SRQbeachgirl

We have this tour booked for our January cruise on the Reflection. We've never done one of these so we're really looking forward to it.

We have one of these angled cabins (#1120) booked on the Reflection in January. On our last cruise we had an aft balcony and, while we liked the extra balcony space, the lack of breeze was oppressive. Looking forward to having a larger balcony with (hopefully) a nice breeze so we can enjoy it more.

I'm going back and forth about parking at the port or offsite. Our ship docks at Terminal 29, so even if we park at the port we still have to take a shuttle from the parking garage to the ship. Plus, our current plan is to drive from Sarasota the morning of the cruise (about 2.5 hours) so if for some reason we get there late I worry about being able to find parking at the port's garage. I don't care about cost, I'm just looking for the most convenient, worry- and hassle-free experience.

We were planning to drive over from Sarasota the morning of our Reflection cruise, but your report is making me second guess that plan. May think about driving over the night before just to keep myself from getting stressed out.

Pretty much everyone in south Florida. White is acceptable when it's 85 degrees in January. 🌞

This is exactly why we are breaking away from Carnival and taking our first Celebrity cruise in January. We don't want to be entertained 24/7 -- just want to relax.

It felt too much like an indoor mall in my opinion. You obviously feel differently and that's fine. That's one of the reasons cruising is awesome - so many choices. I've watched plenty of YouTube videos on the RCI Icon class - that's why we cancelled the cruise we had booked on RCI. We could tell it was a concept we wouldn't like. Our next cruise is on Celebrity Reflection. Much more to our liking, size-wise.

You're right that we probably won't sail on RCI's Icon class (we did have one booked but cancelled), though I would argue it has nothing to do with having blinders on. We like the smaller ships because we actually feel like we're at sea. The MG felt too much like an indoor shopping mall. Not nearly enough outdoor space close to the water for us and based on the deck plans of RCI's behemoths, they have even less. Fortunately there are enough ships out there that we can all find the sizes we like.

We were on the Mardi Gras and didn't feel crowded, but the ship was bigger than we like. Not saying we won't sail that class again, but gotta say we're looking forward to our upcoming Celebrity cruise with half the passengers. The Dream class is still my favorite Carnival class.

Handing a Southerner a glass of unsweet tea and a packet of sugar is grounds for a "bless your heart." Southern tradition dictates that copious amounts of sugar must be added to the tea while it is hot. I'm pretty sure there's a rule book somewhere. 🤣

We had a cabana at Mahogany Bay last June and it was fantastic. Definitely worth the price--even for just the two of us--and we will book it again in a heartbeat. That end of the beach is uncrowded, close to some very decent snorkeling on the other side of the pier, and the service and amenities were great. Worth every penny!

If we go back to Costa Maya in the future we will make it a "ship day." We have not been impressed with the beach clubs or the quality of the sand or water. Snorkeling has been terrible due to murky visibility. We would rather stay on the uncrowded ship and eat food we've already paid for than pay extra for average food and sit on a beach being pestered by hawkers every 30 seconds.

Beach towel holders (bonus points if they're shaped like flamingos or flip flops) Magnetic wall hooks Neck or wrist lanyard Tervis tumbler (or similar)

2 and that includes the pair I wear onto the ship, both Vionic sandals - one white pair and one black.

Windy is a great app. I used it during Hurricane Ian and got up-to-the-minute wind speeds as it ripped the clay tiles off our roof, destroyed my car parked in the driveway, and deposited our pool cage somewhere over the Gulf. Looking forward to reading this review -- getting excited for our first Celebrity cruise on Reflection in January!

Seems strange that Filet is on the kids menu but not the regular menu. Is it possible for adults to order two (for a total of 8oz.) off the Kids menu?

My best buffet tip: Get two plates, put your food on one and then turn the second one upside down to cover your food. Your food will stay warm and now you have a "tray" to put your coffee/juice/tea on without trying to juggle all the way to wherever you're sitting (which for me is often our balcony or an outside deck somewhere).

^^^This. I look forward to breakfast just for the Huevos Rancheros.. Quattro Formage Pizza. Cold soups in MDR. Bananas Foster at Emeril's.

This was a great answer and I truly appreciate the examples. I had never heard about these types of situations occurring, so it's great to hear that some have had great experiences they would not have had otherwise.

I don't agree with it, but It is what it is. The drinking age used to be 18, then when I was 19 they changed it to 21 without a "grandfather" clause for those of us who had already been "legal." There was a HUGE black market for fake IDs on my college campus that year. 😉

I was hoping to catch a summer 2023 sailing on Magic, but guess that won't happen now. There's no way I'm going to Norfolk when I have four ports within a 3.5 hour driving distance. Good news for my Virginia friends though, as they're getting a great ship.

Could someone please explain to me why it matters who the captain is? This is a genuine question - not being snarky at all - I've just always been curious about this. As long as the captain is competent and can get the ship safely from Point A to Point B, I'm happy...much like I am when I board an airplane. I understand it's part of the "grand tradition" of cruising, but I've always thought the captain has much more important things to do than shaking hands and making chit-chat with passengers - like making sure we don't crash into something (I'm looking at you, Concordia).

Please don't ruin things for the rest of us by causing Celebrity to go to the policy other lines (Royal, Carnival...) have implemented requiring all passengers over 21 in the cabin to buy the drink package. I'm always amazed that people will spend thousands of dollars to go on a cruise and then look for ways to steal a $9 drink.

We were on MG in June and I have doubts we will sail her again. It's a beautiful ship and we had a great time, but at one point about halfway through the cruise we both agreed the ship is just too big for us. It took forever to get from one part of the ship to another and a "quick" trip back to the cabin for something was anything but quick. We did enjoy the different food venues and for the first time ever we didn't eat in the MDR at all. We loved Rudi's and the Steakhouse. The food in the Lido Marketplace was horrible, though, and we've always liked eating there previously. It was also unorganized and way too many times we would have only two or three people in line in front of us, only to have their entire family in matching t-shirts show up and cut in line. The other annoyance was that it was hard to find somewhere peaceful to sit and read in a comfortable chair where I could also see the water. I finally found the best spot at the Watering Hole on deck 8 outside the P&A and Heroes Tribute Lounge.

My son was born with multiple food allergies that resulted in several life/death situations. We almost lost him three times and likely would have had we not been near a hospital. We carried multiple Epipens for years. Fortunately he grew out of all but one of the allergies, but when he was growing up we avoided going anywhere where we would not be within a few minutes of a hospital or could not control what he ate. We gave up cruising and all international travel for those years due to potential problems with language barriers. It just wasn't worth the risk.