Live on Reflection: 14 Nt Exotic Southern Caribbean (Jan 4)

[mahdnc]

Good evening, 

 

Today we left Port Everglades to embark on Celebrity's only 14 nt Caribbean sailing for 2019.  It's our first time on Reflection  although my family of four have been on Eclipse (x3) and Solstice.  It's also the first time we have sailed out of Port Everglades in about 5 years. 

 

Embarkation went very efficiently. It was so fast, we barely had a chance to marvel at the new Terminal 25.  Our shuttle bus from the Springhill Suited ($10 pp) entered Port Everglades at 12:17p and we were in our cabin by 1:05p. 

 

The paper health questionnaire that we are so accustomed to filling out has been replaced with the check in agent asking you the questions directly. 

 

This is the first time wet received stateroom keys that weren't magnetic stripe based. They are now RFID which is  nice because that means no more demagnetized room keys. 

 

After boarding and eating lunch, we took care of making our reservations for our 3 nt specialty restaurant package and getting our internet packages up and running.

 

There were 4 other cruise ships at port today. 3 of them were HAL.  And the weather was awesome as we all filed out of port. 

 

We watched our sailaway from the Sunset Bar (Deck 15 aft) and met many people on our roll call. 

 

I'll be happy to answer any questions....

 

David

Edited January 5, 2019 by mahdnc

[scanditaly]

Thank you for reporting your journey with us.  I'll be back to check on how it's going.

 

Scanditaly

[mahdnc]

From our balcony at 841am, we saw Celebrity Edge sail by on her way to Port Everglades!

[mahdnc]

And then Crown Princess sailed by half an hour later.....

 

[phabric]

I will be following along.

 

Can you take a picture of the new card they are using?

9 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

 

This is the first time wet received stateroom keys that weren't magnetic stripe based. They are now RFID which is  nice because that means no more demagnetized room keys. 

 

 

 

David

 

 

Edited January 5, 2019 by phabric

[mahdnc]

They look like the old ones with no stripe

 

Edited January 5, 2019 by mahdnc

[phabric]

Thanks

[Decpl]

Enjoy your cruise. We loved the Reflection. You can not beat a balcony for watching ships , sunrises and sun sets.

[WeBcruisingMN]

Hi David, remember me from last year's Great Barrier Reef cruise discussions? You gave us so much information for our 3-30-18 GBR cruise on the Solstice (w our daughter who was studying abroad in Australia) on which we had a WONDERFUL cruise. I was just thinking of you the other day and wondering if you were on your New Zealand cruise....that must be next year. Your itinerary for this cruise looks GREAT; I wish my husband and I had joined this cruise- we are really 'feeling' another cruise this time of year. We did the 14nt on the Eclipse Jan 7-21, 2018 and the itinerary was almost identical to yours. We LOVED the ABC islands especially. Hope you have an excellent and tropical time on the Reflection. Our next one is on the Edge in early April, but we are always looking for something else- and may add on something to make the $600 airfare from MSP to FLL seem more worthwhile. Anyway, Bon Voyage and I wish you and your family well. 

[mahdnc]

4 hours ago, WeBcruisingMN said:

Hi David, remember me from last year's Great Barrier Reef cruise discussions?..........Anyway, Bon Voyage and I wish you and your family well.

 

Of course, I remember you. I was thinking about you as well and was wondering how your GBR cruise and your reunion with your daughter went. Did you see her dorm room during your stop at Newcastle?

 

If you are interested in doing another 14 nt Carib cruise, check out the Jan 31 2020 Silhouette sailing. Celebrity just added that to her schedule because of some adjustments to her drydock schedule.  We just booked it!

 

David

[39august]

What adjustment to her drydock schedule, please?

[mahdnc]

1 hour ago, 39august said:

What adjustment to her drydock schedule, please?

 

Silhouette's first cruise after its Revolution dry dock makeover was originally scheduled for Jan 24 2020:

 

http://www.celebritycorporatekit.com/the-celebrity-revolution/

 

But it has since been moved back to Jan 31 2020. This required the cancellation of the 9 nt Jan 24 sailing. The Feb 2nd 12 nt sailing was replaced with the now  current Jan 31 14 nt Caribbean sailing:

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/itinerary-details/14-night-southern-caribbean-cruise-from-fort-lauderdale-florida?packageID=SI14D011&sDT=2020-01-31

 

Edited January 5, 2019 by mahdnc

[mahdnc]

Tonight was our first Evening Chic night at the Opus Dining Room:

 

Edited January 5, 2019 by mahdnc

[wishuponasea]

We will be on Reflection in Feb. and will be following along with your adventures! Thanks for posting!!

