Celebrity Reflection March 2 to March 13, 2020 Ft. Lauderdale, Cartagena Columbia, Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, Georgetown Grand Cayman Number of Cruises – 28 Cruises on Celebrity – 7 Sea Fever I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by; And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking, And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking. I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied; And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying, And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying. I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life, To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife; And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover, And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over. The poem is Sea Fever by John Masefield and I learned it in the fourth grade. While it was first published in 1902 when sailing was quite different, it evokes in me the desire likely shared by all my fellow cruisers on why we seek a cruising vacation. Sadly, it appears that the Corona virus will prevent all of us from satisfying our “sea fever” for several months. My wife, Joanne and I really like Celebrity and Solstice-class ships in particular. I don’t think you can assemble a much nicer Caribbean itinerary than this one. There was a Veterans Day sale last November that had a good price which included four perks. We stepped on the Reflection with a $300 on-board credit, a premium beverage package, free wi-fi and gratuities. My wife and I later agreed we didn’t need the wi-fi as it kept us too connected to the “real world.” This was our first cruise with a beverage package. I found it a very nice luxury to order a Macallan, a Café Americano, or a glass of nice wine without mentally adding that to our bill. You just present your Sea Pass card and it came back with your beverage and not even a receipt to sign. PRO TIP: Slip your cocktail server a few dollars when you first order and your glass will never be empty. We booked dinner for the first night at the Tuscan Grill at the aft of the ship. It’s a wonderful dining experience that allows you to view the lights of Florida as you sail southeast. Crisscrossing the Caribbean resulted in several sea days which were wonderful. The Caribbean, for most of our days, sported white caps indicating a wind speed of 20-25 mph and produced a nice rolling motion on the ship. One day it was quite pronounced and when we went to the Oceanview Café on deck 14 it was very rocky. I wobble around using a cane and I had my wife fix me a salad plate for lunch as I didn’t want fellow passengers erroneously thinking I was abusing my premium beverage package with a face plant. This was our first time in Cartagena. The ship ties up at an industrial pier where you dock next to container ships and there is really nothing within walking distance. We signed up for the Cartagena Panoramic Sightseeing excursion. The tour stops at the massive Fortress of San Felipe de Barajas for a photo-op, a shopping arcade and the naval museum. The drive through the old walled city is reminiscent of Old San Juan or even New Orleans. The “new city” of Cartagena would remind you of Miami Beach. The most acute memory of the tour is the insane traffic. One-way streets seem to be just a suggestion for drivers and I will be unable to complain about Atlanta’s traffic with this experience. We had an overnight port stay in Aruba and dined in the Lawn Club Grill while enjoying sunset. While the ambiance of the open-air venue was lovely, I didn’t find anything about the pizzas, salad bar or grilled steaks that warranted the extra charge. In Bonaire, we booked the North and South Highlights excursion. The tour guide was very good and we viewed loads of flamingos and saw the salt ponds which produce the islands only export. I was amazed how interesting it was to see how giant pools of evaporating sea water produce the salt we use. A very worthwhile tour. Dinner this evening was in the Murano which is by far, one of the most marvelously decadent experiences you can have anywhere. Put the Murano on your cruising bucket list. Our cruise director, Rich Clesen, was everywhere all week and personally bid all the passengers, adieu, upon departure. He did a great job and I “accidentally” photo-bombed him and his assistant when they were taping a daily show one afternoon in the shops aboard. Comedian, Kevin Jordan was very good with humor directed to the average age aboard and which would be lost to Gen-Xers or younger. Magician Ryan Joyce put on an amazing magic show in the Reflection Theater one night and followed the next afternoon with a hypnosis program. While he had 20 participants “under” on stage, he gave them a hypnotic suggestion to never drink and drive in addition to all the crazy routines they obeyed. He said he does that for every show. Uptown Funk performed one night and we’ve seen them three times now on Celebrity. I always enjoy the show. In all aspects, it was a wonderful 12 days and while our next cruise is scheduled for December, we’ll likely be back on Celebrity sooner when the health authorities signal an all clear. Read Less

Celebrity Reflection Delivers a Relatively Good Cruise, but did not take enough precautions for Coronavirus March 2 - March 13, 2020 - This is the second time we cruised Reflection, since it was new (2012) when we spent two weeks back to back on her. Our 11 day cruise this time was better since there was not a repeat of meals and shows during the 11 days.The ship has aged well and was in good shape. Embarkation: Very efficient, except if you needed a wheel chair assist to get on. People needing wheel chairs to get on were relegated to the back of the first floor, near the elevators and waited a long time because there were too few helpers to wheel them onto the ship. Shows: We read complaints about shows before getting on and could not disagree more. Each night was a completely different, entertaining show including the Celebrity Singers and Dancers ( 4 shows ) an Elton John Impersonator who not only sang well but was a master pianist; a tribute group to Paul McCartney; Rock and Soul show ( terrific ); Comedians; Hypnotist, etc. High marks for entertainment and no repeats. Food: Aside from the "5 pack" of Specialty Restaurants we bought, we ate in Opus 4 table 504 served by Billy of Indonesia and Charles Emmanuel of Philippines. The service Billy and Charles gave was superb. We mostly ate at 8 PM, when it was less crowded, and easy to get a table without reservations. Somehow we avoided the long waiting lines. Food in the main DR was pretty good, with standard choices like Shrimp Cocktail, French Onion Soup ( a Celebrity and RCL standard) and Escargot which were available every night. The strip steak available each night was not as good ... tough. Plenty of fish dishes, pork, veal, lamb. But surprising, we never had prime rib on the menu. Kudos to Reflection for having "real", delicious sorbet available each day. Other desserts are also pretty good, as well as delicious french bread/a variety of bread dips at the table in the evening. Not so good on Reflection and poor throughout the ship is Italian Food ( sauces, pasta, etc.) with exception of pizza in Oceanview Cafe and flatbread pizza in Lawn Club Grill ( it was terrific). On sea days, served lunch in Opus (deck 4) was very good, and not crowded. We dined at Murano specialty restaurant twice and the food is superb. Try the out of this world "goat cheese souffle". Also recommended ... Dover Sole, Chateaubriand for two. Tuscan was a major disappointment. Hubby's Filet Mignon was overcooked. He sent it back. My Veal Marsala was truly vile ... thick slabs of veal shoulder, smothered in a black sauce. I took one bite and pushed it aside. Like I said, Italian Food is a weakness on this ship. The Lawn Club Grille was very good with enormous steaks, wide choice of sides, salad bar and terrific flat bread as a starter for everyone. Were it not for someone coming into Opus one night "hawking" Qsine, which used to be highly concocted tapas style dishes, we would not have known that Celebrity completely changed the menu to a four course meal that includes delightful digital table graphics announcing each dish. If you have not experienced it ... highly recommend it. The food, which includes lobster tails and filet mignon main course, was very good, with entertainment value for diners. Try to buy your specialty restaurant pack before getting on board to achieve a discount. Oceanview Cafe food (deck 14) was very mediocre, morning, noon and night. Repetitive, plain, poor choices. Given the fact that Corona virus coverage was starting to ramp up all over the world, we were shocked that guests could touch serving utensils at all serving stations in Oceanview Cafe and that all condiments were left on the table for all to touch. Cafe Al Bacio has free pastries that look enticing, enough to get you to sit down and order pay for coffee. Unfortunately the pastries look better than they taste. Twice, we tried the Macadamia nut coffees which were rock hard stale and needed to be dunked in hot coffee to revive them. Sushi on five: Is strictly a la cart, lunch and dinner and has sushi and other specialties for non-sushi fans: Udon Noodle Soup; Dumplings and Shrimp Tempura. We found the food only fair, not worth the price. Cabin: Our standard balcony cabin in the front, close to elevator with a full-sized couch was spacious enough with full size shower. At 194 sq feet, they were still building ships 8 years ago with spacious rooms and balconies. Not so today. The cabin was in pretty good shape, ... but not clean. Greasy smears on the door, cabinetry and dust on tabletops, had us cleaning with the Clorox wipes we brought aboard. Our cabin cleaning crew did not do a good job, which surprised us. I spoke to our cabin stewart when we first got to the room and his comment was "Quite frankly I am exhausted". That explained why dirty bar glasses sat on the counter for three days, and the sliding door and glass railing were coated with salt when we first got to the cabin. Tours: We purchased the "Carriage Ride" through old town in Cartagena and really enjoyed it. It was also $20 cheaper pp by buying several weeks before the cruise. The Old Town area and much of what we saw in Cartagena was charming. Bright colorful, period buildings, with much more modern high rise buildings outside of old town. At the port is a don't miss gardens with Parrots, Peacocks, Ant Eaters and other animals. Don't miss the only Red Parrot who walks on the ground and tries to bite your toes. While entertaining, it is not fun when it connects with someone with open sandals. We saw him nail an elderly lady in sandals. Ouch! Shopping: While there is quite a selection of expensive handbags, jewelry, and full priced Chicos and more expensive clothing on board, there was a lack of more moderate priced items to bring back as gifts. Also the ship had a poor selection of toiletries should you have forgotten something. Movies: There were indeed movies everyday and some new ones ( Bombshell; Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood). But for some reason they started to show, half way through the cruise, very old movies. . Movie rentals in the cabins were outrageously priced at $14.99. "Nightmare" Disembarkation: We reported to our meeting area at 8:30 AM, as instructed, and finally made our way off the ship to the street at 11 AM. Once you stepped one foot out of the ship you encountered massive lines, holdups like we have never seen. The ship blamed it on too few customs agents showing up that day. Throngs of "Seniors" and other passengers had to stand in line for hours, waiting to go through check points. It was the worst we have ever experienced on any cruise. Overall, the ship/crew avoided even mentioning Corona and we saw very little extra measures to contain germs. Read Less

