Celebrity Reflection January 14 to 21 2017

[Walt fan]

Popping in to say hi; your review and pics of Cozumel are awesome. Our one and only port stop there was in 2009 and we still talk about it. We took a taxi ride pretty far out of town and the taxi drivers there are crazy. They drive like they're on a Nascar track and are inches away from cars. We all held on for dear life and exhaled only when we got to our destination. It was the same on our way back.

 

Cannot wait for more!!

 

Take care.

[Onelung]

"Perilously short on diamonds" - one can never have too many diamonds Norris!

[Barky]

Such beautiful pics and interesting yet humorous narrative. I'm enjoying my reading Norris. Barb

[easyboy]

Enjoying your review and nice photos.

[Bimmer09]

This is where we like to call home on our cruises. Aft. Our cabin is on the right corner, 2nd one up above Tuscan Grille which is the blue section.

 

 

That's the Carnival Fantasy over there

 

 

I can only look at an old Carnival ship for so long....

 

 

The big booty of the Indy, thankfully not wearing Spandex

 

 

Shoulder to shoulder

 

[Bimmer09]

 

 

 

A company I was very proud and happy to work for in the mid 1980's

 

 

Welcome home

 

 

Norris

[winncruiser]

Thank you so much for your fantastic review.... following right along!

 

 

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[perfect match]

We had one unscheduled stop not far from the camp when one of the front riders, a lady, ran over a huge palm frond instead of driving around it and the fronds caught in the wheels and threw her off the Segway. She bruised her arm and it winded her. Soon she was back on and we all made it back to return our Segways and equipment. We had a fun excursion that I would do again in a heartbeat. We tipped Raphael and Alan $20.

 

Norris

 

DH and I have done many Segway tours, and are both pretty experienced riders. However, on our most recent tour, DH learned the hard way about how important it can be to watch for and avoid debris along the path you are riding on. He did not see some debris in his path until he was almost on top of it. He tried unsuccessfully to swerve and avoid the debris which, as it turned out, was concealing a rather large tree branch. The combination of the sharp turn and actually hitting the branch sent DH flying. Fortunately he was wearing a helmet so no head injuries. Unfortunately, he did suffer a rather badly broken collarbone which required surgical repair. All this happened 2 weeks before our most recent cruise. Yes, we did go on the cruise, but I did cancel him out of the Cozumel Segway excursion he had planned! I plan to show him your video so he can see what he missed!

 

The moral to my little story is to always watch where you're going when riding a Segway! Also, you never know when you might actually need that safety gear!

 

We are heading out on our next trip in April. As a joke, I asked DH if I should book a Segway tour. :eek: He said yes, he's ready to go again! Segways really are safe and fun to ride - as long as you're watching where you are going! :D

[Bimmer09]

I'm back on board and in need of rest and refreshment I limp along to the Sunset Bar

 

 

Where I admire this magnificent vessel

 

 

All these seats will be filled at sail away time which is 4 p.m with "all aboard" at 3.30.

 

 

The aft- most seats are where I sit at 5 a.m working on my photos in the dark. They are more sheltered from the wind

 

 

I texted Carol (we had a Verizon plan that gave us use of our phones in the ports) and she met me at the Mast Grill for lunch as we were both keen to try it.

 

 

Good looking plate of vittles-but the beauty was only bun-deep. Disappointing.

I should have guessed it would be when I ordered my cheeseburger and the server reached down, slapped a warming burger on the bun and tossed on a cold slice of processed cheese. I am used to the meat sizzling on the hotplate on Princess at their excellent Trident Grill where they cook to order. Maybe we were coming during rush hour and they had to pre-cook to keep up. I will definitely try it again on our next X cruise at an off-peak time. The fries, similarly had been sitting for a spell. Not piping hot but I ate it anyway as we hadn't eaten in 7 hours.

 

Eagle-eyed viewers will have noticed that the port lawn was roped off in the first photo. They cut the grass on Monday morning and it was off-limits for the rest of the voyage and day by day the grass grew back fresh and green. I complimented the greenskeeper as I met him most mornings when he was watering.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Such beautiful pics and interesting yet humorous narrative. I'm enjoying my reading Norris. Barb

 

Barb, I'm glad you are enjoying it.

