Russterus

Thank you for taking the time out on your trip to post your review, I really enjoyed it !!

Thanks Debik, it was fun to do!

Our last day was the most relaxing day of the cruise. We ended up doing...well... almost nothing. We had reservations at QSine but just didn't feel it so cancelled. We had never eaten dinner in the buffet on any cruise, had no idea if it was good or not. We went for it just for the ease of not dressing up, not having to wait around, just get our food and relax. It turned out to be real good. They had steaks and fish to grill so I ordered a ribeye while DW had salmon. Not saying it was good as LCG or Blu, but it was pretty good. One of the reasons we wanted to go this route was to finish dinner before the 7:00 show. We were down in plenty of time to see the Beatles tribute band John, Paul, George and Ringo. They were quite entertaining, had the audience singing and dancing along. Really enjoyed this one.

Afterwards, we went up, finished packing and then watched a movie in the room, and sipped the last of our wine. We gave our room steward Cato an extra tip. He was really excellent, as room stewards generally are. We had selected luggage valet which really meant nothing more on Friday night than normal except for extra tag for the airlines. We put them out about 9:30PM and they were gone within fifteen minutes.

We were up at 6:00AM Saturday to get ready for embarkation. After a quick breakfast and a farewell to our room, we went down to the theater to await clearance. This was about 7:30 and they had already called the first 11 groups, but not luggage valet. About 8 or so we got the notification we are cleated to go.

Luggage valet allowed us to skip the baggage pickup and that hassle which made the cost worth it alone. We literally did not see our bags from Friday night until we hit the baggage carousel in MSP to pick up. It took us about ten minutes to go through customs and get into a taxi for the airport. Apparently, there is no requirement to do customs forms anymore. Cato had told us it ended two weeks ago. This was by far the easiest disembarkation ever.

With that our vacation was done. I will write a final post with summary thoughts later, but despite a couple of issues, it was a great cruise. I love Celebrity and the Reflection is a wonderful ship. We felt we got our money's worth and will plan another Celebrity cruise in the future.

Hubby has Type II diabetes. He hasn't ever especially opted for a specific diabetic diet on Celebrity cruises, but even so he has had no trouble finding the food he needs to stay healthy while cruising. He keeps very careful track of his blood sugar and knows what kinds of food work well for him to maintain his sugar at optimum levels, so he chooses those foods.

 

He is also careful to time his meals to best stabilize his sugar. This can be a challenge on some excursions, because you can't always be certain how long an excursion will take regardless of what the information about the tour may say.

 

If you don't choose a specific diabetic meal plan, you can still always ask a waiter how a particular dish is prepared, Just steer clear of foods prepared with breading or rich sauces such as a rich BBQ sauce. Often there are desserts made sugar free, plus the dessert servings are usually very small, so that helps or just avoid dessert completely.

They had a good assortment of no sugar or no sugar added desserts in Blu. I just opted for veggies as a side and for lower carb foods. In no way was i perfect, it was vacation after all, but it wasn't hard to do well. Also with the deserts, just had a bite or two and called it good most of them, low or no sugar or not.

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Actually, it was your review, Russterus, that made me think there might be a day that there's nothing on the Blu menu that appeals to me. You posted Wednesday and I was not happy with anything on the menu that day.

 

Did you ever order the Always Available steak? How was it?

Mafig, I did not. A guy next to me did and he liked it. I am sure it is quite good.

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We'll be going to St. Kitts for the first time on Reflection 4/1. I've done no research about this island at all. Had no idea that was a volcano.

Most of the eastern Caribbean islands are volcanic.

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Would that Blu menu Wednesday night be the same on Wednesday on Silhouette?

You don't happen to have the MDR menu for that same night, do you?

It could be but not necessarily. They have a standard rotation that I believe is the same on all ships, but it isn't a seven day rotation and where they are in it varies.

Sorry, haven't checked out any of the MDR menus.

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I know that Salmon, Strip Steak and Chicken are Always Available in Blu and are listed on the menus I've seen posted.

 

However, what else is always available? and is it printed on the menu or do you just ask for it?

 

I've seen mentioned escargot, shrimp cocktail, caesar salad, french onion soup. These items are always available, but not on the menu?

 

Also, how is that always available strip steak?

All that you mentioned are always available. It's a NY Strip. Sometimes you can order off the MDR menu. For breakfast I had eggs Benedict a console of times this week and it isn't listed as available in Blu.

