Crowds on Celebrity Reflection

[jbpcalifornia]

Considering a Caribbean cruise on the Reflection next March.  I know its not scientific, but all the youtube videos make it look very crowded.  This will be our first time on Celebrity (usually do Princess) and we can always find a quiet outdoor location.  Is there such a location on the Reflection?  Any other thoughts on the ship?  Thanks!

[cruisestitch]

There are dozens of reviews so start there for miscellaneous thoughts on the ship.  
 

crowding will undoubtedly be changed in the future, at least the near future, with distancing regulations......

[bikerunner]

Been on the Reflection few times never felt crowded to me.  Always was able to find space by pool or other areas if wanted.  But post Covid who knows how and at what Occ ships will be sailing with for the foreseeable future.  Its one of my favs to be on overall, love the Persian Gardens and the Cold room overall.  The ship does have more passengers than the other S class ships and some have said there is crowd issue overall but I havent noticed a big difference between the Reflection and other S class ships.  

[Esprit]

Been on Reflection twice . If you want to sit in the pit by the pool then it may feel crowded, just as it was on Royal Princess and the Grand class ships.

Both Celebrity and Princess has nice quiet areas which are easy to find.

 

Edited May 21, 2021 by Esprit

[lola2013]

Have sailed on Reflection once with a TA planned for October (fingers crossed).  I never found the ship crowded any more than other S class ships.  As mentioned above, post covid, everything is up in the air, but I would think with proposed lower occupancy levels, quiet space shouldn't be a problem.

[margie1221]

Loved Reflection (January 2018) - planning to sail her again in November 2021 - fingers crossed.  Wonderful trip - didn't feel crowded at all - had an inside cabin that was very roomy, with terrific location.  Weather wasn't great so we were inside a lot - still didn't feel crowded.  Really like this size ship and layout.

[mahdnc]

Reflection does have an extra deck of cabins that her 4 other sister ships don't which allows her to carry about 200 additional passengers (7% more), but we did not find her crowded when we sailed on her in 2019.  We had a great time on board.  I would not hesitate to sail on her again!

 

[39august]

Sailed Reflection twice, once in Aqua, thus Blu for assigned dining. Did not find either the general ship nor Blu particularly crowded.  Going back in Jan. '22.  

[cangelmd]

I found public areas slightly more crowded at busy times, but not a deal killer.

Michaels Club was the place that I found to be overly crowded, with furniture more than with people 

[Covepointcruiser]

I won’t sail on the Reflection again in a suite because of Michael’s Club.   It was incredibly crowded before dinner and the bartender never got passed the orders for those at the bar.   There may have been one server but that was not enough.   We gave up and went to other lounges for our drinks.   Luminae was also crowded and loud.   

[m8zenblue]

The library is pretty much quiet !

Just a few people reading or playing cards.

[Denny01]

Agree with the other posts on it not being crowded. I’ve done a number of Princess cruises and I find the common area of the ships I’ve been on to be more crowded than Celebrity ships. That’s one of the reasons I enjoy Celebrity more. 
 

especially the theaters. I’d have to get to a Princess theater show 45min or more earlier to find 2 seats together in an ok area. Celebrity, including Reflection had much better seating. The one drawback I had of Reflection is thy cut out a potion of the port side of the Observation Sky Lounge and turn it into suites. Still good room there but not as much as other S-Class X ships. 
 

she is lovely though. 
 

den

[vanman]

8 hours ago, jbpcalifornia said:

Considering a Caribbean cruise on the Reflection next March.  I know its not scientific, but all the youtube videos make it look very crowded.  This will be our first time on Celebrity (usually do Princess) and we can always find a quiet outdoor location.  Is there such a location on the Reflection?  Any other thoughts on the ship?  Thanks!

Deck 16 is pretty quiet. It's in the forward part of the ship and all outdoors. The aft area of deck 15 is usually quiet until late afternoon or sail away. You'll just want to be on the starboard side aft of deck 15 if you're not a smoker. Port side near the sunset bar is a smoking area.

 

[royalcruz]

The Reflection is my favorite ship. The area between the Lawn Club and the Sunset Bar is nice and quiet, as is the promenade on deck 5. The only outdoor area that feels crowded to me is the outdoor pool, especially between 10 AM and 4:30 PM.

