HardToPort

We were on the Reflection in November.

There was soap, body lotion, a few cotton balls and q-tips in a box, shampoo and conditioner and a shower cap.

There was no body wash and no wall dispensers in the shower.

I think you're right Karpela. I'm probably thinking of the showers by the sauna / spa. Or maybe another ship (NCL maybe?).

Anyway, to the OP, yes there are soaps and stuff in your cabin.

:)

I tried searching for this information, but couldn't find any recent posts. Sorry if this has been commented upon in the near past. In a regular veranda - e.g. 2C - what toiletries are provided? I'm sailing on the Reflection on Saturday. I'm looking to pack as light as possible, because on a day when I apparently lacked good judgement, I booked our flight on Spirit. Yes, it's inexpensive; but the limit you to 40 lbs for the hold.

 

So, what I'd like to know is if the following are provided:

 

-soap

-lotion

-cotton balls

-q-tips

-shampoo

-conditioner

 

Also, does anyone know the scent? I can't think of a reason why I would bring my own if it's provided (my hair can take a week off of Biolage), but maybe there's one that I haven't thought of.

 

Much thanks for any information.

Irishgal,

On last year's cruise there was soap, lotion, shampoo / conditioner in our balcony cabin. However, if I recall correctly, the body wash and shampoo / conditioner came out of shower mounted bulk dispensers. Which is just fine by me as I occasionally wash my hair with a bar of soap (don't ask). My hair came through the experience just fine.

See ya at the Sunset Bar!

HTP

For upcoming Reflection, Jan 30th, booked nearly a year ago and have a Concierge with drinks package, gratuities, $150 USD OBC and fees / taxes for $1660 CDN. That works out to about $1,100 USD. Great deal and I generally don't spend much money on souvenirs or excursions. I cruise every year with my now 82 year old father. As long as he is healthy enough to go, I'm going regardless of currency. That being said, paying $1.40 CDN to buy $1.00 USD stings.

The world runs to the $US during times of political or economic uncertainty and that, more than anything is why the $CDN has fallen vs the $USD. The $CDN is slightly better against the Euro than a year or two ago. It only costs $152CDN to buy a Euro which is lower than past years. Europe is on my horizon for 2016 / 2017 leisure travel.

How flexible are they about the 90 minute rule for boarding at the start of the cruise?

Always, always arrive day before and bed down for the night before cruise. Especially when flying from the north country in winter. Take it from a Canuck.

Last year a blizzard hit us and our flight out of Buffalo was cancelled and airport shut down. Had to find a flight out of Toronto later in day and arrived late afternoon day before cruise. If it had happened on cruise day we would have missed sailaway.

Safe travels.

Have done 10 cruises in last 7 years. Two river cruises (ARosa and Avalon) and eight with Carnival, NCL and Celebrity. I have loved them all and the only disappointing one from a food standpoint was the ARosa Stella which catered to a mainly German clientele. (Too much pork and potatoes!).

On the Reflection last year I ate in the dining room mostly (no special restaurants) and found the food to be wonderful. The service (from check in, to cabin stewards, to wait staff) was exemplary.

Yes, I could find some small thing to criticize on every cruise but when I consider what I receive vs my expectations I am very happy with cruising in general and Celebrity in particular.

Despite all the shiny appointments and claims of luxury, mainstream cruising is a beer budget experience. For $1600 Canadian for example, I receive all the food I can eat, all the alcohol I can drink, 7 nights in a balcony cabin, the pleasant company of over 5,000 fellow passengers and crew, music, entertainment, gambling, interesting ports of call and breathtaking ocean views.

For the complainers who want haute cuisine, more exotic ports of call and slavish service might I suggest Seaborne or Crystal Cruises and the significant additional expense they charge.

Happy sailing,

HTP

Just an FYI. I've been on cruises where NFL playoffs shown in bar only NOT in the rooms. For one game a few years ago I went to room, settled into bed with a cold beer and snacks and ... No game..

Had to get dressed, go back to bar (seats all gone!) and stand against wall to watch. Which reminds me ... Arrive at bar early and get a good seat!

Your fellow cruisers are very approachable. Say "Hello" and start a conversation. You may make a friend for life.

I do a cruise annually with my Dad since 2009. We've done Carnival's, NCL's and Celebrity. Did Reflection last January. Loved the ship so much we're going back this January. Great ship, great staff, great guests, great music. As nice a cruise as we've ever done.

Take the whining with a grain of salt. Some folks are never happy.