This is our 3rd journey on the Reflection. What's not to love? The ship is easy to meander, we never feel lost. Blu as well as the MDR serve great food. The lounges range from wild and crazy to laid back and relaxing. Cafe al Bacio is my favorite mid-day spot for an Irish coffee and a fresh pastry. This time I didn't even use my free coupon for a scoop of Gelato. Not sure why, but there was never a server behind the counter. I did see someone come over from Sushi on 5 to wait on a customer. Pools are wonderful especially the covered Solarium. I also did not get to the Persian Garden this time;I love it in there. Our beds were comfortable. The Martini bar was nice but got pretty loud about 7PM. We preferred the quieter ambiance of the Ensemble bar with a female vocalist or string quartet before dinner. Since we have been to most shows, we skipped it this time and only went once. Read Less

Although I'll sail most cruise lines for the right deal/itinerary, I consider myself pretty Celebrity loyal based on my past experiences. This cruise did not disappoint! I appreciate the hard working, friendly, & personable staff and senior officers. Rich Clesen was the CD and he's very good. The itinerary was the draw of this cruise -2 nights in NOLA for Mardi Gras! The ships pier location was excellent, as was the daytime trip up the Mississippi to get there. It was a short walk to both the National WWll Museum and the French Quarter. The museum was amazing, don't miss it if you're in NOLA. There were several parades each day & night. It was a great experience to be a part of. We also visited Grand Cayman & Cozumel. Grand Cayman was very very windy. So much so, that the Captain considered canceling the port that during the night. Instead, he anchored around the other side of GC, which was much further away from everything tourist. That resulted in relocating the local tenders, and obtaining buses to bring guests to Georgetown (the intended anchoring location,) I heard that cost Celebrity $30K! It was genuinely appreciated by the guests. I did a private catamaran with my group of 9, with Sail with Friends. The captain's, Patrick & Alice, are a couple originally from Ireland! Despite the weather, they made it a great day for us. Consider them highly recommended! In Cozumel, we went to Mr. Sancho's -a favorite all inclusive beach club.is a good value for $50 (on Viator.) Nice beach, good food & drinks, and it includes both beach lounge chairs and a dining table. It's a 10 minute taxi ride from the pier once you've navigated through the shopping maze. Pro tips: Following the green "Emergency Evacuation" signs is the easiest way to find the taxi stand. Try to get a group together to keep the taxi price down ($17 for 1-4 or $23 for 5-8,) and get off the ship early to get a good location at Mr. Sancho's -it'll get crowded. I very much enjoyed the onboard entertainment. It's always consistently very good on Celebrity, but with one exception this was probably the best overall entertainment I've ever experienced on a Celebrity ship. We had several guest entertainers (Google them.) Domenick Allen (high energy musician & singer) Dan Wilson (comedian,) James Cielen (illusionist,) All McCartney Live (Paul McCartney tribute group,) & December 63 (Frankie Valli tribute group) that were each terifficl. To have them all of them on the same cruise was just amazing. Nikia Camp (solo singer.guitar) & Sea Sharp (dance band) were excellent as well. The one band that I did not enjoy was the Long Play. Although their music was great, they were uncharacteristically unfriendly -which is what I will remember about them. That is not a good quality on a cruise ship. Celebrity has a guest speaker program on sea days called "Beyond the Podium," which features programs on varied topics of interest. I thoroughly enjoyed (and learned from) each DNA presentation by Dr. Hal Tinberg (Romanov's, Vietnam Unknown Soldier, Titanic child, Jesse James.) The Staff Captain did a nice one on ship navigation. The Stream internet was pretty expensive ($322 for 10 days.) I asked when it gets discounted, and learned it was after NOLA ($210) I didn't need it for NOLA so that's what I did. It was very fast and you could easily upload pics & videos, as well as video chat on WhatsApp. You cannot do that with the less expensive Surf package. I give this entire cruise a 10/10! Read Less

Chose for 3 days in New Orleans for Mardi Gras, and the recommendation from friends to try Celebrity. The Celebrity agent offered us a great deal for Concierge class guarantee and we found out the early boarding, special embarkation luncheon in the dining room, and early priorty disembarkation made it so easy to park in the nearby MIDport garage because there were spaces, and no lines as boarding began at 10 am. The passengers we met also were amazed by how clean it was for a 7 year old ship. We loved the top deck walking path from aft to forward going more than 2 miles in 7 laps while walking past grassy areas, and multiple eating/drinking areas. We had gratuity included as a free perk, but those who booked earlier also had wifi and all drinks included for free. BAthroom had most storage and nice glass enclosure for shower instead of sticky shower curtain found on new Princess ships, and bigger sofa and balcony than Sky Princess premium deluxe veranda which we cruised 3 months ago. No sick passengers for 10 days as precautions for clean hands was practiced by all. Food was definitely a higher standard than any other ship at the buffet and regular dining. We were offered escargots every dinner which was a wonderful surprise,and ate them in the regular dining room. Our servers and steward were wonderful. The spa pool room has a glass rooftop and is warm all the time with lots of loungers and views...and availalble to all without an extra fee. We will book with Celebrity again. Read Less

