Reflection LIVE 2/3/24-2/11/24: 8 Crazy Nights of ABC Islands

[Sharkette76]

So sorry for your loss, Charla. Hope this cruise brightens your spirits. If you're up for a little shopping in Curacao, there's a small boutique called "Meow". They have the most unique women's clothes ever - and reasonably priced. Walking distance from the port - easy to find - they have a couple of locations (I hit them both!). Enjoy your trip!

[Beachlover1989]

So sorry for your loss. Glad you didn’t do this during Dry January - would

not be nearly as fun a review to read! 
 

I’m looking forward to hearing your non suite experience-we’ve been tempted but haven’t pulled the trigger yet. You might be our deciding factor! We would have to have the premium beverage package because the World Class Bar is our favorite!

 

Hope GenZ has fun with Nana!

[Gaynors]

So sorry for your loss.

 

Looking forward to following along as I'm doing the same cruise with DD just a few weeks after you.  We can't wait!  Take good care of her for us 😊

[mac_tlc]

8 hours ago, GenerationX said:

It is half past midnight in America’s central time zone which means my dry January is officially over!!!!

 

I have tomorrow off work for a full day of spa  treatments, so I decided to stay up late tonight to finish up some work projects and do my packing before Jeremy and his suitcases get in the way.  

 

Before I hit the hay it seems like the perfect time to enjoy my first glass of wine in a month…a celebration worthy of opening a bottle out of our special occasion wine fridge I think.  Jeremy and I will drink the rest tomorrow night to really kick off vacation.

 

While I’m sipping, a bit about our plans for the cruise…

 

Since we’re on the subject let’s talk first about beverage package.  Since we aren’t in retreat where the premium package is included, it made more financial sense to book at the no perks rate and then wait and see if Celebrity did a sale on wifi and beverage package.   I don’t know if it’s true pattern or coincidence but I’ve noticed a few times now that not long after the “countdown clock” of cruise rate offers gets to zero, a flash sale on onboard amenities starts.

 

This proved true a few days ago as we were able to book our wifi at 40% off and drink package at 30% off.  

 

Our ports for this cruise are Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao.  I did these ports during a solo cruise a couple of years ago but this will be Jeremy’s first time.  One of the great things about an ABC islands itinerary is that the ship tends to have pretty long days in port so you get lots of time to experience the islands.  One bummer of having booked so close to sailing on a sold out ship is that a lot of the better Celebrity excursions were already booked up.  But since we didn’t get as much OBC to spend with our booking as we have in the past, booking excursions through Celebrity wasn’t as critical.

 

In Aruba, our plan is to stay onboard till after lunch to take advantage of a quieter ship, then go into port and do some shopping (me) and gambling (Jeremy) then since we have a late all aboard, we’ll have dinner at a beach restaurant that a friend of mine who’s a regular Aruba vacationer recommended.

 

In Bonaire, we’ve booked an independent snorkeling excursion and lunch cruise with a company that I saw on social media that has great reviews.

 

For Curacao, we’re going to go into port and walk around in the morning but then Jeremy is going to have to spend a good chunk of the day virtually attending a manager training for work.  While he’s doing that, I took the last spot left on an excursion to visit Hato caves and Mambo Beach.

 

We’ll be dining at all of the specialty restaurants but are also looking forward to seeing first hand how the main dining room experience is these days.  

 

Well I think it’s time for me to get some sleep so I’m not snoring during my massage tomorrow morning.  One more day till wheels up for MIA!
 

We have an overnight in Aruba on Beyond next month. Interested in your dining experience. It will be our first time for Aruba and Curacao. 

 

mac_tlc

Edited February 1 by mac_tlc

[GenerationX]

3 hours ago, Stem to Stern said:

8 Crazy Nights, huh?!?  Hmmmm.🤔 

This should be even more interesting than I was expecting.

Ahhhh.  Solstice-class vessels.  That sweet spot for so many.

We loved sailing on Reflection around the Western Med a few years ago.

