Reflection Review 11/28 & 12/5 b2b
We arrived back in Chicago this past Saturday. Fortunately the weather here has been quite warm by Chicago temperatures so the adjustment back to reality has been a little easier than normal.
I was writing a live blog while I was on the Reflection, but as you know with internet not always reliable, I was not able to post photos and videos like I wanted to. However, thank you to all those that were following along! It was always a pleasure to see wonderful comments while we were on the cruise. Below is a very long written review. I will then follow this up by different postings of photos and links to videos which I’ve uploaded to YouTube (actually still uploading so please bear with me!).
This is a VERY LONG review. Please excuse any typos or incorrect grammar. Some paragraphs I tried to write “conversationally” so my apologies if the writing is not perfect.
Background on us: I am 28 and my partner is 33. We started cruising Celebrity in 2010 but most recently have increased our cruising rate to at least 2 cruises a year on Celebrity. At home we get into routines quite easily. We have the same few restaurant/hotel bars that we always go to where everyone knows our name. We love having a similar routine when we cruise.
Embarkation: We stayed at the Intercontinental in Miami, right across from the bay. We had a bay room so we could see the ship in the morning. It was a beautiful sunny day, probably high 70s / low 80s. Could not have asked for better weather. We hopped into a cab around 10:20/10:25 and headed to the port. Our cab driver was great at maneuvering around the busy port traffic and we were at our ship in no time. Porters took our bags right away and we headed towards security with just one carryon in total. We were staying in a suite the first leg of the trip so we had our special suite check in line. No one was in line in front of us and we saw a representative almost immediately. By 10:50am we had our cards and were sitting in the suite lounge waiting for the ship to open. Exactly at 11am we were told we could begin boarding and we were the first ones to walk on the ship (see video below). That is always a great feeling!
The rooms were ready just after 1pm if I remember correctly. It was such a beautiful day out that we really were not in too much of a hurry to get to the rooms.
Best part of Embarkation: We had just gotten off the elevator on 14. We were headed to the pool bar to grab a drink when I hear someone yell my name. I look around and see Chairul, a bartender we had met on our 14day holiday Eclipse sailing last year. I was thrilled to see he was on this ship, he was our FAVORITE bartender! I was then shocked when he not only remembered our names, but where we live, what we do for a living and most importantly, what we like to drink (Kettle One up with a twist and a small bottle of Pellegrino on the side). I knew right then that we were going to have an amazing 14 days!
Our Cabin 2174: This was our first time in a suite on Celebrity. Only a SkySuite but we were looking forward to having a butler in the off chance we needed something important, looking forward to the extra storage space but mostly looking forward to Luminae. OK – Lets talk about the room. 2174 was a great room. We didn’t notice any noise issues. We LOVED all the storage space. Check out the video and you can see the amount of closets and drawers. All of our stuff fit perfectly and we unpacked right away to take advantage of the storage. The wider balcony was very nice though we did not use it too much. The best part of the room I think was being able to walk around and get ready without tripping over each other. Our room steward was Michael. He introduced himself right away. He was very friendly and attentive. We never had cleanliness issues with the room. Everything was always in good order. Our butler was Keegan. We didn’t utilize him much outside of making reservations and getting escorted to the reserved show seats on formal nights. We was very nice and always looking to help. We joked that he wouldn’t take no for an answer. He would stop by with the “goodies” cart around 4:30pm. We were usually back in the room at this time taking a quick nape or watching a bit of TV before we started to get ready for the evening. The conversation would go like this “Mr. Paul, would like some coffee or tea? Would you like some sandwiches? Would you like some cookies? Would Mr. Edward like some coffee? Are you sure? Are you sure you wouldn’t like anything we have chocolate chip, we have…..” Though I wish Keegan was knocking on my door right now offering me all of that!
FOOD!
LUMINAE
We were most excited for the suite because of Luminae. Luminae is open on embarkation day for lunch. We were there exactly at Noon and received very pompt service. We ate there every day we could for lunch, which excludes port days. They are closed for lunch on port days. However, there is one exception. This was the Eastern leg of the trip, which meant we were stopping in Puerto Rico. Scheduled stop in Puerto Rico is 3pm so on that day they were open for lunch.
Favorite Lunch Items: The burger was excellent, hands down. Great portion and the truffle fries that come with the burger are great. They’re not soaked in truffle, only lightly coated which is exactly how truffle oil should be used. One day they had a filet mignon on the menu, which was excellent. Heavy for lunch, but we definitely enjoyed.
