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

chicagopaul

By chicagopaul,
in Celebrity Cruises

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jules815

jules815

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Hey Chicago Paul, thanks for posting. I'm really enjoying your review and videos. I'll be sailing with X for the first time in March.

 

I'm also from Chicago, and the weather here today is actually pretty nice for December. (sunny, mid-40's)

 

Have a great second week!

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Grandmaanne7

Grandmaanne7

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Thanks so much for doing this. We will be doing the same thing in February only keeping the same Concierge cabin. I noticed on one of your videos that your balcony seemed to be completely covered. We have a cabin on the Eclipse like that booked for 2017. Did you find that the balcony was too shaded, dark, cool or uncomfortable in any way?

 

Sent from my SM-G386W using Tapatalk

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bandp407

bandp407

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We are finally back on board the ship. Here's hoping our luggage made it to our new room. Total process took about an hour but that's just because they had to wait for all back to back passengers to clear customs. Today we had 70 people total. That seems like a lot. More than I was expecting. The weather here in Miami is rainy, cloudy. But oh well, we should have some sun tomorrow as we get away from Florida.

 

 

 

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Thank you so much for taking us along on your 1st week's cruise! Amazing review - truly enjoyed it !! We sail next Saturday in Aqua Class so look forward to hearing about dinner in Blu. We enjoy dancing and hope the Sky Lounge will provide some good music in the evenings. Having seen your photos, we think you were on our Silhouette sailing on Dec 14 , 2014??? In any case ENJOY EVERY MINUTE of your week!!!!!!

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Saltwaterdevotee

Saltwaterdevotee

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Sorry for hijacking the blog. I'm new to cruise critic and given the limitations of the onboard internet I just picked the first thread I found about my particular cruise to post in. I will start a new thread later today about this incident since it seems many passengers were affected by the theft. I have also posted something to their FB page. Thanks for all the help and great suggestions.

 

About to set sail on Reflection on 12/19 and disturbed by not only this incident of theft onboard the ship and the way it was handled by security, but by the deletion of nearly all mention of these events on the CC boards. Apparently some admin missed the posts on this board. Yes, a policy of posting to CC, but not sensible as those who are about to debark on the same ship might want to know this did get handled properly in the end. Or not? :confused:

 

Forewarned is forearmed. Any of our larger electronic devices that will not fit in the safe will stay at home. An incident like this can and could definitely ruin an expensive getaway. :eek:

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dmk

dmk

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On my sailing on the Reflection in October, I left my camera in cabin #8253. Would anyone be so kind as to ask Guest Relations if they have found. Would be greatly appreciated.:) Thanks!

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CruisinCadie

CruisinCadie

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Alexander is around 6'1" dark hair. More built / average build than slim. I was talking to him about previous ships and I think he may have been on the summit, not sure.

 

Regarding the music and the loudness: we haven't noticed an issue. We've mainly been at the molecular bar since my favorite bartender, Chairul is there. The other night it was turned on a bit loud and Chairul looked at me and said "this is too loud right?" He lowered it right away. There has been a DJ at the martini bar at night that has been decently loud but the bar is completely packed so apparently people don't seem to care.

 

The music in the sky lounge has been good. We've only been up there a few times but the variety has been quite good. Unfortunately there were not that many people there.

 

My favorite music has been with Johnny Mantra in ensemble lounge. Check him out. He is playing everything from Elton John to Neil Diamond to Michael Buble....he plays almost every evening and he plays long sets. He usually skips his break and keeps playing and singing.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Thanks, we will definitely check out Johnny Mantra. That sounds like our type of music.

 

Kathy

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dodger1964

dodger1964

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Really enjoying your review.

 

Also very concerned about the reported theft message threads being deleted from cc. What are we doing here if not bringing up current issues that fellow travelers are encountering.

 

Have u been to Cozumel before?? And do you know what u are doing there this trip?

 

We are there for first time next year and wife wants to do the Mayan ruins at Tulum or Chichen Itza but those tours are VERY LONG for fairly short time at actual site.

 

Have great cruise.

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bellemiche

bellemiche

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Really enjoying your review.

 

Also very concerned about the reported theft message threads being deleted from cc. What are we doing here if not bringing up current issues that fellow travelers are encountering.

 

Have u been to Cozumel before?? And do you know what u are doing there this trip?

 

We are there for first time next year and wife wants to do the Mayan ruins at Tulum or Chichen Itza but those tours are VERY LONG for fairly short time at actual site.

 

Have great cruise.

 

We were on Royal Caribbean last year and went with Tours Plaza. They aren't through the cruise like, but they were very professional and they meet you right at the pier. You can customize your tour. :)

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Sonoma fans

Sonoma fans

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Chicagopaul

 

Thanks for the great live reviews. I noticed on the dailys that they are still promoting the enomatic wine dispensers in cellar masters. Are they still in place? Have sailed Reflection 3 times but the last trip was 11/14with the dispensers. On our 8/15 Norwegian Fjords trip on Eclipse, they had done away with them. Would appreciate an update but we are good either way, as we enjoy our wines....