Among other things I will be reading for a refresher on World Class cocktail recommendations.

ABC's is one of our fave itineraries with many chillaxing sea days and long port days.

Looking forward to your Hato Caves report since we do this next time on Curacao.

Great timing on your part setting sail a few days post-dry January.  Hee hee hee.😆

We've also moved on to the reality of booking cruise-only and chasing amenity flash sales.🙄

Maybe I will chase a MoveUp offer or two depending on my Retreat per person per night ceiling.

Have a GREAT🚢 vacation!!!🤩

Thank you!!!! Oh yes I was VERY careful not to let this cruise overlap dry January.  I consider myself a pretty dedicated person but I wasn’t even about to test my resolve against the martini bar! 😂

 

Yeah, since they pulled the gratuities and OBC out of it, the “all inclusive” pricing seems like it’s rarely much of a deal these days.  Worst case if a flash sale had never come along, I would’ve booked our wifi and beverage right before the 48 hour cutoff with the cruise planner 20% pre cruise discount (or if that went away, my Elite Plus discount) and it wouldn't have been that much more than the all inclusive price.  I was willing to risk that small amount more for the potential to save much more in a flash sale.

 

I will be sure to give thorough reports on World Class Bar cocktails and Hato cave!

[boxkite]

So sorry for you and your family's loss!

 

Will be following along as we will be on Beyond for the same ABC island cruise in late April.

 

We love Aruba, "one happy island".

[maggie.1008]

Can’t wait to hear all about your cruise. Bye bye dry January 🥂

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I'll be interested to hear about your non-suite experience and the MDR.  I've decided that I'm not paying the current suite prices.  And I'm certainly not paying the current solo prices!

[GenerationX]

Well, that’s it, it’s official. Winter 2024 is the absolute, complete, WORST.  

 

As I was finishing my (delicious) pre-spa breakfast at the Four Seasons this morning, I got a text message.  Since we booked this trip so last minute, our usual house sitter who we LOVE wasn’t available.  So we went with someone we know but haven’t used before but had glowing references from a couple of our friends.  Unfortunately he was texting to cancel on us due to a serious illness in the family.

 

Especially given the December we had, we have total sympathy for what he and his family are going through.  

 

But as you can imagine, the following half hour of texts and phone calls with Jeremy was not our finest half hour of keep calm and carry on.  

 

To give some context, we have 4 dogs and 4 cats.  Boarding them for 10 days would cost more than the cruise and put some of them through horrific stress (they’re rescues and have residual kennel trauma).  We also have hens, rabbits, parakeets and a bearded dragon all of whom require daily care by someone who is experienced with handling them.  In other words, animal care at our house is a full time job.

 

Because we live in a rural area, we also aren’t comfortable leaving our house unattended for days at a time.

 

In other words, finding someone to just stop by a couple of times a day isn’t really an option.  Nor is hiring a complete stranger on 24 hours notice to live in our home with our babies for a week.

 

After racking our brains on who among our friends and family might be able, skilled enough and willing to drop everything tomorrow and run our farm for a week and coming up with blanks, I said the words I’ve always feared having to say “I guess we’ll have to cancel the cruise.”

 

I started to pull up our annual travel insurance policy on my phone and scan through it but I was already pretty sure that “house sitter fell through” is not a covered reason for cancellation.

 

Then Jeremy said absolutely not, that I’ve been in worse shape and need this time away more than he does and that he is staying home to take care of things and I am to go to the ocean and start healing my heart and mind…I really wish it wasn’t too late to go back and edit the part of my intro post where I called this Incredible man a tyrant. 😭

 

Of course then I started panicking about whether with Celebrity’s crazy recent solo pricing scheme, I’m going to end up getting charged like 2K more for the cruise when I show up Saturday without Jeremy.  But I did a dummy booking for our cruise (BTW apparently there’s a couple of inside staterooms and a sky suite that have opened up if anyone in the FLL area wants to come sail with me last minute!) and it looks like the solo pricing for our cruise does NOT have the over 200% charge.  So we’re not saving any money by him not being there.

