The Brilliant Reflection - A Review of 1-12-2013 Sailing with Photos (Very Long)

[librarylady19]

Day 4 - St. Maarten

 

We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in Blu with a lovely view as we sailed into St. Maarten. We sat next to a lovely couple from Toronto and enjoying chatting with them (we met lots of Canadians on this cruise, always a pleasure). I discovered a new breakfast treat today - the french toast. I can't believe I never tried it before - it is so light and fluffy and delicious - highly recommended, especially with a side of berries.

 

We did not get clearance to debark until right around 10:00 a.m. Following Captain Bob's emailed instructions and map, we headed out of the terminal and down the road toward town to the dock where his boat would be found. He had already left with another tour group but we were to be taken out by Tyrell, along with 2 other couples from Reflection. We really appreciate that he didn't just leave us in the lurch and provided an alternate tour for us.

 

Here's Tyrell, a very enjoyable young man, native of S. Africa, who has lived on island for many years:

 

 

 

 

This turned out to be quite a fortuitous turn of events as we enjoyed an absolutely wonderful day touring the entire island with a fantastic guide. We did meet up with Captain Bob's group at Pinel Island and he had 15 people crammed into his boat so we definitely had the best of it.

 

It was quite a wild ride on this speedboat (the one on the right in the photo)

 

The ocean was a bit choppy and we were going 50 mph at times. I was glad I had my sea legs by then or it would have been awful!

 

Tyrell pointed out many of the yachts of the rich and famous as well as landmarks on the island and in the water as we enjoyed our wild ride.

 

 

Edited January 26, 2013 by librarylady19

[librarylady19]

Leaving the port behind:

 

 

I snagged a great seat in the back next to the Captain:

 

 

and Scott sat in back:

 

 

We really enjoyed the view!

 

 

Edited January 26, 2013 by librarylady19

[librarylady19]

Tyrell provided an informative commentary, telling us about St. Maarten's history, landmarks, resorts and famous visitors.

 

 

After about an hour, we anchored at Pinel Island on the French side so we could get out an swim and use the restroom facilities on the island. The water was lovely. Tyrell had an ample supply of Heineken on board that really hit the spot!

 

 

 

We even saw a topless bather...oh my we're not in the midwest anymore!!

 

Our boat tour continued after 45 minutes as we saw some of the resorts and little coves:

 

There are no private beaches on the island so even the swankier places cannot keep you away completely. This is LaSamanna a very exclusive resort frequented by celebrities.

 

 

 

Edited January 26, 2013 by librarylady19

[librarylady19]

The island of Saba is visible in the distance:

 

 

We stopped for lunch at a place in Grand Case on the French side. Tyrell anchored the boat as close as the could but as it was quite choppy we had to swim to shore if we wanted to eat!!

It was worth it. Tyrell had called our orders in from the boat and our lunches were ready only minutes after we sat down. We had the choice of grilled fish, chicken or ribs accompanied by rice and beans or fries. Everything was delicious (we tried everything except the chicken between the two of us). I had a guavaberry colada to wash it down. We then had some time to relax on the beach before moving on for the rest of our island tour. Lunch was included in our tour price, except for drinks.

 

Our last stop was Maho Bay....where we waited, like these people at the Sunset Bar, for the planes to land.

 

 

It wasn't as hair-rising as being at the fence, but quite a thrill to see the planes fly so closely overhead. Close enough for me!!

 

 

Edited January 26, 2013 by librarylady19

[talking2u]

Sandi,

I am sooo enjoying reading about your cruise experience! Thank you so much! This question is technical and may seem silly but I am quite new to this site and don't know how to subscribe to your particular posts......if you don't mind, I would love a little advice so that I can continue to hear all about your journey. My family and I are on our first Celebrity Cruise in March ....on the Reflection and just can't wait!!! Thanks in advance.

Laurie :)

[Diane Rose]

Sandi,

 

I am really enjoying your detailed review. You do such a wonderful job.

 

Diane

[Dunmore2]

You have a way with words, all your excitement shows! Thanks for sharing your holiday with us.

[librarylady19]

We stayed there for quite a while and saw a variety of planes come in for a landing.

 

 

 

 

All good things must come to an end, and it was time for us to head back to Phillisburg.

