chicagopaul Posted November 2, 2018 #1 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Cheers Cruise Critic! It is that time again for another LIVE cruise blog! This time we will be taking you back on the Celebrity Reflection for 11 nights on her first sailing after her Transatlantic back to her winter home port in Fort Lauderdale. As always I encourage you all to ask questions and get involved as you sail along with us. There is no question too big or too small so feel free to ask away. For those of you who have not followed us before I will give you a quick synopsis of who we are. As you might be able to tell from my user name here, my name is Paul and my partner is Edward. We are from Chicago. I am 31 and he is 36. We’ve been sailing Celebrity for almost 8 years and this will be our 16th cruise with Celebrity and 8th on the Reflection. We usually try to cruise about 26 to 30+ days per year. We book all types of cabins. The lowest class room we’ve stayed in was an obstructed balcony cabin. The highest class we’ve stayed in was a Royal Suite. We’ve seen a wide spectrum of cabin types but at the end of the day we always feel like it is the crew and fellow passengers which makes each cruise wonderful. The past week has been a bit of whirlwind. You might remember from our last cruise blog that around this time we were suppose to be moving into our new home here in Chicago. Well, there have been construction delays (it is a new construction building) and we now won’t be moving in until Nov 19th right when we get back from Miami. However, in the meantime we had to vacate our old place so the developer has moved all of our stuff into storage for us and put us up in corporate housing right next door to our new building. So for the past week we’ve been living out of a suitcase. This cruise is coming at a pretty good time! During my live blog on here I will post a minimum of 10 photos each day along with the daily schedule. In addition I will have more photos and short videos on Instagram. I will be using the Instagram “story” feature much more on this cruise than I have in the past. If you’d like to follow me on Instagram my name is PaulKBlackburn. If you see a photo of me in a suit and a bunch of photos of Celebrity or martinis then you know you’ve found the correct profile! I’ll update this blog at least a couple times a day. I’ll walk you through our every move so you can see how we spend our days. One interesting fact about this cruise is this is the itinerary I wrote about for the Celebrity Cruises blog contest that Celebrity was hosting this summer. I ended up winning! So with that being said I will be doing my best to take as much photos as possible and go into even more detail than I normally do. I will also be fully honest with pricing on everything. I know talking about money can sometimes be “taboo” but at the end of the day we all have to pay for these cruises so why not discuss all the costs involved. Below I’ll go over all the basic details of the booking to discuss pricing, airline choice, etc. Feel free to skip it if it bores you! Lets start with the cruise itinerary. November 5th, Celebrity Reflection Cabin: Sky Suite (S1) corner, deck 6 Perks: GO BEST which includes Premium Beverage Package, Unlimited Internet, $150 per person on board credit, Prepaid Gratuities Cost: $7,815 Including all taxes & port fees. We have $300 OBC from the GO BEST offer, plus $300 OBC from Celebrity for booking on board. Our travel agent also gave us $450 OBC but we are having her send that to us in the form of a rebate check. 11 Nights Day 1 - Fort Lauderdale Day 2 - Sea Day Day 3 - Grand Cayman Day 4 - Sea Day Day 5 - Cartagena Colombia Day 6 - Colon Panama Day 7 - Puerto Limon Costa Rica Day 8 - Sea Day Day 9 - Costa Maya Mexico Day 10 - Cozumel Day 11 - Sea Day Day 12 - Back in Fort Lauderdale Flights American Airlines has had some really cheap deals recently, at least out of Chicago. We’re flying out tomorrow, Saturday November 3rd in the wee hours of the morning. After the cruise we spend one day in Miami and then fly back on Saturday the 17th. First Class - Non stop - ORD to MIA and MIA to ORD: $558 per person, round trip. Not bad for first class. This was booked through Choice Air, though it was only about $10 cheaper booking through Choice Air as opposed to directly with American. Yes, we were able to choose our seats and because we put in our AA # when booking the flights loaded up ti our American Airlines app instantly. Hotels Even though the Reflection is out of FLL, we decided to stay in Miami since we’re flying into and out of MIA. Also because we decided to use points for our hotel and specifically decided to stay at Hyatt with points. This might get a long winded so feel free to skip but I believe it is important info as it does relate directly to Celebrity. As you may know, and I’ve mentioned this before, Celebrity has reciprocity with MLife, MGM Resorts & Casino loyalty program. Our Elite Plus gets us Platinum with MLife which has some nice perks. Now, here is where it get interesting. In searching we found out that if you’re Platinum with MLife you also qualify for Explorist (2nd highest tier level) for Hyatt Hotels. Typically if you get status through reciprocity, you usually cannot use that reciprocal status to get another reciprocal status. But we figured we’d put our MLife numbers into the Hyatt system and see what happens. Turns out they gave us Explorist What does that get us? Well it gets us some small stuff like free water, early & late checkout, club floor passes (if there is a club floor) upgraded free internet, etc. However, the nicest feature is that when you book with points and are Explorist or higher you do not have to pay any resort fees. Depending on the hotel this can save you between $20 to $40 per night. Two days in Miami before the cruise: The Confidante Miami Beach (Managed / Operated by Hyatt): 15,000 Chase Points per night. Chase ultimate reward points are valued at 1.6cents per point which means we essentially are paying $240 per night. At the time of booking the hotel was selling for roughly $300 a night. Plus saving on the $30 per night resort fee. Overall we found this a good value of points. After the cruise we will be staying one night at the Hyatt Centric South Beach. The same goes for this hotel as we used 15,000 points for this one night stay. Trip Insurance We buy trip medical insurance to cover us for any kind of medical emergency. This is only for medical issues and medical evacuation. The cost total for two of us was $74.00. The policy is through AIG Travel Guard. How we booked Our cruise and flights were booked with Chase Sapphire Reserve which has excellent trip cancellation, delay, and lost baggage coverage. While it does have some medical coverage and medical evacuation coverage, we believe the addition of the AIG Travel Guard policy is still necessary as the medical coverage provided by the card is quite limited. In total we’re spending $8,931 on this trip including the flights. All were booked with the Chase Reserve card which gives us 3x points on travel meaning we earned 26,793 points on this cruise which essentially means the 2 nights we’re spending before the cruise in Miami are free. Then using our Explorist status with Hyatt (which was indirectly earned through Captain’s Club Elite Plus) we’re able to avoid resort fees and get a few extra perks as well. As usual I've included a quick intro video just in case you'd like to put a voice and face with the blog! Thank you all for following along! 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
