Celebrity Reflection January 14 to 21 2017

[Bimmer09]

As I dipped into those 1985 photos I searched for more in boxes and photo folders straight from Walgreens in Miami 31 years ago. Along the way I had to pass through photos from 1987 until 2000 when I began to take digital photos. I'll show you the last batch of photos I found from my cruising days which poetically were the first photos I took starting back in August 1985. I know of some specific photos that are missing-the ones of John which I sent to him in a letter to help cheer him up after his paralyzing stroke including my favorite one where we are at a table in a beach bar in Cozumel and all smiling at the camera with our fruity drinks but he is wearing a snorkel and mask- he liked mugging for the camera.

 

View of Miami Harbor before joining Song of Norway

 

Geoff and I had flown in a day early so that we could have our medical exams and be in place when the ship arrived on Saturday August 24th.

View from the Howard Johnson's

 

 

Soon I was spending my Tuesdays in Jamaica,not London



 

That was taken on the beach of Sans Souci Hotel. Mark has his back to us in the distance and a lady's arm around him. He always wanted to embrace the natives.

Wednesday, Grand Cayman

 

 

Thursday Cozumel



 

 

That was right by the pier on a hotel's tiny beach where I would swim at times....

Just to the left of the XX sign in this 2017 photo







 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

Back to the ship in Cozumel

 

 

Pool deck in Cozumel



 

The steel band is playing on deck but there are dancers in Mexican costume so I think that this happened in Cozumel where the ship stayed late.

Come in-your time's up!

 

 

I've always wanted my own boat but this is the closest I got- a rented one I had to pedal.

My time is up hence the frowny face.





I would have been laughed out of the harbor in St. Tropez if I had sailed in on this...





 

John doing his Stan Laurel face



 

 

We were (and I still am) great Laurel and Hardy fans. Universal comedy from simpler times. Look at those sumptuous mattresses!





How beaches used to look



 

This was Cozumel, beach unknown, in 1985 when there would have been maybe 2 or 3 small ships in port, say 3,000 pax max. I think the ship sailed at midnight so Cozumel was a fun port and it was nice to be on the beach there-often at Hotel Presidente to watch another glorious Caribbean sunset. We didn't have to play until 11p.m.

[Bimmer09]

The Last Picture Show

 

 





http://www.beyondships.com/RCI-OOS-art-HD.html

 

In my Leif, I've loved them all



 

French Night in the dining room and the Head Waiter in his role as a Gendarme arrests me and John. The Austrian head waiter was a lot of fun and hung out at our table often. His name was Raimund Gscheider and he was the first Hotel Director on Oasis of the Seas, involved in training the crew while the ship was preparing to leave the shipyard in Finland.

Mark with Leif, the Night Watchman security guard who was a good friend and opened a few doors for me-especially the Officers Mess and those 4 a.m steak dinners.

Instant Parties

 

The crew mess at night, with no more meals to be served, would sometimes host impromptu parties as people stopped by for a beer and to relax. As more and more crew filtered in after a long shift, singing might erupt and that was the cue for people like Geoff to get a guitar and Peter his trumpet. I'd bang along on a table top. Good clean communal fun.

Friends that pass in the night

 

With John (R.I.P) and Rodney from a steel band whom I knew for just a couple of months.

There was no Facebook back then to help stay in touch casually and the staff rotated and many not seen again on my next contract. It was easy to make new friends of course as we lived in such a small contained community.

Last picture

 

I'm staring into the camera and into the future. We've been offered another contract on the Song of Norway, I've met an American girl from NJ and have plans for the future in my head. I see the future and it takes place in America.

Now I have to return to London from November 85 until March 86 which brings me back to the first post in this walk down memory lane....





Norris

[hockeyguru32]

Norris thanks for the trip down memory lane. I don't want these boots were made for walkin' to end. My countdown to MSC Divina is now 21 days so you have to make it last for another19 days please and thank you:D

[Meadet]

Hi folks it's Carol. I'm trying to keep up with Norris's review this time like the rest of you instead of reading it all when it's finished. You would not believe how conscientious he is about this. Although it is a labor of love, he gets up early on a work day to get to the computer and then writes some more after a long day at work. Plus days off.

 

I just wanted to note with regard to Qsine how excellent the food was and how creative the presentation, all in custom made platters and stands and vessels. I'm not impressed by gimmicks alone. We eat a lot of ethnic food living in Chicago and the ethnic dishes we had there stood up very well in comparison with the "authentic" stuff. Not so with Jamaican night at the buffet, but you will hear about this later.

