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JW and Jerome's Excellent Adventure on the Celebrity REFLECTION!

cruiseguys2009

By cruiseguys2009,
in Celebrity Cruises

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cruiseguys2009

cruiseguys2009

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I loved the Processco Champagne (it is an Italian Registered ship after all) so much so, that I went to the other gang way and got another glass there too! Jerome said I was being ridiculous and reminded me that with my card, I could go anywhere to get a drink. “Oh Yeah”! It took a while to sink in but once it did…..”WOW”! I still have to Tinkle!

 

My first impression of the ship was Classic, Gorgeous, and Look at all the amazing Artwork. Like a Contemporary Museum! Everywhere I turned there was more and more photography and sculptures, and even whole rooms that were considered Artwork, created just for this ship! It was not just art, IT WAS A COLLECTION!

 

How can something that was NOT a signature Carnival Cruise Lines Neon, Lights, Bells and Whistles be so OVERWHELMING? Well, they do say LESS IS MORE, and oh my gosh, THERE REALLY IS A TREE SUSPENDED IN MID AIR IN THE MIDDLE OF IT ALL!

 

I was like a little kid in a candy store, “Look at this, Look at that!“, but always reminding myself that I was at the Grown Up Table now, so I did not want to do anything that would get me sent back to the table to “Baby Sit”, if you get my drift. Yeah, that did not last very long!

 

The first thing that Jerome and I planned to do once we got on board, was to head directly to Murano for dining reservations. We knew that Murano would sell out later in the week, but as we were advised on Cruise Critic, there was plenty of space available for the first night. Jerome and I always eat at around 8:30 PM and that time slot was open, plus we were able to get a Twenty Percent First Night Discount.

 

At the same time we were walking to Murano, the announcement had come that our staterooms were available, so Jerome took our carry-on luggage up to the room and I went to Murano and completed the reservation and met RAM! He was truly amazing! More on him later.

 

Jerome likes to be the one to unpack and have everything just so. Go Ahead I say, more Martini time for me! However, that being said, We are neat, organized guys, but I don’t think that just Gay People have the market on neatness, well, okay maybe we do somewhat, Ha!……

 

That’s funny too, because during the cruise, our Stateroom Attendants could not understand why we were so tidy and they told us that we were the neatest people who had ever sailed and to stop making our beds! It was THEIR pleasure, and "Thank You" for letting them take care of us.:rolleyes: So typical of Gay people, right? So much so that on the fifth day of the cruise, a couple from Tampa that we met, were sailing in a cabin that we have booked on the future Reflection sailing, and we asked to see it, and the husband exclaimed “Our room's not gonna look like your guy’s Gay’d up and perfectly organized room JW, we are straight and I like a lived-in look”. Gotcha, I thought. As I laughed out loud, because I knew exactly what he was saying. However, on the day we went to see the room, I was very impressed that the Mrs. made it look like in fact WE were living in the room after all. Things that make you go hmmmm?. Her husband was very good looking too, I might add……but I digress….

 

As I mosey up to the Stateroom, and as I am continue to explore the surroundings along the way, I keep coming across lots of “Friends of Dorothy”. (If you don’t know what that means, well, go ask your mother.) It’s a veritable Fairy World! Told you we were not in Kansas anymore and I could not believe that I was singing the Flintstone’s theme song as I sailed up the stairway, “We’ll Have A Gay Old Time”! Even as I took the next step I shouted out “Wilma!” Remember that song? Oh my gosh, there were more people who “took the same bus that I do” or “who sat in the same pew in my church” that I felt that I was so stupid for thinking that Celebrity was out of sync with my vacation ideals. “WOW”! I have had too much Champagne and I have to Tinkle for REAL.

 

It was at this point I met the three Saints: (Joseph, Paul and Christopher…Christopher, of which they defrocked, but still a Saint in my book!) “Hello Boys” as I sailed by them on the 8th deck on the way to our stateroom….I thought to myself, Oh my gosh, they are just a couple of doors down from me….I hope they like Martini’s! Yay!!!! Boys on the hallway! Boys on Deck! “Flintstones, Meet The Flintstones, You’ll have a Yabba Dabba Doo Time!” “You’ll Have A Gay Old Time”!