effinaround Posted November 2, 2018 #2 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Good stuff Paul. Really enjoyed your previous blogs. I'll be on the Eclipse out of BCN Nov 10 but look forward to reading all your adventures when I get back. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upwarduk Posted November 2, 2018 #3 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Following as usual. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spammie Posted November 2, 2018 #4 Share Posted November 2, 2018 YAY! Can't wait to follow along! Wanda 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHEZMARYLOU Posted November 2, 2018 #5 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Thanks for another live from Paul. We are on the same itinerary on Nov 26 so looking forward to seeing who's on board. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lola2013 Posted November 2, 2018 #6 Share Posted November 2, 2018 WOO HOO...I've been waiting for this! Happy travels, Susan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sykimball1498 Posted November 2, 2018 #7 Share Posted November 2, 2018 We are on her in 9 weeks. The last 14 day cruise without being a back-to-back cruise. Following along and can't wait to see all the pictures. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpodds Posted November 2, 2018 #8 Share Posted November 2, 2018 A fellow Chicagoan following this thread and your travels...again. The Reflection was our favorite cruise to date. Have a great trip, don't get too happy at the Martini Bar... I take that back, have a fabulous time at the Martini Bar... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecslady Posted November 2, 2018 #9 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Following along again on another adventure. Have a great cruise! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tink218 Posted November 2, 2018 #10 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Oh, I am so excited to read about this trip! I have read all your other live reports and have loved them. You do such a wonderful job! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highseas19 Posted November 2, 2018 #11 Share Posted November 2, 2018 MY wife and I did this same itinerary in 2016 on Equinox. Celebrity used to overnight in Cartagena which I would rather do than an overnight in the Cozumel/Costa Maya area. We usually handle out own touring and only occasionally take a ship tour. Am sure you have your activities all planned out but just for reference here is what we did: Cayman - rented jet skis to go out to the stingray area Cartagena - private walking tour Colón - taxi to the new Gatún canal locks Limón - zip lining Cozumel - private sail And, of course, we lived at the Martini bar! Look forward to reading more about your upcoming sailing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisecatmama Posted November 2, 2018 #12 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Love your blogs! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tml Posted November 2, 2018 #13 Share Posted November 2, 2018 I'm very excited to follow along again. Paul you are an amazing blogger. You have a way with words, that makes me feel like I'm on vacation with you. I love all the details. Hope you guys have a blast! Cheers :) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzmund Posted November 2, 2018 #14 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Always a treat to follow Paul and Edward on their cruise. I usually learn of a new drink to try when we next cruise. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josie2 Posted November 2, 2018 #15 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Always love to follow along, and this time doubly so as we board the Reflection when you get off! Enjoy! I’ll be reading along. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelawareTom Posted November 2, 2018 #16 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Looking forward to your review. We'll be on this cruise in Jan. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forever42 Posted November 2, 2018 #17 Share Posted November 2, 2018 I'm a big time lurker. We'll take her from you when you return! We're on the Nov 16th sailing and when I saw on your last trip that you'd be live posting the sailing right before ours, I was terribly excited Thank you! Definitely hoping to see wine and other drink menus. 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare garyl62 Posted November 3, 2018 #18 Share Posted November 3, 2018 Have a great trip, glad to follow along again! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizinindy Posted November 3, 2018 #19 Share Posted November 3, 2018 Hi Paul—-I’ll be creeping down from the 9th floor to check out your Sky Suite! Ha ha! No worries/no stalking! See you at the martini bar sooner then we can imagine! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseheads4ever Posted November 3, 2018 #20 Share Posted November 3, 2018 Hey Paul, Followed your last review and loved it. Looking forward to this one as well. Happy Cruising!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purplsmurf Posted November 3, 2018 #21 Share Posted November 3, 2018 Looking forward to following along....again! We were on the Equinox in September. We saw Boon. He remembered you, but unfortunately he spent most of his time in the back on that cruise. Ari became our #1. He has since moved to the Edge. Have a great time! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare abbydancer2003 Posted November 3, 2018 #22 Share Posted November 3, 2018 Following for no particular reason. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silkroad Posted November 3, 2018 #23 Share Posted November 3, 2018 It’s wonderful to find a new live review by you, Paul! I hope you and Edward have a lovely cruise. Cheers😎 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h20cruzer Posted November 3, 2018 #24 Share Posted November 3, 2018 Finally, I’ve been waiting ::):):):)Love all the details. I am thing about doing a live blog for my next cruise 11/10/18. I know it’s a lot of work... still thinking about it. BKB on the Eclispe 29 days.Give Edward my regards. Norma 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raudacruise Posted November 3, 2018 #25 Share Posted November 3, 2018 Woo hoo! 🍸 Love following ChicagoPaul. Fun read & I always learn something new. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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