CHICAGOPAUL - LIVE!!!!!!! CRUISE BLOG - November 5th Celebrity Reflection!!!!!!!!!

[chicagopaul]

32 minutes ago, BEAV said:

It took me a little over an hour, but that's because I'm pretty remedial!  

 

I already had a M Life account (Sapphire level) and it was easy to call their Member Services number at 866-761-7111. I gave them my Captains Club number, they put me on a brief hold to call =X= and verify, and presto, I was now Platinum. Where I made my one mistake (that the two systems corrected automatically, thankfully) was logging in to World of Hyatt and doing OPT IN to M Life. WRONG. Since I was at a lower tier level in Hyatt than M Life, I was doing it backwards, which, if their systems hadn't been sophisticated enough would have LOWERED my tier level in M Life based on my Hyatt tier. But M Life, recognizing I was already Platinum (thanks to Elite+ in =X=) knew not to downgrade me based on my low Hyatt status. So finally, one I got passed that hurtle, I went to M Life and did the OPT IN to World of Hyatt. Presto, I was elevated to Explorist in Hyatt. 

 

If you're going to do a YouTube, just alert people not to make the mistake I made!  

 

Question: While surfing the M Life website, I saw where Platinum level gives you $200 OBC when sailing =X=. Did you not get the OBC on this cruise because you forgot to apply for it -or- because it's not combinable with Go BBB? 

 

 

 

Good question. Because the status did MLife is earned based on Celebrity reciprocal status it does not qualify for any of the celebrity perks. Now if you did the reverse and had earned platinum through play with MLife then it would qualify. 

[BEAV]

5 minutes ago, chicagopaul said:

 

Good question. Because the status did MLife is earned based on Celebrity reciprocal status it does not qualify for any of the celebrity perks. Now if you did the reverse and had earned platinum through play with MLife then it would qualify. 

Got it. Makes sense. 

[Forever42]

26 minutes ago, chicagopaul said:

 

Yes they do! I agree it makes for a great ice breaker. I’ll give a full list of names for people you should say hello to when I post a final recap this weekend 

 

We'll be embarking Friday so we'll probably miss your recap (we're disconnecting from the Internet 😉 for the cruise), but we'll at least look out for Ivan and his wife! And thanks for the heads-up on the crowds at the bars.

Edited November 14, 2018 by Forever42

[TexSea]

1 hour ago, chicagopaul said:

 

The app is useful but it is not always 100% accurate. I’d say the menus on the app have been about 90 % accurate. It’s helpful for future planning of dinners (when the info is correct). 

 

Have you been on a ship yet with the new keycards with a chip instead of barcode? So much better! Easier for the bar servers, no more fighting with your room door, it works great. 

Thanks! Really looking forward to trying it all out on the Edge in January!

[WNcruiser]

On 11/12/2018 at 11:48 AM, 39august said:

Does this mean that you can request an Indian menu in the MDR?  I would love to try that!

The current chef on Reflection is from India and there was no shortage of Indian food. There was an Indian station in the oceanview everyday as well as a special Indian dinner in Sushi on 5 one night. 

[willb125]

Thank you so much for doing this!  You are making me wish we were on board before next March!

[IrishLassie]

18 hours ago, chicagopaul said:

 

Good Question. So I’m not sure exactly what is behind it. Here is my experience. Elite Plus and Suites typically receive an invite. Concierge class will also typically receive an invite. I think a lot depends on number of ports and guests on board. For the past handful of cruises we’ve always been invited. My suggestion is if you’re interested and you’re in Captains Club (regardless of status) as your captains club host and say you’re interested. If you’re in concierge class ask your concierge. And if you’re in a suite you’ll more than likely receive an invite but just ask your Michaels Club host / hostess. 

 

 

Of course I remember! Taz is currently on the Edge. We’ve been in touch on Instagram. He’s happy to be there and it’s busy. I believe he gets off the edge at the end of January. I’ll check with him to see if he has a new assignment for a new contract. 

