Feb 5-19 East-West Caribbean on the Reflection

[Ken the cruiser]

12 minutes ago, kirtihk said:

Are mask required now?  I got an email from the Regent cruise line dropping it starting March 1 and read about Norwegian to do the same.  My 10-day Celebrity cruise start on February 25; so, I wonder how the potential mask drop might work.  Will it be for those embarking on March 1 no mask and for any prior March 1 start day still no drop to mask even on March 1, or like in my cruise Feb 25-28 masks are required, and then on March 1 they would announce on the ship that now you may remove it?  That would be so funny!

They are still required indoors on the Celebrity cruise we’re currently on and as far as I know Celebrity has not issued an official date yet when masks will no longer be required indoors on their cruise ships. But, stay tuned. Who knows what lurks around the corner! 😷
 

Will I be required to wear a mask onboard?

As a result of increased COVID-19 cases associated with the Omicron variant, masks will be required for all guests (regardless of vaccination status,) at all times indoors except while eating or drinking.  Note that this policy is currently in effect and will be re-evaluated on a continuous basis.
 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/healthy-at-sea/faqs

Edited February 9, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Ken, any chance you could get a copy of the Lawn Club Grill (LUNCH) menu? 

 

THANKS  🙂

 

Tom

[Ken the cruiser]

11 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

Ken, any chance you could get a copy of the Lawn Club Grill (LUNCH) menu? 

 

THANKS  🙂

 

Tom

I just found it on my X app under Dining. You should be able to pull up the Feb 5-12 cruise on your X app and see the full menu. If you need help getting to this cruise, let me know and I’ll post how to do it.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Just now, Ken the cruiser said:

I just found it on my X app under Dining. You should be able to pull up the Feb 5-12 cruise on your X app and see the full menu. If you need help getting to this cruise, let me know and I’ll post how to do it.

 

Thanks Ken - you are correct, it's there on the app. 🙂

 

Tom

[Ken the cruiser]

I definitely don’t want to side track my thread, but I though this was worth noting as we’ve cruised on Crystal a few times and we’re always super wowed every time!! 
 

https://www.cruisehive.com/the-end-of-crystal-cruises-as-company-headquarters-shuts-down/65539

[Ken the cruiser]

And off we go heading towards Nassau with an arrival time of day after tomorrow around 12:30 pm.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

3 hours ago, WestLakeGirl said:

I don’t think that’s correct. I have booked Royal cruises while being on Celebrity, and vice versa. 

 

21 hours ago, PaulS said:

Would you, or someone else, know if Silverseas cruises can be booked onboard at the  future cruise office?

Thanks

OK, I have been to the mountain and here’s what I found out from the Future Cruise rep I talked with.

 

1. No, they cannot book Silversea cruises (yet) at this time.

 

2. Yes, they can book your RCI cruise and you would get the same perks you currently get for booking a Celebrity cruise onboard. But they also said you would be smart to have most of the information about the specific cruise when you arrive as they don’t have full search access to all of the available RCI cruises to help you find the ideal one like they can when searching the Celebrity cruise database.

 

Now, here’s where it gets a little interesting if you booked your current Celebrity cruise with a Celebrity Vacation Planner. The FC rep said the RCI booking would have your CVP’s name on it and he/she would be responsible for managing your RCI booking unless you transferred it to a Travel Agent within the allotted 60 day grace period.

 

I then asked her, so Celebrity would then get full credit and any associated commission $$$ and the responsible CVP would get the same perks he/she would normally get for managing a Celebrity booking all the way to embarkation day? She said yes.
 

Funny thing about that is our CVP told us awhile back they couldn’t book a RCI cruise for us, but they can manage one booked onboard a Celebrity cruise? Anyway, next time I talk with our CVP, I’ll have to ask her if she has ever managed any RCI bookings created in this manner and what perks did she get?

 

I love it when I learn new things about cruising!! 😁

 

[PaulS]

Ken,

Thank you so much for taking the time to get this information.

[larry_s_taco]

3 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

According to the notice I posted on page 2, post 37, they are allowed to roam independently unless you have an unvaccinated child. If that’s the case, then they can only take Celebrity excursions if they want to leave the ship.