 

I finally arrive at the last door on the hallway and I put my key into the slot, open the door and exclaimed “WILMA!!!!!” and Jerome looks at me and says “Are you drunk already?” He continued on with an “Oh Lordy” . I excitedly filled him in on the Boys, lots of Boys and Girls too, and kept saying “Boy was I wrong about Celebrity” “What was I thinking?” “This is going to be a fabulous cruise!“. I then looked around the room quickly, saw the television/drawer unit, pulled out the middle drawer, saying, “Boy, these really are small” and as I pulled it out, it disintegrated into several pieces along with all the hardware all over the floor. (My expression was OH MY GAWD!) Apparently, the people who had the room in the previous sailing may have been a bit rough with the drawer and pulled it out and did Gawd knows what with it, and kind of slid it back in with all the screws and hardware hoping no one would notice. Note to previous stateroom occupants….I NOTICED!

 

Jerome and I looked at each other in surprise and thought, “Oh No, Pleeeese let this not be an omen. Magically, and I mean Wizard of Oz Magically, there was a knock on the door and there was our Senior Room Steward. She was all of about 4 foot three, and since we are “Oz“-ing it, can you say Lollypop Guild? She introduces herself as CORAZON and I immediately fell in love with her. Not a hello from me, nothing but I had the drawer handle in my hand and an OMG look on my face. I lifted it up and as I showed her the drawer, and all the hardware, she went into action and said “Oh my goodness” "I am Corazon your Steward and I promise it will be fixed within the hour“.

 

Okay, yeah sure it would, I thought. I have been on Norwegian and Carnival and it takes them days and days to fix something, what with Engineering Work Orders and Priorities and what have you….days and days.

 

We came back to the room after an hour and it was fixed. TWO WORDS…..AH! & MAZING!

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maitlandmom

maitlandmom

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I am so loving your review! Did you enjoy your balcony. I have my boys in the same cabin but on deck 10 and I hope they enjoy the extra space. (it's good to be my children)

 

I am looking forward to many martinis on my upcoming Eclipse cruise. I hope that they don't run out of olives.

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cruiseguys2009

cruiseguys2009

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AH! MAZING!

 

Oh my gosh I forgot to tell you, I finally TINKLED………Whew!……..Oh it was a grand event!……Whoosh..... the toilet flushed everything, including the air in the bathroom!..…but, as I tinkled and what I noticed was how gosh darn BIG the bathroom was, AND THEN I thought we were in a Suite and I was in the wrong room! I saw all the Hair and Body Lotion Condiments lined up the same way as in the Reflection You-Tube videos. But then there was the Que-Tip and Cotton Ball Glass Dispenser, (Now, I thought the previous guest, if they broke the drawer, why did they not steal this?!) . Then there is the Shower...it could fit an Eskimo with all their Dogs in it for a bath! I was perplexed….What the heck are we sailing on……Is This is our Bathroom???? ”WOW!”.

 

Beeeeeep! Bing! Booooowhopppp! Those dang Emergency Sounds. Our Life Boat station was the Qsign Restaurant. Those gawd forsaken noises……Beeeeeeep! Bing! Boooooowhooop! (Get a fifties group together for gosh sakes) So, we all proceed to our Muster Stations. To which I always want to have a Hot Dog in a Bun in my hands and ask everyone “Where is the Mustard Station?”, but after the Costa (Carnival) Concordia disaster, that is not fun anymore. I want to see my lifeboat and see my Muster Station and that’s THAT.

 

Well, as I said, our Muster station was in Qsign and, low and behold, the Three Saints were in the same Life Boat Station Too! “Oh Three Saints Save Me, Save Me!”….Wake Up JW, you have been in a Champagne Coma since we boarded……..

 

The THREE SAINTS:

 

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Okay, here is the time to be professional, but then the "Hat Lady" appears at Muster Drill, MAKING A BIG OL' FUSS, and I say all bets are off…..Yes! She is faaaaaabulous and we were so transfixed on her fabuousness that if the boat sank, well, we tried, we really tried to watch the video, but, like on an airplane, it was boring, and the "Hat Lady" was truly fascinating, she would have led us to a watery grave if we let her. Okay, so Life Boat Drill Over, where are my frigging Life Vests?

 

We get back to the room and Jerome suggests I try to find "And Seek" the Life Jackets. What? It's kind of like Hide-N-Seek, The Bastard! Are Your for real? “Yes, JW, Let’s play find the Life Jackets!” he said. So we play Hot & Cold, Warm & Cool….“Show me where the GOSH DARN thing is Gosh Darnit“! I said.

