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

[Syd58]

5 hours ago, Palmersruca said:

I was on Reflection last month and 100% agree, buffet was delicious.  We abandoned the MDR for the buffet, it was just better. Thanks for sharing your trip!

Not a fan of the buffet. It’s a lot of food, none of which is of the highest quality, IMO.  With that said, it’s hard to get high quality on a buffet.

[Reel Love]

3 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

I don't think I ever explained what it was. Sometimes I forget to add details that call back on something established in a prior review. Ooops. The mobile bar is just what I call my insulated water bottle that I use to carry adult beverages around for later consumption. It was originally to pour my champagne in without needing to lug around my whole bottle on Carnival, but I find it works well for storing happy hour drinks as well.

 

Thank you.  Figured it was something along those lines.  Cheers  🙂  

[exlondoner]

11 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

Today I caused a large multi-national corporation to change to rewrite the policy on their website. A real activist I am.

 

Too bad it does not appear to be written in my favor.

 

I was told I would receive a follow up in 72 hours or less. I heard back in less than 24. Great response time. Unfortunately, I still have some issues and do not consider the matter resolved, although I consider the matter nearly closed, for better or worse.

 

Policy has been updated with the following wording now on the website, which did not exist as recently as Monday afternoon when I wrote my letter to Celebrity "***Items that generate heat or produce an open flame are strictly prohibited. This includes heating pads, clothing irons, hotplates, candles, incense and any other item that may create a fire hazard. NOTE: The only exception to this policy are curling irons,  hair straighteners and personal fans that are ""certified"" low wattage. Please note that our staterooms are equipped with dual voltage 110/220 AC outlets, and it's essential to ensure that your personal appliances are compatible with these voltage ranges to avoid any damage or safety issues"

 

The bolded part is their emphasis, not mine, but is the excuse security gave Miami for why my fan was confiscated, word for word. So they are still lying, it was never tested in any manner simply refused to be allowed. This is my problem, the dishonesty. Can we please just say, we messed up, we're sorry, we will do better going forward? There was also no acknowledgment that policy was updated, but rather to please refer to the "What not to pack" section to know what is not allowed. Yes, I know, I did that, you just changed your policy.

 

Anyway, I still have to pick my battles. This is terrible how the situation was handled, and I am sure at this point it is just my word against theirs.

 

What I need at this point is some clarification, what exactly does "certified" low wattage mean? I have never read any reports of a fan causing issues with the power system, but read all the time of curling irons and hair straighteners having problems onboard, but they do not need to be certified?

 

The only certification my fan has is "UL" which is as far as I know the only certification electronics come with. Will that be sufficient? That has been the policy on other cruise lines. It also says on the certificate that it is compatible with 220 AC outlets. So it checks both of those boxes, unless they are saying it needs to literally say "low wattage". They confirm in their response that personal fans are allowed onboard, but mine was tested and deemed to be a safety hazard.

 

I will be looking into a battery operated fan as a backup option.

Well, firstly, you have achieved something.

 

Secondly, I would never trust a large multinational corporation that can tell singular from plural. Did you notice ‘the only exception are…’ we do this all the time in speech by in writing a policy if they can’t get this degree of precision, you wonder what else they say that they don’t really mean.

 

Thirdly, how pathetic to lie. And it still doesn’t rule out your fan. They say ‘it is essential to ensure..’ they don’t say who does the ensuring or that they do the ensuring. And you ensured that. I think on Cunard they say it needs to be checked by the onboard tech people or something, but they don’t say that here. Again, imprecise and full of loopholes.

 

Conclusion: shabby, shabby, shabby..

[exlondoner]

27 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Well, firstly, you have achieved something.

 

Secondly, I would never trust a large multinational corporation that can tell singular from plural. Did you notice ‘the only exception are…’ we do this all the time in speech by in writing a policy if they can’t get this degree of precision, you wonder what else they say that they don’t really mean.

 

Thirdly, how pathetic to lie. And it still doesn’t rule out your fan. They say ‘it is essential to ensure..’ they don’t say who does the ensuring or that they do the ensuring. And you ensured that. I think on Cunard they say it needs to be checked by the onboard tech people or something, but they don’t say that here. Again, imprecise and full of loopholes.

 

Conclusion: shabby, shabby, shabby..

Sorry, please substitute with can’t. Particularly unfortunate when I am criticising their grammar.

[exlondoner]

9 hours ago, Syd58 said:

Not a fan of the buffet. It’s a lot of food, none of which is of the highest quality, IMO.  With that said, it’s hard to get high quality on a buffet.

