Lightngsvt

Hello. Wife and I will be in Barbados for the day on Celebrity on a bout a month. What tours / operators / activities would you recommend? WE were going to book the off road Segway tour through Celebrity but missed it, so something along those line, or ATV/4x4, or even a great beach/ snorkeling or tour would work too. Just not sure where to start?

I started this topic back in February and I can now answer my own question and the answer is............... yes Blu is worth it. My wife was very happy with Blu and I would recommend it if ti isnt an outrageous upgrade. On Reflection the tables are that close together so you can talk to other couples or have your private time. Service and food were excellent all except one night where the service was unusually slow. Armando was excellent though!

We've booked a 10 day next March on Equinox in A1 so yes, we have drank the Blu "kool-aid".

Thanks for the recommendations everyone, I think I will book with him.

GAMOM4, so sorry to hear about your husband.

I couple people on my roll call mentioned they are booking tours with Bernards Tours, has anyone used them before? The SXM 2 tour looks interesting to us but I want to be sure to use someone reputable with a good reputation.

Also, what is the mosquito situation? There seems to be threads on here ranging from "if you go near the island you will get bit and very ill" to "dont worry about it, its no problem"?

Can anyone recommend a nice place to eat while in San Juan? The wife and I will be there From 3:00 - 10:00pm coming from the Celebrity Reflection and I believe we are docking in Old San Juan. Looking for something nice that will be a meal to remember. Thanks

Great info, thanks everyone!

So for upgrading the drink package, if we choose, would be best to do onboard so they can credit us the difference?

20 days from today my wife and I depart for a glorious week on the Reflection! As its getting close and Im trying to finalize things I have some questions:

1. 123Go Classic Bev. pkg- is it true that we do not get the large bottles of water? It was already a huge pain in the butt last year trying to get water when we had the premium pkg. We try to drink a fair amount of water (in addition to fun things) and having to bar-hop for multiple bottles of water just is no fun and a waste of time

2. I thought I could upgrade to the Prem. pkg if I wanted for around $11/day? On the site it shows me full price if I look under the upgrades, $474.95 PP

3. Does anything booked in advance (Spa, specialty dining, shore excursions) have to be paid before sailing? We have a small $100 OBC from TA that I dont want to waste (we had to prepay gratuities so cant use it there either). PLus I figure if I book everything in advance nothing to worry about once onboard

4. Which nights are formal night? Im guess the 2nd (Sunday) and last (Friday)? I would like to eat in the MDR at least one formal night.

5. Anyone ever bought any of the packages? the 28th is our anniversary and I was looking at one of the "Romance Packages". The Mimosa breakfast in bed sounds pretty nice!

6. Can I do my online check-in this early?

7. Were in AQ, do we get priority luggage delivery? What time will we be allowed into our room? We are planning to arrive at port between 11am-12pm.

I would vote for the Silhouette as well, it is a beautiful and classy ship. My wife and I (39 and 41) did the western last year and next month are doing the eastern the Reflection. Im also considering taking my aunt who just turned 75 on a Bermuda cruise later this year for some of the same reason you list (while still healthy, mobile, etc). I think the Caribbean itineraries are a bit younger crowd than average for Celebrity and if you during the spring break season you will find more younger people and families. But if you can have fun just knowing your Grandma is enjoying herself youll be good anywhere. There are plenty of bars, pools, a little bit of night life, spa, shore excursions, etc that I think you would enjoy yourself unless you are a major party animal.

We are A1 Aqua Class and they did make us prepay when I booked tonight. We took the beverage pkg for our 123Go promotion, but the TA is giving us $75 shore excursion credit and $50 OBC. Not much, but its still a little better than if we booked direct with Celebrity.

Finally got off my rear end and booked the reservation for 3/22 on the Reflection! We are very excited. Anyway, I was looking at the spreadsheet and there is no info for 2140, I was hoping someone has stayed there and can give me the scoop? What side is the bed on, good view, location, noisy, etc? Seems to be a good location near the main elevators and just down the hall from the spa and only 1 deck up to the pool deck.

Originally 2140 didnt even show as available, it was between 2106 hump and 1589. I told the TA we'd take 2106 only to find out it had been booked, so it looked 1589 would be our home that week. The TA had to call Celebrity to get us the 1 class upgrade since we are CC members and while talking to the rep they told him that they could put us in 2140 even though it didnt show available. Interesting. Wish it was a hump cabin but Im sure it will be very nice!

We had to prepay gratuities since we chose anytime dining, is that normal? Not a big deal since they are required anyway and we'll tip extra at the end of the week in cash. But we'll probably only eat in the MDR 2x for the formal nights and the other nights in Blu or a specialty.

so excited! Now we can join the roll call!

I was on the Bermuda cruise last June and did not witness this type of behavior. The summit, which is also an M class ship, goes to Bermuda. At the promotion at the time was also the 123 package. I just think it really depends on the people going on the cruise.

