Reflection LIVE 6/21-7/1/24: A Perfect Day for a Suite Girlfriends Getaway

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

2 hours ago, luvcruzing said:

I was approached by a pretend Uber driver at the Miami Airport. I said no, thanks. After reading this, I think the safest and easiest way to catch a ride at the airport is to use a cab.  

 

If any ever try that I say I'm ordering it in the app. I don't take rides from people who approach me. If you order the ride in the app, as has been pointed out, there are a lot of safety features as well as the driver's name, photo, make of the car, and license plate.

 

I don't know if it's nationwide, but at least in NYC, if you're female or non-binary, you can select Women+ on Lyft and it prioritizes - but does not guarantee - a female or non-binary driver.

[Lena11033]

1 hour ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

If any ever try that I say I'm ordering it in the app. I don't take rides from people who approach me. If you order the ride in the app, as has been pointed out, there are a lot of safety features as well as the driver's name, photo, make of the car, and license plate.

 

I don't know if it's nationwide, but at least in NYC, if you're female or non-binary, you can select Women+ on Lyft and it prioritizes - but does not guarantee - a female or non-binary driver.

 

I was curious on that, I just opened my lyft app and the first thing that popped up was a notification for Women+

I'm not even in a city, I'm in rural area of Windsor ON.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

15 minutes ago, Lena11033 said:

 

I was curious on that, I just opened my lyft app and the first thing that popped up was a notification for Women+

I'm not even in a city, I'm in rural area of Windsor ON.

 

They said they're gradually rolling it out.

 

They are clear that there is no guarantee, but they will search for female or non-binary drivers first.

[Lena11033]

11 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

They said they're gradually rolling it out.

 

They are clear that there is no guarantee, but they will search for female or non-binary drivers first.

 

I mean its something at least to try and make people be and feel safer

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

4 minutes ago, Lena11033 said:

 

I mean its something at least to try and make people be and feel safer

Yeah. If I'm needing a ride in the wee hours of the morning, it's definitely something I'd try.

[parrothead33]

Woohoo!  Another Charla  cruise review!  I know you and the ladies will have an epic time.  Bon voyage.

[GenerationX]

It’s a GORGEOUS morning to sail away here in Fort Lauderdale!

 

In fact, first words out of Kati’s mouth this morning were “the ocean looks nice to sail on today!”

 

Kati and I are currently in our Uber on our way to port Everglades.  We’re running about 15 minutes behind schedule due to the first service hiccup of the trip.  As we were putting our luggage tags on and got the alert that our pre-scheduled Uber was 5 minutes away,  I called down to the front desk to asked for a bellman to help with bags.  After 20 minutes waiting, there was still no sign of said bellman, so we lugged all our bags down ourselves.  Hopefully that’s the biggest glitch the next 10 days!

 

We had a fantastic group dinner last night at Boatyard.  The ceviche was excellent (we ordered more plantain chips to enjoy it all) so were the grouper piccata and Parmesan crusted cod.  Kati and Liz who aren’t huge seafood people (crazy, right? Oh well, it takes all kinds) really liked their Wagyu bolognese and roasted chicken.  The s’more dessert was great but so rich we could only manage a few bites each.  The key lime creme brûlée, however, was demolished.

 

After dinner we thought about hanging around for ladies night in the restaurant bar (with free house wine and $2 well drinks for ladies) but we wanted to get sleep and be fresh for today.

 

Tesla and Liz have a later embarkation time and are sleeping in a little so they’ll meet us on the ship a little later.  Next post will be from onboard Reflection!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[hcat]

Great Smiles!

Happy Sailaway!

 

BON VOYAGE LADIES!

[DaKahuna]

5 hours ago, GenerationX said:

We had a fantastic group dinner last night at Boatyard. 

 

 We love that restaurant. It's one of the main reasons we choose to stay at the Renaissance. 

 

Bon Voyage. 

 

Edited June 21 by DaKahuna

[lienf]

Watched your sail away today on the PE webcam. Have a great cruise. 

[GenerationX]

Good evening from the Caribbean Sea!

 

My girl group has already had such a great day on Reflection, but while Kati is taking her turn to shower for dinner, let me share a little about embarkation experience and lunch in Luminae.

 

We got to Terminal 25 a little after 10:30 and went through the Retreat entrance and up the elevator to the lounge.  We only had about 15 minutes of sitting with some snacks and finishing our check in before we were invited to board the ship.  First stop was Michael’s Club where I introduced Kati to my favorite retreat beverage: the peaches and bourbon.

