Great first cruise!

Celebrity Reflection Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 64

Overall rating:

4 out of 5
Verified Review
Celebrity Reflection

7 Night Eastern Caribbean Getaway (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: April 04, 2015

Ship: Celebrity Reflection

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9184

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 9 years ago

Review summary

This was my first cruise so i dont really have another cruise to which to compare it.  Did a lot of research before booking anything.  This cruise line and itinerary looked to be the best for me and my family (wife, son 12, daughter 8).  Ship was very clean.  Food was v. good and always available but not outstanding. Activities were mixed but plentiful--there is a wide range of ages and tastes to satisfy.  3 levels of kids clubs; 6-8, 8-11, 12-17(12-17 was called the X Club).  My 12 year old LOVED the X Club and spent most nights there.  My daughter did not go to the kids club for her age group.  Two watch outs:  1)  three very small pools.  one was indoors (in a 'solarium') and was adults only.  the other two were outdoors in two depth levels (one went to 3.5 feet, the other to 6 feet).  On the 'At sea' days, the deck and pools were very crowded.  The other is the 'dress code'.  As a first time cruiser, i was not aware of this.  For gentlemen, pants were expected in the dining room on 'Smart Casual' nights.  Also, there were two 'formal' nights and I saw people in tuxedos and evening gowns.  We were refused service in the dining room at dinner on formal nights because I did not have a jacket.  interestingly, they did share with us that they would rent formal attire to me if I wanted to dine in main dining room on formal nights.

I thought Celebrity, overall, was a great line and it was a great experience.  I would recommend Celebrity ships.

Finally, there is a casino onboard which was fantastic!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
very plentiful and plety of options.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
i found the multiple art auctions to be odd. There were also

Entertainment

3 out of 5
some great events and some not so great. evening shows are good. disco dance lessons in the afternoon, not so much

Children's Programs

5 out of 5
X Club for 12-17 YOs was my son's favorite part of the trip

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
all very friendly and from all over the world. Plenty of it too.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
extremely clean and well appointed

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
much more spacious than i expected. even the bathroom. i got an adjoining room for my 2 kids which worked out VERY well.

Ship tip

See my full review about the pools and dress code

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

3 out of 5
didnt do anything here

San Juan, Puerto Rico

5 out of 5
dined at a great restaurant called Aguaviva and shopped in the stores. also tourned the forts which was fun, too.

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

5 out of 5
take the $7 shuttle to town lots to do. shopping dining, etc. also did a tour in the morning to snorkel in turtle bay.

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

5 out of 5
cant say much about phillipsburg as we did a 'resort for a day' excursion and swam in the pool and ocean at the Westin Dawn Beach Resort. Great day of R&R.
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2 Comments

noname111    8 years ago

Thank you for posting your review. So nice to hear when people enjoy their first time!

JusMe    9 years ago

Glad you enjoyed your first cruise.  I hope it is your first of a long line of cruises.  Celebrity does keep a dress code and does have formal nights.   I'm surprised that your Travel Agent did not inform you of this.  Like all things cruising is a learned thing,  sounds like you did great for your first cruise.

Great pic on Celebrity and a Solstice class ship,  they are my favorite. 

 

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