I just hate the carrying.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

13 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

I don't have the patience to book that far in advance

All of our long distance vacations have to be planned well in advance and we had to take advantage of the 3rd and 4th free promotion since we travel with the kiddo. I booked my parents as well, and I hope they can make it that far in the future.

This TG we are trying Carnival for the first time. The last two years have been years of firsts. We tried MSC (not thrilled, but not exactly a nightmare either), tried Celebrity (loved it), and will be trying Carnival (fingers crossed). 🙂

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

I would never trust a large multinational corporation that can't tell singular from plural.

I work for a huge multinational corporation, and a lot of our communiques and press releases are written by the Headquarters in a different country. Their English is great, but not native, and I can definitely see how English words are sometimes inserted into a foreign language sentence structure. I am not a native English speaker either, and I did that a lot at the beginning. Hopefully, not too much now.

So, yeah, I'd give people a break on English grammar. 

Over the years I've also seen the side effects of US education, so even the native speakers aren't immune to bad grammar. 

[exlondoner]

6 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

I work for a huge multinational corporation, and a lot of our communiques and press releases are written by the Headquarters in a different country. Their English is great, but not native, and I can definitely see how English words are sometimes inserted into a foreign language sentence structure. I am not a native English speaker either, and I did that a lot at the beginning. Hopefully, not too much now.

So, yeah, I'd give people a break on English grammar. 

Over the years I've also seen the side effects of US education, so even the native speakers aren't immune to bad grammar. 

Actually, I have found that, while non-native speakers often have difficulties with idioms and the use of articles and prepositions and things like that, their grasp of grammar is usually far more accurate than that of native speakers. The concept of the verb agreeing in number with the subject rarely troubles them, unless perhaps their native language is one like Cantonese with no plural, but even then in writing they are mainly accurate, or at any rate the girls I taught were. In general, it is native speakers (here at least) who get the grammar muddled and say things like ‘between you and I’.

 

In any case, if you are formulating a policy, you need to be clear.

[jam19872016]

13 hours ago, Syd58 said:

Why do you need a fan? For noise?

Noise and air circulation. 

[jam19872016]

13 hours ago, Syd58 said:

Not a fan of the buffet. It’s a lot of food, none of which is of the highest quality, IMO.  With that said, it’s hard to get high quality on a buffet.

Normally, I agree 100%. This buffet (after day one) was surprisingly good. This is the same ship that in January could not even handle temperature control in the buffet (not one thing I got was hot, room temperature to cold on everything even when the buffet first opened). Very happy with the improvement here.

4 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Well, firstly, you have achieved something.

 

Secondly, I would never trust a large multinational corporation that can tell singular from plural. Did you notice ‘the only exception are…’ we do this all the time in speech by in writing a policy if they can’t get this degree of precision, you wonder what else they say that they don’t really mean.

 

Thirdly, how pathetic to lie. And it still doesn’t rule out your fan. They say ‘it is essential to ensure..’ they don’t say who does the ensuring or that they do the ensuring. And you ensured that. I think on Cunard they say it needs to be checked by the onboard tech people or something, but they don’t say that here. Again, imprecise and full of loopholes.

 

Conclusion: shabby, shabby, shabby..

I did not even catch the grammar. I was too preoccupied with the obvious cut and paste job into that section of the FAQ. What does a fan have to do with appliances with a heating element?

 

Again, I am not an expert on these things, so always consult Uncle Google, and I see no mention of fans containing a heating element and lots of references to a fan heater. Mine is just a fan, not a fan heater and thankfully living in Florida, I don't need such an item and did not know that such an item existed. Apparently, if I am interpreting the rules correctly, I could bring a fan heater (which is very similar to a space heater which surely would not be allowed) if it were labeled "low voltage"

 

I fear the verbiage is intentionally vague in order to allow shipboard personal to continue to apply their own rules ship to ship, and that is why I responded with request for more exact specifications on what is needed to be considered "low voltage".

 

If I can't get an adequate answer, I guess I will need to look into battery operated fans as at some point I need to move on and either accept the poor outcome or vote with my feet, which I don't plan to do.

[jam19872016]

3 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

I work for a huge multinational corporation, and a lot of our communiques and press releases are written by the Headquarters in a different country. Their English is great, but not native, and I can definitely see how English words are sometimes inserted into a foreign language sentence structure. I am not a native English speaker either, and I did that a lot at the beginning. Hopefully, not too much now.

So, yeah, I'd give people a break on English grammar. 

Over the years I've also seen the side effects of US education, so even the native speakers aren't immune to bad grammar. 

