soapbxking

13 minutes ago, hcat said:

soapbxking..

CONGRATS on your retirement and 

Thank you for your SERVICE!

 

Great review..very descriptive and to the point.   Glad you  and your wife had a wondeful time.. We like AQ Class as well....

Wish you many more happy times ahead!  

 

 

and the crazy thing is it is not letting me correct, so Barf it is!!

27 minutes ago, HopefulCruiser123 said:

"  Also Barf service in Blu was amazing, I always had a refill waiting 😊"

 

I swear....some typos are just better than others!  🤣  Thanks for a great retirement review.  DH and I do our retirement trip on Equinox in Spring of 2025.

Yeah i havent really read thru it to find my mistakes, i was typing fast 🙂

A Reflection on MY Retirement Cruise!!

The following is a hopefully detailed but brief summary/review of my recent sailing onboard the Celebrity Reflection.  After 28 years in law enforcement I decided it was my time to step aside and follow other dreams and passions.  I always said that I would take a Southern Caribbean cruise and that is just what I did.  After researching my options my wife and I decided on an 8 night ABC cruise on the Celebrity Reflection.  It would be our first Celebrity cruise.  We decided Aquaclass was the way to go and booked our cruise!!  The ship sailed from Fort Lauderdale, so after much back and forth(per my wife)  😊  I decided we would do our pre night cruise stay at the Riverside Hotel!!. 

We flew out Friday morning on Delta with no real hiccups to ATL then FLL.  We landed and grabbed an Uber to the Riverside.  Uber was easy but the airport(per the UBER drivers is making it difficult to locate the driver, as it says one placed to stand but the drivers go to another sometimes).  In short fashion we were on our way to the Riverside on Las Olas Blvd.  The hotel has a older and newer side and we were placed in the old.  Lobby was nice, and room was adequate.  Nothing extravagant, but we didn’t need that and we really liked both the room and the hotel.  The hotel has restaurants inside and the Boathouse was across the street.  We had lunch there and it was nice.  We decided to rest for a bit then hit Las Olas that evening as we had reservations for Roccos Tacos and Tequila.  The hotel was truly located perfectly as there are tons of eateries and shops all up and down Las Olas Blvd.  SO awesome looking we wanted to check out each one for sure.  The morning of our sailing we simply walked downstairs and grabbed a table at the hotel and had a great breakfast which was reasonably priced.  I have no issues with recommending this hotel when sailing or staying in Fort Lauderdale.

Sailing day 😊  

Our boarding time was 1130-1200, so we ordered up an UBER and walked downstairs to catch it.  The ride was great, but be prepared to wait to get thru security at the port for sure.  It wasn’t horrible, but once we got thru it was easy sailing(pun intended) to the terminal.  Know that in FLL the digital boards will have your ship and terminal the morning of.    We hopped out, porter greeted us and took our bags and we walked into the terminal.  The terminal already had a number of people there but we went thru with speed and ease.  Once thru security we walked over to a Celebrity person who scanned us in, gave us some information and we were headed onto the ship .  The ship was gorgeous!  We headed up to our room, 1539 on Deck 11 to drop our bags off.  To our surprise our room was ready, but we did drop and go to check out the ship and grab a drink and a bite to eat. 

The Room

As stated we had a Aquaclass room, balcony on Deck 11.  We loved our room.  Standard balcony room but it seemed bigger to us.  Balcony was good size.  We loved the layout of the bathroom, and it had plenty of storage space.  Big suitcases fit under the king bed.  Not a ton of drawer space for clothes for sure.  Bed was comfy for me, btu the wife didn’t like, but she rarely likes any of the beds.  Room Attendant Jason was great, remembered us by name and always had our room clean.  This room was right off the elevators and in the perfect location, and I would purposefully book it again!!

The Food

I will say that our last sailing on RCi , the food did not wow us at all.  This cruise was different.  We were blessed to be able to go to BLU however, and this made all the difference in the world.  The ambience, beauty, service and food did not disappoint.  I think I made an effort to get a soup every evening, and all were good!  Our wait staff of Ayman, Ivan, Maria, and even Anush at the front made our Blu experience one we wont forget!!!  I cannot say enough about them!!!  The service was extraordinaire.  We did try the MDR for lunch one day.  It was a bit chaotic but food was good and service was good.  The filet was memorable for sure.

Café al Bacio was great and the staff there was awesome.  Try the Salted Caramel Martini.  OMG!!  Just saying. 

The Oceanview Café was kinda hit or miss on food and frustration.  Could be a zoo sometimes then others not too bad.  Food offerings seemed better than RCI .  The staff there were helpful!

Spa Café.  My wife liked a few of the offerings from this place. 

Mast Grill.  We tried it once.  Nothing that wowed us but ok for a quick lunch

The Ship..  The Reflection is a beautiful ship, always clean, but I wear we never saw anyone hardly cleaning, so they must be invisible haha.  I will say the layout of the ship is such that it makes it feel not s big which is a good thing. 

The Bars.

