Marvy Mare

When you live in Ontario, you never know about the weather. How long were you at the airport? Our friends flew to Miami at 6am on the 12th. They were almost 4 hours going through lines. On Saturday morning (the 11th) we were only an hour. And yes, our pups are adorable. Lol Maris

We had tried to book a recommended dog sitter for our 2020 cruise but she was booked well in advance. This time I think I lined her up almost a year ahead. I'm not too sure of the time line. At my age the days blend together. Kelly was great (also happens to be a Vet Tech). She stayed at our place. Stella needs to be at home and Maggie needs to be with Stella. We had lots of On Board credit, so we booked a few excursions through the cruise line and also a couple of specialty dinners. DAY 1 We live about 2 hours from the Toronto Airport. Our flight wasn't until 9am but just to be on the safe side we booked a hotel near the airport. The Premier Best Western Carlingview. It wasn't fancy but the price was right $300 CDN for one night accommodation, indoor parking for up to 15 days and a shuttle to and from the airport. Our drive down started out fine. But by the sunrise that morning, you could tell that something was coming. You know what they say about red sky in the morning. Just as we got going on the 407 Toll highway the snow started. It was white knuckle driving all the way. I do our highway driving and Ken does the cities. So I drove most of the way. Not used to highways either. We live in the country and our big city has about 80,000 people. We made it. The view from our room. Not pretty but it was only one night. And the hotel was clean and quiet.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this report, we had not cruised since 2020. We got off the Reflection (love that ship) early on Friday, March 13,2020. We had a wonderful time though the last few days (I had tried not to listen to the news up until then) were stressful. We just got off on Grand Cayman to make sure they'd let us off. They did. No issues except that the port area was very crowded. At least 5 ships anchored in the bay. The Reflection did head out again that day but the cruise only lasted for 2 days and turned back to Fort Lauderdale. After our wonderful 11 Night Ultimate Caribbean Cruise on the Reflection, we remained in touch with a few others from our vacation. One couple have become friends and cruised again with us this time. Another couple who cruise more often than us were also on the Silhouette this time. We booked this cruise about a year later and figured that by 2023 all would be well. Prices were fairly high at the time, but with the help of my brother and our travel agent, they came down. We debated about driving or flying. There have been so many issues at airports and Pearson (Toronto), that we fly out of was rated one of the worst in the world. I'm always up for a road trip, but the trip home probably wouldn't be as fun as the one down. We are planners (even purchased the Ultimate Cruise Planner, by Life Well Cruised) and at first glance it seemed that even with hotels en route driving would be cheaper. It was suggested that I try Flights by Celebrity and at the time we booked it was almost 1/2 price of booking through the airlines, so we committed to fly. Not without worrying about it. Most important was dog care. We have two dogs. A wonderful 12 year old Labrador called Stella and an exuberant 18 month old Golden Doodle, Maggie.

Day 12 -Tuesday March 21 At Sea (Day 9 Cruise) Day 13 - Wednesday March 22 At Sea (Day 10 Cruise) Day 14 - Thursday March 23 Return to Miami and Flight home to Toronto

Day 8 - Friday March 17 St. Croix, U.S.V.I. (Day 5 Cruise) Day 9 - Saturday March 18 St. Johns, Antigua (Day 6 Cruise) Day 10 - Sunday March 19 Basseterre - St.Kitts and Nevis (Day 7 Cruise) Day 11 - Monday March 20 Phillipsburg, St. Maarten (Day 8 Cruise)

You will love it. We spoke to a number of crew members that were looking forward to heading to the Mediterranean.

I'm not too sure what I was doing wrong but a post disappeared and then another repeated itself. I think I'll take a break and try again tomorrow. I'm more alert in the morning.

Day 3 - Sunday, March 12 Miami Day 4 - Monday March 13 Sail away from Miami (Day 1 Cruise) Day 5 - Tuesday March 14 At Sea (Day 2 Cruise) Day 6 - Wednesday March 15 Puerto Plata - Dominican Republic (Day 3 Cruise) Day 7 - Thursday March 16 San Juan, Puerto Rico (Day 4 Cruise)

We're not far from you. Just north of Peterborough. We loved it! Miserable weather here today too. Snow, rain and wind.

Thanks Jim! I hope you enjoy our cruise!

Thanks. So you were on a 4 day cruse? Did you enjoy it? The staff were so great!

It has been 3 years since the day that we disembarked from the Reflection in Fort Lauderdale. Much has changed in the world over the last few years. I did a review then and wasn't sure many people would read it. But they did, because there were no more cruises in the foreseeable future. Now we are back to 'almost' normal I'm writing this review to read over on cloudy damp winter days. I had some advice on uploading my photos again from a valuable source but it may take some practice. Here is our complete itinerary starting in Toronto and ending back in Toronto. Day 1 Friday March 10 Premier Best Western, Toronto, On. Day 2 - Saturday March 11 Pearson Airport Flight to Miami, Intercontinental Hotel I think I've got it, but this took me longer than expected. I'll continue later. I

Thanks again Norris and Carol for the entertaining review. So sorry to hear that you contracted Covid. No matter how careful you are crowded places are a risk. Fortunately you didn’t get sick until you got home. Take care and hope you are both feeling chipper soon.

Thanks for another entertaining review Norris. I’m already looking forward to Iceland and your impressions of the Apex.

I just watched a cruise video that talked about shore excursions that push shopping and long demos trying to sell something. You made the right choice and kudos for sharing your concerns with Princess.

I’m not sure how this turned up on my feed but I followed the link to another great Bimmer cruise report. And, bonus; a Christmas cruise with wonderful photos. I’m enjoying the ride so far.

Thank you. I found all the individual Cruise Ports for our cruise and printed a document with all the ships in our ports. maris

This question may have been answered here before but I wasn't sure where to look. On our last cruise, way back in March 2020 I had a schedule of the cruise ships that would be in port when we were. It was for our specific cruise. It wasn't totally accurate but it was helpful. Many ships in port would make a difference for beach visits or excursions. I don't know where to look this time. This is what it looked like. Thanks in advance if you are able to answer my question?