Reflection - Review - Ultimate Caribbean - April 2, 2018 - April 13, 2018

[Cruise a holic]

Those pictures remind me how great the food was in Murano's! It explains the 5 lbs I gained on our March 2 week Eclipse cruise! Have lost it and then some, in preparation for our next cruise in August!

 

Enjoy.

[HBJD]

Thanks for the great review.

 

FYI- I’m also from North Jersey, work in financial services, and will be on the Reflection in a few weeks.

[miched]

Hi

 

 

Surprisingly the road trip down to Florida was fun. It was more fun than our flight home was.

 

Scott isn’t afraid of flying. He can fly planes himself as a pilot. He doesn’t like being a passenger on a plane.

 

I thought I would hate the long drive but having the control and flexibility was great. We are even thinking of driving round trip to Disney World in our own car.

 

Our flight home took so long. We were delayed a bit in the airport then on the plane. For a 2.5 hour flight we were traveling for almost 10 hours when you add in the waiting time at the airport, flight, then getting home from the airport.

 

Sounds like you have several great cruises coming up.

 

 

 

 

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We now drive everywhere. We drove to Vegas twice in the last two years and will be go be doing it again is Sept

 

We drive to Fl from Mi and as you mentioned it gives more control and flexibility. Most times it ends up costing more than flying but we treat the trip there and back as another cruise except on being on land. We will spend a few nights at different cities along the way and see America. In March we stayed in Bardsville KY for 3 nights and did part of the bourbon trail. We have the time so that isn’t a factor. Have spent time at Kennedy Space Center, St Augustine, Disney, Key West ( little out of the way but was the days between 2 cruises), Savannah and etc and also visited transplanted friends and snowbirds.

 

We have had many bad experiences flying and seen the potential for many more when we started driving. We were caught in Sandy on a cruise ship and couldn’t get back to the port for two days. Passenger that flew in were basically stranded for many days trying to get flights home.

 

We were delayed getting back into the port many times because of medical emergiencies, mechanical issues and weather. It didn’t affect us because we were driving but those with private flights were big time.

 

We also like being able to take as much luggage as we want and also not be restricted by the the security rules.

 

 

Driving can also have problems but there is more freedom.

 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[Noreen411]

Those pictures remind me how great the food was in Murano's! It explains the 5 lbs I gained on our March 2 week Eclipse cruise! Have lost it and then some, in preparation for our next cruise in August!

 

 

 

Enjoy.

 

 

 

I agree, the food on Reflection was great.

We enjoyed almost everything.

 

I have lots of food pictures. Somehow when you are sitting down to eat, it’s easy to keep your phone on the table to take pictures. Often that’s easier than pulling it out for a picture while running around doing things and having to stop to pose.

 

Enjoy you upcoming cruise

 

 

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[Noreen411]

Thanks for the great review.

 

FYI- I’m also from North Jersey, work in financial services, and will be on the Reflection in a few weeks.

 

 

 

Thank you.

 

Small world right?

 

Enjoy your upcoming cruise.

 

 

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[Noreen411]

We now drive everywhere. We drove to Vegas twice in the last two years and will be go be doing it again is Sept

 

 

 

We drive to Fl from Mi and as you mentioned it gives more control and flexibility. Most times it ends up costing more than flying but we treat the trip there and back as another cruise except on being on land. We will spend a few nights at different cities along the way and see America. In March we stayed in Bardsville KY for 3 nights and did part of the bourbon trail. We have the time so that isn’t a factor. Have spent time at Kennedy Space Center, St Augustine, Disney, Key West ( little out of the way but was the days between 2 cruises), Savannah and etc and also visited transplanted friends and snowbirds.

 

 

 

We have had many bad experiences flying and seen the potential for many more when we started driving. We were caught in Sandy on a cruise ship and couldn’t get back to the port for two days. Passenger that flew in were basically stranded for many days trying to get flights home.

 

 

 

We were delayed getting back into the port many times because of medical emergiencies, mechanical issues and weather. It didn’t affect us because we were driving but those with private flights were big time.

