Celebrity Reflection Michaels Club and Blu

[debvm]

Hello. We have only sailed on Celebrity 13 years ago, (Century) and we're sailing Celebrity (Reflection) in a couple of weeks. So much has changed! .. What is Michaels Club , does it cost ? and who can go to it? Is there a Captains Party? Also, is Blu a private restaurant? We have a C1 balcony, are there any "perks" to having a Concierge room? How does the Beverage package work.....do I have to have my Sign and Sail card on me all the time for drinks? If there is no more midnight buffet, are there any ice sculptures? Any extra info would be terrific!

[Hlitner]

So many good questions so lets try to give you good answers. Concierge cabins do get you a better shower head, nicer robes, and a few amenities in your cabin which you can read about on the Celebrity web site. Blu, is a small alternative restaurant only accessible to those in Aqua Class Cabins or Suites (on a space available basis). Those in Concierge Class do not dine in Blu...but have the Main Dining Room as their assigned dining room for dinner. Or course you can always make reservations (and pay the cost) to dine in one of the other alternative restaurants such as Murano, Tuscan Grill, Lawn, or Qsine. Since you are in a Concierge Cabin you also can go to a special embarkation lunch (in the Main Dining Room) as soon as you board the ship (I think they run this lunch until 1:30). Otherwise, you could have your first lunch upstairs in the Lido Buffet area.

 

There will be a Captain's reception (likely on the 2nd or 3rd night of your cruise) where you will be able to grab a free drink and hear the Captain give a welcome speech. You get a daily schedule of activities and that will have all this type information.

 

As to the Beverage Package, the type package you have will be indicated on your cruise "Sign and Sail"

 

card (which is your room key, charge card, etc... all in one). You get this at embarkation. For adult beverages there are two different beverage packages with the regular one being called the Classic Drink Package. This entitles you to a pretty decent selection of basic drinks, beers, soda, etc. There is also a higher end Premium Beverage Package which adds higher priced drinks, fancy bottled waters, and a few other things. If you have the Classic Package and decide you want to upgrade to Premium..you can do this aboard (at any bar) for $11.80 per person/day. You will probably see more info on this upgrade when you board.

 

Your Sail and Sign card is your room key, charge card, and also necessary when you want to get on and off the ship at ports. It is tied to your picture in the ship's computer (they take your picture at embarkation). You should carry this card with you all the time since it is your cabin key...and you do need it to get any drinks, buy things in the ship shops, pay for alternative restaurants (if you choose), etc.

 

Midnight buffets have been eliminated from just about all the cruise lines (including Celebrity) but there is food available until late at night in the Lido Buffet area, grill, etc. And you can always order room service. You will not go hungry...unless you choose :). Not sure if they are still doing ice sculptures on the Reflection....and with the way things are always changing you might have to wait and see. On some cruises we have actually watched one of the cooks carve ice sculptures on deck near the pool. If they do this it would be on a sea day and announced in your daily schedule.

 

Hope this basic stuff helps. Don't get concerned about this stuff as it will all fall into place as you get into the cruise lifestyle. Just go, relax, be excited, and have a great time. And perhaps you will discover why many of us love cruise vacations (we have been doing it since the mid 70s).

 

Hank

[MicCanberra]

Unfortunately, Michaels Club is now only for suite guests.:(

[2Fltravelers]

Good summary Hank. I would like to add that there is a charge for room service after 11pm.

 

 

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[debvm]

Thank you so much Hank!

 

 

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[dread_pirate]

We just got off the Reflection in a C2 cabin. The concierge desk was wonderful on our cruise. She made us dinner and excursion reservations, so we didn't have to stand in line. She also handled any issues that came up; we walked over during her hours (posted) and it was taken care of in short order.

 

We really enjoyed Concierge.

[Hlitner]

We just got off the Reflection in a C2 cabin. The concierge desk was wonderful on our cruise. She made us dinner and excursion reservations, so we didn't have to stand in line. She also handled any issues that came up; we walked over during her hours (posted) and it was taken care of in short order.

 

We really enjoyed Concierge.

 

It's nice that all went well for you and glad you enjoyed your cruise. But this is a different strokes kind of thing. For example, if we want dinner reservations in one of the alternative restaurants we go visit the folks that work in that restaurant and usually negotiate at least a 30% discount. In fact, on our last 5-6 Celebrity cruises we have always received at least 30% off...whenever we went to Murano or Qsine. This is not usually done by the Concierge (and we are actually in Concierge on our next X cruise). As to excursions, since we never book cruise line excursions it is not an issue.

 

In Concierge when our assigned restaurant is the MDR, we always book Select dining and have no use for reservations if going to the MDR. We prefer to simply head to dinner when we are in the mood (which can vary from 7:15 - 8:30) and simply ask to share a large table. This is usually quickly accommodated by whoever is on the door. To be honest we have never understood why anyone does Select and wants a reservation...unless they are with a large group. For us, the reason for Select is that we can dine when we please. Since we might meet some new friends over cocktails (before dinner) we never like being tied to a specific dining time....or we would simply booked fixed dining.

 

While we appreciate that a Concierge can help some folks, it is just not in our DNA :). But we certainly acknowledge that everyone has their own wants/desires and one wonderful thing about cruise ships is that they can usually satisfy all kinds of folks.

 

Hank

Edited December 31, 2016 by Hlitner

[dread_pirate]

Oh, I understand that other people have differing views. But most of the posts I've seen have said, "Oh, Concierge isn't worth anything." We found it worth it to us, and I simply wanted to offer a different viewpoint.