 

I can't keep the humor out of it-it's not a serious business and in the current World climate it's either laugh or weep.

 

Cheers!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

DH and I have done many Segway tours, and are both pretty experienced riders. However, on our most recent tour, DH learned the hard way about how important it can be to watch for and avoid debris along the path you are riding on. He did not see some debris in his path until he was almost on top of it. He tried unsuccessfully to swerve and avoid the debris which, as it turned out, was concealing a rather large tree branch. The combination of the sharp turn and actually hitting the branch sent DH flying. Fortunately he was wearing a helmet so no head injuries. Unfortunately, he did suffer a rather badly broken collarbone which required surgical repair. All this happened 2 weeks before our most recent cruise. Yes, we did go on the cruise, but I did cancel him out of the Cozumel Segway excursion he had planned! I plan to show him your video so he can see what he missed!

 

The moral to my little story is to always watch where you're going when riding a Segway! Also, you never know when you might actually need that safety gear!

We are heading out on our next trip in April. As a joke, I asked DH if I should book a Segway tour. :eek: He said yes, he's ready to go again! Segways really are safe and fun to ride - as long as you're watching where you are going! :D

 

Nancy, so true (in red). We witnessed an accident before our very first ride which I detailed in my Silhouette review. Rule #1 stay away from the other Segways especially at speed. They are amazing balancing machines but a sudden jolt can upset their balance and collisions are unforgiving. Similarly I avoided all the potholes in Mexico just as I would when driving my car as you never know how deep they are until it's too late.

 

They are fantastic fun and wherever we go we will look for a Segway ride.

 

Cheers!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

With time to kill before sail away I took some pics from our balcony

 

 

 

A dive boat

 

 

 

 

 

That Mariachi band earlier reminded me of earlier days in Cozumel so long ago when the MDR served lunch in port and in Cozumel a Mariachi band would stroll the dining room and stop at tables for a few bars. It was magical.

[Bimmer09]

From 3 p.m to 4 Michael's serves afternoon tea, something we usually have on our balcony on Princess.

 

There are two plates of (a) cookies and (b) cakes not shown in this photo as the table wasn't big enough.. (taken in Palermo Harbor for port buffs).

 

 

We enjoyed our tea in Michael's and I met our host Denny who shared duties with Alex. No Anca (sigh)

 

 

Photos of Michael's (and everywhere) will appear later. I tend to photograph rooms when they are empty so I am not bothering people and so I can see the whole room all at once.

 

All my photos are arranged chronologically on my computer as I download them each day on a cruise onto my laptop so that I have them in case of losing or damaging the camera/memory card. There are hundreds of photos I have yet to "develop" and I do so just before I need to put them on CC. Cooked to order!

 

People are returning to the ships on time

 

 

[Bimmer09]

We sail away

 

 

 

 

[YOUTUBE]nlQ2ZNU1Noc[/YOUTUBE]

 

Norris

[jules815]

Really enjoying your review Norris. :)

 

Do you happen to have a photo of the front end of the ship? Trying to find a picture showing cabin 2109. It's the most forward S1 on the port side.

 

Also, is Independence of the Seas larger than Reflection? What RC ship class would you compare to Solstice class, size wise?

Edited February 2, 2017 by jules815

[Bimmer09]

While uploading more photos to Flickr I opened CC and found the "new format" was installed and almost spat out my coffee when I saw it.

 

My photos are now 2/3 the normal size and the pages are so much white space.

 

So I posted a complaint as have others-take a look at it and see what you think.

If you are not happy let Laura S know-there are complaint forums already up and running.

 

They offer an opportunity to change back to the old format but when I tried that it stayed the same. I don't think it can be fixed until the 10 year old schoolboy who designed the new look gets back from his field trip to collect tadpoles and then he has to wash his hands and get ready for supper.

 

Doh!