Thanks Ken.

[Ken the cruiser]

For those still wondering why aft-facing balconies are so cool, here’s one reason. If you look close, there is a large bird following the ship on the left side of the picture and a cruise ship off in the distance, probably Symphony of the Seas just leave St Thomas according to Cruise Mapper. 😎

 

Edited February 9, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[lola2013]

3 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

For those still wondering why aft-facing balconies are so cool, here’s one reason. If you look close, there is a large bird following the ship on the left side of the picture and a cruise ship off in the distance, probably Symphony of the Seas according to Cruise Mapper. 😎

 

we

My favorite view...I had a SV on Reflection week before last...nothing like it!

If that is Symphony of the Seas behind you, please wave to my TA who is sailing on that ship with her son this week.  She'll be the blonde lady having the time of her life 😎

[cruisestitch]

3 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

They are still required indoors on the Celebrity cruise we’re currently on and as far as I know Celebrity has not issued an official date yet when masks will no longer be required indoors on their cruise ships. But, stay tuned. Who knows what lurks around the corner! 😷
 

Will I be required to wear a mask onboard?

As a result of increased COVID-19 cases associated with the Omicron variant, masks will be required for all guests (regardless of vaccination status,) at all times indoors except while eating or drinking.  Note that this policy is currently in effect and will be re-evaluated on a continuous basis.
 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/healthy-at-sea/faqs

*******
New mask policy as of February 12. The website has been updated to this

[garyl62]

I'm sure plenty of people will have thoughts about this, maybe those that want to discuss it should start (or look for), a new thread rather than take this one off topic.  @cruisestitch don't take that as a comment toward you, I think sharing this info was good based on some of the previous comments, but it could get ugly and very busy as more people reply.

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, garyl62 said:

I'm sure plenty of people will have thoughts about this, maybe those that want to discuss it should start (or look for), a new thread rather than take this one off topic.  @cruisestitch don't take that as a comment toward you, I think sharing this info was good based on some of the previous comments, but it could get ugly and very busy as more people reply.

Thanks Gary!! 😎

[Ken the cruiser]

Tonight after another tasty dinner in Luminae, with only 10 people in the back section and 25 in the front section when we left at 7:15, we made the last half of The Company Men show in the main theater followed by a very funny Yes or No Game Show.
 

Later on we’re going to go watch the late night comedy show in Celebrity Central. The comedian is Bassile who was truly super funny on the fist night!!

 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Feb 10 Daily Planner

 

 

 

 

[MamaFej]

Shhhhhhhh! Let's not tell those who don't already know how awesome aft-facing balcony cabins are. They're hard enough to snag, already.

😉😉 😉😉 

[DaKahuna]

2 minutes ago, MamaFej said:

Shhhhhhhh! Let's not tell those who don't already know how awesome aft-facing balcony cabins are. They're hard enough to snag, already.

😉😉 😉😉 

Yes, let’s not.  Our next two sailings, Silhouette in March, and Solstice in November, are in aft corner S1’s.  Our last sailing, a B2B on Reflection, had us in an aft corner S1.  One would get the impression we have a room preference. 

[jelayne]

10 minutes ago, MamaFej said:

Shhhhhhhh! Let's not tell those who don't already know how awesome aft-facing balcony cabins are. They're hard enough to snag, already.

😉😉 😉😉 

I would tell you😘. We are  moving from a CS to a act facing S1 in 2 days & going  maskless,👏 but just hoping for the time  when crew can actually set foot on land.  They would  love to ditch the masks but being able to off the ship for a couple of hours would be worth a lot to them.

[Ken the cruiser]

When we first discovered how wonderful aft-facing cabins were, we were on the HAL Veendam going through the Panama Canal “old locks” back in 2017, and my DW said the same thing. Shhhhhhh! 😂😂

 

So I kept quiet and we started booking them on a variety of Oceania R class ships, three times on HAL, twice on Princess and five times on Celebrity cruises. But, they’re really not a “secret”, you just have to book them EARLY, like when the cruise first gets posted, sometimes 2 years in advance. Unfortunately, most people don’t have the luxury of planning that far ahead like some of us. Now, the longer you wait to book a cruise, your chances of booking an aft-facing cabin starts to diminish rather quickly unless you get lucky when the TAs release the cabins they couldn’t sell back to the cruise lines a few months prior to the applicable sail dates.
 

