Live from Celebrity Reflection: Quick 4 day Getaway 9/16/2024

[jam19872016]

Hello Everyone!

 

I am getting ready to head out on another cruise this time a quick four night escape on the Celebrity Reflection. 

 

I will be solo again this trip as my mom is still awaiting her surgery and not comfortable driving long distances and I sadly did not have the time to go get her, just a quick four nights off from work and then back at it was all I had time for in the schedule at this time! I am moving back near her by the end of the year and so she will be definetly making another appearance very soon!

 

I booked this using a casino firesale rate (comped). I got many offers for many dates on Reflection (and later Sillihoutte) which tells me they are having trouble filling this ship on these quick runs but I am happy to fill the last minute openings they still have onboard. In looking at so many dates, I got the iteneraries mixed up and was really looking forward to going to Key West next week.

 

I'm not going to Key West next week.

 

Instead it is Perfect Day (yay!) and Bimini. Blah. I actually look forward to Nassau these days. If it is not blistering hot it is nice to take a scenic stroll around the port and I am intrested in seeing the progress on the upcoming resort on Paradise Island. Bimini does not really have any appeal to me. Still if it is not too hot, I may walk around a little. It has a charming vibe to it as it is not extremly devoloped and touristy, but since it will likely be 147 degrees, I will likely stay on the ship.

 

Coco Cay I will brave the heat! I won't stay out long, I will take a quick stroll around probably the same route I always take. Take a left towards chill island, stop at the scenic overlook back towards the ships. Do a little people watching. Stop in at the Wacky Seagull for a beverage with my voucher....wait a minute....wrong cruise line no vouchers 😮

 

I think in order to not break my routine, I am going to shell out the money and pay retail for drink. I will have my mobile bar (it's already packed so that I won't forget it like last time) but a nice frozen beverage in the shade sounds more appealing than a pour from the mobile bar.

 

After enjoying a beverage and achieving pure bliss, I will head in search of food. I am going to stop in at both the buffet and snack Schack this trip since I promised a picture of the funnel cake last time 🙂. Will need to grab one...purely for research purposes. Then I will make my way back to cool off onboard.

 

So not a lot of outside plans, this trip is mostly about relaxing and enjoying the ship for a couple days. There will be an included sauna this trip which I was missing so much on my last cruise on Freedom of the Seas, and with it being a short cruise, hopefully lots of evening entertainment which I was missing on my last Celebrity cruise on Constellation. 
 

[jam19872016]

Some links to some prior reviews.

 

My most recent cruise

 

 

Last trip on Celebrity

 

 

Last trip on Reflection

 

 

 

And because the cruise started one year ago today, here is my all time favorite trip, a 56 day adventure crossing the Atlantic to Europe and back with a two week trip on Cunard to boot!

What an amazing trip that was and I cannot believe it has only been a year, it really feels like a lifetime ago now!

 

 

This trip will be more of the same so if those reviews were the kind you enjoy, I hope you will join me for another adventure!

 

If anyone has any questions about the ship that they would like answered or anything they would like to see let me know and i will do my best to help.

 

P.S. If it's not the kind you enjoy, well I hope you will join me anyway 🙂 

[jam19872016]

As always there will be lots of eating and an insane amount of food porn. Enough that this report should come with a government warning. I am excited to try out the sandwiches at Cafe Al Bacon which is new since my last Celebrity sailing. Hopefully they will be the standout hit that the desserts are. 

 

I will of course be sampling lots of desserts at Al Bacon. 

 

I also just discovered the tea time spread in the afternoon and was pleasantly surprised how good that was so will do that a couple times.

 

Not crazy about the buffet, but with Celebrity during the day it is pretty much take it or leave it (or open up your wallet for upcharge dining) so I will see if I can find something worthwhile here. Occasionally I do find a nice treat here. I will also perhaps give them a try for dinner. I am not crazy about the selection or portion sizes at the MDR and while I am solo, I think I am going to see if I can make due. I can always stop in the MDR near closing time for a small bite if I am not satisfied and this is a good chance to experiment while I am solo. I know my mom prefers the full formal dining experience.

 

I have a coupon for 20% off Sushi on Five that I may use. I got it onboard Constellation but it does not say only valid on that ship nor does it have any kind of expiration or any restrictions of any sort. If they accept it and I am in the mood for something more than the buffet offers, I may give that a shot.

