JW and Jerome's Excellent Adventure on the Celebrity REFLECTION!

[cruiseguys2009]

The drama of the earlier part of the evening now over, and after having a stellar service meal in Opus, thanks to the entire staff, plus Toto, the Sommelier, sent me on a Wine Flight at dinner that, as of this point, I am 1,2,3, Really Happy! Whoo Hoo!

 

We meet up with Saint’s Thomas and Patrick at the Martini Bar, and as usual, “Ready, Set, Action!” Andreas was there with my “Loosie Goosie Three Olive Tini” “Thank You Andreas” I said. Jerome opted for a beer instead.

 

Oh my gosh, I forgot to tell you,. Jerome was on a mission all week. See Michael’s Pub has 64 different kinds of International Beers and Jerome’s Mission was hat he wanted to try to sample each one before week’s end. That was roughly 7-8 beers a day. Impossible for him. He is looking for volunteers to join him in the ranks on our November 16th, Part Two sailing of the Reflection, and conquer all the 64 beers in one sailing. He really is a Beer Meister!

 

That being said, St Thomas said that the Cruise Director, Paul Baya, had a show on deck, and I had read a lot about Paul’s singing talents, so I said definitively “I’m In!” “Let’s Go!” So with my martini in hand, we went up to the Pool Deck. I actually have no recollection of getting there, just that I know we did. I just followed the other three, and when we got up there, the show had just started. Oh my golly gee Miss Molly! That boy can sing! Paul is an incredible performer and I was very impressed with his showmanship, his voice and most of all his talent! I would pay money to see him in Vegas! No wonder Celebrity hired him! As my first experience with Celebrity and one of their Cruise Director’s, I was floored. On most of the other lines we have sailed, some CD’s were fun and outgoing, others camped out in their office, other’s tried to perform and missed the mark, but this guy Paul? Paul Baya was a true to form talent, and the best part was, he was humble, not an ounce of ego in him, and he was so approachable. I guess that’s the Celebrity way. Nice!

 

As I had not planed on covering any entertainment on this review, saving that for the Part Two in November, I have to say, if you are on The Reflection, or for that matter, ANY ship that Paul Baya is on, in my opinion, don’t miss his show. Exceptional and Great Fun!

 

The four of us were 1,2,3 Drunk and St Thomas gets the bright idea to grab Jerome and go and start dancing together with him to the high energy songs Paul and his band were performing. St. Patrick and I just stood back, and watched. Now mind you, Are we Gay, yes. To really flaunt it with two guys dancing together in a Straight situation, even I get uncomfortable with that, as it’s out of the mainstream comfort zone, in my opinion, at this time. I get yelled at all the time, with the excuse “Yes, but, Two Girls can dance together, what’s the difference?” “Baby Steps,” I respond, “Baby Steps” It’s been a hell of an “In-Your-Face-Media Year” already for gay people and Mainstream America. I am not one to push the envelope. Well let me tell you. I was dead wrong on this Celebrity Sailing.

 

Jerome and St Thomas were encircled on the dance floor, joyfully surrounded by a Grand Ma and her walker, A Gaggle of Geese in flowing chiffon, Lolly the Man Lover complete with her tongue a wagging at St Thomas, Husbands and Wives and even a couple of kids, and they were heralding their boldness and cheering them on! It was like Soul Train! Paul got even more energized and the crowd went wild. His version of Sweet Home Alabama was outrageous! And to hear a real Southern Song that I would normally run away from, but oh my gosh, “Look!“ Here come the Gay Pilots, all dancing together, then the Three Saints. More guys who we have not even met yet. And quite a few ladies too! This was totally a Mixed Fruit Salad of a crowd of happy, fun, Celebrity Passengers whose majority were in their 60’s. I got into the act and started to dance with Everyone! Wives were making me dance with their husbands, Lolly kept pounding her walker dancing in circles. The only thing that would have made the night better was if Hat Lady were there. But all in all, we were a veritable melting pot of laughter and enjoyment.

 

I credit Paul Baya, the band, and their energetic performance for reading this crowd and creating the environment that Celebrity is going for in the future. It was Real fun, not contrived or over the top. Not crazy, or I should say “Carnival Crazy”. The crowd had a lot of Class, and for that matter, the passengers on Celebrity as a whole, have a lot of Class.

