Not sure Celebrity is for us. We went with AquaClass and used the Persian Gardens. Add in Blu dining experience Was it worth the additional expense. Was it significant enough upgrade in quality and experience. We did not feel it was worth it. Reflection was an older ship and does not have all the perks of newer ships. Pools and hot tubs smaller. Persian Gardens were cool if you wanted to use it every day, but two days were off the ship. Food in Blu could be had in main dining, with a larger selection even. Disappointed that we didn’t have the newer veranda balcony room. Only found on new ships commissioned in last 3-5 years. Being a USB multiplier to plug in all the gadgets. Saw folks bringing 12 packs of sodas on board, didn’t think that was allowed?
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Literally was on the boat 5 minutes after arriving. Take an Uber from your hotel to the ship. Easier, less expensive. Marriott was going to charge $20/person. Uber cost me $10+tip. Arrived cruise port. Dropped bags with porter, escalator upstairs, x-ray our carry on and walked on board. Super fast and efficient.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
We were Aquaclass and ate 2 meals in Blu. It was good, but too bougie, wife ordered her meal from main dining. I ate off the Blu menu. Third and 4th evenings we ate in Oceanview Cafe and they had some wonderful selections. Loved Caribbean night followed by Italian night. The Tiramisu selection was awesome! Loved multiple breakfast options in the morning in Oceanview Cafe. Did
not do speciality dining.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Magic show was fun, ABBA Sing-a-long was lots of fun. Street curling was a hoot. So was archery challenge.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Guilisan was our room steward, he was not seen but our room was always clean and supplied with fresh linens, flowers, water and ice. Champagne was stocked by him on day one of cruise.
Need a place to watch sports…Go to the Casino Bar. Bartender’s Randy and Zoe always kept my glass full. We watched NBA and NHL games. Just tell Randy to turn the cricket off ..lol
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Reflection is old and out dated. Her design is the same as RC’s Rhapsody of the Seas. No Grand Promenade. No British Pub. Nice that Ocenview Cafe open for late night dining.
Limited room plug-in availability. Two 110volt and 1 international plug. Plug in bathroom wouldn’t hold a cord. Was nice that night light when bathroom light turned off. Loved the larger shower.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
This was first Celebrity Cruise. Thought we were getting the new updated Veranda balcony. Nope. Very disappointed. Room laid out just like the other 15 balcony cruises on Royal Caribbean. Shower stall had plexiglass sliding doors and was slightly larger. Shower also had multi-shower nozzles. Limited storage space. Limited electrical outlets for your gadgets. Two 110 volt outlets and one 220 European outlet.. fridge was stocked with beverages and room steward kept us refreshed with bottled water and ice.
Got off the boat and went to several key stops Harpoon Harry’s for breakfast, Judy Bloom book store, Sliopy Joes, and Pilar Rum Distillery. Say hi to “Indiana” at Pilar. Grab a Cafe Cone Leche and a Cuban from Cuban Coffee Queen. Key West full of history too, Hemingway House, Pan Am Airlines first ticket office, The White House. Wish we had more time. Keep in mind 99% of stores/shops don’t open until 10:00am, don’t be in a rush to get off the boat.
Did walk-off with our bags. Met in Reflection Theater at 6:45am. By 7:15am we were making our way off the ship. US Custom’s / Immigration was a breeze. Scanned our face, green check mark and we were back in US. Had our Uber and back over to Marriott property by 8:00am.
Thanks for your review. For the most part you seemed to enjoy the cruise and the ship. Sounds like you were disappointed with the room because of what you were expecting (infinite veranda).
Yes, you can bring soda on now. The Edge Class ships with Infinite Balcony’s are highly disliked by most passengers as essentially they are a glorified window. The operating mechanism of the window and blinds are noisy to operate, waking up a sleeping,person in your stateroom. We liked Reflection, although not a new ship, it is sufficiently equipped. If you want to talk older Celebrity ships, then look at Summit, Constellation, Millennium and Infinity….all are huge money makers for Celebrity, especially in Europe. All have undergone extensive upgrades making them more like Edge Class. There is often a significant price difference between sailing short, older ships also than the glitzy Edge Class ships. Perhaps price has influenced your choice?
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