Celebrity Reflection January 14 to 21 2017

[Barky]

Loving these pics! My claustrophobia would have me bouncing off the walls in a cabin the size you had.

 

Our cabin on the Norway, on B level, had a porthole, 2 twin beds, an art deco vanity (very cool) a bathroom literally larger than the one I have at home and it had a tub. I used the tub once as I nearly got stuck in it...it had high sides and was rather narrow. The rest of the cruise was showers for me. All this for $356 for 7 days in 2002. The flight to Miami was extra and the cab ride to the port scared the life out of me. It was worse than NY cabs. Memories...

[lovelearnteach]

This is great- I was hoping others who had cruised in that era would come forward and fill in some detail. It was my job (and a great fun one at that) but I wasn't on vacation.

I'll have a pic of a crew cabin later-54 sq feet at most-like the size of a decent balcony. Bunk beds yes. No TV.

BUT regardless how spartan by today's expectations FUN was had and people kept booking and an industry grew to gigantic proportions since then. And we all benefit!

Thanks so much for the comment!

Norris

Well my first cruise wasn't until 5 years later in 1991, I was 21. It was my first time out of the continental U.S. to the Bahamas. I got 5 hours sleep on a 3-night cruise, it was heaven ;p!

[cindep]

My mother and I took our first cruise on the Sun Viking, round trip San Juan. Our inside cabin was so tiny, I took a picture of a bottle of rum just barely fitting between the beds. Our cabin was next to the purser's office. Wonderful food and entertainment. Started my cruising obsession, but never an inside cabin again!

 

 

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[Bimmer09]

Norris,

 

Another A+ review. I've thoroughly enjoyed every one of your reviews. I'm especially enjoying the 80's pictures and brochures.

 

It's amazing seeing these cruise fares from 30 years ago! Although we didn't take our first cruise until 1994, and if my memory serves me (which it doesn't very well anymore), you could get a cruise fare at about half (give or take) the "brochure" rate that was listed (post 1994 at least). I think we paid about $750 pp for an inside on a 7 nighter on Star Princess out of San Juan on that first cruise (no air included). So yes, cruising really is a bargain nowadays.

 

I think you mentioned earlier in this review that you and Carol have an Equinox booking for Jan 2019. We are also looking at the Equinox for around that timeframe, so it would be awesome if we'd happen to book the same cruise, and it would certainly be an honor to meet y'all. We've got a big group cruise on Liberty OTS this coming Oct, and the Equinox would be next after that (just about once a year for us to cruise unfortunately).

 

Looking forward to the remainder of the review and can't wait for the next one. Hope to see you in the future.

 

Thx.

Bruce

 

Bruce we are sailing on the Equinox January 19 2019.

Thanks for the compliments on my reviews and I'm really glad you are enjoying this Brochure and look back at Norris in his element! I keep finding more pictures. It's a voyage of discovery for me too. The pics from my old Nikon will look much better than the smudgies from an instamatic which don't travel well into the digital world. I'll put some up soon.

If we end up on the same sailing we will be having a nice drink and a chat in the sun!

I'd look forward to that.

Norris

[Bimmer09]

If you read the text in this next photo it begins refering to the Captain. It's a continuation from the pic of him showing pax the bridge wing controls. As I wanted to get to the pricing quickly I had to skip some pages of 'Setting the scene for you vacation" but they need to be seen. In the days before CC, cruising was more of a mystery and so a glossy brochure was key.

 

 

 

I knew the couple in the bottom photo as they were on SON for a while. I think the guy Tony was a relief CD and his wife ran the fitness program called Shipshape. My CD of choice was a big Australian guy with a beard and happy smile called Greg Maxwell, who was very funny and a great stand-up comic. I had to play with him each week during the Masquerade Party where pax would dress up as Greek gods or the Statue of Liberty or whatever they could muster or bring onboard with them and they'd parade across the stage in the South Pacific Lounge while I played a march on the snare drum and he did an hilarious commentary on their garb. The first time I played with him he showed me his behind the back hand signals (once) that would tell me when to play a drum roll or a rim shot or a march. I had to watch him like a hawk.

 

Dancers, Vegas style

 

 

Midnight Buffet



 

 



 

 



 

The entertainment was mainly the 4 bands on board playing in lounges, the disco or by the pool or strolling through the restaurant at dinner. There would also be singers, ventriloquists and jugglers and magicians and comedians brought on board. The ships dancers (6 or 8 of those) danced in the South Pacific Lounge to a backing tape. The lounge also showed movies- I can recall seeing Back to the Future for the first time there.

