CHICAGOPAUL - LIVE! From Celebrity REFLECTION & TURNING 30!!!!!

[johhnnyt]

Hope you and Edward have a great time. LMK if they repaired the fries at the Lawn Club Grill :)

[like2cruise]

I am enjoying following along on your cruise on our favorite ship, Chicagopaul. For your next cruise you stated that you were planning on the ultimate dining package. My hubby and I were planning to do that for our March Reflection cruise but had read from Cruise Critic posts, that has been stopped in lieu of the new dining packages. Are you hearing onboard that the Ultimate is still being offered? Thanks!!

[chicagopaul]

I am enjoying following along on your cruise on our favorite ship, Chicagopaul. For your next cruise you stated that you were planning on the ultimate dining package. My hubby and I were planning to do that for our March Reflection cruise but had read from Cruise Critic posts, that has been stopped in lieu of the new dining packages. Are you hearing onboard that the Ultimate is still being offered? Thanks!!

 

 

 

Sorry! It's cancelled but I keep using that term. The new pricing works out to around the same though lunch isn't included. I think the new pricing is around $30 per night per person if you book the entire cruise.

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

Ah our last day. It's always depressing. We have a Noon flight out of FLL but we have baggage tags 1 and have the gust shuttle to the airport. Hopefully all goes smoothly.

 

Today was windy on the pool deck! But we had good seats and had a great time watching the officers verse guests volleyball. Always one of my favorite little activities.

 

 

Overall it's been a great cruise. There is definitely room for improvement in some areas which I will note in my final review. I'm happy to see how open this staff is to improve their ship.

 

I'll post some pictures later as the night progresses. Time to get back to packing.

 

 

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[FlorenceItaly]

Thank you for taking us along on your birthday cruise. I hope it was a memorable birthday for you. Happy Belated Birthday. I look forward to your final thoughts.

[lindy sails]

Thank you for taking us along on your birthday cruise. I hope it was a memorable birthday for you. Happy Belated Birthday. I look forward to your final thoughts.

 

 

Hi Florence,

Happy New Year! Hope you're doing really well and planning your next cruise. I just booked the Silhouette for April 16. Totally unexpected, & spur of the moment -just couldn't pass up the price! First time on the Silhouette. I've been on the Solstice and the Eclipse twice. Getting excited!

I am so sorry we did not meet on the Regal. We were probably sitting near each other & didn't even realize it. I always looked for you around the adult pool

as I walked to the Sanctuary. Remembered your CC photo.We'll just have to book another cruise together!

Linda

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[FlorenceItaly]

Paul, please excuse threadjack!

 

Linda,

Happy New Year! Congratulations on your recent booking. That is a good deal!! We are still in Florida, have been gone from home since December 16. We leave end of the month. Otherwise, we might have joined you. Next up for us is the Pacific Coastal in May on the Infinity. I have been wanting to sail the itinerary and we found a deal a few weeks back(inside cabin). Sorry we didn't meet on the Regal. We had such a great cruise and loved the ship!

 

 

Marie

[chicagopaul]

Great pics thank you, We can't wait to try this bar. Do you know if Uriel and Milton will still be on the ship for the upcoming March 18th sailing? we have heard they are great

 

 

 

Yes they both should be on there. I think they're hopping off before the TA

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

Cheers everyone. Last night was bittersweet as with all last nights of the cruise. We had a nice dinner at Luminae with Dawn and Lisa. Said our goodbyes to Arlen and Jon and others we met on the cruise. It's always sad saying goodbye to the staff that you get to know so well. Thank goodness for Facebook allowing us to keep in touch.

 

I was surprised how late everything was open last nights. Shops were all open well past 11. The live music in the atrium was excellent and was going on well past 11. People were up drinking and dancing. The Martini bar was packed. It was a good way to end the night.