Hi to all Celebrity Cruisers! I just wanted to write a quick review onboard the Celebrity Reflection for the Mardi Gras/Mexico cruise. In one word, it was AMAZING! A little background on my DH and myself so as to better understand my short review’s perspective. We are avid world luxury travellers in our 50’s with our grown children attending university. We usually do land based luxury vacations but also enjoy cruising. Since 2002, we have sailed on Princess (2x), Disney 1x), Celebrity (1x previous in 2011 onboard the Equinox Med cruise) and RCCL (several times.) We gravitated to Royal when our children were younger as the activities onboard were as attractive to them as the destinations. We always cruise in suites. For this cruise we were in a Royal Suite (same suite as we had onboard the Equinox with our younger children in 2011.) It did not disappoint as the suite amenities were very much improved upon in the 9 years since our time onboard the Equinox We enjoy luxury travel both on land and sea. The Reflection was amazing in all aspects....the crew members, dining, appointments in our Royal suite, entertainment, well absolutely everything! We will return to Celebrity after our world returns to normal. Until then, we should all act prudently by respecting social distancing and not whining about the cruises we have missed because of this pandemic. Read Less

We choose this cruise because friends of ours recommended/invited us along. I believe this was their 2nd time sailing on this itinerary and they raved about the Reflection so we were eager to give Celebrity a try! We selected an AquaClass cabin which gave us access to the Blu Restaurant. The staff at Blu went above & beyond to take care of us. Shout-out to the Maitre D', Laurence, who was always cheerfully checking on us... also to our head waiter, Param and his team. Param went out of his way to get us just about anything we asked for and even some things we just had questions about. Thank you to Arvind, our sommelier, who kept up with our ever-changing beverage requests. Keep on smiling, Niak. I looked forward to your happy disposition each night that we visited Blu. At the end of our journey, Laurence invited us on a behind-the-scenes tour of the main galley and we also got to see the galley for Blu. This was a treat as it was our first behind-the-scenes tour of any type on any cruiseline. Although this was not our first time cruising, we had many firsts on this sailing. While I wouldn't recommend this sailing to those with children, I think it would be an absolutely blast to take my adult children the next time (and there will be a next time) we sail this itinerary. New Orleans during Maris Gras, was something to experience, for sure! Save your head/face and bring a long a hat if you plan to be attending any of the many parades where people are throwing beads & other goodies from the floats. I saw several people catch beads with their faces - ouch! Our first night in New Orleans, we had started to head to one of the local piano bars with our friends, but we never made it past Julia Street due to a parade going by that caught our interest... for 2+ hours! I am still trying to figure out what to do with all the beads we brought home. If you enjoy shopping, visit the French Market. There are some good deals to be had there. We were under the impression that the French Market might be closed on Fat Tuesday due to what we had read online. Nearly every booth was open. Cafe Du Monde was open on Fat Tuesday as well. Our other two ports on this cruise, were Cozumel MX and Grand Cayman. It was windy the day we were to dock at Grand Cayman. The ship's captain made a decision to dock at the south port (less affected by the wind) where they provided free shuttles for us to go downtown. It's not walkable so we were grateful for the cruiseline's choice to provide this service. We took a shuttle downtown then walked to the Guy Harvey Art Museum and store. After a few hours of meandering around downtown, we took the shuttle back to the south port and hopped on the tender boat to go back to the ship. The entertainment on the ship varied. We had a comedian piano player who we all enjoyed. There was a stage show or 2 that had the usual singing/dancing. But, the best show of all was saved for the end of the cruise. Euphoria is a cirque-type-show with acrobatics & aerialists along with dancing, giant blow-up animals & singing. I can't really describe it better than that, other than to say that it is a must-see show. Overall, this was one of our favorite cruises so far. Celebrity's staff, though many of them seemed to be at the end of their contract on this sailing, were all eager to assist in any way they could. We hope to run into them on other Celebrity ships. We will definitely be sailing with Celebrity again. Read Less

Once again, you did not disappoint. We have sailed 13 times on Reflection. The crew are outstanding, the ship is beautiful and the food is delicious. Our cabin was clean and our attendant was very good at meeting our needs. The senior officers are very visible and definitely approachable. The crew makes us feel like we are coming home. The great entertainment and onboard activities kept us as busy as we wanted to be. We especially liked Bill Cashell, a Beyond the Podium speaker. This year the weather in New Orleans was perfect for Mardi Gras. All we needed was a lightweight jacket or parka. We easily walked to several parades right off the ship down Julia Street about 8 blocks. We always felt safe in the city. Embarkation and disembarkation were incredibly fast and smooth. I can’t imagine anyone having a bad time. We will see you soon. Thanks Celebrity Reflection! Read Less

We used to love Celebrity but now when we sail with them, it's just OK. If I spend that much money, I should get more than fine. This was our twenty first Celebrity cruise and other than our upcoming cruise to the Galapagos on Flora, this is probably our final X cruise. Embarkation: Very smooth. No special Coronavirus testing even though we cruised during the start of the crisis. We arrived at the pier around 11:30 and were sitting in the buffet having lunch at 12:15. Staterooms were ready right at 1:00 and bags arrived before muster drill. Had one of best cabin attendants we have had ever. Stateroom was nice but as usual with S-class ships, not enough storage. Originally we had booked an Aqua class stateroom but the folks who had booked Aqua with us were unable to join us for a variety of reasons so with other friends on board and wanting to eat dinners in the main dining room with them, we changed to regular verandah stateroom 6244. We have stayed in this type of stateroom before and have enjoyed it. Our only complaint before has been the lack of storage. Those cupboards above the bed are kind of worthless as they are just big, open cabinets. But we recently read on a Cruise Critic board about some great baskets/bins you could get at a Dollar Store that collapsed to go into your luggage and then fit perfectly into these cupboards when unfolded. They worked SUPER. And since they only cost a $1.00, by the end of the 10 days they were not doing that great, but we just left them behind. I should also mention we had a great Cruise Critic Roll Call. More than 100 couples active on the site and most of them showed up at the Meet and Mingle. See my pics. Let's move on to the important stuff—the food. Usually we would do most dinners in the main dining room with friends at early seating. This time since we were stopping in New Orleans and might be having dinner at odd hours while there, we decided to opt for Select Dining. This means we didn't have a set time for dinner, but we could make a reservation, especially since we were a party of 11 and those tables are rare. So I made a reservation for the first night and I even called earlier in the day to verify that we were good to go. I was told we were all set. But when we arrived at the dining room, they had no record of it and told us it might be as much as an hour until they could seat us. No one was willing to wait an hour so we kind of split up. We went up to the buffet where we had a really nice steak. Even thought we don't usually eat dinners in the buffet, this was very good.  The rest of the week this was our dinner schedule, a real mix. We had dinner in the dining room most nights. We also had a late snack in the buffet on our two nights in New Orleans since I was either coming back from being off the ship or heading back out to take pictures of the evening festivities. On another night we had dinner in the Lawn Club Grille which is Reflections outdoor specialty restaurant. That about covers our dinners.  As far as the quality of the food and service, we give the Lawn Club Grille incredibly high marks. I am not a steak person but I had the best ribeye steak I have ever had. And the service was outstanding. In the buffet, we were totally impressed with the selection (even a lot of outstanding Indian food which we had never seen before), food quality and the service, although sometimes it was hard to find a member of the bar staff to take a drink order or get us a glass of wine. The dining room on the other hand was pretty much mediocre. Maybe we just expect too much but after twenty+ Celebrity Cruises their menu is very tired and needs to be refreshed. Most nights, there are at least two dishes on the menu that we have seen for 15 years and they weren't that good the first time. And the service was not up to Celebrity standards either. Most nights it was OK but a couple of them it took forever to get served. We had menus in minutes, then it took 20 minutes to get appetizers and another 35 minutes after that to get entrées. That's just not the Celebrity we love.  We did lunch most days in the buffet and enjoyed it. We also did a special hamburger lunch back at the Lawn Club Grille as well as a sea day lunch at The Porch, Reflection's outdoor seafood restaurant. It was EXCELLENT! Enjoyed all the food and outstanding service. I love their seafood tower and their sangria, although I did think the lunch we had in the same place in Iceland in June was better.  Breakfast was usually a muffin (or two or three) and latte/Americano in Cafe Al Bacio or the buffet for something more substantial if we knew we were going to be out until late. We did do the Elite breakfast a few mornings but were totally unimpressed Moving on from the food, we can't say a lot about the entertainment because we didn't see any of the shows. We aren't show people on ships. When we are on a cruise, our predominate evening preference is socializing with friends. Most nights would find us at the Elite reception in the Sky Lounge before dinner and then in the World Class Bar after dinner. One of the highlights of our June cruise in Iceland had been meeting Oleksii, the most amazing bartender in the world in that World Class Bar (a very special bar that is affiliated with a particular world-wide bartending contest). Well, one of the best part of this cruise was seeing Oleksii again. When he first saw us he just about jumped out from behind the bar to come and give us a huge hug.We also had a great time with Oleskii's bartending partner, Santos. Both of these amazing  guys taught an outstanding Mixology class one afternoon that we took and LOVED! If you get a chance and like to make great cocktails, take it. We had done a Mixology class on HAL a few years ago and it cost about $20 more (this one was $35 and you got three drinks) and was completely hands on while the HAL one was just a lecture. A note about the ports. We took this cruise to go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. We are really not Caribbean people. We loved New Orleans and Mardi Gras was a blast. We did not do any ship's tours or excursions. We were in New Orleans from dinner time on Sunday until late night on Tuesday. We were out and about a lot. If you take this cruise, just know that the ship docks really close to downtown (like a 30 minute walk to the French Quarter and only a 10 minute walk to a parade viewing area) so you DO NOT have to buy X's expensive seats in the bleachers. Most of the people we knew who did, wished they had just done what we did and walk where we wanted to go. I blogged all about our days on shore at www.jktravelredmond.com. Lot of photos as well. On Grand Cayman we went (on our own to the Crystal Caves. They were awesome and worth the trip. Pics at the same web address as above. In Cozumel we had booked a private off-the-beach snorkel experience but it was cancelled due to too much wind/heavy surf. To sum up, the Reflection is a wonderful ship, sparkling clean with an awesome crew. Since this was our second time on board, we would clearly sail on her again and again...except for the fact that we (after 20+ Celebrity cruises) don't have any other mainstream Celebrity cruises booked. We are sailing Celebrity's Flora in the Galapagos but that's one of their expedition cruise ships. We doubt we will be sailing on one of their ships again (unless coerced by friends ) in the future. Our next cruise is on Holland America and after Flora, we are doing a river cruise with Viking followed by a Viking Ocean cruise in October 2021. If we like Viking, we probably will make them our mainstream line of choice. Why have we made this decision? Because of a lot of things but mostly due to Celebrity moving on from us. I fully understand their need to attract a new clientele but they can't forget their "used to be loyal" long-time customers. The new Edge class ships have no interest for us. And they have taken X's focus away from the S and M class ships. Reflection's crew was GREAT but there are not enough of them. When we started with X in 2004 we always had a stateroom attendant who had an assistant and had to cover about 15 staterooms. Now we have one person and they cover 25 rooms. In the bars where there might be 100+ people, there are two bartenders and two servers. And we heard from many of them that they were leaving the ship at the end of the cruise to go to Apex. They were some of the best people on board. Another reason we are moving to Viking is for what Viking Ocean does not have. They don't allow kids under 18, they don't allow smoking, they don't have photographers, they don't have casinos, they don't have art auctions. Those are things that we have never liked on X and will be glad to be rid of them. Read Less

