Jazzbo

23 hours ago, Provence55always said:

We stayed there about 15 years ago magically! Also don’t forget Harry’s Bar for a Bellini…..have a great trip.

 

 

 

You brought up a special memory for me. We were in Venice on my Mum’s birthday in 2005. I took her to Harry’s for a martini. We tried to buy the glass, but the waiter said no. My Mum explained it was her birthday and offered to show him her passport to prove it. He declined. After I paid the check and we we stood up to leave, the waiter presented a clean glass wrapped in tissue paper to my Mum. She passed away in 2021, so many thanks for bringing that sweet memory back.

We did the concierge lunch on the Reflection Med sailing September 30th. Choices were limited and chicken breast was so overcooked it was hard. Waiter incorrectly told my cousin that couscous was gluten-free. She was diagnosed with celiac disease over 30 years ago so she knew better, but that could have been awful for someone recently diagnosed who wasn’t familiar with couscous. Having said that, the maitre’d checked on our table at lunch and made sure she received a copy of the next night’s dinner menu every night so she could select her meal for the following night and could adjust the sides or preparation to avoid gluten. He also booked Murano for us at a decent time and day even though it appeared that 5:30 or 9:00 were the only times still available. 

On 2/11/2024 at 5:54 PM, bluwes said:

Safe journey home, loved the live follow. That will be us April 2025, I’ll be celebrating my 70th birthday on board. Have just booked Murano to celebrate 

A great Charla live again! We’ll be celebrating my 70th (and my retirement) in January 2025. Charla’s report just increases the anticipation, doesn’t it?

On 2/6/2024 at 12:48 PM, GenerationX said:

 
I am so sorry for the loss of your husband.  I hope it’s not too creepy of an offer coming from a stranger on the internet and all…but if you ever do decide to try cruising solo, please feel free to reach out and if price and schedules align I would be happy to book myself solo on the same cruise and be on call to be your company for meals, shows, cocktails, etc. whenever you’re feeling you need a little emotional support and/or company.

What a kind offer. Not only are you clever, entertaining, and joyful, but it’s evident you have a huge heart! I knew I liked you. 😊

On 2/4/2024 at 3:37 PM, sbt518 said:

 

Bitter French

Ingredients

1 ounce Plymouth gin

1⁄4 ounce Campari

1⁄2 ounce fresh lemon juice

1⁄2 ounce simple syrup (1:1 sugar:water)

Champagne

Garnish: 1 grapefruit twist

 

Basically mix all the ingredients and top with champagne serve as a French 75 or other champagne cocktail.

This sounds delicious! I’m a fan of gin and champagne, and enjoy the subtle bitterness of an Aperol Spritz. 😊🍸🥂

19 hours ago, GenerationX said:

Pro tip: before you get to port, be sure to either have a printout of your xpress pass or take a screenshot of it on your phone.  When I got to the terminal the Celebrity app picked that moment to freeze up on me, but it didn’t slow me down because I never trust technology and had both a printout and screenshot for scanning.

 

That was about as long as I could resist the siren song of shakers rattling a deck above at the martini bar and went to grab my absolute favorite: the French 75 martini (also not a thing at martini bar on E class, boo).

 

Cheers from Reflection! 🥂

Charla — I also do the print outs. I haven’t done screenshots, but that’s a great idea. 
 

The French 75 is also one of my favorites — have one for me! 🍸

I’m thoroughly enjoying your live review (as always). Thanks for taking us along with you!

I’m so sorry for your loss, Charla. Condolences to you and your family. 
 

As I’m wide awake with insomnia, I got up and decided to check out Cruise Critic — yay! Another Charla live thread! I’ll be following along with great interest. We are doing this cruise on the Reflection next January to celebrate a big birthday and my retirement. I’ll retire (mostly) in December, but will keep working with a few clients (fellow lawyer). I loved your live Med review. We did a similar one on Reflection around the same time as you. 
 

Safe travels and bon voyage!

Since you’re an early riser, do you take sunrise photos too? I have a couple of really good ones of Mt. Vesuvius from our sail into Naples in October.