 

Today debarkation was fantastic. We had booked the first transfer through celebrity for FLL airport. By just after 7 luggage tag 1 was able to get off (that was us) and we were through customs in about 2 minutes once we had our bags. They were only checking passports. No more customs immigration forms to fill out! That was a bit confusing as some people on the cruise were getting them and others were not.

 

We're sitting at the airport now. Clearly early for our Noon flight. But it will give me time to start my final thoughts and reviews.

 

 

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[Ma Bell]

Safe travels!

[Golfwife1]

Thanks, Paul. Loved last night at W Hotel in Miami.

Are preparing to head to Reflection now. Can i just follow your travel style? Seems a good fit. Safe travels home. Kimberly

[Madu00]

Cheers everyone. Last night was bittersweet as with all last nights of the cruise. We had a nice dinner at Luminae with Dawn and Lisa. Said our goodbyes to Arlen and Jon and others we met on the cruise. It's always sad saying goodbye to the staff that you get to know so well. Thank goodness for Facebook allowing us to keep in touch.

 

I was surprised how late everything was open last nights. Shops were all open well past 11. The live music in the atrium was excellent and was going on well past 11. People were up drinking and dancing. The Martini bar was packed. It was a good way to end the night.

 

Today debarkation was fantastic. We had booked the first transfer through celebrity for FLL airport. By just after 7 luggage tag 1 was able to get off (that was us) and we were through customs in about 2 minutes once we had our bags. They were only checking passports. No more customs immigration forms to fill out! That was a bit confusing as some people on the cruise were getting them and others were not.

 

We're sitting at the airport now. Clearly early for our Noon flight. But it will give me time to start my final thoughts and reviews.

 

 

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Wondering how you booked the transfer to FLL airport through Celebrity.....we would be interested in doing the same in a couple of weeks.

[dgparent]

Cheers everyone. Last night was bittersweet as with all last nights of the cruise. We had a nice dinner at Luminae with Dawn and Lisa. Said our goodbyes to Arlen and Jon and others we met on the cruise. It's always sad saying goodbye to the staff that you get to know so well. Thank goodness for Facebook allowing us to keep in touch.

 

I was surprised how late everything was open last nights. Shops were all open well past 11. The live music in the atrium was excellent and was going on well past 11. People were up drinking and dancing. The Martini bar was packed. It was a good way to end the night.

 

Today debarkation was fantastic. We had booked the first transfer through celebrity for FLL airport. By just after 7 luggage tag 1 was able to get off (that was us) and we were through customs in about 2 minutes once we had our bags. They were only checking passports. No more customs immigration forms to fill out! That was a bit confusing as some people on the cruise were getting them and others were not.

 

We're sitting at the airport now. Clearly early for our Noon flight. But it will give me time to start my final thoughts and reviews.

 

 

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Wow that week went by quickly !! Great review looking forward to your final review. Doesn't getting off the ship blow the big one ?

[chicagopaul]

Wondering how you booked the transfer to FLL airport through Celebrity.....we would be interested in doing the same in a couple of weeks.

 

 

So the cost was $30 per person. They have different time slots you can choose from. We booked through our butler but you can book at guest relations. We booked two days prior to debark with no problems but I'd recommend booking a bit earlier when you board to be on the safe side.

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

Thanks, Paul. Loved last night at W Hotel in Miami.

Are preparing to head to Reflection now. Can i just follow your travel style? Seems a good fit. Safe travels home. Kimberly

 

 

 

Thank you! I hope you enjoy the cruise! Keep all the bartenders busy for me!

 

 

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[lindy sails]

Paul, please excuse threadjack!

 

Linda,

Happy New Year! Congratulations on your recent booking. That is a good deal!! We are still in Florida, have been gone from home since December 16. We leave end of the month. Otherwise, we might have joined you. Next up for us is the Pacific Coastal in May on the Infinity. I have been wanting to sail the itinerary and we found a deal a few weeks back(inside cabin). Sorry we didn't meet on the Regal. We had such a great cruise and loved the ship!

