LIVE FROM — Reflection, February 17

[What A Market]

Last night we did the Chef’s Table by Daniel Boulud. (Its full official name.)

We elected to do the wine pairing with the set menu. This added $60 to the $169 per person price. Only one other person joined Heidi and I in the wine pairing, which I thought was interesting. The rest of the party ordered bottles. This created an interesting “opportunity” as the Somm was pouring full bottles between just three of us!
 

Here’s a photo of the menu. 

(Sorry, all photos came out fairly dim.)

[MNSails]

1 hour ago, What A Market said:

Last night we did the Chef’s Table by Daniel Boulud.

 

How was the experience?  Food/service/company/wine/etc.?  We're looking at this for our upcoming Reflection cruise and I've seen mixed reviews.

[Drysil]

Also interested in opinions on whether the chef's table meal is worth ~3x the specialty restaurant price. We'd happily pay this (and quite a bit more) for a fantastic meal on land, but I worry a bit about how great it can be with a ship's galley (however well fitted) as the source.  We're sailing again on Reflection in December, so this is timely information!

Edited February 21 by Drysil

[What A Market]

No excursions for St. Maarten. 
Walked into Philipsburg for some shopping and drinks. Both successful!

💰 and 🍺 

 

Drinks were surprisingly cheap for a bar looking over water. (The Dutch Blonde)

$5.00 for beer and $8.00 for rum punch. 

 

Edited February 21 by What A Market

[What A Market]

Back to the tasting dinner. 
As for the questions on taste and value, I know the typical answer is “subjective and impossible to answer.” 
I guess that’s true. 
 

For me at least, it’s just trying something new. Particularly with friends and family. The $229 price is expensive, but as a first time Reflection experience, I guess I would have paid even somewhat more. 
 

As noted, we only had three of the ten diners doing the pairing. So I think I drank way more than the $60 per person up charge for the wine pairing aspect. That said, there was nothing truly special about the wines, but the 2007 Spanish Cab was nice because of the age on it. 
 

The food courses were interesting and well prepared. 
 

The dinner started with an amuse bouche and Prosecco, which was served in Cellar Masters as our starting point. (The Prosecco was sort of a weak start.) The poached lobster bite in the left was really tasty. 
 

Edited February 21 by What A Market

[What A Market]

Sorry, brief interlude before more on the Wine Pairing Dinner. 
Brought to you by the Mast Grill and the Mast Bar. 😂

 

My first for the cruise, so showing some restraint. 
 

 

[bikerunner]

57 minutes ago, What A Market said:

No excursions for St. Maarten. 
Walked into Philipsburg for some shopping and drinks. Both successful!

💰 and 🍺 

 

Drinks were surprisingly cheap for a bar looking over water. (The Dutch Blonde)

$5.00 for beer and $8.00 for rum punch. 

 

Good beer, The hazy blonde was super refreshing.  Should have gone to Juggies Place, greatest dive bar out there.  Just for the owner himself.  Was laughing the whole time there with his stories

[What A Market]

Observation Lounge forward on Deck 14 for sail away. Very quiet. Sort of surprised. 

[hcat]

2 hours ago, What A Market said:

Observation Lounge forward on Deck 14 for sail away. Very quiet. Sort of surprised. 

Very nice..you both look relaxed and happy!

[Georgia_Peaches]

2 hours ago, What A Market said:

Observation Lounge forward on Deck 14 for sail away. Very quiet. Sort of surprised. 

 

Great picture!  Do you mind sharing what wine you were drinking?

[What A Market]

20 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Great picture!  Do you mind sharing what wine you were drinking?

Hi Georgia_Peaches!

Love your live posts!!!

 

Drinking Rose wine early in the evening. 
Here’s what they have everywhere. (Whispering Angel in some places.)

I’m a fan of dry French Rose wine. 
This is very drinkable. 

 

Edited February 22 by What A Market

[What A Market]

Let’s get these Wine Pairing dinner photos out of the way. 
 

The first course was a curry cauliflower soup. It was awesome. Very strong flavors. We dug into it before getting photo. 
 

Next up was a risotto dish. And then the fish course. Risotto was really well done. Unique presentation. The seabass with fennel was good, not great. The fennel was the best part. 
 

 

[What A Market]

The main was the best course. 
The combo of a Filet and Short Rib was great. Very rich. 
 

This dessert was beautiful, but I couldn’t do it justice. I basically only nibbled on the breadstick thingy. 
 

 

[Maisyboo]

On 2/19/2024 at 10:27 AM, hcat said:

Who ever has room for the Cheese course?  We would actually like it with some wine at the start of the meal  but are too shy to ask.. maybe next time?