 

I also have about convinced myself to try the Lawn Club Grill. I did this one time, back in 2020, and it remains one of, if not the best, specialty dining experience I have ever had. 150 Central Park on Royal is probably my favorite, for it's consistency, but for that one visit LCG was amazing and I want to see if it can be as good today as it was back then. The cost is holding me back, with my newly acquired Elite+ status (thanks improved status match!) I now get a 15% discount bringing the cost down to $42.50. If there is availability for a walk in when the mood strikes me, I'm going for it. If it is fully booked, well then it wasn't meant to be and I am ok with that.

 

[jam19872016]

Eating is just one of my vices. There is still drinking and gambling!

 

I will be carrying on a bottle of champagne that was gifted to me on my last Royal cruise. Since I am solo, it will just be the one bottle. I can't pack one with my mom! I thought I read somewhere that happy hour is included on the first night now but I may have imagined that in which case that bottle will need to hold me. I will probably purchase a bottle onboard somewhere especially if there is no happy hour night one. A drink or two from the casino, maybe a martini flight, and the rest will be sponsored by the nightly elite happy hour. As I mentioned, the mobile bar has already been packed since it will get a good workout this trip!

 

The final vice will probably not get much, if any, facetime this trip. I blew my casino budget pretty hard last month and I want to be able to gamble on my trip next month so realistically I can't really afford to gamble this cruise if I want to go hard next month (and I do) so I will likely just play with my freeplay, maybe throw in a hundred more and see what happens, then move on. I have plenty more comped trips still on Celebrity and I am not entirely sure if I want to continue a casino relationship with them at this time, so it really does not make sense to gamble this trip anyway.

 

TBD.

[colesc15]

You bet I'm following along! We've wanted to try Celebrity for quite some time. I've tried and tried again to have them review my casino account with royal since we have more free cruises than we can take, but they only give me 5% off since we've never sailed them, and I have a hard time paying when we can go on almost any royal ship comped. 

 

Enjoy your trip! 

[jam19872016]

1 hour ago, colesc15 said:

You bet I'm following along! We've wanted to try Celebrity for quite some time. I've tried and tried again to have them review my casino account with royal since we have more free cruises than we can take, but they only give me 5% off since we've never sailed them, and I have a hard time paying when we can go on almost any royal ship comped. 

 

Enjoy your trip! 

Glad to have you along again!

 

Have you looked into using a casino junket? My first cruise on both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity were comps based on my play history on other cruise lines. I am not sure if I can name them since they may be considered a travel agent but if you do a google search and find them, I bet that with your history on Royal they will tell you that "you are comped" on Celebrity. 

 

The voucher program is very similar to Royal and they even have yearly tier cruises now although the threshold for their version of Prime requires twice the coin in to achieve. Far less blackout dates than with Royal's annual tier cruise. The onboard certificates are pretty generous at 1200 but do not get much better after that until you get into the really high roller numbers, instead you earn more freeplay but the same sailings that you have available at 1200. Still, a decent enough selection at 1200 though and even though I don't get mailers from Royal anymore, I get two to three a month from Blue Chip Club with far less play than I've been giving to Royal.

 

Can't walk up to the bar and order like Royal which is a bummer, but I have always had great service from the roaming servers who seem surprised that I am tipping them and make it a point to come find me again. Happy Hour is unlimited but a small menu and only for two hours so not as great as the Royal voucher program, but still a lovely benefit.

[Altamar]

Safe travels and enjoy!

[bluewater1298]

3 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

Hello Everyone!

 

I am getting ready to head out on another cruise this time a quick four night escape on the Celebrity Reflection. 

 

I will be solo again this trip as my mom is still awaiting her surgery and not comfortable driving long distances and I sadly did not have the time to go get her, just a quick four nights off from work and then back at it was all I had time for in the schedule at this time! I am moving back near her by the end of the year and so she will be definetly making another appearance very soon!

 

I booked this using a casino firesale rate (comped). I got many offers for many dates on Reflection (and later Sillihoutte) which tells me they are having trouble filling this ship on these quick runs but I am happy to fill the last minute openings they still have onboard. In looking at so many dates, I got the iteneraries mixed up and was really looking forward to going to Key West next week.

 

I'm not going to Key West next week.

 

Instead it is Perfect Day (yay!) and Bimini. Blah. I actually look forward to Nassau these days. If it is not blistering hot it is nice to take a scenic stroll around the port and I am intrested in seeing the progress on the upcoming resort on Paradise Island. Bimini does not really have any appeal to me. Still if it is not too hot, I may walk around a little. It has a charming vibe to it as it is not extremly devoloped and touristy, but since it will likely be 147 degrees, I will likely stay on the ship.