 

 

Marie

 

 

Spending the winter in Florida sounds good to me Marie! Looking forward to hearing about your Pacific costal cruise.

Thanks Paul for your great report!

Linds

 

 

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[FlorenceItaly]

Paul, looking forward to your final thoughts. What's up next for you? Is memory serving me right that your next cruise is just a few short months away(May)?

[Born to Cruise]

Thank you Paul! Really enjoyed reading your blog. It makes me even more excited about our next cruise aboard Reflection for the 11 night sailing November 27th. We sailed on her in 2014 and I absolutely love this ship. Truly excited about the new Edge class too. Again thank you for all of your hard work keeping us up to date on your birthday cruise.

 

JoAnne

[Tiggertastic]

Paul

 

Great to follow another one of your cruises, it seems forever since we were on the same one. Thanks for posting pictures of sunset. We're heading for the bar as soon as we board.

[WINGFAN728]

So the cost was $30 per person. They have different time slots you can choose from. We booked through our butler but you can book at guest relations. We booked two days prior to debark with no problems but I'd recommend booking a bit earlier when you board to be on the safe side.

 

 

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Paul, really enjoyed reading your review...Just curious why you chose to go from port to airport through Celebrity, at $60 for the two of you, seems pretty expensive for a very short trip, but you must see the value in it...Will you please share your thoughts? Again, been following your review and it was so enjoyable, the picture of the hamburger was one I shared all over, amazing [emoji33]

 

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[FlorenceItaly]

Paul - looking forward to your final thoughts.

[Zoey1]

Paul - looking forward to your final thoughts.

 

 

Me too! :)

[chicagopaul]

Well, now that the Edge has been revealed and I’ve calmed down and am back to normal I suppose it is time to finally post my final thoughts.

 

I’ll make this final review / final thoughts to go along with what is already posted. I’ll do my best to not repeat myself too much and keep things short, but I will still touch on the basic categories and summarize my experiences.

 

As you may know I was traveling on this cruise with my partner Edward for my 30th birthday. This was our 6th time on the Celebrity Reflection and 11th overall Celebrity cruise. We also knew several people who were going to be on the cruise as well including Dawn & Lisa from New York area and Arlen and Jon from Montreal.

 

Embarkation:

 

Embarkation was quick and easy. We arrived at the port around 10:20/10:25 I believe. We had no wait in security and because we were staying in a suite we had access to the suite line. There was no one in front of us and we were helped right away. We were in the suite waiting area by 10:30 I would guess and we just waited around 15/20 minutes before Alex (Michael’s Club Concierge) escorted us on board.

 

Ship Shape

 

The Reflection is still looking great. There are some minor areas that will benefit from a dry dock and I’m sure these areas will be addressed. For instance, automatic closet light in the suites was sometime a little funky with one of our closet doors. The water for a couple days in our bathroom was no where near as warm as it usually was but it was fixed and it was hotter than ever.

 

Overall I found the cleanliness of the ship to be typical Celebrity clean. Public bathrooms were always in great shape and the bars and restaurants were always looking very clean. The lawn was looking pretty good, thought a bit dry. There was one section of railing on the top deck that was missing but I assume they were making the replacement during the cruise and not waiting to replace it at a later date.

 

Room Attendants / Butler

 

We were in suite 2111 and we were pleased with the cleanliness of our room. We never needed for anything and always had bottles of water brought by our butler into our room. This was definitely appreciated after waking up from a night of drinking.

 

Our room was always clean when we returned back to our room with the exception of one day where we were only gone for an hour and had to stop in to get something. We didn’t have much interaction with butler or with our room attendant but the interaction we had was very pleasant. Our butler made a point to reach out to us to see what luggage tags we wanted. He said he could get us any number we wanted and we opted to book the shuttle with him.

