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Reflection Review - January 31st Eastern Caribbean Superbowl Cruise

Ottawamomof2

By Ottawamomof2,
in Celebrity Cruises

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Ottawamomof2

Ottawamomof2

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After our wonderful first dinner, we decided to get a drink LOL...We liked the look and vibe of the martini bar and because it was located right outside the dining room, we decided to stop there. We were on the classic package though and had agreed we would atleast do a few days of "classic" drinks and upgrade later if we felt like it. One of the bartenders actually told us to just upgrade one of us and "share" the premium drinks. :eek: I doubt he was supposed to say that but I felt like bartenders and servers received some kind of commission for selling upgrades because they were constantly offering it to us so maybe he was looking for sales? They stopped pushing the premium packages after the first few days. Our drink of choice is corona/pina coladas by day and red wine/vodka drinks by night. The red wines were ok so we just decided to stick with the classic. So we would drink wine and vodka at the martini bar! Until the second last night...

 

So we are sitting at the bar and there is a large noisy group getting a huge round of martinis and they happen to be Canadian!!! There were 30 of them from Winnipeg! If any of you are reading this, you guys were alot of fun!!! You helped make our cruise that much more enjoyable! Anyways, they ordered 12 martinis, here are some shots of the waiter pouring them:

 

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He was such a great bartender!!! He was from Bali and treated us really well ;). The bar is really cool too - it is frosted so your drinks stay cold and you can write funny stuff in the frost lol. This was definitely our favorite bar. I know others really like the Molecular bar and I hate to say this but we didn't even go :eek:. I know, crazy! I guess we'll just need to go back!;)

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Ottawamomof2

Ottawamomof2

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After the martini bar, we went to the Sky Lounge for karaoke. It was fun! There was a group there so we felt a little out of place but we did meet some fellow Canadians, someone actually that lived in Ottawa for a few years so that was fun! This is where we made friends with a few more bartenders. We tipped them (either $10 or $20) and they took care of us the rest of the cruise! They would actually come and look for us on the pool desk and bring us a drink! This is also where we consumed ALOT of alcohol so the rest of the night is kind of a blur LOL I do remember leaving and going to listen to another bar, meeting up with the Canadian group for some drinking and dancing and then going back to the Sky Lounge...and then eventually stumbling back to the room. The next day I felt terrible! I wish I hadn't consumed that many drinks on the first night but I do remember having such a good time, and there were still 6 more nights to go!;)

 

Day 2 - SUPERBOWL

We got up late with a bit of a headache, didn't make it for breakfast so went right to the lunch buffet! It was very good. One of the main differences between our two cruises was the buffet. This one was WAY better than the one on Royal last year. It was very well organized, ALOT of variety and best of all the food wasy very good! I especially liked the thin crust pizza, salad bar, mexican and asian. Randy had meatloaf one day and said it was awesome.

 

After lunch we went to the pool deck.I mentioned before that it was REALLY windy the first two days. We hadn't expected it to tell you the truth! Last cruise, the first sea day was sooooo beautiful. So this time, we were a bit disappointed. It was so windy and cold, you couldn't really lay on the pool deck and enjoy yourself. No one was swimming, some people were in the hot tubs, some where along the sides under the covered areas and a lot of people were in the Solarium. We lasted a few hours but that was it! We decided a nap was a good idea...yes we like napping LOL

 

I hadn't mentioned this yet but we were pretty stoked to be on the "Superbowl" Cruise. Last year we were on the AFC/NFC Finals cruise and it was soooooooo much fun. They played the games outside on the pool deck and everyone was watching and having a great time. Before this cruise, I had done some research and heard that the game would be played in the theatre and they would be serving tailgating food...so we were excited! I should say that Randy was way more excited for me but I went along for the ride ;) Now I knew we would be missing the first formal night and we did consider getting dressed up, eating the earliest dinner possible (5:30), missing some of the game but making it for most of it and I just thought that was too much trouble and decided we should just go watch the whole game. In hindsight, I wish I hadn't for a few reasons. 1. the game only got exciting at the end but we couldn't have known that lol. 2. the tailgating food wasn't that great 3. I think I missed the surf and turf dinner and I LOVE me some surf and turf and 4. there weren't as many activities as there could have been (they gave away a few prized but that was it). They also DID NOT get the good commercials :mad: We were watching boring ESPN commercials. Now I'm sure some people would disagree with me though and that is ok. I'm a girl and I just started watching football a few years ago so what do I know?! But actually Randy and I both regretted not going with the original plan of doing both. So now we know for next time! Here are a few pics:

 

I did like that they had half of the theatre for Patriots fans (red, blue, white balloons and patriots signs) and half for Seattle...that was cute

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A very cool cake...only I never saw them cut it and I have no idea who got to eat it LOL...and we were there the WHOLE time so I find this very strange. I wish I knew what happened to it...

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Buffet...Can't really see the food in the back but they served tortilla chips with cheese sauce, guacamole, salsa, chicken wings, slider burgers, potato salad and coleslaw. There were a lot of desserts too

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Ottawamomof2

Ottawamomof2

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Now we all know how Superbowl ended...I think! Poor Seattle :( We took the elevator ride back to our room with a Seattle fan and his face was all red from crying...poor guy...we saw him the rest of the cruise and I think he got over it!

 

I think we were still recovering from our late first cruise night and our two nights in Miami so we went to bed early.

 

Day 3 - San Juan

 

This morning we had breakfast on our balcony!!! This was exciting! It was a little windy but we survived.

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We attemped to lounge and tan on the pool deck again but it was sooooooo windy again! We lasted less than an hour, it was too cold...and we were going South so I don't know what was going on! We also did not hear the captain's message but found out later that the winds were in deed very strong and were slowing us down so we would arrive two hours late to San Juan! This was a bummer since we really wanted to get off the ship...but oh well! We hung out at the sunset bar and the wind wasn't so bad there. Not sure what we did til 5pm but we finally made it to San Juan!

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FirstTimer_Angst

FirstTimer_Angst

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We will be on this ship in March as first time cruisers! We are also ready to enjoy the "free" premium drink package! I'm going to prepare a list of cocktails I want to try :) Is your cabin a standard balcony size (what we will have)? It looks bigger than I expected. So looking forward to having the balcony!

 

Love the idea of putting kids across the hall. Our kids are grown (we are YOUNG grandparents :) ) and often think of saving up to take everyone on a cruise, including grand kids. Frankly, I wouldn't trust them on a balcony! Especially one in their room that they could access unsupervised.

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like2cruise

like2cruise

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Three weeks from now we will be finishing packing and about to head our way down to Miami so that we can hop on Reflection. This is really getting me excited! Thanks!

 

We are joining you GeorgiaGuy :D 3rd time on the Reflection...love that ship and I am sure you will too! Happy Cruising!!

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Ottawamomof2

Ottawamomof2

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We will be on this ship in March as first time cruisers! We are also ready to enjoy the "free" premium drink package! I'm going to prepare a list of cocktails I want to try :) Is your cabin a standard balcony size (what we will have)? It looks bigger than I expected. So looking forward to having the balcony!

 

Love the idea of putting kids across the hall. Our kids are grown (we are YOUNG grandparents :) ) and often think of saving up to take everyone on a cruise, including grand kids. Frankly, I wouldn't trust them on a balcony! Especially one in their room that they could access unsupervised.

 

Ooohh you must try some of the martinis. We had a lycee one that was VERY good.

 

I'm pretty sure the balcony was standard size. I believe the balconies on the humps are bigger but we were pretty forward. One day, I reclined my chair all the way down and got a tan while enjoying a drink and the calmness of the ocean. Soooo relaxing :)

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Ottawamomof2

Ottawamomof2

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I'm so excited for everyone that is cruising soon...well a little jealous too!