 

 

 

We also like being able to take as much luggage as we want and also not be restricted by the the security rules.

 

 

 

 

 

Driving can also have problems but there is more freedom.

 

 

 

 

 

Happy cruising [emoji305][emoji568][emoji631][emoji560]

 

 

 

Thank you for the encouragement on the road trips.

 

We both are still working so will do more straight through drives, but even still, there are benefits over flying.

 

I used to enjoy flying but lately not so much. Aside from Scott not liking it, your time and space is not your own. It’s getting more and more stressful to fly.

 

I see more road trips in our future.

 

It will be great to have the extra time to enjoy the road trip even more but we still have a while to go before we get there.

 

Thank you

 

 

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[Noreen411]

Celebrity Today for Wednesday 4/4/18

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Noreen411]

Grand Cayman Map

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Noreen411]

Extra flyers that were in the Celebrity Today

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Noreen411]

Wednesday 4/4/18 - Grand Cayman

 

We were supposed to move our clocks back an hour (gaining an hour) but somehow I didn’t do it correctly. I assumed my phone and Fitbit would change automatically like they usually do. I have my swatch watch as a backup also. When I woke up in the morning we got ready for the gym. Then we realized the phone and Fitbit didn’t change times yet so we were ready to go to the gym at 5am thinking it was 6am.

 

We hung out and just puttered around the cabin for a bit.

 

 

We went to the gym at 6.

 

After our workout we went back to the cabin to shower and get dressed.

 

We packed our beach bag.

 

Walter brought our room service breakfast. It was very nice. He set it up on the table for us.

 

 

Then he went to get cappuccino for Scott and iced cappuccino for me. He was back with these very quickly. He wanted to get them after he brought the food so Scott’s cappuccino wouldn’t get cold. That was so thoughtful.

 

 

Scott had a bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon.

 

 

I had a yogurt/granola parfait and sausage.

 

 

 

Walter said to call him when we are ready and he will escort us to the tender.

 

We both enjoyed our breakfast.

 

 

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[Noreen411]

This is the room service breakfast menu that was in our room. We had a bunch of them.

 

We would just write in if we wanted something that wasn’t listed like the cappuccino and iced cappuccino.

 

Then we left it in our mail slot at night before going to bed.

 

Later in the cruise we would leave a note to leave our breakfast on the table even if we weren’t back from the gym yet which was great so we didn’t rush back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Noreen411]

Wednesday 4/4/18 - Grand Cayman - Continued

 

Once we were ready to head out, we called Walter and he brought us to a different deck and right onto an empty tender. Once we were settled on the tender, they loaded other passengers.

 

The tender took about 15 minutes to get to Grand Cayman.

 

I took some pictures from the tender.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Noreen411]

Wednesday 4/4/18 - Grand Cayman - Continued

 

We took a taxi to Royal Palms at 7 Mile Beach.

 

 

 

We were set up with chairs ($12 each) and an umbrella ($15).

 

 

We took turns going to the bathroom/changing room to put on our bathing suits. The bathroom/changing room was nice and clean.

 

The beach got crowded pretty quickly.

 

 

 

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[Noreen411]

Wednesday 4/4/18 - Grand Cayman - Continued

 

The water was a bit chilly, but once you got used to it, it felt great.

 

It’s an amazing shade of blue.

 

Scott snorkeled a bit and took a few pictures with the underwater camera.

 

 

 

The beach became crowded since there are a lot of ships in port...they were all lined up in the water (since it’s a tender port). I don’t recall all of them but remember Carnival Vista, Norwegian Epic, Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas, another ship, and us on the Reflection.

 

 

 

 

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[Noreen411]

Wednesday 4/4/18 - Grand Cayman - Continued

 

We left the beach around 12:45 and took a cab back to the pier.

 

 

 

We did a little shopping at the pier for an ornament, a magnet, a postcard, and T Shirts for Scott.

 

We took a tender back to the ship. On the tender there were several pictures of a skull pirate.

 

 

I know there is no choice but to tender at certain ports, but it certainly takes a lot longer to get to and from the island than just docking. I know I’m stating the obvious. I’m glad this is our only tender port for the trip.

