Celebrity Reflection Spring TA - 04/20/13

The baby ship's first trip back "home" to Europe!

We are very happy to be booking this -- we are waiting for the dust to settle on the reservations, so I hope I am not jinxing us. ;)

This will be our third 14+ days cruise on Celebrity (previously both on Century), our second TA (also Eastbound). We're traveling (again) with Wayne's parents -- and with this big of a ship, I suppose we may only see them in the evenings.

Having sailed only on the Century (which only SEEMS like it's a century old), we are over-the-top excited about upgrading all the way to the absolutely newest ship in the fleet! (If Wayne tells me one more time how "phenomenal" the ship looks from the Web site, I may have to smack him. :D ).

We had some very nice "FOD" gatherings on both Century cruises and hope we'll have another great mix of people on this one.

So...any other "family" on board?

Matt

Yes there is family on board! We are Jim & Newt from Kansas City. We also have two friends John & David who will be on board. Hope there are FOD parties. We were on a Princess cruise several years ago and there was a FOD champagne party every day at 5 PM. Saw your posts on the "other" Roll Call & hope there will be many other family members on the cruise.

Yes there is family on board! We are Jim & Newt from Kansas City. We also have two friends John & David who will be on board. Hope there are FOD parties. We were on a Princess cruise several years ago and there was a FOD champagne party every day at 5 PM. Saw your posts on the "other" Roll Call & hope there will be many other family members on the cruise.

Look forward to meeting all of you. On Celebrity, they only post the announcement on the activities board by the main desk, so I hope we'll get more hits on the list here so we have a nice "critical mass" of attendees. I suspect, like most things on the ships (and these lists), the bigger the group, the more likely we'll get special attention from the Cruise staff.

Matt

We look forward to meeting you guys too! On one G&L forum, a guy said that on cruises of the size of the April 20 one, there are between 100-200 gays men & lesbians, but mostly men. I'm new to all this (this is only my third cruise) & really CC, but it seems that our "family" doesn't post on these forums very much. Hope we can bring people out to the FOD parties.

We look forward to meeting you guys too! On one G&L forum, a guy said that on cruises of the size of the April 20 one, there are between 100-200 gays men & lesbians, but mostly men. I'm new to all this (this is only my third cruise) & really CC, but it seems that our "family" doesn't post on these forums very much. Hope we can bring people out to the FOD parties.

I would say between 40 and 60 gay guys on a T/A... Usually a good mix and people get on well... sometimes a little snobbery over eating in Blu or MDR... but if travellign solo, Aqua Class is very expensive just to eat in Blu unless everyone else appears to be Aqua and you end up dining alone or with some unpleasant people in MDR.

I have done Equinox and Solstice TA in 2011 and 2012, but Silhouette is the Celebrity ship I have been on and Solstice by far the worst.

I would say between 40 and 60 gay guys on a T/A... Usually a good mix and people get on well... sometimes a little snobbery over eating in Blu or MDR... but if travellign solo, Aqua Class is very expensive just to eat in Blu unless everyone else appears to be Aqua and you end up dining alone or with some unpleasant people in MDR.

 

I have done Equinox and Solstice TA in 2011 and 2012, but Silhouette is the Celebrity ship I have been on and Solstice by far the worst.

So, Solstice was the worst. Why was that? Hope it wasn't because of the size of the ship as I think the new Reflection is the same size.

So, Solstice was the worst. Why was that? Hope it wasn't because of the size of the ship as I think the new Reflection is the same size.

The size is fine... smaller than Royal Caribbean etc... We had really bad food one night in MDR, we only ordered the steaks! but the Maitre-d left the dining room rather than solve the problem when the 2nd lot came up burnt instead of rare, and cold! The staff in the Martini Bar were miserable and couldn't pour a "flight" properly without spilling it or dropping glasses.. and that IS what they are there for!

I still had a good holiday but Equinox and Silhouette were superb in comparison and they are all sister ships.

The size is fine... smaller than Royal Caribbean etc... We had really bad food one night in MDR, we only ordered the steaks! but the Maitre-d left the dining room rather than solve the problem when the 2nd lot came up burnt instead of rare, and cold! The staff in the Martini Bar were miserable and couldn't pour a "flight" properly without spilling it or dropping glasses.. and that IS what they are there for!

 

I still had a good holiday but Equinox and Silhouette were superb in comparison and they are all sister ships.

Sorry you had some bad experiences. Guess there are always bad apples, but would you say that generally Celebrity is a great cruise line? Hopefully, FOD was not a factor.