 

Okay, for everyone's information: the Life Vest Module[/B] is located Under the Bed! Exactly where you place your luggage, but it’s right there, Under The Bed! "My name is Rose, and it’s the Last place I would have looked, Mr. Jack Dawson….".(who get’s it?)

 

Okay so it’s after Life Boat Drill, it's 3:30 PM and all our Luggage has arrive Magically………….”WOW!” The Flintstone's meets the Wizard of Oz!

 

Jerome begins to unpack…..(Boring!) and I say, “Well, it’s now time for THE Sail-A-Way Party up at the Sunset Bar and The Cruise Critic Roll Call is EXPECTING ME!” “Go Ahead!” He exclaims, “Save Some Vodka For Me!”. I leave, and make my way up to the Sunset Bar and Oh what a Sail-A-Way it was! Fantasmatic! That’s a Disney word!, And it was Superwonderfulishious in all it’s amazingish! Yes, I have had two Martini’s tonight……no reason not to continue the goings on of the past week, the only difference is that CORAZON is not here to keep my room tidy!

 

 

The party was called KISS MY MARTINI……..Yes It Was!:

 

 

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librarylady19

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Great start. I have to say I LOL'd at the library lady homage

 

Yes - me too!! What an honor - really. I was planning to skip the review next time (after Gambees review the only thing left to cover is the Aqua class experience...but what the heck...got to keep up the tradition:)

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cruiseguys2009

cruiseguys2009

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Yes - me too!! What an honor - really. I was planning to skip the review next time (after Gambees review the only thing left to cover is the Aqua class experience...but what the heck...got to keep up the tradition:)

 

What can I say, your review still makes me Tinkle!

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BugsyCruiser

BugsyCruiser

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Yes - me too!! What an honor - really. I was planning to skip the review next time (after Gambees review the only thing left to cover is the Aqua class experience...but what the heck...got to keep up the tradition:)

 

Sandi there can never be enough reviews of these wonderful S-class ships. Besides I gotta prepare for my next one too! :D

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librarylady19

librarylady19

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Shame you are so shy... ;)

 

Love the review. My partner and I did the Reflection before you (wait... that came out wrong.)

 

You need to organize a group sailing. I'd gladly have a martini party with ya.

 

Like I said - Jan. 12, 2014 - we can even call it the 123 Drunks promo cruise (for those that got the package).

We have absolutely the craziest Canadian you'll meet sailing with us (shout out to CanadaDJ Ron), our Indy cruise friends and fellow beer lovers Rpb and Deirdre and many other folks I'm looking forward to meeting.

JW - the Molecular Bar needs livening up and you are the guy for the job!

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cruiseguys2009

cruiseguys2009

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Alrighty, well, “The Par-tay de Sail-A-Way” was over, I had to mosey on down to the Martini Bar and there I toasted everything I could think of, and met my New Best Friend, Andres, our Cocktail Server Extraordinare for the entire week. He made sure I had a Martini in my hand at all times. Andres Double Dutied at The Sunset Bar until 3:30 PM every day….we got accustomed to his schedule, he was THAT fantastic. I loved his service, his agility and most of all is handsomeness…..Yes, he was "Celebrity Eye Candy" too and everyone loved Andres. He’s on the Transatlantic now and has promised to be back on our sailing in November. Andres remembered over a hundred requests of his Guest’s he saw every night…..”WOW”!

 

Okay, so Jerome and I are finally getting ready to go to dinner at Murano. I am having a Martini on our Balcony when one of the Three Saints, who is in his own cabin by the way, is on his balcony and we are chatting, blah blah blah....and he's only one balcony away mind you. When, all of the sudden, one of the other Three Saints materializes on his balcony, which is light years away and points a camera in what I thought was my direction. WRONG! Well I, naturally, with my Versace Shirt on and my Fabulous Martini, thought that I was His Subject for the Camera……WELL! I was told to stop posing and he was not taking a picture of me. Well I Never! I was mortified!

 

I must have pouted like Judy Garland though, so much so, that he took pictures of me without me knowing, and now posted them on my FB page….so much for posing……….and yes, I was very upset you were not taking a picture of ME!

 

Not Posing for the Camera even though I really was:

 

 

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