We never had a problem getting a table for lunch or dinner. Once at dinner we had to wait…20 seconds….ok maybe 30 seconds….for our favorite table to be cleared off. We always sat in Tetiana’s section. Great service, no delays in food. They knew we liked Pellegrino for our water after the second day. Gabriel was our sommelier. He was fantastic. He was very friendly and even though he was extremely busy when he got to our table, we would never know it. He always took time to recommend wine pairings with our dinner and our glass was never less than half full. On many occasions he would just leave the bottle of wine at the table for us to pour, as we wanted.
Favorite Dinner Items: Oh my so many choices….the lobster was good. Not GREAT, but pretty good and definitely a huge portion. The lamb was excellent but my favorite…and I think we had this for dinner….or maybe it was lunch….the mushroom truffle risotto. Easily…easily…the BEST risotto I’ve ever had in my life. Every dinner we had was excellent. Tetiana always has good recommendations so we listened to her most of the time.
Overall we LOVED Luminae. It seems like they worked out whatever kinks there were during / right after the TA crossing because we found things to be right on point with service, food temperature, etc.
Ultimate Dining Package / Specialty Restaurants
On the second cruise, we were in Aqua Class. While we really do like Blu, we grew accustomed to a “proper” lunch in Luminae on the previous cruise. We were spoiled, so we chose to purchase the ultimate dining package. The price was excellent $30pp/pd and this allowed us great options for dinner.
Here is the review on the restaurants:
Bistro on 5: We ate here for lunch probably 7 times throughout both cruises. We found the food to be good but not great. Our favorite was probably the cowboy crepe. Soups were good, but not amazing. My favorite soup was the navy bean soup. Service was always excellent. They remembered us from the first time we stopped in and were always very friendly. If we wanted a drink they were quick to get whatever we wanted.
The Porch: We ate here on Embarkation day of the 2nd cruise. Lots of food and big portions, at least with what we ordered. They start you out with this cheesy bread loaf…it was very good and quite filing. Their lobster bisque was very nice. Not your traditional creamy bisque, more of a broth as opposed to cream, but it was very good. Their Mahi Mahi tacos – excellent and big portions with lots of mahi mahi. Get them! We had their burger as well which was OK. I wasn’t too crazy about it but I was also very full. It tasted a bit plain to me. There was a chipotle mayo or sauce on the burger which tasted good but there wasn’t enough of it. The flavors in the sauce probably should have been mixed in the burger itself. We meant to go back but only ate here once. We found they usually opened at 3pm and with us eating in specialty restaurants for dinner we wanted to save our appetite.
Qsine: It’s Qsine! If you’ve eaten here before you’ll know what I mean. Lots of food coming at you from all directions. We had very good service and nice table by the window when we were there. My favorites were the lava crab and the egg rolls. I could have sat there eating egg rolls all night long.
Lawn Club Grill: We had a beautiful night to eat at Lawn Club for dinner. We had the margarita flatbread to start…which is more of a margarita pizza but it was excellent. We ate the entire thing. We took advantage of the salad bar and had a nice large salad. I wasn’t crazy about their ranch dressing I’ve had before, so I had their French which was very good. Good flavor, but not too strong.
For dinner we both had the filet and split the shrimp and scallop kabobs. Shrimp was great. Scallop was good but small and I only had one on my kabob. The filet was done exactly to our medium rare liking. No issues. We had lobster mac-n-cheese and cream corn on the side. Both great.
Dessert we had the giant chocolate chip cookie with ice cream on top. It is baked in a cast iron skillet…excellent. What’s not to love. It was creamy and soft and the ice cream was definitely needed to clear your pallet between bites.
Lawn club was open for lunch on the last sea day. We went there at Noon. It was a hot and humid day. We were seated in the sun but quickly had to change tables. We drank plenty of water and opted to skip the steak and only get kabobs and a pizza this time. We had the steak and chicken kabobs. Chicken (tandoori) was fantastic. We switched up the pizza and did half sausage / peppers and I think half pepperoni?? Either way, whatever it was, was very good. We hit the salad bar too….but skipped desert. A hot chocolate chip cookie on a warm muggy day in the sun didn’t seem to sit too well with us. Plus we needed room for more drinks by the pool bar.
Tuscan: We went to Tuscan three nights on the 2nd cruise. Always good service. The last night we had to wait a little bit for the waiter to come over but they were extremely crowded. The first time there my entrée was the spaghetti Bolognese. It was good, but not great. I cook a lot of Italian at home and feel like I could have easily recreated the dish.
