“LIVE” 12 Night Scandinavia & Russia Cruise on Reflection - August 25th, 2019

[jimbri]

Enjoying your report and photos.  Looking forward to the rest!

[clj7181]

This morning when I got up I tried to get Anne Frank House tickets - I forgot to get them until last week since I have been really busy and not nearly as on the ball as normal and they were sold out weeks in advance. I got on at 9:02 for day of and was 2000 in line for a max of 200 day if tickets. Don’t do like me - book it the 60 days out when they go on sale. I will try again right at 9 when we get back.

After the continental breakfast the hotel had and headed to the Heineken Experience. It is located in the old brewery built in 1868.

Entrance - we waited about 15 min for our entry time - I booked this a couple days in advance.



The old kettles



Horses - this was short lived due to an allergy - I kept sneezing in the room with the kettles and the mystery was solved once I entered the next room.



Sample once you leave the video area where you are the beer.



Example of a bottling line - here for I think 6.5 euros you can get a personalized bottle.



End up in a bar area where you get 2 more samples.



Overall it was fun - the back half they were definitely going for a party vibe and the 1st half was more history. I am drinking my samples at 11:45 and we started at 10:30 - so allow about 90 minutes.


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[clj7181]

It's no Old Style eh...??  [emoji6]
 
Look forward to your continuing review....

Nope - it’s not the Beast [emoji23]

I’m a beer drinker so expect more beer pictures


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[catarazzi]

Loving your live blog, @clj7181! Looking forward to meeting you and your mom at the M&M. We just left from Charlotte and are on our way. Like Mr. and Mrs. @Pennypop we are arriving Sunday AM at 8:55. I regret this decision now as I’ll be biting my nails the whole way. We have four (!!) flights today. It looked like such a clever move when I could get the SWA flights on miles and found a cheap Aer Lingus flight. Now, not so much. This stuff always looks better on paper several months in advance... 😉

 

Jen

Edited August 24, 2019 by catarazzi

[cinnamon]

I’m enjoying ‘cruising along vicariously’ with you. 😀

[clj7181]

We purchased the rock the city package for 32.50 each. This then included a canal boat ride and then the A’Dam lookout.

Boat ride - no narration - just a boat ride. It was a different perspective and cool to see how they maneuvered through the narrow canals. I love the Chicago architecture boat tour since the architects designed the building aesthetically to be viewed from the river but here there are roads lining the canal so no real advantage from the canal for pictures.







Next up was the overlook - kind of a cool looking building and there is a bar and restaurant at the top - we grabbed food - I would pass on this and just enjoy the beer.

Here are ships from Azamara and Regent. I took a picture with my normal camera and zoomed in.





The color cast is since this was taken a floor lower in the inside portion - more ship porn- these are some of the river cruise boats in dock.





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[clj7181]

This is the 1st one of these signs I have seen - we learned quick to watch for them - crossing bike lanes can be quite the adventure! They don’t stop - so just watch out.



Here is the overlook from the ground - you can see the swing at the top. We didn’t do it but it was 5 euro.



There was a free ferry back across that dropped you off at central station. We arrived on the Heineken boat - but guessing it is free going the other way too. There are two that go back and forth so it went pretty quick with limited wait time.



We roamed around a bit and went through what I am guessing is Amsterdam’s Chinatown.



We walked up to the NEMO Science Museum rooftop to check out the view. I just had a cell phone but it was a decent sunset. On the return trip I will try to get out and get some pictures with my normal camera.



We were running out of daylight as we headed down the stairs.




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[Solution]

Thank you for the review. We just got back from Amsterdam after a river cruise from Basel. We stayed at the same Holiday Inn Express City Hall. Great front desk staff. Too bad they only have cold cut for breakfast.

 

All pictures you posted served like a reminder of where we were a few days ago.

[Mercruiser]

Here is Reflection waiting for us at the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam.

Edited August 25, 2019 by Mercruiser

[clj7181]

This morning we got up and went for a walk

1st official time I saw the reflection in port!


We were walking a long and saw these geese cruising in then suddenly stop - this lady opens her window and feeds them each morning. Kind of a cool moment.


Our mission was the windmill - the lighting wasn’t great - once back in port we will walk back down here in the evening when it is better lit.


We have walked this route several times - this morning we got delayed by the draw bridges.



We got back to the room at about 10:30ish.


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[clj7181]

Logistics to the port - we summoned our Uber at about 10:40 once back to the hotel and we had grabbed our bags - took about 10 minutes for him to get there - I did request a van since we have lots of crap...I mean really great stuff. He was nice and efficient and we got to the port at 11:01 am. It was 14.84 Euro which is cheaper then the 20 euro it took for a taxi to get from central station to the hotel Friday.

 

We walked our bags into the bag drop line inside and headed upstairs to check-in and got in line at 11:09 and were done at 11:34. We boarded the ship about 11:45 - we did stop pre-boarding and purchase the 4 meal dining package - online they only offered the 1st night as an option and I had already booked Murano for night 1 at 30% off. We are doing Murano again, Quisne, Tuscan Grill and the Lawn Club.

 

I took this pic at 11:51 enroute to book my dining at Murano.

 

12:08 PM and we have our 1st drinks!

 

Let the fun begin!!!

 

 

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[Lisamarie18]

Hi @clj7181, cheers to your cruise, looking forward to your posts!  Quick question, I just purchased a dining package - where do you go to make the dining reservations when you board the ship?  Did you have any difficulties getting the times that you wanted?

