Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

LIVE BLOG! From The Reflection! 11/28 & 12/5 b2b cruise....

chicagopaul

By chicagopaul,
in Celebrity Cruises

 Share

Recommended Posts

andnosyd

andnosyd

Posted
Posted

Hey Paul, we'll be with you on the second leg as well. Are the toiletries the Gilchrest ones or have the started to switch back to Bulgari (sp?)? We're in an RS next week and if our 2 young kids can behave, we may actually try Luminae. Any mention of the sky suites accessing Michaels Club? I know it isn't supposed to start for another several weeks, but maybe they had a soft opening...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lovincruisin1321

Lovincruisin1321

Posted
Posted
Hello fellow Cruise Critic Members! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving (at least those who celebrate it!). We have just finished packing and are looking forward to trading our wonderful view of the city for a view of the ocean for 2 weeks.

 

Edward and I will be sailing on the Reflection for two weeks, starting this Saturday. I will do my best to live blog throughout the cruise, post videos, post photos and of course answer any questions you may have.

 

Last year we traveling over the holidays and I did my best to live blog from the Silhouette and the Eclipse. Now I will find myself better prepared with better apps for taking photos, video editing, etc.

 

I'll also be posting photos to my Instagram as well so feel free to follow there if you'd like: Instagram.com/paulkblackburn

 

Our Plans We leave tomorrow morning, flying Southwest. Unfortunately we have to connect through DC but should be in Florida by 4:30pm. We are staying at the Intercontinental in Miami and have requested a bayview room so we can see the ships in the morning.

 

I'll post some random videos and photos throughout the day tomorrow and as we board the ship, but if there are any specific questions you'd like answers to feel free to ask and while we are onboard we will do our best to get the answers.

 

Cheers!

 

Can't wait. We are sailing the Reflection for the first time in April. Have fun!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lionesss "Live from...." Rare

Lionesss

Posted
Posted
Hey Paul, we'll be with you on the second leg as well. Are the toiletries the Gilchrest ones or have the started to switch back to Bulgari (sp?)? We're in an RS next week and if our 2 young kids can behave, we may actually try Luminae. Any mention of the sky suites accessing Michaels Club? I know it isn't supposed to start for another several weeks, but maybe they had a soft opening...

 

 

 

Oh my I wonder if this is a suite perk across the different cruise lines, on RCI we always got Gilchrest in our suites.

 

Thanks for your post.

 

Sea Ya

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cruisetimeforme

cruisetimeforme

Posted
Posted

Thanks chicagopaul for doing this review, much appreciated. Our past 5 or so cruises we've been able to purchase the unlimited specialty dining packages for the cruise. Can you let me know if you run across anyone with the package (they put a little red sticker with a star on your sea pass card if you have the package) and if so, does it now include the updated Porch menu as well as Bistro on five? In the past, they were both included, but at that time was still the old menu, etc. Enjoy your cruise! We were scheduled to set sail with you yesterday for the back to back as well, but decided to change to a Jan sailing for one week and to take the kids and grandchild on a December cruise instead. I'm sure you're sailing with a fun, lively group, have a great time!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MR_T

MR_T

Posted
Posted

If you don't mind & have time could you try and find out who the current molecular bar person is onboard and if they're still be there in March at the new world class bar when it's installed... Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Texed Holiday Sharing Rare

Texed

Posted
Posted
Our favorite bartender, Charule, from the Eclipse is actually working the molecular bar.

 

If you don't mind & have time could you try and find out who the current molecular bar person is onboard

 

He posted this earlier. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
POTOMACRUISER

POTOMACRUISER

Posted
Posted
Have a great cruise. We sailed on Reflection in June 2014 and are booked on the October westbound TA. We love that ship!

 

T3PUTTS: great minds, huh ? we also booked on the reflection...this january, based mostly on that awesome Med cruise we were with you on......... I often show folks my pictures of us sunbathing on the grass, or, more in our wheelhouse, pics of the wicker chairs and bar at the back !!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tommy3putts

Tommy3putts

Posted
Posted
T3PUTTS: great minds, huh ? we also booked on the reflection...this january, based mostly on that awesome Med cruise we were with you on......... I often show folks my pictures of us sunbathing on the grass, or, more in our wheelhouse, pics of the wicker chairs and bar at the back !!

 

 

The 2014 cruise was such an awesome experience. Loved every minute of it. Especially the Sunset Bar!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
chicagopaul

chicagopaul

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Some of the videos posted below will be spliced together from the first two days on the ship. I'm not sure when they'll be posted as I write this and I'm unsure of our connection quality once I connect. Right now it is Monday (as I'm typing this) around 2:30. We are about an hour from a Puerto Rico and are laying by the pool.

 

So far everything has been excellent. Let me know talk about some of the highlights and observations.

 

Charule: Charule was our favorite bartender on the Eclipse last year. He is now on the reflection manning the Molecular bar which is still open. The switch should happy in January but he is already trained in all the new drinks and will be training staff as well. He is very excited for the menu. Charule has been awesome. He is making our favorite drinks (kettle one Martinis) at molecular even though they're not on the menu. He remembered not only our names, but where we are from, what we do for a living, our favorite drinks and what kind of eater we like (Pellegrino). He is a true class act and we cannot be more thrilled to have him on this sailing!