 

3 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Actually, I have found that, while non-native speakers often have difficulties with idioms and the use of articles and prepositions and things like that, their grasp of grammar is usually far more accurate than that of native speakers. The concept of the verb agreeing in number with the subject rarely troubles them, unless perhaps their native language is one like Cantonese with no plural, but even then in writing they are mainly accurate, or at any rate the girls I taught were. In general, it is native speakers (here at least) who get the grammar muddled and say things like ‘between you and I’.

 

In any case, if you are formulating a policy, you need to be clear.

Having learned Spanish in a formal education environment (basic, I certainly can't hold conversation very well), I think people learning a language are at an advantage with grammar. When you learn English by speaking it, you just know how to speak it, you don't understand that language, any language, is a series of syntaxes that are used to build ideas and communicate with others. English in particular, I have heard, is difficult to learn because of the lack of verb tenses.

 

For me, learning about syntax helped me to understand the English language better, but some of the things that are grammatically correct, just sound odd in spoken language. To use your "between you and I" example, the correct phrase "between you and me" still sounds wrong to my ears and while I would write it that way in a formal letter, or for a school paper, when speaking, I would naturally say "between me and you" because that "sounds" correct to me as a speaker, despite being grammatically incorrect.

 

As a southerner, the word "Y'all" is absolutely a word and I find it odd that our language uses the word "you" for both second person singular and plural. Then we also use it (incorrectly?) in third person in the place of the word "one". One could see how English is a tricky language to master. You could see how English is a tricky language to master. Can y'all can see how English is a tricky language to master?

 

I forgot what the point of this post was 😅

[jam19872016]

3 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

All of our long distance vacations have to be planned well in advance and we had to take advantage of the 3rd and 4th free promotion since we travel with the kiddo. I booked my parents as well, and I hope they can make it that far in the future.

This TG we are trying Carnival for the first time. The last two years have been years of firsts. We tried MSC (not thrilled, but not exactly a nightmare either), tried Celebrity (loved it), and will be trying Carnival (fingers crossed). 🙂

I love Carnival. 

 

Sadly, for me it is a case of the jaded veteran. I am accustomed to how things "used to be" and in my mind "oughtta be" and with the better casino deals from Royal and Celebrity, I have not sailed with them for nearly a year, and in a surprise twist to myself, for the first time that I've taken a break from them, I don't miss it although I was looking forward to a Halloween cruise with them next month that I had to cancel.

 

As a first timer, if you don't go in with any preconceived notions based on the stereotypes that run rampant by people who have never sailed the line, I think you will enjoy it, especially if you could find a way to write up MSC in a positive light 😅. I promise, it's better than that.

 

The one thing I would be concerned with that I didn't really realize until I sailed other lines more, is the crowding and long lines. They are pretty common on Carnival and I don't feel they do a great of job spreading people out like Royal does. 

 

The food choices on Carnival are fantastic. Not everything is a winner, and not everything that is a winner today will be a winner when you go back, but for variety, nobody comes close to what Carnival offers!

[jam19872016]

5 hours ago, exlondoner said:

I just hate the carrying.

I consider it a workout to help burn off the calories 😄. 

[jam19872016]

Health Update:

 

I was already pleased having only gained 5 lbs during my cruise. Today, just five days later, I have already taken it off in addition to another 1.4 bringing me into the range of "healthy" after being "overweight" or "obese" most of my life!

 

Now I need to focus on maintaining instead of losing which is an entirely different strategy and  one I am not really sure how to tackle. I do have a tendency to go hard or not at all. I find moderation difficult and find it easier to just go without which is what made fasting work so well for me.

[exlondoner]

20 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

I consider it a workout to help burn off the calories 😄. 

And further reduce the calorific content when you spill it. 😀

[exlondoner]

15 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

Health Update:

 

I was already pleased having only gained 5 lbs during my cruise. Today, just five days later, I have already taken it off in addition to another 1.4 bringing me into the range of "healthy" after being "overweight" or "obese" most of my life!

 

Now I need to focus on maintaining instead of losing which is an entirely different strategy and  one I am not really sure how to tackle. I do have a tendency to go hard or not at all. I find moderation difficult and find it easier to just go without which is what made fasting work so well for me.

Excellent. It sounds as if it might be wise to stick with the fasting, but for fewer hours or fewer days?

[jam19872016]

2 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

And further reduce the calorific content when you spill it. 😀

Blasphemy!! That is as bad as spilling alcohol 😄.

1 minute ago, exlondoner said:

Excellent. It sounds as if it might be wise to stick with the fasting, but for fewer hours or fewer days?