 

Oh, yes, this was a sensational evening. The weather was picture perfect, there was a wonderful breeze, the crowd was behaving nothing like I expected them too, and the Martini’s were flowing! Paul Baya took his many curtain calls, and let me tell you, the boy was sweating from the great performance he just gave. “WOW!”

 

“So what do we do now?” I said to St Thomas, as he seemed to be in the know. I had read many reviews that the Celebrity ships shut down at midnight, but apparently not The Reflection on this sailing. The Sky Lounge was the place to be, and that is where we headed.

 

Packed. Packed to the rafters! It was midnight and the place was jumping. The DJ had a great sound going and gotta tell ya, he was playing current and danceable music that everyone liked. Not those nonsense songs and certainly not The Electric Slide. If I had heard that, I would have left. The crowd on Celebrity was not the Electric Slide crowd at all. So, guess who shows up with a Martini for me? Andreas! Well I then supposed Andreas starts his day at the Sunset Bar, then moves on to the Martini Bar, then finishes up his day at the Sky Observation Lounge. Oh Andreas, you are the best! He was always there, magically!

 

There was a wonderful couple we met on our Roll Call, and they were at the dance party on deck as well. Her husband was sitting on one of the sofa’s and he was reminding me of Senior Frogs and my Weenier Hat, the day before. Somehow, and I really, really have no idea how it started, and me, being 1,2,3 Drunk, decided to give this man a Lap Dance right there with his wife sitting next to us, approving it too boot! She said, “Go for it, less for me to do!“ A crowd began to gather, and it was all of about no more than three minutes, when, “What is that?” “What is that?” Oh my gosh, he was At Attention! OH MY Gawd….now how can that happen? I turned to his wife, as he was proudly showing off that he was wide awake in the netherland, and the only thing she says to me was “Thanks JW!” “Thanks a whole heck of a lot!” “Now I gotta deal with THAT when we get back to the room!” “Thanks a lot!”

 

Every time I saw her the next day, it was “Thanks JW, I got no sleep last night thanks to you!”

 

Her husband told me that I gave the Best Lap Dance Ever. Well that sure was beginners luck, as I had never, ever given one before, and not likely I will again.

 

It was 1:30 AM and I had to get down to the room, get our breakfast ordered, get the outfits ready for our excursion to St Kitts in the morning, a lot to do. We are starting to head out, “Goodbye Andreas!” I said, walking towards the exit, then all of the sudden……”What’s that I hear?” It’s Beyonce! “All The Single Ladies!” “All The Single Ladies!” Well this big ol Lady got right up on the dance floor in the middle of all those Geese and started to flap his wings with the rest of them! I love that song. But when she gets to the part of “If you like it then you better put a ring on it”, I proudly put my hand up and show off my ring. I was doing that and everyone clapped and pulled Jerome on the dance floor and we danced until the song ended.

 

I sang “All The Single Ladies” all the way back to the room. Jerome said to me at the door of the stateroom, “JW, can you believe that he really got Excited when you gave him a Lap Dance?” “Yeah, I know”, I said, “Thank gosh I quit when I did.” “No telling What would have happened!“ “Then I would have to be explaining THAT to the dry cleaners!”

[cruiseguys2009]

Fantastic video JW and Jerome! Loooove it! We had a 1A a couple of months ago and this brought me right back. Thanks for that.

Everytime a need a good giggle - I open your thread.

You should publish this! - it's even more entertaining than "Cruise Confidential" by David Brian Bruns (this is worth a read if you haven't yet - tells all the scoop from behind the scenes a big Carnival Ship)

 

 

 

 

I have some photos of our 1A room in our review if you are interested.

.... a rather bland review after the eloquence and humour of JW's review (and we didn't have a hat lady - just an incident with some cranky, mean old man that said we stole his pool lounge after he had been away for an hour and a half) but you might find the photos helpful

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1793078

 

David has two more books published, part two and three of the Crusie Confidential Series. I bought both of them, and yes, we write in a similar style. But Oh MY! I could never use some of the language or phraseology he uses in his books.....downright Nasty! But that's why it's popular! It is a fun read!

 

Thanks for the compliments and I am glad you are enjoying our experience! Much more to come, only half way thru!