Favorites at Tuscan:
Bone-in veal was excellent. There was a table next to us complaining the veal didn’t taste like veal. I think he never ordered a veal chop before, maybe only veal at a cheap Italian restaurant…there is a big difference. Our veal chop was fatty where it should be. It was done medium, not medium rare. You want this in a piece of meat where you want the fat to break down. Increases the flavor throughout the cut. It was very good.
Filet Mignon: Had it the last night. It was done medium rare to my liking. I’m quite picky about my steaks and I was happy it came out a true medium rare just as the filet did in Luminae.
Calamari: We LOVED the calamari. The breading was superb. It was very crispy, not chewy and had great flavor. Excellent sauces to pair with it too.
Raviolis: There are two Ravioli’s on the menu. One is the appetizer which is stuffed with short ribs. These are to die for. The second is the entrée portion which is mushroom and truffle. Also very good, but my vote goes to the short rib raviolis.
Caeser Salad: I love a simple caeser and they delivered it here and the waiter would make it fresh off to the side. The waiter on the last night asked us how much dressing we wanted which was a nice surprise. I always like lots of dressing so I got what I wanted.
Desserts: One word: Tiramisu
Murano: Oh Murano. How we miss you. We ate at Murano once on our first cruise, since we had a free specialty dining to use, and twice on our second.
One of my pet peeves at restaurants is the napkin. Etiquette is, when you leave the table for the restroom, to place your napkin on the chair. The wait staff should either fold it and place it on your table when you’re gone or if they’re very good, replace it with a new napkin. At a “fine dining” establishment, I expect this done without question the second I leave the table. It’s a little pet peeve of mine…we all have them. Well, Murano never failed. Not only did I always come back to my table with a new napkin folded, but I always had someone pulling out the chair for me and seating me. The service we had in Murano, all three times, was excellent. It is what I expect at Tru or Grace in Chicago. Hands down, great and proper service.
Murano Food Favorites:
Dover Sole. Just get it. I don’t care if you don’t like fish, get the Dover Sole on the side and try it. Superb.
Lobster – I did not get the lobster, but Edward did. He really liked it and I enjoyed watching it be prepared. See a video below of the lobster cooked table side and the Dover Sole de-boned.
The veal tenderloin and the chateaubriand was excellent.
Other items: We loved their lobster bisque. I LOVED their crab and salmon parfait. We had a salad….I can’t remember the name….but it had bacon and fried pulled pork??? I think there may have been goat cheese? I know there was an egg on top. It was not a healthy salad, but it was definitely tasty.
Desert: We always skipped desert and opted for the cheese cart and had lots of cheese. We LOVE their blue cheese and their bri was fantastic. Everything else we had was great too.
We were thrilled with the food and with the service.
Does that cover all of our food experiences on the ship?....oh no Room Service!
So, we like to drink. And we come back to the room usually around 1am and I’m usually hungry. So we order room service every now and then. I think we only ordered it twice on the first cruise and not a single time on the second. The two times we ordered room service it was delivered very quick. Within 20/25 minutes. We ordered large meals too (Caesar salad, pizza, chicken skewers, spaghetti). Can’t complain about delivery times. In the past we had waited 45minutes to an hour for room service. This time everything was very quick.
BAR SERVICE!
I started with food in this review so you wouldn’t think I’m an alcoholic right off the bat. I wanted you to have a positive image in your head about Edward and myself as you were reading my review. Now lets talk bars and drinking.
I already mentioned my bartender buddy Chairul at the beginning of this review. I’ll get to him in a bit. Lets start with…the pool bar.
Pool Bar: Because we ate heavy lunches we always skipped breakfast. We’d get some coffee and maybe a treat at Café Bacio but that was it. Since I’m on vacation my breakfast was a screwdriver (vodka & orange juice). Three of them to be exact. We’d typically get to the pool bar around 10:30am and grab a seat at the corner so we could people watch. We got to know the bartenders at the pool bar quite well. We never really wanted for much.
