groryjm

technically Italy does not require testing for upto date fully vaxed. it is just Celebritys choice. To be honest from the point of protecting the crew I think it might stay a little longer

As testing is 2 days before we are testing at our local pharmacy before we fly. we didn't want to fly out too early and risk testing +ve in civi as it is only a 2 1/2 hr flight for us.

In a little under 94 hours we hope to be flying to Fiumicino Airport with the aim to board Celebrity Reflection the next morning in Civitavecchia. In this post pandemic age of testing and flight cancellations nothing is ever quite sure and I won’t say for certain we are going on a cruise until we are actually sitting in Michaels Club drink in hand. To give you a bit of background we have had 9 cruises cancelled in the pandemic and the three we managed last year were on a nearly empty Silhouette at 50% capacity. We cruised in May again on Silhouette but at nearer to 90% capacity. So the last four cruises we have taken have been in suites on a Revolutionised ship and from Southampton which is a mere 45 minutes’ drive from our home. In fact the last for cruise we took pre pandemic were also out of Southampton and also mostly on Silhouette. We haven’t actually flown to a cruise since 2016 and it is 7 years since our last time on board Reflection. Silly has become a close and familiar friend and with four cruises on her since her uplift this cruise is going to feel quite strange, especially without the wonderful Retreat sundeck. I stated earlier that we had had 9 cruises cancelled which if I am being strictly honest that is not quite true. In March 2020 I paid the balance for a cruise we had booked in July 2020 to St Petersburg. This cruise was a bucket list cruise and for my Gastrognome myself and my adult daughter. Being a 14 day cruise and with three in one cabin we had opted for a royal suite so as you can imagine not a cheap cruise. As the pandemic took hold the inevitable happened and this was our first of many cancellations. On the plus side however I took the FCC and with the offered 1.25% we were up £5k on the deal and as it has turned out a far better rate of interest than I would ever get leaving the money in our savings account 😎. Now we used up most of our FCCs on 2 cruises last summer and one in May this year. I paid separately for one of the cruises last year as it was a 30th anniversary present for my Gastrognome. I doubt I’ll top 7 days in a PH over a card and a bunch of flowers! Last year we realised we still had over £5k in FCCs to spend before the end of 2022 and with a cruise on Cunard booked for October that only left the summer to spend it. We found an Itinerary we liked out of Venice on Infinity and even if we booked the last available Royal suite we would not quite use all our FCCs. What else could I do but book that amazing back of the ship Penthouse. Then as the world changed first Venice was replaced with Ravenna and then to top it all our 10th cruise was cancelled and Infinity got sent to the Caribbean 🙄. Quite a tale of woe it might seem but a really a first world problem. So we booked this cruise on the Med aboard Reflection to fill the FCCs. Everything looked good and then the reason for choosing this cruise changed as we all discovered that the Grand bazaar and spice markets in Istanbul would be closed because of a religious festival during our overnight stop. ho hum said Pooh. Ok we could still enjoy the cruise but it was getting a little frustrating. Then last week our BA business class flights got cancelled! Another worrying couple of days and we eventually got a alternative flight sorted for the evening before sailing. We had hoped to spent the afternoon before sailing relaxing in a nice hotel in Civi but instead we now find we are spending the night before in an airport Hilton as we don’t arrive in FCO until nearly midnight. While checking our seats for our flights Monday afternoon, we had the front row on our original booking but can now only get to row 5, I noticed the wording “No checked-in bag - Your baggage allowance is different on your other flights”. Our return flight showed 2 x 32kg bags for each of us so yet more panic…. Are we destined to get to this cruise! So after two days of phoning I now have confirmation (in writing) that although it appeared the outward flights were rebooked without cabin baggage it has been corrected and we now have our allowance back…… I need a drink! Those of you who have followed my “live from’s“ before may remember that I have a passion for cocktails and like to do a countdown to our cruises. Rather like getting in training for a big event. So with 5 nights before we cruise I will make us a Division Bell. Alexandra at the World Class Bar introduced me to a Paper Plane last year and it soon became a favourite. This is similar and now my new fav, created in 2009 by Phil Ward at Mayahuel, New York City. 40ml Mezcal, 30ml Aperol, 20 Maraschino and 30ml lime. Hope to be on board in 111 hours 🍸🍹🍷🍺🥂🧉🥃🍾😎

When they introduced the revolution, upper suites got to keep the robes which could be embroidered with your initials. Apparently most guests left them on board as they were to big and heavy to pack and the embroidery was a problem as it did not survive washing. Early on after the pandemic they replaced the robes as a gift with PJs. We've got 6 pairs of the PJs now and are starting to think we'll leave them on board. Its like the grey Tote bags... how many does one need. They usually appear on the first chic night

When we were last on board, 7 weeks ago, the need for b2b cruisers to test between legs had been dropped. Has this now changed?

