Reflection Transatlantic + 1

[peter pan]

Just back from our transatlantic on the Reflection.  We stayed on for the next cruise that included ports in Ireland and Iceland.  Fantastic ports!  Great cruise.  Great crew.  As usual the crew was helpful, cheerful and doing a great job.  We had fixed dining and it was slow some evenings.  Up to 40 minutes one night between appetizer and main course. NOT our servers fault. Staff in the dining room is stretched thin and with plenty of time to observe things during our meal we were, as usual, impressed by them.  It would help if when dinner is scheduled at 6 the passengers would be there close to 6 p.m.  One night a couple(always late), at a table for 6, showed up at 6:55 p.m. THEY LET THEM IN!  All our meals were disjointed as our servers tried to accommodate the late arrivals.  Not fair to paying guests, especially not fair to the servers. They manage to serve lots of guests, all at once, as they dance through those tables. We had breakfast a few times in the dining room and watched again, how well they do their job.  A big problem (only my opinion) is the “suits”.  Most of the staff know what they are doing and how best to do it. One Example: a table for 4 and a table for 2 were to be seated for breakfast.  The waiter takes the 4 to their table, seats them and turns to seat the 2.  A “Suit” literally sweeps in and waves him away to seat 2 other people that had come in later.  Now there are no tables for 2 except the ones covered, not to be used until later. The waiter hesitates, goes to the table, removes the napkins covering the place settings and seats the original 2.  Then he has to get the rest of the breakfast set ups. Salt, pepper, creamer, butter.  There were seats on the other side of the dining room that the “new 2” could have been seated at.  Why make the extra work for these guys?  Was the “Suit” trying to impress or make someone happy?  🙄 We enjoyed the ports on this cruise.  Iceland was great.  Cold and snow with whiteout conditions going in and out the one day.  Really interesting.  One problem we noticed on the ship during the cold, rainy or snowy days was seating.  There was no place to sit and read or just talk some days.  The lounges were either busy or full.  Seating was at a premium.  There was no common space available.  On a few occasions I went back to the cabin.  If I had an inside cabin I might have been more unhappy.  I’m wondering how this will work when the new cabins are added.  The Card Room, The Hideaway and the Library were almost always full all of the time.   I know this varies by cruise, but on this cruise the Card Room, was almost always full every day. Lots of games being played as well as cards.  This was all in addition to the Card players in the OV, Solarium and the lounges.  Even the Ensemble Lounge that was a “quiet area”.  That was interesting.  One day a guy held a 35 minute FaceTime  business meeting in there.   😏  The music on the ship is still loud in some places.  One couple and our table of 4 finally left Cafe al Bacio one evening because we couldn’t talk.   Too loud.

[dani negreanu]

Thank you. Will be boarding in 2 weeks, and avidly reading all about Reflection.... I was under impression, though, that the new cabins were already added, and that's why the ship seems or is indeed more crowded....

[cruiserchuck]

19 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

Thank you. Will be boarding in 2 weeks, and avidly reading all about Reflection.... I was under impression, though, that the new cabins were already added, and that's why the ship seems or is indeed more crowded....

 

The Reflection was built with an extra deck of cabins that the other four S class ships did not have.  Its capacity is 160 more people than the Silhouette.  It seemed more crowded on the May 6 cruise than it did on a cruise we took a few years ago.  As mentioned in the above review, the weather was cold, so almost no one was out on deck.  I did notice that since our last cruise, they added lounge chairs on the deck outside the front of the gym.  Because of the weather, I never saw any of them used on the cruise.

[Cruising TBD]

OP, thank you for your report.

 

Very little of what you posted is appropriate. The service is not suitable for "modern luxury". 

 

Interesting the use of the ship during a colder itinerary - reducing common use spaces does not benefit ALL passengers.

 

Hopefully many CC posters read your post and realize the limitations of what Celebrity provides. 

 

 

[tjunmin]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I knew about the extra deck with cabins when the ship was released, but have never sailed on her. Only recently I learned about all the overcrowding and capacity issues, when I was considering booking a cruise on the Reflection. It is important for everybody to know what to expect when sailing on her, in order to make an informed decision at booking time.

Edited May 21, 2019 by tjunmin

[wishuponasea]

We have been on Reflection 2 times. Never felt over crowded, but did have a problem with my time dining the last time. Was not organized well. Really like the layout of the ship, the staff was great and works hard to keep the ship clean and guests happy. We are going on her again in May out of Dublin 🙂