 

I’m just finishing up at the spa then I’m going to go take Jeremy out for a nice big steak and a big glass of good bourbon to thank him for being the most amazing husband in the world.

 

If anyone has suggestions on what to buy in the ABC islands for a man who sacrificed his vacation for his wife, please share!

 

I just can’t believe this, this cruise is going to be so different from everything I planned. I love a good solo cruise, but I’m struggling a bit to handle getting one by surprise.

 

[Jim_Iain]

14 hours ago, GenerationX said:

It is half past midnight in America’s central time zone which means my dry January is officially over!!!!

 

Looking forward to another chapter in the Incredible Travel Life of Charla and Jeremy.

Did you pop the Cork at 12:01?     

[Beachlover1989]

I feel bad for Jeremy, but what an incredible husband to do this for you!!! Keep calm and cruise on...

[dani negreanu]

26 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

Well, that’s it, it’s official. Winter 2024 is the absolute, complete, WORST. 

 

So sorry for your loss, and double sorry for the last minute change of plans.

 

Try to make limoncello 😘

[IWillGoAnywhere26]

Hi, Charla! I'm so sorry for your family's loss and of, course, your continued problems preventing Jeremy from cruising with you.  I have followed several of your trips a few months back, but recently have taken a break from my obsession with Cruise Critic. I checked back 2 days ago since my husband and I are booked on a B2B2B Reflection cruise starting Feb 3. I was so excited to see that you would be sailing on the first leg.  I will definitely introduce myself and say hello.

 

You will love Hato Caves.  We did it on our last cruise and I actually considered doing it again.  Snorkeling in Bonaire is the best, we've done it with Woodwind as someone else mentioned.

[Lena11033]

I'm so sorry Jeremy doesn't get to go. I completely get it, being from the UK I have no family here and my husband's family are about 400km away and we have pets.

We did have rabbits but the last passed away this past weekend leaving us with 4 dogs and it's a fortune (not that I would board them one is a rescue and another hates kennels). So Mike always stays home while I travel.

[maggieq]

7 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

We have an overnight in Aruba on Beyond next month. Interested in your dining experience. It will be our first time for Aruba and Curacao. 

 

mac_tlc

@mac_tlc  If you have an overnight in Aruba, any interest in trying one of their terrific restaurants?

[GenerationX]

40 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Looking forward to another chapter in the Incredible Travel Life of Charla and Jeremy.

Did you pop the Cork at 12:01?     

 

I actually opened the bottle about 11:45 so that it could breathe a bit and then paced around complaining to Jeremy how bad it stinks that we don’t live in Italy because dry January had already been over in Rome for hours!

[maggieq]

@GenerationX   How disappointing and stressful for you.  However, Jeremy #BESTHUSBANDEVER.    

[ambrtonj]

Charla, I am so sorry for you loss and current lack of care for animals. I will be on the this cruise and I know first hand how our animals affect your vacation plans.

 

While we only have two dogs, they are very important to us and while I like to think I'm in charge, I am no way in charge. The 16 year old beagle believes that he should be fed at 3:00 AM and you can guess how this ends.

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

16 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

 

I actually opened the bottle about 11:45 so that it could breathe a bit and then paced around complaining to Jeremy how bad it stinks that we don’t live in Italy because dry January had already been over in Rome for hours!

LOL ---- That must have been a fun evening.   You are the only one I knew that survive the full Dry January many gave in at the half way point.

[mac_tlc]

1 hour ago, maggieq said:

@mac_tlc  If you have an overnight in Aruba, any interest in trying one of their terrific restaurants?

We might be. Haven't finalized any plans yet. My wife has difficulty walking any distance so we usually bring a wheelchair. That can make things a challenge. Any suggestions would be appreciated. 

 

 

mac_tlc

[maggieq]

29 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

We might be. Haven't finalized any plans yet. My wife has difficulty walking any distance so we usually bring a wheelchair. That can make things a challenge. Any suggestions would be appreciated. 