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tybeelucy2

tybeelucy2

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Hey Paul, we met you on this cruise :) I'm Jaime's wife, we had a nice chat at the pool bar on the last day and you gave me your card and travel agent info. This blog has been great, we had an awesome time and hope your next cruise is just as good! Will continue to check back for updates on the ports you visit this time. That's the itinerary we booked for our next cruise (which you helped convince us to do while on board :))

 

We were in Napa last year and visited the Opus One winery. They don't give tours usually but after talking to the the guy at the desk for a bit he took us down stairs and showed us where they kept the barrels and did the aging. It was pretty cool. Hope you enjoyed your bottle!

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chicagopaul

chicagopaul

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Hello Everyone! I just wanted to provide a quick update to let you know how things are going. Thank you to everyone who is following along. To someone who asked, yes we were on the December 14th Silhouette sailing!

 

We purchased the ultimate dining package and had dinner at Tuscan on the first night. Dinner was very good. The steak tartar is still on the menu. I had the spaghetti bolognese and Edward had the lasagna. I wasn't extremely impressed with my pasta dish but we cook and eat a lot of Italian at home. I think next time we will try to ravioli which we've heard is excellent.

 

We've been eating at Bistro on Five for lunch and have really enjoyed. The navy bean soup has been my favorite soup. Today I had the Mac and cheese which is their Monday special. It was very good and perfect portion sizing for lunch.

 

Last nights dinner was Murano again. We had the scallop Wellington to start...amazing as always. French style risotto which was different (foamy at the top, not as creamy as a standard risotto) but the flavors were excellent. For dinner we had a great veal loin that was perfectly done. Very tasty.

 

Last night was the first formal chic night! I took some video but will take more photos on the next chic night. I'm happy to report that people were still dressed very well. Still many in tuxes and longer dresses. I wore dark jeans, a deep blue sport jacket, French cuff shirt and of course had a pocket square in my jacket. I may or may not wear my tux for the last night.

 

Regarding the theft, I'm very sorry to hear that it happened. I saw Miami Dade police on the boat during debarkation. We are always careful with carrying items onto a ship or a plane but less careful in the room. Cash is always left out, as is our passports, etc. we never use the safe. Maybe I'm asking for trouble but so far we haven't had a problem. I hope everyone the best of luck with any theft issues. It is truly terrible.

 

Right now we are in Cozumel port. I'm sitting by the pool. We chose not to get off the ship before as we've been here many times. If you do a ruins tour I would personally book through the ship since it is such a large travel distance and long tour. By booking through the ship if there is a delay the boat will wait for you. This is just my personal experience. The town itself has lots of shopping and restaurants. It is actually a nice island and once you're in the downtown area it is very walkable.

 

I have been measuring the music at the martini bar and comparing with other areas of the ship. Last night the DJ was there and the music was actually a few decibels quieter than sitting at the pool bar while the band is on stage. People of all ages, and I mean ALL ages continue to spend hours by the martini bar. Me? We've been there w few times but I've followed my bartender Chairul to the molecular bar.

 

I've noticed many new celebrity cruisers on this ship. But not new to cruising. Of all the new celebrity cruisers they all love the ship. Most have previously sailed on Royal and Princess.

 

Ok, I'm off to sunset bar for sail away and to listen to Johnny Mantra. Love hearing him. Cheers!

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chicagopaul

chicagopaul

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Chicagopaul

 

 

 

Thanks for the great live reviews. I noticed on the dailys that they are still promoting the enomatic wine dispensers in cellar masters. Are they still in place? Have sailed Reflection 3 times but the last trip was 11/14with the dispensers. On our 8/15 Norwegian Fjords trip on Eclipse, they had done away with them. Would appreciate an update but we are good either way, as we enjoy our wines....

 

 

Yep! Still there!

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number one eagles fan

number one eagles fan

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Hi Paul!

 

Thanks for the live reporting. My husband and I are sailing on the Reflection in March and have an aft cabin, 2 decks directly below the sunset bar. We have always loved our aft balcony cabin, watching the wake of the ship. My question is about the number of smokers at the sunset bar. I hear this is one of the smoking areas on the ship. Should I be concerned with a vast amount of smoke drifting down the back of the ship or does it appear that the smoke drifts up and away? I know it sounds silly but I really hope to enjoy my balcony with the smell of the sea and not the smokers just above me.

 

Thanks!

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chicagopaul

chicagopaul

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Cheers from Grand Cayman. Tendering today was pretty easy. We had priority were on the first boat out. Calm seas and we are pulling right into downtown. Someone was sick on the ship last night. We were turning around to do a medical evacuation in Cozumel but then it was cancelled. Probably not a good sign but hoping for the best for whoever had a problem.

 

 

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chicagopaul

chicagopaul

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Hi Paul,

 

 

 

I am on the next sailing. Have you guys gone to any of the captains club events? If so, how are they. Loving your updates and hate missing you all by one sailing!

 

 

 

Cheers,

 

Walter

 

 

We haven't gone to any but I think we have one tonight we will go to. We are elite and had priority tender today. It went quickly. No problems.

 

 

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