Norris

[Marvy Mare]

Hi Norris

 

Still reading through your Celebrity Reflection January 14 to 24, 2017 review as I workout on my treadmill, trying to shed the few pounds acquired on our very first cruise. We sailed to the Western Caribbean, almost the same ports but Cococay instead of Labadee. Unfortunately, due to high winds we sailed right past Cococay. I have finally figured out how to get back to where I left off reading, so I can post a comment.

 

I did ask you about your cameras before our cruise and you were kind enough to respond in some detail. I took along my entry level Nikon dslr. I purchased a gently used Sigma 10-20mm a few months before the trip which I used a lot, as well as a 55-200 Nikon lens. Didn't use the kit lens or 50mm much at all. Did you purchase the full frame camera? I'll have to look back at some of your earlier reviews. There's very little noise in your great early morning photos.

 

Your photos are amazing and love the commentary too. Did lugging around all the camera equipment get in your way of fully enjoying the excursions? I'd hate to leave the camera behind on an excursion but hope to do some snorkelling on our next cruise and wonder what I would do with a camera & lenses in that case. I will borrow a GoPro for our next cruise for sure.

 

We've booked another cruise - this time aboard the Reflection - Eastern Caribbean with an overnight stop in St Maarten. I will try to take notes on this cruise as there were many areas on the ship I didn't get photos of.

 

Thanks again for your great reviews.

 

 

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[Bimmer09]

Hi Norris

 

I did ask you about your cameras before our cruise and you were kind enough to respond in some detail. I took along my entry level Nikon dslr. I purchased a gently used Sigma 10-20mm a few months before the trip which I used a lot, as well as a 55-200 Nikon lens. Didn't use the kit lens or 50mm much at all. Did you purchase the full frame camera? I'll have to look back at some of your earlier reviews. There's very little noise in your great early morning photos.

 

Your photos are amazing and love the commentary too. Did lugging around all the camera equipment get in your way of fully enjoying the excursions? I'd hate to leave the camera behind on an excursion but hope to do some snorkelling on our next cruise and wonder what I would do with a camera & lenses in that case. I will borrow a GoPro for our next cruise for sure.

 

We've booked another cruise - this time aboard the Reflection - Eastern Caribbean with an overnight stop in St Maarten. I will try to take notes on this cruise as there were many areas on the ship I didn't get photos of.

 

Thanks again for your great reviews.

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Hi and thanks for stopping by again!

No I haven't bought a Full Frame camera yet but have been watching every comparison video between the $1500 Canon 6D and the $2500 Canon 5D Mk III. I don't need either camera right now so am not in a hurry. It would be hard for me the justify the big spend. Any poor photos I took with the 6D were more to do with user error than the camera. The cheaper 6D will leave me $1000 to spend on an L lens which I need anyway. My next trip is Houston in early May and I don't need a camera upgrade for that but will for the Regal Princess in October. Whichever I choose I'll be taking 2 cameras from here on in as I did on the Reflection. The T3i will be my long lens camera and will get an L lens (70-200mm) in time for our Norway cruise where I can see it being used a lot. The T3i being a crop sensor camera multiplies the focal length by 1.6, so 200mm becomes 320mm.

2 Cameras and 3 lenses, plus a camcorder weigh a lot in a bag, that's for sure-over 10 lbs including extra batteries but lugging all that around is worth it to me. You can shoot your whole cruise on an iPhone, but I like the control and the options you can get on a DSLR and enjoy the challenge of trying to get a good photo with some brainwork. It's becoming a hobby and I love having to learn new things.

Some of those early morning sunrises were like a black screen when I looked at them in Lightroom-I was hoping to underexpose to get the rich color and overdid it but as I shot everything in RAW I was able to make a photo out of it. I learn from each mistake.

I am happy to see you loved your cruise and even happier that you will next get to enjoy the fantastic Reflection! Load up on memory cards!

Thanks again,

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Brings back great memories of our first cruise on Song of Norway for our honeymoon in 1986. Just celebrated 30th on Allure. Just a little bit bigger!

 

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Janet as you were on the SON in October 86 I would have been in the band you heard if you ever went up to the disco late at night or the band that played indoors in the My Fair Lady lounge at sailaway. To have sailed the spartan SON and the Allure is to have covered the spectrum! How far cruise ship design and ingenuity have come!

From little acorns...