[cruiseguys2009]

Fantastic video JW and Jerome! Loooove it! We had a 1A a couple of months ago and this brought me right back. Thanks for that.

Everytime a need a good giggle - I open your thread.

You should publish this! - it's even more entertaining than "Cruise Confidential" by David Brian Bruns (this is worth a read if you haven't yet - tells all the scoop from behind the scenes a big Carnival Ship)

 

 

 

 

I have some photos of our 1A room in our review if you are interested.

.... a rather bland review after the eloquence and humour of JW's review (and we didn't have a hat lady - just an incident with some cranky, mean old man that said we stole his pool lounge after he had been away for an hour and a half) but you might find the photos helpful

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1793078

 

And I loved your review. It made me Tinkle with excitement as when we read it, it was just a short time before we sailed. I think I also commented on your thread as well.

 

From one of your pics posted. Here is a pic of our balcony, taken from yours. Look to the back, and the extended balcony at the end, that is our balcony, the third one up from the bottom. Deck 6, then Deck 7, then ours was on Deck 8. Our balcony was right at the red ladder you see. No obstruction for us. We could see your balcony and could look further beyond. Oh we loved it, but it's not available for our sailing in November. We chose your cabin instead, but one deck above. Cabin 8160, November 16.

 

And Oh Look! There is Ernest Borgnine in the background, the Norwegian EPIC, see, it does have a Uni-Brow!

 

[hansolosmom]

I will never look at the Epic again without thinking of Ernest :D

 

& man I would love to try the 64 beers with Jerome.

[wallie5446]

He is looking for volunteers to join him in the ranks on our November 16th, Part Two sailing of the Reflection, and conquer all the 64 beers in one sailing. He really is a Beer Meister!

 

The main reason I upgraded to the premium pkg :) I'm in! Put it on the Roll Call pg too, please. Our friends in Cape Coral that are going will be in too!

[librarylady19]

JW,

So glad you were able to rebound from the shameful incident in Tuscan. you handled it with such class. Kudos to you both.

Sorry I missed Paul's performance now. We left the 80s party on our sailing as it was super lame. We had no FODs there to liven things up!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Freq Traveler]

JW, I just LOVE your review! My husband and I were on the Reflection in February and had a splendid time. We also love RCCL and have 2 cruises with Princess. We are sailing on the new Royal Princess over Christmas this year. I agree with you. I LOVE Celebrity. It is classy without being stuffy! And there is a lot of fun to be had on the ship. I loved your room video. I am sorry about your experience in Tuscan. Hopefully that won't happen to other customers and she has been permanently removed from her position...and possibly the ship.

 

Hope you and Jerome are enjoying your weekend!

[akowilm]

Spent many an evening with the Gay Pilots in the Sky bar, dancing the night away!!! They were all so cute and so much fun!!! My husband would head down to bed, but did not mind that I stayed and danced! I had 14 Gay Pilot chaperones!!! Good times!

[marysb]

And I loved your review. It made me Tinkle with excitement as when we read it, it was just a short time before we sailed.

 

Woo Hoo! I made JW want to Tinkle ... I'll drink to that! (I'd love a Dragonfly from the Molecular Bar, though)

 

From one of your pics posted. Here is a pic of our balcony, taken from yours. Look to the back, and the extended balcony at the end, that is our balcony, the third one up from the bottom. Deck 6, then Deck 7, then ours was on Deck 8. Our balcony was right at the red ladder you see. No obstruction for us. We could see your balcony and could look further beyond. Oh we loved it, but it's not available for our sailing in November. We chose your cabin instead, but one deck above. Cabin 8160, November 16.

Wow - Cool .... who knew I would get a photo of your room - good eye to spot it.

You will love the midship location -right by the stairs and elevators. ... and you gotta like those extra wide balconies.

 

And Oh Look! There is Ernest Borgnine in the background, the Norwegian EPIC, see, it does have a Uni-Brow!

hee, hee hee, Yup it is Ernest ... I will never look at the Epic the same way

 

Can't wait to see how your day in St Kitts went, or maybe I should I say - what interesting adventure you had.

 

I really felt for you with that Tuscan experience ...so glad it didn't get you down and you had a great cruise in spite of it. I agree with Sandi (Library Lady) that you handled it very well. That was classy ... the lap dance, though, maybe not so much;):D You are hilarious!!!

