Reflections on Reflection

[elbowroom]

Refections on Reflection

 

We took the Jan. 2, 2016 cruise out of Miami. Getting though the airport was not as horrendous as other posters have experienced. It’s still not a nice experience, and people are herded as cattle rather than treated as visitors.

 

Miami port looks and feels like a barracks. Taxi-drivers and porters were hostile towards us, demanding exorbitant tips. It was almost as bad as Jamaica! This was in complete contrast, for example, to the really helpful staff at Metrorail in the airport. Perhaps speaking European English and Spanish is an obvious giveaway or even frowned upon. Who knows!

 

Embarkation was quick, and our luggage was delivered to our stateroom very promptly. Cruise critics have sometimes mentioned the expense of the port carpark. From our stateroom, we could appreciate that the top floor was almost empty. At this peak time of the year, it is clear that people have looked for cheaper alternatives.

 

Stateroom 16XX was immaculately maintained by Carlos & Victor; top marks!

 

Blu was fine this time round. We had suffered a rather dissatisfactory experience on Eclipse in summer, 2014, basically because of poor service and slowness: some waiters working, others chatting and not working…This time round, the Maître and his number two both oversaw and mucked in when required. There was no waiting. Food was fine, as usual: except for the tuna, meat is much better than the prosaic fish. Lobster, short ribs, beef fillet, all tasty; perhaps the rack of lamb was the best dish of all. Dessert ranged from the pretty and good-tasting to the merely pretty. Breakfast service was great. All-in-all, a very positive experience. We had a classic beverage pack which served our purposes. The Viognier (I get the impression I’m the only fan), Prosecco and Cabernet-S were all drinkable, and preferable to hefty mark-ups.

 

Deck 5 is a bit of a paradox. Al Bacio is usually busy, in fact sometimes it’s impossible to get a table or even approach the bar. In contrast, the gelato stand and the Bistro have very few takers. Surely something could be done about this. I don’t think it has much to do with quality, after all, the coffee is regular without being outstanding, as any decent coffee bar in Italy prepares equal if not better beverages, so it perhaps it’s to do with the extra cost. Along similar lines, Qsine was quite busy every night, unlike the other two speciality restaurants.

 

Entertainment was Ok. The musical numbers were pretty repetitive: same singers, similar songs, different costumes. The comedians played specifically to the North American audience, so it’s hardly surprising that people of different origin either found the humour esoteric or else walked out. They should not have been picked out and ridiculed by the comedian, in my opinion. The Russian acrobats and contortionists were outstanding.

 

Ports of call, Cozumel. It was cool and breezy. We were docked at the out-of-town terminal, which required a taxi drive to downtown. We bargained with the taxi-driver and agreed on a $90 fee for the whole day. This turned out to be highly satisfactory, as he took us everywhere we wanted, to San Gervasio, all over the wild side of the island, without any pressure to go to places we weren’t interested in, like the Tequila factory! He waited for us while we toured San Miguel, then took us back to the ship.

 

Georgetown was the real bummer of the trip. Heavy swell meant that there was no chance of seeing the Cayman Islands. This was particularly frustrating, as it was the day the sky was bluest, and the water, the deepest turquoise.

 

Ocho Rios is not the most laid back of places, as visitors are often hassled. We did not feel like monkeying up the falls at $20 a head entrance fee, so went instead to Kanoko Gardens. They’re quite small, well maintained and very pretty. There’s also a waterfall that looks great in photos.

 

Cococay was an extremely pleasant experience, combining pleasant weather and sunny skies. We walked to Barefoot Beach, and spent a relaxing time either under a palm tree or in the water. The lunch was better than anticipated, though removed with astounding celerity, more of which in a moment.

 

One reflection is about prices. Throughout the cruise, we were informed that the Caribbean is a bargain area for buying diamonds, a Rolex, or other luxury items. In fact, Celebrity even organises shopping expeditions. However, to be quite honest, I saw the savings as being pretty nominal. At the same time, it doesn’t really make much sense to persuade people to buy ashore what is also sold onboard, down to the Rolex! Perhaps someone can explain.

 

The second reflection focuses on the black hole. If you take an excursion and return just a little bit late for lunch, what do you do? Go to the Oceanview buffet, but they begin to remove food before the designated time, so when that moment arrives, the staff have long since disappeared, leaving you with the choice of pasta and pizza – if there’s any left. If I recall correctly, neither Princess or Oceania do this, and more variety is availably at these in-between times. Similarly, on sea days, the MDR is open for lunch from noon to one p.m. Come on! We’re on holiday! Can’t these times be extended a little longer? Room service is an alternative, but arguably not a good response to a common problem.

 

A third reflection is about loungers. If pool butlers enforced the rules, what would happen? Either they would have to walk the plank, or else people would simply adapt. Here, I’m going to be descriptive, leaving judgement to others. One sea day, we arrived at 8.30. The two of us lay down on two sunbeds in a row of five, with five opposite, making a total of ten. We left at 12.30. During that time, only one other sunbed was fully occupied, another for about an hour, the rest were occupied by orphaned Celebrity magazines and towels, and by the odd snacker who ignored the signs of occupation and sat down for twenty minutes or so.

 

Disembarkation was straightforward. We took a cruise tour to the Everglades with an airport drop-off. The actual time spent there was very short indeed, everything was over by midday. You get a glimpse of something marvellous, but just a glimpse. It’s an interesting way to spend a short period of time, but I wonder if there are better and cheaper ways of doing the same thing.

 

All-in-all this was a very relaxing trip. Don’t expect Celebrity to change its winning formula much, (the Blu menus don’t vary at all!) or ease the pressure on your wallet via the so-called activities. The price was reasonable, unlike several summer northern European trips. We would certainly repeat a similar experience, as a warm day on the beach in the Caribbean in January is a luxury for us, modern or otherwise.

[Love PalmTrees]

Thanks so much for your review. We are going on Reflection cruise soon and always looking for more info about the cruise/ship. Sorry to hear you didn't make Grand Cayman. It is one of our favorite stops. And thanks for "black hole" warning and lack of food venues on port days. Carnival usually extends their OV cafe hours on these days. I will be sure to check out the Dailies and note the lunch hours. Quite often DH will get off the ship, check out things and make it back on the ship for a workout and late lunch. With a tender port this could be a real disappointment. Thanks again!