I am going on a short 5 day cruise in March and I am looking forward to having a younger demographic (hopefully it will be non eventful)

My wife and I are in the in between demographic (40), I really have no issue hanging around with late 20-somethings or 50-somethings+. But we've reached an age where we have mellowed some and arent into the rowdy crap anymore, especially on a nice vacation like a cruise. We'll be on Reflection on 3/22 plus we were thinking of taking my 75 year old aunt the Bermuda cruise later this year.

Based on my experience last March on Silhouette (7 night western Carib):

- seated at Group table although requested private dining. Eventually resolved but uncomfortable. -We only ate in the MDR one night and had an issue with seating. We were seated and had got as far as placing our order when we were moved because they seated us at "someone elses table". Not a huge deal in the end but a bit annoying

- outdoor pools generally very cold -Only used the pool in the Solarium and it was not cold

- very limited pool service for drinks -Did not see to many servers around the pool or Solarium but did notice more than a few security personnel wandering about

- room canapés consisting of a handful of raisins and olives (only 2 of 3 days) -The Canapes on Silhouette in CC were nothing to write home about, in fact some were pretty nasty. A fruit plate or cheese plate would have been MUCH preferred

- cold room service breakfasts both days ordered -We ordered breakfast every morning on our veranda and it was generally prompt and hot

- rude treatment by Nina at Guest Relations regarding first point above -We were never treated rudely by any staff members

We are going to be on Reflection on 3/22 and I have every confidence that the experience will equal last years on the Silhouette.

Vibrations are a big concern of mine too, thats why Ive tried to stay midship. Last year on Silhouette our first night we at at Tuscan and I definitely noticed vibrations, but that is deck 4 (?). I think the view would be great aft but Ive been afraid to take the chance.

So is that type of behavior more prevalent on the smaller ships / shorter cruises? We were on the Silhouette last year and there never seemed to be an empty bar but I never noticed any unruly behavior. Was thinking about a short Bermuda cruise later this year so Im curios now.

I tend to have some issues with motion, if I don't take meds usually the first night I get a little sea sick but then am usually fine after that, kinda weird. So that was my big concern with 2106 (motion) and why I was about to book 1589. Is 2106 larger than normal A1's or is just an illusion on the deck plan because of the angled walls?

Funny thing is that we were in 2106 on Silhouette last year, but that was rear facing hump on deck 12. Looking at the deck plans I'm surprised at the differences between Silhouette and Reflection, does reflection have an extra deck?

Are the support poles or the overhang obtrusive in 1589? I don't think the overhang would be bad since theres a deck in between, not sure about the poles though.

Does anyone know if 1589 has the bed by the balcony?

I've made multiple calls and posts here and we have decided to book an A1 for the 3/22 on Reflection. From looking at what's left I've narrowed it down to these cabins, does anyone have any feedback? 2106 is pretty far forward so no sure about motion (always heard the most motion is in the front of the ship) but it is on a hump so I assume it has a larger balcony and has the bed near the balcony which I like. Does 1589 have balcony side bed? Any obstructions on either cabin? 1589's location seems to be more convenient / central

We are captains club members so we get the free class upgrade, so we'd pay A2 rates ($30pp wow...) but hey thats almost a dinner at Tuscan Grille. If the rates drop before sailing would we get refunded the difference?

Has anyone stayed in this or one of the immediately surrounding cabins? I saw there was one entry on the spreadsheet but wondering if there were any other comments? Would you book it again?

So we are down to a choice of A1 cabins in the 1567 - 1579 or 2142 for $1248 PP + tax, or A1- 7208, 8197 for $1019 PP + tax, or the GTY Suite for $1499 PP + tax. Im so confused.......

In general do you feel more vibration from the engines / propellers, or motion in general in aft cabins on large (~3000 passenger) ships?

Might be on the Reflection 3/22. Not the same ship, but was on the Silhouette last March and even on the rougher days didnt notice much movement. I'd recommend bringing Bonine and take first dose before boarding if your concerned.

Ah gotcha. Boy dont I feel dumb. :) That would be a "suite" upgrade. LOL!

So how did you get upgraded 4 days into your cruise? So its most likely to be a S2 Sky suite? Where are most of those cabins located? So for the few cabins left we are looking at:

C1 - $1249 PP

A1 - $1279 pp

GTY Suite - $1499 pp

I just dont want to have an aft cabin, mid ship is my choice.

I called today for some last minute info in deciding between Reflection 3/22 or Silhouette 3/23 and for $120 PP we can get guarantee suite. Seeing that the cheapest AQ or Sky is $1999 it seems like a good deal. However im not sure about leaving cabin location up to fate. Have you done this and was it a good experience? Would you do it again?

I wasnt aware of the unlimited specialty dining pkg, last year we had the 5 night pkg I believe. I was mistaken the price difference between C1 and A1 is only $40, between C3 and A1 is $170. A1 has 2106, 2107, 2120, 2146, 2148 left plus a couple aft cabins where almost all CC cabins were aft.