Celebrity Reflection Review
Reflecting on the Reflection; Awesome Cruise
Rating by category
Additional details
We sailed on 27th Feb Western Caribbean itinerary with a group of 8, 4 couples, all related brothers and sisters in law. We stayed 2 nights pre cruise at the Best Western Miami Airport North Hotel and Suites, which I booked because it had free airport pick up, free breakfast and wifi, great reviews on tripadvisor, and offered a $10 per person shuttle to the port on cruise day ( at either 10.30 am or 12 noon). The hotel was excellent very clean and new, our only problem was finding the shuttle to pick us up at the airport, after many calls we realised they were picking up upstairs on departures level rather than downstairs at Arrivals level. There is a great Thai restaurant within easy walking distance of the hotel.
Boarding and Concierge Cabin
We took the 10.30 am shuttle to the port, arriving after 11 am, no lines, quick easy boarding , and in no time we were on board with glass of bubbly in hand ( amazingly handed to us by our previous assistant waiter from our Solstice cruise 2 years ago –lovely to see him again). Relaxed over some lunch at the buffet, which was not crowded, and enjoyed the first of many drinks on our beverage package, and cabins were announced to be ready at 1.30. We had booked 4 Concierge C3 cabins in a row on deck 9 and so received free gratuities, free classic beverage package, and $300 on board credit per stateroom which we partly used to upgrade our drinks packages to premium. This was my first Concierge cabin, and whilst the cabin was same size as balcony cabin, I must say I did enjoy the afternoon canapes as well as the deck chairs with footstools. You have to fill in a sheet each day if you want the canapes and indicate what time you want them delivered, but I found they came at about 4.30 pm daily. If we were not in our cabin, the covered dish would be left on the small table, so that was convenient. We enjoyed the canapes with the champagne in our cabins, sharing 1 bottle between the cabins each day, and storing the others in a fridge emptied of minibar items. When I mentioned to our cabin steward on the first day that we were all travelling together, he offered from himself that he would open our balcony dividers, and that was absolutely great for us, to relax on our balconies over a drink in the evenings, or for the men to chat while we ladies got ready for dinner. In the closet plenty of hangers were provided, as well as robes which we never used. We had daily fresh fruit which we hardly touched. I think if price is similar ( as it was on this sailing ) then booking Concierge is worth it, mainly for the perks.
Cabin Review
Concierge Class 3
This was my first Concierge cabin, and whilst the cabin was same size as balcony cabin, I must say I did enjoy the afternoon canapes as well as the deck chairs with footstools. You have to fill in a sheet each day if you want the canapes and indicate what time you want them delivered, but I found they came at about 4.30 pm daily. If we were not in our cabin, the covered dish would be left on the small table, so that was convenient. We enjoyed the canapes with the champagne in our cabins, sharing 1 bottle between the cabins each day, and storing the others in a fridge emptied of minibar items. When I mentioned to our cabin steward on the first day that we were all travelling together, he offered from himself that he would open our balcony dividers, and that was absolutely great for us, to relax on our balconies over a drink in the evenings, or for the men to chat while we ladies got ready for dinner. Plenty of hangers were provided, as well as robes which we never used, and fresh fruit which we hardly touched. I think if price is similar ( as it was on this sailing ) then booking Concierge is worth it, mainly for the perks
Port Reviews
Miami
took the airboat tour of the Everglades , followed by Alligator show. Reasonably interesting, but not what I would call a must see.
Cozumel
organised a private tour for the 8 of us with Gerry from Tours Plaza Cozumel and had a fabulous day visiting the Mayan Ruins at San Gervasio ( no mosquitos , which I was worried about), tequila tasting, then driving around the island stopping at several gorgeous scenic spots including El Mirador, and finally a stop at Playa Palancar – a narrow beach, slightly pebbly, where we paddled in the water and enjoyed some hot nachos.
Grand Cayman (Georgetown)
used Moby Dick tours to do Stingray City and Snorkelling tour (45 USD per person) . Really enjoyed the Stingrays, great one on one interaction and feeding, but the snorkelling was not great, seas very rough and not much to see. Its only a couple of minutes on the boat from the snorkelling spot to Stingray sandbar
Ocho Rios
I was disappointed here, had booked a private tour with Mark Morris of Marks tours, but he chose to guide another tour group, and passed us onto another guide. It was an Ok tour, we visited the Blue Hole and enjoyed the scenery and watching others jump, though we opted not to swim or jump ourselves, a scenic lookout spot, stopped for fresh coconut, and lunch at Scotchies.