Reflection 1/14/17 Sailing – Live Blog, Photo Blog, Cat Blog?

[jryan110]

What happened ? Did Kane mutiny ???

 

 

He's not connected by a phone or tablet and can only post when he has access to a laptop or desktop.

 

Maybe one too many margaritas has kept him from the iLounge? Or worse, maybe the cat stowed away and has taken control of this blog/review...

 

 

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Edited January 20, 2017 by jryan110

[krewzin]

What happened ? Did Kane mutiny ???

 

I see what you did there. :)

[Lastdance]

In reply:

 

 

 

JG51 and Lovesealife: There is a Senior Officers reception tonight...someone there will surely know about the package and luggage valet details.

 

 

 

Jules815: I...don't think there is a nightlight in the bathroom - I'll double check. The desk has two loungers and a round table plus plenty of space to stand.

 

 

Please don't stand on the table; when I tried it I almost fell off trying to get a great photo. Unlike cats, I don't have nine lives.....yes...if you do not have special goggles to see when it is dark, it is easy to miss the bathroom and hit something hard....we bring one that turns on with motion and have it on the floor.

 

 

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Edited January 21, 2017 by Lastdance

[HAM]

I see what you did there. :)

 

Hello neighbor....see you @ Frenchy's !!!!

[cherylxox]

Great review! I'm looking forward to being back on the Reflection in 7 days! :):):):):):)

[gold1953]

Great review! I'm looking forward to being back on the Reflection in 7 days! :):):):):):)

I am on as well!!!! Very exited

[David Kane]

All-

 

Apologies for the gap in posting - trying to exact every single last minute of possible joy from this cruise has kept me away from the iLounge for the last few days. In short (as you'll see) I met these two wonderful Norwegian guys and we spent every night hanging out until 3am, "pulling wrists and talking for hours", as Kerouac would say.

 

But now that I'm back at home I'll be playing catch-up and actually posting more photos as well!

 

Here we go!

[jg51]

All-

Apologies for the gap in posting - trying to exact every single last minute of possible joy from this cruise has kept me away from the iLounge for the last few days. ... But now that I'm back at home I'll be playing catch-up and actually posting more photos as well! Here we go!

We are glad to see that you are back, David, and that you enjoyed yourself.

 

Are you planning to post photos of the "dailies" (including the hour-by-hour list of activities for each day)?

If not, did you take the dailies home -- and, if so, would you be willing to answer a simple question about the activities list of Embarkation Day?

 

Thanks, in advance.

[David Kane]

Good Morning!

 

Our day begins in a rather brisk haze as I awake from haunting the ship until all hours (about 3am) with the sudden realization we booked an all inclusive trip to Playa Mia (Mya?) for $84 (I think it was) per person. We stumble through a breakfast at Luminae, gather our snorkeling gear (we bought our own - I'm not saying that I'm a germaphobe or anything, and I'm not casting aspersions on the cleanliness of the operators, but putting the mouth piece that's been rented 392 actually in my mouth seemed a little...off putting) and trudge off the ship to the Official Cozumel Quarantine Shopping and Exclusion Zone! it's kind of funny really - off a ship in Mexico and the FIRST thing I see is an Alex and Ani.

 

However, just before the Tchotchke Labyrinth, you walk through the most ADORABLE security check post ever manned by a dude and his Golden Lab who are searching for, no, not drugs - food. Who's a good buy? Who's a good boy!

 

For anyone who just wants to get off the ship and have a look around - you'll find no "authentic" experiences here (I mean, they have leather handi-crafts with NFL logos tooled on to them for goodness sakes) but the area is very clean and very safe, with no pushy vendors to be seen (a man once tried to put a monkey on me in San Juan and I've never been the same since).

 

We successfully make it past the Mandatory Shopping Maze. The excursions meet at various large Tiki Hut-like structures scattered around the open air plaza. This fact wasn't exactly communicated by anyone and it took us like 30 minutes to find the darn thing which made me feel a little foolish - getting essentially lost inside of a walled compound - kind of like not being able to locate your car keys where you're IN your car (are they in this pocket? under the visor? does my wife have them? etc.).