 

Mary

[VanessaM]

At this point Hat Lady was upon us and her coochie was at eye level to me, winking at me. I could not move and the last thing I want to see that afternoon was an old coochie winking at me, in a saggy, satin white bikini.

 

I mean, I could not reach for my cocktail as my hand would have been coochiefied.

 

How can I concentrate with a coochie in my face. I politely begged, “Can you please move that Vajayjay over there?”….Pointing to the other side of my chaise, “It’s blocking my sun!”

 

O.M.G!! This has got to be my favorite post so far!! I was laughing so hard my husband didn't know if I was laughing or needed the Heimlich.

 

Your review has been fantastic! Would love to be on the same ship with you boys some day.

 

Penciled in the info for your house during Xmas. Would love to make the drive down and see it.

[cruiseguys2009]

O.M.G!! This has got to be my favorite post so far!! I was laughing so hard my husband didn't know if I was laughing or needed the Heimlich.

 

Your review has been fantastic! Would love to be on the same ship with you boys some day.

 

Penciled in the info for your house during Xmas. Would love to make the drive down and see it.

 

 

Actually, mine too, I still laugh so hard when I just re-read what I wrote here! Thank you!

[DebbieMacG]

Actually, mine too, I still laugh so hard when I just re-read what I wrote here! Thank you!

 

You guys are so funny, thanks for a fantastic review, I've been reading it out at work! Loch Ness is waiting with baited breath for the next instalment! :D

[cruiseguys2009]

Sorry to all my avid readers for the delay, was out today, but promise, tomorrow,

 

St Kitt's! Casino's, Coochies, Carambola and Monkey Poop.

[BugsyCruiser]

Sorry to all my avid readers for the delay, was out today, but promise, tomorrow,

 

St Kitt's! Casino's, Coochies, Carambola and Monkey Poop.

 

Well patiently wait for your next report with drink in hand... :D

[Illinisue]

Oh my goodness bring it on.

[lightning bolt]

Looking forward to tomorrows adventure. :D

[akwilson12]

Sorry to all my avid readers for the delay, was out today, but promise, tomorrow,

 

St Kitt's! Casino's, Coochies, Carambola and Monkey Poop.

 

YES, I know ALL to well how you like to leave some folks hanging ;). Still upset with you for making me work all night...miss you guys though!!

[travellink]

You really know how to peak our interest. Can't wait till the next installment!

[cruiseguys2009]

YES, I know ALL to well how you like to leave some folks hanging ;). Still upset with you for making me work all night...miss you guys though!!

 

 

Has your husband recovered from his lap dance? Wish we had thought to get pictures of that one!

[akwilson12]

Has your husband recovered from his lap dance? Wish we had thought to get pictures of that one!

 

Yes, he FINALLY simmered down. No thanks to you, of course! We still laugh about it daily and how much fun we had with you guys!! I wish we had taken pics and/or video too, but didn't have the camera with me that evening; therefore, a recommendation for all future cruise mates of JW, it is a MUST to have your camera with you at all times because you never know what may ensue at any given moment!! :)

[lovecruzin]

I just caught up on all 24 pages and my stomach was aching from laughing and I had to tinkle... I am glad you took a day off from posting Jay Double You HOOOOOOO :)

 

Looking forward to continuing the adventure!

[cruiseguys2009]

Yes, he FINALLY simmered down. No thanks to you, of course! We still laugh about it daily and how much fun we had with you guys!! I wish we had taken pics and/or video too, but didn't have the camera with me that evening; therefore, a recommendation for all future cruise mates of JW, it is a MUST to have your camera with you at all times because you never know what may ensue at any given moment!! :)

 

 

You mean like this picture? It's from the second formal night when I put on a pair of vintage 1930's clip on ear rings (they were called "paste" back then), and someone snapped a photo? Yes, when JW is on board, you MUST bring your camera with you everywhere! This is just a teaser photo of what is yet to come!

 

[Tommy3putts]

J Dubyah, need my fix. C'mon dude bring the funny!

[akowilm]

YES, I know ALL to well how you like to leave some folks hanging ;). Still upset with you for making me work all night...miss you guys though!!

 

Hahahahahaha!!!!!!! No wonder we didnt see you guys until 3 the next afternoon!!!!

[newdestination]

Great review!