Celebrity Reflection 7/4/14: Mediteranean Cruise Report with Pictures

[Raschueler]

The show for this evening was Momentum. We really enjoyed it!

Dinner was great again as usual. I had prosciutto and melon. We served this as an appetizer at our wedding, so I was excited to see it on the menu (:

[Raschueler]

Good morning, Santorini!

I had a little too much fun the night before, and we ended up sleeping in until 10 instead of the planned 7am. I woke up to Matt singing the Christmas song “Dominic the Donkey” doing jumping jacks and push-ups with the sleeves cut off of his t-shirt. Oh my. He then informed me that he had 3 cups of coffee and a 5-hour energy.

The timing worked out fine because we didn’t have to get a tender ticket, and there were no lines for anything once we got to Santorini.

We took the donkeys up as planned. It was 5 euro each. The men who ran the donkey rides were very unfriendly.

It was frightening, but it was definitely an experience! I thought that we would actually ride the donkeys up with a halter, but they were all tied to one another and led by a guide. Being a horseback rider, I am used to being in control! I didn’t like just being led along. The girl in front of my husband also was screaming when other donkeys were coming down and rubbed against her leg. She was quickly shushed by the guide, but possibly spooking the donkeys like that was not a good idea on her part while we were on the side of a cliff!!! My donkey also missed two steps on the way up which led to near falls. I wouldn’t do it again, but I’m glad we did it!

Also, I definitely don’t recommend walking up or down the donkey trail steps. People were being pushed into the walls by the donkeys, and even worse, pushed near the edge! There were also urine and feces from the donkeys, of course.

I had very detailed instructions on how to get to a 4-wheeler rental place with a map, but managed to leave that in our stateroom. We wondered around until we found a travel place, and they called for an ATV for us. It was 25 euros for the entire day which we thought was great! We only spent 8 euros on gas.

We traveled the entire island. We went down to the Bay of Ammoundi. Beautiful! We were going to eat lunch here, but it was very expensive. Lunch would have been between 140-200 euros based off their menus on display!

[Raschueler]

We went back up to Oia and found a place to eat t there. We ate at Strogili. It was fabulous. We ended up only spending 36 euros on a great lunch at a beautiful restaurant.

Mousaka

Best Greek salad I’ve ever had!

View from lunch

[Raschueler]

Black sand beach

 

 

Our little ATV

After our amazing day, it was time to make our way back to the Reflection. We took the cable cars down.

 

 

Yikes

 

 

The zig-zag path is the donkey trail.

 

[Eddie's Girl]

Loving these Santorini pictures. We had such a great time there. Oia was the best. Didn't do the donkeys however. We're a little older than you newly weds. Your pictures are wonderful.

[yvonneh]

I love your review! Your writing and pictures are fantastic. I have even been reading / showing it to my husband this morning!

We have a similar itinerary next summer, so it is really wonderful information, thank you!

Congratulations to you both too. :)

[lhbsurf]

Beautiful review!! We sailed Reflection in 2012 and loved her!! Headed back in 2016 for this itinerary with a week in Rome before for our 30th Anniversary!!

 

Good luck with your nursing studies!! (My daughter is in her last semester of Nursing School - I know how busy she is!! I'm amazed you have time to post at all!!) Looking forward to your next installment.:D

[KaraLowe]

Loved reading your review and seeing the photos! My husband and I did a 12 night Mediterranean cruise on the Silhouette last fall for our honeymoon and it was so great to reminisce! We are looking forward to the Southern Caribbean on the Summit in just about 3 weeks!

 

I have to say that I most certainly agree with your comment about not walking up or down the path in Santorini! We took one of the boats around to Oia and then decided to walk down once we made our way back to Fira "to get the true experience" - bad, bad choice! Those stairs are SO SLIPPERY!! I slipped a few times and my hand landed right in a pile of you know what - UGH! Oh well, now I have a story to tell and we can laugh about it! We still had a great day!!

[Raschueler]

 

Today we docked in Mykonos, Greece. Our plans were to find the local bus stop and make our way to Paradise Beach. Again, I left our directions on how to get to the bus stop safe in the safe. We walked around for a good hour trying to find a bus stop. What we got was a great workout and a tour of some neighborhoods!

 

 

We decided to rent a scooter instead after giving up on the bus. We did find the bus eventually, but after waiting for awhile, and not knowing when it would come, we just left. The scooter turned out to be a blast!!!

 

We went to Paradise Beach as planned because I wanted to experience a "party beach." Well, in the afternoon, it was "Hungover Beach." We only stayed for a bit, and then decided to explore the island. We had a scooter, so why not!

