What a difference a ship makes

[npb]

After 40 Celebrity cruises, we had a very disappointing experience on the Reflection and decided to go to Oceania. Recently, I saw an X cruise to New Orleans that was too good to pass up so we booked and went with lower expectations.

 

WOW! What a difference. Our experience on the Equinox was like the "old" Celebrity and superior to Oceania. Our understanding from the crew is that the improvement is due to the Captain and the Executive Chief and is not shipwide.

[ghstudio]

After 40 Celebrity cruises, we had a very disappointing experience on the Reflection and decided to go to Oceania. Recently, I saw an X cruise to New Orleans that was too good to pass up so we booked and went with lower expectations.

 

WOW! What a difference. Our experience on the Equinox was like the "old" Celebrity and superior to Oceania. Our understanding from the crew is that the improvement is due to the Captain and the Executive Chief and is not shipwide.

 

I'm going to guess that you meant "fleetwide", not "shipwide" :)

 

Yes, the officers really can make a significant difference.

[Miaminice]

After 40 Celebrity cruises, we had a very disappointing experience on the Reflection and decided to go to Oceania. Recently, I saw an X cruise to New Orleans that was too good to pass up so we booked and went with lower expectations.

 

WOW! What a difference. Our experience on the Equinox was like the "old" Celebrity and superior to Oceania. Our understanding from the crew is that the improvement is due to the Captain and the Executive Chief and is not shipwide.

 

I am glad you enjoyed your cruise!

 

However, please keep in mind that your theory also applies the other way around. Not just the good experiences might be based on who is running the show but also the disappointing ones. So your Reflection experience can be a one time thing just the same.

 

We have cruised on some ships (not just Celebrity) twice in a row within two or three months and could really notice a difference. Our experience was never bad but let´s say: OK vs the usual very good. And since the very good experiences on Celebrity are what we usually get, I prefer to say the just OK one was the exception and not the other way around.

[npb]

I'm going to guess that you meant "fleetwide", not "shipwide" :)

 

Yes, the officers really can make a significant difference.

 

Correct.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

I'm just really curious. If you don't mind, what was disappointing about your cruise on Reflection? We have had two very pleasant cruises on Reflection this year including the ten-night Mardi Gras cruise to New Orleans. Of course, we may have had different officers on our cruises than you had at the time you cruised on Reflection.

[cruiserhal]

After 40 Celebrity cruises, we had a very disappointing experience on the Reflection and decided to go to Oceania. Recently, I saw an X cruise to New Orleans that was too good to pass up so we booked and went with lower expectations.

 

WOW! What a difference. Our experience on the Equinox was like the "old" Celebrity and superior to Oceania. Our understanding from the crew is that the improvement is due to the Captain and the Executive Chief and is not shipwide.

 

We were on that trip with you and agree that the Equinox was like sailing Celebrity of old. I give a lot of credit to Captain Kate since I have found a lot of times the staff and crew are influenced by the attitude of the Captain. Of course not always but a lot of the time. It was a very refreshing sailing experience.

[harz99]

Don't know about Captain Kate, but we were on the Equinox cruise leading up to Easter Weekend before she had taken over, the food, service etc. were top notch, and no we weren't in a suite.

 

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[CruisingChick]

I'm going to guess that you meant "fleetwide", not "shipwide" :)

 

Yes, the officers really can make a significant difference.

 

But they really shouldn't make that much of a difference. One thing Celebrity is really good at is being inconsistent.

[constantcruiser]

Such a shame it has taken the cruise lines this long to realize what a difference a WOMAN can make! Really just kidding, but if that's the only difference, it seems like a logical conclusion...

[Tricia724]

Every cruise is a difference experience. We have been on b2b's where one cruise was lackluster and the other was really good. Sometimes it's about crew changes....sometimes it's about the onboard passenger demographic.....sometimes it's about the itinerary.....and to be honest, I sometimes think it's about your attitude.

 

Maybe it's me, but I'm finding that more and more there is little consistency these days. It's why I don't recommend products, hotels, restaurants, contractors, medical providers, or anything else I really like to my friends. Chances are when they try to duplicate my experience, it backfires. It's why I'll usually give someone or something a second chance, but two bad experiences are the kiss of death for me.

[rM3panno]

Every cruise is a difference experience. We have been on b2b's where one cruise was lackluster and the other was really good. Sometimes it's about crew changes....sometimes it's about the onboard passenger demographic.....sometimes it's about the itinerary.....and to be honest, I sometimes think it's about your attitude.

 

 

 

Maybe it's me, but I'm finding that more and more there is little consistency these days. It's why I don't recommend products, hotels, restaurants, contractors, medical providers, or anything else I really like to my friends. Chances are when they try to duplicate my experience, it backfires. It's why I'll usually give someone or something a second chance, but two bad experiences are the kiss of death for me.