 

 Thanks so much and have a wonderful cruise! 

[hcat]

BON VOYAGE!🥂

[clj7181]

On 8/23/2019 at 10:20 PM, Luvcrusn said:

If you get a chance, I've got a quick question. DH and I will be sailing on Reflection in the next few months and have an excessive amount of OBC as well as all 4 perks. We decided to upgrade our digital camera and purchase a new one on board. If you have a spare moment on board and could post what's available and the prices I'd appreciate it. If not, no worries. Have a wonderful time.

 

Here is what I found - they had a limited selection - 

Sx70 - $549

Sx740 - $399

Go pro 7 hero black - $399

 

 

[clj7181]

The app is being temperamental - so trying to post via the website on safari on my phone - wish me luck 🤣

 

Rooms were ready at 1 PM about on the dot.  We went to our room and were pleasantly surprised to find our luggage - score!

 

we then headed to the buffet to grab a light lunch. Then back to the room to unpack.

 

Here is today’s daily and the crew on board:

 

 

 

 

[clj7181]

We had our Muster in Murano - that my friends is pointless - most the room couldn’t see the life jacket demo or the video.  I almost want to re-watch the video - she’s chasing a guy on the ship - yet battling a girl on the speedboat - I couldn’t tell what happened to the guy she was originally chasing.

 

We then headed up to watch sail-away - here are a few images.

 

 

[clj7181]

Next stop - Murano.  I booked this month ago before I realized how long it would take to get to open water and the locks.  Words of wisdom - 8 PM reservation or do Tuscan Grill - oops.  

 

I did sneak out to use the bathroom so I could see the lock real quick - I didn’t have my phone but it was cool to see how close the walls were to the ship and I did see the pilot leaving us and the beach and some of the wind turbines.  If you looked out in a distance you could see a ton of them in the ocean.

 

Murano - we were able to skip the cheese plate and get two starter each.   We both got the lobster bisque and then mom got the tomatoes/mozzarella dish and I got a pear dish.  I loved the bisque - but a pass on my 2nd starter.  My mom loved both of hers.

 

 

 

 

[clj7181]

For our entrees I went with the lobster and mom went with the veal - both were fantastic!

 

desert I was the soufflé and mom was the chocolate dessert (can’t remember the name - oops).  Both were again fantastic.  Murano is a favorite of ours - if your going to do 1 specialty this is my pick.

 

We ended the night with the comedian - he was average at best.  Got a drink before the show from world class bar and now doing these posts sitting in cellar masters listening to the music drinking some wine!  (We got go best - so premium drink package!)

 

Until tomorrow my cruise critic friends!

[clj7181]

6 hours ago, Lisamarie18 said:

Hi @clj7181, cheers to your cruise, looking forward to your posts!  Quick question, I just purchased a dining package - where do you go to make the dining reservations when you board the ship?  Did you have any difficulties getting the times that you wanted?

 

 Thanks so much and have a wonderful cruise! 

 

On both this and my prior cruise I had no issues - but I am for 6 pm or so.  My options were either 6/6:30 or 8 pm.  I only have one for 8 pm.

[Luvcrusn]

7 hours ago, clj7181 said:

 

Here is what I found - they had a limited selection - 

Sx70 - $549

Sx740 - $399

Go pro 7 hero black - $399

 

 

Thanks soooo much for the info! Have a great trip. I'm enjoying following your adventures.

[vickykay]

If you have time, can you check out the perks from Celebrity for booking on board?  Thanks.

[Mercruiser]

We did a DIY trip to Schwerin Castle today. It’s about 90 minutes away by train. The cost to get there is 27 euro, RT, total for two people using a “Mecklenburg Lander” ticket that you buy online or from the train station ticket machine. The grounds are beautifully set on the lakefront. We also to a 90 minute boat cruise on the lake. This is a very enjoyable outing from Warnamunde.

[FirstTeacher]

7 hours ago, Mercruiser said:

We did a DIY trip to Schwerin Castle today. It’s about 90 minutes away by train. The cost to get there is 27 euro, RT, total for two people using a “Mecklenburg Lander” ticket that you buy online or from the train station ticket machine. The grounds are beautifully set on the lakefront. We also to a 90 minute boat cruise on the lake. This is a very enjoyable outing from Warnamunde.

 

We’re doing this cruise next year at the same time (can’t wait!). How easy was it to get to this castle? I know the train station is right near the cruise port in Warnemunde, but is there a train that goes directly there? We were considering a simple trip to Rostock for the morning, then a return to Warnemunde for the afternoon. Is there anything else besides this castle at that train stop?

[ecslady]

Loving your review!  The Baltics is one of my top favorite cruises.

[TeaBag]

1 hour ago, FirstTeacher said:

 

We’re doing this cruise next year at the same time (can’t wait!). How easy was it to get to this castle? I know the train station is right near the cruise port in Warnemunde, but is there a train that goes directly there? We were considering a simple trip to Rostock for the morning, then a return to Warnemunde for the afternoon. Is there anything else besides this castle at that train stop?

We did the tour to Schwerin in 2017 with friends of Dave tours.  It was amazing.  We traveled by bus and I loved that he handed around a menu while we were traveling and we all ordered.  By the time we reached the restaurant our food was ready, so we didn't waste any time waiting.  The castle was lovely.  I would highly recommend this tour.

https://www.fodtours.com/

 

Looking forward to more of this wonderful review.

Edited August 27, 2019 by TeaBag