 

Luminae: Everything has been great. We've eaten lunch there every day including embarkation day. They are close on port days but we're open today because we are not arriving into port until 3:30. Service has been prompt, consistent and food has been excellent. We've had no issues getting seated right away and our wine is always refilled quickly. We routinely get two different wines with dinner; one for the starters and one for the main course. Our waitress is Tetiana from Ukraine and we get along very well. The sommelier is superb as well.

 

Our Butler: Our butler is Keegan. For starters he is quite cute, which is a nice positive. We haven't utilized him much but he has made reservations for us for Murano and he has recognized us during the first formal night show and escorted us to the reserved suite seating. He even poured us champagne as we brought a bottle with us from dinner.

 

Cruise Director Alexander: People have complained about him on this thread. Well, here are my thoughts. Edward and I went to the "frisky feud" game show. Think of family feud but very dirty. He was hosting one team and his assistant was hosting another. He picked me out of the audience to be on the first team. Ugh! Then he picked Edward for the next team. He was very engaging during this event and despite the fact I didn't want to go on stage I had a great time. The next day he saw us by the pool and said hello. The following no to was formal night. This night he was hosting the LGBT happy hour at 10pm in cellar masters. After the show we were at the molecular bar. He came up to us and chatted with us for a minute and made sure we were attending the happy hour. We met him in cellar masters and he was very engaging, highly talkative and friendly. We were chatting about different ships, different shows on the ships, etc. he has a bit of an attitude but in a fun way, at least in my opinion. He is energetic at all events and is the only cruise director I've run into to actually host an LGBT event. For that I'm grateful and happy.

 

Martini Bar. We've barely visited because it has been packed! And our favorite bartender Charule is at molecular. Despite what some people may say about the noise....whatever, the martini bar and atrium are packed every evening. From a business perspective what they're doing is working! Plain and simple. The molecular bar is still quite and so are other venues.

 

Pool Bar: Pool bar service has been very good. They're quick at making drinks and have been excellent at seeing who comes to the bar first. We've sat at the pool bar the last two mornings to have some screw drivers before lunch. We've watched them work for at least an hour each day....they're well organized and probably the best organized pool bar I've seen in a while. Cheers to them.

 

That's my quick update for now. We will likely book an alcove for tomorrow so I will have our butler inquire regarding alcove discounts for multiple days. I'm taking photos of the dailys and restaurant menus. I might not be able to upload them right away but will when I can so please hang with me.

 

Sea roughness: it's definitely been a bit choppy, the first day was worse than today. It is quite windy which is causing the ship who move some. Personally, it does not bother me at all. It is a slow rock, so nothing abrupt. No one seems to be getting sick from it or concerned about it so I wouldn't worry too much.

 

As of now we we on time for Puerto Rico. If we arrive late I will let you know. Cheers!

 

 

Sent from my iPad

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites
chicagopaul

chicagopaul

Posted
  • Author
Posted
If you don't mind & have time could you try and find out who the current molecular bar person is onboard and if they're still be there in March at the new world class bar when it's installed... Thanks

 

 

Currently it is Johnny and Charule. Charule will definitely be there in March as he just got back from a long vacation. I'll find out about Johnny.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jenniebnyc

jenniebnyc

Posted
Posted

Luminae: Everything has been great. We've eaten lunch there every day including embarkation day. They are close on port days but we're open today because we are not arriving into port until 3:30.

 

 

Thank you for your informative write up. From what you have posted above it seems as if Luminae is open for lunch on the day you arrive in Puerto Rico at 3:30? If so, this is great news.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MR_T

MR_T

Posted
Posted
Currently it is Johnny and Charule. Charule will definitely be there in March as he just got back from a long vacation. I'll find out about Johnny.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

 

Great, he sounds like a top barman... I look forward to meeting him and trying his drinks [emoji483][emoji39]

 

Cheers

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mrmatt

Mrmatt

Posted
Posted

Enjoying your review and bringing back great memories from our September cruise. Can you confirm if Denny an Indonesian bar waiter is still onboard. He was our favourite bar waiter when we sailed on Reflection in September. If he is t here please pass on our Christmas wishes for Christmas and hope that he gets home to his family for Christmas. From Margaret and Claire from Ireland.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Boxerlover2

Boxerlover2

Posted
Posted

Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews. I am happy to hear your positive thoughts about the Molecular Bar and may even see you there next week as this is our nightly choice of a venue on the ship. Looking forward to your feedback about the alcoves.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
languageartslady

languageartslady

Posted
Posted

Thanks so much for bringing us along! I love your videos and your summaries of your day... Keep it up!

 

Here's a random question... Can you check out the casino slot machines? There's two in particular I'm looking for: Hex Cat and Texas Tea.

 

I know that's very random and nit-picky, but if you're hanging out in the casino, I'd appreciate knowing if they're there!

 

(They're my favorites, as they are really the only ones I've ever actually won on...)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...