 

Coco Cay I will brave the heat! I won't stay out long, I will take a quick stroll around probably the same route I always take. Take a left towards chill island, stop at the scenic overlook back towards the ships. Do a little people watching. Stop in at the Wacky Seagull for a beverage with my voucher....wait a minute....wrong cruise line no vouchers 😮

 

I think in order to not break my routine, I am going to shell out the money and pay retail for drink. I will have my mobile bar (it's already packed so that I won't forget it like last time) but a nice frozen beverage in the shade sounds more appealing than a pour from the mobile bar.

 

After enjoying a beverage and achieving pure bliss, I will head in search of food. I am going to stop in at both the buffet and snack Schack this trip since I promised a picture of the funnel cake last time 🙂. Will need to grab one...purely for research purposes. Then I will make my way back to cool off onboard.

 

So not a lot of outside plans, this trip is mostly about relaxing and enjoying the ship for a couple days. There will be an included sauna this trip which I was missing so much on my last cruise on Freedom of the Seas, and with it being a short cruise, hopefully lots of evening entertainment which I was missing on my last Celebrity cruise on Constellation. 
 

I'm so excited you're on this cruise! I should be there too, but it just didn't work out for us. I almost gave in a couple weeks ago when the fares dropped so low but my grandson talked me out of it. He said we were gone too much. 

 

Thank you in advance for research on the funnel cake! Hopefully I will be enjoying one the week after next 😋 But I won't be enjoying Al Bacon so I will dream about all their goodies through your pictures. Looking forward to seeing what kind of sandwiches they offer as well. 

 

I'm sorry to hear your mom didn't get her surgery schedule in time. I'm glad you're moving closer. I'm sure she will enjoy having you close by. Hope she can sail with you after the first of the year. Praying her surgery goes well!

 

Enjoy your cruise!!! 

[jam19872016]

40 minutes ago, Altamar said:

Safe travels and enjoy!

Thank you!

[jam19872016]

8 minutes ago, bluewater1298 said:

I'm so excited you're on this cruise! I should be there too, but it just didn't work out for us. I almost gave in a couple weeks ago when the fares dropped so low but my grandson talked me out of it. He said we were gone too much. 

 

Thank you in advance for research on the funnel cake! Hopefully I will be enjoying one the week after next 😋 But I won't be enjoying Al Bacon so I will dream about all their goodies through your pictures. Looking forward to seeing what kind of sandwiches they offer as well. 

 

I'm sorry to hear your mom didn't get her surgery schedule in time. I'm glad you're moving closer. I'm sure she will enjoy having you close by. Hope she can sail with you after the first of the year. Praying her surgery goes well!

 

Enjoy your cruise!!! 

Oh if only I had known there was an angel on your shoulder talking you out of it, I would have hopped on your other shoulder and whispered sweet Al Bacons into your ear 😄

 

I'm hoping the sandwiches live up to the Al Bacon legacy, I would love a nice sandwich option! If not, I will still be enjoying plenty of tarts and cupcakes and whatever else looks good!

 

We do at least have a date now, December 4 for the right eye and December 18 for the left. Thanks for the prayers. And even though she did not get approved for her weight loss surgery, she is doing very good right now with whatever medication they have her on so maybe when she does sail again she will be able to be more mobile without being in quite so much pain. Fingers crossed.

[janetz]

Lawn Grill has the BEST steaks 😊

[jam19872016]

I still can't figure out the algorithm for how the cover photo gets chosen. As you may have seen, my cover photo from my last Reflection review was a shirt with the world pineapple written upside down on it 😮 not my first choice 😄

 

 

I posted some ship photos of Freedom to try and get one of those as my cover photo, and still ended up with a screen shot of my daily steps. Riveting stuff.

 

Picking out my favorite photos from my last Reflection trip, let's see if any of those make the cut.

 

 

 

 

 

 

How about two Carnival ships for the cover photo of a Celebrity review?

 

 

I liked the bridge photo that got selected on the Millennium review, even if it wasn't mine it was a very nice picture and tied in with the review since we sailed under that bridge the day we left Tampa.

 

Oh yea, I have packed the Pineapple shirt. No picture this time don't need that getting selected again!

[jam19872016]

10 minutes ago, janetz said:

Lawn Grill has the BEST steaks 😊

I loved LCG so much last time. I don't remember a single bad bite, and I ate so much that I was in pain afterwards.  I can't eat like that these days, I was actually going to skip the steak trying to par down my order a little since as I recall, they will bring you EVERYTHING. Now I'm questioning that choice. Maybe one little filet will be all right. I may still talk myself out of going. Still on the fence. I wish there were some bargains to be had to help tempt me but alas my Elite+ discount is going to be the best I get I'm afraid.

