Live(ish) from Reflection 2/26 - 3/5/2023

[robtulipe]

On 3/5/2023 at 3:11 PM, Stem to Stern said:

Yes, please.  I would love to hear the FLL wrap up.  Also, I forgot to ask you this question while you were still on board.  Who is the Reflection Captain currently?  Can you or your lady or anyone else provide any intel as to how long he is on board for?  I forgot to ask for a friend who is on board next month.  I enjoyed reading your updates and I am so glad you had such a nice time.  Thanks for sharing.  Well done.

Here is the Senior Staff Info sheet left in our cabin for this sailing.

[Purplsmurf]

On 3/4/2023 at 8:46 AM, DCPIV said:

Now, where was I? 

 

Ah, yes! Mexology! 

 

Mexology was at least as much fun this time as it was when we did it about a year ago, and it was pretty close to the same program. Guests pair up at 8 bar stations that are stocked and ready to roll. 

 

 

Carlos runs the show. He's about as personable, funny, patient, and unflappable as anyone you'd ever want to meet. He also did it last year, and we were thrilled to see him again. 

 

 

While Carlos walks you through each drink and provides a recipe, you're free to make your drink your way. You can make it stronger, weaker, sweeter, drier, etc. BIG caution on making it stronger, though. You make a LOT of drinks. By the time it's all said and done, you'll make a classic margarita, jalapeño-rosemary margarita, mango hibiscus monitor, and a pink paloma. On top of that, you're given a rum punch before you even get to your stations, and you finish off with a shooter (because you can't go to Mexico without doing a shot!) You'll muddle, shake, strain, stir, garnish, and all that jazz

 

After the first two drinks you make your own guacamole and then sit down for a heavy snack. At the end, you sit down to a complementary lunch (and they'll make you another drink on the house if you're still so inclined).

 

The staff also are fantastic. The wind was so bad, yesterday, that all the snorkeling excursions were cancelled. Gusts blew shakers off stations. Carlos and the rest of the staff handled it extremely well and with a great deal of poise. My hat is off to them for a job very well done. 

 

This is so great to hear! I had to show this to my daughter, as the four of us are doing it together in a couple of weeks.

[Purplsmurf]

On 3/5/2023 at 2:11 PM, Stem to Stern said:

Yes, please.  I would love to hear the FLL wrap up.  Also, I forgot to ask you this question while you were still on board.  Who is the Reflection Captain currently?  Can you or your lady or anyone else provide any intel as to how long he is on board for?  I forgot to ask for a friend who is on board next month.  I enjoyed reading your updates and I am so glad you had such a nice time.  Thanks for sharing.  Well done.

Captain Matt returns from vacation on March 13. He will join in Nassau

[pd7277]

11 hours ago, DCPIV said:

 

The Casino Bar probably is your best bet for that.  There are the small TVs down at "entertainment court," but they also show movies down there.  I don't know how the conflict works out.

 

Yes, one thing we miss on Reflection is Craft Social.  I honestly didn't think I would be much of a fan of Craft Social, but I did enjoy it on Equinox.

Our last five cruises have been on Equinox.  Not having Craft Social is going to be very disappointing.  There is football to watch too!  Hopefully the Casino on Reflection is not as freezing cold as Equinox.

[DCPIV]

3 hours ago, Purplsmurf said:

This is so great to hear! I had to show this to my daughter, as the four of us are doing it together in a couple of weeks.

 

Tell Carlos we said hi! 

[lizinindy]

On 2/27/2023 at 9:29 PM, Purplsmurf said:

Can you please ask Olympia when she will leave for vacation? She told me that she would be there for our cruise, but seems like her vacation should be coming up soon. Thank you! Enjoy!

Olympia said she was “retiring” for awhile in 9 weeks

[ladylyn915]

On 3/1/2023 at 11:07 AM, DCPIV said:

 

Alright. Winemaker for a Day is fairly simple and pretty fun. You get 5 wine samples and create your own blend. You then get to bottle your blend and take it home. It's at Bahama Barrels, the winery at the Greycliff hotel. 

 

When we did it back in 2018, right after they started, we got to play with 5 single varietals (3 red and 2 white). This time, everything was already a blend, so we were blending blends. That's not quite as fun and interesting, but it's still a good time, and I recommend it. 