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St. Kitts is a beautiful island. While we didn't get out and do much more than walk around the port area, we were fortunate to be on the starboard side for sail away. This took us along the south coast of the island. This photo doesn't do justice to how pretty it actually was. I'll work on this shot in the future, but in real life, the sunset lighting on the clouds above the volcano was gorgeous.

Grand Foyer

Blu. We sat in Ronaldo from the Philippines section far side near the windows. He was great. Tonight is his last night on the ship as his contract ends tomorrow. We aren't eating there, but will stop by to say goodbye and give an additional tip.

Fruit and flowers. Flowers were extra. This isn't a great shot of them, but they were nice, anyway and most importantly DW thought they were nice. I always get her flowers for embarkation.

Most of the artwork on the ship has a "reflection" motif. I need to get some shots this evening without glare!

Cabin photos for Aqua Class. Our cabin steward has been as amazing as you would expect. Fruits replenished daily, two new waters as well.

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Note the foot rests. My understanding is that these aren't in all the balconies, just Aqua Class and the Suites.

The couple we sat next to last night were on their first cruise ever. I am glad that they got to experience the last couple of sea days after the crazy weather the first two. Right now the sea is almost glass, the temp is in the upper 70's with blue skies. Perfect cruising weather! The pool is packed and people definitely enjoying themselves.

We went with a room service breakfast today, because, well why not? We had one a few days ago where they got the order completely wrong, but it was still good so didn't bother us. Today they had it 100%

Some notes about the trip. We got the internet package and I have to admit being surprised at how well it has (mostly) worked. Actually watched some videos with no problems. There are occasional slow downs, but overall much better than a lot of the land based hotels I stay on. Only issue is I can't get my work computer to work, but then again, is that really an issue? :rolleyes:

The Game On room on 6 now has video game boards. There are about eight different games you can play, most multi-player so fun. Nothing crazy. My DW and I stop by and play a couple of them every so often. Still has board games available as well. Actually see it used most "normal" times.

Cafe El Bacio remains one of my favorite things on Celebrity. I avoid caffeine and do not like coffee, but they have some caffeine free teas that I love. Sitting down and sipping a cup of African Solstice with a biscuit or cookie is a part of our daily routine. So good.

The last day of the cruise is always a bittersweet. It has been a great week and sad to see it come to an end. First few times we cruised, I felt like had to do everything I hadn't done but wanted to, but now I just sit here enjoying my balcony. Finally opened up our bottle of welcome aboard Aqua Class bubbly and sipping that, watching a pod(?) of porpoises float by. What can be better than that?!

Maybe it's me, but I'd have a hard time trying to decide what to order in Blu (not in a good way).:confused:

Hi Mafig. I kind of agree, although the halibut that night was really good. I like Blu, but I don't like the menu every night, one reason I purchased the three night specialty package. You can eat in the MDR as well, the people we sat next to last night had done it a couple of times. I do think there are enough options to make every night decent, but I like more variety.

Current Tuscan Grill menu

Blu Menu Wednesday. We both had the halibut which was excellent.

Branzino from Tuscan Grill. So good.

World Class Bar. Haven't had a drink here, but was a regular at the old Molecular Bar on the Silhouette.

Ahhh sea days. Anything better after three hectic port days? Wake up with nothing to really do. I got up a bit early and joined in the mile walk on deck 15. Got in a few thousand steps. The weather since St. Maarten has been wonderful. Walking the decks in the morning with the ocean so beautiful, sunny skies and most people still not up and about is great.

After breakfast in Blu, went around taking some ship photos, and general prowling about. We caught a Navigation lecture of the Navigation Officer which was good. Again being a sea day, an after lecture nap was called for.

For lunch, hit up Sushi on 5 finally. Had an assortment of nigiri and a rainbow roll and it was quite good, surprisingly good. The fish on the nigiri was of ample size and well made. Really enjoyed it. It is a bit pricey, we ended up paying $50 plus tip, but well worth it.

Spending the afternoon on the patio was great. I was fully entertained by two birds floating around looking for their lunch. Every so often, they would dive down into the water to catch their prized little fish. Maybe sounds boring, but sipping some wine and watching them was just about as relaxing an experience you can have. I did wonder if they were riding along with the ship as we were currently a long way from any land. I am writing this Friday morning from my patio and haven't seen them, but a couple of darker birds have taken their place.