 

 

 

I agree that Celebrity really lacks consistency from ship to ship recently. In the past 2years we have have 3 sailings on the Silhouette, 1 on the Reflection, and 1 on the Summit. 2 of the Silhouette sailings and the Summit sailing were exceptional. One of the silhouettes was average and noticeably different demeanor from staff and crew. The worst by far was the Reflection.

 

Two of the best cruises (1 Silhouette and the Summit sailing)were in verandas or concierge class. All others were in a suite. So even the service on the same ship in a lower category cabin can far exceed the service in a suite when the staff and crew are doing their job and doing it well.

[shukapaw]

Thanks for those encouraging words. We are looking forward to our first Celebrity Cruise in about a month... on the Equinox!

 

~Brian

[villauk]

After 40 Celebrity cruises, we had a very disappointing experience on the Reflection and decided to go to Oceania. Recently, I saw an X cruise to New Orleans that was too good to pass up so we booked and went with lower expectations.

 

WOW! What a difference. Our experience on the Equinox was like the "old" Celebrity and superior to Oceania. Our understanding from the crew is that the improvement is due to the Captain and the Executive Chief and is not shipwide.

 

I totally agree. After our sailing last summer on Reflection in the Med, we decided to look elsewhere as we were so disappointed with the cruise. Fast forward to Christmas and our sailing on Eclipse, this was a totally different experience.

[rM3panno]

I totally agree. After our sailing last summer on Reflection in the Med, we decided to look elsewhere as we were so disappointed with the cruise. Fast forward to Christmas and our sailing on Eclipse, this was a totally different experience.

 

 

 

It looks like the common thread for those posting here is that the bad experience was on the Reflection.

[Wickets]

It looks like the common thread for those posting here is that the bad experience was on the Reflection.

 

 

 

We have come to think that a lot depends on the captain and the example he sets. We did a TA and Baltic b2b last spring. First leg crew and staff were great. Second leg change of captain and a lot of staff change and not for the better. First captain would always speak in passing, second would rarely be seen and seemed avoid contact when he did. First Maitre d spoke to every table each night. Second cruise new one spent more time rearranging silverware after waiters had set up tables and never spoke to us once. We sat with one of the senior waiters most nights and even though he said nothing, we could see the looks and body language.

 

 

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[luvstosail]

It looks like the common thread for those posting here is that the bad experience was on the Reflection.

 

Worried from what I am reading here. We have sailed over 25 times on Celebrity, but never on Reflection. With the long 14 night Southern cruises no longer available on Eclipse, we are now booked on several 9-14 night trips this fall and winter on Reflection. We have had three different captains on Eclipse in the past couple of years but they have always been wonderful. We tend to enjoy Sue Denning much more than Eddie as CD.We always stay in a 2B cabin and have been Elite Plus for many years. We do find the entertainment is rather stale, but then again we have seen most shows several times

So, my question is specific to those who can compare Eclipse to Reflection.. what are the issues ,if any we should be aware of.:confused:

 

luvstosail

Boston/Cape Cod

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

So, my question is specific to those who can compare Eclipse to Reflection.. what are the issues ,if any we should be aware of.:confused:

 

luvstosail

Boston/Cape Cod

 

We have sailed Eclipse in April (14-nights) and Reflection twice (January and February, totaling 16 nights.) Maybe we don't expect the same things as others here. For example, the cruise director makes little difference to us on any cruise. I do care a lot about the live music offerings. Perhaps others don't.

Whether the captain is personable or friendly makes little difference to us. All we care about is if the captain is experienced and capable.

 

We really enjoyed all three cruises. Because we cruise Celebrity often and are Elite Plus, we are getting kind of tired of their production shows especially those that are heavily into Cirque du Soleil acts. We are actually enjoying many of the headliner shows more, but I don't care for magicians much.

 

We thought the food was slightly better on Reflection than on Eclipse, but that is so much a matter of personal preference. Others might disagree.

 

I'd gladly book either ship again if the itinerary is right. We are booked on Reflection again later this year and in 2020. We won't be on Eclipse again soon but that is because her new itineraries are hard for us to schedule. I'd love to try them if we had the time. They are really bucket list adventures for us.

[lvz2cruz]

Our worst cruise was on Reflection.

Our cabin steward was not good. We were in the second boarding group and did not have our bags at sailaway. We are usually unpacked by muster drill. I went looking and asked a steward in the hall. He brought both bags. (stewards deliver bags now). It turned out he was not our steward but the one for nearby cabins.

I took a few showers and then discovered that he had not replaced towels.

There was glass on our verandah when we boarded. I told attendant a few times the first days, but it was still there. He finally told me on day four it wasn't his job. ??????