 

Thank you so much & I will look forward to hearing from you & keeping my fingers crossed that Taz will be on Reflection when we go! 

[MisterMet]

9 hours ago, chicagopaul said:

Dinner last night was in Luminae. Everything went smoothly and we enjoyed the food. Specifically I thought the corn soup was fantastic. I liked the pork and thought it was pretty good but no major wow factor. Edward had the linguine and wasn’t too impressed. The sauce looked watery and wasn’t sticking to the noodles. Dessert was the chocolate sphere last night which is set on fire. One of our favorites. We usually see a lot of people order it but last night only saw a few order. 

 

 

 

LOVED the Chocolate Sphere

[minnie mommie]

Hi Paul love your review of the Reflection..I have been in an aft Sky Suite and loved all the space, the only thing that was annoying was  the window washing equipment outside the porthole.  I have a favor to ask who are the bartenders at the Martini Bar and will they be on in January.  Thanks again for a great review.

[Eloise4Ever]

Hi Paul, did you by any chance manage to get a photo of the guys in the Martini Bar? I know it might be difficult if the bar is as busy as you say so I understand if it hasn't been possible. Enjoy your last day onboard!

[chicagopaul]

Good Morning from the very windy Sunset Bar. We have very strong winds and the boat is rocking but thankfully not strong enough to close the decks. It’s partly cloudy. Temps are very comfortable around 78/80 I’d say. They’re saying a high of 86 today. 

 

Here is today’s Daily 

 

 

[cruise often]

Hi Paul.... Great job on painting a picture of "Life on the Reflection" !!

 

We are getting on Reflection as you depart, just wondering if they ever got the satellite TV fixed during your voyage ? Was hoping to catch the Bears game Sunday night.

 

Thanks for all the info the last week +

[chicagopaul]

42 minutes ago, cruise often said:

Hi Paul.... Great job on painting a picture of "Life on the Reflection" !!

 

We are getting on Reflection as you depart, just wondering if they ever got the satellite TV fixed during your voyage ? Was hoping to catch the Bears game Sunday night.

 

Thanks for all the info the last week +

 

Unfirtunately it has not been fixed but it appears to only be the news stations. ESPN, Travel Channel, etc still appear to be working. 

 

They said some parts had to be ordered so they could resolve the problem (even though the problem appears to be with their provider). Hopefully it will be fully corrected in Miami. 

[chicagopaul]

Here is the Porch menu! 

 

 

[Forever42]

1 hour ago, chicagopaul said:

Here is the Porch menu! 

 

 

 

Oh man, I'm so glad that you posted this, we were planning on going to lunch here based on the menu on the app, but everything we were going to order is gone. 

 

I hope your last day is a blast and looking forward to hearing about your dinner in Luminae (we're in AQ, love Blu but living vicariously 😁). 

[dincus]

Thanks for posting the Porch menu Paul. Greatly appreciated.

[chamima]

On 11/4/2018 at 7:41 PM, GrazieMommy said:

 

As you may know, and I’ve mentioned this before, Celebrity has reciprocity with MLife, MGM Resorts & Casino loyalty program. Our Elite Plus gets us Platinum with MLife which has some nice perks. Now, here is where it get interesting. In searching we found out that if you’re Platinum with MLife you also qualify for Explorist (2nd highest tier level) for Hyatt Hotels. Typically if you get status through reciprocity, you usually cannot use that reciprocal status to get another reciprocal status. But we figured we’d put our MLife numbers into the Hyatt system and see what happens. Turns out they gave us Explorist What does that get us? Well it gets us some small stuff like free water, early & late checkout, club floor passes (if there is a club floor) upgraded free internet, etc. However, the nicest feature is that when you book with points and are Explorist or higher you do not have to pay any resort fees. Depending on the hotel this can save you between $20 to $40 per night.

 

 

Thanks for this tip - how do we get MLife Status?

We are also Elite Plus and , while the MLife status probably won't beneift us , the Explorist in Hyatt will!!!

