Feb 5-19 East-West Caribbean on the Reflection

[garyl62]

4 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Just back from our Funky Nassau Jeep Adventure excursion around the older parts of Nassau in an open air jeep and had a great time!!

We've looked at this excursion, how many people were in the Jeep (or maybe I should ask how many it seats)?

[Ken the cruiser]

3 hours ago, garyl62 said:

We've looked at this excursion, how many people were in the Jeep (or maybe I should ask how many it seats)?

Sorry for not responding early. Logging into CC has really been a hit and miss today. The jeeps hold up to 8 passengers with 2 very comfortable seats per row.

[Ken the cruiser]

Had a very full evening after having another wonderful meal in Luminae. First, we went to both the early and late evening shows as Magic and Mayhem with Dizzy was a lot of fun. Then between shows we went to The Music Challenge Port versus Starboard. But the highlight of the evening was finally being able to see the encore performance of Basile in Celebrity Central in his Late Night Adult Comedy Show. We haven’t laughed that hard in a long time!! 😂😂😂 We’re sure hoping he’s on the next leg. But if not, we at least finally got to see him!! 😎
 

Dizzy in his Magic and Mayhem Show

 

 

The packed crowd in Celebrity Centra for Basile’s encore performance.

 

 

Basile, a very funny Greek comedian!!

 

 

Edited February 12, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

We have arrived back at Terminal 29 at Port Everglades!

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Here’s something interesting.  Sitting there behind the ship quietly nestled between the shipyards is a little waterway of mangrove trees. 
 

Edited February 12, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

On our transition day, we decided to go on a Celebrity Everglades excursion which is included with a transfer to the airport, which of course is an additional charge. But if you’re on a B2B, they’ll also bring you back to the ship. All together the excursion was a 5 hour adventure, with about 2 fun hours spent at the Everglades park, which included an airboat ride and an alligator show! Here are “a few” pictures. 😂😂

 

 

Turkey vultures

 

 

 

Alligator 

 

 

 

Another alligator 

 

 

If you look close, you can see what appears to be high water marks. 

Orange and yellow Iguana in the tree

Nuisance captured alligators at the show

Which are quite tame once they realize you are a friend rather than a threat!

 

Edited February 12, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

Here are the guidelines for our upcoming ports.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Feb 12 Cruise Planner

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DaKahuna]

11 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Here’s something interesting.  Sitting there behind the ship quietly nestled between the shipyards is a little waterway of mangrove trees. 
 

 

We had a nice view of that waterway from our aft corner balcony in December.  All I could think about was how much I would love to go fishing there.   

 

There is also a nice little pocket on the other side of the channel across from Pier 29 that looked inviting as well. Watched a fisherman in a kayak go in there but did not see him come out.  I believe that it connects to a small harbor that is also there. 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Feb 13 Daily Planner - Nassau

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

I just checked with Guest Relations and the official count is 1,310 passengers.

[Ken the cruiser]

We have arrived (again) in Nassau, but no excursions today. Just a relaxing day hanging around the ship and maybe taking a stroll around the pier area later on before the Super Bowl.

 

 

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

11 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I just checked with Guest Relations and the official count is 1,310 passengers.

 

It's creeping back up (certainly from the 800-ish a few sailings back). What was the count on your first leg again, and do you notice any difference?

 

Tom

[capsplace]

Would you mind sharing the “who’s on board” sheet that shows Master, CD, etc?  We’re sailing April 18.  Odds are names will change, but maybe not.

[jelayne]

25 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

It's creeping back up (certainly from the 800-ish a few sailings back). What was the count on your first leg again, and do you notice any difference?

 

Tom

If I recall correctly last weeks count was 1180.

 

The most noticeable difference from last week is there are more passengers in the 20s to early 30 range.  Not sure how to describe the attire, language we saw in a couple of bars last night.

[Ken the cruiser]

40 minutes ago, capsplace said:

Would you mind sharing the “who’s on board” sheet that shows Master, CD, etc?  We’re sailing April 18.  Odds are names will change, but maybe not.

It’s the same crew we had on the last leg. Here’s the flyer from last cruise as the one we received yesterday had already made it to the trash. 😁

 

Edited February 13, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

I guess cruising is definitely coming back in Nassau. This is the first time on our 7 sailings to Nassau since cruising started back up that we have actually seen the pirate ship on the move!! 😎

 

[Ken the cruiser]

On 2/8/2022 at 8:52 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

OK, this recommendation is for those that like wine, occasionally, but DO NOT like the acidic after taste that comes with most of the wine they offer nowadays. 
 

