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CHICAGOPAUL - LIVE!!!! - Finally heading back to sea!!! - Celebrity Reflection Nov 27th

chicagopaul

By chicagopaul,
in Celebrity Cruises

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chicagopaul

chicagopaul

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hey Cruise Critic! We're back!

 

Wow, has it really been almost two years since our last cruise blog? Our last cruise before Covid was in December of 2019. We had a cruise planned for April of 2020, but that was obviously cancelled. Though I remember at the time holding out for hope that it might still sail but well, that clearly didn’t happen.

 

We always looked at cruising as part of our lives. It was and still is of course a passion of ours. More importantly it was a passion that we developed together. Our first trip together was a cruise. And then things changed due to Covid. Something that was a part of our lives for 30 to 40 days out of the year suddenly evaporated overnight. We found ourselves  planning weeks of cooking at home instead of weeks at sea. Instead of gazing at the ocean and sipping my usual greyhound at 9am I found myself taking daily walks in the morning with a cup of coffee. And instead of hanging out at the martini bar with cruise regulars we found ourselves sitting in a park in the middle of rush street with a bottle of wine meeting neighbors we’ve likely passed by daily but never got to know. So as much as we found ourselves drifting away from our cruise passion (no pun intended) we found ourselves coming closer to strangers we never met and noticed people we knew as friends becoming best friends. At the end of the day as we look back on the past 20 months, as much as I wish it never happened, I can’t help but to consider myself and Edward extremely fortunate in so many ways. Our family and friends are here, healthy and safe. Our careers have only gotten better. Life is good. So it is with that mentality and positivity that we will push forward and enjoy an awesome first cruise in 2 years together!

 

Now, for those of you who haven’t followed us before, let me quickly introduce ourselves. I am Paul and my partner is Edward. We’ve been cruising on Celebrity for 10 years. This will mark cruise number 21 for us on Celebrity. As my profile name suggests we are from Chicago. We are both in our 30s.

For those of you who do know I us I hope you’ve been well over the past 2 years and have stayed safe and healthy.

 

About a month ago Edward and I decided to book this cruise on the Reflection. We both had vacation time we could use and figured we might as well take advantage of it before year end. We were a bit apprehensive given all the additional protocols in place (would it still feel like a cruise?) but seeing so many of you post on Facebook and Instagram about your recent cruise journeys we decided to book it.

 

I’m looking forward to taking you on this journey with us and letting you see what cruising is like through my eyes during these times. I will be as transparent as possible with you all, break down all of our costs and expenses from dinners pre-cruise to our cruise fare and anything we spend on board. I’m also happy to answer any questions at all that you may have and share my opinion!

 

Let’s start with all the boring details about money!

 

Cruise Fair

$1,608.52 Per Person = Total of $3,217.04
Concierge Class
Indulge Package (Includes Premium Drink Package, Streaming Internet, Gratuities, OBC)

OBC was $600 from Celebrity and $200 from our TA

 

Flights

Booked through Flights by Celebrity
American Airlines
Price: $76.79 Per Person RT Economy

 

Departure: ORD to MIA 8:30am
Return: FLL to ORD 11:58am

 

Gold status with AA so we get preferred seat choices at no cost and first checked bag at no cost.

 

Hotel

South Beach - Hyatt Centric (across from the Loews)
Booked with points transferred from Chase. 20k points per night. Honestly not the best redemption we’ve done but not terrible.

We are Explorist status with Hyatt and last time had a nice corner room upgrade at the Centric in South Beach.


Testing

We purchased the test at home kits from abbott / eMed. We bought 3 kits for $99. Once we get to the hotel in Miami we will do this and get this out of the way.

 

Vaccination

Might as well talk about this right?! We are both fully vaccinated and both have our booster.