Norris

[nanabananna]

Once again, Norris, the review was so enlightening and yet done with so much feeling as I am on the cruise right beside you and Carol.

 

Thank you so much for your time to write and comment for each one reading along.

 

I will be watching for your October and January Princess cruises. I know they will be just as entertaining as the ones before and after!

 

Take care my friend until we meet again,

Sandra :halo:

[Bimmer09]

Once again, Norris, the review was so enlightening and yet done with so much feeling as I am on the cruise right beside you and Carol.

 

Thank you so much for your time to write and comment for each one reading along.

 

I will be watching for your October and January Princess cruises. I know they will be just as entertaining as the ones before and after!

 

Take care my friend until we meet again,

Sandra :halo:

 

Sandra, thanks for following along yet again, on another Epic. Yes I'd love to see you in my October review and beyond. Regal Princess interiors are stunning and I'll be taking a lot of pictures and have much to say as I am not a big fan of the exterior decks on that class.

Of course there will be top notch meals to be had and my photos will be better.

See you then! Meantime lots more to come.

Norris

[Just Jo]

Wow! Thanks to your post on the Royal Caribbean board I found your review. Fantastic read and fabulous pictures, informative and hilarious. I want to be like you when I grow up, and I'd definitely like to buy you a beer should I be lucky enough to have our cruise paths cross someday (I'll get to Celebrity and Princess eventually). Looking forward to reading your other reviews. Thank you so much for sharing.

[Bimmer09]

Wow! Thanks to your post on the Royal Caribbean board I found your review. Fantastic read and fabulous pictures, informative and hilarious. I want to be like you when I grow up, and I'd definitely like to buy you a beer should I be lucky enough to have our cruise paths cross someday (I'll get to Celebrity and Princess eventually). Looking forward to reading your other reviews. Thank you so much for sharing.

 

Jo, I'm glad I posted on the RCCL board (even though the post sank like a stone-very active board there!) as you found your way here. Thanks for the compliments!

Welcome aboard!

Norris

[Pmorton3360]

So enjoyed this review. Your pictures are just amazing. Glad Carol and you enjoyed this cruise.

I was on the Regal March 2016. Just a beautiful ship. We had an opera singer aboard. Very good. The last night she did a set in the atrium. Well worth skipping dinner for. Did the Voice of the Sea first. Fun. Had a gelato sundae for dinner.

Will be on the Crown in September for Canada, New England cruise. I'll be sure and give you a heads up on condition. Thank you for all the effort and thank Carol for keeping track of things. Pam

 

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[Jasperdo]

My CD of choice was a big Australian guy with a beard and happy smile called Greg Maxwell, who was very funny and a great stand-up comic.

I remember Greg Maxwell. He was the CD on our Song of America cruise. A very funny and friendly fellow. Here's a page out of the Cruise Compass from that sailing:

 

[Bimmer09]

A Brochure written to entice

(text is a continuation from the 2nd Midnight Buffet page)



 

 



 

 

A choice of Itineraries



 

If you look back to the airfare chart you'll see that the SunVenture cruises from certain cities didn't include free air travel. For example...

Some of these islands I hadn't heard of while living in London-who knew ships had been calling at St Kitts for so long? What a boost to local economies even though the islands would be overrun by tourists most of the week. It beats living on coconuts I'll bet so they have to pay the price. At least modern visitors come in peace with Canon cameras and not cannon balls as they used to.

 

[Bimmer09]

So enjoyed this review. Your pictures are just amazing. Glad Carol and you enjoyed this cruise.

I was on the Regal March 2016. Just a beautiful ship. We had an opera singer aboard. Very good. The last night she did a set in the atrium. Well worth skipping dinner for. Did the Voice of the Sea first. Fun. Had a gelato sundae for dinner.

Will be on the Crown in September for Canada, New England cruise. I'll be sure and give you a heads up on condition. Thank you for all the effort and thank Carol for keeping track of things. Pam

 

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Pat, good to see you here again!

We're doing a Canada NE trip October 14 on the Regal-same itinerary as yours. I will be happy to know what shape the Crown is in for our January cruise.

Thanks for following along!

Norris

[tigerbeth]

Norris , thanks for entertaining us once again .

Love following Carol & yourself on your adventures!

The trip down memory lane has also been a great read .

Our first trip on RCL starts on Thursday,Explorer of the Seas , South Pacific , having previously only sailed in recent times on Princess .