 

 

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[Noreen411]

Wednesday 4/4/18 - Grand Cayman - Continued

 

Once we were back on board we were hungry and went to the Porch for lunch since we enjoyed it so much last time.

 

 

We are both drinking Pellegrino rather than flat water on the ship at meals (but still like our flat water for the gym). We both also had soda and are still loving that we are getting canned rather than fountain soda.

 

We shared everything we ordered.

 

For appetizers we ordered the Mahi Mahi Tacos. These were tasty but a bit too spicy for me.

 

 

We also had the Tuna Tartare. This was super fresh and we both enjoyed it.

 

 

For our entree we shared the seafood tower for two which includes shrimp, lobster, scallops, mussels, and seafood salad. This was really good as well.

 

 

 

We thought we were eating lighter so we wouldn’t be stuffed, but we were very full when we walked out of The Porch.

 

We skipped dessert at the Porch and picked up a cupcake and a piece of pecan pie from Cafe Al Bacio, along with an iced caramel macchiato for me and a double espresso for Scott. We brought this back to our cabin and snacked while sitting on the balcony enjoying the view and reading.

 

 

Walter stopped by. He is going to bring us shrimp as well as cheese and crackers a little later.

 

 

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[Noreen411]

Wednesday 4/4/18 - Grand Cayman - Continued

 

We went outside and ran into some of the people we keep meeting out there.

 

One of the couples we’ve been hanging out with is Rich and Eileen. They are from Michigan.

 

We brought Rich and Eileen back to our cabin and were hanging out there.

 

Walter came by a little later and brought snacks and well as bringing the beer they liked to drink. He also invited them to join us in the suite section for the show tonight.

 

 

 

We hung out for a few hours.

 

Around 6:15 they headed out with plans to meet us later by the theater for the show.

 

Scott and I showered and got changed for the evening. However, we aren’t hungry. Scott wants to cancel our dinner at the Lawn Club Grill tonight since we won’t enjoy it since we aren’t hungry. He wants to change it to another night. Scott went to Michael’s Club to change the date. He was able to get that taken care of.

 

When he returned, we went to the casino for a while.

 

We went to the theater at 8:45 and Walter was right outside the theater as promised. Scott stopped at the bathroom and Walter brought me to the reserved seat section. He said he will keep an eye out for Rich and Eileen and bring them in too. After a little bit we were all there.

 

The show was Ryan Joyce and it started at 9. It was OK, sort of cute. It was a magic/illusion show.

 

We hung out for a bit longer with Rich and Eileen.

 

We were thinking of going to Frisky Feud but were having a nice time just hanging out that we didn’t go.

 

Scott and I went to the casino until about 12:30am and we were hungry.

 

We went up to the OceanView Cafe (the buffet) and Scott had them make him another meatball pizza.

 

We also got some rolls and deli meat.

 

The pizza was very tasty.

 

 

We watched part of a movie while we ate back in the suite, Wolf of Wall Street. We fell asleep partway through the movie.

 

There was an additional rose and flower on our coffee table tonight that I’m assuming Walter put there.

 

 

I like where they store the decorative pillows at night (above the TV in the bedroom) when they turn down the room. Again, I’m amused easily by silly things.

 

 

 

 

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Edited May 4, 2018 by Noreen411

[Noreen411]

Our reminder postcard for our Tuscan Grille reservation was on our bed tonight rather than in the mail slot

 

 

 

 

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[Noreen411]

Celebrity Today for Thursday 4/5/18

 

 

 

 

 

Extra flyers that were in the Celebrity Today

 

 

 

 

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[Noreen411]

Thursday 4/5/18 - At Sea

 

We went to the gym today about 7am and it was packed. I got the last available treadmill and Scott got the last available elliptical machine. People started leaving within the next 15 minutes or so and more machines opened up.

 

On the way back to the cabin I stopped at the Aqua Spa Cafe. I read about it before the trip so was anxious to try a smoothie from here. Scott makes smoothies at home once in a while.

