Itchy&Scratchy

it took 4 weeks for our kid's passport in December 2023, but it took 8 weeks in August 2023 for the adult passports. Both unexpedited. Sometimes it takes a bit longer before and during the summer due to more people needing a passport for international travel. But I certainly wouldn't renew a passport in May 2024 if the cruise is in December, I'd renew around September-October time frame.

I wouldn't know if it's something new because it was our first time on Celebrity. Towels were freely available by the pool on sea days, but on a port day we had to check them out if we were going to take them off the ship.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3002524-a-great-first-cruise-on-celebrity-reflection-review-dailies-menus-food-and-cabin-pics-march-2024/ check out my review of our very first Celebrity cruise which also happens to be on Reflection. We really liked it. If you like dancing, don't miss the silent disco. Check out lounges for musical entertainment. Queen sing-along was marvelous. They have Truvia at the buffet and MDR in case that's what you bring with you on a cruise. You can bring your own soda onboard - whatever you can carry on at embarkation. We stopped by Publix and got some for us. Otherwise, if you don't have a package, it's almost $5 per can. Oh, and apparently they don't have Dr Pepper on board if that's what you like. Oh, and something we didn't know but if you need beach/pool towels on a port day, they check them out to you by the pool the day of (as in - they write down the cabin number). If we knew that, we'd have grabbed some by the pool the day before when they don't take your cabin number down.

milk is always available for free at the coffee/tea station. only if the kid still uses one. Mine stopped using a stroller at 14 months and never looked back. the same questions are asked on this board quite a bit. You may want to do a quick read when you have a moment. We started cruising with DS when he was 3. I covered several points here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3004270-cruising-with-autistic-4-year-old/#comment-67301176

why now? it takes 8-12 weeks now - for the US passport, and apparently less than that for a Canadian one. May to December is a looooong time.

Correct. it's a lie. I've seen people wearing shorts and even they weren't turned away. Smart casual is plenty. pfft, no. I agree with you. 🙂

As promised - we tried our first Celebrity cruise this month and loved it. Reflection was just the right size ship, not overcrowded, in great shape and super clean, food was very good, entertainment was great, soft serve was delicious, the crew was absolutely fabulous and friendly. We loved it. There was a ton of people our age - 40-50s and quite a few teens with them. I do think the MDR and buffet food in general was better overall on Enchanted Princess in Nov 2022, however, I will get to refresh my memory and get a more up-to-date opinion next month when we'll be back on Enchanted. Of course, Reflection doesn't have International Cafe or crepes in MDR, but we we were still pretty happy campers.... And I liked X's escargot and mushroom risotto more than Princess'. If you want a more detailed review, it's in my signature.

But one has to pay extra to enjoy MSC's YC, right? It's not free.

my kid is NT, but does not do kid's club. Never did. He dislikes playing with kids he doesn't know.... He started sailing 2 months short of 4 yo and at that age he had a very strong separation and stranger anxiety. So, he always tagged along and still tags along to everything with us. At MDR dinners he always watched cartoons/movies on his tablet (with headphones) between 3 and 10 years of age. That kept him busy and content while we could have a very nice dinner without a whining, bored to tears child. kid's menu on Reflection (but since the kid is an adventurous eater, he can order off of adult menu): You can click on the link to Reflection review in my signature for more cabin and food pics, and the dailies. Also includes pics of the food my kid ate and his opinions. On cruises he leans heavily towards pastas, but did also enjoy burgers and grilled cheese. He only has slight problems with texture. He also ordered a caesar salad and fruit salads a lot. The buffet had a kid's corner with the typical American kid's fare. Other than that, the food was varied and very good. Pizza at the buffet was great as well, and the chef told me he could make whatever I wanted as well. We always bring a stuffed animal for him to sleep with. Oh, and a night light. When DS was young, it helped check on him at night. Now I need it more for myself for night blindness. However, Reflection has built-in bathroom night lights, so mom should bring one for the cabin itself if needed. The muster drill on Reflection involved watching a video on the app and then scanning your cruise cards at your muster station at any time before sailing. Nothing overwhelming for anyone. Reflection is a smaller ship. The noisy areas are the pool area (not always, but they play loud music a lot), and the grand foyer area on deck 3 which carries the noise up several decks. Not overwhelmingly so.