 

EDIT: Just signed up for MLife and called to upgrade our status to Platinum.

As soon as that's done I'll call Hyatt.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR  THIS HINT!!

Edited November 15, 2018 by chamima

[chamima]

21 minutes ago, chamima said:

 

 

Thanks for this tip - how do we get MLife Status?

We are also Elite Plus and , while the MLife status probably won't beneift us , the Explorist in Hyatt will!!!

 

EDIT: Just signed up for MLife and called to upgrade our status to Platinum.

As soon as that's done I'll call Hyatt.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR  THIS HINT!!

 

 

EDIT#2

I see that you added your MLife status on line without having to call.

I can't seem to find anywhere to do that on the Hyatt site.

Do you remember where exactly you did that?

Thanks again!

[Mystictraveler]

My wife and I were on the TA just prior to your cruise. This is probably getting to you too late, but if you have the opportunity, please tell Wida, one of the servers in Luminae, that Charlie and Carol said "hello" and we really appreciated her.

[chicagopaul]

Good Morning Everyone. Well, we are back in Port Everglades. Edward and I are sitting in Michaels Club killing some time before disembarking. We’re heading to South Beach for one night before flying out if MIA late afternoon tomorrow. 

 

I know given the new mobile site and the internet on the ship my blog was not up to what I usually post. However I’ll have that all corrected in the next day with my full recap, additional photos, and video that I took. I do have photos and video of everyone at the Martini Bar so I will have that posted first since I know many of you wanted to see that. 

 

To all thise boarding the Reflection today, I hope you have a wonderful cruise! 

[chicagopaul]

We decided to sit in Michaels until around 9:15. We walked off the ship without a problem. Suites and zenith luggage are located closest to passport control so straight ahead and to the left once you enter the baggage area. We found our pieces without a problem. There is also a deducated entry way from the suite luggage area to get in line for passport control. It took less than a minute. 

 

We we decided to order a Lyft XL because of our large luggage. Waiting for rideshare drivers here is easy. Follow the signs and you’ll just turn to the left as you walk outside and that’s where they pick you up. The drivers are not allowed to wait in port so it might take them 5 or 10 minutes to arrive as they go through port security. 

 

The lyft xl was roughly $85. A regular Lyft would’ve been half the price. A taxi would be roughly 85/90 or so. This was to South Beach the Hyatt Centric at 16th and Collins. 

 

We are now strolling around with some coffee before lunch. It’s cool here today, maybe 68ish right now with a slight breeze. 

[Jim_Iain]

On ‎11‎/‎14‎/‎2018 at 9:01 AM, ecslady said:

 

Glad I'm not the only one this is happening to.

Been experiencing the same.    I've found that if I refresh the page it shows me signed in without having to sign in again.   Worth a try. 

[abbydancer2003]

5 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Been experiencing the same.    I've found that if I refresh the page it shows me signed in without having to sign in again.   Worth a try. 

For me, I just have to wait about 15 seconds.

[wave rider]

On ‎11‎/‎5‎/‎2018 at 11:42 AM, Sadebud said:

Hi Paul.  I've followed you before, but normally I am a "lurker".  I am following this one as we have friends aboard.  If you see Roy and Jennifer from Manchester, UK, tell them hello from Tracy and Tom.  They are elite plus too, and can be found in the Martini Bar often!  

 

Bon Voyage!!!

 

Tracy

We just got off the Reflection as well and did meet your friends but at Sunset rather than the Martini Bar.  We enjoyed the conversation with both Roy and Jennifer.  Plus it was a great trip to visit the Sunset Bar regularly.

 

Jeff

[excitedofharpenden]

46 minutes ago, wave rider said:

We just got off the Reflection as well and did meet your friends but at Sunset rather than the Martini Bar.  We enjoyed the conversation with both Roy and Jennifer.  Plus it was a great trip to visit the Sunset Bar regularly.

 

Jeff

Roy and Jennifer are a delightful couple.

 

Phil