SAILED THE REFLECTION which was in good shape out of Ft. Lauderdale to New Orleans, Grand Cayman and Cozumel . An older crowd with very few kids. The ship was close to sold out if not completely. Celebrity’s product while still pretty good has suffered as have the other lines with food quality price cutting and staffing restrictions. Serving staff; in restaurants and bars appear to be at a minimum. Dining Room staff looked rushed and “Anytime Dining” puts unfamiliar passengers with needs often with different staff which doesn’t help. We had a table for 11 which is large and sometimes cumbersome for staff anyways. The waiter who who had others table(s) was very good at his job and did well. Sit at a large table you suffer the consequences. We were also the longest away from the kitchen for some reason. Food was good and portions suitable to our age bracket. (All Seniors). The bread sticks on X are almost worth the fare by themselves. The Porch for Lunch..seafood towers were excellent. We also had dinner one night at the “Lawn Club”. Also great but at extra cost of course. Other than the first night when there was a lot of confusion about our dinner reservation time. (The claimed not to have one for us) anytime went just fine although they wanted us to eat early than we actually wanted but that got fixed pretty quickly also. Took in a few of the shows and acts and they are pretty standard on Celebrity. Entertaining but not remarkable. Very capable musicians in the orchestra which to me makes the cruise entertainment wise. Our Room guy was second to none in my cruise experience. How these folks do it without being intrusive is beyond me. Ports. New Orleans Day 3 6:30 PM after almost a full day going into and up the Mississippi. Great experience.Use our rollcall to find a pretty good write up about what you are seeing. We snitched it from another chaps posts on another roll call. (You know how that works) Day 4/ docked right downtown Day. 5/Docked and departed at 10 PM So we got there in time to see a parade finish just blocks from the ship. Other parades went frequently on Monday and on Tuesday they seem to go all day. New Orleans is a happening folks. YOu need to train for the experience. It’s very Crowded along the parade routes. At night the place still goes on stop with parades and other experiences. The only real suggestion I have is do it before your body needs to feel the need for sleep rather than party. (Age wise that is) Grand Cayman.. Had to use the alternative dock on the outside of the Island. Waves at George Town took away tender capabilities. Small dock with two ships handled it all quite well with shoreside tenders. No ability to handle wheel chairs. Shuttles were available to Georgetown. We went to a fairly new Attraction on the Island “ Crystal Caves”. Small caves well lit with good guides. Kinda neat if you have never been underground anywhere else. Pretty easy walking on good small pebbled paths. Cozumel.. Planned snorkel for rookies was a washout also because of wave action. Just to rough to get into the water from an outfit 15 mins walk towards town. Nice bar and beach set up for being handy to the ship however. Not a super great beach but would have been ok if not for the waves. So a really friendly staff on a very nice ship for 10 days in The Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico with maybe a touch of the Caribbean was a great holiday. No really warm weather until a day south of the Mississippi. We were in Florida for several days before the cruise and weather was very nice but sail away and the next few days were damp and cool unfortunately. Nothing to do with the Cruise Ship though of course. Just do not expect it to be warm in New Orleans. You might get lucky as the timing does move around but last year they even wore touques. Lol Read Less

The ship has held up beautifully. All the common spaces were immaculate. Our cabin was well cared for with one expectation. The divider between verandas had broken loose and was banging with the wind. It took maintenance two tries to repair the problem. Problems: Late seating in the MDR was sparse. Our original table was for six. Only one other couple. The next night we were moved to a table for 10. Only we and the original couple were at the new table for the duration of the cruise. The wait staff was excellent, can’t praise Gede, Pauline and Ida enough. However the MDR management could do a better job of utilizing their resources. Many large tables with one or two couples that could have been consolidated. With mandatory gratuities now server would have been short changed. On now to the shows. The guest performers were good. Lance Lipinski was outstanding and played to the crowd. The productions shows were not good. Three of the four shows using the onboard cast were semi operatic with long held notes that didn’t seem to hold together. The show where the cast sang Broadway tunes were good and better suited to the cast. Enough already with the aerialist. You can only do so many feats of strength while hanging high above the stage. These review may seem negative but overall the above was just a small diversion. Overall the cruise was a delight. Read Less