But, at the same time, there are some downfalls with booking an aft-facing cabin. First, they are a long way from the elevators and stairs. Next, sometimes because of their location it takes longer for the hot water to get to your cabin than if you were in a cabin more centrally located. Third, many aft-facing cabins don’t have fully covered balconies like most of the port and starboard side cabins do. So, there are downfalls to them as well.

 

But, anyway, we like them, so I thought I’d pass along some of our knowledge if you want to improve your chances of booking one. 😎

[DaKahuna]

My only disappointment is that they do not have the aft facing Sky Suites on the M-Class ships.  Our first M-class sailing will be on Millennium in 2023 for a East-to-West Panama Canal transit.  Would love to be in an aft facing cabin on the cruise. 

[Ken the cruiser]

1 minute ago, DaKahuna said:

My only disappointment is that they do not have the aft facing Sky Suites on the M-Class ships.  Our first M-class sailing will be on Millennium in 2023 for a East-to-West Panama Canal transit.  Would love to be in an aft facing cabin on the cruise. 

We were lucky enough to get one of the Summit aft-facing Aqua cabins on our upcoming August B2B when the cruises first came out. But we really lucked out this past December when we were able to book one of those on the Constellation. They had been sold out forever. But in early November, probably when someone cancelled because of C19 worries, one suddenly appeared when I was doing my weekly mock bookings looking for price reductions. I immediately put it on hold and called our CVP to make the “same category” switch.
 

As a side note, we were really wowed by the food and service in Blu, so Aqua is now our new favorite category. They also have walk-in showers which is also a huge plus for us! 😎

[MamaFej]

29 minutes ago, jelayne said:

I would tell you😘. We are  moving from a CS to a act facing S1 in 2 days & going  maskless,👏 but just hoping for the time  when crew can actually set foot on land.  They would  love to ditch the masks but being able to off the ship for a couple of hours would be worth a lot to them.

Well, yeah! You did tell me. That's why we booked one (on Princess) for our late September 2021 Alaska cruise. It was awesome, especially in Glacier Bay.

We have a back to back on Azamara booked in one this spring, a Celebrity one in September in New England/ Eastern Canada, and another on X for Fiji/Tonga in 2023. 

7 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

But, at the same time, there are some downfalls with booking an aft-facing cabin. First, they are a long way from the elevators and stairs. Next, sometimes because of their location it takes longer for the hot water to get to your cabin than if you were in a cabin more centrally located. Third, many aft-facing cabins don’t have fully covered balconies like most of the port and starboard side cabins do. So, there are downfalls to them as well.😎

You're right, Ken. They're awful!

Don't book them, folks!

🤪

[Ken the cruiser]

Well, that was a moment in time we don’t want to experience again any time soon. We got to Celebrity Central 15 minutes early and it was already standing room only. Then we stood against the wall in the entrance hall so we could at least see the stage. 
 

Then after another 30 people squeezed passed us, my DW said she didn’t feel safe and suggested we go sit outside to see if they decide to move it to the main theater. During the next 10 minutes while we sat outside looking for the CD or another officer to ask if they could move the show to the main theater, another 30-40 people with drinks in hand walked passed us and entered the theater until no one could fit into the entrance hallway and they started coming back out telling another 20-30 folks heading in with drinks in hand there was no more room.
 

BTW the CD Steve was no where to be found until he came in from some mysterious side door, introduced Bassile and then disappeared. I guess by way of the same way he mysteriously appeared. 
 

We walked over to the main theater to see if there was some other function going on, but there wasn’t. The crew were the only ones in there cleaning up after the 9 pm show. Fun times! Not!!

 

Edited February 10, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[lola2013]

CD Steve was not my favorite a few weeks ago.  I got the impression he made sure to be seen when he needed to be seen and spent the rest of his time hiding!

We had Sue Dening on Reflection five years ago...and Luigi DelMar on Edge in September.  They were outstanding...seen everywhere and very involved in activities.