 

After giving Kati a tour of the ship while sipping, we met up with Tesla and Liz who ended up being able to board a little earlier than their 11:30 time slot and we all hit the martini bar for a a round before lunch.

 

Tesla and Liz went to the concierge class embarkation welcome lunch and reported that their food and service were both very good.  Apparently some others in a social media group for our sailing had much more disappointing experiences, so perhaps being on the earlier end of the sitting made a difference?

 

I was a little nervous about Luminae lunch on a sold out 3 night cruise on Reflection which has more suites to serve, but there ended up being nothing at all to worry about.  Our service was prompt (we were in and out in an hour with 3 courses served) and attentive.  After kale salad and a warm short rib borscht to start, I had the New York strip and Kati had the Luminae burger. Both were prepared just to the temperature we ordered and my steak came with my requested truffle fries (the side for the Luminae burger) instead of potato wedges.

 

The Luminae sommelier Fermin poured us a Willamette Valley Pinot noir to wash it all down with, then we had double espressos while we split the apple crumble (ok) and chocolate Dulce de leche (yum) desserts.

 

After lunch we met back up with Tesla and Liz at the slammed sunset bar for sailaway where the fabulous Sergia remembered me from my February cruise and welcomed me back.

 

My first impression of the demographic onboard is that it is DEFINITELY different from what you’d see on a 10 night winter southern Caribbean sailing.  Lots of younger people. Lots of matching cruise t-shirts with witty plays on either (a) using the word “ship” in place of a common American expletive or (b) making good use of the beverage package.  Also ample (so far as I’ve seen thus far, well behaved) children.

 

It seems like Celebrity has also tweaked the entertainment atmosphere to meet what was the expected audience.  Lots more louder, bumping, party music being played in venues than I’m used to.  Regular followers know I don’t mind a good party, even in the middle of the day.  But I’m glad I also have my nice big veranda to retreat to for some stimulus down time (full stateroom report to come).

 

Well, it’s about time for me to get ready for our ladies first night dinner at Milano.

 

More to come later from Reflection!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 21 by GenerationX

[Stem to Stern]

[CTSandy]

I’m late to the party, but so excited to follow another Charla adventure!  So fun that it’s a girl’s trip this time.

[mimmy52]

Glad I found the latest Charla review before it got too far along. What fun to have a girlfriend’s cruise. Love the pictures and can’t wait to read more. 

[hcat]

loved seeing the "Map Dress"..

Hope you have fun that fits your style!

[DaKahuna]

@GenerationX  I miss those espresso martini's.   April is a long way away. 

 

[mac_tlc]

12 hours ago, GenerationX said:

my favorite retreat beverage: the peaches and bourbon.

Bravo!

 

I wholeheartedly agree!

 

mac_tlc

[GenerationX]

Good morning from hydrating and docking for our Perfect Day at CoCo Cay. It will likely come as a surprise to no one who’s familiar with my Celebrity Cruises lifestyle that our night last night didn’t end until about 2am.

 

I have about 20 minutes before I have to wake Kati and we need to pull it together for breakfast in Luminae, so while I’ve got the time I’ll fill everyone in on our stateroom and the rest of our day yesterday.

 

Cruise #1 is in sky suite 2139 on deck 12 about midship.  I’d forgotten what the non refurbished sky suites look like and the decor is definitely a little dated, but the room is very clean and everything seems to be in good condition.  The bathroom definitely feels much smaller than an E class sky suite, but the balcony feels much bigger.

 

Speaking of which, to report on Balcony Furniture-gate, our veranda has a full size table and chairs and one of the new style loungers but with no footstool.  I think we’ll make do without it though. My only real complaint about the balcony is that it seems to be a wifi dead zone, so I won’t be able to handle any work emergencies with the sea breezes in my hair.  Relatedly, I’ve noticed that while the wifi this cruise seems speedy (I was able to stream some Netflix and get my Bridgerton fix in bed this morning), it kicks you off after a few minutes if you aren’t actively using it.

 

We were happy to find our luggage waiting for us when we came back to the room after lunch and Liz and Tesla (who were still waiting for bags) came up to hang out in our living room while Kati and I unpacked.  While we were waiting, a very nice stateroom attendant named Kommang came by to introduce himself.  Seeing our room filled with women he said “oh oh! Here’s the party!” 

 

He asked  if we needed anything and we requested ice for our ice bucket so that we could fill our Stanley tumblers (hey, this ain’t no 20 something girls cruise, we are of an age where constant hydration is a necessity of endocrine survival) and he came back with it in a flash.

