AlexDouglass

On one of our crossings, a tablemate was a great-nephew of a Titanic crew member (a baker who did not survive). They had made arrangements for a brief memorial as we passed near/over and were taken by an officer down to the lowest open deck at the stern (a crew area) for it. It was very interesting to hear the stories of the family and how they found about the sinking (White Star for some reason telegraphed the local squire rather than the family directly, and the man's father was called up to the manor to get the first word).

When we were last on Reflection (November '15) most but not all bars had Aperol - the Sunset definitely did. As noted, though, in ordering a Spritz it's best to specify what you think that is. I usually end up just ordering an Aperol and Prosecco, as otherwise you'll sometimes end up with odd proportions of still wine, soda, and who knows what.

Pull the other leg, :p I doubt it was warm enough for bathing suits. Not only that,the Commodore Bar is quite a hike from the nearest swimming pool.

I didn't quite believe it, either - but he took a picture. They must have hiked forward from the Pavilion Pool. To be fair, I don't that they stopped for a drink - maybe just made a circuit to have a look around.

A friend on board now also had the two-and-a-half boarding experience Friday. Sadly, he's made it clear that between that and the lack of dress code (up to and including bathing suits after dinner in the Commodore Club), it's going to be his first and only Cunard trip.

I think it would be a marvelous way to deal with a move - all that hullabaloo moving out, and then again settling in - but with a nice long week of leisure in between.

Also, for pet owners, it could be the perfect way to avoid the hassles of flying those members of the family. That aspect would of course require significant advance planning, given the pace at which the kennels sell out. I'm in a field in which we generally know of a transfer at least nine months out, and going by QM2 is something my husband and I have talked about a lot (often, of course, while in the Golden Lion...).

I'm one who'd add to those suggesting you think about the westbound if you can make the dates work adequately well - gaining the hour at night is terrific, as is arriving home rested and not jetlagged. Either way, I also second the choice of using Cunard's air service - generally excellent fares and great availability.

In any case, in London, if it's your first trip, think about what interests you most - there is something of everything, and something for everyone. The museums are stellar, and far too many for just a few days, so you'll have to choose: art? There's the National Gallery, The Tate, the Wallace Collection, and so much more. History? The Tower of London, Windsor Castle, Hampton Court Palace, on and on. Design? The Victoria and Albert could be a day or more by itself. Then there's the theatre, music, and shopping, shopping, shopping... It can be a little dizzying. We love just walking around, and while it will be cold in January, no worse really than in New England.

Find a nice, centrally located hotel - one needn't pay a fortune, although rooms do tend to be small. And be prepared to pay just a little bit more for restaurants, especially good ones, although the quality of the food and service also, in my experience, tends to be better than in the U.S.

And most of all, enjoy - don't get too caught in having to see and do everything. Take some time just to sit in a nice pub and people watch.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I think the original poster is referring to something we saw on our last Caribbean trip - a largish group of people who hung out together, several/many of whom wore sashes that read "Celebrity Community." I didn't recall seeing them on our earlier (first) Celebrity cruise a couple of years ago, and so it stuck with me. Seemed to be mostly couples in their 40s and 50s.

Re: justifiying the price difference: Our experience on the QM2 has been that the Britannia Club dining room is more than just the separate space - it's the level of the service, the little touches like chargers on the table as you arrive for dinner, the daily a la carte choices, and the cheese cart and tableside flambée desserts. Also, BC passengers go to the Grills' Captain's reception, where the bubbly flows a little more freely. That, plus the flexible timing, same waitstaff, and greater availability of tables for two, sells it for us.

We hugely enjoyed our Reflection week this past November, but it did seem as if daytime programs were few and far between - and almost none that weren't either for a fee or (very) thinly disguised sales pitches. We also found fewer evening things to enjoy than in the past, in part because the performers weren't particularly to our taste. That said, it's a lovely ship.

If you're into specialty lunches, we thought the Porch seafood lunch was lovely, and on this trip we became big fans of Café il Bacio in the afternoons - lovely coffee, tea, and pastries (pay for the beverages, but sweets are free).

RWB's got it right - the ship's time changes the night before (the night of the first sea day). On the other hand, 4:30 may be cutting it tight - it takes a while for the ship to get cleared to land passengers, and on the 11/14 cruise, we didn't arrive in San Juan 'til 5:00, rather than the scheduled 3:30.

I didn't think they were all that bad, but it does seem that they have a very limited repertoire of mostly recent pop songs. They seemed to do the same set, in the same order, most of the time. I'd think if nothing else they'd get bored!