Celebrity Reflection Review We are a couple in our 70s, departing February 2020 for 11 nights in the western Caribbean after a 5 night stay in Ft. Lauderdale. This was our 3d ocean cruise. We chose this itinerary because of the length and the places we had not visited before. We booked in December and the room choice was limited. We chose an ocean view room on deck 3, midship, no veranda. Overall, we had a wonderful time on the Celebrity cruise, and would recommend it. Short summary of impressions: The Reflection is beautiful with enough well-planned venues for dining, relaxing, and entertainment. Conducive to meeting other cruisers. Easy to navigate about the ship. Our room was comfortable with plenty of storage (for us light travelers) with a surprisingly comfortable bed (for a hard to please couple), and a well-arranged bathroom. We found the food good to sometimes very good, certainly with enough variety. The entertainment in the beautiful theater was mixed with the imported, often one person or one band shows very good, but most production shows lacking. Small venue entertainment lacked variety – mostly loud rock for dancing and trivia game shows. Lectures were mediocre at best. Logistics such as embarkation, disembarkation, sponsored excursions mostly went without a hitch. Value – hard to know, but I will say that the basic drink package and $500 credit our cruise agent included added to the enjoyability. We did not feel nickeled and dimed. More detail: Room – standard room, very well-designed storage, though the large cabinet over the bed requires a tall person. We did not hang out in the room very much since there are so many other places and activities. Did not really miss the veranda. Some sway noticeable on several at-sea days when one could see the ocean swells and white caps. The room was quiet with a decently functioning temperature control. The service in the room was super – it seemed as if the bathroom was cleaned up every time we were out, and our room attendant was truly gracious. The ship and its various pools and lounges are very attractive, throughout. We used most of the upper deck poolside areas to relax, as well as the pool and hot tubs. Chaises “reserved” with a towel and clips were a problem, but we could generally find a pair somewhere acceptable. (Towel clips sell out early; bring from home.) One pool area is open and the other enclosed from the wind; a nice arrangement. Of the lounges, we liked the large, comfortable Sky lounge with a great view, but unfortunately for us it is reserved for Aqua class from 5-7 PM (sunset). We found this class structure theme annoying: it is apparent in the dining arrangements and various loyalty program events. The Ensemble lounge has a fancy club like atmosphere, entertainment in the evening, and a good place for a drink before dinner. The Al Bacio coffee bar and lounge is a great place to relax, have a coffee or tea and meet other passengers. It’s quieter than most of the other areas on the ship, and doesn’t focus on liquor. A note on noise: most public areas are loud, both day and night – either because of the music, or the many game shows or simply the din of many passengers attempting to hold conversations. The center of the ship is open from the deck 3 Grand Foyer, and public areas on different levels like the library open onto the space. The main Opus dining room and the Oceanview buffet were both very noisy. Theater events were deafening. We felt that entertainment on the ship was a mixed bag. The imported performers – two comedians, a Four Seasons tribute band, several outstanding acrobats, and Lance Lipinski’s blow-the-roof-off 50’s band were all great. The production shows were mildly entertaining: the vocalists, costumes and choreography barely save these plotless, unintelligible pieces. All those 45 min. events were held in the large, gorgeous theater. There is music and dancing in the central “Grand Foyer” much of the evening. Dancing there was a lot of fun. There was also live music in other lounges as well. An unfortunate arrangement was to have the permanent production “orchestra” do jazz and classical in the Ensemble lounge. Beethoven really would have rolled over. Lectures were limited to cruise destinations and shopping. As we were interested in the places the ship stopped, we went to several such lectures. All were disappointing – just rapid advertisements for the various excursions, and almost no information about the history or culture of the locations. I would describe the overall quality of the food itself as comparable to a better national chain restaurant like Seasons 52 or the Bonefish Grill. Fish was usually overcooked. There is enormous variety in the Oceanview buffet. The service and food presentation in the Opus dining room were first rate, but the food itself is not much better than the buffet. Service in the Oceanview buffet is almost nonexistent and the chaos unpleasant. We ate at the 8:30 seating in Opus most nights with two congenial couples we met the first night, so dinner was fun. One night we showed up with no reservation at the “select a time” section of the Opus and had to wait 30 min to be seated. We also ate dinner once in the specialty restaurant Murano – exceptional, and lunch once at the Porch – disappointing despite many good reviews on Cruise Critic. (Forget the mussels!) Off the ship: Grand Cayman - We took a marvelous underwater ride on the Atlantis submarine. We had never done anything like it before, and can vouch for the incredible views of the coral reef and underwater life. We also took a taxi out to the Royal Palm beach in the afternoon. Very crowded and not much of a beach, despite its reputation. Also, Celebrity’s excursion staff did a poor job of explaining that “taxi” really meant waiting for a group shuttle bus to fill up. Cartagena – Did a bit of homework and found a tour with Dora the Explorer on TripAdvisor. She is a first rate tour guide, and we got to see much of what there is in the older parts of Cartagena, including the fort and the La Popa monastery. Also, the aviary near the ship terminal is an enjoyable free excursion, with parrots, flamingos, even an anteater. Colon Panama – We were not interested in the Celebrity excursions and might have taken a taxi to the canal expansion visitor center, but were warned against doing so by the excursion staff. Friends of ours had done that in 2019, and it appeared entirely possible. Puerto Limon – Years ago, we had taken a land tour of Costa Rica that included a stay in the village of Tortuguero, about 45 mi north along the coast from Puerto Limon, where we were taken on a marvelous rain soaked pontoon excursion into the canals to see the extraordinary wildlife. We hoped for something similar from Puerto Limon, but it was not to be. We took Celebrity’s basic canal excursion that is out on one canal for a about an hour together with many other small tour boats. There was some wildlife, but generally hard to see. Nonetheless, one does get a good sense of what this rain forest is all about. Costa Maya – We had booked a Celebrity excursion to a Mayan ruin, but a taxi driver protest action blocked the passengers from perhaps 5 large cruise ships from leaving the terminal. This was the one instance in which Celebrity’s passenger support was lacking; there was no Celebrity excursion staff at the tour departure site to tell us what was going on as we waited. In other situations, Celebrity’s logistics and passenger herding was exemplary. Cozumel – We took a taxi to Paradise Beach, a club like affair that provided chairs and umbrellas for a modest fee. We had a pleasant 4 hours lounging on the beach, using the pool and having lunch brought from the bar. This is a well-organized place even if the beach itself is not so beautiful. Overall, our Caribbean beach experiences on this cruise suggest that one must get some distance away from the ship terminal to find a beautiful beach. The terminal areas have plenty of shopping and restaurants geared to passengers, but are not meant for relaxing. Generally, a taxi was needed to get into the town or to a beach. Ft. Lauderdale – We stayed at the Hyatt Place near the airport and ship terminal for 5 nights ahead of the cruise to increase our time in the sun. There was plenty to do in the Lauderdale area to keep us busy for 5 days, and I would especially recommend Hollywood beach – a beautiful, wide beach with a lively promenade. Lauderdale was a good choice for this trip, but will likely stay elsewhere, for variety, on another occasion. Read Less