 

The only complaint I’d have about our room attendant, and this is a minor one, is that in the past they would put more soap in the room that we would know what to do with. This was not the case this time. They seemed to watch very closely and only gave us more soap at the last moment when it was needed. I assume they’re watching their costs or saving the waves.

 

Our friends down the hall did not have the same experience. They had some issues getting properly clean towels and their butler was completely non-existent.

 

Food

 

We were very happy with the food everywhere we ate. We primarily ate in Luminae for dinner with the exception of one night in Qsine. The selections in Luminae were the typical items we’ve had in the past. Everything from sea bass to different steaks to good pasta dishes. Everything was always cooked as we ordered and very tasty. We were always give options from the MDR menu as well. We occasionally ordered cesar salads as well as french onion soup with no issues or delays from the kitchen.

 

We ate in Ocean View for lunch a couple of times and I was very happy with the selections and food quality during lunch. I typically don’t eat anything too extravagant for lunch but I enjoyed the different chicken options as well as the Indian food available for lunch. I was very happy with the Indian food.

 

Mast Grill was good for what we had, which were hot dogs and fries. I saw lots of people getting the burgers and they seemed to enjoy them so hopefully the quality has stepped up since last time.

 

As you know I was very very happy with my burger at Lawn Club for lunch. They have increased costs to $15 for this. They also CHARGE extra for the two drinks on their menu at Lawn Club for lunch even if you have the drink package. This was a charge for the Beer Flight of $10 and their bloody mary for $10. We had plenty of on board credit so it was no big deal but if you’re paying out of pocket for this I would just over a regular bloody or drink on your drink package. The $15 for the burger I do think was worth it. JohnnyT in a previous post asked me if they were able to fix the issue with the fries / potato wedges in Lawn Club for lunch. In the past the issue was not having access to a fryer in Lawn Club. The wedges were soggy. They have instead replaced the sides with chips and onion strings. The chips were good but nothing to write home about. However, they were crisp and crunchy. The onion strings I thought were amazing. They basically were onion strings that were breaded and dusted with some ranch / garlic seasoning? Excellent and very tasty. Keep in mind in addition to the burger you order you also have access to the salad bar for lunch in Lawn Club.

 

Qsine is where we ate our one meal outside of Luminae. Dawn and Lisa and us had dinner in there on…Wednesday night I believe it was. We had a total of 6 items as you may remember. The food there was spot on as usual. Service was very good. I cannot remember the name of our server but he was from Tunisia and had a very fun personality. It was a great meal. I know Qsine can get a bad rap sometime because it seems a little bit of a novelty but it really is a fun place for dinner. Just make sure you don’t eat much during the day and come hungry. The cost was $45pp. Would I pay out of pocket $45? No, but I would use on board credit or I would eat there as part of a dining package where the $45 is discounted.

 

Bars

 

Well if you’ve followed me in the past (or definitely if you follow my daily life on Instagram) you know this is where Edward and I spend most of our time. Overall we found bar service to be pretty good on the cruise. We never had to wait too long but we did notice some issues at the Martini Bar when they were very busy. Many people had the drink package and even with 3 to 4 bartenders behind the bar it was a challenge for them to keep up. The one good thing I noticed they were doing was giving preference to people who were sitting at the bar. If you had a seat they came up to you right away. I’m not just speaking of myself since they know me, but all people who sat down. I like this idea because there are many people that walk up and just want a beer or a glass of wine and in my opinion, if you have a seat at the “Martini Bar” you shouldn’t have to wait too long because a bartender has to run out and grab a bud light for someone who is just going to take it and walk away (I’m not speaking of people who are actually hanging around the martini bar but instead of people who are using it as a walk up and walk away bar).

 

Putu at the Martini bar was fantastic. This was his last cruise until his new contract which will start in June. They’ve already assigned him a different ship but my guess is he will be back on Reflection.

 

The pool bar was getting crowded during the sea days but nothing that I thought the bartenders couldn’t handle. Typically there were at least 2 bartenders out there, sometime 3. Pool bartenders walking by were doing a great job of asking people waiting by the bar what they wanted to help out the bartenders.