 

Speaking of foolish things, let's see what Ms. Fuzzy butt has found today:

 

 

This is an odd comment to me. The Atrium is massive - 10 stories? There isn't enough music to fill up such an incredible space. If we're talking about each individual level, both the Library and the Hideaway are hushed, with no live music acts. The Embarkation/Customer Service level does host the live band and has the bar, but if the music is too loud all you have to do is go up to level 4 or 5. During the day and early evening the music consisted Duo Allure (a rather attractive Cello/Violin team) and two dudes with guitars. The piped in music was quiet as well and "international" in sound - somewhere between 'Yacht Rock/Michael Bolton' covers and Jazz. I'm not saying I liked it, per se, too many opinions under that pile of contrariness to cover in this post, but it certainly wasn't loud.

 

Moving on from that Cat complaint we were off on the bus and, within 11 minutes, at the gates to Playa Mia. This day resort was...interesting.

 

You enter, get issued a colored wrist-band indicating "all inclusive" or "pay as you go" run a suspiciously similar looking shopping gauntlet to the one in the Cozumel Port, and are drawn down toward the beach. to you right there are towering waterslides tastefully hidden behind some buildings, along with a child's play area. Directly in front of you in a 1/2 sized pool and lounger area that was under construction. Past the dudes hand-laying brick and tile so as to not disturb your vacation you come on to the beach, with an extensive dive shop to your left, hundreds of chairs, and a giant inflatable water/toy park and swimming/snorkeling area in front of you.

 

As you find your chairs your eyes will be drawn towards the water where you'll be reminded, by the site of a 78 year old grandmother standing ankle-deep in the surf smoking a menthol that, yes, there are, in fact, Europeans on your cruise.

 

We quickly hopped into the water and swam out to the Waterpark where we were stopped by a guy on a Jet Ski who indicated we had to wear life vests (what can I saw, XZ and I are strong swimmers and rules? Once you're smoking in the surf, what other rules could there possibly be?). Luckily, the guy was nice enough to jet back to the beach and bring back two vests because, seriously, it's like an 80 yard swim back there.

 

Now protected against the dangers of a gentle tide, XZ and I proceeded to tackle the obstacle/water park course. These things were FUN and way, way more difficult than they look. In fact, the first thing we do is immediately scale the 30' Water Slide pyramid and I fall off the back of it, hitting every single step on the way down before landing, flat on my back, on the floating pad below it. The jet ski guy looks over and bursts out laughing. Now, I'll say this in my defense - the eternal question of "Did he jump or was he pushed?" could, in theory, also be phrased as "Did his wife push him, or did he slip?" Luckily, these inflatables are rather soft, so I was uninjured and thus began a manic, mad cap race around the course for the next 30 minutes and I attempted to playfully drown XZ and, with tears in her eyes and laughter on her tongue, kept pantomiming my fall.

 

After this, we swam back to shore, grabbed our snorkel equipment, and snorkeled the swim area for another hour. Not a lot of spectacular things to see here, but since this was our 2nd time ever snorkeling, it was still fun and challenging.

 

Exhausted by 2 hours of swimming and climbing we went back to the beach chairs for some drinks and some food. Annnnd here's where you discover one interesting note about the "all inclusive' wristband; it screams "you're not tipping" in about 23 languages (as noted before, XZ and I always tip). No beach server ever came over. After a time we wandered up to the bar area to find some food and drink. The buffet was laid out and - we'll, let's just talk about expectations.

 

Playa Mia shows you this extensive menu - things like Shrimp Quesdillas and Scallop Skewers, which are all available...for purchase. The "all inclusive" buffet has a few chafing dishes of fried matter and chip although XZ reports that the handmade beans, guacamole, and corn tortillas were very good.

 

The drinks, for purchase, are all really cool and the bartenders/server look like nice guys, joking around with each other and shooing away the local attack Grackle who, if you are not careful, will carry off anything up to and including as heavy as a Schnauzer. The drinks at the "all inclusive" bar, which is different than the regular bar and staffed by the saddest looking dude ever, have about 3 odd looking Tequilas and Sugar mix.

 

After getting the scoop about, shall we call them, 'expectations' from one of the cool bartenders (it helps when you surprise them by speaking Spanish and knowing your Tequilas) we decided that there was no way we were going to wait 3 more hours for the bus to come back...after all, we had an *entire* ship of awesome drinks, fantastic bartenders, and a sprawling buffet to explore!

