

Edited November 2, 2016 by wallie5446

[jacdoh]

Thanks that's really helpful what about the dining is it worth upgrading to speciality dining?

I searched the App Store this came up so thought I would give it a try

 

 

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[irishayes]

With the excursions, it depends on how adventurous you are. Hubby and I never take the ship's excursions. We prefer to venture out on our own and either book an adventure through a local tour company, or just taxi cab it to wherever we want to explore. I am not a person who enjoys getting herded on a bus with 50 other cruise passengers. MUCH cheaper to do it on your own, and you get more of the taste of the location you are visiting that way.

[oneputt18]

Specialty dining is a matter of choice, some love it while others are satisfied with the MDR. We personally love specialty dining. On our cruise the end of this month we are doing the Ultimate Dining Package, which is every night and a few lunches in specialty venues. (We have a boat load of OBC to spend) I would suggest you do Murano as a special anniversary dinner. They also offer 3 and 5 night packages.

As EW said, if you don't mind well brands then no need to upgrade. We enjoy the Martini Bar and prefer Grey Goose or Belvedere vodka, so we always upgrade to premium. ($11.80 per day including grats)

 

Enjoy your cruise and Happy 25th! (We are just three years from our 50th)

[Kmangel]

My husband thought he wouldn't like a cruise. Our son invited us to go with him and his family on a Disney cruise and now he is hooked! We are still new to cruising so we have a lot yet to learn. Finding Cruisecritic has been a big help. All your questions can be answered here! Just search or post a question (as you have done).

 

As far as speciality dining, my husband and I are still new to cruising so the main dining room is sufficient for us at this time. We like it plenty. I don't know that we would have booked another restaurant even for an anniversary. That's just us, though. Maybe later when we have been on more cruises.

 

One suggestion is you could have flowers delivered to your cabin. You can preorder them through gifts I believe.

Edited November 2, 2016 by Kmangel

[annbarker23]

We did our first Celebrity cruise last year (having previously only sailed on British ships) and loved it. Like you we had a Concierge 3 cabin & the Classic drinks package. We debated upgrading but as Gordons gin & Jack Daniels (which we drink at home) were included we didn't bother. My husband was a bit disappointed with the choice of beers but made do with Corona and Strongbow! My only disappointment was that the classic package does not offer sparkling water. For our next cruise we have OBC and might upgrade. We had a great set of dining companions & found the food in the MDR very good so didn't feel the need to use the specialist restaurants though we probably would for a special occasion. Regarding trips we did a mixture of ship excursions and our own tours. All were very enjoyable. It depends on your itinerary, your language competence & how much time you have to plan. Whatever you decide I'm sure you will have a great time. You have picked a really good cruise line. Enjoy!

 

 

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[jacdoh]

This is great advice and actually good fun to learn from you all I am now even more exited than before I note that Celebrity do a celebration package although it does seem a lot of money, has anyone tried it? Was it worth it? Thanks again to you all

 

 

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[bphman]

Happy 25th. We renewed our wedding vows for our 25th years ago on board which is very nice. We love cruising and Celebrity is a great line. Our first cruise was on the Horizon 26 years ago when she was brand new.

 

We like better wines so we upgrade the drink package and, at $11.80, it does not cost much. There are a lot of benefits to the upgrade. First is the better selection of wines and liquors. Second it the access to all of the fancy coffees and waters as well as a larger beer selection. Third and probably best perk is that, if you want to have a better cognac of single malt, you can apply a credit for the limit to the check that you can't do with the classic package. I often like a cognac after dinner and a cheap one is not what I have in mind. We often found that we were not charged for the difference.

 

As far as specialty dining, I would tire of it every night. The food is rich. The selection can get tiring since it doesn't change. We definitely do like the choice of restaurants but not every night. Qsine is a lot of fun. Murano is nice and I, too, would recommend it for the special night. Have nit tried the Lawn Club yet but that will be coming. Sushi on 5 places a limit of how much you are allowed since it is a al carte. There are enough special offers on board that you generally don't have to pay the full charge.

 

As far as excursions, you did not mention your itinerary. We used to do ship excursions all the time but stopped because they are more expensive and we don't like being herded like cattle on and off the bus. We often do small group excursions with private companies. You get a better price and will often avoid the crowds. And they may offer a more varied itinerary. We never worried about missing the ship because the reputable companies won't. We have even done private taxi tours once off the ship. I would suggest researching them early since the better companies fill up early.

 

Welcome to cruising and feel free to ask anything again.

[2theship]

Look for the roll call for your cruise. Find the "Roll Call" section on the first page of these forums. Under that you'll find your ship and sailing. You'll probably find experienced cruisers who will be familiar with some of your ports.

 

Give the main dining room a good try. If you don't mind dining at the same time each night you could use traditional dining with the same serving staff and fellow cruisers. Let them know when it's your anniversary and you might get a special treat.

 

 

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[TeaBag]

Welcome to Cruise Critic and Celebrity, both good choices. Congratulations on your 25th anniversary. We, too took our first cruise for our 25th. For our 50th, next year we are doing our first river cruise.

 

You have chosen a lovely ship. We have not been on Reflection but we have sailed on Silhouette which is a sister ship and pretty identical.

 

If you don't mind paying extra for a special meal, I would choose the Lawn Club Grill. It is $50/pp but I would ask for a discount and if it is not heavily booked, you might be lucky with 30 - 50% off.

