new to Celebrity, have questions

[ule]

I'm really liking all of you who have answered my original post and the subsequent ones posted by others.  You all have been so helpful with no snarky answers like on some of the other boards.  So much so in fact, I'm going to ask another question here instead of on my Roll Call where it should probably go.

 

My friend and I are are booked on the Reflection on the 11/29 sailing.  It will be our first time on a Celebrity cruise.  What do you all recommend for things we must not miss on the ship?  Things to do? Places to see?  Places to eat?  Food that's not to be missed?  Excursions that are well worth it?  All in insider tips that regular cruisers would know and a newbie wouldn't.

[Luvcrusn]

25 minutes ago, ule said:

I'm really liking all of you who have answered my original post and the subsequent ones posted by others.  You all have been so helpful with no snarky answers like on some of the other boards.  So much so in fact, I'm going to ask another question here instead of on my Roll Call where it should probably go.

 

My friend and I are are booked on the Reflection on the 11/29 sailing.  It will be our first time on a Celebrity cruise.  What do you all recommend for things we must not miss on the ship?  Things to do? Places to see?  Places to eat?  Food that's not to be missed?  Excursions that are well worth it?  All in insider tips that regular cruisers would know and a newbie wouldn't.

Don't miss dining in Murano, it's far and away the best specialty restaurant on X ships. The Lobster Murano and the Chateaubriand, both prepared tableside are not to be missed as is the dessert Crepes Balon Rouge. The desserts and pastries at Café Al Bacio on deck 5 are free without any purchase and the coffee and tea there is included if you have a beverage package. As for excursions, I'd be happy to recommend as would others, but we'd need to know what ports your cruise will visit.

 

The drawer space in the cabins is limited unless you're in a suite, but there is a wonderful cabinet  above the bed with lots of extra space. We take 8 storage cubes that fit perfectly (four per side) and makes it very usable. The cubes are light weight and fold flat and are 10 1/2" x 10 1/2" x 11" and can be gotten at the Dollar Store or Amazon cheaply. Also we use two heavy duty magnets and a piece of twine that we hang in the shower to rinse and dry our swimsuits since there's no pull across line. If you use a hairdryer, the ones on Celebrity are in the desk and require that button be continually pressed for airflow. I bring my own since I have long thick hair. Room service is free between 6:00 (6:30?) AM and 11PM otherwise there's a $4.50 charge per order.

[ule]

27 minutes ago, Luvcrusn said:

Don't miss dining in Murano, it's far and away the best specialty restaurant on X ships. The Lobster Murano and the Chateaubriand, both prepared tableside are not to be missed as is the dessert Crepes Balon Rouge. The desserts and pastries at Café Al Bacio on deck 5 are free without any purchase and the coffee and tea there is included if you have a beverage package. As for excursions, I'd be happy to recommend as would others, but we'd need to know what ports your cruise will visit.

 

The drawer space in the cabins is limited unless you're in a suite, but there is a wonderful cabinet  above the bed with lots of extra space. We take 8 storage cubes that fit perfectly (four per side) and makes it very usable. The cubes are light weight and fold flat and are 10 1/2" x 10 1/2" x 11" and can be gotten at the Dollar Store or Amazon cheaply. Also we use two heavy duty magnets and a piece of twine that we hang in the shower to rinse and dry our swimsuits since there's no pull across line. If you use a hairdryer, the ones on Celebrity are in the desk and require that button be continually pressed for airflow. I bring my own since I have long thick hair. Room service is free between 6:00 (6:30?) AM and 11PM otherwise there's a $4.50 charge per order.

 

Duh, would have helped would it?   We're stopping at

 

1.  St. John's, Antigua

2.  Bridgetown, Barbados

3.  Castries, St. Lucia

4.  Basseterre, St. Kitts & Nevis

5.  Phillipsburg, St Maarten

[Luvcrusn]

We're doing an identical Reflection cruise next March. Antigua is a port we've been to many times, so these days we stay aboard and enjoy the quiet ship. In Barbabos, Calabaza catamaran comes highly recommended. It's a private tour with only a small group aboard and books up fast. It includes several snorkeling stops, drinks and a nice lunch and is a bit pricey but worth it. It books up early, so if you're interested look it up and reserve it. There's also Harrison's cave, or you can go the Boatyard beach club or several others on your own. We did a nice ship tour in St. Lucia several years ago that included a full island tour, the botanical gardens and the warm mineral baths that took about 6 hours. It was a nice tour especially if it's your first time there. In St. Kitts, we visit Carambola Beach Club. You can email them ahead of time to reserve loungers and umbrellas for $10 each. It's a cheap cab ride there (about 15 minutes) and easy to get a cab back. You can arrange with your driver to pick you up but there are cabs there waiting or they can call one for you. They have a nice restaurant and bar and restrooms/showers. In St. Maarten we like to take the water taxi ($7 per person for all day) over to the beach where we rent loungers and umbrellas. There's a boardwalk there with shops and restaurants and hotels, restrooms etc. The water taxi runs about every 15 minutes throughout the day. If you've never been to St. Maarten before and want to tour the whole island the ship does offer one that visits both the Dutch and French side. The traffic in St. Maarten can be crazy if you're taking land taxi so allow lots of time if you are doing this on your own to get back to the ship.

 

Edited March 19, 2019 by Luvcrusn

[snyniew]

Second Luvcrusn on Calabaza in Barbados. Have sailed with them twice with the third time coming up in April. St. Lucia Spencer Ambrose has a great tour that I've done in the past and probably plan on doing in December. St. Maarten I've done a tour with Captain Bob's and doing it again in April. On boats tour the entire island with a couple snorkel spots and then a stop (on the water) at Maho beach. Carambola is a nice relaxing beach day in St. Kitts. Antigua I just did a ship tour to swim with the stingrays.

[o-state girl]

St. Lucia- We did a wonderful full day tour with Cosol Tours.  It included snacks and several stops.  Some of the highlights were the Piton, the mudbaths, and a waterfall.  I think it's around $80 for around 5.5 to 6 hours.

 

St. Kitts- Had a wonderful time on the Grand Tour of St. Kitts with Thenford Grey (Grey's Island Excursions).  It's around $55 for around 4-6 hours.  He takes you to several highlights of the island, and then you have a choice whether to spend a couple of hours at the beach or shopping.  

 

 

 

 

[ule]

I think I saw that the Celebrity Reflection does not have self-serve laundry.  One of the boards had a laundry price list per item.  Does Celebrity not do the bag of laundry for one price?  If they do how much is it?

[korryp]

I’ll seen it as low as $35 and up to $40 as a special deal the third day before embarkation. 

[Northern Aurora]

I am posting from the Eclipse. The Celebrity Today has a "laundry challenge" for a full bag (as much as you can stuff) for $49.95.  We've seen that prices in the $40s on other cruises too the past several years.

[ule]

Thank you all for your answers.  It's amazing how sometimes it's hard to google and find an answer for such a simple question.

 

[aliceinalaska]

On 3/19/2019 at 12:14 PM, Luvcrusn said:

Don't miss dining in Murano, it's far and away the best specialty restaurant on X ships. The Lobster Murano and the Chateaubriand, both prepared tableside are not to be missed as is the dessert Crepes Balon Rouge. The desserts and pastries at Café Al Bacio on deck 5 are free without any purchase and the coffee and tea there is included if you have a beverage package. As for excursions, I'd be happy to recommend as would others, but we'd need to know what ports your cruise will visit.

 

The drawer space in the cabins is limited unless you're in a suite, but there is a wonderful cabinet  above the bed with lots of extra space. We take 8 storage cubes that fit perfectly (four per side) and makes it very usable. The cubes are light weight and fold flat and are 10 1/2" x 10 1/2" x 11" and can be gotten at the Dollar Store or Amazon cheaply. Also we use two heavy duty magnets and a piece of twine that we hang in the shower to rinse and dry our swimsuits since there's no pull across line. If you use a hairdryer, the ones on Celebrity are in the desk and require that button be continually pressed for airflow. I bring my own since I have long thick hair. Room service is free between 6:00 (6:30?) AM and 11PM otherwise there's a $4.50 charge per order.

I was wondering if i should bring my hair dryer.  This post just answered my question. Thanks!