wendycook22

1 hour ago, Canadian_J said:

Thanks for all the posts, pictures, and questions answered! We board Reflection in two weeks, and it was great to read about your experience!

 

Smooth travels back to YYZ!

Sounds like we are on the same sailing.  Two weeks today we board! 
 

I love the Reflection, and can’t wait to step foot on her again.

On 10/30/2023 at 9:16 PM, marysb said:

We were also in Bimini on Friday.  We had the best FREE day.  Took the tram and we were expecting the free beach to be past 360 World Resort, but the tram turned back to the pier and said the free beach was there. I was disappointed because there was a sewer smell right by lounges and cabanas.

   So we walked down the beach a ways and no smell and few people.  The water was shallow and warm.  Go old school with a towel and fine some shade under the trees .. it was one of our best beach days.   Also make sure you do ride the tram around, the island where the vacation homes are is quite beautiful.

Is there only one direction to walk down the beach near the cruise port?  If not which direction did you walk to get away from the smell? 

Is the beach inside of a cruise terminal area?  I was thinking of purchasing some drinks and snacks from a store (beer, etc.) and sitting on a public public beach with our own personal cooler and snacks.  

We are heading there in December and I am getting more and more away from the idea of renting a golf cart after reading many recent reports over multiple companies running various scams.  As much as I would like to do it, it may not be worth the risk.  

 

My Equinox itinerary for the September 14 2024 sailing is still showing Kusadasi.  

Do you recall the name of the rental company you used for the carts?

My MIL and FIL sailed on the Reflection over Good Friday on the April 2 sailing this year.  They said it by far had the most children they have ever seen on a Celebrity Cruise.  They felt like they "took over" the pools, etc.  They also mentioned they announced the ship was at 100% capacity.  they said they still had a great cruise, it was just a different vibe than what they were use to.  

Hi Everyone, 

We are travelling to Bimini for the first time.  I am aware that items may be pricey at this port as everything is imported to the island.  We often (when we can) pack a cooler in some ports and find a quieter, or not as busy beach.  We were looking at Paradise Beach, but we were not sure if there is a place in port or near that beach where we could purchase some beer and ice to pack our collapsible cooler.  I understand they sell it in convenience stores and liquor stores (from my research), but haven't successfully found the best place to grab some before getting on a tram - or golf cart.  If anyone can provide me with insight, and an idea of pricing it would be greatly appreciated.  

Thank you!  We can't want for the end of the month.  We were on the Summit December 2021 and can't to be back.  

Hi Everyone,

Can anyone advise which terminal the Summit is sailing our of in Miami?  I believe Celebrity's smaller ships use G, but I am not 100%.  

TIA

4 minutes ago, D C said:

I guess I could have read your signature, too.  🙂

Enjoy the trip!  Be sure to catch Opalira (acoustic duo) at least once. They're great!

I definitely will, thank you for the recommendation.  We will  keep our eyes out for them in the daily.  

15 minutes ago, D C said:

Which ship?

 

Both in Nov and Jan on the Reflection @ Port Everglades terminal 29, we were never asked about an assigned boarding time.  Terminal 29 lacks the space to form lines that 25 has.

We are sailing on the Reflection this Saturday.  I should have provided these details in my original post.  Thank you. 

23 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

Unless your friends are first time cruisers, is there really a need to board with them?

 

Just meet them on the ship.

That is the situation.  They are both first time cruisers.  🙂 

7 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Another option we have done for other reasons is ask for a late check out.   Most hotels will accommodate unless they are heavily booked for the next day.

Yes, we have considered that as well.  We will see what happens on Saturday.  We fly out Friday 🙂 I am not trying to challenge their process at the pier.  I typically arrive at our designated time slot, so I was not certain of the process (if any) when passengers were to arrive early.  

Thanks for the recommendation and insight.  

Thank you everyone.  We will just head to the terminal, and if we have to wait a bit that is fine.  We know what a to expect 🙂  

Hi Everyone, 

I was wondering how strict Celebrity is with their boarding times? I completely understand and respect that they are trying to spread out arrival for health and safety concerns. 

We did out check in right away but the other couple we are travelling with did not and have a much later time.  We have to check out of our hotel at 11:00, and would prefer to head right to the cruise terminal.  Has anyone experienced an issue with arriving prior to their scheduled time?  I can bump our time to 1:00 to match our friends (we had 11:30), but we would prefer to check out and head to the terminal.  

Any insight is greatly appreciated.  

1 hour ago, pking said:

@wendycook22 can you share a link where you saw this?  I can't find this list on the Celebrity site.

