Celebrity Reflection B2B 12/4 - 12/11 - 12/18

[DaKahuna]

On 12/5/2021 at 11:14 PM, canderson said:

Did you get the pulled lamb shank in phyllo (MDR) instead of the lamb loin (Luminae)?  Those two seem to coincide between the MDR and Luminae.

 

 Tonights dinner was the choice between the phyloo wrapped lamb and the lamb serving in Luminae.  i went with the MDR offering and was not disappointed.

 

Our sommelier.Siraz, paired it with an excellent french red that I do not recall seeing on the wine list at all.   I have been impressed with how well his recommendations have been so far this cruise. 

 

[Purplsmurf]

23 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

It is my understanding that this is done anytime there is crew in quarantine.  I understand there is crew in quarantine onboard.  We met the Maitre’d for Luminae for the first tome this evening.  He just returned from vacation and had been in quarantine until yoday. 
 

There have been no reports of COVID onboard. 
 

Ahh! Gotcha! Makes sense!

[DaKahuna]

Today was a port day in Cozumel ..  We have been here multiple times but did want to get off the ship and stretch our legs.  We walked around the port for a while, stopped in Margaritaville for a "Perfect Margarita" and then came back to the ship.   We arrived to a beautiful sunrise so I thought I would share a couple of those photographs. 

 

When we pulled in only the Allure of the Seas was inport.  Our arrival was quickly followed by a Carnival ship, A Princess ship, and another Carnival ship, making a total of five cruise ships in port at the same time.  Needless to say, despite directions to wear a mask at all time when in Cozumel, over half the cruises did not heed this precaution.  We only stayed ashore for a short time as it was in the high 80's and very sunny today.  

 

Safely back aboard the ship we went to the Ocean View Cafe for the first time this cruise.  I am very happy with the quality, quantity and selections of the food there.  The fact that it was not self serve, in my opinion was a plus, although I did witness one passenger grabbing a role when the server was not looking.  While I was disappointed there was not a vendalu offering, there was a chicken curry that was very good. 

 

After lunch we retried to our stateroom where I took my normal afternoon nap.  We did sit on the balcony for a short while today but as has been pointed out by others, when the ship is pointed in a certain direction, there is no shade on the aft facing balconies.  Not being sun worshipers, we enjoyed the warmth for only a short while before returning to the modern comfort of air conditioning. 

 

Dinner, as mentioned above was excellent. 

 

My wife had the sea bass and it looked delicious and she said it was very good.  I'll have to remember to try that next week, provided I can still fit into my clothes in order to go into public venue's.  (note to self, but pants with expanding waste bands for the next cruise). 

 

Upon our departure from Cozumel only the Allure and one of the two Carnival ships remained and they both followed us out of port. 

 

I was not able to capture any good sunset pictures today as I was busy getting ready for dinner. 

 

Tomorrow is a sea day and we have no plans other than dinner at the Tuscan restaurant.  I am torn between the Branzino, which is what I normally order, and the steak which I have heard good things about -- recommendations welcomed. 

 

[DaKahuna]

Today is a sea day and we do not have anything special planned. 
 

I did want to share one piece of food porn though this morning. 
 

For breakfast this morning I decided to order the buttermilk biscuits and sausage gravy.  Now being a born and raised Southerner I have had my share of sausage gravy at restaurants all across the USA but today’s presentation, which I cannot recall ever seeing a photo of, took me totally by surprise.  I will say it was very flavorful and the biscuits were delicious.

 

 

 

[helen haywood]

That dish!!  I’m glad it tasted good.  I’ve never seen sausage sliced up and covered in gravy (nor has any Southerner.)  “Sausage gravy” is crumbled sausage stirred into cream gravy.

 

Enjoying your photos very much!  We’ll hopefully be on Reflection in February.  Might I ask you to post some pictures of my favorite spot, The Sunset Bar?

[cangelmd]

On 12/3/2021 at 8:22 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

Just coming along for the ride. We'll be on her starting Feb 5 for a B2B. Thanks for sharing some of your experiences with us when you find the time. 😎

Just realized from this post, that we will be on the same cruise in Feb. We’re on Silhouette the weeks before, one night in FLL, then Reflection. Hope we cross paths!

[Ken the cruiser]

3 minutes ago, cangelmd said:

Just realized from this post, that we will be on the same cruise in Feb. We’re on Silhouette the weeks before, one night in FLL, then Reflection. Hope we cross paths!

Cool! 