Hi All. Was on reflection last year in January. Always found some nightly music to my liking but yes, the DJ's, nearly across the board (I've cruised Carnival, NCL, RCL, Celebrity and a couple of river cruise companies) suck like Hoovers. Was on a Caribbean NCL a couple of years ago, show band played and everyone was dancing and I mean from 8-80. And all cultures, black, white, Asian and every variation. We were having a blast and the place was rocking. DJ shows up (it's only 11 PM) and the place emptied in 3 songs. By 11:20 this guy was playing to empty seats and servers. Even the servers hated this guy, no people = no booze sold = no tips. I had a nice chat with hotel director (always talk to them, CD's are notoriously fatuous, HD's are career employees). I did math on his notepad right on his desk. 250 people reduced to 0 in 20 minutes. Most of us would have stayed til 1AM. 2 hours x 3 drinks pp @ $8 per drink = $6,000 in lost revenue to the ship and (@18%) $1,080 in lost tips to staff. All night, every night. It is worth noting that the "fashionable chic" crowd they are tripping over themselves to endear all walked out as well. Being young doesn't mean you're a "raver".

Next night, first song was Old Time Rock and Roll, next up was Satisfaction, then some Kanye, and going forward a mix. Surprise! A good crowd stayed until 1 AM.

So, my question, does NCL owe me a commission?

And if that tool of a CD is still on board come January let's make his life a living hell of complaints, snide remarks and rudeness. Two can play at that game.

Cheers,

HTP

Does anyone know what musicians/bands are playing on the Reflection during the Caribbean Cruises? We are a mid to late 40's couple and we have booked on the Eastern January 23rd sailing. My husband is a hobby musician and just loves to watch live music, we were on a cruise years ago with Carnival and the show / house band was amazing and played so many genre of music we watched them every night. I hope they have something similar ;)

I'm on the Jan 30th sailing. Did your itinerary last year. They had a nice boy / girl acoustic duo; great jazz band; piano player and some ad hoc combos. Like your DH I love live music and wasn't disappointed.

Live music on the Sunset Bar was a real highlight. Enjoy!

We are booked on Celebrity Reflection on January 2. The website shows the cruise being completely sold out. This surprises me as we are still over two months away from sailing. Just a couple weeks ago there were a ton of rooms left so I'm really surprised. Is that typical for an early January cruise? I feel worried about crowding. Should I prebook our select dining times before going? Any other tips? This will be my first cruise in about 5 years and my husband's first ever.

Hello Salerno's,

Cruise ships rarely sail without being completely sold out. The best pricing tends to be 9-12 months out. Then the price will be adjusted up or down over the next 4-5 months depending on demand. Just before the cruise sails any unsold cabins are heavily discounted or offered to the travel industry.

Yes, you should book your dining times or choose Select. If you want early dining, you may find it sold out already.

Cruise ships are designed to sail full and have lots of entertainment options for all. The Reflection has an outstanding adult / quiet area where, last January, I never had a problem getting a lounger or hammock.

You will love this ship. Just relax and show up!

Best Wishes,

HTP

I need to find a rental car company that will shuttle us to the Miami Port pier. Please let me know if you know a company that does this. I will be renting the car at Palm Beach Airport.

Flying in to FLL day before cruise. I am renting a Hertz car at FLL. Spending night pre cruise in a hotel on South Beach. Dropping bags off at ship. Dropping car off at Hertz South Beach. $10 cab ride back to pier. Hertz does one way rentals in the FLL / MIA corridor at reasonable cost.

Cheers!

Bill

Don't let the official policy put you off though. We asked to bring family on board whilst the Solstice was in Perth Western Australia. We applied on board at Guest relations and were told that had Perth not been the end / start of a cruise we would have been granted permission. You have nothing to lose by asking. The worse thing that can happen is they say no.

I can't speak for rules and regs in Oz, but I believe the reason this request is declined in North America has to do more with Homeland Security than Celebrity. Passenger manifests must be in Homeland Security's possession 90 minutes before sail away and non-registered and non-security cleared passengers are a no-no throughout sailing.

HTP

I've used SAS Shuttle for travel from FLL to Miami and thought service was good relative to price. ($15 pp)

Cheers!

Should I have offered it up to someone on the contingent basis that they would have to leave when BF gets back?

The chair stopped being yours to offer up when the BF's butt left it to wander off for a few hours to eat / nap / shower etc. An astonishing example of a sense of entitlement and chair hogging.

Yes, you are correct. The difference is more than just the invoice though.

As soon as we give a reservation to a TA, all our billing and payment and due date information disappears from our Celebrity account, along with the options to make changes ourselves.

 

About the only thing Celebrity still lets us do on our own after that is to buy more stuff from them.

 

We lose control of just about everything else.

Whether we want to make a payment or a cancellation or a cabin change, or even to change our dining time, or to link reservations with someone else, we must then depend on the TA to do it for us.