[Lastdance]

We do not sail on her until the Nov. 5 TA from Barcelona, but she is our favorite ship!  That sounds like a wonderful itinerary for this time of year, but my DH refuses to cruise during ski season around Tahoe!  So, I will travel with you vicariously...thanks for posting your review!

 

Weather looks perfect!

Edited January 6, 2019 by Lastdance

[mahdnc]

We had our Cruise Critic gathering today at 10:15 am. Our roll call was very large. By the time we sailed, there were 213 people who had formally registered online for the party.  The number was unusually large most likely because this sailing was the only 14 night Caribbean sailing for the year. 

 

The party has been typically held at Cellar Masters. However because of our large numbers, the location was changed to the Sky Lounge. That was a good idea for the numbers that we had, but there were public activities scheduled in the same location starting with a trivia game also scheduled for 10:15 am (marked in red in the first photo). 

 

 

It turned out to be a disappointing mess. The trivia game was conducted with a loud microphone which made it impossible for us CCers to have the conversation that we had been waiting for many months to have (up to two years in some cases!). The people  that showed up for the trivia game were understandably annoyed by the noise from our conversations. 

 

I counted about 160 people who showed up for the CC gathering which was a very strong turnout (over 50%). Many were either bewildered or disappointed with the event. It was the worst one that I've been a part of. 

 

Celebrity realized that the event did not go as well as planned. And to make up for it, an invitation was sent out to our staterooms tonight for a second Cruise Critic gathering to be held tomorrow (sea day #2) at 1:30pm. This time the Tuscan Grille was selected as the venue. So that's nice. We'll see what our turnout will be but I expect things to go much better. 

 

Edited January 6, 2019 by mahdnc

[Host Jazzbeau]

That was really nice of Celebrity to make good on the CC event.  Hope you enjoy the rest of the cruise.  We took the old 14-day Eclipse itinerary out of Miami in 2015 and our Roll Call had a number of folks who took that trip every year.  I don't see why Celebrity can't schedule it at least once a year 

[Canuker]

3 hours ago, mahdnc said:

Tonight was our first Evening Chic night at the Opus Dining Room:

 

Your photo of the Chic night shows most visible people well-dressed. Virtually all the men are wearing a jacket and most a tie. I have not been on Celebrity for quite a while and had intended to pack light with just shirt & tie for the sem-formal nights. Looks like I'll have to pack a jacket, too?

Edited January 6, 2019 by Canuker

[ipeeinthepool]

18 minutes ago, Canuker said:

Your photo of the Chic night shows most visible people well-dressed. Virtually all the men are wearing a jacket and most a tie. I have not been on Celebrity for quite a while and had intended to pack light with just shirt & tie for the sem-formal nights. Looks like I'll have to pack a jacket, too?

 

That's not what I see.  I see probably a 50/50 split for men with and without jackets and most jackets don't have a tie.  That's what I see.  I also see almost no true formal wear for women.  

Edited January 6, 2019 by ipeeinthepool

[Nymich]

Great itinerary on your trip!  We will be following along as well.  We will be on Reflection soon.

[Danwes]

19 hours ago, mahdnc said:

They look like the old ones with no stripe

 

 Nice to see new tech rolling out. How has this effected payment at bars? Do they just tap the card to take payment? If so, Is it any faster than swiping?

[cruisestitch]

I am on board too along with many other 14-day junkies.  

 

The SeaPass tap vs. swipe makes no difference time-wise.  You’ll also find that the slots in the casino have been modified so you don’t put your card in a slot, you tap it.  Much bettter for people who forgot to remove their cards when they left a machine.

[ipeeinthepool]

21 hours ago, mahdnc said:

They look like the old ones with no stripe

 

 

If this is the same as Royal, the one down side is that you cannot punch holes in these cards to card on your lanyard 

[cruisestitch]

Must not be the same because Guest Relations can do it

[ghstudio]

Biggest plus with the new cards is that they aren't magnetic.  No problem keeping them next to your ipad with that magnet in the cover...or in your bag with a magnetic clasp.