Celebrity Reflection Review
First Christmas Cruise and First Celebrity Cruise
Rating by category
Additional details
We are not new to cruising but were new to Celebrity, the Celebrity Reflection & Christmas Cruise.
My wife drove in from Mississippi & I flew in from outside the country. On the night of the 18th the Miami airport was one of the busiest days of the year according to local TV news and the shuttle driver. Embassy Suites Shuttle pick me up as advertised. Pretty good deal so my wife did not have to traverse the traffic surrounding the airport. The one complaint I have about Miami airport is you have to pay for the luggage trolleys. Every other airport outside the U.S.A., trolleys are free because it keeps people moving.
We stayed at the Embassy Suites near the airport. A decent place the first night. When we got off the cruise we had a reservation for the night of the 26th with a request for early check-in. This was frustrating because my wife was told we would be able to check in early as the hotel was wide open when she made the reservation. I needed the early check in to pack my luggage for my return overseas that night. Normal check in is supposed to be 4pm. We did get early by half an hour. GRRRR!!! The room was in terrible shape. The chairs for the decks were bad shape. The bathroom was dirty. I believe we have crossed Embassy Suites off our list from now on.
Cabin Review
Deluxe Ocean View with Verandah 1A
We had a Veranda room on the 9th deck. The only question I have about the room was that I wish someone had thought change the arrangement around a little. As you come into the room I wish you would go directly into the bedroom area and the sitting area would be near the sliding glass door. Light really bothers me when I'm sleeping. Okay another comment. I don't know who the designer of the room was but if you are putting a slide for drapes up and they do not meet in the middle but are designed to overlap some at least have the part that some light can get through facing away from the head of the bed. Again, light REALLY bothers me when I'm trying to sleep. Rarely do I sleep past daybreak.
The Steward we had, Harry was fantastic. If he saw us walking to our room he would stop what he was doing and opened our door for us. The room was always cleaned on time and spotless except for our crap we had laying around. We both have breathing machines for sleeping. I don't know why but cruise ships NEVER put receptacles near the bed. We asked for an extension cord. Used big magnetic clips to run the cord over the ceiling to the a surge protector that we put behind the bed on the floor. Both machines plugged into it. Pretty slick especially what we have done in the past. Nightmarish.
I called the 1877 number on the day of the cruise and asked if they had UK style receptacles on the ship and was told they did. My computer and phone charger are UK style plugs. On the way to the cruise terminal, I told my wife we needed to go to Best Buy to get a universal adapter in case the person told me the wrong info and I was stuck without a way to charge my computer and phone. My spidey sense told me something was not right with the info I was given. Bought a universal adapter & thank goodness I listened to my spidey sense. They had European style receptacles not UK style. They are different. VERY different.