Celebrity Reflection | February 22, 2014 | Fast Friends Meet Again

[movedeast]

Three fun-loving couples have just booked. One from New York, another from Washington DC and a third from Boston (a fourth pair from Toronto is sailing with Atlantis - those devils!). We are gathering in Miami to cruise again around the Eastern Caribbean. We are sure others are planning to be on board - and we hope to meet you. All of us are in Aqua Class. Perhaps we may see you dining with your beau in Blu. Or maybe we'll see you at GLBT cocktail hour, staying cool in the Solarium, working out in the gym or sunning on the Solstice deck. Let us know if we can expect you. Bon voyage!! :)

[movedeast]

Just checking in guys. Anyone booked for this itinerary?

[crossoverstreet]

Hello! We're booked to go!

 

Two guys from Toronto, Peter (48) and Richard (42). This will be our sixth cruise; third time on Celebrity in aqua class. Love blu! Love the Persian Gardens! First time on Reflection.

 

Best way to escape Winter! Celebrity website says we've off in 89 days. Hooray!

[movedeast]

Peter and Richard - glad to hear you'll be on Celebrity Reflection. We are Ray (49) and Steven (45) from New York. Our other cruise companions are all around the same age and have similar cruising history (this will be our eighth). We are looking forward to meeting you.

 

 

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[crossoverstreet]

Hi Ray and Steven: Nice to meet you. I think our final payments are due on Monday … so guess that means we're committed! We're connecting with some friends in Miami for a day beforehand. Once Christmas and New Years pass, it's the count down for blue seas. Cheers,

[Oceanview77]

Hi Danny and Hans here from Miami. We are also going on this cruise. 3rd Celebrity. We were on Silouhette last year. Can't wait to start taking advantage of that drink package at the Martini and Molecular bar. Looking forward to meeting everyone.

[crossoverstreet]

Hi Danny and Hans. We're looking forward to meeting you guys on board; and with a full week ahead of us of well below zero weather, we're counting down the days! (we also got in on the 1-2-3 drinks package … so here's hoping the wine selections are vast and interesting) How wonderful it must be to live in Miami full time!

 

Cheers,

Peter and Richard

[movedeast]

Final payment in! Less than 75 days to go! Glad you are sailing Danny and Hans. We are looking forward to meeting you.

 

Ray & Steve

 

 

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[Oceanview77]

Peter it is definately nice living in Miami. Every couple of years we take a vacation somewhere cold for a change of pace. We are definately spoiled being able to wake up and drive 20 minutes to board the ship. Can't wait to meet everyone. Anyone looking forward to trying a particular specialty dining venue?

[crossoverstreet]

Hi Danny: Twenty minutes to the terminal is a sweet commute. To avoid any last minute nail biting at the airport in the event of snow we fly out the day before and treat ourselves to a night on South Beach. And also try to connect with a snowbird couple we know who winter in Ft. Lauderdale. If you're skiers, I highly recommend a winter visit to Whistler. It's just a few hours north of Vancouver, and is remarkable. You can see the ocean from the peaks. We'll be in Vancouver in a few weeks spending Christmas with my family.

 

For the cruise, we're in aqua class, and have dinner in blu … in the past, it's been satisfying enough that we've only once tried a specialty restaurant when we ate in Qsine a few years ago. It was with a large group, and a lot of fun.

 

Have you tried any of the other places?

 

Cheers,

Peter

[drubos]

Hey everyone,

 

We signed up for this cruise some time ago, but I have been so busy with school that I haven't had a chance to post. Looking forward to another Spring Break by Celebrity. I am Dru (34) and my husband Dave (38) from Boston, MA.

[movedeast]

Hi Dru and Dave! Glad you posted to the roll call. Steve and I are looking forward to meeting you. We have another couple from the Boston area cruising with us on this trip.

 

Peter, our group of six is in Aqua Class as well - so we'll likely see you in Blu! We've been wanting to try Qsine and since you mention its fun with a group - perhaps we'll give it a try!

 

Danny, we have tried Tuscan Grill and Murano on past cruises. Murano has become a favorite of ours. We try to get a reservation on one of the formal nights.

 

I'm headed out into the snow to run a few errands! Nice to spend a minute thinking about the Caribbean.

[Oceanview77]

Hi Dru and Dave! Welcome to the roll call.

Hans and I did Qusine on the Eclipse and loved it. Definately better with a group so you can explore more of the menu. Last year on the Silouhette we did the Lawn Club Grill and was one of the highlights of the trip. I don't actually cook at home so it was fun wearing the apron and grilling my filet mignon with a glass of sangria in hand. Also got to make our own flatbreads and toss the pizza dough in the air...something else I had always secretly wanted to try.