I think once I reach a comfortable amount below my target I may try doing one week on and one week off and see how that goes. Not fasting the entire week, but doing my normal eight on sixteen off that I am currently doing while eating how I want the other week. The problem is, I am not sure how I want is going to be particularly "healthy" and I need to find some sort of balance that allows for enjoying what I eat while still having a well rounded diet.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

59 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

As a first timer, if you don't go in with any preconceived notions based on the stereotypes that run rampant by people who have never sailed the line, I think you will enjoy it

lol, we have a LOT of preconceived notions about sailing on Carnival.  So many videos and so many reviews on the Carnival board that provide endless "entertainment"....

59 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

The one thing I would be concerned with that I didn't really realize until I sailed other lines more, is the crowding and long lines. They are pretty common on Carnival

as long as it's not as bad as steerage class on MSC - we are good. 🙂

Edited Wednesday at 05:23 PM by Itchy&Scratchy

[exlondoner]

53 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

Blasphemy!! That is as bad as spilling alcohol 😄.

I think once I reach a comfortable amount below my target I may try doing one week on and one week off and see how that goes. Not fasting the entire week, but doing my normal eight on sixteen off that I am currently doing while eating how I want the other week. The problem is, I am not sure how I want is going to be particularly "healthy" and I need to find some sort of balance that allows for enjoying what I eat while still having a well rounded diet.

Sounds a good plan. Your preferred diet can’t be that unhealthy, as I’ve known you order extra broccoli.

[ch175]

1 hour ago, jam19872016 said:

Health Update:

 

I was already pleased having only gained 5 lbs during my cruise. Today, just five days later, I have already taken it off in addition to another 1.4 bringing me into the range of "healthy" after being "overweight" or "obese" most of my life!

I give you a lot of credit for being open

and sharing this. Weight loss, and keeping it off, is really hard.

 

It’s also clear that you are putting in the hard work. Keep it up - I certainly am inspired by this and am cheering you on!

[jam19872016]

58 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

lol, we have a LOT of preconceived notions about sailing on Carnival.  So many videos and so many reviews on the Carnival board that provide endless "entertainment"....

as long as it's not as bad as steerage class on MSC - we are good. 🙂

Just know that those reviews are the exception not the rule. Unfortunately, I do think Thanksgiving, with the extra people on board, is going to have a higher chance of having groups on board that ruin the experience for others. On it's worse day, it will still be better than MSC. The ships are not as beautiful and the pizza not as good, but other than that, Carnival will be a much better experience IMHO than MSC.

 

36 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Sounds a good plan. Your preferred diet can’t be that unhealthy, as I’ve known you order extra broccoli.

I also order extra dessert. Guess which one is going to win when I am not using moderation 😄. That is why I want to lose a couple more pounds before I brave a new strategy.

[jam19872016]

9 minutes ago, ch175 said:

I give you a lot of credit for being open

and sharing this. Weight loss, and keeping it off, is really hard.

 

It’s also clear that you are putting in the hard work. Keep it up - I certainly am inspired by this and am cheering you on!

Thank you! It has been a challenge, and some days are harder than others but I am happy with the progress I have made just have a little bit more to go.

 

I think the key is to find something sustainable that works for you as an individual. So many people will tell you to cut carbs, which surely helps if you want to lose weight quickly, but I could never sustain that method long term, and that is what I want - a long term solution, not a temporary weight loss followed by falling off the wagon.

 

Thank you for your encouraging words!

[Itchy&Scratchy]

13 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

the pizza not as good

traditional pizzas were pretty good on MSC, but whatever this was  - we didn't even risk it.

 

Banana fosters pizza

 

 

breakfast pizza

Edited Wednesday at 06:41 PM by Itchy&Scratchy

[jam19872016]

1 minute ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

traditional pizzas were pretty good on MSC, but whatever this was  - we didn't even risk it.

 

Banana pizza

 

 

breakfast pizza

Yes very much to the breakfast pizza! The banana one...I'm not sure. I would like to try it for its uniqueness but I find too often than items with bananas as an ingredient on a cruise ship is the cruise ship trying to find a use of their mushy leftovers.

 

I had something my first MSC cruise called "charcoal" pizza. It was the most vile looking thing you have ever seen, a burnt looking dark black crust but I had to give it a try. It was amazing! I did not find it on my second MSC cruise.

[kluv2cruz]

4 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

whatever this was  - we didn't even risk it.

 

Banana fosters pizza

 

 

breakfast pizza

 A way to use up extra bananas & eggs? 

Edited Wednesday at 10:50 PM by kluv2cruz