 

We headed back to the front gate, snagged a $16 Taxi ($20 with tip) and had a really, really enjoyable 15 minute ride back to the port with a local driver who told us in half English/half Spanish about the history of the 'resort strip' that extends for like 5 miles from the port.

 

Once back aboard we hit the Buffet in the Oceanview and, in one of the coolest moments so far, Head Chef Alex, who we had met and received a 4 person Galley Tour on the Summit back in January, remembered us and came over to chat. Considering the number of people who wander through and the fact it was an entirely different ship how he possibly spotted us is near mind boggling and yet another reason why we LOVE cruising Celebrity - the quality of the staff is unsurpassed.

 

After an enjoyable lunch (the Indian Food selection was great and spiced to perfection) we reviewed Playa Mia and came up with the following conclusions:

 

1) Do not do the all inclusive - just buy a regular pass ($34 I think?).

2) The Ship Tour will save you on transportation ($16 each way/firm).

3) The Water Park is Great but can get crowded - get there as early as possible.

4) Good Area for families with Children.

5) Buy drinks and food and tip - Servers were frequent and looked like fun people, joking around and attentive - IF you didn't have the deadly 'all inclusive' arm band.

6) Snorkeling would be good for a literal first or second timer.

 

Up next, a look at the Room and the Ship and our first Dinner @ Luminae!

[David Kane]

XZ at one of the entrances:

 

The Waterpark. Note the 30' slide to the right:

 

The 'all-inclusive' buffet:

 

Note the lack of Scallop Skewers:

[David Kane]

After returning from the excellent buffet XZ and I settled down in Michael's club, our home away from home, and had a fun time chatting with the other guests while Dubra supplied numerous custom cocktails. One of the most interesting times we have in MC is with the bartenders and this was, perhaps, the best time yet! At around 1:45 XZ went for her (rescheduled) pedicure/Gel toenail/Foot Rub thing and I had a few more drinks at MC.

 

Back from her (actually rather affordable) Canyon Ranch Spa treatment she surprised me with a week-long pass to the Persian Garden - this made some rather good sense as it was located, you know, 8 steps from our door.

 

Here I would say is the one biggest difference between the M and S class ships - the Persian Gardens on the S class are A-Mazing. Heated Loungers. An Ice Room. A Steam Room. A Unisex Sauna. And a...Eucalyptus room? all in all this is a great place to have a vacation away from the busyness of your vacation.

 

Next up we had sail-away and, as luck would have it, we were across from the...something, something of the Seas. Allure, perhaps? Seeing as this is the time to wave to members of the other ship from our balcony we had a little surprise in store for them. I present, El Critico, the Wrestling Cruise Critic and his manager, "the Devious One", Ms. Fuji.

 

Here, El Critico assess the 'Allure of the Seas':

 

After we came back to our senses we dressed for Dinner and headed out to Luminae. As noted before, XZ and I decided when we first started cruising to shrug off the whole "formal vs evening chic vs. guy in a bathing suit in the main dining room" discussion and just dress formal every night. And, on top of this, we had the Photo Package!

 

To catch everyone up; here's the first night - HADUKEN!:

 

The second night - Go Norway!

 

The current night - where I framed my wife for crimes committed earlier that day:

 

Dinner at Luminae was a wonderful time complete with water course, bread course, wine course, amuse bouche, appetizer, and main course (no desert/no room for it). We got to meet the team; Mila (Hostess), Valeria (Server), Dragan (Server), Anna (Waitress) and Gabriel (Sommelier) and we knew we were in for a very, very good week!

 

Post dinner we caught up with Duo Allure and ran around with drinks and light gambling. XZ called it a night at around 11pm. However, the Sky Lounge was 1 flight up from us I was up and at 'em until about 2am, first at the Silent Disco and then roaming the ship with my new found Norwegian friends, getting in to all the impossible situations that shall not be described on these forums, but only imagined.

 

Tomorrow - we take a ship day, have the Persian Garden all to ourselves, someone loses a game of Bocce and we attend the Broadway Cabaret!

[David Kane]

It occurs to me that these blogs are lacking, you know, actual information about the ship? Fear not! We saved literally every scrap of paper they gave us and, once I get through feeding them into a bulk scanner tomorrow, we should be able to post all the dailies, invites, etc.!

