Review - Reflection Mar 25, 2017 - West Caribbean Spring Break

[washdcguy]

The Reflection and Western Caribbean itinerary have been extensively reviewed with spectacular photos that I'll keep this short and sweet (as I edit this, I note it's not very short) and focus on what may have changed from the other reviews or information that we had searched for and could not find.

This was our 3rd Celebrity Cruise (we've done Royal, Seabourn, Silverseas, and Regent) and we chose this for a spring break cruise with our 3.5 year old daughter. The inlaws came along as well. Together, we had the two aft corner sky suites on Deck 7.

We really enjoy the overall Celebrity experience and we loved the whimsical nature of the Reflection (the ship, the entertainment, etc.), this being our first Solsitice class experience. Even the inlaws thought the ship was stunning, though too big. We also enjoy the mix of people that Celebrity attracts, and everyone is very kind and respectful of each other (sans chair hoarders on sea days). We're a two dad family with our daughter and we carefully protect her from unfriendly environments and people. While we experienced a few points / stares and the rude (but potentially harmless just ignorant) comment about how having a dad and daddy must be confusing, almost everyone else was polite.

We've read some of the other reviews from our sailing about how rude some of the guests were. There were chair hoarders and plenty of folks who tried to cut in line getting a drink, but until reading it here, we hadn't thought twice about it. The ship was at capacity, and those behaviors (though uncivilized) can somewhat be expected.

Embarkation: While there was the Suite line, it didn't seem like there were any agents that were specifically focused on the suites. If so, ours had no clue what he was doing. This was best demonstrated by taking our internet voucher out of our package and then running to catch up with us to give it back. The escort onto the ship was only offered after we asked for it. We don't enjoy lines and with our daughter, we actively avoid them. The in-laws arrived a bit later, and not knowing to look for or ask for the escort, waited in the long line. They described their check in as crazy (though they are used to the Regent / Silverseas pampering). Just a note: this was out of the ordinary based on our other X cruises in suites.

Our welcome in Michael's Club was great and they quickly helped us with a few items we needed taken care of (excursions, massages, alcoves, & dinner reservations).

Luminae for lunch was very good, and they were great at accommodating our daughter (though she's not too difficult and loves meat and fish which are easy to find on the Luminae menu). While the food was good, the service was epically slow. More on that later.

Luminae: This was our first time in Luminae. After our first X cruise (pre-Luminae), we vowed not to eat in the MDR again due to the quality of offerings. In the past, we did Blu or speciality restaurants and were generally very pleased. The quality of food was generally very good in Luminae, and there were some misses. The menu is very meat heavy and very light on quality fish. Breakfast was unremarkable outside of the AMAZING pastries. They were reason enough to go for breakfast. Some days the OJ seemed fresh squeezed, other days like water.

There were three things we weren't pleased with about Luminae: 1) the speed of the service. At the beginning it was soooo slow, that my MIL had to get up and walk she ahead been sitting for so long, something I've never seen her do. It was also very terrible with our daughter. (And I recognize this opens the doors for the no-kids on X or in Luminae folks to hijack the thread). Second, the maitre de tried repeatedly to tell us that we needed to come at 6 or 6:30. When we suggested we'd prefer 7 or 7:30, they told us that they need to be prepared for the late seating. After day 2, and knowing it's open seating, we just arrived when we wanted with no problem. I know they're trying to manage the dining room, but they dilute the quality of the suite/Luminae product by trying to force the early/late seating times. Finally, we had read on here repeatedly that they'd go out of their way to accommodate special requests. Cheese from Murano, special dinner, etc. We found that to be extremely limited (frankly non-existent). Several times the maitre de told us that things weren't possible. "If you want good cheese go to Murano. If you want Lobster, go to Murano. I don't have the budget." I guess YMMV. It left us unimpressed, but perhaps the stories here left us with too high of expectations.

Overall, we enjoyed Luminae and felt it approached the dining experiences on higher end cruises. Bottom line is we'll be back even with the minor short comings. We enjoyed the meals in Luminae and were disappointed with the service.

Michael's Club: Exceeded our expectations in every way. The concierges are in one word... "amazing." In fact, everyone in the club was amazing. When I asked for a Manhattan with Carpano Antica from the World Class bar.... done. Something for the DD to snack on... done. We felt like we were on SS or Seabourn.

Suite / Suite Class Amenities:

We loved the aft corner sky suite. DD loved hanging out in the massive port hole. These suites live up to all the hype on CC. Absolutely no complaint about the suites.

The amenities are so/so. We had read about a suite breakfast menu. After much searching (and we drove our poor butler nuts over it), it became clear that there was no suite breakfast menu / card. The compromise that the MC Concierge and Luminae Asst Maitre de came up with was giving us a MDR menu to order off of. DD and I just went to Luminae every morning. Mixed results there. On our way home, we had breakfast in the MIA Amex lounge. Per my MIL, "that was better than any breakfast we had on X". AMEX lounges are great, but I think her comment was dead on WRT to the breakfast options (pastries excluded).