It has changed since my original post, but the link of all ports that require a Celebrity excursion is below.  They update it constantly.  Scroll down and you will see the list of ports.  

https://www.celebritycruises.com/healthy-at-sea/us-travel-requirements

Hi Everyone, 

Is there a place walking distance from port where we may purchase drinks (alcoholic - canned beer and non alcoholic drinks) plus snacks to pack in a cooler for a beach day?  I have never docked at this port so I am not familiar with the amenities.  Mapquest shows two stores within a 4 minute walk but it’s across a highway 403 on the map, so I am not certain of the walking conditions. 

Hmmm…I prefer not to quantify it. Let’s say I get my money’s worth when vacationing. 🤣

I’ll preface this with we always upgrade to the premium package. 

In all seriousness, we enjoy specialty coffees in the morning (and after dinner), followed by mimosas.  I enjoy cocktails throughout the day poolside, while hubby samples different beers, adding bottled water in the mix. 

We hit the martini bar for pre dinner cocktail(s).
 

I typically enjoy 1-2 glass(es) of wine with dinner and hubby beer(s).  We both often enjoy either a desert wine or specialty coffee after our meal.  
 

We carry on into the evening with our drink(s) of choice, and this is where the accuracy of the calculation ends. Not because we are inappropriately inebriated. We simply don’t count, we are on vacation and it varies by evening. 
 

Are the buffets still served by staff, or did they convert back to self serve.  I was really hoping that change was going to be permanent, but am realistic how labour intensive it would be as capacity on the ships increase.  TIA

7 minutes ago, Sunchaser46 said:

Can anyone tell me if you had to provide a paper copy of your proof of vaccination to board a ship, or is the QR code on my services card app (B.C.) enough? Asking specifically for my upcoming Holland America cruise in March.

I used my paper copies, so unfortunately I can't comment on that situation.  I do have them on my phone, but brought paper copies just in case something happened with/to my phone. 

Just now, CruisnDeb said:

Exactly.  I appreciated seeing your post since I have the same itinerary in March.  It's helpful to see what changes have been made to other recent sailings so I can make backup plans.  Of course I know ours could have different changes or no changes at all lol, but I like to be as prepared as possible.

Yes, as do I.  I research extensively and tend to be "over prepared" (hubby's words not mine - lol) .  I like to share any information and pass it along to fellow travelers as I know how much I appreciate it. 

10 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Why not also post this on your roll call?  BTW, with the current situation, port call substitutions and cancellations are common, and may happen on board as well.  SJ has been a dropped port of call for some time now.  While on a different cruise line, this was announced a couple of weeks prior to our recent December cruise.  We also had another en route cancellation due to issues at that port of call. 

Yes, it has been posted there.  This was an FYI in the event any cruisers with upcoming sailings on the Reflection was interested in how this port cancellation was handled on our sailing.  

36 minutes ago, Pickels said:

2022 -  right?

Yes,  I noticed it after posting but it would not allow me to edit.  I decided not to point out my my oversight, as I thought most would assume it to mean 2022. 😊

In case anyone is interested.  I just received notification of an itinerary change for our February 19 2021 sailing on the Celebrity Reflection.  As I somewhat expected, San Juan was removed and a Sea Day was substituted. 

1 hour ago, cruisestitch said:

First off, deck three is closed off so they are using that for passengers and crew if necessary.

 

Now, onto the report about boarding. It was as fast as I have ever had. If there was a lounge, there was no chance to see it. Show my documents, show them again, show them three times and I was on the ship.

 

It began to get difficult then. At the third showing of my documents, the check-in lady said that I had been upgraded. Well that’s all well and good, but I am on back to back and had the same room for both cruises. Really not interested in an upgrade unless they will do both of the cruises. So off to guest relations I went immediately on setting foot on the ship.

 
They will “request “that I stay in the same room on the next cruise. She did check and it is available, but apparently that has to be okayed by your side and of course it being Saturday, who knows how many days that will take. I asked if I could just go back to the room I had been assigned, and Ocean view. She said no, they are trying not to have people in enclosed spaces. And yet that’s the room I’m assigned for the next cruise, so explain that.

 

Touched up to the new room, no sea pass card. Trudged back to Guest relations, got a card, entered my room, none of the amenities that are supposed to be there were there.  
 

So I headed to the Captains Club desk where I found out that there is a concierge embarkation  lunch today, although the expected invitation was not in my room.

 

And where might my suitcase be? It was tagged to go to the original room. I wonder when I’ll find it.

Well I will try not to be a negative Nelly and let you know how things are going on reflection this week.

 

 

Thank you!

Hopefully it works out and you don’t have to change rooms. Looking forward to hearing more about your sailing. Have a wonderful time, despite the slight hiccup on the room upgrade. 

Have a wonderful cruise!

We board in three weeks!  

I curious if you happen to be in the area if they are quarantining on deck 3 (3119 is a cabin in our group) if that cabin area is in the quarantine area….they are curious if they will be relocated.