[Softball20]

Love that you did formal every night! What fun! Great pictures, too. Cannot wait to sail on Reflection in May. We are in AQ so I am looking forward to finding some time for those heated loungers in the Persian Gardens.

[David Kane]

Day 4 of the Increasingly misnamed "Live Blog"

 

Tuesday, a Tendered Day at Grand Cayman, began rather late for us - while excited to attempt out first tender-trip we also didn't have anything lined up to do as, as early morning turned in to mid-morning it became increasingly apparently that, priority tender-tickets aside, we probably weren't getting off the ship today. Breakfast was taken in Luminae and, to be quite fair, the Eggs Benedict offered there were, if can be believed, on par with what was available at the Oceanview! However, Luminae was more than willing to supply XZ with her traditional breakfast of Avacado on toast, which was unavailable at the buffet.

 

After a late lunch we grabbed our books and headed up for an extended stay in the Persian Garden which ended up being something like 2 hours as plunged from Sauna to Ice Room to Steam room and then basked on the heated loungers - the area almost empty due to the tendering that was in full force and lasted several hours due to other ships also making use of the service.

 

Fully refreshed, we had another excellent light lunch at the Oceanview café. We were fully prepared for our loving kitty to come bristling by with some comment about the buffet but, lo and behold, she decided to go another way today with her Cat Complaint:

 

 

Let's take a minute to put this one to bed. Being a keen observer of bars and a frequenter of them this absolutely is not the case. While there may be more people at the bars due to the drink packages I never saw a single bartender moving slowly, in fact, they were flying all over the place! I think what may be at issue here is that, for whatever reason, a certain bar just doesn't click for someone. Point in fact, I couldn't seem to get a quick drink at the Pool Bar for some reason. I just didn't connect with the severs there. However, exactly one flight of stairs up, at the Mast Bar, I could barely finish a drink before another one was in front of me, with the bartenders joking around and all smiles and good humor. I think it may be a matter of attendance - I just didn't hit up the Pool at or the Sunset Bar that much. But at the places I did frequent - Martini, Mast, and World Class, I didn't go less than 15 seconds without my order being taken. I think this perception of "slow" service is just a part of the Cruise experience. My advice would be to try the bars, find the staff you connect with, and go back to it frequently. But in all of this, I never, ever saw anyone moving at less than break neck speed.

 

After lunch we went off to do what two people tend to do in moments of privacy and intimacy on a mostly empty ship...play Bocce and review the artwork!

 

Here, I assess the playing field:

 

XZ examines the equipment:

 

Trying to look as cool as the contemporary masters:

 

XZ skeptically examines a Masterpiece:

 

What does it say there? Found cushion, paint? HUH:

 

With half the day done we retire for more drinks, some afternoon tea, and prepare to dress for dinner.

 

Next up: Pokémon Go! takes the Reflection, we see the much anticipated Elysium, the glow show hits Liquid, and I spend another series of uncountable hours haunting the night.

[easyboy]

Missed Ms. Fuzzy!

[wallie5446]

. And, on top of this, we had the Photo Package!

We did the pkg a few cruises back, if someone buys 2-3-4 pics it is worth it just for the fun we had to get the pkg. The photographers are really great and professional when you spend a bit of time letting them actually apply their craft!

[Russterus]

Great review, thanks for all the info and pics! Couldn't agree more with your bar take. It has been pretty rare on any cruise not to have fast service and if so, easy enough to go a short walk to another bar. I rarely drink any more and won't have the drink package on my upcoming cruise (gasp!). My interest on the Reflection will be how fast they deliver and the quality of my hot chocolate at El Bacio.

[southernshug]

Enjoy your cruise! I'm excited to hear all about it!! I'll be on the Reflection for my first cruise ever in March!!

 

 

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Me too MinnesotaCruiser....when are you going?

[David Kane]

Before I attempt to get through Day 4 I wanted to respond to this note:

 

>My interest on the Reflection will be how fast they deliver and the quality of

>my hot chocolate at El Bacio.

 

The quality of drinks at El Bacio, which, given the page of alcoholic drinks should probably count as the 14th(?) bar on the ship, is amazing.