The guy in the cabin next to us smoked several times a day on the balcony. We and the guy on his other side told him smoking was not allowed. We called the front desk. They told us they sent someone to his room and he told them he was not smoking so they couldn't do anything. We told them why would we and the other guy be making this up? This went on all week.

The first night at dinner in the MDR the people at the table next to us sent two of their dinners back. One once, one twice. I thought they were being difficult until we got our food, same entree, and it was not properly cooked. Food was not good many times that week.

It took almost four hours to tender in Grand Cayman. There were no weather problems. I read on here it was on ongoing problem over several cruises at that time.

Our shore excursion in Grand Cayman was listed as meeting in I think the theater at 1:00. It was changed to meeting on the pier but no notification of the change was made. We luckily found out and suggested they make announcement or call people booked. Not done and many missed. Very poorly run.

On the last night, we put up the do not disturb and went to dinner. When we came back, they had inventoried our fridge and put our items out on top. We didn't appreciate losing fridge for night and they should have respected DND. Funny, they didnt make bed or change towels and didn't come later to do so.

I liked a lot of things about the Reflection. There were always plenty of chairs around the pool. It was a beautiful ship and never felt crowded. However, I would avoid it.

[jagoffee]

1

Worried from what I am reading here. We have sailed over 25 times on Celebrity, but never on Reflection. With the long 14 night Southern cruises no longer available on Eclipse, we are now booked on several 9-14 night trips this fall and winter on Reflection. We have had three different captains on Eclipse in the past couple of years but they have always been wonderful. We tend to enjoy Sue Denning much more than Eddie as CD.We always stay in a 2B cabin and have been Elite Plus for many years. We do find the entertainment is rather stale, but then again we have seen most shows several times

So, my question is specific to those who can compare Eclipse to Reflection.. what are the issues ,if any we should be aware of.:confused:

 

luvstosail

Boston/Cape Cod

 

Our cruise experience is about the same as yours including two cruises on the Reflection and multiple cruises on all the Solstice Class ship except the Equinox.

We enjoyed all of them. The Silhouette is our favorite and the Reflection our second choice. We like the extended Speciality dining options and improved outside OV cafe area. (Compared to the Eclipse) The only thing we do not like on the Reflection is the smaller Sky Lounge.

If you have not already read ChicagoPaul’s latest “live from”, you should. The review might make you feel better.

 

We also will miss the 14 day Eclipse cruises as it has been a regular for us. As I stated, we actually prefer the Reflection over the Eclipse, but we would not hesitate to cruise on either one. We went with the 12 day cruise on the Silhouette instead.

 

The Reflection has more passengers as they extended one of the decks all the way across.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[villauk]

Worried from what I am reading here. We have sailed over 25 times on Celebrity, but never on Reflection. With the long 14 night Southern cruises no longer available on Eclipse, we are now booked on several 9-14 night trips this fall and winter on Reflection. We have had three different captains on Eclipse in the past couple of years but they have always been wonderful. We tend to enjoy Sue Denning much more than Eddie as CD.We always stay in a 2B cabin and have been Elite Plus for many years. We do find the entertainment is rather stale, but then again we have seen most shows several times

So, my question is specific to those who can compare Eclipse to Reflection.. what are the issues ,if any we should be aware of.:confused:

 

luvstosail

Boston/Cape Cod

 

Sailed both, and personally, you can definitely tell there is an extra deck of cabins on Reflection. We experienced much overcrowding when she was in the Med during the peak summer season. You may find it is different in the Caribbean, but I have stated (many times on CC) that the itinerary would have to be spectacular for us to sail on her again at this peak time of year.

 

On the other hand, Silhouette is our favourite S class ship and we would have no problem sailing on her again. Additionally, we had a fabulous time on Eclipse over Christmas with Sue Denning ;).

[harz99]

You were very, very lucky to have Sue over Christmas as normally she goes on vacation/holiday after the Transatlantic.

 

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[villauk]

You were very, very lucky to have Sue over Christmas as normally she goes on vacation/holiday after the Transatlantic.

 

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Yes, her DH came onboard to spend the holiday period with her ;). Compared to Reflection, it was like night and day.

[JFO23]

We were on the Equinox in March, no Captain Kate, however that cruise was one of our best and we cruise Celebrity primarily. The crew, captain, and head chef were outstanding in our opinion.

[FlamingJune1967]

Ironically when I booked my first Celebrity cruise in 2016 everyone (well, on CC) seemed to be raving about the Reflection and badmouthing Eclipse (which we had booked - btw, Eclipse was spectacular!)

I was so excited to be able to book Reflection this time, only to get on the boards and be immediately warned that Reflection is now terrible. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

I give up!

[AidenL]

We are on Reflection next month.

 

Quite worried how it will be now, based on this thread. Not really looking forward to the trip now.