On 1/22/2024 at 8:10 AM, jimbo5544 said:

You will all soon learn I love sunsets

 

Beautiful sunset photos!

On 1/16/2024 at 7:42 PM, mac_tlc said:

Our journey will begin tomorrow with a flight from CT to Orlando. We will spend a few days at our house there and then “enjoy” the “E-ticket” ride known as I-95 on Sunday morning. We will rent a car one-way down and then again back to Orlando after the cruise. 
 

Gives us a little time to unpack and then unwind afterwards .

 

mac_tlc

Have you thought about using Brightline? We’re looking at flying out of Miami for our land-based tour in late September. We may take Brightline instead of a repositioning flight. I had friends that did Brightline to Miami for a flight to Rome. They said it was great!

3 hours ago, d9704011 said:

Maybe not the right board, but I'll give this a shot.  We are sailing on Ascent in April (Aqua Class) and this will be our first Celebrity cruise at the Elites loyalty level.  Can anybody tell me what we should expect for benefits and when we'll find out what they will be?

The Elite breakfast is one of our favorite benefits. They have pastries, lunch meats and cheeses, fresh fruit, and smoked salmon plates. Mimosas, Bellinis, and I believe Bloody Marys are included, as are cappuccino and other espresso coffees, regular coffee and tea, and smoothies. It will be in one of the specialty restaurants. It’s quiet and peaceful.

We did a galley tour on one of our Celebrity cruises. They have a separate prep and cooking area for gluten free. We did a Med cruise in September-October with my cousin and her husband. My cousin has celiac disease and had no problems onboard. 

What a beautiful and rich experience! Thank you for taking us along. Love the photos and videos.

On 12/27/2023 at 9:36 AM, 81Zoomie said:

Final recap will have to wait.  DH woke up with Covid 😢 this morning.  Based on the timing… it appears to be a Celebrity variant.

I hope your DH is feeling better. My brother and SIL were supposed to be here for Christmas but both came down with Covid last week.

On 12/19/2023 at 2:14 PM, PescadoAmarillo said:

I agree with what the others have said. The Sapphire is a wonderful ship for any itinerary but especially for Alaska. 
 

We just did B2B Alaska cruises in late July-August and I blogged about it starting here:

 

http://pescadoamarillo.blogspot.com/2023/07/an-anniversary-cruise-to-alaska.html

 

 

I read your review (and some more of your blog). Thank you for posting the link.

We are long-time Celebrity cruisers. DH is celebrating a BIG birthday in September 2025, and we wanted to celebrate with family and friends on an Alaskan cruise. After lots of research and with encouragement from our TA, we booked Princess (our first Princess cruise). Either of two Cruise Tours would work for our date, and when I asked DH if he would prefer spending his birthday on land or on the ship, he chose the ship. That meant we would be on the Sapphire instead of the Caribbean, so I booked the Sapphire. I am so pleased that it seems we made the right choice! I know that we are highly unlikely to experience the beautiful weather you had, especially at the beginning of September, but we're good with that. Our one other Alaska cruise was Inside Passage from Vancouver and back, and even dreary, rainy days (the first week of July) did not ruin the beauty that is Alaska!

Great photos! Silhouette is the only S class we haven’t sailed. Looks like we may need to remedy that!

On 4/17/2023 at 11:34 PM, Germancruiser said:

I have never been on any cruise, on board any shipe with whichever cruise line-  where I did not hear some creaking sounds- I rather like it- makes me feel I am on a board a ship.

I would recommend to stick with land based vacations if you don´t want to be disturbed by a noise every ship makes. I saw and head the videos - yes- but I really did not find it to unusual.

Just remember YOU ARE ON BOARD A SHIP- THAT THING MOVES- IT IS BOUND TO MAKE SOME NOISE- IT IS BOUND TO SHIFT NOW AND THEN!

Did you watch and listen video in post #47? The noise is not normal creaking. We were in 15-meter seas on an Eclipse Transatlantic in November 2014 and never heard any noises like that. It sounds like a machine gun.

3 hours ago, 81Zoomie said:

The chair hogs were in action around the pool….bah humbug.  However, the joke may be on them because it’s quite windy and overcast today.  It was before 10 and almost every chair in the solarium was also taken.  The good news is the gym was relatively empty.  Just not quite ready to gym it yet.