So can't wait to sit back with a cocktail & relax !☀️

[Bimmer09]

Staying in Shape

Obesity wasn't an issue back in 1986 but there were couch potatoes I imagine and getting a lung full of sea air while doing something good for your body held a lot of appeal. There were no TVs in the cabins, just radios and a phone. I don't ever recall seeing 400 lb people or even people on scooters on the ship back then. Nor wheelchairs and walkers come to think of it.







 

 



 

There was also Skeet Shooting off the rear deck I recall, as a sporty pastime. I played a fair bit of table tennis and did daily aerobics in the tiny home-style gym being pushed by Cindy the Canadian dancer, Jane Fonda urged me to "make it burn" and I did.

Here's a pic at our lunch table in the MDR which was also our dinner table when it got darker. One of our favorite waiters Antonio with me Paul and ? one of the dancers.



 

One fine way to spend time in Ocho Rios.....

At an Anniversary Party in the Crew Mess

A party for Mario and Patricia Milano. He was the dance instructor and she the Shipshape instructor.

He would dance with ladies traveling unaccompanied and was suave and handsome as you know Italians (from NJ) can be. Lovely people but not in the shot.

L to R, Marius a trumpeter from Poland, Jorge, assistant Food and Beverage manager from Colombia, passenger Julie from MA and smoking and drinking me.





We often had crew mess parties where guitars would be produced and Beatles songs sung as no matter what language you spoke you knew the words to Beatles songs.





Norris

[bunnyette]

And looks like passengers were invited to crew parties!

 

 

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[Bimmer09]

I remember Greg Maxwell. He was the CD on our Song of America cruise. A very funny and friendly fellow. Here's a page out of the Cruise Compass from that sailing:

 

 

Thanks Jasperdo! even though I saw him every day for months before he took vacations-I remember Mike Bock being CD for a short while- I don't seem to have a pic of him. He was a fine easy going man to work for. He came to the disco some nights to dance with the ladies and buy us drinks even though we already got two free ones each night. I used to order Long Island Iced teas as it was expensive (but free) and the others were drinking them. While we took our 45 minute breaks the DJ, Carl (USA) played hits like Conga by Miami Sound Machine. I had played in a club in Copenhagen some years before where on the weekends we did 10 x 45 minute sets so 4 sets on the SON wireline a warm-up. I had energy and calories to burn. The disco crowd was mainly 20s age group and the demographic most weeks skewed younger than I have seen since. Those 20s are now 50s and 60s.

Norris

[Bimmer09]

And looks like passengers were invited to crew parties!

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Welcome bunnyette...yes and vice versa.

Norris

[bunnyette]

Welcome bunnyette...yes and vice versa.

 

Norris

 

 

Thank you for the second welcome....I enjoyed your Jamaica excursion.

 

Looks like cruising was lots of fun in the 80's.

 

 

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[lola2013]

Bimmer,

I finally found my old SON photo album and see that I missed you by a few years...I sailed on her in August, 1989. It was great fun looking at the pictures and cruise literature. I did also see that I travelled on the SS Norway in May, 1986, so perhaps the SON and SS Norway passed sailing in & out of Miami. Thanks for the memories!

...and if you and Carol are ever in Schaumburg....

Susan

[Bimmer09]

NORDIC PRINCE

 

 



 

 



 

 



 

Sister ship to SON and not one I recall seeing as it wasn't sailing the same waters nor was in Miami on Saturdays when we did our turnarounds. I was not involved in any extra duties on turnaround day-once the ship docked I was free to roam until it was time to board at 4 pm to start work at 5, playing sailaway music for those indoors in the My Fair Lady lounge-all the lounges had names of musicals. I could see out the big picture windows as we played, sailing down past the causeway and the tip of Miami Beach. After we left the harbor the Captain would come to a table with a couple of officers to have a drink and would send a round up to us.

From that point we would have 5 hours before our next set up in the Land of the Rising Sun disco. We ate at the late MDR sitting. No anytime dining then, nor buffet option.





Norris

[Bimmer09]

Norris , thanks for entertaining us once again .

Love following Carol & yourself on your adventures!

The trip down memory lane has also been a great read .

Our first trip on RCL starts on Thursday,Explorer of the Seas , South Pacific , having previously only sailed in recent times on Princess .

So can't wait to sit back with a cocktail & relax !☀️������

 

Beth, welcome!

Bon Voyage on your first Royal cruise!

It will be some years before we can contemplate the beautiful South Pacific so I'll have to live vicariously in the meantime.

Will you be posting a review on the Royal board afterwards?

Best wishes,

Norris