 

We cruised around to some other beaches, checked out the island, and then made our way to Santo Mera for lunch.

 

 

The food was great, but the advertised WIFI didn't work. I liked just checking in whenever there were WIFI spots at restaurants and posting a few pictures for family to see.

 

 

Our friends took the ship's shore excursion to Elia Beach, so we thought we'd stop by and check it out. Walking directly onto the beach, we found our buddies! They spent over 100 euros for their day at the beach by the time they bought the excursion, rented loungers, got food, and got drinks. Crazy! We spent around 40 euros for our amazing day.

 

Edited October 10, 2014 by Raschueler

[Raschueler]

On our way out, our friends' buses were also leaving. This car had to pull his mirror in not to get hit!!

 

 

Here's some scenery which was pretty typical of Mykonos. I didn't think it was nearly as beautiful as Santorini, but the water was pretty at least.

 

 

More Mykonos

 

 

 

Here is the place that we rented our scooter from. The first place we tried to get a scooter at wanted a motorcycle license which Matt does not have. We walked to the next place, and they signed us right up with just a regular license. Woop woop!

 

 

[Raschueler]

Loving these Santorini pictures. We had such a great time there. Oia was the best. Didn't do the donkeys however. We're a little older than you newly weds. Your pictures are wonderful.

 

 

Thanks so much! It is such a gorgeous island. Glad you enjoyed it too (:

[Raschueler]

I love your review! Your writing and pictures are fantastic. I have even been reading / showing it to my husband this morning!

We have a similar itinerary next summer, so it is really wonderful information, thank you!

Congratulations to you both too. :)

 

 

Thank you! I do the same with my husband!! Let me know if you have any questions (:

[Raschueler]

Beautiful review!! We sailed Reflection in 2012 and loved her!! Headed back in 2016 for this itinerary with a week in Rome before for our 30th Anniversary!!

 

Good luck with your nursing studies!! (My daughter is in her last semester of Nursing School - I know how busy she is!! I'm amazed you have time to post at all!!) Looking forward to your next installment.:D

 

 

 

Thank you! Reflection is a beautiful ship. I see that you did the TA, was that your first one? I'd love to do one.

 

Congratulations! If you have any questions, let me know.

 

It really is a tough program, but it'll pay off!

[Raschueler]

Loved reading your review and seeing the photos! My husband and I did a 12 night Mediterranean cruise on the Silhouette last fall for our honeymoon and it was so great to reminisce! We are looking forward to the Southern Caribbean on the Summit in just about 3 weeks!

 

I have to say that I most certainly agree with your comment about not walking up or down the path in Santorini! We took one of the boats around to Oia and then decided to walk down once we made our way back to Fira "to get the true experience" - bad, bad choice! Those stairs are SO SLIPPERY!! I slipped a few times and my hand landed right in a pile of you know what - UGH! Oh well, now I have a story to tell and we can laugh about it! We still had a great day!!

 

 

Thank you! Seems like we have a bit in common. My husband and I are also doing a Southern Caribbean cruise coming up (: What islands are you going to?

 

Yikes! Nothing could ruin Santorini (:

[bayoaksprincess]

Thank you! Seems like we have a bit in common. My husband and I are also doing a Southern Caribbean cruise coming up (: What islands are you going to?

 

Yikes! Nothing could ruin Santorini (:

 

 

Love your posts! Hubby & I visited many of the same places ya'll did on our honeymoon and we stayed 3 days afterwards in Rome. Seeing the stray kitty and the Santorini cable cars brought back so many wonderful memories. We are currently planning a Caribbean cruise for January and hoping to go on the same ship as our honeymoon. Good luck in nursing school! It's tough, but it is absolutely worth it. Just remember for any of the rotations or subjects you don't care for - you don't ever have to work in that area, you just have to get through the class/clinical :)

[KaraLowe]

Thank you! Seems like we have a bit in common. My husband and I are also doing a Southern Caribbean cruise coming up (: What islands are you going to?

 

Yikes! Nothing could ruin Santorini (:

 

We are going to St. Lucia, Barbados, Antigua, St. Martin, and St. Thomas on the Summit that leaves November 1! Enjoy yours! We can't wait!!

[Raschueler]

Love your posts! Hubby & I visited many of the same places ya'll did on our honeymoon and we stayed 3 days afterwards in Rome. Seeing the stray kitty and the Santorini cable cars brought back so many wonderful memories. We are currently planning a Caribbean cruise for January and hoping to go on the same ship as our honeymoon. Good luck in nursing school! It's tough, but it is absolutely worth it. Just remember for any of the rotations or subjects you don't care for - you don't ever have to work in that area, you just have to get through the class/clinical :)

 

 

Thank you! They are incredible destinations. Are you thinking of going Eastern or Western for your January Reflection cruise?