We are a couple in our 60’s. We cruise once a year. We do not use the pools, fitness room, spa or bars so have no comment on these areas. (Yes, I know, what do these people do? We read, socialize and eat and eat and eat. We are boring.) Tip: Celebrity Cruises caters to an older crowd. The longer the cruise, the older the guests. I bet the average age on our 11 day cruise was 75. Fort Lauderdale: We stayed at The Holiday Inn Express near the port. The price includes a buffet breakfast. Our room in the new tower was very nice. (Make sure you get a room in the NEW tower.) We like this location because it is close to restaurants, a dollar store, Walgreens and about a 15-20min walk to the water taxi (beside the Hilton Hotel). Tip: If you have time, I would suggest taking the water taxi. It’s pricey, around $25-$30. We didn’t go this year (thanks to my husband who insisted on a marathon walk instead) so I’m not certain about the exact price. (I did get to go to a multimillion dollar open house by chance though, which was neat, and met an adorable teeny Yorkie rescue dog at the beach.) The water taxi takes you all around Fort Lauderdale and you can go off and on as much as you want. They also tell you quirky stories about the people living in the houses on the canal. And one of the stops has The Cheesecake Factory. I love their chocolate mousse cheesecake. Embarkation: This was a breeze. Then we waited in the Oceanview Cafe for our room to be ready. Ship: The Reflection is a nicely laid out ship with two exceptions. The smoking area was by the track, not the best decision for people trying to keep healthy. And the library was not enclosed, so at night you had loud music while trying to read. The decor, minus some of the “art” displayed (a cushion painted silver- really?) was nice. I found the shops too upscale. Only one shop suited our budget. A general store with books, magazines, toiletries, etc. would be nice. Dining Room: We only ate in the dining room (anytime dining) twice this cruise. The food was fine but not to our tastes most nights and it was REALLY loud. Tip: We strongly recommend ‘anytime dining’ because it gives you flexibility regarding both the time you eat and who you eat with. Oceanview Cafe: We ate most of our meals in the Oceanview Cafe which had lots of variety. The food was good but the desserts, not so much. Tip: How not to gain too much weight (and you WILL gain weight.) Take mini-portions to find out what you like and don’t like. Then go back for your favourites. Take the stairs. (We gained less than 5 lbs.) Shows: Dan Wilson, a comedian, was hilarious the first night. The R rated show the next evening was not. December ’63 played Franki Valli and The Four Seasons’ songs, and Lance Lipinsky and his band played 50’s and 60’s songs. Both bands were great. Lipinsky’s fingers literally flew across the keyboard. The rest of the shows, with the exception of the magician, Matt Johnson, were fair to good. (Who shows a video during a 45 minute live show?! He was reliving he greatest escape. If I wanted to see it, I could have looked it up on YouTube.) The Celebrity performers performed some wonderful acrobatics and sang well but the shows’ storylines were lame. Tip: If you want to be part of the show sit in the first row. Otherwise DON’T. Sea days: As usual, they were not entertaining. Aside from a DNA forensic lecturer and some lectures about the ports, they had multiple daily talks to push merchandise. Surely they could have some more speakers about various topics. I’m sure there are lots of people cruising that would be happy to give informal talks (including me). Debarkation: This was awful. It took forever to get off the ship and out of the port. Ports: I do not like the West Caribbean. This is our second time being there and I liked it less than the first time. (We went back due to the length and timing of the cruise.) See below for details. Tips: Forgo the expensive WIFI service on the ship and use the WIFI in the ports. Sometimes it’s free; sometimes you need to buy something at a cafe. Please refrain from taking excursions that abuse animals. Dolphin swims, horse buggy rides, elephant rides, monkey/donkey photoshoots are examples of activities that abuse animals. Animals do not exist solely for our entertainment and should be well cared for and treated with respect. Wild animals should not be captive unless injured. Read Less

We wanted to do a southern Caribbean cruise out of Florida and chose the Celebrity Reflection for two reasons. We had sailed on the Reflection twice before and knew the excellence that she offers. Also the itinerary to Antigua, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, and St. Lucia brought us to our favorite islands. We loved everything of the Reflection from the service, to the activities, to the friendliness of the crew. The Reflection crew is outstanding and the professionalism shows in everything they do. As seasoned cruisers there were a few things that really stood out: This was the fastest embarkation and disembarkation we have ever experienced (smooth and easy)! Even at each port of call, the lines were short or not at all. There was very little upselling (specialty dining, photo packages, etc) which allowed you to really enjoy each day without feeling like they were constantly trying to sell you on something. Granted, these things were offered and available if you were interested but they were not pushy and constant as we have experienced on other cruises. Officers and managers were visible throughout the ship. The big plus was if one area needed extra staff (the specialty coffee cafe, the lido deck dining area, the pool bar) they brought in more help. It was apparent in everything the Reflection crew did was to make the cruise more enjoyable for the passengers. Our cabin steward knew our names from day one and greeted us every time he saw us or heard us coming down the hallway. He made sure our cabin was always clean and we had everything we needed. We dined mostly in the dining room (our preference) and the food and service was always great. We had the beverage package and the bartenders were the best we've ever experienced. They were friendly and accommodating throughout the ship. We enjoyed the shows and especially the acrobats who were incredible! The only disappointment was that we never won in the casino! One tour that we highly recommend on an "at sea" day if the ship tour. It is $99 per person and you get to tour the bridge, the laundry, the galley, the engineering room, and more. It was well worth it and we enjoyed that very much. Overall, beautiful ship, amazing crew, awesome itinerary! Highly recommend! Read Less

Southern Caribbean cruise was offering 3 of the 5 ports which we hadn’t visited before. 2 sea days up front and 2 sea days returning. 5 port days in a row was tiring, but port 4 we hadn’t booked an excursion (St. Kitts), and we found it was quite a bit nicer than we remembered from 10 years ago. Excursions were booked mostly on our own and one through the ship. All were excellent. I suffer from sea sickness and thought I came prepared with my patches, unfortunately, this cruise was rolling far more than I had ever remembered. This was my 5th cruise. I will never book a cabin toward the front of the ship ever again. On top of the movement, (literally rocking in bed), early morning arrivals were very noisy. I could hear what sounded like anchors and the engine - not happy when you have had a rough night sleeping. The ocean was worse for movement than the sea, but probably just a bad month on the water. At least we got to all of our ports - a previous cruise missed Antigua. I must also mention our steward, Raphael, was terrific. Any requests we had, he responded quickly. The main dining room food was for the most part, excellent. And we lucked out with our table mates next to us. The girls were such fun and we hope to see them again. Our dining room staff, Randolph, Inna and Nannad (I apologize if I have misspelled any names) were attentive and delightful. Our sommelier was ill for a few days and we had Paul (we had Paul in Blu on a previous cruise) and he was as attentive as always. We found certain bars on the ship, if you didn’t get there when they opened, impossible to get a seat, but just shows how popular they are. Martini bar being one of them. The same with the nightly entertainment- we tried to go a few nights, but all seats were taken. We did watch the Super Bowl in the theatre - that was fun too. We celebrated a milestone birthday this cruise and all restaurants (The Porch and the MDR) and staff went out of their way to make the birthday girl feel special! Future cruise staff were helpful, and we booked our next cruise - only 563 days to go! Embarkation and disembarking was seamless. Staff at the start were fun and certainly kept our spirits up. Staff at the end were just as nice and we were sorry to have to leave. Looking forward to our next cruise to Alaska! Read Less

We choose this cruise to be on the Reflection (again) and to go to Carthagena, DW wanted to buy an emerald (she succeeded). That is our 3rd cruise on Reflection, the 2 previous were Transats, and the last one was in 2019 Nov. We love that boat for the spirit of cruising, almost no kids (10 max), no boose party, super clean boat, excellent food in general. As usual, we booked speciality restaurants, 4 of them. Murano is top notch, Tuscan Grill is very good also, the Sushi on Five is good but not at the level of RCL or HAL, and the Porch is not good and bad valu, no wonder it is always empty. The food at the MDR is good to very good, service is excellent, you got lobters at will at the second formal night. The food at buffet is good, above average, but not at the level of HAL. Breakfast, cofee, eggs, bacon are good there, and never never got problem to find a table even at peek time, you dont feel rushed to vacate the place. Excellent wait staff. At the gym, I do 2 sessions of 30 minutes of treadmill every day. The TV on machines is important for me,,, more than half of them are not working, and for those that work, they removed all USA news channels, no FOX no MSNBC, no CNN... I complained to guest relation to give at least one news channel,,, I asked for FOX. They acknoledged my request,,,, and put MSNBC,, All in all it was a excellent cruise, and the new music band they put at the Ensemble bar was a great plus compare of the last cruise 3 months before. Read Less