[DaKahuna]

1 hour ago, helen haywood said:

That dish!!  I’m glad it tasted good.  I’ve never seen sausage sliced up and covered in gravy (nor has any Southerner.)  “Sausage gravy” is crumbled sausage stirred into cream gravy.

 

Enjoying your photos very much!  We’ll hopefully be on Reflection in February.  Might I ask you to post some pictures of my favorite spot, The Sunset Bar?

I completely agree.  That’s why I wanted to point it out and post the picture.  Now my fellow Southerners have been informed.

 

I have not been to the Sunset Bar this cruise.  I will try and get up there either tomorrow or Friday when we are in port. 

[DaKahuna]

I want to give special recognition to @Jim_Iain

 

We are now enjoying our morning Almond Croissant at breakfast in Luminae.  Apparently they are not a standard menu item so they were not available when I asked for one.  Since then our waitress has made sure to have them for us each morning.  No more getting up early and making a trip to Cafe al Bacio for this guy.  

[DaKahuna]

Very lazy sea day today. 

Lunch today was the chicken for my wife and the lamb gyro in Luminae.  Both were excellent.  Whomever said to ask for extra taziki sauce was spot on. 
 

The usual afternoon nap after walking around the ship a bit and doing a little people watching.  It is still amazing how uncrowded everything thing is. 
 

Tonight’s dinner was in Tuscan.  There is not much to say other than the food is excellent and I let my eyeballs overload my stomach.  My wife had the spaghetti and meatballs while I enjoyed the branzino, the reason I go to Tuscan. I will point out that the crispy calamari was outstanding. Very crisp crust surrounding very tender rings of squid. 
 

if there was any disappointment at all it was the tiramisu.  Too much cocoa powder for our liking. 
 

We are in the Ensemble lounge where a jazz group just finished and a violin & bass duo is just starting. 
 

Up date! 
 

The Captain just announced that there has been one case of COVID-19 identified on board and the person will be disembarked tomorrow in Nassau. 
 

[DaKahuna]

Today is Nassau, Bahamas.  
 

The captain announced that the man who tested positive was being taken off this morning and was being flown home on a private flight. 
 

Again we were told to take our shot records with us ashore but they were not requested in any of the stores we visited or by security when we re-entered the port through the security checkpoint. 
 

In port today with us today is the Carnival Dream an Independence of the Seas.  
 

we noticed that the majority of people were complying with the requirement to wear a mask, especially in the shops, but again there were some that were not wearing a mask and no mask was visible. 
 

To once again address the question of overhang for the corner S1 Suites, as you can see from the photo, the suites on Deck 6 and 12 have the largest overhangs and provide more shade than those on decks 7-11.

 

 

[39august]

Thanks for picture of corner aft S1's. I can see that the deck 12 overhandgis larger, but just how far out does it extend, please? I have been at the outside aft of the OVC looking down and it seemed there was a lot of open viewing of the balcony just below.  Looked to me as if there was only a few feet of overhang.

[DaKahuna]

I believe that it is only a couple of feet and around half the balcony is viewable from Ocean View Cafe.  We will be having lunch in OV and I will walk out and tale a picture. 
 

I will also see what is viewable from the Sunset Bar. 
 

[Jim_Iain]

21 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

I want to give special recognition to @Jim_Iain

 

We are now enjoying our morning Almond Croissant at breakfast in Luminae.  Apparently they are not a standard menu item so they were not available when I asked for one.  Since then our waitress has made sure to have them for us each morning.  No more getting up early and making a trip to Cafe al Bacio for this guy.  

 

I'm glad that you are enjoying them.    Also pleased to hear that the staff are so responsive to fulfill you request and can assure you that they will probably be available every morning.   

 

The other Item I re-discovered was the sticky buns at Al Baccio.   They were so GOOOOOYYYY and good.

[DaKahuna]

7 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I'm glad that you are enjoying them.    Also pleased to hear that the staff are so responsive to fulfill you request and can assure you that they will probably be available every morning.   

 

The other Item I re-discovered was the sticky buns at Al Baccio.   They were so GOOOOOYYYY and good.

Our waitress, Wiva, has gone over and above this entire cruise.  After informing me the first time I asked that they were only available in Cafe al Bacio but that she would have them for me the next day.  The next morning as soon as we were seated she put one almond role on the table.  My wife quickly grabbed it.  I mentioned my wife stealing my toll and every day since then we have been presented with three almond rolls.
 

i have been purposely avoiding the sticky buns.  I did not bring any oversized dress pants and am pretty sure evening chic does not include the terry cloth robes that came in our suite. 
 