Butler - Ours was great, but he had the most awkward break (3pm-6pm). This was always when we had a request to make. The stand-in varied greatly. One day, prosciutto & melon was not on the menu, but "I'll make it happen." The next day, sorry it's not on the menu and is not possible. He emptied fridge per our request, but noted that since we have the bev package, he'd stock the fridge with what we wanted and bring any drink any time we wanted. He indeed delivered, and again made us feel like we were on the super premium ships.

The reserved theatre seats for suites are now in the balcony... ehhhh.

Little perks like having the Butler deliver shopping were great. But, the second time I wanted to utilize it between dinner & the show, I had to educate the cashier on the benefit. One call to her manager to confirm and all was good. One seems like a jerk in explaining policy/benefits to a crew member... so X should really make this a stronger element of training.

We loved the suite experience. While we haven't done the exclusive suite area experience (a la Yacht Club, Haven, and Edge), we like the semi-exclusive experience X offers. We certainly had exclusive benefits, but they're delivered in a subtle way in terms of appearance the rest of the cruisers.

Kids Club:

We tried to get a lot of info on this prior to the cruise. Both the website and the forums were of limited help. So we'll pay it forward with as much detail as possible. Just for some background, as every child is different... our DD goes to pre-school full time so is used to an all day program away from us. She adapts to new environments and people very well.

Schedule / Offerings - The kids club had activities basically all day. The difference between what's free and what's not seemed to be meal times and late night. The programs varied from day to day and always had an educational element to them. We were very happy with the variety and level of activity. DD was almost always excited to go to KC. We took the opportunity to peak in on the group several times and always observed her having fun and interacting with other. We also thought the programs were great in brining everyone together for some activities and breaking up in to the appropriate age groups as well. We never used the meal options as we value eating together as a family. We also didn't use any late night coverage (the evening slumber parties or babysitting). I guess we're getting old or just enjoyed to additional rest. The late night entertainment did look great, though.

Facility - The KC was very clean and had plenty of toys that were age appropriate. The separate spaces allowed the kids to play within their respective age groups. We were impressed with the overall facilities, especially having low expectations for X as not being perceived as a kid/family focused product.

Staff - The staff, as with all elements, made the kids club. Their energy, enthusiasm, and focus on the kids was incredible. Even when we peaked in, the staff was constantly engaged with the kids, not off to the side doing their own thing. We also felt the security in terms of keeping other adults away and limited in their interaction with the kids was perfect. One last thing on staff, transitions at drop off and pick up can be tricky. They made arrival exciting and quickly reduced or eliminated any transition (I want you to stay with me) anxieties.

We were very pleased with all aspects of the kids club and have no concerns going X in the future with our DD.

Alcove (both sea days):

Knowing how crazy finding a relaxing place on the ship outside can be on sea days, we booked Alcoves for the sea days (at the old lower rate). While we would have loved to look out at the ocean, the lawn and alcove was a pleasant and peaceful place of solitude. The Lawn Grill team were great at bringing whatever we needed from drinks to ice to the fruit/cheese plate. Even with the limited activity on the lawn, we loved the ability to gather as a family (5 of us) at any time during the day without needing to save spots. We even brought our own portable speaker to play tunes and didn't seem to bother our neighbors. We all value things differently, we found the alcove was absolutely worth the investment on the first sea day and marginally worth it on the last sea day. There were so many different activities and entertainment options on the last sea day that we didn't use the alcove as much on the final day. With the price increases, we'd probably just do the first day in the future.

We had requested the next to the last alcove on the starboard side for our first day, and had the first alcove on the port side on the last day. We preferred the further back alcove as it had a bit more privacy and avoided the noice from the lunch crowd.

Drink Package:

What would a X review be without a drink package report? We had the premium package as part of the suite 'deal.' Quality of the wines has diminished significantly. Quality is not measured solely by $ value. We only found a few options around that were decent both white/red. In Luminae, I was disappointed in the ability of the sommelier to be creative.

On the other drinks, if you want premium vs well pours, you have to be incredibly direct. The availability of premium selections was never a problem.

The World Class Bar. What a joke. They're going for a craft cocktail experience here, but they only make what's in their little book with no deviations. It sure helped keep the bar empty throughout the cruise, but it also kept us away after our first visit. The drinks were fine, the inability to deviate at all left us unimpressed. We ended up going to MC to order drink deviations.

Martini Bar - The hot spot on the ship. Great drinks, great service, great atmosphere. Still our favorite even if we didn't spend as much time there as in the past due to DD.

Private Island / Suite Beach:

Suite beach was great. MC Conceirges met you at the end of the dock and at the entrance to the beach. There was a golf cart shuttle, but it's such a short walk it wasn't necessary. There is a private bar and buffet for the suite beach. There was occasionally a line, but nothing bothersome. If you chose to get a cabana, you'll get better service from the roving attendants. But we still managed to get floating mats upon request as well as drinks. There was plenty of seating both in the shade and in the sun. With the limited number of folks on the beach, we were glad we didn't do the cabanas.