Sometimes people complain about service at the pool bar. Since I sat there for hours on end and I sit at bars a lot here at home, let me quickly explain something. There is some random force in nature that, I swear, makes everyone want to order a drink in the same 5 minute period. I don’t know why. But it exists. The pool bar would come and go in waves. At 10:45am the pool bar only has a few people sitting at it. At 11am it is two people deep at every seat. Sometimes you’d have to wait 5 to 10 minutes. But, I noticed the bartenders were doing a pretty good job at taking multiple drink orders (4 to 6 people at a time). Even though you might need to wait a bit for your drink, knowing the bartender is making your drink allows you to relax and look around. We never heard anyone really complain at the pool bar this cruise about wait times, even when it was busy. The bartenders did a pretty good job of asking “who is next.” Since we were sitting there much of the time, I always helped them out and let them know who was next. We made lots of great friends at the pool bar and enjoyed talking with them! The regular bartenders at the pool bar, between both cruises were as follows: Iva, Glenn, Carnor, Komeng, Michael and Jorge a couple times on the last cruise. Though Jorge was making rounds with his drink cart by the pool.
Sunset Bar: Only drank here a couple times. Once during a sailaway. The bartender we had during sailaway was funny and nice. No complaints here but wasn’t here much so can’t really comment.
Café Bacio: Always had a decent crowd. We found the service to be pretty quick whenever we were there. Even if we sat at a table we were served fairly quickly. We were never in a major rush, especially if we were at Bacio so it is hard to say how long it took us to get a coffee or a treat, but we had no complaints.
Martini Bar: Chairul, my bartender was at the Molecular bar, so we didn’t frequent the Martini bar much. On the first cruise, which was a much older passenger crowd, we found the martini bar PACKED. I’m talking three people deep all the way around, packed! People of all ages were there even though the DJ was set up there, no one seemed to care. Anyone who did, well…it didn’t matter because they were packed. We went there a few times. The bartender I will call out for great service at Martini bar was Putu (short, bald guy. Head bartender at Martini I believe). He did a great job, very professional.
Ensemble Lounge: When I get to my entertainment review I will mention why we always went to ensemble (Johnny Mantra) but the service at the bar was great here too. We would typically stop for a glass of wine or bourbon (scotch for Edward, he’s fancy like that) right before dinner. Service was always very good and the crowd at the bar was perfect. Almost every seat was full, but not completely. We never had a problem finding two seats at the bar. Most people really like to sit in the comfy sofas and chairs. The bartender Alfred, was my favorite at Ensemble. Great service and very professional.
Molecular Bar: To my favorite part! Chairul, my favorite bartender was working the Molecular bar. Every night before and usually after dinner as well, this is where we would be. We got to meet Chairul’s bartender partner, Johnny who is AWESOME as well. The bar was never that crowded so we always had a seat. We met many great people at the bar that we’re still talking to after the cruise! I wish I was sitting there having a drink right now. If you’re on the Reflection, stop by Molecular and say hi to Chairul and Johnny for me. The bar will soon (January) become World Class Bar. You’ll see Chairul, Iva and Johnny working at this bar. We spoke with them about the cocktails and we’re very excited to visit the bar on our next cruise. It seems like they’re definitely stepping up the game on cocktails and it will be head and shoulders above any other bar on the ship.
I cannot say enough nice things about Chairul and Johnny. If I continue I can write another 5 pages about them so I’ll just end it here. They’re the best.
CRUISE DIRECTOR ALEXANDER
We had a great experience with Alexander. I realize he isn’t everyone’s cup of tea on Cruise Critic but we found him very engaging and friendly. He knew us after a few days. . On one of the first nights he was hosting “Frisky Feud” which is an adult sexual family feud game in Celebrity Central. He dragged me on stage and then later on into the game dragged Edward on stage. You’ll see a video on Facebook of Edward on stage. “Frisky Feud” is definitely not for the easily offended but it was great fun. We saw people here of ALL ages. The following night Alexander was hosting a LGBT happy hour in Cellar Masters. On his way there he saw us at the Molecular bar and stopped by to make sure we knew about it and to make sure we were coming. When we arrived he introduced us to his assistant cruise director and the activities manager along with a few other people who were there.
We had purchased some cigars in port but once I was back on the ship I realized I didn’t have a cutter or lighter. I happened to run into him in the atrium the following day and asked him if the sunset bar kept either behind the bar. He quickly pulled out his phone to call and find out.
Of all the cruises I’ve been on he has been my favorite cruise director.
MUSIC AT THE BARS
We were not at the martini bar much. The few times we were there, the DJ was playing. We did not find the music too loud. We were able to talk fine and talk with people sitting around us. On the first cruise the Martini Bar was packed 3 people deep every night. The funny thing about the first cruise is it was a much older demographic than the second cruise. The Martini Bar was filled with people well above the age of 50. I mention this because people on cruise critic previously have said that Celebrity is alienating those above the age of 50+ with loud music, etc. Well, at least from my perspective on these two cruises on the Reflection, Celebrity is still attracting baby boomers and they’re attracting the ones that love to drink and stay up and dance. Talking with people around the ship, we heard no complaints about loud music.
