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

[pooh/tigger]

We are on the Reflection in Feb and same itinerary. I noticed they have taken Dominican Republic off yours. Did they tell you why it was removed? Thanks. 

[chicagopaul]

Good Morning and Happy Thanksgiving. 
 

As suspected there was no traffic on the way to ORD. We ordered an uBer black at 6am. It arrived in 5 minutes. It took us around 22 minutes to get to the airport. Total cost was $76 which is the lowest you will normally see Uber black going to ORD from our place. 
 

TSA pre check was quick. Only about 10 people in front of us. And surprisingly the couple families with kids and strollers in front of us acted like business travelers and moved fast. Wow! 
 

Our favorite bar at ORD is Bubbles. Thankfully they were open early today (they usually open at 7am I believe). We board in an hour. Let’s hope we are OK getting a cab or Uber from MIA. 
 

 

[twoflyers]

Happy Thanksgiving and Welcome to South Florida Paul and Edward!!

We are joining you on this cruise, our third on Celebrity since October (two prior Summit cruises)!  We have been very comfortable with the onboard experience and the crew welcome upon boarding is worth the price of admission.

FYI - Like you, we were in a Concierge cabin and submitted an Aqua Class Move-up Request on Monday.  Yesterday we received a "Congratulations" e-mail from Celebrity!!   Woo-hoo!!

We've loved your blogs and are looking forward to following along! 

 

Have a great cruise!!

[tampadee]

Following.  Thanks for posting.

[Artie212]

Welcome back...looking forward to your review

 

Holly and Artie

[DenvCruiser]

Bon Voyage Edward and Paul.  We just got off the Edge on Sunday, but you will make me feel like I am back on board a Celebrity cruise.  Have a great return cruise.

[Purplsmurf]

Hey guys! When I met you at Fleming’s in Chicago Feb 2020 little did we know that cruising would come to a halt. Hope all is well with you! We are doing this same itinerary, but on December 11. Hoping we can sail with you one day! Have a fabulous time! 

[NBliving]

Looking forward to reading your review! We just got off the Reflection November 20th.  Loved the experience!  Martini Bar was entertaining as usual.  Enjoy your cruise!

[chicagopaul]

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! 
 

Arrival into MIA yesterday was on time and our bags were some of the first out. No wait at all for a cab. It was great. $35 for a cab to the hotel. 
 

we arrived at the hotel around 1:15 I believe. We then started the self administered Covid test. 
 

I’ll be honest, I was nervous! It seemed like it was too good to be true that we were only 2 days out from cruising! 
 

The process was very simple. You create an online account. You login in and have your unopened box in front of you. The system is extremely easy to use and the proctors for the test or “guides” as they call them were very friendly and easy to understand. The entire process took less than 25 minutes total per person. And thankfully we both tested negative. The results were linked to our app (the NAVICA app through emed) within 5 minutes. We also received a certificate via email as well. 
 

 

 

 

[chicagopaul]

After the test we walked down Lincoln road to do a little shopping. We grabbed a coffee and quickly realized most of the stores were closed. It was thanksgiving after all! Original Penguin was open so we popped in and bought a handful of things. 
 

We then grabbed a drink at the Loews bar and split a pizza for an appetizer / late lunch. Our plan was only one drink. But as we started talking with another couple from the bar that plan quickly fell apart. They were having tequila shots and they insisted we have one with them. So we did. We kept talking about everything from chicago to travel to the business they owned, their retirement plans. Then they insisted again on another tequila shot. 
 

We finally pulled ourselves away to head back to the hotel to rest a bit before dinner. 
 

Dinner last night was at the Versace mansion. It was definitely crowded. Packed actually but it was a very cool looking space. I even made sure to rewatch the Netflix “Versace Murder” show before heading to Miami. I have a morbid sense of humor. 
 

The space itself was gorgeous. They had s couple bars in the main part of the house where we had a drink while we waited for our table. 
 

Our table was in a quiet area just off the pool in the courtyard of the house. The food itself was solid. Nothing mind blowing but the quality was very good. We were told the kitchen was slow but food seemed to come out in good timing. 
 

We started with a dozen oysters and a glass of Prosecco. We both had the Chilean sea bass and we split the spinach and ricotta ravioli. For wine we went with a bottle of Far Niente Chardonnay. 
 

