Jazzbo

We did the concierge lunch on the Reflection Med sailing September 30th. Choices were limited and chicken breast was so overcooked it was hard. Waiter incorrectly told my cousin that couscous was gluten-free. She was diagnosed with celiac disease over 30 years ago so she knew better, but that could have been awful for someone recently diagnosed who wasn’t familiar with couscous. Having said that, the maitre’d checked on our table at lunch and made sure she received a copy of the next night’s dinner menu every night so she could select her meal for the following night and could adjust the sides or preparation to avoid gluten. He also booked Murano for us at a decent time and day even though it appeared that 5:30 or 9:00 were the only times still available.

A great Charla live again! We’ll be celebrating my 70th (and my retirement) in January 2025. Charla’s report just increases the anticipation, doesn’t it?

What a kind offer. Not only are you clever, entertaining, and joyful, but it’s evident you have a huge heart! I knew I liked you. 😊

This sounds delicious! I’m a fan of gin and champagne, and enjoy the subtle bitterness of an Aperol Spritz. 😊🍸🥂

Charla — I also do the print outs. I haven’t done screenshots, but that’s a great idea. The French 75 is also one of my favorites — have one for me! 🍸 I’m thoroughly enjoying your live review (as always). Thanks for taking us along with you!

I’m so sorry for your loss, Charla. Condolences to you and your family. As I’m wide awake with insomnia, I got up and decided to check out Cruise Critic — yay! Another Charla live thread! I’ll be following along with great interest. We are doing this cruise on the Reflection next January to celebrate a big birthday and my retirement. I’ll retire (mostly) in December, but will keep working with a few clients (fellow lawyer). I loved your live Med review. We did a similar one on Reflection around the same time as you. Safe travels and bon voyage!

Since you’re an early riser, do you take sunrise photos too? I have a couple of really good ones of Mt. Vesuvius from our sail into Naples in October.

Beautiful sunset photos!

Have you thought about using Brightline? We’re looking at flying out of Miami for our land-based tour in late September. We may take Brightline instead of a repositioning flight. I had friends that did Brightline to Miami for a flight to Rome. They said it was great!

The Elite breakfast is one of our favorite benefits. They have pastries, lunch meats and cheeses, fresh fruit, and smoked salmon plates. Mimosas, Bellinis, and I believe Bloody Marys are included, as are cappuccino and other espresso coffees, regular coffee and tea, and smoothies. It will be in one of the specialty restaurants. It’s quiet and peaceful.

We did a galley tour on one of our Celebrity cruises. They have a separate prep and cooking area for gluten free. We did a Med cruise in September-October with my cousin and her husband. My cousin has celiac disease and had no problems onboard.

What a beautiful and rich experience! Thank you for taking us along. Love the photos and videos.

I hope your DH is feeling better. My brother and SIL were supposed to be here for Christmas but both came down with Covid last week.

I read your review (and some more of your blog). Thank you for posting the link. We are long-time Celebrity cruisers. DH is celebrating a BIG birthday in September 2025, and we wanted to celebrate with family and friends on an Alaskan cruise. After lots of research and with encouragement from our TA, we booked Princess (our first Princess cruise). Either of two Cruise Tours would work for our date, and when I asked DH if he would prefer spending his birthday on land or on the ship, he chose the ship. That meant we would be on the Sapphire instead of the Caribbean, so I booked the Sapphire. I am so pleased that it seems we made the right choice! I know that we are highly unlikely to experience the beautiful weather you had, especially at the beginning of September, but we're good with that. Our one other Alaska cruise was Inside Passage from Vancouver and back, and even dreary, rainy days (the first week of July) did not ruin the beauty that is Alaska!

Great photos! Silhouette is the only S class we haven’t sailed. Looks like we may need to remedy that!