DuncanHusky

I priced out a spring 2019 sailing on our preferred aft corner Sky Suite, and it's about a 50% premium over the same suite, same itinerary on the Reflection. Um, that gives me some serious second thoughts.

 

(Also, the Reflection is a lovely ship and I'm quite happy with that!)

What is an "infinite verandah"? A balcony with no railing?

 

It's kind of a clever concept. Take a window like you see on many river cruise ships - wide, and the top half lowers down to create a railing. Then about 10-12 feet back from the window, put a set of French doors. Depending on how the window and doors are open or closed, you create an indoor/outdoor space where a balcony would be. Here's a floor plan:

(Via https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/Celebrity-Edge)

Please don't think I'm being a Celebrity apologist - I absolutely believe in holding a company's feet to the fire when it comes to matters like this.

 

I do know that when we cruised with Celebrity in Alaska in 2011 and again in 2013, and in the Caribbean in 2015, the LGBT gatherings were listed in the daily newsletters. Maybe this was not the case for non-US-based itineraries, though?

Hopefully, Celebrity will do a better job of promoting LGBTQ get togethers. Cunard/Princess/HAL do a very good job of hosting the events. Celebrity just has a small "note" on the posting board near guest relations. The other cruise lines mention the meetings in their daily paper.

 

Actually, Celebrity mentions them in their daily papers as well. Note 8 PM in the Martini Bar:

 

This comes after Celebrity took some heat for its "Sail Beyond Borders" ad that aired during the US presidential debates. Lisa Lutroff-Perlo (CEO of Celebrity Cruises) did a fantastic interview where she talked about how brands need to differentiate themselves to stand out:

“As we looked at our culture and our brand and our purpose, we knew we had to think differently,” Lutoff-Perlo told that audience. “People buy brands that align with their values and we had to think about our culture and our brand purpose and how it related to those values. We wanted to lead the conversation around the cruise industry.”

 

The company was thinking about how it could break away from its competitors. But it also felt it needed a “cultural moment” to make its message timely and relevant. It found one when the political discourse in America took a xenophobic turn.

 

“We felt Americans had to travel and be open to the world,” said Lutoff-Perlo. The resulting campaign, “Sail Beyond Borders,” informed consumers that “far from the rhetoric of fear is a world of differences… Our lives are not made better when we close ourselves off from the world.” It didn’t mention anyone by name, but most consumers were clear that it was a response to one of the candidates for President, and the campaign clearly took courage.

 

“We made a decision that if people didn’t share our values they probably weren’t going to sail with us anyway, and we had to be comfortable with that. If you make a stand for something, you also have to take a stand against something.”

 

After the campaign aired, Lutoff-Perlo said, there were a “small percentage of people who hated it, hated us, hated me. That’s never easy. But it was easier for me to put that aside when I saw the overwhelmingly positive response to our message.”

 

I'm very grateful for this and I'm glad that we cruise exclusively with Celebrity!

Thank you for this information! My husband and I are considering MSC's Yacht Club as a possibility as well. We've done several sailings with Celebrity in suites and really like their amenities. The fact that they will be opening up some of the YC benefits shipwide removes one of the concerns that we had!

I went to Restaurant El Jibarito (280 Calle Sol) last year. It's not fancy, there's definitely more locals than tourists, but the food was simply excellent! Yelp reviews: https://www.yelp.com/biz/el-jibarito-san-juan

 

Hi folks--

I'm heading to St. Martin in late June. Anyone been? Suggestions on where to eat/shop/have fun?

 

Is there any sort of gay scene? How do the apps (Grindr/Scruff) work out over there?

 

We went last November. We did an excursion "4-Wheeler Expedition" which I mistakenly thought would involve riding on trails or something. No, it was driving 4-wheelers on the roads with all the other cars. It normally wasn't too bad though I definitely felt that I was taking my life in my own hands going through some of the traffic circles!

 

Our tour (it was just me and my husband) stopped at Orient Beach for a few hours, then took a meandering route back to the ship with a stop at Rotary Lookout Point. Orient Beach is indeed clothing-optional, and it was a fun stop. Hey, it's not often you get a chance to skinny dip in the ocean! As noted above, it's not gay-oriented in the least and pretty straightforward as naturist beaches go (all body types and genders welcome). I found it very pleasant.

 

After we got back to the ship I took the water taxi (US$7 round trip) across the harbor from the cruise ship docks to Great Bay Beach. It's your usual Caribbean tourist beach hell - mildly interesting if you're not used to it, but otherwise unremarkable. I did stumble onto an interesting Peruvian bar/restaurant (https://www.facebook.com/Nazca.Peruvian.Restaurant/) that had a nice selection of cocktails, free wifi, and a friendly bar dog and bar cat.

 

I can't speak for Grindr, but I was amused to bring up Growlr and see eight people listed within 200 miles, all obviously cruise ship passengers. That pretty much sums up gay life in the Caribbean, unfortunately.