DECIBEL LEVELS:
As promised, I used an app on my phone to measure decibel levels at various bars. The loudest the martini bar ranked was a max of 100, but usually around 95 to 97. However, the pool bar when it was packed and LAX on stage (on the opposite side of the pool) came in at 99 on my decibel reader. Ensemble Lounge, with Johnny Mantra playing came in the low 90s. Not too much of a difference. I’ll post photos of the decibel reader screen captures below.
ENTERTAINMENT
PRODUCTION SHOWS / SINGERS
We went to all the production shows. We found the first two shows to be good, but not amazing. However, we always enjoy them very much. The last show, however, “Reflection the Show”, was fantastic and one of the best we’ve seen on the ship. Great singers and we thought the dancers were really enjoying themselves. I’m not a choreographer and I definitely cannot dance so I am the last person to critique dancing, but I felt like the dancers were really enjoying themselves and putting their heart into the production. That made it enjoyable to watch.
LAX: We only listened to them a few times and this is mainly because they came on during our transition times. They hit the pool around 4pm when we were napping or the atrium around 6pm when we were at Molecular. What we heard was not bad, but nothing to write home about. Though, I’m not Simon Cowell so I really can’t judge now can I?
JOHNNY MANTRA!: Johnny was excellent! See the video below in the following posts for a rough 4 minute segment of various acts he did. Johnny is from NYC. He LOVES his job and it shows. You know how some singers will take their 15 minute break every 45 minutes? NOT JOHNNY! He LOVES to play and he will continue to play with a good crowd. He was EXCELLENT and such a pleasure to watch. He truly loved his craft and had not only a great voice but a true love of music. Anyone who is a fan of anything from Neil Diamond to Eric Clapton to Elton John to Jason Derulo & Sam Smith, you’ll love him. His vocals are incredible but his abilities on the guitar, etc. are even better. Stop by Ensemble lounge before dinner and check him out. See the video I have posted.
GUEST ENTERTAINERS
During the captain’s toast show we were able to hear Jayne Curry sing a few songs. We never went to her show but what we heard from the captain’s toast, she was very good. She also had a fun personality. Everyone we spoke to seemed to like her a great deal.
Jonathon Kane is an Elton John impersonator. We loved his show. My only complaint was that he did not sing Yellow Brick Road and Don’t let the Sun go down on Me, which are two of my favorites. I am a big Elton John fan (despite my young age of 28) and I thought he was close to spot on.
Ralph Harris was a guest comedian that we unfortunately missed. We heard he was fantastic, however.
Robbie Printz is a comedian that we did see. He was good but not great. Most of his comedy focused on his wife and kids and getting older. I found him funny, but not hysterical. He did do a small bit on losing patience and wishing people dead which was a bit edgy and everyone in the audience, including myself, really enjoyed. He did have a late night show but we did not go to it. From what I heard it was pretty much his same routine that was in the large theater; nothing too different.
ACTIVITIES ON THE SHIP
We didn’t attend any lawn games or trivia. I noticed on the daily sheets there was still some trivia, but not as much as I’ve seen in the past. The activities director did a good job of organizing guest volleyball, volleyball vs. officers and entertainment staff and pool Olympics. That was always fun to watch and the entire pool deck seemed to really enjoy the games. You’ll see a video of one of the volleyball games on the last sea day on our second cruise.
MOVING NIGHTCLUBS
SocietyX is a new concept Celebrity started. Since Reflection does not have a nightclub, they have decided to make a themed nightclub that changes bars and themes each evening. Personally, I think it is a great concept. The first night was Mirage at the Martini Bar. The alcoves with chairs in them were covered with screens and dancers were behind them (similar to the club at the Mirage in Vegas). Martini Bar was filled to the brim that evening.
Another night was Radio Remix in the Grand Foyer. They played 80s music.
Liquid is the night when they turn the Solarium into a “Miami Club.” Now… I love the Delano for instance in Miami and it definitely was not the Delano, but it was cool. It was something different to stop by and check out. Drinks were pretty easy to come by. The first cruise Liquid was not that crowded. The second cruise it seemed like most people came to check it out and were dancing.