Itinerary included Dutch Caribbean islands we'd never been to. Took off-ship excursions which were good. Celebrity excursions are more expensive and sometimes large. Islands were very nice. After embarkation, everyone heads to the iLounge to set up wi-fi. There was one employee working for scores of people. Entertainment generally excellent. Production shows much better than in years past except for Elysium, a bizarre musical fantasy and NYC3, a vocal group whose tunes were totally inappropriate for the older demographic. Enrichment speakers, psychologist and destination speaker were great. Food was just OK in main dining room. It's hard to believe that in 2019, Celebrity doesn't have any whole grain bread or rolls at any meal. Same old bread sticks from 20 years ago. Rich, the cruise director very energetic. Shouts at lot at shows which is maybe why he is always hoarse. (Rich, you're using a microphone) Not enough storage space in cabin. No electrical outlets next to bed. Great fitness center Read Less

I have mixed feeling about the cruise. Embarkation and Disembarkation: Good, simple and very organized Cabin: Adequate, the inside room is spacious enough for two people. Closet and drawers are enough to store our clothes. We were able to push the luggage under the bed. We had a chair, not a couch so the room seems bigger than our cabin in Holland America. Three electrical outlets are on the desk for both US and European plugs. Bathroom: Average, has shower only. Water pressure was strong with plenty of hot water. The towels were old, some were threadbare. Shampoo and Conditioner came in small black tube with hard to read label. There was a hair dryer but no where in the bathroom to plug in. You have to dry hair by the desk where the only outlet is. Food: Good food, good waitstaff, bad organizers Ocean View buffet was good, breakfast menu is the same but lunch and dinner have enough of variation to be interesting. The dessert counter was the biggest with plenty of choices for sweet! We did not try any specialty restaurants. Food in the MDR is good enough, the waitstaff was very nice but the organizing authorities were bad. We had to wait every night to be seated. The line in front of the MDR was always in chaos! Why Celebrity only had one receptionist for each entrance to admit people into their main dining restaurant? As we chose flexible dining time, we told the receptionist we don't mind to share table with other passengers, she always sit us by ourselves, deprived us a chance to converse with other people! Are 3000+ passengers on this cruise ships all went in group so we cannot mingle? We never had this treatment on other cruise ships from other cruise lines. Entertainment: Bad Acrobatic show were excellent. Comedies were average. Music shows are Ok but unsuitable. 90% of passengers were elderly and the cruise chose a boy band to perform one night with music for teenager girls (there were none on this cruise!). No destination lecture except where to shop or why and when you should take the next Celebrity cruise. The daily newsletters were a joke, nothing much but advertisement. We were in the Caribbean but the banner picture of the newsletter showed Taj Mahal! The music at the 3rd deck was blaring up the atrium all day. Token dance lessons in the very small space at the landing of staircase. Passengers: Not my kind of crowd. If you don't care where do you go, what destination you visit, just want to eat as much as you can, sunbath by the pool all day, play in the casino at night, this is your ship. Read Less

We usually choose Celebrity for our cruises, but will do other lines if a bargain appears. We are Elite and have cruised on the Reflection a couple of times before. She is still in good condition but having recently cruised on Edge, maybe she’s looking a little dated. The cabins are extremely short of storage drawers and shelves and we resorted to using our carry on bag as an extra cupboard. Having said that, our cabin was kept in good order. The crew on this ship are extremely friendly and obliging. However, the Captain was noticeable by his absence. On other cruises the Captain mingles with the guests and makes himself known. It may have been because the first three days of the trip the weather was quite rough and in fact we couldn’t stop at our first call, Antigua, as the port had to close due to the weather conditions so maybe I’ll give the Captain the benefit of the doubt as he was doing his job!! The food in the main dining room was better than usual. I am challenging to feed and the Maitre d’ and all the waiters we encountered, especially Dezlino and Puji went above and beyond to ensure I had something delicious to eat. Thank you for all your help. The Oceanview Cafe has the most amazing variety of dishes and are, at last, including more vegetarian choices. Let’s hope this option continues to expand. The entertainment was hit and miss. In comparison to Edge the production shows were amateurish and poor. There were a couple of good comedians but I am sorry but I am bored with the Cirque style acts. I appreciate the talent but really, when you cruise with Celebrity time after time, it does get repetitive. The shops too have become boring and repetitive. The toiletries section seems to have disappeared and the merchandise is the same on every ship. Anyway, on the whole we really enjoyed this cruise. We always talk to interesting people and we never get bored with the blueness of the Caribbean Read Less

We joined up with friends whom we met on a prior cruise for this post-holiday getaway. This was our 4th sailing on the Reflection, so we know her pretty well. The ship is still in great shape and the crew is generally well-prepared and attentive. We greatly enjoy Aqua Class for its access to BLU, which just makes for a much more intimate cruise experience. With the exception of 1 meal, we ate exclusively in BLU for all of our breakfasts & dinners and had caring and responsive servers. The BLU breakfast menu is unchanging and could benefit from a 'daily special' just to shake up the offerings over the course of a long cruise. Their dinner menu is more limited than the MDR and tries to be more upscale, but on some evenings, this left the 4 of us who were dining together with a menu of unappealing options. Thankfully BLU accommodates orders from the MDR menu on special request, and they're very good about bringing an extra entree for the table to share, just to let us 'give it a try'. Our BLU service staff of Sandeepa, Dominic and Bayu were really extraordinary. The only real service negative we encountered onboard was in the bars, and particularly in our favorite Martini Bar, where the before-dinner crowd was crushing and the bar staff and servers couldn't keep up with demand. The Passport Bar was also jammed, while the World Class Bar sat virtually empty, as it has on every cruise we've ever taken on the Reflection. The WCB has odd specialty drinks that are clearly not very popular and they don't even stock all of the liquors on the Premium Beverage Package. Why they don't make this bar more mainstream is beyond me ... It's rare for us to rate Celebrity Entertainment as 'excellent', but it truly was on this cruise. There were standout performances in the theatre on most nights, and even a bonus matinee from one of the ship's favorite guest performers. We hope this is indicative of a positive new trend for Celebrity. Read Less

We chose this cruise because we were doing a week long teaching cruise with one of our favorite bridge teachers. There were 3 days we could not use our bathroom for hours because the toilets on that side of the deck were clogged. The staff at Guest Services was hostile in general, but especially during toilet problems. The dining room was dirty, eg previous diners food under the table We tried to use our balcony but it was rusty and generally unwelcoming. We just drink water and wanted to buy as we needed but their sales people were VERY pushy about buying a package that included much more water than we would ever use. I tried to arrange for a private driver to get us home. I made 6 phone calls, which were not returned and then had to hunt the staff member down myself. There is more but I think that is enough to give you an idea why we would NEVER sail with this line again. Read Less

Choose cruise for timing rather than itinerary. Had not cruised in a long time and this was first on Celebrity, but certainly not our last. Excellent in every way. Ship is beautiful and in excellent shape. We found all crew to be very friendly and accommodating. Food and entertainment ranged from good to great. Crowded at times but never oppressively so. Qsine and Murano were worth the up charge, for us, the Tuscan Grille was not. There was a good choice of bars and lounges with varied types of musicians and singers. Could always find a place to unwind. There was some up selling efforts early on which were not bothersome to us. If you are checking bags, use the valet airline service to disembark which delivers boarding passes and luggage tags to your cabin the last night. Definitely worth the extra $25 per and we disembarked and cleared customs in 15 minutes. Saved our backs as well. Read Less