Sea Bass was great. Edward’s has a little more char on his which made his perfect. Mine was just below perfect but still very good. 
 

For dessert we opted for this chocolate globe thing (see video below) along with a glass of Hennessy and an espresso. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[chicagopaul]

 

 

[awhfy]

Oh boy, a Paul & Edward adventure!!!  You were really missed. Ok, I have my martini & cheese & crackers…now to enjoy!

 

we were on Reflection for MardiGras & ABC in Feb/Mar 2020. Disembarked on 13 March. We’re back on her for 9 Apr 22. Will be our second cruise post Covid  

[h20cruzer]

Have been dying to try out the Versace mansion, looks good for sure. Seems I always end up in Ft Lauderdale, just dread that I95 drive to Miami.  My other favorite place in Miami is Joe’s Stone Crab.  Looking forward to your review.

Norma

[bluwes]

Welcome back Paul and Edward. Where have we all been this last 18 months.

We have had 4 cruises cancelled or moved since the pandemic broke. Managed an  around UK sailing on the Silhouette during the Summer.

Looking forward to your posts.

Stay safe

[WisconsinFarmersWife]

While I thoroughly enjoyed your cooking adventures on Instagram, I’m really excited to see you guys back cruising! Looking forward to living vicariously through you for the next week!

[ABC Cruisers]

Thank you for doing this, we board the Reflection next week, she was the last ship we were on before the covid shut down

[chicagomike87]

Welcome Back Paul and Edward!!!!!

 

I am excited to see the Celebrity Cruises and Florida/Caribbean COVID protocols. I know you saw our insta/facebook posts from our first cruise back which helped solidified you booking this cruise! 🙂 

 

I know my cruising on NCL Jade and in Greece had a lot of protocols due to EU policies/laws. I am excited to follow along with your Celebrity Florida/Caribbean cruise since I am looking at the next cruise to be on Celebrity to the Caribbean in May!

 

[4supermom]

Cruising is definitely back if you  and Edward are cruising and blogging again.  I have definitely missed reading your blogs.  Would love to get together for a drink after you disembark and before you fly back to Chicago if the timing works. We don’t board our much rescheduled Virgin Voyages cruise until December 10.  

[kpark895]

It's so nice to finally have another chicagopaul live report!  I so enjoy following your days and evenings as you and Edward meet new people and enjoy yourselves on each and every cruise you have been on so far.  Looking forward to reading more!

[Mike981]

On 11/23/2021 at 10:27 PM, chicagopaul said:

Hey Cruise Critic! We're back!

 

 

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!

 

 

 

I just love your attitude, great to hear  from you.

[chicagopaul]

We left our hotel around 10:10 and we were at the port just before 11am. Uber Black (or premier as they call it here) SUV was $117. Private car service we usually use would have cost another $70 so we were happy with the Uber. 
 

When we arrived at the port it was so strange, it seems dead. We were at pier 29 and there were only a couple other cars dropping passengers off. It was a ghost town! 
 

Upon entering they are checking you have the basics required which is your passport, vaccination card, negative Covid test and your express docs. You then head through security and you meet to check in and have all the info double checked and your picture is taken. This whole process start to finish was about 10 minutes from dropping off the bags to walking on the ship. It was the smoothest boarding I’ve ever had coupled with the friendliest people. 
 

Once on board I was able to relax. Up until then I thought something might go wrong that would keep us from boarding. 
 

We went to our room to grab our cards and drop off my carry on bag. We then made our way to sunset bar for a couple drinks. 
 

It feels as if nothing has changed. We are back to normal. Back to the cruising life we enjoyed with one exception. Both passengers and the crew appreciate every aspect so much more. 

[chicagopaul]

Will have a lot more updates and photos in a couple hours! 

[lola2013]

4 minutes ago, chicagopaul said:

Will have a lot more updates and photos in a couple hours! 

I just saw on Instagram that you were able to upgrade to a suite...congrats!  I can't wait to hear how you made that happen.

P.S.  Barely 30 degrees in Chicago...you picked a great time to go away!

Susan

[Chrissi3010]

Good to see you cruising again. 🙂 We hope to be back next May, also on the Reflection in the Eastern Mediterranean. So please provide us with a few photos from the ship.

 

Happy cruising for you.

Christine

[sdnich]

I look forward to following you on your adventure !!