 

He mentioned that sadly he may not be our attendant for the full cruise as he was briefly promoted to fill in for another crew member who would be coming back on duty sometime today.  Such a bummer, the guy was so nice. I promised him I’d mention in my post-cruise survey that I think he deserves a permanent promotion.

 

Shortly after Kommang left, our butler Gene stopped by.  (WOOHOO, sky suites have butlers again!!!!). He asked about any special requests for our mini fridge or afternoon canapés and reminded us of tea service in the retreat lounge every afternoon and the butler escort and reserved seating in the theater tonight for chic night.

 

After unpacking and hitting sail away, we all went down to the casino where we each found a machine we liked and put in $60 and agreed we’d all play until either it was gone or until it was time to get ready for dinner, whichever came first.  We all ended up skulking off to shower and dress empty handed.

 

I’m hoping that by the end of this cruise, my friends will love Celebrity as much as I do and that first night dinner in Murano REALLY helped me towards that goal!  I discovered a perk of sailing with 4 people: between all the orders you end up getting to try pretty much everything on the menu.

 

We each had 2 appetizer courses, an entree and a cheese course (where for the first time since Covid I saw the cart service back vs having it delivered plated).  We all agreed rock star dishes were the mushroom risotto, scallop Wellington, lobster bisque, lamb and of course the Murano lobster.  My friends were so impressed with the food and service, but also so full that no one had room for dessert.  Oh well, there’s 2 more cruises to get in some gran marnier soufflé.

 

After dinner we had another round of espresso martinis then headed up to the extremely lit full moon dance party followed by the equally jumpin late night in the sky lounge.  I assume because there are so many kids onboard, security was hardcore about the curfew to the point of having the entrance roped off and scanning seapass cards to get in the lounge. I think that’s a first for me in all my cruises!

 

Ok, I’m gonna go get my cabin mate up so I can introduce her to the delights of starting the day with coffee, mimosas and almond croissants.

 

I’ll check back in after Coco Cay day #1.  Have a great Saturday FB!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Stem to Stern]

Happy Saturday, Charla!!  Can you dispel any notion that booking a cabin directly under the pool deck is asking for unwanted noise?  I am preparing for a future booking under the Oceanview Cafe that sadly was the last remaining Sky Suite at the time of booking.  But the price was palatable and I’m down with the shady breezes on the overhung verandah.  
Oh, and great news about the furnishings out there.👍

 

A quick browse of social media this morning indicates Captain Kirk was mingling with the party revelers last night including a few of them dressed up like pirates!  Did they loose track of the actually dates for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan cruises?😂

 

Also, quick question:  Is “cruise nails” a thing now?  Or is this just a 3-night weekend getaway thing?  Just curious because I do not ever recall such a brigade of proud passengers showing off their pre-cruise manicures on social media.

 

Appreciate you indulging us with your usual mouth-watering specialty restaurant food porn.  Well played attempt to win the girls’ future cruising plans over with a visit to Murano.  Yum!!😋

Enjoy your day!😎

[asnaleah]

So glad to see the cheese presentation! 

[hcat]

1 hour ago, asnaleah said:

So glad to see the cheese presentation! 

it looks awesome.. we like it as an early course with wine....guess order does not really matter.. 

 

Can't wait to hear about CoCo Cay!

[GenerationX]

Oops forgot to share stateroom (featuring review guest stars) pics!

 

Kati is suggesting that I don my bikini and a shower cap and make an instructional video about how all the various knobs and levers work to operate our shower/bath so she can post it on YouTube…I would NEVER hear the end of that from Jeremy.  
 

But if any future reflection sky suite cruisers are actually interested in that info, I’m happy to do a photo (sans me in bikini) instructional post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mchell810]

8 hours ago, GenerationX said:

Kati is suggesting that I don my bikini and a shower cap and make an instructional video about how all the various knobs and levers work to operate our shower/bath so she can post it on YouTube…I would NEVER hear the end of that from Jeremy.  

 

I'm guessing this would be your last solo trip if that video were made & posted on YouTube. 😜

[jimbri]

Looking forward to your review.  Have a great time!

[LMHSRN]

20 hours ago, GenerationX said:

Oops forgot to share stateroom (featuring review guest stars) pics!

 

Kati is suggesting that I don my bikini and a shower cap and make an instructional video about how all the various knobs and levers work to operate our shower/bath so she can post it on YouTube…I would NEVER hear the end of that from Jeremy.  
 

But if any future reflection sky suite cruisers are actually interested in that info, I’m happy to do a photo (sans me in bikini) instructional post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What cabin number were you in for these pics?