Cruise Itinerary

Nov 27th - Leaving FLL
Nov 28th - Sea Day
Nov 29th - Sea Day
Nov 30th - St. Thomas
Dec 1st - San Juan, Puerto Rico
Dec 2nd - Sea Day
Dec 3rd - Nassau, Bahamas
De 4th - back at FLL


OK folks so that is the start of my blog! I’m looking forward to taking you all with me as we hop on board the Celebrity Reflection. Fingers crossed for two negative Covid tests come Thanksgiving day!

 

As always if you have any questions please feel free to ask. I will post plenty of photos, keep you updated on any and all Covid protocols / masking requirements but mostly importantly I’ll give you my honest opinion of the drinks, the food, and the most important part, the amazing crew we all know and love.

Cheers!

Edited by chicagopaul
Grammar
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upwarduk

upwarduk

Posted
Posted (edited)

Looking forward to some interesting reading in the mornings.

We sailed on Silhouette in August. It was a round  Britain 🇬🇧 Staycation. We were very lucky that we were not restricted to Cruise ship excursions, the day after we boarded we were allowed off the ship Independently. Also, Scotland opened up the day we were due in Greenock, so tours restarted.

We had an excellent time and everything felt very safe.

Edited by upwarduk
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Stem to Stern "Live from...." Rare

Stem to Stern

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Posted (edited)

Paul,  

Welcome back!  The wait for another one of your live threads has been a patient one.  When on board Celebrity Equinox last month there was not much to differentiate the pre-Covid on-board experience versus the present day.  Other than masked crew and crew-served buffet it was mostly vacation as usual.  Bon voyage to both of you!
Paul

Edited by Stem to Stern
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ILgirl

ILgirl

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Woo hoo!  In keeping with the spirit of the season, I am thankful for your trip report!  I have sailed on the Equinox and Edge post Covid and both were awesome.  Wishing you and Edward a Happy Thanksgiving and safe and happy cruising.  Looking forward to following along!

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countess5 "Live from...." Rare

countess5

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Looking forward to your observations of the ship. We sailed Reflection when she first came out. We have a B2B in February following a B2B on Silhouette. Silhouette has gone through refurbish and Reflection, I believe, has not so would like to hear/read your thoughts on the ship.

 

Cheers! 

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lola2013

lola2013

Posted
Posted

Good morning Paul & Edward,

How great to be back to cruising, right?  I was supposed to be on the Reflection TA a few weeks ago that would have brought her back from Europe; obviously, that didn't happen.  But I have ten nights planned on her for January.  CANNOT WAIT...and CANNOT WAIT for your upcoming story with tons of pictures.

Too bad we didn't meet up in Vegas last month...I looked into the Lady Gaga concert that you attended but couldn't make it happen.

Have a great Thanksgiving...and Bon Voyage!

Susan

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helen haywood

helen haywood

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Looking forward to hearing from you!  We cruised again post covid on Edge this summer.  Only differences I noticed from BC was mask in terminal, staff serving you in Buffet and fewer people.  Sailing Reflection in a couple of months so very interested in how your experience is!  It seemed like she was the last Celebrity ship to start sailing again…not sure that’s true…

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spammie

spammie

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Woo Hoo!!! We will be boarding when you are getting off!  I LOVE your live reviews!  I know you cruise a lot in Suites, as do we.  Have you checked the price for Aqua Class for your sailing?  Prices have really dropped in all categories for your cruise and ours.  We are in Aqua this time as we were just on Edge in August and this is a "bonus" cruise for us.  Can't wait to cruise along with you!  Wanda

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Sheltielover73

Sheltielover73

Posted
Posted
11 hours ago, chicagopaul said:

Hey Cruise Critic! We're back!

 

Wow, has it really been almost two years since our last cruise blog? Our last cruise before Covid was in December of 2019. We had a cruise planned for April of 2020, but that was obviously cancelled. Though I remember at the time holding out for hope that it might still sail but well, that clearly didn’t happen.