 

But yet we do continue to give our bookings to TAs when they provide attractive incentives for us to do so, despite the drawbacks.

 

Hi Fleckle,

Not sure I get the "drawbacks". My TA gets me the same price as I can get online, with added perks usually. I have complete control over everything else. When I want to make a payment, cancel a booking, change a cabin, change dining time, make reservations or book shore excursions I text my TA and presto! It's done. And in less time than I can do it myself and with no aggravation on my part.

Not sure what exactly constitutes a "drawback" in your world. My time is too valuable to mess around with minor cruise details when I can get someone to do it for me ... for free. Lastly, if you have genuine concerns about the service you receive from your travel agent there are industry associations that insure the traveler's interest. (TICO up here in Ontario).

Maybe you need a new TA.

Cheers! and Merry Christmas!

HTP

:cool:

I'm wondering, are you able to tip your stateroom attendant for specific acts, or must you wait until the end of the cruise? The specific scenario I'm wondering about is asking the attendant to open up the balcony dividers between the 5 rooms occupied by our group members. It seems this might be a highly physical, daunting task and would love to slip him/her a $20 if appropriate. :)

Hi Bif,

Prepay your gratuities before you go and only tip onboard for "above and beyond" service. Everyone gets their cut. Not sure this qualifies for above and beyond if your group has already paid their grats.

At cruise end, a little extra to your cabin steward always goes over big.

I hope you have a great time on your cruise!!

HTP

:cool:

Hotels charge the same rate for one person as they do for two people. No one seem to gripe about their "rip off" single occupancy rates. I find it odd that people insist on singling out cruise lines for doing the exact same thing that they willing do at every hotel they stay at as a single occupant. :confused:

Hi Boogs!

At first glance you hav a point but hotels don't feed you breakfast, lunch, dinner and provide daily entertainment.

Yes a hotel costs you for the "room". And cruise lines generally charge you for a "cabin" but since 90% of all cabins are occupied by couples (with a kid or two sometimes thrown in for next to no additional charge) they price based on two. Instead of using hotels as a comparator, an all inclusive resort would be a better example. And they price similarly.

There seems to be something a little off with OP's situation and I'm surprised his single supplement is higher than usual.

Cheers!

HTP

:cool:

Rum runners what is that?

Reusable booze smuggling containers. I don't use 'em. Don't encourage 'em and getting caught smuggling booze in has consequences.

But you can find them here http://www.rumrunnerflasks.com/

Cheers!

HTP

:cool:

It seemed to be a pretty extreme case...

Hi Bob,

Likely not the Captain, as you know. I've been fortunate enough to attend a few private meet and greets with Ship's Officers. The Captain is in overall command albeit with relatively few direct reports. The Hotel Director is the most powerful man on the ship from a passenger perspective. Within his purview are all the passenger focused departments (housekeeping, social, dining, entertainment, customer service etc).

It was likely a senior officer reporting to the Hotel Director who laid down the law in the Solarium.

Having said that, it is good to see examples of rules being enforced.

Cheers!

HTP

:cool:

I really find this hysterical. I was on a 15 day cruise and we met so many people. Such a large percentage of them were Texans. Guess who was dressed the worst on this cruise? Yup, you guessed it, the Texans. Dirty jeans, big dirty hats, dirty boots. I could go on and on, but I think you get my point.

 

To call ANYBODY low class is so disrespectable.

Whoa! Pass me the popcorn and pour me a beer, this s*** just got real! :cool::cool::cool:

That's a pretty hastily cast aspersion on ther Lone Star State, Susie. Almost as bad as telling a Canadian he has bad table manners!

Over to you Texas!

If you only plan on having a drink now and again, you will not want the "Package"....it takes about 6-7 drinks per day, per person to "break even". Just buy a drink when and if you want one!

Hey CB,

You say "it takes 6-7 drinks per day, per person to break even", and make it sound like that is a lot of drinking. That's lightweight drinking. ;)

In my experience a typical male cruiser drinks 2-3 beers starting at noon; a cocktail before changing or while changing for dinner; a couple of glasses of wine with dinner; maybe a liquer with coffee; another couple of drinks during the gambling / entertainment / dancing portion of the evening and numerous waters, juices, club sodas thoughout the day to stay hydrated. 6-7 drinks is low end.

And keep in mind the OP is from Belfast, Northern Ireland where drinking is a competitive sport. :) (I'm just teasing OP, my bloodlines are Scottish and the consumption listed above is my usual daily dose).

I've never done the drinks package before, because most cruiselines require both occupants of a room to enroll. My 81 year old Dad doesn't drink enough to make it worthwhile. However, Celebrity doesn't require this (Unless it is part of the 123GO Promotion) so I'm signing up in January.