 

Best regards, Carol

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Hi Carol/Norris,

 

Thank you both for sharing your holiday, I can't imagine the hours you spend editing and reviewing your blog so we all can follow along, sincere thanks !

[Bimmer09]

Norris thanks for the trip down memory lane. I don't want these boots were made for walkin' to end. My countdown to MSC Divina is now 21 days so you have to make it last for another19 days please and thank you:D

 

Alas I intend to finish tomorrow, Sunday, although I do have a lot of cat and squirrel pics I could post but it's hard to connect those images to a cruising topic.

Seriously though I have been writing this now since January 22 and it's April 8th and I've written over 500 posts. It has been fun and I'll return in the morning for a wrap-up.

I hope you have a great time on Divina and that you write a review so we call can learn some more about MSC.

Thanks for being a fun contributor in so many of my reviews and I sure hope to see you in the Regal/Crown/Silhouette and Equinox ones in the future.

Make it so.... (Capt. Picard)

Cheers shipmate!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Hi Carol/Norris,

 

Thank you both for sharing your holiday, I can't imagine the hours you spend editing and reviewing your blog so we all can follow along, sincere thanks !

 

Meadet-a new face, so- welcome!

You may be the first person from Ireland to pop in, so thank you!

The hours I spend are worth it but really I could spend a lot more if I was to take my photos into Photoshop or really spend a lot of time in Lightroom (which I currently don't). I'm in and out of Lightroom within 2 minutes or less but then multiply that by 1400 photos....

While I am waiting for the new Canon 6D Mk II to be released I will be spending time learning Lightroom and Photoshop for my next review. I have a lot of learning ahead and that is fun. In short-better photos ahead!

The writing takes no time at all as I don't think about it and just start typing prompted by the photos. Then I correct the Autospell which thinks sailaway should be spill way and Starward should be starboard and so on.

Thanks for coming forward and introducing yourself. I hope to see you in my next review on October 22.

Norris

[perfect match]

Norris, this has been a wonderful journey! I have loved both your cruise on the Reflection and also your cruise down memory lane into the 1980's! Thank you very much for sharing with us! I will be back tomorrow for the end of this story. :D

[Bruinboy]

Norris, you trip down memory lane. Priceless! You have outdone yourself.

 

Richard

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[tonto524]

Norris , thank you so much for both your great reviews and taking the time and effort to scan and post those great photos and the old brochure ! I had saved dog-eared brochures beginning with our first cruise on the Cunard Princess - but had to throw all of them out when we downsized. Loved the Song of Norway, Nordic Prince (our first cruise longer than 7 days) and the Song of America ! What a great VCL on that ship overlooking the pool! Thanks again for rekindling those great memories!!!

Linda

 

 

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[Bimmer09]

Q and A

Q Did you ever sail through a hurricane Norris?

A Aye, Jim lad,that I did. I don't recall if the hurricane had a name or when it was as each month was pretty much the same, one of the perils of that climate. I wasn't in a jail cell so wasn't crossing off the days.



It was at night as the disco was packed and the ship began rolling from side to side and up and down. People were at first in a giddy mood as you might be during a ride at 6 Flags but those rides only last a couple of minutes and then you are back on terra firma.

The giddiness and the jokes subsided and concern took it's rightful place as the doors began to swing open and closed allowing gusts of wind to come in. People began to leave, holding on to furniture on the way to the exits.



The band played on but it was difficult. Luckily I was seated on a drum stool which helped me stay upright but the sway of the ship meant that sometimes when I went to hit a cymbal it had moved. Paul and Dave, playing guitars were standing so it was difficult for them to stay still and sing and each got hit in the face with the microphones. As the room cleared we decided to stop playing. No one was sick in the room thankfully but who knows what happened in their cabins. The restaurant was long closed by this time as we didn't start playing until 11p.m. The ship rode through the storm like a bobbing cork and in the morning we were back to calmer seas.



Q What became of Dave, your sidekick?







A Thanks for asking- two weeks before we were to end our extended contract we stopped in Ocho Rios and all went ashore separately. Dave went with one of the waiters.

When the ship sailed I asked "has anyone seen Dave?". No. He had missed the ship, returning to the dock an hour later than requested by which time the ship was a white blob on the Horizon getting smaller.



So for the last two weeks we played as a trio with the keyboard player Mike playing bass lines on his synthesizer. One less singer too. I was not happy that Dave had gone but had New Jersey and a new experience waiting for me so ploughed on and found myself looking forward to getting off the ship on November 8th. I never saw him alive again but found him on Facebook 5 years ago. Time and tide wait for no man....