I could not agree more with @chemmo's post. Communication is absolutely the key. Most of the buttlers on Celebrity are not mind readers, though we have had a couple who were, but if you are clear as to your needs they will make you're holiday special. If things aren't the way you want they can't fix them if they don't know there is a problem.

We have cruised 4 times since the pandemic and since Silhouette was revolutionised. To be fair that has been in upper suites but all our "buttlers" have been great. We are sailing on Reflection in a couple of weeks. This will be our first cruise in a quite a few years not out of Southampton on Silly or Eclipse and 7 years since we were last on Reflection so I look forward to comparing the experience and will report back here in a "live from".

Jackie We are Brits and I have tried using the printed PDFs with the QR code without success both in April for Silhouette and this month for Reflection. In April there was only space for two photos and no mention of booster. Now the app allows 2 photos each for initial jabs and booster jabs. On both cruises I tried without success to use photos of the PDFs with QR codes and on both occasions have resubmitted using the little blue cards they gave us at the time of our jabs and that has worked. It will take a few days while the app shows pending as they are quite backed up. It isn't entirely necessary to pre submit the Vaccine records as they will check your records at the port anyway. For the day itself we carried printed PDFs of our UK COVID passes (the ones with a QR cade. Some people who had the same but only on a phone struggled at check in as the people at the port where photographing the proofs and mobile screens are quite small to display the PDFs.

We did a tour with her a few years ago and I have to reiterated how good a tour she gave👍

For the last few years we have all ways booked directly with Celebrity and use the same "Celebrity Cruise Consultant". Pre pandemic she could do most things with bookings we had made on board, such as repricing, changing cabins or switching to other cruises but didn't have as much flexibility with cruises we booked from the UK. Post pandemic she has said she can now treat all our bookings with the same flexibility. A case in point is the cruise we are going to be on in July. I phoned her in early April to talk about a move up offer I had in for an end of April fjords cruise we were going on. While on the phone she spotted good deal on our July Reflection cruise and saved an extra £800 by repricing it 😎. Now it may be that we book two or three cruises a year usually in Upper suites..

In August last year we were in a PH and for the first time we had a Lavazza Blue coffee machine as well as a kettle, we loved it and my early morning trips to El Bacio were negated. Our next cruise in October we were back in an RS but had the same butler, Joey, who had membered how much we had enjoyed the coffee in the PH and made sure we had one also for that cruise. Our next cruise was last month and we were again on Silhouette in an RS but when we arrived in our suite ..... NO coffee machine. my darling Gastrgnome asked our new butler very nicely and later that afternoon one appeared. Our next cruise is in three weeks and again in an RS but this time on Reflection. |I have seen a recent video of an RS on Reflection and there was a Lavazza Blue machine in the suite so I made a not of asking the Shore side Concierge if we could also have one in July and she said she would make a note in her communication to the ship 🤞. I'll let you know if we get one. To the bar setup we have requested on various occasions, Courvoisier VSOP Cognac, Campari, Cointreau and Disarano Amaretto. None of which have been on the provided list but as they were available in the ships stores we have had them in our suite. Sometimes it has been necessary to ask the butler when we board as shore side failed to communicate successfully. What we do find helps is to have a list of bar setup, dining requests and anything else you particularly want written down in advance. I always ask for whole lemons and limes and my Gastrognome likes her pillows to be synthetic and firm while I like mine soft. We send a copy to Shore side but also print a copy to give our butler when we board.

We stayed in the port side PH (1611) in August last year and it is the side that faces the tv that folded out. I suspect the starbord PH has the same sofa so it would be the sid with its back to the window that folds out. I snore (apparently) so we allways have the sofa bed made up and while I didn't take a photo of it out last Aug I did take this shot and you can see the strap used for folding it in and out.

It seems you can only do it in advance on the app or in person at the terminal

I feel your frustration but relax. As others have said all can be done at the terminal so make sure you have printed copies of the NHS covid pass and you'll be fine. I would bring those little cards they give you when you get jabbed too. We were on Silhouette last month and couldn't get the NHS covid pass to photo sucsesfully for the app and resorted to the little blue cards. I submited those photos on a Friday and on the Monday afternoon they were validated. We have another cruise on Reflection in 34 days and I submited the photos of our cards last week but they are still showing as validation in progress and have been for 7 days so I get the feeling of panic this creates. When you are actually at the terminal there will be a person there and all should be fine but I would recomend bringing physical printed copies of all your paper work as WiFi signals at terminals tend to be overloaded and slow meaning online copies on your phone aren't allways reliable

We are sailing out of Civitavecchia on 4th July and wondering what celebrations generally happen on board if any. Should we plan on Luminae or a Speciality? Do the American cruisers wear anything different for this night? Are there themed decorations or shows? Or is there no special celebration on board?