 

 

I got an anti oxidant smoothie. I also got a granola bar but am not sure which one since they weren’t labeled. I brought them back to the cabin.

 

 

I didn’t like the smoothie. Neither did Scott. It was kind of room temperature which surprised us. I expected it to be cold. So that was dumped down the sink after we each tried it and didn’t like it.

 

The granola bar was pretty good. We each took a bite or two of it, but didn’t want to ruin our appetite since we wanted to go for breakfast.

 

I finally figured out how to work the inside jacuzzi so took a quick bath then showered and got dressed.

 

We went to Luminae for breakfast.

 

 

 

They brought around a pastry basket.

 

I had a chocolate croissant.

 

 

Scott had an apple turnover.

 

 

The parties were delicious and not huge. We were often disappointed with the pastries/bread on Anthem of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) so this was definitely a plus for Celebrity. They would always look good on Anthem but not always taste good. On Reflection these pastries tasted as good as they looked.

 

 

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Edited May 5, 2018 by Noreen411

[Noreen411]

Thursday 4/5/18 - At Sea - Continued

 

Scott had the crepes filled with apples and cinnamon. He had a side of sausage (both regular and kielbasa).

 

 

 

I had the Belgium waffle with a side of chicken sausage.

 

 

We ended up switching breakfasts. I ate the crepe and he ate the waffle.

 

Neither of us liked the chicken sausage patties; they were a weird texture. We shared the other sausages.

 

After breakfast we watched the Cartegena Highlights presentation in Celebrity Central. The speaker was very good and funny too. It was a relatively quick presentation. Surprisingly, she provided a decent amount of information and wasn’t just pushing the cruise line tours.

 

We went to Archery against the officers. It wasn’t real bows and arrows. It was actually pretty creative how it’s set up

 

 

Many people signed up but only 10 people got to play. They pulled names out of a hat.

 

This was not run very well. I understand having to limit the number of people who could play due to time constraints. My suggestion would be rather than have one guest play against an officer, then the next guest play against an officer (only 10 guests get to play); why not have 20 (or 19) guests play and the highest scoring guest plays against an officer for the final round? This would have let about double the number of people that wanted to participate be able to.

 

It was a pretty crowded event and a shame that most people just were able to watch.

 

We ran into Rich and Eileen at Archery and they also were just able to be spectators. After Archery we hung out with them on the outside deck. It’s nice that there are so many places to just sit outside and hang out.

 

Rich told us he was scolded for accidentally walking into Blu earlier.

 

We stopped by the 12:15 Beyond the Podium presentation in Celebrity Central called Restless Earth. Unfortunately, we missed the beginning so we lost interest and didn’t stay for the whole thing.

 

We stopped at the cabin to fill a laundry bag to send out. We were surprised to see a decent sized paper laundry bag rather than the smaller plastic ones we are used to on Royal Caribbean. We even called guest services to check that this was the correct bag and was told it’s fine to use it. We stuffed a lot of items into the laundry bag (just things like T Shirts, Socks, etc).

 

I was saying to Scott I should take a picture of where we stored the luggage between the couch and glass wall so he wanted to be in the picture.

 

 

Our bar area was always fully stocked which was nice. We never had to ask; as things were used, they kept being replenished. We noticed in the wine fridge that they even stocked up with the beer Rich and Eileen liked.

 

 

We went upstairs. We walked up to deck 16 to see what is there. It’s an extra sun deck.

 

The pool area and all the sun decks are jam packed.

 

We definitely miss the suite sun deck they have on Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas (and all their newer ships). Whenever we went up there we always found plenty of available lounge chairs if we wanted to hang up there.

 

 

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Edited May 5, 2018 by Noreen411

[Noreen411]

Thursday 4/5/18 - At Sea - Continued

 

We found an arcade so played a few games.

 

We were the only people in the arcade.

 

 

 

 

I won at air hockey.

 

 

 

 

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[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[AidenL]

Great review, I’m following along!

[Noreen411]

Thanks for the review.

 

 

 

Thank you for joining in.

 

 

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