 

 

mac_tlc

If you are looking for a very casual over the water experience, I recommend Bugaloe’s  palm beach. 
 

steak/seafood - madame Janette - seafood/steak

 

daniels - steak - palm beach 

 

ruinas  Del Mar - Hyatt - seafood/steak - outside dining is terrific 

 

oak - steak/seafood - need to plan far out - very small dining room 

 

Never been but we have friends that recommend (expensive) 2 fools and a bull. 

 

all of these have good websites to review. Also, most can be reserved using open table.  
 

aruba is our first choice in land vacations.   
 

There are quite a lot of van taxis that would have room for a wheel chair 

Edited February 2 by maggieq

[Stem to Stern]

Oh my heavens dear Charla.  How devastating after all your family has been through.  I have been meaning to inquire about the extent of your “hobby” farm.  Having grown up on a farm (livelihood vs hobby) my initial reaction to your predicament was to offer to fly to Missouri to save the day.  But once I read the words rabbits, parakeets, and bearded dragon, my mind quickly backpedaled to the reality of the extent of my capabilities.😩

Then, I thought poor, sweet Jeremy!  Could I assist in some lesser way by taking his place on board Reflection this coming week?!?🤪

 

Then, once again, I retracted back to reality.  There is no replacing this husband with a heart of gold.  He’s a keeper for sure!  Make sure he has his ice cream for breakfast while you are away!  Be sure to consult with that travel insurance company just in case there might some chance of recouping something.🤨

 

And don’t forget to ENJOY the remainder of that luscious bottle of Silver Oak.🍷

Edited February 2 by Stem to Stern

[GenerationX]

8 hours ago, Stem to Stern said:

Oh my heavens dear Charla.  How devastating after all your family has been through.  I have been meaning to inquire about the extent of your “hobby” farm.  Having grown up on a farm (livelihood vs hobby) my initial reaction to your predicament was to offer to fly to Missouri to save the day.  But once I read the words rabbits, parakeets, and bearded dragon, my mind quickly backpedaled to the reality of the extent of my capabilities.😩

Then, I thought poor, sweet Jeremy!  Could I assist in some lesser way by taking his place on board Reflection this coming week?!?🤪

 

Then, once again, I retracted back to reality.  There is no replacing this husband with a heart of gold.  He’s a keeper for sure!  Make sure he has his ice cream for breakfast while you are away!  Be sure to consult with that travel insurance company just in case there might some chance of recouping something.🤨

 

And don’t forget to ENJOY the remainder of that luscious bottle of Silver Oak.🍷

You totally should have booked and came along! That would have been the best live review plot twist ever!

 

You’re right, my guy is 100% irreplaceable. Nobody ruin the surprise, but with all this, I got online last night and upgraded our room for our March resort vacation to the top level suite on the property.  I figured since he’s missing this one, I should treat him to his next vacation really being in style!

[GenerationX]

It’s a still dark and early morning here at STL.  When Jeremy dropped me off at 4am, the airport was already surprisingly busy. 

 

Apparently our flight to MIA is overbooked and as I was waiting to board they were asking for volunteers to take a later flight.  The standby list also had about 20 people on it.  So much for my hope that I might get to fly with extra space with Jeremy’s seat empty. 🤷🏽‍♀️

 

Our first class flight attendant just came through for pre-departure beverage service and several people got bloody Mary’s that looked really good, but I figured it’s a bad idea to go from zero to drinking hard alcohol at 5am in a day.  I’m sticking to water for now but I may indulge in a cocktail with breakfast service later.

 

It looks like great weather to fly (always a toss up in February in Missouri), we’re boarding on time and if all continues to go smoothly  (fingers crossed) we’ll be wheels up in 20 minutes!
 

[CruiseCrew123]

You won’t be solo for long - we will come find you -Jeremy is the best !!! X

Edited February 2 by CruiseCrew123