The show that night was Broken Strings, cast show. Story was a bit difficult to follow as there really wasn't any dialogue, but then again there is no really point in it beyond watching young people dance and sing. They did that quite well and a good time was had by all.

It was our final dinner in Blu as we are going to do QSine on Friday. Actually wanted Murano, but we waited to long and nothing available to very late. Same with Tuscan, but the QSine Maitre'd came through for us and got an early time after originally saying he had nothing until late to. Didn't even bribe him!

This was also the second Celebrity Chic night. The first night was in the midst of the wind and waves and DW did not want to go anywhere so we had room service and never went out. So this will probably be controversial to some of you, but before the cruise I had opted to not bring my suit or tux this time. Gasp. We just didn't want to pack heavy and if a suit was no longer expected, then who was I to argue? I did bring a nice shirt and a tie so dressed up and headed out to the show wondering if I would be out of place.

I was. While there were a very few tux wearers, and a few suits, most men either just wore the same as during the week, a collared short, or a couple had jackets. Very few had ties on. I wasn't really out of place, but I would have been just fine ditching the tie. In the end, I really could care less what everyone else wears. If they starting allowing t-shirts and swimming shorts on Chic Night, it would be fine with me. I know many of you probably would disagree and I get that. Just my thoughts.

St Kitts is definitely a beautiful place, although most of what we experienced was just staring out from the ship. We didn't book any tours and just got off and walked around a bit. Of course the area just off the ship is pretty much the same as any cruise port area you find. Tremendous deals (or so they say) on Tanzanite, tourist souvenirs, tours, cab rides, and getting your picture with monkeys or iguanas. One particularly funny guy had a monkey with Donald Trump like hair on top. He was enticing tourists to hold the monkey and going on how Donald Trump monkey was making America Great Again.

If there has been one thing that I have found annoying on this cruise, it's the constant push to sell things on ship. Aforementioned tanzanite (not even sure what it is), watches, drink packages, spa treatments, you name it. The thing is, I found the St. Kitts hawkers and sellers to be less annoying than the ship's personnel. I find myself purposely bypassing the gauntlet of shops on deck five just to avoid the constant push. It's probably my only real complaint of the cruise and it is the one thing that seems to have become worse over the years.

We actually tried to jump aboard the train tour on the way back to the ship that was leaving. Yes, totally last minute spur of the moment, however they couldn't do it at that point. So after an hour of DW buying some of those touristy shirts, mugs and so forth, we ended back on the Reflection for a relaxing rest of the day.

One thing I have very much enjoyed on this trip had been the live music. Blind Vinyl is the party house band and I find them quite entertaining and enjoyable. Willian is a solo guitarist from Paraguay is quite good and have sat and listened to him quite a bit. The string duet and the jazz band are equally good. When I write my final review, the live music will be a highlight.

We opted for the early show and late dinner. Robbie Printz was the comedian for the show. A bit of a slow start, but he had us in stitches by the end. He has a late night show Friday that we will probably catch.

We are on her on the 18th, yeah!!, and have Capt. Bob Cass booked as well, we were a little concerned with getting to his boat on time did you have a problem finding the place where his boat is ?

 

We did this exact cruise a few years ago and had some rough seas too, nothing like you experienced though !!

Easy to find, unless he has changed location. Go out through the gate like you are walking into town. He is in back of a little shopping center like thing with a marina. Just a little ways down. Have fun, that trip may be the funnest excursion I have been on. Hope you get Captain Bob himself, he is a hoot.

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Tuesday was St. Maarten day. We visited the island on our last cruise and had booked an off ship excursion with Captain Bob. It was a great tour, taking us around the island by boat, stopping in different places to snorkel and beach visit. Captain Bob was great and had helped set up for my son to propose to his then girlfriend, now wife and made it even more special for them. The problem with that tour is we saw nothing of the island itself. Although we did not plan a tour, last minute booked the Island Tour excursion and set off with a group to visit different spots. The tour included a stop in Marigold which was all too short, but our tour guide was great and gave us a good history of the island and it's people.

We returned to the ship and spent the bulk of the afternoon relaxing. DW had another spa visit while I caught up on my reading and enjoying the improved weather.

For dinner that night, we booked the Tuscan Grill. Really enjoyed it. Had their Bacon w/Pepper as a starter which is the one thing I did not enjoy. I love bacon in general, like most people, but this just felt like an undercooked piece of fat. DW had calamari which was good. It got a lot better though. For an entree, I went with the Grilled Bronzino and a half order side of Ricotta Gnocchi, both of which were delicious, the fish cooked perfectly, and DW Short rib Pappardelle Ragu which she didn't like, but I loved the bite or two I had. For dessert, had maybe my favorite thing to date on the cruise; a simple fig gelato that was divine. Service was excellent and I definitely would go back here, maybe go for a steak next time.