My favorite “SocietyX” however, was Cellar. Cellar was in Cellar masters, which is not a huge venue but it was pretty cool. They had a couple cage dancers, yes cage dancers and a performer in the back with some light stick things that she was throwing around. Again, people of all ages (yes, 70 and 80+ were on the dance floor) were having a great time. The activities manger was there, dancing and pulling people on the dance floor. The space was packed but bar servers were walking around taking drink orders.
The moving nightclubs all had good turnouts. I give credit to Alexander for this. Every show he would not only mention the moving nightclub, but he would explain the theme and tell people what to expect.
CHIC NIGHT!
Weren’t we special! We got to be on the last formal night in Celebrity history and the first Evening Chic Night (or is it just Chic Night? Is Evening Chic Night a bit redundant?).
I wore my tux during the first cruise. I always enjoy bringing it. Edward did not, he just wore a sport coat. However, we were not in the main dining room so it did not matter. Personally, I like getting dressed up. However, what was the outcome of Chic night? Were people in shorts and baseball caps? Cut off t-shirts? Overalls? Pajama Pants? Maybe one of those t-shirts that says “I love my dog and kitty”? Nope! Not at all! We found there were still some people in tuxedos and many women dressed extremely well. Chic night seemed to work out quite well. Women seemed to have a bit more fun with what they were wearing, as did the men. I was going to still wear my tux, but I figured I should embrace Chic night, after all it was Chic Night’s first cruise. I wore dark jeans, suede blue driving shoes, French cuff shirt and blue blazer with designer handkerchief.
Back to Back Process
This was our first back to back (b2b) cruise on Celebrity. We've done a non-traditional back to back where we've changed ships, but this is the first time we were staying on the same ship.
The process was very easy. We received a b2b sheet a couple nights prior to the end of our first leg. We were to meet at the Passport bar at 10am. At the Passport bar we were given our new room keys. Around 10:15am we were escorted off the ship to go through customs. We had to wait until port authority was ready for us. We all had to go through at the same time so we needed to wait for everyone. In total there were 70 passengers doing a b2b. Passport control was very easy. They barely looked at our passport. Once everyone had their passports checked there was some confusion regarding a person that was missing or was getting off the ship. Either way, we had to wait until around 10:50am to board the ship. No big deal. Port agents were very friendly and talkative. Everyone in line was happy they didn't have to go home so we were all in a jovial mood.
WE SWITCHED ROOMS. We did not plan this b2b from the beginning. We booked the second leg of the cruise a couple months prior to sailing. We were in S2 2174 and were switching to 1552, an A2. Here is what we had to regarding luggage:
Pack everything in drawers and in the bathroom. Place new luggage tags on the bags. Anything hanging in the closet can stay hanging! Leave it there. Leave your luggage in your room. Make sure your room attendant or butler knows you are completing a b2b (ours already knew from day 1). Leave the luggage in your room. Don't put it outside. Once our new room was ready at 1:15pm everything was in the room. Our luggage was there and our clothes were neatly hung in the closet. No complaints.
Debarkation
We had an 11:45am flight out of FLL. We had number 7 on the luggage tags which was scheduled for a 7:20am leave. We simply waited in our cabin until 7:20am and just walked off the ship. Very easy, no lines…we even used the elevators with no problem! Luggage was easy to find and the line for customs was, maybe 5 people long? It was the smoothest debarkation I’ve ever had. However, usually we leave around 9am / 9:30am. Maybe because we were leaving early we had it easier?
And to recap….
I think this was one of the best cruises we’ve been on. It might be tied with the 14night Eclipse holiday sailing we did last year as that was a great deal of fun…but overall from a service and food perspective, we were very happy with our 14nights on the Reflection. It was the best food we’ve eaten at sea. We were definitely spoiled with Luminae and the Ultimate Dining Package.
The last thing I’d like to say to anyone considering a cruise on the Reflection or any ship for that matter: It is what you make it. There have been many negative threads regarding the Reflection, the noise level, the cruise director, etc. Not only did we have a great time but also so did the majority of the ship. People of all ages were extremely happy with the entertainment and the quality of service on the ship. We spoke to several people who have been on dozens of cruises and they ranked this sailing as one of their best.
Below is will post some photos and videos. I’ll post some now and probably some more tomorrow. I still need to photograph all of the dailys. I will do this and upload to Flickr or a similar account.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AT ALL FEEL FREE TO ASK ON HERE OR PRIVATE MESSAGE ME. I WOULD BE HAPPY TO ANSWER
HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND HAPPY SAILING TO ALL!