First, a little background. I grow blueberries, blackberries, muscadine and persimmons on our farm back in Alabama. In the evening I will have a couple glasses of blueberry or blackberry wine, which only has about 10% alcohol. BUT, it also has no acidic after taste to speak of either. You know, that sour/bitter taste on the side of your tongue when you take a sip.
 

Now, if you like that, the following recommendation is not for you. BTW I was also stationed in Germany for 7 years between 85-92 and grew a fondness for Riesling, Spatlese and Auslese (otherwise known as Ice Wine), mostly because they were tasty and had very little acidic after taste. 
 

Then on our Jan 2019 Reflection B2B cruise, I was introduced to Jam Jar. I know, it’s got a funny name and a very simple looking label. It’s a Moscato wine from South Africa that has no acidic after taste and contains only 10% alcohol. That BTW explains why when the sommelier kept filling my glass throughout dinner, I never got too tipsy even though I had about 3-4 glasses of it.
 

However, when Celebrity started cruising again, we were told they couldn’t get Jam Jar anymore as they couldn’t renew the contract with the NY supplier. So, instead, I fell back to my old reliable and ordered a German Riesling Kabinett when we went on our Aug, Nov, and Dec Celebrity cruises. But, when I asked about Jam Jar when we boarded the Reflection, they had it in stock once again, but only if you purchased a bottle for $32. 
 

Well, needless to say, I bought a bottle and it tasted as great as it did 3 years ago! But, our sommelier had pointed out earlier they had a Moscato wine from Chile, which was available by the glass. So I did a blind taste test and Jam Jar won, but not by much. 
 

So to bring this recommendation to a close. If you like a sweet fruity white wine without an acidic after taste and Jam Jar is available, give it a try. If not or you’d rather just order by the glass, try the Moscato wine they currently have it stock. Both are quite tasty and with only 10% alcohol, you can keep your wits about you as they keep refilling your glass! 😂😂

 

OK, I have a new favorite Moscato white wine. Red, our Luminae sommelier, introduced it to us last night and it was definitely a step above Jam Jar! Sorry South Africa. But this Italian Moscato is definitely tastier to my tastebuds with a tinge more “sparkling” than Jam Jar. On top of that it’s only 7% alcohol! 
 

Funny thing is so far I can’t find any Moscato wines listed on the X app in any dining venues. But, obviously, they have them. You just have to ask. 😎
 

 

 

 

[kwokpot]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I guess cruising is definitely coming back in Nassau. This is the first time on our 7 sailings to Nassau since cruising started back up that we have actually seen the pirate ship on the move!! 😎

 

That was working back in December. They have a guy on board with a bullhorn riling up the crowd on board. I could hear and make out every word he was saying on my Deck 10 balcony on the Apex. Conversely I couldn't hear any music coming from the Apex Resort Deck.  

[Ken the cruiser]

As I mentioned we were probably just going to go for a walk around the pier and so we did. And as usual we found something interesting. Among the five ships in port today, one Carnival, two RCI and two Celebrity, the Apex was one of them.

 

So we decided to walk to the front of the ship to see if there was a red flag hanging down from the bow warning little boats to stay clear of the bulbous bow. But as we got closer, I started to remember the front of the bow is basically vertical, so how could they hang the red flag down extending past the bulbous bow?

 

 

Answer, they don’t have to because the Edge class ships don’t have a traditional bulbous bow. They have what’s known as a parabolic ultra bow. If you’re interested in learning more about this new design, I could only find this one article published back in 2018 regarding the new design found on the Edge class ships.

 

https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Insights/Celebrity-and-the-next-wave-of-hull-design

 

 

Edited February 13, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

5 hours ago, jelayne said:

If I recall correctly last weeks count was 1180.

 

The most noticeable difference from last week is there are more passengers in the 20s to early 30 range.  Not sure how to describe the attire, language we saw in a couple of bars last night.

My DW suggested the larger younger crowd might be because of Valentines Day. 

[Ken the cruiser]

Well it’s 5 pm here in the Bahamas and look who’s coming to visit. Never thought Nassau was an overnight port on a Celebrity itinerary. Learn something new every day! I guess they want their passengers to have a fun place to watch the Super Bowl! 😂😂

 

Edited February 13, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

And we’re off!! Next stop is Falmouth, Jamaica day after tomorrow!! 😎

 

 

Edited February 13, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[juanita1767]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Well it’s 5 pm here in the Bahamas and look who’s coming to visit. Never thought Nassau was an overnight port on a Celebrity itinerary. Learn something new every day! I guess they want their passengers to have a fun place to watch the Super Bowl! 😂😂

 

Was in port for a medical emergency.

[Ken the cruiser]

9 minutes ago, juanita1767 said:

Was in port for a medical emergency.

That explains it. If you know where was the Silhouette supposed to be heading?