I think this time around we will try Murano. We've heard such great things about it. I was thinking of booking it the first night to start things off with a bang.

[prmango]

Hello shipmates!

¡Hola compañeros de barco!

I just joined so I hope I am doing this correctly. We're the couple from the Boston area who is sailing to the Caribbean February 22 on Celebrity. Yes, we are in Aqua Class and look to meeting other couples. It's snowing and UGH! Hate the snow! Hate the cold! Although my partner has lived in MA most of his life, I spent my early years in Puerto Rico and I still have not learned to love the cold & snow. It is beautiful...at first but for those who love it, may you have a Blanca Navidad.

See you soon, movedeast!

Edited December 18, 2013 by prmango

[movedeast]

So glad you joined the thread. 65 days until we fly to Miami... There are holidays and a little work travel between now and then. I'm hoping time will pass by quickly

 

Question for all: How do you plan to dress on formal nights? A key reason why we enjoy Celebrity, passengers for the most part respect smart casual on regular dining nights; and are prepared to dress themselves on formal nights. We have favored suits or dinner jackets on the latter. This year we're going to step it up and both wear tuxedos. We are excited.

[prmango]

¡Ah del barco! Ahoy!

When there are formal nights, formal is what we will wear. We are definitely wearing tuxedos. So, you are not alone.

[crossoverstreet]

Hi guys. Tuxedos! That's wonderful!! We rented tuxes on our first cruise. My mother proudly displays the photo of us taken that night. For cruises since, we wear dark suits on formal nights and blazers on all other nights. I'll wear a tie most evenings to dinner. Glad to hear that you guys like to dress up. We will definitely spot each other in blu!

 

It's been a hectic few weeks wrapping up work for the holidays. We head out to Vancouver on Monday for 8 nights in beautiful British Columbia. Here's hoping for some mild west-coast weather!

 

Looking forward to meeting you all in person!

 

Cheers,

Peter

[drubos]

We don't own tuxes, and have never gone so far as to rent them, but what a great way to celebrate the formal evenings! They are always my favorite. We still clean up nicely in suits.

 

Sounds like a lot of you are in Aqua. We decided on a concierge class aft cabin this year to mix things up. While we won't see you in Blue, we will look forward to meeting everyone hopefully before or after dinner some night.

 

Boston is in a winter storm warning as we speak...supposed to get up to 14 inches overnight. February 21st (our flight into Miami) cannot come quickly enough!

[prmango]

Here in Bridgewater, 45 minutes south of Boston, we will receive about 12 inches of snow. It is supposed to be a powder but it doesn't matter because I hate snow. I'm off to my workout in a few minutes before the storm intensifies later in the day. ¡Qué viva el Caribe!

[movedeast]

Snowing here in New York City... we expect to have between 5 to 9" before it ends tomorrow afternoon.

 

Tomorrow, Friday, Jan 3 - its 50 days until we sail.

 

On-line check-in allows passengers to order luggage tags. Something to do on a snowy day.

 

Have a great weekend!

[crossoverstreet]

Luggage Tags have arrived!

Thirty-seven (37) days to go!

 

Cheers,

[prmango]

¡Muy bien compañeros de Canadá. We will take care of tags and on-line check-in this weekend.

[crossoverstreet]

Hola amigos nuevos!

 

We just rented tuxes for the two formal nights. Hope they're not wildly out of date! Or I guess that could be fun too in an "American Hustle" sort of way!

 

36 days and counting.

 

Cheers,

[prmango]

¡Hola nuevos amigos canadienses!

I am impressed that you are speaking a little Spanish. A little bit goes a long way.

 

Esperamos conocerles pronto. (We look forward to meeting you soon.)

[movedeast]

31 Days left to go!

 

Checked in, luggage tags received here too. I just returned from 10 days in Los Angeles (temps were 80). Its 12 degrees here in NY and we had 11" of snow last night - fantastic.

 

Remaining check list:

 

Wine: Considering a wine package and thinking about bringing wine/bubbly on board for the restaurant or room (corkage fee - $25 bottle if consumed in restaurant).

 

Attire: Accessories for tuxes; some new cruise wear.

 

Specialty Dining: We want one night at Murano (love it) and we'll aim for one of the formal nights. Sending a note to the group about Qsine (never tried it). Also on our list - Champagne high tea in Murano (afternoons between 4-6).

 

Formal nights for our sailing are: 2/23, 2/28 per Marco at Celebrity.

 

Shore days: San Juan under discussion. St Thomas - trip to St. John beaches if time allows. St. Martin Orient Bay - was a hit with us - wouldn't be upset if we did it again.

 

R