 

Thanks! There are a lot of subjects I have zero interest in, and can't wait to be done the classes and clinicals for them!

[Raschueler]

We are going to St. Lucia, Barbados, Antigua, St. Martin, and St. Thomas on the Summit that leaves November 1! Enjoy yours! We can't wait!!

 

Sounds like a great cruise! We actually considered this route for our January cruise, but we have some people joining us that don't fly. We'll just have to save it for another year (:

[lhbsurf]

Thank you! Reflection is a beautiful ship. I see that you did the TA, was that your first one? I'd love to do one.

 

Congratulations! If you have any questions, let me know.

 

It really is a tough program, but it'll pay off!

 

Yes..it was our first and only Transatlantic so far. We weren't sure if 9 days at sea would be too many...due to Pod issues, it ended up 10 straight days -they cancelled Tenerife :( ....it was NOT too many. We agreed it was the most relaxing vacation ever. We had a balcony and spent many hours on it relaxing -- infact, most days, we didn't even know what day it was....heaven!!! Since most of the trip back is on the ship, gradually changing time zones, with a short (for us) flight home, we returned home very rested. If you get a chance to do a TA - I'd highly recommend it!!!

[galliegirlie]

I'm hoping to hear about the rest of your port stops and the experience on the cruise.

[PathfinderEss]

Enjoying your review.

[Raschueler]

On our way back to the port, we stopped at a little pet store. We had to get something for our "kids." We returned our scooter, and then were just walking around town buying souvenirs when we ran into our friends again! We all got lunch at a little cafe. Matt tried to get a hamburger again...sigh.

 

 

Hey, at least this one had bread! I decided to just drink my second lunch :D I was still full from our actual lunch.

 

Once back on board, we all decided that we wanted to hangout by the pool. I planned on heading back to our room to get ready for dinner and to catch the 7:15 ventrioquist show, but we ended up in the hot tub having drinks and fun conversations so I quickly nixed the idea of going to the show. We all had an 8:45 dinner time, so we left in time for that and met after dinner at the Martini Bar.

[Raschueler]

Today was our last sea day and formal night. We did our usual lay by the pool and napping for our sea day. We really enjoyed having our balcony. We made it to the show before dinner this evening. The show was "Reflection The Show" and we really enjoyed it. We met with our friends in the hall before heading down. It was nice that they were only a few doors down.

 

 

We passed through the Messina Strait right before dinner. Gorgeous!!

 

 

 

We both requested two lobsters this evening. In comparison to Royal Caribbean (basically the only other time I eat lobster), it wasn't as good. Matt agreed. Oh well! Still fine for us.

 

 

Matt has a slight obsession with baked Alaska.

 

[Raschueler]

After dinner

 

There was a "So You Think You Can Dance Like the Stars" after dinner and wow that was entertaining!! It was held in the Grand Foyer. People signed up, and then were randomly paired.

 

This "couple" were the best. The song was "My Heart Will Go On" and they were basically acting out the Titanic. There was the drawing of Rose, the classic scene on the bow, Rose on the float, ect!

 

 

We had a fun night on the Reflection and were ready to see Naples!

 

[Raschueler]

Today we arrived in Naples, Italy. I had been to the Almafi Coast before and was very excited to return. What I wasn't excited about was the drive. Last time it was so windy coming from central Italy. Before we get there though, our tour took us to Pompeii. We booked this tour with many members of our roll call.

 

Pompeii:

Our driver took us to Pompeii and pointed out many things on the way. Once we saw Mt. Vesuvius he pointed it out to us and even told us that they call Capri "the pregnant woman" since it looks like a pregnant woman laying on her back. He told us stories and was a great driver and not frightening like my friend's distant uncle that drove us to Almafi on my previous trip!

 

At Pompeii, the tour company had arranged a great tour guide for us.

 

She told us that the people of Pompeii did not know that the mountains were actually volcanoes. She pointed out the rocks below our feet and told us it was formed from lava, so they could have known it was a volcano had they known it was lava rock. Apparently Mt. Vesuvius hadn't errupted in many years before the "Pompeii" eruption, so there was no known history of it.

 

 

In the piazza with Mt. Vesuvius behind us

 

 

There were many brothels. Our guide told us we could tell if it was a brothel if there was a stone bed!!

 

 

Here is one of the "menu" options

 

 

A theater

 

 

Cast