Ok so we visited the Martini Bar, World Class Bar and Pool Bar mostly.  The Martini bar was great but gets very crowded for sure.   Wayan and Superman made the best drinks!!  Victoria in the World Class Bar was awesome and I took a mixology class with her.  It was Great!   Also Barf service in Blu was amazing, I always had a refill waiting 😊

Solarium

This was a great area and we visited most sea days.  We could usually find a couple of loungers and the water was very warm.

Persian Gardens

We had full access due to Aquaclass, and the wife loved it.  We used the thermal beds cold room and sauna.  Great.

Shows.

The shows onboard were good.  We didn’t care for the first oner, name I cannot recall, but Broken Strings and the acrobat show were both good.  The illusionist they had onboard was amazing!!  Captain Kirk rocked out in his show.

The Ports

Aruba   Had a great time on our snorkeling excursion, we did the SS Antilla and it was nice.  First stop was great, then the shipwreck, although rough seas was also fun.  Only issue was too many people crammed onto the boat.  Not enough room for everyone to sit.

Curacao

Some of the best snorkeling I have ever done.  We did the Treasures of Caracas Bay excursion. It began with a 40 minute bus ride(air conditioned) wherein we were given a history lesson of the island.    DO it!  Tugboat was so close to you and thousands of fish.  Would do again!

Bonaire

We rented a golf cart from Bonaire Cruisers.  So glad we did.  Easy to find and they had a person guiding you to their location.  We did the Southern Loop.  We stopped so often.  We snorkeled on secluded beaches where we were the only ones there.  SO many beautiful places and things to see.  BRING YOUR WATER SHOES THOUGH!  We saw tons of flamingos.  Would do this again and take Northern Loop 😊  Thanks Bonaire Cruisers!!

Debarkation

We decided to relax and let them take our big bags this time.  So glad we did.  We had breakfast at Blu then headed down to deck 4 and hung out in comfy chairs til they called our number.  Headed down and leisurely walked off the ship.  Customs was facial recognition and easily grabbed our bags in the section given.  I will say that trying to get an UBER was not good.  The system wasn’t working, so we eventually had to grab a cab to the airport.  Have some cash available for this, as many insist on cash.

IN closing, we LOVED our Celebrity cruise and will certainly sail them again.  I know that I probably missed a lot, so if you have any questions, please just ask!!

Kudos for Celebrity taking this issue seriously  This was my area of expertise for almost 28 years(deling with sex offenders and victims of such).  People should stop whining and live within the rules.  yes i understand delays etc, but if proper rules are followed i have no issue.

On 12/28/2023 at 5:48 PM, Jim_Iain said:

All I can say is no way in the world would I travel on a ship of that size.      I personally believe that in the next 5 years Celebrity is locked into the Edge Class Ships as they just announced their latest.

Agreed, a vacation is relaxing, that would be a nightmare for us.

21 minutes ago, alicat58 said:

Hi cruisestitch

 

Where on the app please. I can find the meals menus but baffled where to look for the drinks.

 

I'm a bit of a tech disaster I'm afraid.

Go to dining then slide over at the top for bars and lounges.  it wil lbe there

haha  i see your point, but my knees say otherwise haha. 🙂  this will be our first celebrity sailing so I am looking forward to it.  We are in Aqua class upfront 🙂

20 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

Not really.  The Sunset Suite's are all the way aft and have a side and wake view.  We prefer the aft corner suites on the S-Class, which are now the Sunset Suites. 

 

haha, ok, so I was being funny and sarcastic.  I meant basically that we can all see the gorgeous ocean 🙂  But yes I have had 2 aft cabins and LOVED them.  except for that walk to the elevator  🙂

13 hours ago, CardowMD said:

I think the Sunset suite would be much nicer views than an Aqua class.

im thinking unless its an obstructed view, the views are kinda the same hahaha 🙂

Good Morning ALL.  We have rented to gold cart and undecided as to which route to take, BUT i am sure we will want to stop somewhere for lunch.  Anyone have ideas on someplace fun on either route and also if you have a preference of which route to start with.  I know we will be stopping to snorkel some.

On 6/1/2021 at 3:54 PM, lele100 said:

Hi there, do they give you a map on where to drive? and places to stop?  Thanks

on their website you can download their routes prior to cruising.  the maps do not need internet or wifi, they use your phones GPS, so no data!!

On 7/14/2023 at 2:11 PM, NorthStarStateCruiser said:

I was poking around the app and got curious to find out what the most expensive bottle of wine that Celebrity had listed on their app.  To my surprise, I found a "Liber Pater 'Bordeaux'" for $100,000.  I found it in the Luminae wine menu, 🙄 figures.  It's crazy to think that there's even the potential to have folks onboard that have that kind of money to drop $100k on a single bottle of wine.  You'd be hard pressed to find a Celebrity cruise where you'd pay over $100k for the topmost suite.

 

This left me thinking, do they automatically tack gratuity on the bottle so then it becomes a $120k bottle of wine?  That would be a very nice tip 😅  But along the same lines, I would feel ashamed spending that kind of money on a single bottle of wine knowing how little the onboard staff get paid to provide the service during the cruise.  It's like taking a $100,000 bill and burning it right in front of them just because you can.  To me, that's insensible, but maybe I'm being unnecessarily empathetic. 