Q Why didn't you go back for another contact and make a career on the sea?

A Good one! When Mark left two weeks into our contract the title of Bandleader and the extra $100 a month fell to me but I turned it over to Mike who had taken to cruising like a duck to water and was a sensible lad. I thought it a waste for me as I wasn't planning to come back next spring as I would be living in New Jersey with my new girlfriend. Mike could get a new band together.



I spent a lot of time with the Polish guys who had been on the ship year after year and they counted down the days and were homesick 24/7. Their counting wasn't highly accurate due to their Vodka tastings which started off in a buoyant mood but eventually they became morose and some tears were shed over their homeland and it's unfortunate history over the previous 50 years. Could I become jaded and tired of this life? They had no joy, no passion when playing on stage. It was just a job that paid them 10 times what they could have earned in Poland. All their money went home to their families. We had all the joy and passion that they lacked but would it be the same in our 5th year of this life?



Living in a tiny room can certainly wear one down. So can being trapped on a ship. I missed driving a car and the freedom to go wherever and see new places in and out of London. I missed having my own foods, cooking and being able to eat at will. I missed having a really good stereo system and a TV. A Walkman and a boombox wasn't enough.

I missed the Seasons-it was just July everyday. Boiling hot and sunny.



If I had not met Lisa from NJ I would have continued longer and maybe even to this day-who can say? I wasn't returning to London in November 1986 but rather to a new home in Springfield (later Edison) New Jersey. A huge Q? mark. I was committed to NJ as I had given up my lovely garden apartment and sold all my stuff.



New Jersey was cold and being British I didn't have the appropriate Polar clothing. First stop was a Macy's on a Saturday and the purchase of an Eddie Bauer jacket. It was also super-industrial and smelled like it. But it was close to New York City and I was smitten by that from the moment I saw the Empire State Building and Central Park. It was a struggle though to adapt from the life I had just left behind in Miami to the reality of living in NJ and finding work. As I had no Social Security card I had to do 2 off the books jobs where I was paid in cash. My Winter day began at 6 a.m preparing a breakfast/ lunch counter for opening by buttering X number of bread rolls and slicing bagels for toasting in Lisa's brother's shop. I sold Lottery tickets, made things called chocolate egg-creams, cleaned the tables, brought in the newspapers for sale etc. In the afternoon I went to a print shop owned by the brother's girlfriend and stuffed envelopes for mailing. Later I was spotted running the lunch counter by myself while it was busy and the guy watching my hustle (a popular dance of the time) was a family friend who ran a Radio Shack and soon my evenings were spent their selling their Tandy and Realistic brands which brought the word "crap" firmly into my expanding American vocabulary. Three part-time jobs. When a call came through from RCCL in early March 1987 asking me if I would come back as Mike's new band's drummer had quit before the contract even started I asked for a week to think about it. The idea of me going back to sea was not welcomed by Lisa and I struggled for a week as it was so tempting to return to the easy fun life I had known and which you have seen here. After saying no, on our next visit to NYC I proposed to her on the observation deck at the top of the World Trade Center. Having said no I stuck it out in NJ and that's why I am still here in the USA 30 years later. No regrets.

But I digress...

My parents never gave me a middle name so I have always felt free to add some of my own-as you know Guinness is one of them and But I digress is another. When I started this Reflection review which is trailing behind us now like a long wake stretching to the horizon I didn't know it would lead to a Song of Norway memoryfest but I usually do mention that part of my history to help new readers know where I am coming from and to explain why I have done so many cruises.

These days I am a cruise passenger and an avid one at that. Before 2011 when we would sit outside by the log fire at our place in Michigan I would tell Carol about my life in 1986 and she stored away my accounts until 2011 when a planned trip to Munich fell through and she said "Why don't we take a cruise to Alaska!" and I took no persuading. We had watched many documentaries on that wilderness state and so this would kill two birds (probably eagles) with one stone.



The excellence of the Coral Princess and Alaska made us catch the cruising bug and has lead directly to the Reflection and beyond as we have 4 cruises booked on our two favorite lines to date.

MY THANKS TO ALL OF YOU....

who have been reading along all this time and especially to those who stopped in to introduce yourselves! My next two reviews will not be on the Celebrity board but rather on Princess beginning October 22 with the Regal Princess to New England and Canada.

I'll return to this thread to alert anyone interested when I start the review.



In the meantime I hope you all have great cruises this summer and beyond and hope to see you all again come October.



Cheers!