 

 

This had been a fantastic fun-filled journey with our excellent Captain Tyrell who was not only an excellent seaman but a genuinely nice guy!

 

Edited January 26, 2013 by librarylady19

[librarylady19]

We stopped to pick up some chocolates at one of the terminal shops to take home (from the Belgian Chocolate Shop) and headed back to our home away from home.

 

Sure glad we were on the ship on the right!

 

Especially after seeing staff from the Epic performing line dancing routines on the dock - yikes!!

 

 

I guess we are Celebrity snobs (and proud of it :)) With good reason:

 

 

For those that are interested, the tour through Capt. Bob Cass (website) was $99 per person, which included drinks on the boat and lunch. A real bargain!! Bob is very responsive to emails and sent us detailed directions and followed up with us. We had a chance to chat with Bob at lunch and thanked him for arranging an alternate (and better!!) tour for us.

I will be posting a review on Trip Advisor (when I've finished writing this "book.")

Edited January 26, 2013 by librarylady19

[librarylady19]

Sandi,

I am sooo enjoying reading about your cruise experience! Thank you so much! This question is technical and may seem silly but I am quite new to this site and don't know how to subscribe to your particular posts......if you don't mind, I would love a little advice so that I can continue to hear all about your journey. My family and I are on our first Celebrity Cruise in March ....on the Reflection and just can't wait!!! Thanks in advance.

Laurie :)

 

Glad you are enjoying the review. To subscribe to a post, within a thread - click on "Thread Tools". ( Right below the page numbers near the top of the page) click the down arrow, and select "subscribe to this thread". And select your preference for email notification.

[Emiliqua]

Thanks so much for the great review. I can't wait for more!

Your pictures and descriptions of the cocktails have inspired me to upgrade to the premium beverage package ;)

 

Also - love your manicure! Did you get the Shellac/14 day option?

[talking2u]

Thanks so much Sandi!

Stay warm..... I too am in the cold! We live in Toronto ON and have had the coldest week in a few years, I'd say. My husband was in the lovely city of Chicago this week on Business......tonight I am munching on some of Chicago's famous Garrett's Popcorn while I enjoy your posts!

Cheers! Laurie :)

[fussylady]

LOVING your review, Sandi !! We are on this cruise next year.

 

When we were on the Equinox last year the wifi service was pretty terrible, both on our iPads and even on the computers in the ilounge. So SLOW!!! It was a total waste of money buying the packages. We swore we would never do it again. We would just learn to endure a week without Internet access.

 

Did you find the service on the Reflection any more efficient? I'm told they might have upgraded the system.

 

I also don't understand what you meant when you wrote that on the first night passengers who went to Blu were offered 50% off to eat elsewhere. Do you mean that when they went into the Blu restaurant for dinner that night they were told about the discount offer?

 

We loved the food offered for lunch at the Aqua Spa Cafe but always found the service so disorganized and very crowded with loooong waits to take orders and prepare the food. Tables were not cleaned and it was difficult to find a place to sit. We gave up trying to eat there. Was it any better on your cruise this time?

 

I would love to hear about The Porch. We also used to go to Bistro on Five for first day lunch..so quiet and relaxing. I'm hoping that a lot of the deficits you mention are due only to the new ship adjustments and not something permanent.

 

Thanks again.

[u2cruiser]

Thank you for the Andreas Depping link. This is the first I've seen and heard of the little Al Bacio. Did you already know it was there?

Also for the extra San Juan pics. I haven't had chance to look at those yet.

 

Your nails look lovely! Was it very expensive?

 

Your St Marten tour looked great, apart from having to swim for your lunch :eek:

We never tire of Maho Beach.

 

The lawn concerts (2 on our cruise) made our cruise all the more special. You really have to watch out for those being advertised in the daily.

 

Love the pics of your beautiful ship and the one of the sailing yacht with the sea shimmering - gorgeous. :)

 

Thank you librarylady, but don't rush because we want it to last :cool:

[marysb]

Just having a coffee and packing up to go to theReflection.

 

Thanks so much Sandi for your wonderful review. You have a best seller there!

I really appreciate the detail and it has certainly made this last week go much faster looking forward to your next post. I will report back on our take of the cruise. We are not aqua class and will be doing the St. kitts itinerary.

