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LIVE!!!!! From the REFLECTION TRANSATLANTIC - CHICAGOPAUL -

chicagopaul

By chicagopaul,
in Celebrity Cruises

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sdnich

sdnich

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I am also very excited to book a TA hopefully the next couple years! Would also love to hear the pros and cons and see some of your great pictures!!! Also hear how hard it is going from an RS to regular balcony!! LOL !we’ve done CC ,a couple SS and on Monday we are Lucky enough to upgrade ourselves to an RS extremely excited but worried about the aftermath of having to move to a smaller room again!! LOL !!Any cruise is a great cruise!!!

 

 

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Esprit

Esprit

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I look forward reading your blog and hope you have a wonderful time.

 

We'll be on Reflection in July and my particular concern is whether to upgrade my classic alcohol package so I'll be keen to know what white wines I may be limited to if I don't.

 

There's also the small matter of my daughter currently working on board! Communication with her is very infrequent (internet speed, time difference and work commitments) so any insight from passengers is great.

 

Wishing you calm seas

 

Peter

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lola2013

lola2013

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Good morning,

Glad to have found you at the beginning of your latest adventure. I was a little concerned this morning when I didn't see any Instagram updates...most recent was the "first official drink of vacation" from Midway yesterday afternoon.

My friends and I just got off of our 14-night Princess cruise (our first after multiple Celebrity sailings)...I am in serious cruise withdrawal already...your report will keep me in a cruise state of mind.

Enjoy!

Susan

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Ravbo

Ravbo

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Paul & Edward,

Have a GREAT time.

Transatlantic is on our bucket list for future.

Looking forward to your posts.

We will end up on a cruise with you one of these days.

Have a SAFE cruise.

ENJOY !!!!

Bob & Terry

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chicagopaul

chicagopaul

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Good Morning Everyone! Well it is embarkation day! Last night tour flight arrived right on time. Overall we had a very pleasant flight. We flew Southwest and had A29/A30 boarding and were able to get exit row. We had a couple of drinks on the flight, watched some TV and before we knew it we were landing. As typical with FLL our luggage arrived very quick. I’m always impressed with how quickly our luggage comes out. We grabbed all three checked pieces and decided to use Uber for the first time from FLL. The rude sharing pick up is just down to the right out of terminal 1 (between terminal 1 and 2 or between 3 and 4 if you’re arriving on the other side of FLL). It took our driver about 7 minutes to show up because there was an unusual amount of traffic both around the airport and in the arrivals terminal. It took just over 12 minutes for us to arrive at our hotel, Hyatt Place FLL Airport hotel in Dania Beach.

 

Why did we choose this hotel? Well it’s a far cry from The Four Seasons that is for sure. But we were arriving at 11pm and simply needed something close to the airport and port. We booked this using 8,000 Hyatt points transferred from Chase, so roughly $120 worth of points. The room was selling for over $190/nt at the time of booking so it was a good deal. This hotel also has 24/7 small restaurant / bar. Last night after getting in we ordered food around 11:45. There aren’t many choice but as you can see below the 5 basic options are quite nice.

 

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I wanted the Mediterranean bowl but they were out so we opted for a couple flat breads and had a beer. Service was very friendly and the food was pretty good for what it was.

 

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The rooms themselves are a bit dated and starting to show some signs of wear but they are very clean and spacious. I would like to add that they have very soft towels, better than the towels I had at the Aria in Vegas last weekend. They also have extra blankets which are cleaned and wrapped (so you know they’ve been cleaned). The HVAC is a bit wonky to control but definitely works well and the room is quiet.

 

Is this a luxury hotel? Hell no. But it checked the boxes for what we needed and given the deal we got on it and what the hotel is meant to be we would recommend it for a late night stay.

 

 

 

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chicagopaul

chicagopaul

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Cheers everyone from the pool bar! Embarkation was fantastic. No line and because of Elite Plus we were able to board right away (about 11:10am). Very smooth process. The suite line was longer than the regular line!

 

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Stay tuned for a room tour and I’ll keep everyone posted if I see any of our regular bartenders.

 

 

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UKPete71

UKPete71

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Cheers everyone from the pool bar! Embarkation was fantastic. No line and because of Elite Plus we were able to board right away (about 11:10am). Very smooth process. The suite line was longer than the regular line!

 

Stay tuned for a room tour and I’ll keep everyone posted if I see any of our regular bartenders.

Enjoy your cruise. We did both eastbound and westbound on Reflection last year. The clock changes going east do take their toll. Once you get to Tenerife though it gets easier, just as it becomes port heavy. The southern crossing is great for the weather.

 

Here's my thread from last April's cruise - https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2488749

 

It'll be interesting to follow this and see how they compare. We chose a repo on Constellation instead this year and join her next week in Abu Dhabi to go to through the Suez to Rome.

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chicagopaul

chicagopaul

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Rooms were ready at 1pm right on time. Good work especially for a TA. Here is the info for our cruise! Also note we did receive a 30% off card for embarkation day.

 

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We purchased the internet package for 2 devices. In total, including our 35% Elite Plus discount the cost was $311. Not bad for 14 days. This is total for 2 devices on at any given time. You can always switch which you are using (phone, iPad, laptop).

 

We’ve already made friends at the pool bar and it’s looking like a great group. Now we’re off to make reservations for dinner tonight at Lawn Club.

 

 

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vulcan1971

vulcan1971

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Hello Everyone! It has been a few months since I've been on here but it is that time again for me to start another live blog and I am thrilled to be doing so.

 

Today is Thursday April 12th and Edward and I will be flying out this evening to FLL in order to join the Reflection tomorrow morning for her Atlantic crossing.

 

chicagopaul - I'm so excited to have caught you early on for your cruise/trip reporting. Always a nice escape to keep up with your posts in real time! Your blogs are always so entertaining and informative; your efforts are much appreciated by many of us that are now following your thread. As others have said (and based on my prior cruises), I also LOVE doing a Transatlantic, but I have never done one going Eastbound. If this is your first time going east, can you comment on how you adapt to losing your hour each day and anything you do to combat that? I'd appreciate your tips. Thanks!

 

 

Walter

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JoePDX "Live from...." Rare

JoePDX

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Have a great time Paul & Edward. Always enjoy following along with your Live reports.

 

Husband and I are booked on the TA next April on Edge....our first time going eastbound. It's still a long time off, so I'll pretend I'm there with all of you on Reflection.

 

I love TA's and all those sea days. :cool:

 

Joe

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