 

I am not showing my husb those lamb chops..perfect color for him.  He will want to cruise again way too soon..we just returned from ASCENT ( AQ Class).. it was perfect!

Ask for the cheese course first . It’s totally worth it . Have been doing this for years and enjoying many different types. 🙂 

[hcat]

7 minutes ago, Maisyboo said:

Ask for the cheese course first . It’s totally worth it . Have been doing this for years and enjoying many different types. 🙂 

def will do with a nice glass of  wine

 

..soup sounds great, as are the mains..Will have small salad for lunch on day we go so lots of room to over- indulge!

[New Hampshire]

On 2/18/2024 at 11:18 AM, Skysmomma said:

So sorry to hear about your friend.  Not to common to live 3 years post diagnosis! My brother wasn’t as fortunate. He had 6 months.  Such a horrible  disease .  May she rest in peace.

my husband and I will be boarding 3/10.  We were on Reflection 12/22 prior to refurbishment. 
How is the entertainment?  Hoping the current cruise director is better than the one we had last time!  Are there any theme parties? Have heard wonderful things about Captain Kirk but believe he will be on vacation when we board.Hope you have smooth sailing!

I recently read that the refurbishment or Revolutionizing of Reflection never took place.  It was interrupted by COVID then rescheduled for 2023, but it has not been done.  Anyone have any more info on this?

[helen haywood]

18 hours ago, What A Market said:

Observation Lounge forward on Deck 14 for sail away. Very quiet. Sort of surprised. 

We were at the Sky Lounge for sail away!!  Chairs in front.  Later that night we were back at Sky for the band, Arjam’s, Best of Rock set.  For one song a passenger played the drums and he was fantastic!!!  Mr. Drummer, if you are reading this, you rocked!!

[Jim_Iain]

3 minutes ago, New Hampshire said:

I recently read that the refurbishment or Revolutionizing of Reflection never took place.  It was interrupted by COVID then rescheduled for 2023, but it has not been done.  Anyone have any more info on this?

 

The revolution has been put on permanent hold.   The first I've seen of any movement toward upgrading was on the recent Infinity when they Upgraded Michael's Club to Retreat and added additional seating to Luminae.   They did however skip painting the hull blue.    To my knowledge the only other change was replacement of some of the soft goods.   To my knowledge she did not get the Retreat Sun Deck.

[New Hampshire]

Does anyone know the current physical condition of Reflection?  Is she looking tired and worn?  We are sailing her in November in a suite and are wondering whether we made a mistake in booking her.  We had assumed it had been Revolutionized, but recently learned it had not. We sailed Silhouette a few months ago ands were very happy with the refurbishment including the Retreat Lounge and Retreat Sun Deck.  I assume the Retreat Sundeck doesn’t exist on Reflection.

[What A Market]

Given that I’m on the ship, I guess I can report on condition. 
 

Seems in great condition overall. It looks like a lot of the soft goods have been updated. 

Michael’s Club is for use of Retreat guests only. 
As Jim noted above, there is no dedicated Retreat Deck, but I’ve been on Revolutionized S Class ships before and didn’t think that outdoor space on Deck 16 was particularly nice. No pool. No bar. And basically no shade (depending on position of the sun.)

 

 

[What A Market]

Had another ship’s excursion today for our port of Tortola, BVI.  This was another snorkel/beach affair out to Norman Island. 
 

This was a far more subdued outing compared to the St. Thomas/Buck Island excursion a couple of days ago. Several things going against this one. Wind was howling. Dive sights were churned up a bit because of currents and wind. And the crew of the boat was not fun/engaging. 
 

Heidi also bailed on going. 
 

Anyway, you make do!
 

 

 

Edited February 22 by What A Market

[High on the Seas]

Just happened to catch your posts. My wife and I are on board also and will continue on Sunday for the upcoming 6 day. Happy cruising. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

Really enjoying your review and your pics.  Quick question, do you know what specialty dining venues are open for lunch on embarkation day?  I'm specifically interested in the Porch and wondered if it's open.

[What A Market]

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Really enjoying your review and your pics.  Quick question, do you know what specialty dining venues are open for lunch on embarkation day?  I'm specifically interested in the Porch and wondered if it's open.

Hi GP

The only specialty open for lunch that I can see in the App for embarkation was Sushi in Five. 
 

 

 

[What A Market]

Good morning again from the Reflection. 
Beautiful beautiful day. 
No wind to speak of and really calm seas. 
 

Heading for Puerto Plata with an 11:00AM arrival time. This is my third cruise where Puerto Plata was a port. The two previous times I had the port cancelled due to high winds. That doesn’t look to be the case today!