 

Thanks again for the time and effort to put the review together .

 

 

Mary

[Texed]

Sandi,

Excellent review and pictures. Thanks again for posting. :)

[CrabbyQ]

Thanks for the great review, photos and "extras". It's killing me that I have to wait until November before I get to sail on Reflection.

[Fredric22]

Great review!! We will be on the Reflection in exactly two weeks and we can't wait! Also, the Epic is a beautiful ship (inside)... I would not hesitate to sail on her again!

[GigiAnn]

Wow..day 1!!! This is an amazing review. Thank you so much. We sail on Reflection on March 2nd. I thought I was excited but now I am beyond excited!!! Can't wait to read more.

 

Hi,

 

We have a Roll Call for the March 2nd cruise on the Reflection. Hope you will join us.

 

GiGiAnn

 

 

 

[maggieq]

Love your review and pictures. That Epic is one ugly ship for sure....

[yknot13]

Truely enjoying your review.

Thanks for taking the time for such a detailed review.

We will look to Captain Bob's the next time we visit St. Marteen.

Edited January 26, 2013 by yknot13

[librarylady19]

LOVING your review, Sandi !! We are on this cruise next year.

 

When we were on the Equinox last year the wifi service was pretty terrible, both on our iPads and even on the computers in the ilounge. So SLOW!!! It was a total waste of money buying the packages. We swore we would never do it again. We would just learn to endure a week without Internet access.

 

Did you find the service on the Reflection any more efficient? I'm told they might have upgraded the system.

 

I also don't understand what you meant when you wrote that on the first night passengers who went to Blu were offered 50% off to eat elsewhere. Do you mean that when they went into the Blu restaurant for dinner that night they were told about the discount offer?

 

We loved the food offered for lunch at the Aqua Spa Cafe but always found the service so disorganized and very crowded with loooong waits to take orders and prepare the food. Tables were not cleaned and it was difficult to find a place to sit. We gave up trying to eat there. Was it any better on your cruise this time?

 

I would love to hear about The Porch. We also used to go to Bistro on Five for first day lunch..so quiet and relaxing. I'm hoping that a lot of the deficits you mention are due only to the new ship adjustments and not something permanent.

 

Thanks again.

 

Thanks - love your name btw:)

 

To answer your questions, we heard of the 50% off first night from other couples in Blu - we did not attempt to eat there the first night as we already had prebooked Qsine. Others on the cruise might verify this. On Summit, our friends were offered a 50% discount at Qsine at the terminal.

 

We definitely saw improvements in the WIFI vs. Eclipse. I about gave up there also. This time we had no issues with connectivity and speed was fine anywhere I tried within the ship (outdoor locations, no reception). We had the Elite coupons so it didn't cost us anything but would have bought a package if we had to since we needed to check in with work from time to time. I also downloaded my emails and then read them offline.

 

We didn't have a lot of experience with the Aqua Spa Cafe and only stopped by to grab salads/snacks at lunchtime on a couple of occasions. I never ordered the salmon, for instance. The set up is a bit larger and there is more seating but still not adequate at peak times, especially when groups were using the tables for card games :confused:

Here's a photo taken when it wasn't open for business:

 

 

 

 

As for The Porch....we finally ate there near the end of the cruise so there will be photos and details forthcoming...LOVED IT!!!

[librarylady19]

Truely enjoying your review.

Thanks for taking the time for such a detailed review.

We will look to Captain Bob's the next time we visit St. Marteen.

 

Thanks, that tour was certainly a highlight for us. I should mention, that the tour was to have included snorkeling (as you will read on Trip Advisor) but we did not partake due to weather conditions. That was perfectly fine with me as I'm not much of a snorkeler.

[BugsyCruiser]

Really enjoying your review of Reflection, Sandi. I'll have to sail on her someday. My only thing is I wish they would alternate itineraries. Don't get me wrong, I love St. Thomas and St. Maarten but I'd like to see them do the western as well.

[librarylady19]

I inadvertently left out a picture of the Sunset Bar at Maho Beach....

 

 

Here's a link to our St. Maarten album for anyone who's interested:

 

http://s1080.beta.photobucket.com/user/librarylady19/library/St%20Maarten%201-2013