 

I LOVED sunset bar this cruise. Milton (Santa) was as awesome as ever but I really want to point out Uriel who was behind the bar. He was fantastic with the guests and even when there was a long wait he was great at acknowledging he saw you and making sure you understood he was getting to you as quickly as possible. He is a great bartender in general and a very nice guy.

 

The bars received new blenders during this cruise (VitaMix is the company) and therefore the mixes will be changing soon as well. Hopefully this will be an improvement. The new blenders look a bit more complicated to use and take a little longer to make blended drinks but I’m being told that they’re much more consistent and can measure exactly the amount of ice needed much better than the previous ones. They’re also quieter. Hopefully this means improved consistency on the drinks. However, the one issue that we noticed was the ice was not mixing properly with the mix. The ice crystals were a bit larger. They were adjusting this and blending longer and this solved the problem. So if you get a frozen drink and think it tastes only like ice, ask them to blend longer until they get the issue sorted.

 

Production Shows

 

They are what they are! Some of you hate them, some love them, some live to critique them. I’m in the middle. I don’t expect broadway. I just want to be entertained. I’ve seen these shows before on our TA cruise so there was nothing that I was wowed by but they have gotten much better overall. My favorite on this cruise was the Broadway Cabaret performance. It was the vocalists from the production shows singing their favorite broadway songs. I thought the vocals were very good and the songs were entertaining and are songs that we all know (at least if you’re a fan of Broadway). Definitely go to this. On our cruise it was on one of the first nights.

 

The cast is almost exactly the same as the cast that was on the October TA.

 

Broken Strings is their main show that is at the end of the cruise that they sell as their best. The songs are great and fun, but the story line is a little strange and a little bizarre to follow. If you’re looking for a “Broadway” show this is not it, but it is entertaining and the set design is absolutely fantastic.

 

Live Music

 

So I’m at the office now and don’t have the programs in front of me so you’ll need to reference my previous posts for who the live bands were, however, we were very happy with them. Their music variety was fun and their vocals were fantastic. They played in the atrium every night and I really wish they played more. The live music groups were having a lot of fun and you could tell they definitely enjoyed what they were doing. I’ll go through my dailys later on and edit this post with who the bands were.

 

We noticed the bands would play in the atrium until just before 7pm most nights and then canned music would be played at the martini bar. I much preferred the live bands!

 

Ports and Port Timing

 

We stopped in Key West instead of Labaddee. I believe this was due to the Harmony of the Seas docking in Labaddee at the same time and the island would have been flooded with people. We really enjoy Key West so it was a nice stop and we spent the entire day walking around and eating.

 

We arrived into all ports on time or early. There did not appear to be any issues clearing customs in any of the ports and no issues leaving on time either. Security seemed to do a good job getting people through. We did not hear any complaints about tenders in Grand Cayman (we stayed on the ship) and it seemed like open tender started pretty quickly.

 

Recap

 

As usual we were very happy with the cruise. There were a couple areas that need improvement. We had one issue at guest relations where they did not understand the Celebrity policy of suite guests not being charged a $4.99 fee for room service at 11pm. Sadly even the F&B director thought this charge was Celebrity policy and needed to look into it. It appears that in some cases there is a disconnect between corporate policy and ship management. However, this can easily be corrected through better communication and simple training which will lead to more effective implementation.

 

The one thing I always take away from a Celebrity cruise is I feel that the majority of the staff really does care about the brand and they care about the guests. They want to improve not only themselves but the company. Talking with the officers and speaking with bartenders, waiters, and other staff Celebrity seems to hire the right people. That really does make all the difference.

 

As always if anyone has any questions please feel free to ask!

[benjaminhuf]

Great review. Many thanks!++

[jules815]

Thanks for the recap. Sounds like a great cruise. I'll be on Reflection next Saturday. 😊

 

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