Cheers!

HTP

:cool:

Hi,

 

I'm going on my first Celebrity cruise on Sunday and was wondering about alcohol. Can I bring a bottle of my favourite whisky (which they don't offer on board)?

 

Or will it be taken away? Drinks packages seem very expensive, so I'd rather bring my own and just have one when I fancy.

 

Thanks

Hi Blondie,

You may take 2 - 750 ml bottles of wine per cabin. (For the entire cruise). No liquor.

Yes they search and yes they will confiscate. It will be returned post cruise.

The drinks packages are not as expensive as they seem. They include non-alcoholic as well as alcoholic drinks. So if you like espressos, lattes' cappucino's, premium bottled water, juices and soft drinks during the day then you can cover most of your drinks package cost before you even hit the hard stuff.

Have a great trip!

HTP

:cool:

So, will we look out of place if my family and extended family is dressed in suits and gowns? This is a lot of our first cruises and we were excited about dressing up and taking pics. But if we will stick out like a sore thumb, Im not so sure now.

 

We were planning on sundresses (women) and khaki's and a button up shirt(men) for the regular nights and suits and gowns for elegant night.

 

I'm not sure what to do now.

Greetings,

Despite the ongoing flame war between the "I'm on vacation casuals" and the "Why doesn't the maitre'd enforce the dress codes" ... and I see both of their points by the way ... take your elegants and wear them. Literally hundreds and hundreds of cruisers will be dressed on formal night and there are lots of photo ops.

I wear a jacket every night in the MDR. Sometimes with a tie sometimes not. I wear my tux on formal night. Even the "I'm on vacations" compliment the well dressed.

I don't want excessive noise, drunkeness or rudeness at dinner. If I don't like the way my tablemates dress or behave I change tables night 1. Other than that as long as people don't wander in dripping from the pool I turn a blind eye if the cruise line bends their dress code rules.

Having said that, I would prefer if rules were enforced from dress to chair hogs. But they aren't enforced consistently and I won't let that ruin my holiday.

So get your best bib and tucker on and have a BLAST!!!!!

Cheers!

HTP

:cool:

Hi everyone! I found this forum very helpful.

My father will be turning 80 next month. My father is still strong and agile for his age, thankfully. I have just booked a 7-day cruise from NYC to Bahamas with NCL. I thought it would be a nice gift for him. We will be sailing on Nov 2nd. Here are my concerns:

(1) I ended up with a BX room as all mid-ship balconies are sold out. Do you think that part of the ship would be too shaky for him?

(2) What excursions do you recommend for the 3 stops?

 

Many thanks in advance.

Hi Calico,

I have cruised with my now 81 year old for the last 5 years. Here's what I've learned in answer to your questions.

1 - if he does not suffer from motion sickness he should be fine wherever your cabin is. Yes, lower and more central locations avoid the see saw motion in rolling seas. I find some motion relaxing, others find it nauseating. If your pre-disposed to motion sickness no cabin location is safe.

2 - my Dad's energy level varies daily. I would not pre-book any excursions. You can have a lot of fun in most ports by walking the area or taking a local taxi or bus. A short excursion might be OK. remember there will be days when he justs wants to rest and re-charge and it is hard to predict those days. There are always last minute openings on an excursion if your Dad feels particularly frisky or adventurous.

We've done the exact cruise you mention. NYC to Nassau, Freeport and maybe NCL's private island. Nassau has a nice beach (Junkanoo) beach that is only a 10 minute walk from the ship. The downton is very walkable. As an excursion for someone elderly I'd maybe recommend a trip to the Atlantis resort but it is pricey. I'm not a fan of Freeport, it's a little industrial (But hey! It's still the Bahamas!). My Dad takes a pass except for the dockside market and I usually do a little drinking at Senior Frogs.

The private island (if it is on your schedule) is a great stop. Easy tender to and from and you can walk, wade, listen to music, enjoy the day.

My Dad and really enjoy port days on board. It's quiet, we have a drink, play gin rummy, enjoy the peace and quiet. We might walk off the ship just to stretch our legs but we will stay close.

Lastly, my Dad knows my energy level exceeds his. Once in a while I'll go off on my for a walk or excursion and he will read on board or have a nap. Don't be afraid to take a little time for yourself.

The cruise out of NY Harbour is an incredible experience. Board early, stake a claim on a nice lounger in the serenity lounge, get a couple of cocktails and enjoy a great sail out! Manhattan, WTC Tower, Staten Island, Statue of Libery, Verranzano Narrows Bridge. Amazing!

I hope you have a great cruise!!

Cheers!

HTP

:cool: