LIVE BLOG - First time Celebrity Cruiser - Reflection 1/31-2/10/2020

[StephSch]

I am excited to hear more about your trip. My Hubbie and I will be on the Reflection the day that you depart. We have been on the ship 2 times and the last time was 2 years ago. We will be celebrating our 5 year anniversary.  I cant wait to hear how your trip goes and hear of any things we "have to do" while we are on the ship! I also look forward to hearing what wines you enjoy while on the ship. I would love to know who your sommelier is and if they do a great job, as I have found they make a huge difference in your dinner wine experience. 

 

Warm Regards,

Steph

Edited January 28, 2020 by StephSch
added additional info and fixed spelling.

[ASell]

Man I am so jealous, ok, more like jonesing. I have 27 days to go. Just be aware, I will be living vicariously thru you on this voyage.

Make a toast to all of us stuck in cold when you are on your sail away !!

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, Scuba_Tom said:

I'll let you know how the premium package ends up working out for from a wine standpoint.  Which wine club do you belong to in Paso?  We're members at Adelaida...yum!

 We have belonged to the Tobin James Wine club for the last 10 years. I think we have visited Adelaida winery, but have been to so many it is hard to remember them all. One of our favorite ones was Opolo Winery.

[DrKoob]

Great start! 

 

Can you check something for me when you are onboard? Please?

 

We were on Reflection in Ireland/Iceland in June. Had an amazing time. Our FAVORITE bar/lounge is the World Class Bar. The bartender in charge was Olexi. What a super guy. Could you see if he is still there? We are sailing on Reflection two cruises after you (February 21 to New Orleans for Mardi Gras). Would love to know in advance if Olexi is still there. 

 

BTW: Try the cocktails in the WBC at least one night. Also, if you like seafood, make sure to eat at The Porch. Some of the best seafood I have had (and I have had a lot). 

 

Lastly, you winos should come up here to Washington some time and hit the Walla Walla and Red Mountain areas. With climate change we will be the Napa of the west coast in 10 years. 😃

 

Jim

[gfkcruiser]

Do try the World Class Bar!   When we have the Premium Package we spend time in this bar. We are on the Reflection March 2.

[Nimbus]

This looks great!  Following!  

[scrapcreator]

2 hours ago, terrydtx said:

 We have belonged to the Tobin James Wine club for the last 10 years. I think we have visited Adelaida winery, but have been to so many it is hard to remember them all. One of our favorite ones was Opolo Winery.

We are Tobin James members, too. Opolo is on our list of wineries to visit. If you are ever down in Temecula, I’d like to recommend Peltzer Winery.

 

OK, back to our regularly scheduled Blog and counting down the days until we cruise.

[Scuba_Tom]

3 hours ago, StephSch said:

I cant wait to hear how your trip goes and hear of any things we "have to do" while we are on the ship! I also look forward to hearing what wines you enjoy while on the ship. I would love to know who your sommelier is and if they do a great job, as I have found they make a huge difference in your dinner wine experience. 

 

Warm Regards,

Steph

 

My wife has told me some horror stories about the wine/drink/sommelier service on Celebrity ships if not in a suite, so we'll see.  We're pretty confident with our wine knowledge and ability to create pairings for our meals if sommelier service is lacking.  I'll let you know how it goes.

 

3 hours ago, ASell said:

Make a toast to all of us stuck in cold when you are on your sail away !!

 

Deal.  🙂 🥂

[Scuba_Tom]

2 hours ago, terrydtx said:

 We have belonged to the Tobin James Wine club for the last 10 years. I think we have visited Adelaida winery, but have been to so many it is hard to remember them all. One of our favorite ones was Opolo Winery.

 

We enjoy Opolo's patio and the pizza they have out there on the weekends!  We're planning on being in Paso the first weekend in March, we may have to pay a visit to Tobin James.

 

33 minutes ago, scrapcreator said:

We are Tobin James members, too. Opolo is on our list of wineries to visit. If you are ever down in Temecula, I’d like to recommend Peltzer Winery.

 

OK, back to our regularly scheduled Blog and counting down the days until we cruise.

 

Will put Peltzer on the list, thanks!

[Scuba_Tom]

2 hours ago, DrKoob said:

Great start! 

 

Can you check something for me when you are onboard? Please?

 

We were on Reflection in Ireland/Iceland in June. Had an amazing time. Our FAVORITE bar/lounge is the World Class Bar. The bartender in charge was Olexi. What a super guy. Could you see if he is still there? We are sailing on Reflection two cruises after you (February 21 to New Orleans for Mardi Gras). Would love to know in advance if Olexi is still there. 

 

BTW: Try the cocktails in the WBC at least one night. Also, if you like seafood, make sure to eat at The Porch. Some of the best seafood I have had (and I have had a lot). 

 

Lastly, you winos should come up here to Washington some time and hit the Walla Walla and Red Mountain areas. With climate change we will be the Napa of the west coast in 10 years. 😃

 

Jim

 

Will definitely check to see of Olexi is around.  Don't worry about us not visiting the World Class Bar, we're equal opportunity drink lovers and love a good martini and cocktail as much as we love good wine. 🤣

 

Also, I'm originally from Washington State and graduated from WSU (GO COUGS!)! You probably understand the drinking part better now, huh? I've been to Walla Walla a few times and enjoy WA wines.

[1crazynana]

Great blog! Looking forward to meeting you on the boat. We are also going on the Silvermoon. Safe travels! 

[lemons]

Looking forward to your blog. Love Reflection!

[Verokaren]

I am also thinking about a first time Celebrity cruise, and so will enjoy following you!  Have fun, and enjoy those beautiful beaches in St. Lucia!

[cruise47]

Wishing you a smooth and happy cruise.

[RNCheryl]

Love Reflection, and have been to several of your islands.  Following with anticipation

[whitshel]

9 hours ago, Scuba_Tom said:

Hello, all of you friendly and attentive people following this blog!  I’m currently sitting in my office, unable to actually get any work done.  We leave tomorrow on a red-eye, which means one more day of “suffering” to get through.  I saw a quote the other day that said “Nothing lasts forever, except the day before you start your vacation.”  Boy, ain’t that the truth! 

 

As promised yesterday, today I wanted to comment a bit on our itinerary and excursions.  BUT, before we get to that, I have to address a lie I told you all.  Apparently we are no longer booked into a 2B room on deck 7, but we’ve been upgraded to a C2 on deck 11.  My memory is a little foggy (too much wine over the holiday season?), but Elle tells me “we” put in a Movie Up bid and we found out an hour ago that it was successful.  I can tell you one thing for sure - my bald head is excited to try out that extra hair dryer. 

 

Ok…onto the trip details!

Below is a screen shot of our itinerary.  I will go into more detail about each excursion on the day of so that folks don’t have to jump back and forth, but here is a little snippet about our port days:

 

Antigua – Adventure eco tour

Barbados – Silver Moon catamaran that we booked with fellow CCers from our Roll Call

St. Lucia – Beach and snorkeling

St. Kitts – Island tour

St. Maarten – Food tour!  We’re huge foodies, so are very much looking forward to this one.

 

All excursions except for one (St Maarten) were booked independently.

 

Ok, back to work for now…or at the very least staring at my computer screen dreaming about martinis and beaches. 

 

-T

 

Have fun, we just got back from the Refection, had a great time.  BTW, Silvermoon was the best Catamaran trip we've ever taken. 

[Daneenm]

Hi Tom!

 

I’ll start with...thank you for your service.

 

Hubby and I are also from San Jose and have our first Celebrity Cruise scheduled in November in celebration of our 30th anniversary.  We have all the same ports as you do!

 

Very excited to follow your experience!  Thanks so much for sharing it.

 

—Daneen

Edited January 29, 2020 by Daneenm

[chemmo]

Following from over the pond!

 

We loved our Reflection cruise! 

 

I read that you enjoy your food, I suggest you try out Murano’s...Definitely the best speciality restaurant on board. 

[bikerunner]

On st kitts are you doing the island tour off ship  hope you chose Greys tours.  Its great.  https://www.thenfordgreytours.com
 

this had to be one one of the best tours I ever did.  Mr grey is one of the nicest funniest, very dry sense of humor people tour guides I been on.  You will enjoy reflection.   It’s a great ship.  I was on in nov and going again this nov.  lawn club grill is wonderful and always a go to.  But you will have fun exploring the ship and the ports enjoy the cruise. 

Edited January 29, 2020 by bikerunner

[Cruise a holic]

3 hours ago, chemmo said:

Following from over the pond!

 

We loved our Reflection cruise! 

 

I read that you enjoy your food, I suggest you try out Murano’s...Definitely the best speciality restaurant on board. 

IMO the best restaurant on board is the Lawn Grill.  We also loved the view and food in the tuscan grill.  While we also enjoyed Murano, found the other restaurants better.  We always take at least a four dinner package, so we can also enjoy Le petit chef   love the diversity.

Edited January 29, 2020 by Cruise a holic

[terrydtx]

I see you have St Maarten on your cruise. On our last cruise there we did an excursion with Rhino Boats that included snorkeling and swimming on a private beach.  It was one of the best shore excursions we have ever done in the Caribbean.

 

Here is the link:

https://stmaartencruiseexcursions.com/excursions/rhinoridersnorkel/

 

[Scuba_Tom]

 

Thanks everyone for the engagement!  I'm getting more excited with each passing minute.

 

 

14 hours ago, 1crazynana said:

Great blog! Looking forward to meeting you on the boat. We are also going on the Silvermoon. Safe travels! 

 

Can't wait, see you soon!  I look just like my avatar. 😂

 

9 hours ago, Daneenm said:

Hi Tom!

 

I’ll start with...thank you for your service.

 

Hubby and I are also from San Jose and have our first Celebrity Cruise scheduled in November in celebration of our 30th anniversary.  We have all the same ports as you do!

 

Very excited to follow your experience!  Thanks so much for sharing it.

 

—Daneen

 

Thank you!

 

4 hours ago, bikerunner said:

On st kitts are you doing the island tour off ship  hope you chose Greys tours.  Its great.  https://www.thenfordgreytours.com

 

Yes, this is what Elle chose.  She loves doing travel research, so I'm lucky in that I just have to show up and it's always fantastic.  

[Scuba_Tom]

7 hours ago, chemmo said:

 

I read that you enjoy your food, I suggest you try out Murano’s...Definitely the best speciality restaurant on board. 

 

4 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

IMO the best restaurant on board is the Lawn Grill.  We also loved the view and food in the tuscan grill.  While we also enjoyed Murano, found the other restaurants better.  We always take at least a four dinner package, so we can also enjoy Le petit chef   love the diversity.

 

Thank you for the suggestions.  Elle tells me that she has booked us into Murano on the first night with the first night discount, and then we have our four night dining package.  It's looking like our specialty dining will be 2x Murano, 2x Lawn Club, 1x Tuscan.  Plus the Veuve Clicquot dinner if it is offered on our sailing.  I don't think I'll be going hungry!

[Scuba_Tom]

3 hours ago, terrydtx said:

I see you have St Maarten on your cruise. On our last cruise there we did an excursion with Rhino Boats that included snorkeling and swimming on a private beach.  It was one of the best shore excursions we have ever done in the Caribbean.

 

Here is the link:

https://stmaartencruiseexcursions.com/excursions/rhinoridersnorkel/

 

 

This looks like an absolute blast, thanks for sharing.  We won't be able to do it this time as we're booked for an island food tour on St. Maarten, but we'll put it on the list for next time.

[Cruise a holic]

1 hour ago, Scuba_Tom said:

 

 

Thank you for the suggestions.  Elle tells me that she has booked us into Murano on the first night with the first night discount, and then we have our four night dining package.  It's looking like our specialty dining will be 2x Murano, 2x Lawn Club, 1x Tuscan.  Plus the Veuve Clicquot dinner if it is offered on our sailing.  I don't think I'll be going hungry!

Enjoy