Luminae is located on Deck 4 (Promenade), Starboard side aft. They carved out a section of the main dining room to create the restaurant. We sailed in a Sky Suite on the Reflection last November and we enjoyed Luminae very much!

 

Here is an up-to-date deck plan for Deck 4, showing Luminae:

 

I think it's an issue of inconsistency.[...] But, I also noted how inconsistent each bartender is at various venues.

 

Agreed. We were on the Reflection last October and the quality, flavor, and strength of any one drink varied wildly from one bar to another, from one bartender to another. Really, that was my only (admittedly very minor) complaint about the whole cruise.

 

In the interest of providing a uniform product to keep customers happy and knowing what to expect, Celebrity should definitely spend some time on training their bar staff.

Google shows Parcela Gastropub as "permanently closed" on 11/7/15

 

Just to follow up on this (and remind folks of an outstanding restaurant), I am pleased to report that when I was in San Juan last week I found that Parcela is very much open and operating!

We were on the Reflection for this itinerary back in November 2015. You're going to have a great time! Be sure to keep an eye on the daily newsletter for the evening LGBT gathering - on our cruise I believe it was the second night of the cruise in Cellarmasters. Alexander, the cruise director, joined us when we were there and he's a very funny, engaging guy.

 

Have a pina colada in the Sunset Bar for me! :)

We were on Reflection for the November 14 sailing (and I wish we could have stayed on the ship rather than come home to foot of snow in Chicago!).

 

Additionally, the staff at Blu (we are in AquaClass cabins) have been very good. A few of the waiters (Iresh & Reymond) have provided our group with outstanding service.

 

We were in a suite but we did go to Blu one night. I was very mpressed by the quality of the service (I also liked my chicken paillard wrapped in pastry!).

 

The Molecular Bar, which was a standout in our previous cruise, has been a HUGE disappointment. The menu has been ridiculously reduced (probably in an effort to accommodate the upcoming changes) and the bar staff appear overwhelmed.

Stefan and his compatriot worked extremely hard on our cruise but it was clear that they had to make numerous substitutions to the drinks on the menu since they were letting the stocks of the specialty ingredients run out. This won't be a problem after your sailing, though - the last day of the Molecular Bar on the Reflection is November 28, then it will become World Class Bar, like the rest of the fleet.

 

The same has been true at several of other bars that we have visited (including the Martini Bar and Pool Bar) ... the overall bar experience has been very disappointing!

One thing that I noticed was there was an extreme lack of consistence in how drinks were prepared from bar to bar and bartender to bartender. This led to some really awful drinks sometimes, unfortunately.

 

Over the last 4-5 cruises in AquaClass cabins, many of us feel as if the quality of the food has been going downhill.

This is of course subjective and for your experiences you may well be correct. We have been fortunate that in the 4 years we've been sailing with Celebrity the food quality has stayed pretty much the same, which I would rate above average but not stellar. We ate most of our meals in Luminae, and while it wasn't quite the amazing gourmet experience I could have hoped for it was still a slight step up from the Main Dining Room.

 

Having sailed on other cruise lines this past year, the internet service on the Reflection appears quite slow (in comparison). Several of us purchased the unlimited internet package and have been utterly disappointed in the connection.

Ugh, this is so very true. Tip: If you wake up at 5 AM, the Internet speeds are much faster! :) We were speaking with someone in Future Cruises and she assured us that RCI's Voom Internet is coming to Celebrity within the next year or so. So there's that at least?

 

I do hope that you enjoy the rest of your cruise, Adam, and thanks for taking the time to post!

 

Duncan

So true. And as I recall, Celebrity usually has a LGBT meet-up scheduled at least a couple of times on each cruise. Celebrity usually attracts a diverse clientele.

 

This is true. On last week's cruise on the Celebrity Reflection there was an LGBT Meet and Greet in Cellarmasters Wine Bar on the second night of the cruise, and there was a sign at Guest Relations noting there was an LGBT meetup in the Martini Bar each night at 10 PM.

 

The Meet and Greet attracted both men and women (I'd say about 15-20 men and 6-8 women) and was also attended by Alexander, the oh-so-gay and very funny cruise director, and also Ash Fulk, one of the cheftestants on board for the Top Chef cruise. It lasted about 30 minutes before people filtered away to go to shows or enjoy the nightlife.

No, they are two different areas. In the attached map, the Convention Center Area is highlighted in blue, Condado in red. They are a little over a mile apart by car.