We've only done two X cruises - both Reflection, both Caribbean, one in mid-January and one in mid-November - but both were remarkably child-free. This past one (11/14-21) it really seemed as if there weren't more than a dozen or so kids on the whole ship. And those who did sail were on the whole very well-behaved. As one who would normally jump at an officially child-free trip, I really can't say there was any issue at all, unless one truly can't stand the sight of the small fry...

We've never been big MDR fans, and having tried Luminae this go, we're now talking about trying out the other pole and seeing what we think of a week in an inside or ocean view, mostly relying on the buffet (which really impressed us on Reflection last week). The husband doesn't like getting up for breakfast, I like the curries for lunch, and we'd vary dinners (although I could easily make a meal on the sushi).

As for coming Edge-innovations, we had an interesting chat with a much more experienced cruiser, who passed on (supposedly from an officer) the rumor that there won't in fact be an MDR, but rather "fifteen different free and fee outlets." Take that FWIW...

We were on the same cruise and with you in Luminae, and I do agree with you much of the way.

I have to admit we didn't mind the canapes so much, in part because we last had Cunard's woeful interpretation of the idea (they rely heavily on very lightly salmon-infused cream cheese on soggy toast rounds), but mostly because our excellent butler, Walter, was always so happ to add a nice cheese plate or fruit platter to the the sandwiches and cakes that come daily at the same time as the canapes.

The lack of non-commercial activities did indeed stand out - the one daily trivia was s shouty sort of affair back on the Oceanview deck, and my husband did enjoy the pool games, but there wasn't much. I couldn't tell, actually, if the art studio was ever used at all. That's one area where Cunard - lectures, dance lessons, fencing(!), acting classes, etc. - does pull ahead.

And the breakfast hours are simply incomprehensible. We 9:30 cutoff on sea days, but had ours in the room or up in Oceanview otherwise.

As for the "art" - well, Park West does provide some comedy value, but it seemed like on this cruise it was _everywhere_. Given that the ship itself has an interesting, if wildly inconsistent, collection of contemporary art, it's even funnier that they sell such schlock, and in so many venues.

It's indeed a terrific itinerary for sea days, and the Sunset Bar is terrific - our weather was iffy, but it was still a popular spot. Pity it's still a smoking destination, but that aside a gem.

We hugely enjoyed our week (11/14) on Reflection, but all week it struck me - more even than on our previous trip - how under used some of the public spaces are. Given the general trend toward maximizing revenue onboard, it seems even more surprising. For example:

- Probably a short-term issue, but with the Molecular contract lapsed and World Bar not in place, that lovely area was more or less a ghost town - increasing pressure on more popular bar areas (from 5:00 p.m. everywhere seemed to be either too crowded or perfectly empty);

- I know I'm not the first to bemoan how underused the Sky Lounge is - it would make a fine place for an afternoon tea or for dancing anytime, but it seemed either to be used for Elite events, art auctions (and boy were there a lot more of them than I remember from '14) - or it was abandoned;

- Celebrity Central (small theater) had a couple of smaller events and occasionally showed (second run) films - but all live entertainment was in the theater;

- the games court just outside Celebrity Central is such a handsome space, and it does has a (seemingly nearly unused) bar. With the double-height ceiling, why not install a few potted palms and some small tables and chairs and call it a Wintergarden Café or such?

- Cellar Masters is a tragic waste - rarely occupied at all, and prime real estate;

- the public "rooms" (really wide balcony spaces) off the atrium - the Library, game room, and Hideaway - also seem mostly empty. Not quite sure what could be done with them, and it's nice to have some places just to relax;

- even, on a much smaller scale, the second, unstaffed bar at the Martini Bar. Clearly more a design feature than anything practical, but in tandem with not having any roving service in this area, it just means another place to sit.

One does feel the lack of a nightclub, as well as more varied evening options. The Ensemble and Martini bars are packed, and people gather for the foyer events, but then scatter. One misses offerings such as Cunard's Golden Lion pubs, Commodore's Clubs, and Chartrooms - interestingly themed "destination" spaces that provide some variety.

That said, it did seem to me that both Bistro on Five and Café al Bacio did much brisker business than I recalled, and the Porch's seafood offerings did seem to be bringing people in for sea-day lunches.

If you could change up one or more design feature and/or venue use, what would it be? I know that complimentary destinations are probably out of the questions, but there must be some ways to change things up without lightening our wallets all that much more...