[chemmo]

It was only on sea days poolside and in the buffet we found the ship a bit more busy than the other S class ships but as others have said if you either go up to the higher deck or to the back of the lawn area/sunset bar area you will find a quiet spot. We did not find the bars in the evening particularly busier than other ships.

 

We tended to go for a swim mid morning in the Solarium (adults only pool area). We did not look for a sun bed (we left them for those who wanted to spend time there) we simply placed our clothes on one chair in the Aqua cafe area (always closed at that time).

 

After our dip we would take a very leisurely walk to the back of the ship drip drying on the way and enjoy a nice cold drink (or two) at the sunset bar. We loved the Porch restaurant at lunchtime. A really nice ‘light’ menu and not too expensive. The ambiance of a Mediterranean cafe which also served sangria adding to that Mediterranean feel...

 

We found the positives of Reflection (extra restaurants) outweighed the negatives (busier sea days) and would happily cruise on her again. 

 

 

[D C]

18 hours ago, jbpcalifornia said:

Considering a Caribbean cruise on the Reflection next March.  I know its not scientific, but all the youtube videos make it look very crowded.  This will be our first time on Celebrity (usually do Princess) and we can always find a quiet outdoor location.  Is there such a location on the Reflection?  Any other thoughts on the ship?  Thanks!

In what part of the ship do you like to spend time?

I've been on the Reflection and her sister ships.  Never felt like it was crowded.  The pool area is probably typical.   

[NCHPcruiser]

We have been on the Reflection twice and did not think about it being crowded at all.  The area around the pool is generally full on every ship though.    While Luminae wasn’t crowded it was always full and it is the only cruise where we had to wait for a table most every night.  

[C-Dragons]

Reflection is our 2nd favorite X ship (only recently displaced by the Edge).
We have sailed on her 8 times and have a ninth cruise on her coming up.

We never found her to be crowded. She is a lovely ship with a wonderful crew. 

[Texed]

1 hour ago, C-Dragons said:

Reflection is our 2nd favorite X ship (only recently displaced by the Edge).
We have sailed on her 8 times and have a ninth cruise on her coming up.

We never found her to be crowded. She is a lovely ship with a wonderful crew. 

 

Ditto!

[garyl62]

21 hours ago, jbpcalifornia said:

Considering a Caribbean cruise on the Reflection next March.  I know its not scientific, but all the youtube videos make it look very crowded.  This will be our first time on Celebrity (usually do Princess) and we can always find a quiet outdoor location.  Is there such a location on the Reflection?  Any other thoughts on the ship?  Thanks!

Appreciate the question and responses, we're taking our first trip on Reflection (sailed Celebrity multiple times on other ships) also in March of '22, hope to see you there!

[phoenix_dream]

Celebrity is an amazing cruise line, and you will no doubt always be able to find some place that is quiet and relaxed.

 

That said, I have sailed all Celebrity ships many times (except Edge class..........yet), and of them all I found Reflection to be the most crowded.  But even there, on a completely full sailing, we had a great time and always managed to find a place to relax if we wanted one.

[Lastdance]

My reflection about Reflection always brings a huge smile to my face.  I loved Edge, but Reflection, so far, is my second favorite, but #1 of S class!  It was also the first time for me in a suite!

[Gist Ducky]

My husband and I have cruised a lot on Princess (elite status). We only discovered Celebrity in the past decade but now consider it our favorite. My overall impression is that Celebrity ships are less crowded than Princess. And Reflection is our favorite ship of any we have ever sailed on.

[keesar]

On 5/21/2021 at 2:11 PM, jbpcalifornia said:

Considering a Caribbean cruise on the Reflection next March.  I know its not scientific, but all the youtube videos make it look very crowded.  This will be our first time on Celebrity (usually do Princess) and we can always find a quiet outdoor location.  Is there such a location on the Reflection?  Any other thoughts on the ship?  Thanks!

 

If sailing in Aqua Class, Blu is definitely more crowded on the Reflection as compared to other S-class ships.  This is due to the extra deck and additional guests eating in the same dining room. More tables added in the dining room.  It is a nice ship overall.

[Redtravel]

Reflection is a beautiful ship with crowds. Reflection has more cabins than other ships of the same model. They added a full deck of extra cabins.  They didn’t increase the public spaces. Reflection is often very crowded.  There were several times that we had trouble finding a table at the buffet, a chaise on the pool deck, or a seat a the show.  MDR was crowded and had lots of noise.  Reflection is more crowded than other S Celebrity ships.