Kteacher

I agree with Happy Cruiser. I was on the 8 night/5 night B2B and there were definitely more kids on the 5 night. 

1 hour ago, kaz828 said:

Is that considered a speciality dining?

Yes, it’s one of the more popular specialty restaurants onboard.

You will love this ship and the crew! We just finished a B2B and had the best time. A few tips- if a specialty restaurant is showing no availability online before you board check again once onboard, and check the app. We were able to get a Lawn Club Grill dinner reservation this way. Beach towels for port days were always left in our cabin the night before. There are plenty of towels by the pool. Cafe el Bacio is the best spot - they have small sandwiches pastries, and cakes available that are included with any beverage you get there. Try the cajillo or a shakerado 👍. 
Happy sails!

A few final “Reflections “- 

   We really like this size ship. There are enough public spaces that it never felt crowded. We will sail on ships that have Michael’s Club vs. the Retreat Lounge because it just feels more welcoming. 
   We will definitely do another B2B but only if we don’t need to change cabins. It was great waking up on turnaround day and not have to pack a thing plus have access to our cabin all day. The longer cruise/shorter cruise B2B was the perfect length of days for us. 
    This cruise was one of our favorites in a lot of ways and most of that was due to the crew.

     I’ll be honest, I was a bit nervous about experiencing a decline in service on Celebrity before we boarded but felt it was just the opposite, that it had improved since the last time we sailed Celebrity (and we were in a higher category of suite on that cruise).

    My husband came home from the store with roses for me because he knew how much planning I put into this trip and he told me it was one of his favorite vacations ever ❤️. I guess that means I may need to squeeze another cruise in before our next one in 2025.

  We spent a nice morning and early afternoon at the Bahia Mar Resort after we got off the ship yesterday. The check in process was very efficient- we had our 2 carryons stored, were given wristbands, a welcome bag (2 bottles of water and 2 chocolate chip cookies), and keys to get into the pool area. This is a great way to spend the day if you have a late afternoon flight.

   After about a 1 minute wait for an Uber we were on our way to FLL. Luggage Valet meant not having to deal with checking bags and there was no wait at TSA. The flight was packed, so by the time they got to the last boarding groups the agents were starting to gate check bags. We had already offered to gate check ours and they were very appreciative.

    I’m on laundry load number 3 or 4 and sorting things to bring to our next trip, 2 weeks on Cape Cod. We split our time between Provincetown and Dennisport, both beautiful. Unfortunately the water temperature is a bit colder than what we just enjoyed 😆.

    I’ll post final thoughts later today.

2 hours ago, mathed101 said:

I just purchased the Beach Club pass! 

How do I make a lunch reservation? Can I make it on the app or do I have to wait until I am on the ship?

 

Thanks for your help and the wonderful trip report!!

The day before Coco Cay the Luminae hostess received an email to check in with any Retreat guests who had booked the Beach Club. She had a list of guests and asked me what time we wanted to have lunch. There was also a voice message left on our cabin phone to remind us to book a lunch time by calling an extension # on the ship. We confirmed at the Beach Club check in desk that we were all set with our lunch reservation.

12 minutes ago, KEG21552 said:

You will love Marmalade.  We started to enjoy a pre cruise dinner there when Chef Peter’s daughter was about 3 years old.  Now she is a young lady.  They have survived through the pandemic and had to completely rebuild after Maria.  Peter used to give out cards with his recipe for white bean soup.  Not sure if he still does.

Yes, they still give out cards with the recipe. I could never get the bacon dust to come out right but now I know it’s because they have a special machine just for this. He has a cookbook coming out soon, just watch their website for updates on release date

Thank you! I would love for you to post in the 3 night experience. Please say hello to our now favorite crew members ever, Prasoon, Kartini, Vishal, and Martin, Brian , Liz, and Sini. We miss them already ❤️

  It was a very quick process off the ship out of Michael’s Club, through facial recognition and into a cab. We’re spending some time at the Bahia Mar Resort in Ft. Lauderdale on a day pass. We have access to the pool, towels,  shower, restrooms, luggage storage, and a welcome bag with bottles of water and cookies since we haven’t eaten for at least 2 hours 😂.

10 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Thank you for taking us along.  Your live from has been most helpful and enjoyable.  A random question, if I may...was wondering what facilities on board were open during the private island visit.  Do they shut everything down like all the other ports or keep things open since it's their private island?  On MSC everything on board remains open, including the casino and I like to hit it at that time when it's less crowded.  As I am taking my DM on a gambling cruise on Reflection In July, I know she would prefer to remain on board in the casino if it's open.

 

Thank you and safe travels home!

Unfortunately I didn’t save all the dailies but according to the app the spa was open regular hours, there were some games and craft activities onboard, and there was a cash only Texas Hold ‘em game scheduled at 4:00. I didn’t see anything earlier than that scheduled in the casino for that day.

2 hours ago, Kteacher said:

All our bags are packed and we’re ready to go…

   Well we’re ready and not ready. We are using luggage valet and have put our two tagged bags out already. We will really miss the crew and the ship. We won the raffle for a bottle of wine for consecutive cruisers and are sharing it with the couple at the table near us.