 

 

 

I’m really enjoying your review. I’m under the weather today, so this is a pleasant diversion.

My blood pressure did go up a bit reading and seeing this. I still don’t understand how people can be so inconsiderate. If Celebrity (and other lines) would consistently enforce the 30-minute rule, some of the chair hogs might stop, and at least enforcement would make loungers available for those who want to sit by the pool. And we usually only sit in the pool area on sides in the shade (there are usually quite a few available there). We do like the Solarium, but often cannot find a place to sit.

Merry Christmas and enjoy the rest of your cruise!

Great picture of you and Iain!

1 hour ago, Redking said:

Don't get me wrong, I love a party 💃 as evidenced by feeling seedy today after a long lunch at home  with friends yesterday and imbibing in many a cocktail 🍸and glass of red wine 🍷.

Thank you for triggering many wonderful memories. My parents lived in Jávea, Spain for about 15 years in retirement. They retired early and moved back to the States when they were 65. We visited them in Jávea frequently. They and many of their friends (who became our friends) entertained at lunch, either in their homes or at restaurants. Inevitably, the 1:00, 1:30, or 2:00 lunches would stretch to 4:00, 5:00, or later. The day after, many of us felt “fragile.” 😊🍷

On 12/8/2023 at 10:57 AM, tfred said:

the market for printed anything is really the computer illiterate who can't operate an iPhone or most electronic devices. The target market of ethos his generally "older". who never really grew up with an electronic device of any sort 

I am definitely in the “older” category, but still work full time as an attorney. I am computer literate, but it’s easier to research printed code/statute books (even though I do a computer search to find my starting place). I like being able to browse surrounding code sections by flipping pages back and forth. On the other hand, I find it much easier to research case law digitally using Westlaw.
I also prefer printed travel books (Fodor’s, Lonely Planet, etc.). I can tear out the pages I want to take on the trip.

Our first cruise post-Covid was the 2nd post-Covid cruise of the Equinox out of Ft. Lauderdale in 2021. I remember wondering if picking up the seapasses at the cabin was a Covid measure. That was a great cruise — crew members greeted the boarding passengers with applause. The ship wasn’t even half full. Everyone, passengers and crew alike, were so happy to be cruising again!

We were on the westbound Reflection TA in November 2022, and on a Reflection Med cruise in October 2023. The 2022 TA was great, but we definitely noticed a decline in the quality of the food this year. Staffing cuts were obvious and it seemed like many of the crew were run ragged, especially the cabin stewards. It won’t keep us from cruising Celebrity, but we only have one booked now (January 2025). We have our first Princess cruise booked for August 2025 (Alaska). We will probably do land-based vacations next year.

Finally caught up again! I’m still working full time (for one more year), so I have to catch up on weekends or on those nights when I wake up at 3:00 a.m. and can’t get back to sleep (like now). Your photos of the Sydney harbor are stunning! And yes, great shirts on both you and Iain.

On 12/6/2023 at 7:24 PM, Jim_Iain said:

 

We gave up on Xmas about 20 years ago.   Sorry for our poor attitude to all of you Xmas lovers.   

 

I have to do my Xmas shopping next week -   Amazon Gift Cards for all the Grandchildren.   I know Bahhhhh Humbug but that's us.

We usually have Thanksgiving with my husband's (and my bonus) family at my stepdaughter and son-in-law's ranch in Texas. Larry had already figured out a gift for all the kids. They begged us to tell them want we wanted for Christmas. After telling them "nothing" several times, we finally said a donation to charity. If they didn't have a favorite, we suggested Heifer International. My late brother-in-law and his wife introduced us to this wonderful charity, but we would be happy with a donation to just about any charity. 

10 hours ago, mom says said:

Are you booked on a guarantee, or did you select your cabin? Our original booked cabin was changed twice before embarkation.  Fortunately both times it was just a couple if doors down from the previous one. But, yeah, Princess is known to do this.

Thanks for the information. No, we did not book gty. We booked specific cabins (after doing a lot of research).