Celebrity Reflection Review

5.0 / 5.0
1,979 reviews

Beautiful Ship! Bland Food

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Celebrity Reflection
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Chicago Girl
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Mar 2014

We sailed out of Miami on March 29 bound for the islands of Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, & St. Martin. We arrived at 11:30 and zipped right in, no lines. We headed up to the Oceanview Café (buffet) and ordered a glass of wine and got a bite to nibble. I opted for some carved turkey (which was tough and a bit dry). I also had a couple of small squares of pizza, it was good but I could have made the same if I'd bought it in the freezer section of my local grocer. Our room was ready about 12:30. We had a standard balcony room. It was plenty big but could have used a few more drawers. Dinner in the main dining room that night. Shrimp cocktail, I received 4 small shrimp on a plate not the jumbo size you normally associate with shrimp cocktail. Also ordered the French onion soup, bland. I ordered some cognac and added to soup, much better, but still.

I can't remember what my bf had. I then ordered the chocolate mousse for dessert, I ate about 3 bites and gave up, bland, bland, bland. I was not impressed at all and generally didn't order much in the main dining room. I figured why eat the extra calories if I'm not eating something tasty. Formal night #1 in the main dining room was the next night, again ~ it was so bland that I have no memory of it. Finally on night 4 we had had enough bland food and opted for the Tuscan Grill (Italian Steakhouse $35 per person fee). We both ordered the crabcake appetizer & Tuscan Onion soup. Both were delish!! As was the focaccia bread they brought in a basket. We both ordered a steak (ribeye & new York) but the waiter kept pushing the filet. He obviously new something we did not. The steaks were pounded thin (Parisian style) and so tough we could not cut or eat them. We were sooooooo.... disappointed. I also had the garlic mashed which were good and the choc fondue for dessert (very plain but edible). Well after the steak experience we did not want to shell out any more for any of the other fee restaurants. Sad. We had heard the same complaints from other passengers as well, they really need a new Food and Beverage manager with some sense of taste! The second formal night in the main dining room was lobster and beef Wellington. Both were good. The soup on that evening was something like tomato bisque. It tasted like canned soup with a little liquid smoke poured in. I did not eat, my bf ate half of it. I can't remember the appetizer. The final night of the cruise we opted for the Oceanview café, we just could not sit through another long bland meal and went to the buffet. We also ate the The Porch ($5 fee), disappointing. My salad was served with lettuce and dressing only and when the waiter came over to check on us I told him I was expecting maybe some tomatoes, cucumber, etc... He quickly fixed it so it was as described in the menu. We both also had paninis, okay but again, not really worth the calories. I tried 2 of the cupcakes. One was good, the other dry on the bottom. The burgers at the Mast Grill by the pool are good, sometimes the buns were stale though. We liked Café al Bacio, the coffee bar/restaurant. We often went there after dinner for dessert and wine/coffee/champagne. It was nice. The Ensemble lounge, too dark!. The gym is beautiful with about 15 treadmills facing the water and many other machines and weights, highly recommend! We did go on a bridge tour, that was fun. All in all, it was a nice ship. Our cabin cleaners we amazing and our dinner waiters Limo and Harold were the best!! The sommelier was a bit arrogant we thought, he needs a bit of charm school. All in all, the ship was great but if you are looking for good food you may want to keep looking because you will be disappointed.

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