Overall, great experience on the private island with the suite beach.

Internet:

We loved the idea of unlimited internet, and maintained low expectations. Across the ship, the connection was great and we were able to do all we needed including streaming music and downloading some shows. However, the internet was useless in our suites at the back of the ship. We could stand at our door and sometimes at the couch, but the desk, bed, and deck were out of range. Sad design flaw.

Entertainment: Entertainment (production shows) has improved on X since they brought it back in house. The rotating performers always vary. Much of that depends on one's taste... from comedians to the quality of the singers. We enjoyed all the shows we attended. With our daughter, we didn't get to the comedians, but the in-laws said one one good, one bad.

However, the Queen review... I've read some other reviews from our cruise on the board that were kind to this performance. We've seen some epically bad cruise performances, but this had Freddy Mercury rolling in his grave. We've never heard Queen massacred in such a way. We escaped before their encore massacre of Bohemian Rhapsody. There were two other couples in our section in the balcony that were debating walking out, so we weren't alone in our disappointment.

Other little things:

We did the daytime silent disco with the DD. We loved it and found it was a great event both for those participating and those watching from their pool chairs. As it was the daytime disco, most folks only had one channel on. When I flipped through, there other two channels didn't offer anything that was appealing to me. YMMV

The flower room with mirrored star. I know this is primarily used for photo sessions, but our DD loved it and insisted on us taking a picture of her on the star every time we went through. Given it's proximity to MC, we have lot of pictures from the room. There are so many wonderful nooks around the ship that offer an escape from the buzz around the ship. We felt the Reflection would be awesome for a TA.

The sail away on the helipad on the beach day was a lot of fun. The Captain blowing the horn with a wave at our daughter was quite a highlight.

We enjoyed Qsine and Murano. Both lived up to their reputations in quality of food and service.

Excursions:

Cozumel - We did the family amazing race challenge. We posted here to see if it was appropriate for a 3.5 year old, and didn't get a lot of feedback, so I'll spend more time than necessary describing it here.

We had a great time and while it was a bit of a stretch for a 3.5 year old, she LOVED it. Our only complaint was the time it took for the 'race' to get started. It was too long: cab ride to Cozumel town center, long wait for other ship groups to join us, and the another wait until we got our instructions. The tour guides were terrific and each team had phone that would get you to the tour folks immediately. Interaction with the locals were great as the race took you a few blocks into neighborhoods. My MIL was very nervous about this, but we found everyone we encountered to be terrific. Even with our daughter (and checking our otherwise competitive spirit to finish first), we DIDN'T finish last.

My MIL bumped her head as we got of a glass bottom boat that was part of the race. While not a serious injury at all, the tour operators accommodated her wish to have a taxi back to the ship. The ship excursion staff was equally as attentive in following up to make sure that she was physically ok and credited back some cost of the excursion. Again, for a minor bump, they were all very accommodating.

Grand Cayman - We did the Dolphin and Turtle interaction. The turtle farm was great, but very, very rushed. I think we ended up with a mere 20 minutes. We had chosen the more simple dolphin interaction which was appropriate for a 3.5 year old. There were lots of ships (six to be exact) in port, which made the dolphin place very crowded. While making the entire even slow, it was still great. Buying the pictures is highway robbery, but how can you not walk away with a picture with your child kissing a dolphin.

Jamaica - We didn't even get off the ship. Falmouth is just so far from anything and we didn't want the long bus rides.

Disembarking:

Luggage transfer to the airline is indeed back! With that option, we just carried off the rest of our baggage at our leisure after a final (and unremarkable) breakfast in Luminae. We left Luminae just after 8:30 and were waiting for our car at the curb by 845. Effortless.

Overall:

We immensely enjoyed the cruise and felt X did a great job making our 3 generational family spring break cruise exceptional. We booked another X cruise (on Edge) and that is the single best determining factor to whether you've enjoyed the experience.

As we reflected back on the cruise, we really felt like it was the staff and crew that always looked for a way to make the experience special. We're convinced that there's no better way to cruise than with a happy, bubbly 3.5 year old girl who everyone dotes upon. While just being the side show to her, these two dads were reduced to tears of joy several times at how kind folks were to her (and us).

 

The quality of the offering (hotel, food, service, and entertainment) is strong and differentiated in the market. While we had lots of comments about things that could be improved above, none significantly impacted our ability to have a great and memorable vacation. We hope some of this review will be helpful to other readers and are happy to answer any questions you may have.

[NLH Arizona]

Thank you for your review, I so enjoyed reading it,

[Lois R]

Thanks for sharing your experience with us and it sounds as if (albeit a few glitches) you had a lovely family vacation:)