Norris

[jlf1]

Norris,

 

Many many thanks once again for an extremely entertaining review and journey down memory lane.

 

Judy

[Jasperdo]

You know how to make a chocolate egg-cream?!? Now you really are my hero. I grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and loved going down to the corner soda fountain and ordering a chocolate egg-cream if I could afford one. Although most of the time I couldn't and wound up getting a two cent plain instead. I haven't had a chocolate egg-cream since I left Brooklyn in 1972. Now I'm craving one. And a slice of cheese from the pizza joint next door.

 

And thanks again for the fabulous review. Excellent as always.

John

[Bimmer09]

Norris, this has been a wonderful journey! I have loved both your cruise on the Reflection and also your cruise down memory lane into the 1980's! Thank you very much for sharing with us! I will be back tomorrow for the end of this story. :D

 

Nancy, thanks for being in just about every review I have written and this is the 12th!

I look forward to seeing you in the Regal one and beyond.

Cheers!

Norris

[MGnut]

Norris, thanks for another great review - and history lesson/story. I really enjoyed seeing the Song Of Norway. We did our first cruise in 2003, so it's nice to see what past cruising was like.

 

I look forward to your future cruise reviews (and blogs)

[hockeyguru32]

Alas I intend to finish tomorrow, Sunday, although I do have a lot of cat and squirrel pics I could post but it's hard to connect those images to a cruising topic.

Seriously though I have been writing this now since January 22 and it's April 8th and I've written over 500 posts. It has been fun and I'll return in the morning for a wrap-up.

I hope you have a great time on Divina and that you write a review so we call can learn some more about MSC.

Thanks for being a fun contributor in so many of my reviews and I sure hope to see you in the Regal/Crown/Silhouette and Equinox ones in the future.

Make it so.... (Capt. Picard)

Cheers shipmate!

Norris

 

I understand of writing long reviews. I think you could write a book about your life and travels and it would be a great read but I am very happy to have read every review you have done to this date as well as your trips on your vlog as well. Love your style of writing and if we ever are on the same cruise ship I'm sure we would sit at the trident grill and have a Guinness, burger, and fries. Or even have a morning tea in my case as I am an early riser too.

 

As for my Divina review I will do my best to accomplish that task. Not sure how well it will turn out but I will do my best.

 

Cheers to you Norris and thank you again for your insight and time you put towards your reviews.

[Bimmer09]

Norris, you trip down memory lane. Priceless! You have outdone yourself.

 

Richard

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Richard, thanks for reading along and for taking Option 2 to read the 1985/85 stuff. It was something I could only do once so I kept rummaging through boxes to find the pics. I used about 90% of them.

I left some stuff out of the brochure- brief descriptions of the ports which would still apply today and the conditions of sailing-cancellation penalties etc.

Tune in October 22 for the Regal!

Cheers,

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Norris,

 

Many many thanks once again for an extremely entertaining review and journey down memory lane.

 

Judy

 

Judy, I am glad you were along for the ride!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

You know how to make a chocolate egg-cream?!? Now you really are my hero. I grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and loved going down to the corner soda fountain and ordering a chocolate egg-cream if I could afford one. Although most of the time I couldn't and wound up getting a two cent plain instead. I haven't had a chocolate egg-cream since I left Brooklyn in 1972. Now I'm craving one. And a slice of cheese from the pizza joint next door.

 

And thanks again for the fabulous review. Excellent as always.

John

 

John, as always it was great to have you following along. I'm glad I reminded you of the chocolate egg-cream!

Norris

[Sadebud]

Thank you, Norris for another brilliant review and the long walk down memory lane! I've marked my calendar for 10/22/17 and made a date on the Princess boards for the next virtual cruise with you and Carol!

 

Cheers,

Tracy

[24acorns]

Norris

 

It has been such a pleasure to read your imaginative review, also the trip through the mid eighties. How much has changed and yet some things are still familiar, the brochure picture of crown lounge looks so Similar to today's Sky lounges.

Can't wait for October 22 for your next journey, although fingers crossed I will be on my own "adventure" at that time.

I am half way through your Star Princess review of your Alaska trip last autumn I think also an excellent read. Another on my list to do. As is the review from Connie that Jim is putting together "Singapore to Rome", I saw your name pop up, Perhaps when you have more free time we will read your version of this trip. For the moment we will dream how fabulous the pics will be with your new cameras and lenses.

Thank you Ann

Ps. and I thought a chocolate cream egg was a sickly Easter confection, (maybe you remember these, f you do they still exist but think half the size_ or is that the sign of age playing tricks) clearly there is another variety out there?