We have provided comments twice regarding the outstanding service we are receiving.   But things like the above have been happening all cruise.  
 

I need to talk with my stateroom attendant and Personal Retreat Host and see if they would like to continue working with us next cruise.

 

The only downside so far is being told I cannot use the gratuity form for individuals other than the Stateroom Attendant or our Personal Retreat Host.  We have been invited to the “sail away party” on the focsle / helo deck and I am hoping the Food and Beverage Director is there so I can make a comment to him about this limitation.  I know others have said it is possible but I have been told by the Retreat Concierge that it is not possible and that he was told that by the  Food and Beverage Director. 

[Ken the cruiser]

When you have a moment, would it be possible for you to do an internet speed check and post the results? Thanks! I know when we were on both the Edge and the Apex, the "streaming" speed ranged between 1.5 and 2 mbps. For some reason they can't seem to do an internet speed check on the Connie, which we're going to board next week. So I was curious how the internet speed was currently on the Reflection. Thanks!!

 

If it helps, I use www.speedtest.net

 

Edited December 9, 2021 by Ken the cruiser

[Jthans24]

Thank you so much for the review Kahuna. You are doing a great job!

 

We are on an upcoming Reflection cruise and were just notified that the Dominican Republic isn't happening. What did they replace the DR with on your cruise? God forbid I have to wait a few days for them to post it. HAHA!

[DaKahuna]

On 12/8/2021 at 11:08 AM, helen haywood said:

Enjoying your photos very much!  We’ll hopefully be on Reflection in February.  Might I ask you to post some pictures of my favorite spot, The Sunset Bar?

Not how I remembered the Sunset Bar at all. 
 

[DaKahuna]

2 hours ago, 39august said:

Thanks for picture of corner aft S1's. I can see that the deck 12 overhandgis larger, but just how far out does it extend, please? I have been at the outside aft of the OVC looking down and it seemed there was a lot of open viewing of the balcony just below.  Looked to me as if there was only a few feet of overhang.

I was quite surprised to find that from  the aft railing of the Ocean View Cafe only the railing and a sliver of the balcony is visible unless you lean very far out. 
 

You can see much more of our balcony though.  
it looks like all of the deck 12 balconies are better covered than the others. 
 

[DaKahuna]

Edited December 9, 2021 by DaKahuna

[DaKahuna]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

When you have a moment, would it be possible for you to do an internet speed check and post the results? Thanks! I know when we were on both the Edge and the Apex, the "streaming" speed ranged between 1.5 and 2 mbps. For some reason they can't seem to do an internet speed check on the Connie, which we're going to board next week. So I was curious how the internet speed was currently on the Reflection. Thanks!!

 

If it helps, I use www.speedtest.net

 

These were done while tied up at the pier in Nassau. 
 

[DaKahuna]

14 minutes ago, Jthans24 said:

Thank you so much for the review Kahuna. You are doing a great job!

 

We are on an upcoming Reflection cruise and were just notified that the Dominican Republic isn't happening. What did they replace the DR with on your cruise? God forbid I have to wait a few days for them to post it. HAHA!

Key West and Grand Cayman were replaced by Nassau and Bimini on the 12/4 departure. 
 

We did not book the 12/11 sailing until November 30.  So not sure what was changed I do know the itinerary is St. Thomas, San Juan, and Nassau. 
 

 

[Jthans24]

4 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

Key West and Grand Cayman were replaced by Nassau and Bimini on the 12/4 departure. 
 

We did not book the 12/11 sailing until November 30.  So not sure what was changed I do know the itinerary is St. Thomas, San Juan, and Nassau. 
 

 

Thank you so much.

 

If they do the same thing, we would have an additional sea day.

[DaKahuna]

3 minutes ago, Jthans24 said:

Thank you so much.

 

If they do the same thing, we would have an additional sea day.

Yes, I am looking forward to spending a couple of consecutive days at sea. 

[DaKahuna]

I made a new discovery today in the Ocean View Cafe.  A fellow cruiser and I were at the bar waiting to order drinks and this fellow cruiser noticed the bartender making a drink and inquired as to what he was making.  Thomas, the bartender, replied that it was a sangria and that he always made them by hand.  My fellow cruiser and I both asked for one.  

I know what I will be drinking with lunch again tomorrow!