We are not Blu & it's MDR for us, but we could have upgraded to Aqua for the same cost. Just didn't seem like the thing to do when others you are traveling with don't have the opportunity. Anyway is the quality of food that much different?

Anyone for a special dinner onboard of just us friends of Dorothy people?

Anyone for a special dinner onboard of just us friends of Dorothy people?

Jim (or is it Newt who posts?),

What did you have in mind? Do you mean in one of the specialties? Or trying to arrange a one-time group in the MDR?

We're in the MDR late seating with Wayne's parents. We enjoy the MDR food and unless Celebrity has changed their policy on OBC (maddingly, NCL no longer lets you apply most OBC to the daily service fee), we probably won't "splurge" on a specialty.

In any event, now that our recent cruise is over, I can catch up on the main Roll Call.

Matt

Jim (or is it Newt who posts?),

 

What did you have in mind? Do you mean in one of the specialties? Or trying to arrange a one-time group in the MDR?

 

We're in the MDR late seating with Wayne's parents. We enjoy the MDR food and unless Celebrity has changed their policy on OBC (maddingly, NCL no longer lets you apply most OBC to the daily service fee), we probably won't "splurge" on a specialty.

 

In any event, now that our recent cruise is over, I can catch up on the main Roll Call.

 

Matt

It's Jim that posts, but I have not been on the forums this month. We are also MDR and late seating. I'm also not sure about the added cost of the specialty. Is there any special deals on that dinning while on board? Jim

HI!! Just want to throw my hat into the ring. One more FOD! I'll be on the Reflection 4/20/13 TA also! I'm traveling solo CC class late seating...dining partners welcome! And the FOD dinner idea sounds fun... any progress on that?

Randy

HI!! Just want to throw my hat into the ring. One more FOD! I'll be on the Reflection 4/20/13 TA also! I'm traveling solo CC class late seating...dining partners welcome! And the FOD dinner idea sounds fun... any progress on that?

Randy

UPDATE: I have switched to the anytime dining option so although I tend to eat late I can be more flexible for any FOD dinners we can arrange....

UPDATE: I have switched to the anytime dining option so although I tend to eat late I can be more flexible for any FOD dinners we can arrange....

Hello Randy! Sorry I don't check the posts much. It would be great if you could join our group (4 gay guys) and actually if we could get Matt & Wayne & Wayne's parents also join we could have a really gay time! Not sure the table size options on the Reflection or how many different travel agents are involved. We are late seating & I think Matt & Wayne are too.

I'm surprised how few people are posting on this forum. Where are all the gay people on this cruise? Jim (kansascory)

Hello Randy! Sorry I don't check the posts much. It would be great if you could join our group (4 gay guys) and actually if we could get Matt & Wayne & Wayne's parents also join we could have a really gay time! Not sure the table size options on the Reflection or how many different travel agents are involved. We are late seating & I think Matt & Wayne are too.

 

I'm surprised how few people are posting on this forum. Where are all the gay people on this cruise? Jim (kansascory)

Sounds like fun Jim! Looking forward to the cruise!! I'm in cabin 1663

Randy,

If you want to dine with is, Think we need to exchange confirmation & cabin numbers with our travel agents. Our agent is Crucon.

Due to a cancellation today, there are two openings for our Barcelona private tour. It's a special tour at a bargain price. E-mail me: jimcorrick2me.com if you are interested. Thank you, kansascory (Jim)

Here is the information on the Barcelona Gaudi Tour:

1) Chauffeured Tour by private luxury air-conditioned minibus will accommodate 7 to 14 people. Groups greater than 9 persons require advance reservations to visit many of the sights, so we are limiting our tour group to 9.

The 8 hour tour starts at 10:00AM to about 6:30PM will start and end at the Reflection Dock. Our guide has promised a nice place for lunch, Dutch, of course. This tour will have a professional certified tour guide & a professional driver. It includes priority access to the sites (no waiting in line).

2) Includes highlights of Gaudi's work:

-Sagrada Familia 14.30 e ($18.35)

-Casa Mila 16.50 e ($21.16)

-Casa Batllo 20.35 e ($26.10)

-Palau Guell 10.00 e ($12.82)

-Park Guell free at this time

3)Cost:

Mini-bus &tour guide $813.00/ 9 = $ 90.33 per person

Tickets (purchased on site) $ 78.43 (ticket prices could change)

Total $168.76 (does not include lunch) per person

Activity level is moderate, but this tour is not wheelchair friendly. You will need to get in & out of the minibus & there are occasional flights of steps at some of the sites.