Celebrity Reflection Review

Disappointed... as we loved Celebrity...

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Celebrity Reflection
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gold1959
2-5 Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Feb 2015
Cabin: Deluxe Ocean View with Verandah 2C

We truly loved our two previous Celebrity Cruises, but several Very important things were missing from this one that, for us, caused us to be seriously disappointed to the point that we probably won't be cruising again with Celebrity. What we loved about Celebrity were the elegant, "upscale" things- and too many of them were missing from this cruise. One of the things we loved most about our previous Celebrity cruises were the events on the lawn, especially the excellent live music, wine and cheese on the lawn at sunset as we left a port... it was elegant and fun and romantic- and now gone. Not only were there no lawn events during this cruise, the entire lawn was roped off all week and wasn't usable at all. The area had been turned into a "pay extra" area. The Enomatic wine bar which we loved and enjoyed on our previous cruises was closed every time we went there, too, with the card readers taped over, and no sommelier, no appetizers, nothing- so that wasn't available either, and when we went for the advertised Port Tasting, no one was there- no sommelier or anyone else- all was gone. Michael's Pub, where we had enjoyed whiskey tastings on previous cruises, was closed off, too- another "private club". The molecular bar and martini ice bar were fun, but when I ordered the "martini sampler" (as I have always done), the show wasn't nearly as great as it had been on previous cruises, and when 10 drinks were poured for me, 4 were then taken away! The food throughout the cruise was, on the whole, nice, but not Nearly as fine as it had been on our previous Celebrity cruises (my husband is a chef, and what we loved about Celebrity was how truly good the food was), and one one night the lobster was so bad (metalic-tasting) that it had to be sent back- that had NEVER happened on a Celebrity cruise before. We loved Qsine on our previous cruises- so much that we ate there repeatedly- but this time they, again, had cut corners, and it wasn't as good. The entertainment, while okay, wasn't- again- nearly as good as it had been on our other two Celebrity cruises. (The "club" in the wine bar was a flop, and the mermaid thing was simply odd... it wasn't a real mermaid show at all...) There was also a noticeable shortage of waiters, apparently because so many people got the "free drink package" that Celebrity decided we needed to make a effort to get a drink?- so hunting for and chasing waiters became a running joke among cruisers. All in all, it was Very obvious that in Many areas- WAY TOO many areas- Celebrity is cutting corners- and not in a good way. Another serious issue is that passengers do not like being lied to- and we Were lied to. The ship was delayed for hours in Florida waiting for 400 passengers, and as a result we missed out first port of call, Puerto Rico. That, for us, was to have been a highlight of our cruise, but for some passengers it was the ONLY reason they had booked this cruise. We were told by the Captain that this was due to weather (so Celebrity wouldn't have to compensate anyone, I assume), but that was a lie. Within minutes everyone on the ship had learned the truth- that the delay was a computer and personnel foul-up that had NOTHING to do with the weather, and I received email documentation verifying this from the guests who were stranded in an airport in Canada for 11 hours! Another small thing: We love having breakfast on our balcony every morning- that is a true highlight of cruising for us. This time we had to ask for the breakfast menu cards- they weren't on our door every evening... I gather so people won't be encouraged to do it. Another little aggravating thing was how the price of photos was raised to the silly point; as there wasn't one good one of either of us (a first), we bought none of them this time. The plusses: our balcony cabin was nice (it was actually the highlight of our cruise...), the little arcade was fun, the pools and hot tubs were lovely, and the Flash Mob we did was a lot of fun. The one interactive costumed performance with the cast using the elevators was great fun. The service was very nice, as we have come to expect on Celebrity cruises, and the spa treatments (massage and reflexology, mani and pedi) we received were very good (if also more expensive than previously). Sadly, however- and for the first time- the very expensive hair salon service I received was a disappointment. All in all, the disappointments were so many that we won't be cruising again with Celebrity unless we know for CERTAIN- IN WRITING- that as well as excellent service, the things we loved about Celebrity- the lawn events, the Enomatic wine bar, truly fine food, Michael's pub and the tastings- will be reinstated and available.

Cabin Review

Deluxe Ocean View with Verandah 2C

Our balcony cabin was very nice. It was, in fact the highlight of our cruise.

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