davis0056

Just a quick note to say 'hi' Lisah! we had a wonderful cruise with all the fun folks from our cruise critic group. I miss our craft group. I didn't do much crafting, I was too busy just enjoying the company. I was pretty sick when we finally got home and it took antibiotics, prednisone and breathing treatments to even start getting better. I feel like I'm reliving this cruise through your posts. I think the only thing we would do different would be to do the cruise westward instead of eastward. It would have been great to get the port intensive part done first, to have the wonderful days at sea to rest up. As we go through our pictures, we'll send them on to those we toured with. That may not happen right away since we're planning our next cruise to Alaska in August with our grandkids. Its our 7th cruise to Alaska, so we can pretty much do it with our eyes closed, but planning for a 6 and 8 year old is proving challenging and lots of fun too.

We like the small ship experience of Hal although we haven't cruised in Alaska with them. More intimate and you feel closer to the sea. Easier off and on too.

We don't smoke but I didn't notice anything that bothered us.

Agree with you about the small ship. We did a 14 day sail to Alaska that sails into Anchorage on the Amsterdam. Going up into Cook Inlet was beautiful and full of whales that served as an escort. We wouldn't hesitate to do it again on HAL.

Hope you posted your question on the HAL site also.

SHIP: Reflection

CABIN #: 6307

DECK #: 6

CLASS: S1

AREA: Aft Port Corner

BED NEAR: Balcony

QUIET?: Yes

BALCONY VIEW: Beautiful aft and port side

BALCONY SIZE: Minuscule.

WIND A PROBLEM?: No

SOOT A PROBLEM?: No

PROBLEMS/COMMENTS: After being used to aft balconies on the M class ships, this balcony was minuscule, especially for an S1. Very disappointed. We have the same cabin on the Solstice in August and we hear the balcony is bigger. We'll see and post here.

I just returned from a cruise in a suite and tried Luminae for the first time. The dinner menu is very limited with 3 appetizers, one soup, 5 entree's, and 3 deserts compared to double the number of choices on the MDR menu. After a bad meal on 5/11 where I only saw a soup and steak for dinner that looked good. The soup was too spicy for us to eat. The steak was so tough the wife only ate 1/4 of it. I was so disgusted we got up an left before finishing the main course and I penned a letter to the hotel manager. We met him the next after now and I told him as a former Grill class passenger on Cunard I was very disappointed in the selection and quality of the food I was getting in Luminae. He promised they would do better. I requested a MDR menu for the rest of the cruise and ordered items from both to have a decent meals for the rest of the cruise. Breakfast was OK, except for the has browns that I set back and the biscuits and gravy that I will never order again. We ate the next night in the Tuscan Grill and it was the best dinner we had on board. The crab cakes in the Tuscan Grill were superior those I had in Luminae. I am booked in a suite on the Silhouette next year for my 75th birthday and will try Luminae one last time. If it is not improved I will go back to Aqua call and the Blu. I asked my wife when we got home which she liked better and she said Blu.

 

Island Princess 5/4/17, Silhouette, 2/26/17, HAL 56 days, RCCL 104 points, NCL 28 days, Princess Elite 228 days, Royal 14 days, Cunard 49 days, Celebrity Elite+ 28 cruises

We also were disappointed in the Luminae on the Reflection, though its seems to be we are in the minority. We thought the service was SLOW even when their restaurant wasn't full. Food ordered from the main dining room was warm at best (escargot- butter was congealed). A scope of ice cream was delivered semi-melted and was a melon scoop size. We talked with staff and were promised better, but it never happened. During our transatlantic cruise, we gave up on them after a total of 4 meals, and ate most other meals in specialty restaurants and once in Blu. I wouldn't book a suite again on the basis of Luminae. Because its already booked and paid for, we will be having a suite on the Solstice this summer. Maybe will try the Luminae then, maybe not.

We used RomeinLimo last month while in Livorno / Florence Italy for a private tour to Pisa and then to the Tuscan area for a wine tasting and lunch. Our driver was Vinny and he was the best. He got our group of 6 to Pisa before the crowds and tour buses and got us to not only the Leaning Tower, but its ‘ugly sister.’ Then he took us to a couple of Tuscan villages where we stopped to browse through a city market. We stopped at a gas station for the best pastries we’ve ever had. Then we drove to Albergo Sant’agnese Farms for a wine tasting and lunch. OMG, this place should be a 5 star Michelin restaurant. The wine was fabulous, we sampled 5 different wines and throughout a lunch that was more like a full dinner, the wine kept flowing. The lasagna was the best we’ve ever tasted (and we’ve tasted a lot). We just wish we could have got the recipe. The family that runs the farm and served us treated us like family ourselves. We were on a 16 day transatlantic cruise and had 8 ports of call. We arranged 6 private tours and without a doubt, this was our number one favorite. In the months prior to the tour, all of our e-mails with questions were promptly answered. We specifically asked to stop for a very nice lunch. Nothing could have matched what we actually got. The vehicle was good sized and Vinny was an excellent and safe driver. We highly recommend this company and especially if you can get Vinny for your driver.

Had no idea that ginger beer was non alcoholic! Learned something new today. Thanks to all!

Thanks for the quick responses. I guess I'll be all set with my Moscow Mules!

A couple weeks ago we tried to book an Alaskan cruise. The website wasn't working (I know that shocks everyone). I tried using 'chat' but ended up finding out that 'chat' is manned by Celebrity frequent cruisers, not actual Celebrity staff. The woman gave me a number to call, ended up having to leave a message. I wasn't happy and made that clear in my message, saying I was trying to spend money with Celebrity, but it didn't seem they needed or wanted my suite reservation. Then came across another number, talked to a real person who spoke English and got our booking done and one for our son and his family as well. Shortly after I hung up, the folks I left a message with called me back and they knew had had made a reservation, but wanted to make sure all our questions got answered. That call left me feeling betting than me initial efforts, but still was not an overall good experience.

My son has hooked me on Moscow Mules. Do celebrity ships carry ginger beer? I did an online search and didn't see ginger beer addressed. Thanks!

Let's blame the late hour (and the fact that I'm a RCI newbie), but I read this heading and thought Great! They've started a program to allow pets on board. Now I won't have to feel guilty about boarding the dogs.

 

How am I going to tell Buddy (black lab/corgi) and Charlotte (beagle) that they've got to go to the vet's office after all?

 

Vicki

Don't feel bad, I read the title the same way!

We used to sail Celebrity exclusively. When I booked our first HAL ship my husband said all I'd do is compare it (negatively) to Celebrity. Loved HAL from the minute we boarded. We've had some great cruises (14 night cruise on Amsterdam to Alaska) and some mediocre ones (14 day Maasdam to New England). We went back to Celebrity in November with friends and both agreed that HAL was a couple of notches above. We just cancelled our planned Celebrity cruise back to Alaska (this will be our 7th cruise to Alaska) to switch to the Noordam. Doing RCCI in July out of Galveston with the grandkids (5 and 7 yo) for their first cruise.

Davis0056 sailing on Noordam 31 Jul 2016 to Alaska.

We have had cabin 9201 on 3 different cruises and have the same cabin booked on 2 more. We love that cabin and deck 9. When its windy or the ship is moving along at a fast pace, you don't have any problems in an aft cabin. On occassion we hear chairs mmoving around from deck 10, but not enough for us to think of moving to a deck 7 or 8 cabin.

Enjoy your aft cabin to Alaska.

Dave and Elaine