 

Ok first, I agree tat is crazy.  I would figure that someone who would pay that for a bottle would be sailing Viking, Seabourn etc 🙂.  That damn bottle of wine better cause continuous orgasms for at least an hour after I finish consuming it!! 🙂 hahaha

On 6/30/2023 at 1:30 PM, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

The poster you replied to is on Princess. Those boards might be more helpful as to what terminals Princess usually uses.

showing Apex is sailing that date as well

On 6/29/2023 at 9:28 PM, Algebralovr said:

You will be fine. It is just older.  

It is, however, usually clean, has working AC, restrooms, etc.  

 

We've been in and out of T29 plenty of times since the restart and it has been just fine.  You are only there a few minutes. 

sounds great. we will also uber in I believe

On 6/28/2023 at 1:30 PM, Keys Kathy said:

You have to take a shuttle from the parking garage to the ship. The bus stop is in front of the parking garage with a smallish sign. The shuttle will take your luggage, but it is a bit easier to drop it off. Know it can be a bit confusing over there because they drop the luggage away from where you go into the terminal. 29 is not as convenient as the other terminals.

We will Uber in

On 6/28/2023 at 11:20 AM, keesar said:

It is fine if you are a typical cruiser.  Those who cruise in suites will see a difference.  

 

On one of our cruises, we left from 25 and returned at 29. Easy departure at 29 each time but can be confusing trying to find your car.

we are tyocail cruiser. we are in Aquaclass this time but oh well lol 🙂

awesome, thanks so much for the info.  I was wondering how that worked 🙂

Morning all.  Sailing on Reflection in January.  I understand the Martini Bar, but seeing Crush and then reading about the ice table and groups and also seeing bottles out??  Exactly how does Crush work??  

18 hours ago, paulh84 said:

It's not bright and sparkly and well designed like Terminal 25 but it's fine. Totally sufficient for a quick boarding. There is definitely air conditioning. It may feel industrial in some areas but it's fine. The only major difference is for suite guests if that is where the comparison stems from. 

thanks.  Yeah i dont have to have fancy, just clean and doable 🙂  I have sailed out of Tampa, Mobile, Canaveral(favorite for sure), NYC etc.  We shall see 🙂

ok, so I keep seeing posts and/or comments about how awful terminal 29 is.  If I am not mistaken, we will sail the Reflection form that terminal in January.  Can those who have sailed form there, give me true accurate comments on exactly why it is bad, if it is.  I understand it is an older terminal.  I mean is there air condition?  seating, is it clean.  I mean , in all my travels i have never spent more than 25 minutes in a terminal before boarding so wondering how awful an experience could it truly be?  🙂   Also if anyone has pics of the terminal etc, please feel free to share 🙂

On 6/19/2023 at 4:26 PM, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Boarding may or may not have anything to do with the terminal - multiple things can affect the time actual boarding starts.

 

A couple of the primary ones that come to mind:

* They are having to play hide and seek with passengers from the prior sailing who have not yet disembarked. Boarding for a new cruise - even reboarding B2B passengers - cannot begin until the ship is zeroed out from the previous cruise. And it cannot be zeroed out until everyone is OFF the ship.

* There could be mandatory - and usually unannounced - inspections by the Coast Guard, Health Department, and possibly others. That delays the crew being available to do what is necessary to have the ship ready for boarding.

 

That said, other than when I arrived to a terminal after open boarding had been called, I have never gone straight from checking in to boarding. There has always been a wait - no matter if it's HAL, RCCL, X, or DCL - between checking in and boarding.

indeed, there are always things that cause a hold up for sure 😞  To date I have never ever had to wait more than 25 minutes checkin to boarding the ship 🙂

Just an FYI, it appears that the menus that CW2go posted are showing as the menus on my Reflection sailing in Jan uary24.  When i go into the app they are showing same.

On 6/22/2023 at 7:50 AM, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

Perhaps the "average" poster on here. Remember this is but a tiny portion of the cruising population.

ok, i am puzzled.  why would anyone be embarrased to order a cheeseburger??

On 6/7/2023 at 3:42 PM, bigAWL said:

Have you been on multiple Carnival sailings?  Were they all like this, or some less rowdy?

I have bene on numerous Carnival sailing and have loved each and every one.  Issues with rowdiness, are subject to any cruise and cruise line for sure.  There is always an Ahole every.  Carnival tends to be more lively for sure, however, it all depends on where you are sailing and how long.  The short short 4 night sailings due tend to draw a more partying crowd no matter the line for sure, Carnival is certainly no exception.  if you are doing a longer cruise that normally isnt the case.  I have found RCI more subdued with a older crowd(not old)  I would sail Carnival without hesitation.  That being said i am going Celebrity Reflection in January for my retirement cruise 🙂

On 5/6/2023 at 7:43 PM, nhraformula00 said:

Hotels in January will be $ 300 plus.

you aint lying 😞