Apologies- this post was supposed to go on my live thread (but this was actually a nice wine we won on the ship! Okay, back to the Coco Cay discussion)

All our bags are packed and we’re ready to go…

    We really appreciate luggage valet, especially if you have a later afternoon flight. Our bags were bagged and tagged before we went to dinner. Tomorrow is a day pass at Bahia Mar in Ft. Lauderdale, then our flight back to BDL. Saturday will be laundry and planning our dining around Cape Cod for our visit in a few weeks (did I mention how great retirement is 😄). 
    Dinner in Luminae tonight was another A+++++, and we drank and shared the wine we won at the B2B meeting with new found friends from 
Michael’s Club-

All our bags are packed and we’re ready to go…

   Well we’re ready and not ready. We are using luggage valet and have put our two tagged bags out already. We will really miss the crew and the ship. We won the raffle for a bottle of wine for consecutive cruisers and are sharing it with the couple at the table near us.

23 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

It would be nice if it was open while at the PI as many people don't get off the ship and would enjoy the quiet of Luminae....although, I understand that the crew need down time too.

It sounds like they will be playing around with what happens with Coco Cay and private islands in general, so my guess is what happens this week in Coco Cay with Celebrity might not be what happens next stop.

1 minute ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

I have this suite booked in July.  Would you mind elaborating on what makes this suite your favorite?

 

Ours is a 4 night and I was wondering the same thing about the included liquor...is there a 7 night minimum to qualify for this perk?

When we toured the Signature and Reflection Suites on turnaround day we asked the butler about included 2 bottles of spirits and specialty dining on shorter cruises and we were told yes, both included. 

Last night in Michael’s until our 2025 TA on the Constellation. We really prefer the  set up of Michael’s Club to the Retreat.

On the Reflection now, and stopped in Coco Cay this past Monday. Luminae was not open for lunch that day which is typical of port days. Luminae was open for lunch the previous sailing when the Reflection was only in port until 2:30 in Tortola and we were told by staff that Celebrity is trying out port day openings for lunch.

Departure information received in our cabin. Our butler actually asked for an appointment with us to go over departure procedures. We haven’t seen him very much this sailing compared with last sailing, but he apologized for that.

2 hours ago, hcat said:

Safe travels. thanks for a lovely review!

Thank you! I hope I was able to give some helpful information to anyone traveling soon or planning to travel.

I’m almost exclusively a non savory breakfast person but decided to mix it up this morning and tried the Iberico ham with grated tomato on toast along with the savory waffle with sunny side egg. All delicious but I definitely surprised our waiter 🙃. 
    We’re about 3/4 packed and taking a beverage break at the Sunset Bar. We’ve really lucked out with the weather this trip having sunny skies and a nice breeze since we arrived in Fort Lauderdale on 4/10.

1 hour ago, Arzeena said:

Beach Club runs from $154 on sale, to $283 and up. on my upcoming cruise it is sold out at $289. Not worth that much, IMHO only, unless you have OBC to spend. Considering one can have a completely $$$$$free (except if you want to tip the bar or toilet attendant) day at Coco Cay.

On one Black Friday sale it went down to $75 for some days. Never seen the two digit price after that. I would get it at that price if it came by again, but I doubt it will.

 

OP sorry for butting in.

No need for apologies. We bounce between RCI ships and Celebrity. If we’re sailing Royal it is on one of the smaller/older ships that don’t have CK. If there’s a Coco Cay stop and the pricing is high for the Beach Club that might be a deciding factor as we could use the $$$ towards specialty restaurant package.

Just saw the pizza making class on today’s schedule. It’s listed at 72.00 pp same cost for adults and children) and is sold out. 

Our last full day onboard 😭. I’m fairly new at this retirement thing so we are trying longer trips. The 8 night combined with the 5 night feels like it was the perfect length to start with. We will definitely miss the crew on this ship as they are some of the best we’ve ever encountered.

   Last night’s show was a magician and was entertaining. This week the shows have been scheduled for 7:30 and 9:30 compared to 7 and 9 the previous week. Dinner was in Luminae, service excellent, and dishes were again a combination from Luminae menu and Opus. We passed on dessert as we were too full and are also easing back into the reality of knowing there are a lot of salads and trips to the gym in our future.

Our last port day is Cozumel. We did an excursion through the ship- Small group Mexologist for the day Margaritas and traditional small bites. I think we paid about 90 pp, and thought it was well worth it. The excursion included 5 full size cocktails plus one shot, chips and guacamole plus a plate of snacks as well as a full size lunch entree. After lunch we had an hour to swim in the infinity pool that overlooked the dolphin pool. The drinks and food were delicious and it was well run with air conditioned taxi bus transport both ways

Today is Cozumel, and we’re booked for the Mexology excursion, again using OBC.

   Once off the ship I received a text from Verizon reminding me that Mexico is included in my domestic plan 👍. I took care of booking our day pass for Friday. I ended up booking Bahia Mar through Resort Pass. We’ve stayed there before and are familiar with their pool area and services .