Retreat area on the Reflection

[sissyb]

I am new to the Celebrity cruise line and have a question.  Does the Reflection have a "Retreat" area for suite guests only?  We have a Sky suite on hold and our friends are looking at an Aqua class cabin.  Our cruise is in March 2020.  My understanding is that they will have access to the Persian Garden area but not the Retreat area.  We would be able to purchase access to the Persian Garden area so the 4 of us could go there together.  I know the Reflection was in dry dock recently but I don't know what was done during that time.  I wasn't sure if the Retreat area was done at that time or if it will be done in 2023.

 

Would there be any other disadvantages to us being in a different class of cabins?  We mainly just want to make sure we have access to the same restaurants and areas of the ship.

 

Thanks for your answers and providing any other information we may need to know.

 

[dkjretired]

You may not have access to the same restaurants. Suites can only eat in Blu on a space available basis and from reports back that is getting more difficult.  Blu patrons can eat in Luminae if accompanied by a suite guest but it’s not cheap.  You can both eat in the MDR on a space available basis but why bother spending the money for higher end cabins. Also, Blu is not open for lunch. 

[39august]

Persian Gardens access is not a suite perk. Retreat Sun deck will be available only on "revolutionized" ships, of which Reflection is not one. It will undergo the "revolution" in 2023. If you want to dine with your friends you need to get an aqua class cabin. 

[dkjretired]

The future retreat is currently Michaels Club which will be redone and renamed in 2023.  Your friends will not be allowed to join you in Michaels Club.   

[vtcruising]

We have been on the Reflection in a suite with friends in AQ. They moved a booked cruise up to the same week as ours when they found out we had booked, but knew that they wouldn't have access to Michael's Club Lounge (suite lounge, no suite sundeck yet on Reflection as said above). They also knew our main dining was Luminae and theirs was Blu. We did not want to give up dining in Luminae completely nor did the other couple want to pay $30 each for dinner each night to eat in Luminae. Neither of us wanted to eat in the MDR when we both had paid a premium price.

 

This is how we handled it:

Breakfast:

-We ate breakfast in Blu together a couple of times and also on our own in Luminae or had Room Service

-We all met many mornings at Cafe al Bacio for a lovely, relaxing coffee/tea and pastry while discussing our plans for the day.

 

Lunch:

-We treated them for the boarding lunch in Luminae for $20 each (was early and not crowded yet) and had other Luminae lunches on our own

-We sometimes met for lunch at other places onboard or in port some days (or just did our own thing)

 

Dinner:

-They paid for one dinner with us in Luminae

-We had the butler serve a gorgeous dinner course by course dinner for all 4 of us in the suite, which was lots of fun!

-We all went to Murano one night

-We all went to Lawn Club Grill one night

-We all went to dinner in San Juan one evening to a lovely little restaurant and dined on the terrace

-Each couple ate alone in Luminae or Blu for the other two nights 

 

They like the Elite Cocktail Hour and often would go to that while we went to Michael's. We would often meet in Ensemble Lounge after to hear some music before heading to dinner. In the late evenings, after the show, we sometimes would split up and my DH and I would head to Michael's for a nightcap - we had wonderful times in there in the evening and they would find their own adventures.

 

It was a wonderful cruise, with great friends, but we didn't feel that we needed to be joined at the hip. It was perfect for us - we enjoy our friends, but also enjoy having a little time to ourselves (as they do). They also respected the premium we paid for the suite so encouraged us to go to Michael's and Luminae.

 

 

 

Edited October 14, 2019 by vtcruising