We were tired afterwards so skipped the show. Wandered around a bit to check out some music then called it a night. When we got back to the room, had a surprise. There was a form for luggage valet. I had heard through Cruise Critic that the Eclipse (I believe) was testing it out so had no expectations for it to be here. It is. $25 per guest, bags picked up and checked through to your airline. Sign me up! We filled out the registration and are set up for pickup. We have a late flight so dumping the bags sounds good to me.

Celebrity posted on their website that a daily Catholic mass is offered during Lent. We will be sailing on the Reflection in a little over two weeks and are hoping this is true. Please let me know if this is listed in any of the dailies. Thanks!

Hi Greeneprn,

No, nothing mentioned in any of the Reflection dailies about this. I'll keep my ears open.

Can you post which day and where the "silent disco" is held, please?😂

 

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WillCruiseAnyThyme Another one tonight in the Sky Lounge. I am not a dancer, but I may stop by for a laugh.

Enjoying your updates and photos so thank you for sharing. Hopefully you see sun the rest of the way!

 

 

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Thanks LongJohn69. It's fun to do. Falling a bit behind with the port days, but I'll catch up.

Wonderful review. Thanks for sharing. By any chance do you have any pix or videos of the waves?

I do. With two sea days, I'll try and get a video posted, but it may have to wait until we get back. The Internet is pretty good considering we are on a ship, but sometimes a bit slow.

Thanks for the updates. Sorry to hear your weather hasn't been improving.

 

Tuscan Grill used to be my favourite but now that they have their new menu I prefer LCG. Will definitely eat there once or twice when I'm on board in 10 days (not that I'm counting).

It has been really good last two days since San Juan, RickT. Absolutely beautiful today!

We ate at Tuscan last night and absolutely loved it. More on that later.

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Half and half pizza

Major food porn faux pas. Forgot to photo until we had already started eating. Oh well.

DW covered in a blanket. It really wasn't bad!

Monday night was our first port of call, San Juan. We ended up being three hours late due to the weather. Once we got there, it began to pour rain on top of it. No matter for us, we had decided not even to get off the ship, instead booking a reservation at LCG. We arrived and found we were the first people there. They were filming a commercial as well, so had to walk around that. With the wind and rain, it wasn't perfect conditions, but only a few drops snuck through for us. The wind was fairly well blocked out as well. Each seat had a blanket with it and many of the women ended up wrapped in them, although I thought it was quite pleasant, and of course no men were going to wrap themselves up!

The food was of course very good. We had a sausage and pepper pizza, but being forwarded about the amount of food, only ate a bit of it. Salad bar was your basic salad bar although definitely super fresh ingredients. I went with a rib eye for my main, DW had the red snapper. Steak was very good, maybe not the best I had, but well worth the price of admission. DW's snapper was good, but I generally think you go to a steak house for what they specialize in (true of most restaurant genres I believe). I had the lobster and mac, and creamed corn for my sides. The mac and cheese was good, I think it would have been outstanding if a little creamier. The star of the night was that creamed corn. If ever I am on death row and have a last meal, it would definitely include a bowl of that. Better yet, just throw me in a pool of it and let me die drowning in such deliciousness.

Everyone had recommended the cookie and ice cream for dessert. I went for the blueberry cobbler with ice cream instead, although my wife got the cookie. We were just going to get one, but the waiter insisted. Both were good, but I really loved the blueberry cobbler. Not too sweet and delicious.

The rest of the evening was spent attending the show and listening to music. We sat for awhile in the Grand Foyer listening to the house band, Blind Vinyl playing class rock. They really are a good party band, they are all very talented and enjoyed that. The main show was Reckless In Vegas. A trio playing an almost bizarre mixture of Sinatra, Elvis and various 60's act with an almost modern rock slant to it. They were good and only saw a couple of people leave early.

The night ended with a Motown party played by Blind Vinyl again. Had to be moved from the pool into Sky Lounge which was just packed. Again, they were really good.

Sorry about the rough seas...

BTW Easter is April 16th...

Funny, I was trying to figure out what this was about. Then noticed my typo on the the subject line. Ahh well...