 

Anyway next up is a show featuring a great singer and then our first ever visit to Qsine for dinner, but it may have to wait until I get home at 11 p.m or tomorrow.

 

Norris

[wv4891]

deleted

Edited February 2, 2017 by wv4891

[mrsgoggins]

I don't think it can be fixed until the 10 year old schoolboy who designed the new look gets back from his field trip to collect tadpoles and then he has to wash his hands and get ready for supper.

 

Doh!

 

Norris

 

:D:D:D

 

Off to the complaints forum myself .... it is a lot of white :eek:

 

PS Desperately waiting to hear if you got 'stuck' in the hour's wait for a tender back to the ship at Grand Cayman. By sheer luck, we were back on the ship much earlier than planned.

[Barky]

Barb, I'm glad you are enjoying it.

 

I can't keep the humor out of it-it's not a serious business and in the current World climate it's either laugh or weep.

 

Cheers!

 

Norris

 

I'd much rather laugh than cry any day. Laughing doesn't make my nose run.

[hockeyguru32]

I used to go out for a drink with colleagues in Chicago and they had me drinking Tequila shots and I chugged them down and regretted it afterwards. Today I would get to taste some-not throwing them down my throat-but sipping and breathing the aroma in through my nose and exhaling through my mouth to savor the flavor. Thanks to this very passionate salesman, Jay.

 

 

His van was parked outside

 

 

He is passionate about his tequilas which are aged up to 12 years organically with no artificial additives-just agave. They mature in wooden barrels they import from Texas. They are only found in the Mexican region of Jalisco which is the origin to look for. If the bottle says Made in Mexico you're better off pouring it down the sink (or drinking it anyway, as it's there and you're there and ...."I might as well"...)

 

We got to taste some and they were smooth like no tequila I've tasted but then I haven't "tasted" many as the Chicago shots don't stay on the tongue for long.Nor in my stomach as I recall.

 

 

 

Long story short we didn't buy any-we don't keep spirits in the house and I seldom drink anything besides beer and wine. Some of the passengers did which validated Jay's presentation and had them shipped home to the USA. They only come in 750mm bottles and the 12 year old was $50. All of them tasted delicious and Carol the teetotaler loved the taste of each of them.

 

I took some photos as we left

 

 

The size of the tourist market village was large enough to suggest to me that many cruise ships would have shopping excursions here so I was glad we were here so early and would miss the tour buses.

 

 

Out into the sunshine again as we made our way back to the Segways

 

No drinking and Segwaying

[Crystal52]

Sorry if this sounds 'dim' but I've never used cruise critic before and I cannot find the rest of your review - where do I go? Thx:confused:

[MisterMet]

It's a beautiful work in progress. Stay tuned!

 

 

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[Tedferg]

Sorry if this sounds 'dim' but I've never used cruise critic before and I cannot find the rest of your review - where do I go? Thx:confused:

 

Top and Bottom of page have links to other pages. Specifically 'First' or 'Last'. This should take you to rest of review.

 

Usually you are taken to First page when you click on a new topic. Perhaps you clicked 'Last Page' by mistake.

[Lois R]

Sorry if this sounds 'dim' but I've never used cruise critic before and I cannot find the rest of your review - where do I go? Thx:confused:

 

Well, they just changed the format of the site so no wonder you are wondering where it went....but at the top of the thread,

there should be pages before this one..........and the page 1 should be up there......right side....it is actually at the bottom

with some arrows....if you put your curser on the arrow it will say page 1...click on it.

[Bimmer09]

It's a beautiful work in progress. Stay tuned!

 

Trip, thank you for the kind compliment!

 

I am reading this via Google Chrome which I just downloaded to see the old CC format which was taken from me earlier today. My Safari browser shows the new "white" format which has people up in arms. I posted a complaint earlier today to Laura S.

 

It's midnight in my city and too late to write but I will get back in the saddle in the morning and continue.

 

I notice one thing missing from my posts in the new format-the titles I use to set the tone or to put up a song lyric which people then have to guess for terrific prizes, which I never actually send out.

 

Oh, the humanity!

 

Cheers!

 

Norris