No. Some cruise ships dock at the Pan American Pier, which is across the San Antonio Canal from Old San Juan. Figuring out which ships dock where can be tricky, but here's the best guidance I've found, updated in September 2014:

a) Disney Magic cruise ship has San Juan as its HomePort and it docks at Panamerican Pier

b) All Carnival ships (Transit and Home port) docks in Old San Juan.

c) Royal Caribbean Home port ships dock on the weekend and at the Pan-American Pier.

d) The Royal Caribbean transit ship docks on weekdays - one in Old San Juan and the other 2 at the Pan-American Piers.

e) The largest Royal Caribbean ship of the 3 in transit the same day, will be docking in Old San Juan.

f) The Celebrity ships will be docking at Pier 3 in Old San Juan.

g) All Princess Home Port ships docks at the Pan-American Pier.

h) The other Cruise ship companies only have transit ships and they dock in Old San Juan.

 

That's not confusing at all, right? :)

 

Duncan

El Jibarito - 280 Calle Sol. Very traditional Puerto Rican style cooking with lots of choices. Not upscale but nice. Frequented by locals.

 

El Jibarito was by far the best local food that I had in Old San Juan! It can get a little crowded and it is decidedly not fancy, but the food is excellent.

 

Taxis in San Juan operate on a zone system. To go from the airport (Zone 1) to Old San Juan (Zone 4) is a flat $19 plus $1 per piece of luggage. Note that that rate is good for up to 5 people. Also, from 10:00 PM to 6:30 AM there is an extra charge of $1 per trip.

 

You won't really have a choice in which taxi company you get - you go to the taxi stand at the airport and they call the next taxi in line. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE CASH! In my experience most taxis in San Juan do not take credit cards.

 

I checked a private shuttle service and for two people from the airport to Old San Juan they quoted $40.00. A taxi is by far the most economical option.

What is the new upgrade perk for Captain's Club member?

 

Here is the CC news item on it

(9:10 a.m. EST) – Members of Celebrity Cruises' Captain's Club loyalty program will soon have a shot at a low-cost upgrade to a higher cabin category through the line's Reduced Rate Upgrade Program.

"Captain's Club members have been asking us to formalize our last-minute upgrade process, and we are excited to announce that it is finally here," Lee Moreau, director of loyalty and Captain's Club, wrote in an e-mail to Captain's Club members. "We look forward to implementing this program over the next several weeks starting with testing in the North American market, and then expanding this to other regions of the world."

Upgrade offers will be e-mailed to already-booked passengers (or their travel agent) within 45 days of select sailings and passengers chosen for the offer will have only one day to make a decision. Upgrades will be on a first-come, first-served basis, and they can sell out; interested passengers should call to accept the offer as quickly as possible. Moreau emphasized that upgrades will not be available on every sailing.

In order to be eligible for the program, Captain's Club members must be opted into receiving promotional e-mails from Celebrity. Booking reservations must also include the Captain's Club numbers for each passenger, as well as an e-mail address.

--By Dori Saltzman, Editor

Just to follow up, I read over some recent Celebrity Today daily newsletters and it looks like they're called "LGBT Happy Hour" and take place the evening of the first night of the cruise. I hope this helps!

Hello! I can only speak for the two 7-day Alaskan cruises that we have been on in 2011 and 2013, but there were definitely FOD gatherings listed in the daily newsletter on those.

Thanks, Duncan. Are those the types recommended specifically for this virus or just in general? I'm not terribly concerned about myself, but I'm cruising in a couple of weeks with older, 65+, parents in tow.

 

These are just recommended in general. According to the CDC, the chikungunya virus is spread by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. Specifically for Aedes mosquitoes, Consumer Reports these offer the following amounts of protection:

 

1. Sawyer Fisherman's Formula Picaridin - 8 hours
   
2. Repel Lemon Eucalyptus - 7 hours
   
3. Repel Scented Family - 5 hours
   
4. Natrapel 8 Hour - 8 hours
   
5. Off! Deepwoods VII - 8 hours
   

-Duncan

 

(Amazon has the Sawyer Fisherman's on Prime for $11.50. I just bought a bottle for our Caribbean cruise next week :))

The top five insect repellants that Consumer Reports recommends are:

 

1. Sawyer Fisherman's Formula Picaridin ($8.25, 8 hours protection, score 96/100) - Picaridin
   
2. Repel Lemon Eucalyptus ($7.00, 7 hours, 87/100) - Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus
   
3. Repel Scented Family ($7.50, 5 hours, 82/100 - CR Best Buy) - DEET
   
4. Natrapel 8 Hour ($8.00, 8 hours, 81/100) - Picaridin
   
5. Off! Deepwoods VII ($8.00, 8 hours, 74/100) - DEET
   

(Source, subscription required for full ratings)

 

 

I hope this helps!

Duncan

I have been told by someone who lives in SJ that there is no place to eat or sit after baggage claim. I get in at 6 am, will pick something up at my departure airport and hope to get a coffee on my flight.

 

That is probably wise. I had the misfortune of an early-morning flight from SJU a few months back and it was pretty desolate in my concourse before 7 AM - nothing open at all.

In a transparent attempt to bump this thread back to visibility and in the hopes of welcoming a few more folks to the roll call, I'm posting to note that the cruise is less than two weeks away!

 

:D