 

As to the speed of service I encourage you to never lose heart. Trust me, I looked at 7, or so, people in line and 1 server and despaired...but it's all an illusion! At least 4 servers work behind the counter at all times. One of them is usually busing tables and delivering drinks - the other two are making drinks like coffee-ninjas, suddenly appearing from under counters and around steamers and then vanishing just as quickly and the last one is taking orders and cards.

 

A good rule of thumb is every person you see in line is +1 minute until you have a drink in hand. And they MOVE that line - offering for you to take a seat in one of the 23 comfy chairs nearby to wait for your drink to arrive. In the afternoons they have a soft-playing live band and those minutes fly by - often times XZ would run off to powder her nose and, by the time she got back, he drink would just be arriving. They push people through Al Bacio at an incredible pace, regardless of how many appear to be in line!

[southernshug]

Now I really can't wait until our March cruise. it'll be our first and it sounds like its going to be a blast!!! Thank you for your incredibly entertaining play by play!!!! :)

[jg51]

A thousand thank-yous, "David Kane," for establishing a separate thread (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2448178), on which you have displayed all the "dailies" from your cruise! It will be extremely helpful to some of us who will be boarding the Reflection on Saturday for its next journey in the Western Caribbean.

[David Kane]

Note: I incorrectly counted out the days - this evening wasn't Elysium, it was the Comedian.

 

One of the enduring mysteries of the Cruise is "where did all the time go?" And, upon review, we've discovered the answer!

 

We begin to dress for dinner at 5:00pm and it usually takes an hour (moustache wax doesn't apply itself). This Evening I decided to dress like an old-timey Magician/Villain. If only I could find some railroad tracks to tie my wife to!

 

We try to arrive promptly at Luminae at 6...ish. From there, the dinner experience takes a minimum of 2 hours because part of what you are paying for at the Suite level is the experience of fine and extended dining.

 

Funny note: if you order "off menu" at Lumiane your food arrives on what we like to call "the punishment plate." It's a narrower dish without all the garnish and flourish of the usual menu options, as if the chef who has perfectly prepared and paired the meal 'sighs' softly to himself when you request, say, the Escargot or an appetizer from Blu and grudgingly adds it to his carefully constructed meal for the evening.

 

After dinner we traditionally go to Michael's Club and then attempt to make the 9pm show, which was a Comedian (Rondell Sheridan). Say one thing for him, say that he knows his audience, which I feel is the best compliment you can give a stand-up. He was really good, with the appropriate number of rest beats and call-backs. After which, we immediately hit up all the photographers with the expected results:

 

From there, we headed back towards Michaels and I met a tremendous couple (Jim and...sigh, my memory is not what is used to be) who I proceeded to talk to for the next 3 hours. XZ, super excited for the Liquid show in the Solarium, ran back to the room, cracked about 50 glowsticks, and tried to turn the party into a Rave! This lasted for a good 30 minutes until the music switched over to...disco? and he re-joined me in Michael's club.

 

At around 11 we went to Casino and ran back into Eirik and Johnny, our Norwegian friends who we were starting to become rather close with. On our previous cruises, we've actually hung out more with the staff at the various bars and desks and casino tables because they've been closer to XZ's age (marry young, friends) but, on this cruise, these two tremendous gentlemen allowed us to tag along with them on their own adventures and then, later...much later, in the evening they tagged along on my long rambles around the ship full of empty bars and wonderfully decorated, empty spaces.

 

This evening was no exception, as Eirik and I closed down the casino and the Sky Lounge and then strolled about looking for opportunities among those wandering souls who, like us, were drawn to the night. We talked about all the things men talk about in the small hours, times that have passed before and may yet present themselves again. Once more, I returned to the room at 3am.

 

Tomorrow: Day 5 - The Chair Challenge! Perhaps Pokémon, I lose a game of golf, and we frequent the World Class Bar!

[TFLG]

love the pics, very steam punk:D

[lilghallinsf]

Your review is incredible. My partner and I are on the younger side for cruising and he often finds friends to haunt the night with. I hope we end on the same cruise at some point. You should try a transatlantic but you will find that the crowd retires even earlier....

[kittypurse]

Thoroughly enjoying this ...thank you ..we sail 11feb .

 

 

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