My stay on the Celebrity Reflection was absolutely wonderful. From the remarkable staff and the marvelous entertainment to the magnificent rooms, the Reflection was anything but a disappointment. I highly recommend this ship if you are looking for a nice family getaway. I loved how it felt like all of the passengers were a part of one big family. At every single one of the entertainment shows, they placed a ton of emphasis on getting everyone involved, and this allowed for everybody to connect with each other. Furthermore, the cruise director Guiseppi was phenomenal. He was very funny and approachable. He made the trip enjoyable. The ports that we visited were not the greatest, but if you are with your family it can be fun if you visit the beaches in St. Marteen or St. Thomas. Also, the food on this ship was delicious . I recommend going to the Opus dining room for every meal and requesting Horace and Nina if possible. The waiters and waitresses were all nice and did a great job at meeting all of my family's demands. I am very happy that I chose this cruise line to enjoy the holidays and be with my family. Read Less

After 12-15 cruises on various lines, we tried a Celebrity Cruise as a nicer ship from the Royal Caribbean ships. While scheduled for a makeover next year, the ship really needs it. cabins were worn and tired and in need of some better housekeeping. My biggest complaint was the entertainment. Having been so impressed on other ships, especially on Royal Caribbean, we were looking forward to the shows and other entertainment on this ship. The website is so intriguing with a lot of variety and options. The 2 major shows were adequate, nothing special, but the rest was just awful. Excited to hear a Neil Diamond tribute singer, either he was drunk or unprepared or something else. It was a joke, with audience members making comments during and after the show. In fact it was the talk of the entire ship with the late show already hearing the comments from the earlier show. I cant believe that the cruise director allowed this show to go on. The website also shows pop up shows in the atrium that looked fun- none occurred. I could continue but let me summarize that the entertainment was far below expectations and a major let down. They also need to train the dining room staff on how to manage reservations, especially if you have a large group. Otherwise, expect to sit in the back corner of the dining room. I would not recommend this ship at this date. Read Less

We were on the 12/20/19 sailing of the Reflection. The itinerary had stops in San Juan, St. Thomas and Sint Maarten. We got a great deal when booking just 45 days out for a suite and booked 2111 since there was a YouTube review of that stateroom and it fit our needs pretty well since we like privacy on our balcony. Dining: We ate most meals in Luminae with the exception of the first dinner which was in Murano, and Christmas Eve dinner at Le Petit Chef. During the first lunch in Luminae the host offered 30% off of specialty dining, so I highly recommend waiting until you’re on the ship to book speciality dining nights. Murano was absolutely delicious and I highly recommend the experience. The tableside preparation of the lobster feels old school, but in the best way possible. The service like everywhere on the ship was really exceptional, especially from our waiter Oswaldo. Le Petit Chef was fun, but I wouldn’t necessarily do it again. The food was good, but like many others have said, you go for the experience rather than for the food. Luminae was outstanding. We sailed on the Norwegian Bliss in the Haven back in October and the Haven restaurant menu never changed. The food was delicious there also, but it was really nice to have variety for every lunch and dinner. We also ordered off of the main dining menu from Luminae on occasion. Cocktails: My husband purchased the Drinks and More package as an upgrade to the Premium Drinks package after we booked. It came with 2 bottles of wine which were already in our stateroom, a wine tasting on Christmas Day, $50 casino credit pp, and the minibar replenished daily. I think the Drinks and More/Premium Plus package might not have been socialized to everyone because guest services, our butler, and his supervisor didn’t seem to know much about the package. It ended up working out ok, but corporate could have been better about giving folks on the ship info about the package. World Class Bar is an absolute do not miss if you like any sort of craft whiskey cocktails. Miguel and Santos were stellar. If you’re a Sazerac fan, they make a fantastic one. We also signed up for the mixology class which was a lot of fun and really informative. We talked to them later and they mentioned that they could easily have taught a 3 hour class, and I would’ve been 100% there for it. They were a real highlight of the cruise, and were a big part of the reason I left the ship feeling like Celebrity is exactly what I’ve been looking for in a cruise line. Casino: The last night we finally made it to the casino to use our $50 free play. I ended up playing slots because I don’t know how to play any table games and won $25. I know that’s nothing to “real” gamblers, but I’m not much of a gambler. The real highlight here was Barbara who was working one of the Texas Hold ‘em tables. There was no one else at the table, so my husband sat down with his chips and Barbara very patiently and kindly explained how to play and took him through a bunch of hands. He ended up winning about $150 which paid for the Drinks and More package and then some! I wasn’t a gambler, but after that experience watching him play, I’m definitely interested in getting more into it. It was the most fun I’ve had at a casino. Staff and Service: I’ve mentioned a couple of the folks that we interacted with so far, but I can’t have a complete review without mentioning our butler Jo, room steward Sunil, Vishal who’s a waiter in Luminae, and Alina the Luminae host. We’ve been on two other NCL cruises in suites with a butler. Those experiences were good to disappointing. Jo was just spot on and nailed everything. He made sure bottles of San Pelligrino were overflowing in our room and his service was attentive without being obtrusive. His service was exactly what I hope for when I imagine what butler service might be. He really surprised and delighted us several times on the cruise and made us feel welcomed and well taken care of. Wifi: The wifi was fast and convenient on the Reflection. When I first got on I used fast.com to test the speed and got 2.2Mbps down. The upload speeds weren’t great, but wifi backups of photos could wait until I got home. I never felt frustrated by the speeds, and it was dead simple to sign on and sign off different devices. My husband and I both work remotely, so it’s really nice to know that we can go on a Celebrity cruise and not have to worry about being cut off or burning more vacation days than necessary. With the perks we got one device per person which was plenty. Excursions: BOSS Underwater - When we got to St. Thomas we met the excursion at 12pm. I can’t emphasize how nice it was to not have to be up and off the ship first thing in the morning. There was a short 20 minute boat ride out to the dive site, and after some instruction we were broken into 3 groups. Two groups snorkeled while the divers took one group on the underwater scooters. Everything about this excursion was a blast. I was glad I snorkeled before getting in the scooter since I had the chance to get comfortable in the water first. On the way back to the dock, the captain gave us a harbor tour and we saw a bunch of yachts and got some history. Maho Beach - I love planes and large machinery in general, so my husband surprised me with a trip to Maho beach to see the planes fly directly overhead. At Sunset Bar and Grill you can watch the planes fly in over the water. I really enjoyed watching the planes, but Sunset Bar and the beach itself is a mad house. There are people aggressively selling things on the VERY crowded beach, and the bar is incredibly loud. They play music everywhere and have entertainment on the stage. The food is reasonably priced though, and the service was pretty good. You have to pay to use the restroom, and it’s somehow also chaotic in there also, so I recommend going before you leave the ship for the excursion. If you like planes, it’s a must-see. If you want to chill in Sint Maarten it’s the opposite of where you want to go. Wrap up: The Reflection itself is a gorgeous ship. It doesn’t have all the waterslides and racetracks, and I think its better for it. The finishes are understated and elegant, and the staff reflects that with their service. I would go on the Reflection again and again if there weren’t so many other ships out there to try. Costs: Sky Suite - $4600 including 4 perks (wifi, gratuities, premium drinks, $300 onboard credit) plus a $350 Costco cash card Drinks and more package - $50pp - includes 2 bottles of wine, wine tasting, $50 casino credit per person, minibar setup replenished daily Murano - $50pp Mixology Class - $40pp Extra gratuities: $150 to Butler $50 to Cabin steward $20 each to select bartenders and waiters Read Less