[dbancroft]

We were on Freedom early August and the funnel cakes were a little oily tasting to us. It seems the only good funnel cakes are at the boardwalks.

[jam19872016]

7 minutes ago, dbancroft said:

We were on Freedom early August and the funnel cakes were a little oily tasting to us. It seems the only good funnel cakes are at the boardwalks.

I don't think I've ever tried it on the boardwalk. My favorite dessert at Coco Cay are those brownies...omg yum 😛

 

I will probably still get one of those brownies to go with the funnel cake. Heavy lunch but light dinner that day!

[hcat]

32 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

Oh if only I had known there was an angel on your shoulder talking you out of it, I would have hopped on your other shoulder and whispered sweet Al Bacons into your ear 😄

 

I'm hoping the sandwiches live up to the Al Bacon legacy, I would love a nice sandwich option! If not, I will still be enjoying plenty of tarts and cupcakes and whatever else looks good!

 

We do at least have a date now, December 4 for the right eye and December 18 for the left. Thanks for the prayers. And even though she did not get approved for her weight loss surgery, she is doing very good right now with whatever medication they have her on so maybe when she does sail again she will be able to be more mobile without being in quite so much pain. Fingers crossed.

  Hard for ne to see and read right now,    Is that cataract surgery.?. I am recovering from mine slower than expected ..Distance vision is much better,  but quite the opposite for close up..Have joined the ranks of reading glass owners but look forward to getting transition glasses once again!  Good luck!

[jam19872016]

10 minutes ago, hcat said:

  Hard for ne to see and read right now,    Is that cataract surgery.?. I am recovering from mine slower than expected ..Distance vision is much better,  but quite the opposite for close up..Have joined the ranks of reading glass owners but look forward to getting transition glasses once again!  Good luck!

Yes. She will also require surgery for a stigmatism in order to not need glasses. Her insurance will not cover it and although she could afford to pay out of pocket, she is going to elect not to have that as she says she is used to wearing glasses after needing them her whole life.

 

Hope you recover soon and better than expected!

[#55worktoplay]

Here for the fun!  Thanks

[jam19872016]

11 hours ago, #55worktoplay said:

Here for the fun!  Thanks

Thanks for following along 😀 

[39august]

HH is also on first night now. 

[jam19872016]

4 minutes ago, 39august said:

HH is also on first night now. 

That is excellent news!

[jam19872016]

For anyone who did not read my last review, I've been on a weight loss journey that started in August 2021 when I hit 300 LBS. I've always been big, but that was a pretty startling number to see staring back at me from the scale. I'm also not getting any younger and am becoming more aware of the looming health problems if I don't take control of the situation. 

 

I don't try to watch my weight when cruising. I live it up for the week and deal with it after the cruise is over. 

 

I actually finally hit my target weight of 178 the day I boarded my last cruise. My final goal is 170 so that I can have room to fluctuate, but that was a pretty significant milestone especially as it has become increasingly difficult to take the weight off as I get closer to my ideal weight based on height.

 

Of course I packed a lot of weight back on during those seven days on my last cruise. At the end of it I gained 15.8 coming in at 193.8. The first several pounds come back off pretty easily but inevitably I have this a brick wall again. I am currently at 179 so one pound to go to undo the damage from the last cruise. I will have a busy last few days at work and that helps keep my mind off over eating so hopefully I can get that last pound knocked off and maybe even shave another pound or two off.

[jam19872016]

I've also been keeping my step count high even off the cruise and on days off.

 

 

That's thanks to the new competition feature in my step counter app. Currently in second place this week but I'm confident I can place first with a little extra push.

 

[exlondoner]

You couldn’t escape me this time and here I am already. I look forward to your cruet and pineapple surveys along with all the rest.

 

Very pleased to hear your ma has dates for her eye surgery. I too still wear glasses after cataract surgery because of my astigmatism. It is not a big deal.

 

Hope you have an excellent time.

[jam19872016]

8 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

You couldn’t escape me this time and here I am already. I look forward to your cruet and pineapple surveys along with all the rest.

 

Very pleased to hear your ma has dates for her eye surgery. I too still wear glasses after cataract surgery because of my astigmatism. It is not a big deal.

 

Hope you have an excellent time.

Glad you made it! I didn't even have to send out a search party 😄

 

She would like to have gotten it scheduled sooner but at least it is on the books now. She is fine with glasses, I on the other hand am fighting the inevitable, I really need to be wearing them and so far have let vanity make the choice for me.

 

In addition to pineapple and and cruet surveys, I will be checking out the carpets to see if they are more pleasing than the ones on Constellation 😅