 

Another thing different from before is that the winemaker asked everyone if they preferred sweeter or drier wines and tailored the samples accordingly. 

This sounds so interesting to me.  My friends are going to Atlantis, but I'm not much of a gambler.  I would love to do this.  Can you speak more to the logistics.  For example, did you book through Viator?  Did you take  taxi?  If so, what was the fare?  Coming back, did you have any trouble getting a taxi back to the port?  Do they sell wine besides the souvenir  bottle oof wine?  Thanks so much!  I'm excited to do this!

[the_dylaness]

@DCPIV I have a feeling you may not have an answer to this question as I sure wouldn't be checking on the OVC buffet spread if I was able to go to Luminae 😉 but did you happen to check out the OVC options any night?

 

When we sail as a couple we rarely if ever have dinner in the buffet, but when traveling with our kids we do quite often because it's just sometimes easier than a 2 hour sit-down and everyone can find something they like.  I've been reading about the cutbacks and wondered about your recent experience.

 

(We are sailing on Equinox in 16 days which I know is not Reflection but maybe S class OVC is at least similar?)

[DCPIV]

On 3/8/2023 at 6:03 PM, ladylyn915 said:

This sounds so interesting to me.  My friends are going to Atlantis, but I'm not much of a gambler.  I would love to do this.  Can you speak more to the logistics.  For example, did you book through Viator?  Did you take  taxi?  If so, what was the fare?  Coming back, did you have any trouble getting a taxi back to the port?  Do they sell wine besides the souvenir  bottle oof wine?  Thanks so much!  I'm excited to do this!

 

We booked it directly through the hotel: https://graycliff.rezdy.com/211755/wine-blending-at-bahama-barrels

 

It says it's only 1 hour, but it's at least twice that (much of that time waiting for the winemaker to put together your blend). We just hung out chatted, and enjoyed wine! 

 

We just walked from the pier. It's about 15 minutes from the pier entrance and a fairly easy walk. It is uphill on the way there but downhill on the way back. 😉

 

If you do want to take a cab, you certainly can get one at the pier. I would be surprised if you couldn't get one back, even if the hotel has to call one for you.

 

I'm confident they sell their wines there, but i honestly didn't ask. We very much enjoyed a couple of the ones we had in front of us, and some of the folks all but sang songs about one of the sweet ones (the peach one, if I recall correctly).

 

2 hours ago, the_dylaness said:

@DCPIV I have a feeling you may not have an answer to this question as I sure wouldn't be checking on the OVC buffet spread if I was able to go to Luminae 😉 but did you happen to check out the OVC options any night?

 

When we sail as a couple we rarely if ever have dinner in the buffet, but when traveling with our kids we do quite often because it's just sometimes easier than a 2 hour sit-down and everyone can find something they like.  I've been reading about the cutbacks and wondered about your recent experience.

 

(We are sailing on Equinox in 16 days which I know is not Reflection but maybe S class OVC is at least similar?)

 

We were on Equinox last Fall, and the OV is quite similar to Reflection's, the biggest difference being that Equinox has a full bar outside. Equinox is a great ship! Enjoy! 

 

Unfortunately, your feeling is correct. We never looked at either OV at night (except for late night).  We thought about it a couple times but always after we already were downstairs and well into a cocktail. It never came up during conversation with anyone, either, so I'm afraid I cannot offer any more insight than what can be found around this forum. 

 

Lunch was very good! 

[DCPIV]

On 3/8/2023 at 6:03 PM, ladylyn915 said:

This sounds so interesting to me.  My friends are going to Atlantis, but I'm not much of a gambler.  I would love to do this.  Can you speak more to the logistics.  For example, did you book through Viator?  Did you take  taxi?  If so, what was the fare?  Coming back, did you have any trouble getting a taxi back to the port?  Do they sell wine besides the souvenir  bottle oof wine?  Thanks so much!  I'm excited to do this!

 

One other note: they don't sell water at the little bar outside where the class is, but they do at the little ice cream shop just steps away. If course, you also can bring your own from the ship. 

 

That reminds me that the ship did NOT have water available at the gangway when getting off the ship. You had to get it from somewhere else before getting that far. That was new.