Well, the good news - if no consolation to those a week earlier - is that the embarkations problems seem isolated to that first week. This past week (Reflection's second in the Caribbean), embarkation was fast and smooth, as was the - sadder - getting off.

On other fronts, I actually felt like there was a little less hard-selling while on board - although we didn't spend much time, except walking through, around the shops.

I do agree that drinks packages mean busier bars and less engaged bartenders, but we never suffered from lack of drink. Another issue is that with Molecular, at least for the moment, more or less dead, there's more traffic to other, more popular spots, especially the Martini Bar, which seemed to be at capacity daily from 5 until well after 10.

We were genuinely surprised by what seemed to be significant improvements over our previous experience with Oceanview - nice choices, lots of them, and excellent fruit and produce.

As of last week, it was still labeled Molecular but didn't seemed to be serving much - mostly empty, in fact, a sad waste of prime real estate.

Just off the Reflection - we though the food at the Aqua Spa had improved since our last trip (January '14) and in the buffet as well. Excellent curries and lots of good salad and fruit choices. There's nothing nicer than eating outside at the very stern, watching the ship's wake.

If it's your thing, the buffet offers some basic but tasty sushi at 5:30 - fun to take to have with a drink at the stern or one flight up in the Sunset bar.

Sin City still around in Celebrity Central? Any scheduled comedian/comedy night? Did you notice if any lunches were offered on sea days at specialties? Did you happen to visit Persian Gardens? Thanks

Just off the 11/14 sailing. No more Sin City, but lots of comedy - two different nights of two shows each, plus one late-night "adult" comic. We went to all bu to all but the blue one (not opposed, but other things to do), and both were quite funny.

Tuscan offered a lunch with music one day, and we hugely enjoyed our seafood lunch at the Porch (used our complimentary suite dinner, as we liked Luminae too much to want to miss it). I believe Murano may have had a lunch (open and lit up one day, but didn't investigate).

We used the Persian Gardens daily - seemed more crowded than a year ago, but manageable. In general, the spa seemed understaffed (frequently only one person on the desk, leading to lines and some grumpiness from those waiting). Not much in the way of hard-sell, which is nice, but somehow not nearly the nice Canyon Ranch atmosphere one feels, for example, on the QM2. It was the first cruise we didn't feel tempted to have a massage, in part because the staff seemed stressed, which isn't really what one's looking for. I felt badly for them.

Also off Reflection yesterday. We didn't think the music was mostly too loud (and the current DJ is a vast improvement to the DJ/drum combo encountered in January '14), nor too clubby - lots of radio hits, some oldies. The band was good - energetic but with not the world's largest repertoire.

We were a tad disappointed that it wasn't more varied - LAX and the DJ are all pop/rock/dance, and other than that there was a wan sort of alt/folk vocalist mostly in the Ensemble lounge and another pop trio/vocalist. Would have been nice to have a jazz/cabaret singer, especially as Ensemble so lends itself to that.

Ambient music was mostly the right volume (for us), although again by day seven one tended to predict what was up next. Did notice a few Christmas tunes creeping in toward the end.

As for Alexander, he's plasticky but not dreadful - and much less annoying than he was in '14.

One entertainment innovation we liked a lot was the idea of the floating nightclub, which moved from the lobby one night to poolside,to the solarium, to the Sunset bar, etc., each with a different theme. Good fun, and varies the routine a little.

Indeed - looks to me more like a business that responds to changing circumstances, and good on them for that.

While it's clearly an issue about which some people have strong opinions in both - all, really - directions, I find it interesting that the poll that was posted earlier this week shows that, in fact, even among Celebrity's most voluble audience here at CC, it's not particularly divisive at all. At the moment (and consistently snce it was posted), 73% of respondents are either in favor of or indifferent to the changes. From a commercial point of view, that's practically hitting it out of the park. Demographics change, and companies change to serve them.

I'm sure this has come up elsewhere, and on top of that it's probably something that varies from week to week, but can anyone tell me at what time Luminae opens for lunch on embarkation day? We'd like to time our arrival so that we don't have to rush through lunch...

Between my and the husband's work schedules, we can't often book anything too far ahead. As a result, I've gotten rather good at juggling one or two ideas we're thinking of at any given time and keeping an eye out for prices. We book our upcoming Reflection week just 10 days ago (leaving next week) and got a fare I'm very pleased with. We did the same with our last longer trip, a Queen Mary 2 TA with a few days in London first (and that was nearly a miracle - I couldn't believe I found as good a hotel room as we did just a few weeks before Christmas on no notice at all). It's all a question of being able to jump when the opportunity arises.