 

As concierge class, you will be able to have lunch in the MDR on embarkation day. The rest of us eat at the buffet! If you get tired of the buffet during the cruise, you can eat at the Spa Cafe (by the solarium, I think) or the pool grill, both for free. If your anniversary falls during the cruise, let guest relations know and you will get a little cake or something to celebrate.

 

Enjoy your cruise and be warned, they are addictive.

[wallie5446]

Thanks that's really helpful what about the dining is it worth upgrading to speciality dining?

 

Being your very first cruise I would say stay with the traditional main dinning room so as to get the feel of what got many of us here hooked on a cruise for our vacation. It is an experience like no other. We have had folks we shared a table with that we have become friends with and cruise together again.

 

And yes! Join the Roll Call group for your cruise! That is where we met oneputt18, Joe & Pat. We have our 3rd cruise booked with them in 2017, and 15-18 more from other cruises, simply because of Cruise Critic.

 

The Reflection has 5 wonderful specialty restaurants, but for your Anniversary dinner I would recommend Murano. If it were in a big city it could very easily get 4+ if not a 5 star rating.

EW

Edited November 2, 2016 by wallie5446

[FLJudi]

My advice depends on itinerary and length of cruise. When we are on a cruise longer than 10 days, we always go to at least one specialty restaurant, just for variety. My favorite is Lawn Club Grill for casual best steaks onboard or Murano for formal French classic dining, or Tuscan too for Italian Steakhouse.

 

We almost never take ship's excursions which are usually in large busses and spend time at unwanted shopping stops and are very expensive. We join up with others on our Roll Call to arrange private excursions with 6-8 people in a private van - you devise itinerary and these are much cheaper than ship's tours. We've NEVER worried about missing the ship- we plan to return to port at least an hour early. This holds for Europe as well as Caribbean.

[jacdoh]

We are going on the 29th September next year Greek Islands and Italy I should have said that

 

 

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[johnritt]

Hi,

 

Loved the Reflection. A great choice.

 

I have always upgraded the drinks package just to have the flexibility.

 

Traditional dining is tougher. Some love it and if you don't mind dining at a required time and want to sit and talk with your fellow passengers, it can be fun. I don't do traditional and actually would not sail if it was the only option available as I don't care to sit with others than my wife and don't want to be on anyone else's schedule. That is just me.

 

We usually do the ports on our own unless there is a reason like distance, transportation questions (like catching the last ferry). Many new cruisers like the safety of using the ships tours. Costs more but worth it for some.

 

The Martini bar before dinner is a winner.

 

The cheeseburgers at the Mast Grill are good too.

 

You can look at the menu in the morning and hunt down a speciality dining deal if nothing looks good. There will be somebody around the ship offering you something.

 

Avoid the carnage that is their big sale day or watch it from the second floor. Oh the humanity.

 

Have fun.

[upwarduk]

We are going on the 29th September next year Greek Islands and Italy I should have said that

 

Here is the link to your Roll Call:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2381407&page=3

 

You should learn a lot.

[attilamom1217]

The food in the main dining room is pretty good. Certainly try one or two if the specialty restaurants to celebrate your anniversary. The dining packages -- I believe-- tell you which nights and what time your reservations are for. You cannot switch restaurants.

 

The MDR has a an available every night menu in addition to that nights menu so you will have plenty of options.

 

 

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[Relaxinginthesun]

Congratulations on your 25th.....

 

First, take some time and read through the threads here on Cruise Critic. You will learn a lot and get a lot of valuable advice.

 

Second, S-Class ships are amazing and there are more things to do and experience then you can do in one 7 night cruise. Try the MDR. Look at the menus and decide for yourself which specialty restaurant you might want to try and try just one or two. Guess what I am getting at is take some time to just relax and don't try to do everything in one cruise. I have been on Reflection's sister ship the Silhouette twice and I still don't think I have seen every public space on the ship and I know I have not come close to even doing 1/4 of the activities that are available

 

Third - Excursions, my suggestion is to book private excursions. Review the cruise port forums here on Cruise Critic and it won't take you long to discover who are the honest and reputable tour operators at your ports of call. Pick a couple of ones that stand out. Then review their websites and I look at their reviews on Tripadvisor too before making a final selection. You will find the private operators are usually much cheaper and provide superior service over the excursions offered by the cruise line. Also for me and I am sure others agree the researching and the planning for your cruise is all part of what makes cruising so great.

 

Have fun!!!!!!

[Relaxinginthesun]

We are going on the 29th September next year Greek Islands and Italy I should have said that

 

 

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I just noticed we are booked on the same cruise. We have an active Roll Call going already. You should join!!!!!

[Kmangel]

We took a Greek Mediterranean cruise the summer of 2015 and enjoyed it very much. It was very hot, though. And crowded. I had been to Italy in late May a few years ago and there was absolutely no crowds. We were able to walk straight in to the Vatican off the street. Not so in June. I have learned a valuable lesson and that is to cruise either before June or after summer! I think the timing of your cruise will be much more comfortable!

 

We booked excursions with other members from our Roll Call and we booked on our own--but never with a ship's excursion. I checked out the reviews before deciding on any excursion company. What was helpful was that no money was ever asked for up front. We paid for the excursions on the day we toured. I put the amount of money we needed for each excursion in an envelope and took that day's excursion money with me in my bag. Sometimes the money was in Euros, sometimes in dollars, so whatever was required I planned for stateside. I ordered Euros from my bank before we traveled so I was able to put aside the money needed even before leaving the U.S. on our trip.