As well as the speciality resturaunts being include don't forget that it also in cludes the gelato too 😎

We did one ships tour and that was "Molde Highlights" and cost £150 per person. I would have to say it was entirely worth it especially the visit it included to the marble mines. see posts #136, #137 and #138.

We were in a Royal suite last week and didn't manage to make it to Luminae. Not tried sushi for room service but certainly you can collect to go. Remember Sushi for lunch, or the porch depending on the ship also Murano, Tuscan and Lawnclub often open for lunch once per cruise depending on the ship of course. Don't forget Gelato is include for Royal suites too. Don't for get to start with the eggs benedict and a bloody mary for beakfast in your room too

Thank you Jim for you photos and insights.. I've very much enjoyed following for the last month or so. Safe travels home

s Captain George had warned us we arrived in Southampton a bit late. We actually came alongside the pier at 7.50 so we weren’t able to debark until about 8.45. We were the first with bags to get off so I feel sorry for those with early flights. This is now Sunday and slightly worryingly our FB Rollcall has had many post from people testing positive once back home. With about 270 members of that roll call it dose put a new slant on the new world order we are in. My Gatrognome and I are negative so we are ok but we avoided the theatre, martini bar and silent disco and tried to wear masks whenever we could I hope you have enjoyed this Live and will try to write a comparison on the 4th of July on a no revolutionised ship…. Just to add that the provision of USB charging in our suites bedroom was a real plus

For my last drink this cruise in The Retreat Ananas made me a Final Ward and a double expresso. Perfection. This cruise has been quite different to the last three for a number of reasons. While they have all been great I think those of us lucky enough to cruise last summer were very luck indeed. When Michaels was Michaels I loved it for the sanctuary it offered and the comradery of those who regularly spent time there. Our first reaction post Revolution was that it had become a bit of an airport lounge and lost a bit of its personality. As the ship last summer on the three cruises we took was at 50% capacity the rest of the ship felt empty and the need for a quiet sanctuary was not there. The Retreat Sundeck is a great asset and became our new home and the Bars in general, being less crowded, the bar staff had more time to prepare drinks off book and I felt give more time to guests. With this cruise back to nearly full capacity we once more returned to our sanctuary. If you find a bar were you get on well with the bartender they can learn your likes and in Ananas we found an excellent barman. Meeting Emanuel again in the passport bar reminded me of the rapport we built up in 2019 while venturing up to Iceland for 14 days and it was lovely that 3 years later he still remembered me.

That evening being our last we planned to eat at Murano but stopped by at the Retreat Lounge for a pre dinner drinkie. I brought down my prize to show Ananas but he trumped my straight up shot with a whole bottle. He had heard me mention Green Chartreuse and had found a bottle in the stores. He made me my absolute favourite cocktail, a Last Word, as served in the Detroit Athletic Club in the 1920s. Equal parts Green Chartreuse, Tanqueray Ten gin, Maraschino and Lime juice, shaken and served straight up. Ideally it should have a real Maraschino cherry but as I have only once seen them at the World Class and only then under the reign of Alexandra I forgave the slight lack. When we walked over to Murano my problem with finding a drink there was solved. I brought my own. The food was excellent although for my Gastrogome having her Dover sole deboned tableside was as always a bit surprising. I am not convinced that this is true Dover sole but in fact Pacific Dover sole (Microstomus pacificus) which is actually a flounder species. That however is a debate I am not going to get into as regardless it was good. I however had the Loupe which was I feel better. I also love the interestingly shapped bread. I won't tell you my daughters name for it For desert this time I opted for a Grand Marnier Soufflé and nipped next door where Ananas made me a Jasmine. This drink despite having none in it tastes of grapefruit and went particularly well with the soufflé.

As the afternoon progressed the wind increased and when I went to find our favourite bartender at the retreat sundeck, Anthony, I found it deserted. I headed to guest relations as I didn’t want him to miss out and they said he should be at either the Passport bar or the Sunset. As the passport was closest I walked over there to be greeted by name by a bartender there, Emanuel, who remembered me from when he was serving at The retreat when it had been Michaels club back in 2019. It amazes me how they do that. He said Anthony would be at the Sky lounge. So up I climbed. Now my journey was in vain and I had to return later that evening but… I spotted a bottle behind the bar. Not being one to miss an opportunity I asked for a large shot straight up and took the green gold back to our room.

Friday was our last day and a beautiful day to sail the North sea. We opted for Lunch at the porch. We have lunched here twice before this cruise and somehow missed the tasty Cheesy bread and this time asked specifically for one each The pill pill prawns were excelent but the Branzino outstanding 👍

On Returning to the Retreat Lounge Ananas made an excellent French 75. Created towards the end of the first war and So named as it has such a kick that it feels like being shelled with the powerful French 75mm field guns