try to get one that has both. We booked an inside cabin on Reflection which had both. Our 13 5'5 yo loves pullman beds. He would have been comfortable on either the sofa or the pullman bed, but if given a choice, he always chooses the upper bunk. So, it depends on what your kid will be comfortable in at that height and whether he is still agile enough. 🙂 I am not, but I am 50, not 15. 🙂 Here is a link to our cabin review with pics: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3002524-a-great-first-cruise-on-celebrity-reflection-review-dailies-menus-food-and-cabin-pics-march-2024/#comment-67222957 I was surprised by how spacious the inside cabin was. We are so used to microscopic cabins on RCI Oasis class....

wow. A 40 minute call to save 2 minutes at embarkation for medallion pickup.

you are confusing free with included. They are not free if you paid for them. 🙂 Instead, they are included in the package price. But that's exactly how some cruise line advertise these "for purchase" things as free. On MSC they used to advertise it as "Free drinks and wifi", but you end up paying about $270-400 pp per 7 day cruise for them at a "Better value rate". Thankfully, they stopped calling it "Free drinks and wifi" and now call it "Add Drinks, WIFI and Save".

you are gonna love it! Especially with a Premier package. We are having our second Enchanted cruise this June and I already booked her again for next summer. And right now the 3rd and 4th person free promotion is finally working correctly on their website, so I've just repriced our 2025 cruise and saved $400.

not really true - we usually sail without any packages and the only ship we felt nickeled and dimed on was MSC Seascape. In any case, you could have purchased Plus package instead of Premier. It's cheaper and more cost effective for most people. not free. 🙂 You literally pay $60 pppd day for them.

you can call them in advance of your cruise and get the match. We did that for me and my husband before our very first X cruise earlier this month. So, on our very first Celebrity cruise we were already Select.

there will be other young people onboard, if she is an extrovert. My 13 yo loves Princess, even though he is an introvert and doesn't do kid's or teen club. He is never bored.

Blue Kay. We are very low key and would simply like a few chaises in a shade for a price that is not exorbitant. Before the pandemic they charged $12 pp and that included 2 drinks of your choice and a chaise. I can't find any info about present charges.

we'll be there right before you with 5 people (June 1 sailing). Been there before the pandemic, at Blue Kay beach club. We really liked it then... I hope they didn't change much or start charging a ton of money pp, but we are willing to try them again. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

Man, their website is glitching big time. It's back to $60/$80 just 10 minutes later. That, and the 3/4 person which is supposed to be free, is so not free. Not even close.

not what their website says right this moment:

when did Princess change the price to $70/$90 pppd? I could swear it was just $60/$80...

there is no such thing as a TEEN plus package. It costs the same for everyone. $60 pppd. We don't even get the Plus package for adults, let alone for our teen.

No, it wasn't. We did Blue Kay on our own a couple of times before the pandemic. We really liked it. I have been looking at cc to see if there were any newer reviews, and so far they are not promising. They probably raised prices as well. Pre-pandemic it was a reasonable $12 pp, with 2 drinks of your choice included. I guess we'll find out next month. 🙂 As for the Beach Escape ship excursion, I was just looking at the excursions for our upcoming Enchanted cruise to Costa Maya out of sheer curiosity. When I saw this particular excursion, I thought - for $50 pp with alcohol included, how bad could it be? Well, it had as many 1* reviews as it did 5* reviews, that's how bad. People's reviews said the beach they were taken to for this Beach Escape was horrible. It was not Blue Kay for sure. Oh, and the kid price is $45!!!! Ridiculous.

I will be able to check that next month! 🙂 When people say "on our last few cruises" I really can't tell how much time may have lapsed. For us it's 2-3 years. 🙂 And 2022 was only 16 months ago.

IC had salads in Nov 2022 on Enchanted: Not that I personally care about salads.... Sigh.... This is what I was there for: these were heavenly: and in the morning they had these small egg muffins, like broccoli cheddar, ham and cheese, and mushroom and cheese which were beyond delicious.