 

We always looked at cruising as part of our lives. It was and still is of course a passion of ours. More importantly it was a passion that we developed together. Our first trip together was a cruise. And then things changed due to Covid. Something that was a part of our lives for 30 to 40 days out of the year suddenly evaporated overnight. We found ourselves  planning weeks of cooking at home instead of weeks at sea. Instead of gazing at the ocean and sipping my usual greyhound at 9am I found myself taking daily walks in the morning with a cup of coffee. And instead of hanging out at the martini bar with cruise regulars we found ourselves sitting in a park in the middle of rush street with a bottle of wine meeting neighbors we’ve likely passed by daily but never got to know. So as much as we found ourselves drifting away from our cruise passion (no pun intended) we found ourselves coming closer to strangers we never met and noticed people we knew as friends becoming best friends. At the end of the day as we look back on the past 20 months, as much as I wish it never happened, I can’t help but to consider myself and Edward extremely fortunate in so many ways. Our family and friends are here, healthy and safe. Our careers have only gotten better. Life is good. So it is with that mentality and positivity that we will push forward and enjoy an awesome first cruise in 2 years together!

 

Now, for those of you who haven’t followed us before, let me quickly introduce ourselves. I am Paul and my partner is Edward. We’ve been cruising on Celebrity for 10 years. This will mark cruise number 21 for us on Celebrity. As my profile name suggests we are from Chicago. We are both in our 30s.

For those of you who do know I us I hope you’ve been well over the past 2 years and have stayed safe and healthy.

 

About a month ago Edward and I decided to book this cruise on the Reflection. We both had vacation time we could use and figured we might as well take advantage of it before year end. We were a bit apprehensive given all the additional protocols in place (would it still feel like a cruise?) but seeing so many of you post on Facebook and Instagram about your recent cruise journeys we decided to book it.

 

I’m looking forward to taking you on this journey with us and letting you see what cruising is like through my eyes during these times. I will be as transparent as possible with you all, break down all of our costs and expenses from dinners pre-cruise to our cruise fare and anything we spend on board. I’m also happy to answer any questions at all that you may have and share my opinion!

 

Let’s start with all the boring details about money!

 

Cruise Fair

$1,608.52 Per Person = Total of $3,217.04
Concierge Class
Indulge Package (Includes Premium Drink Package, Streaming Internet, Gratuities, OBC)

OBC was $600 from Celebrity and $200 from our TA

 

Flights

Booked through Flights by Celebrity
American Airlines
Price: $76.79 Per Person RT Economy

 

Departure: ORD to MIA 8:30am
Return: FLL to ORD 11:58am

 

Gold status with AA so we get preferred seat choices at no cost and first checked bag at no cost.

 

Hotel

South Beach - Hyatt Centric (across from the Loews)
Booked with points transferred from Chase. 20k points per night. Honestly not the best redemption we’ve done but not terrible.

We are Explorist status with Hyatt and last time had a nice corner room upgrade at the Centric in South Beach.


Testing

We purchased the test at home kits from abbott / eMed. We bought 3 kits for $99. Once we get to the hotel in Miami we will do this and get this out of the way.

 

Vaccination

Might as well talk about this right?! We are both fully vaccinated and both have our booster.


Cruise Itinerary

Nov 27th - Leaving FLL
Nov 28th - Sea Day
Nov 29th - Sea Day
Nov 30th - St. Thomas
Dec 1st - San Juan, Puerto Rico
Dec 2nd - Sea Day
Dec 3rd - Nassau, Bahamas
De 4th - back at FLL


OK folks so that is the start of my blog! I’m looking forward to taking you all with me as we hop on board the Celebrity Reflection. Fingers crossed for two negative Covid tests come Thanksgiving day!

 

As always if you have any questions please feel free to ask. I will post plenty of photos, keep you updated on any and all Covid protocols / masking requirements but mostly importantly I’ll give you my honest opinion of the drinks, the food, and the most important part, the amazing crew we all know and love.

Cheers!

Hello!! Welcome back! I always so enjoy your reviews and am so jealous you stop in San Juan! I miss it so much! I'm boarding Silhouette on Dec 3rd out of FLL, so will be living vicariously thru you. this next week! Safe travels! 

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