[nets33]

 

On the Starward (NCL)

 

The NCL Starward was the only ship that allowed us to come aboard to visit once we showed our RCCL I.D. She was a little beauty and I'll have more pics of her later. We used to dock together in Cozumel. HAL gave us a firm NO I recall.

 

Ahh the memories! Did my first cruise on the NCL Starward in 1987. I remember going to the top floor lounge that is behind you in the photo and sweating as there was no AC in there. A great reminder of when the cruise bug bit me. :D

 

Appreciate the retro photos and the review! The hubs and I just booked an 11 day on the Reflection for 2019.

[Bimmer09]

Thank you, Norris for another brilliant review and the long walk down memory lane! I've marked my calendar for 10/22/17 and made a date on the Princess boards for the next virtual cruise with you and Carol!

 

Cheers,

Tracy

 

Tracy, thanks for reading the thing (s) and for the compliments! 10/22/17 is the day I return from NYC after the Regal Princess cruise and I mean to start writing that day as has become my custom.

New ship, new ports and new camera...very much looking forward to it!

See you then!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

I understand of writing long reviews. I think you could write a book about your life and travels and it would be a great read but I am very happy to have read every review you have done to this date as well as your trips on your vlog as well. Love your style of writing and if we ever are on the same cruise ship I'm sure we would sit at the trident grill and have a Guinness, burger, and fries. Or even have a morning tea in my case as I am an early riser too.

 

As for my Divina review I will do my best to accomplish that task. Not sure how well it will turn out but I will do my best.

 

Cheers to you Norris and thank you again for your insight and time you put towards your reviews.

 

Always good to have you along on one of my Epics!

I began reading my Coral Princess review this morning....only 12 pages! I took about 300 photos on that one using my little Canon point and shoot which will go with me on my next cruise as it comes in handy so I'll have 5 cameras. Yikes! So the days of 12 pages are long gone and I know many folks can't be bothered to read my huge ones but I'm not writing for them. I dread to think how long and involved they will be when I retire in 5 years and have time on my hands which I don't now.

In the meantime between now and October I will be learning Lightroom and Photoshop more fully and learning photography in greater detail so I have some fun months of exercising my brain ahead. I hang out on the photo discussion boards and there are some guys there who know exactly what they are doing whereas I am flying by the seat of my pants most often. That will change with some work on my part. I've only had a DSLR camera for 4 years and am getting the bug and am enthusiastic to learn more.

Your Divina review will be of great interest to me. MSC have a foothold in the USA now and I'll be interested to know how it performs for someone used to cruising American lines.

Hope to see you in October on the Princess Board!

Cheers!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Norris

 

It has been such a pleasure to read your imaginative review, also the trip through the mid eighties. How much has changed and yet some things are still familiar, the brochure picture of crown lounge looks so Similar to today's Sky lounges.

Can't wait for October 22 for your next journey, although fingers crossed I will be on my own "adventure" at that time.

I am half way through your Star Princess review of your Alaska trip last autumn I think also an excellent read. Another on my list to do. As is the review from Connie that Jim is putting together "Singapore to Rome", I saw your name pop up, Perhaps when you have more free time we will read your version of this trip. For the moment we will dream how fabulous the pics will be with your new cameras and lenses.

Thank you Ann

Ps. and I thought a chocolate cream egg was a sickly Easter confection, (maybe you remember these, f you do they still exist but think half the size_ or is that the sign of age playing tricks) clearly there is another variety out there?

 

Hi Ann and thanks for reading along and for looking into the Star Princess review too-we started our cruising in Alaska and keep going back to the same ports for more outdoors adventures.

Yes I am reading Jim_Iain's Far East trip report on the Connie as the itinerary is so exotic and long which is beyond us and our 7 days only trips right now.

The chocolate egg cream is a soda fountain drink-my Brother in Law's shop had soda pumps and you mix seltzer with whole milk and chocolate syrup into a frothy-headed refreshing drink.

You may be thinking of Cadbury's Creme Eggs which are available even in the USA and are yummy but so sweet. I order British candy online and yes all of the items are smaller than they used to be when I lived in England. Walnut Whips and Aero bars are my favorites. Britain is Chocolate Central as far as I am concerned.

Please do pop into the Regal review. It will be a voyage of discovery for me as I haven't liked the ship's exterior design since day 1 but the interiors are pretty striking. The ports will all be new to us. Joining the ship in New York is a big plus as we love that city. Can't wait!

Where might you be cruising in October?

 

See you then!

Norris