 

OK I will finish off my San Juan review. And unfortunately, there't not much to it! We did arrive two hours late which was kind of a bummer but I had nothing planned anyways besides hitting up a few bars that I had heard were good. So we got off and wandered the streets! Here is a pic of everyone getting off

 

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We went to Barrachina since I heard they had awesome Pina coladas. It was a 15 minute walk from the pier. It was quite good

 

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We were going to get food but we decided not too. We had made reservations at Tuscan Grill for that night and Pina Coladas are quite filling. It was a cute little place but nothing too crazy. Maybe it was too early? We only stayed 30-40 minutes then decided to leave and walk around. They did have free wifi but my silly ipad couldn't connect. We went to the Walgreens to buy some potato chips (isn't it strange there are no chips offered on board? There were chips all the time on Royal so we were a bit disappointed) and I got a cute little sundress at Del Sol. It's a cute store (we saw one at every port) that has items that change colour in the sun. I was really anxious to connect with the kids so we tried Senor Frogs (right across from the ship) and finally my ipad connected! We had a drink there and got to see some very drunk cruise passengers sing and dance on stage, it was a riot! We headed back to the ship around 7:30 since our dinner reservations were for 8:30. With waiting in line to get back on, waiting for the elevator, walking all the way back to our cabin, getting ready, and then walking to the back of the ship, we were 5 minutes late! So give yourselves enough time when you have someplace to get back to...it doesn't seem like it but the ship is very big and all these things take time LOL

 

So we liked San Juan but we weren't blown away. I know there are walking tours and tours of the fort but that isn't really our thing. We really want to go the Southern Caribbean cruise next leaving from San Juan so I don't think we will get there too early...but maybe there's something I am missing??

 

Here are a few mores pics

Walking around at nightIMG_0238.jpg

 

The ship (sorry a little blurry)

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matondo

matondo

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Thank you for taking the time to do a review. We took our first Celebrity cruise in November. Booked another cruise while onboard...planning on going on the Reflection in November 2016. I am enjoying all of the pictures!!!

 

We too are balcony people. We have chosen to sail less and have a balcony...works for us!:p

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Ottawamomof2

Ottawamomof2

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Now onto some more food porn ;)

 

We knew we wanted to try one speciality restaurant on this cruise. On Royal we went to the Italian place and we LOVED it. This time, we waited til we were on board and read all the menus first and waited for a discount LOL Well we didn't get one. The first night they offered 30% off but we got the voicemail a few days later haha. So we decided on Tuscan Grill since it had the most food Randy could eat. When I first called they said the only reservation available was 9:30...well that was a little too late for us so I asked for another night and the agent on the phone said actually they can fit you in at 8:30...not sure how that spot magically opened up but we took it! Incidentally when we got there the restaurant was maybe 1/3 full...

 

I started with the crabcake which was very good and very big!

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Then I had the caprese salad. It was ok. And I only ate half...as you can already see, the portions are big! And there are 4 courses so I wanted to save room!

 

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I decided to go with a meatless main and got the mushroom ravioli and I am so glad I did because it was DELICIOUS!!!!!!! So creamy and flavorful...There were 4 raviolis and I ate three! LOL

 

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Ottawamomof2

Ottawamomof2

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Here are Randy's dishes. He had ravioli to start and it was stuffed with beef...I think it was braised beef short ribs. This was also DELICIOUS! You could easily eat this as a main. Very rich and flavorful

 

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Then he had the minestrone. I can't remember what he said about it but I know he ate most of it LOL. Sorry no pic.

 

Then he had steak. He said it was cooked perfectly and he also ate the whole thing!

 

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We got two desserts. Tiramisu (my fave Italian dessert) and a chocolate creme brule...they were both amazing!!! Especially the creme brule. Out of all the creme brules we had (I think four over one week! Did I mention we didn't go hungry!) this was by far the best one.

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You NEED to get this. My mouth is watering thinking of all the food. I definitely recommend this restaurant. I wasn't crazy about paying $45 each (Royal was $20 or $25 each) but I am glad we did. The restaurant is cozy and quiet and we had a seat right beside the window and the service is very good. They wanted to keep serving us food and wine all night!!!

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Ottawamomof2

Ottawamomof2

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Thank you for taking the time to do a review. We took our first Celebrity cruise in November. Booked another cruise while onboard...planning on going on the Reflection in November 2016. I am enjoying all of the pictures!!!

 

We too are balcony people. We have chosen to sail less and have a balcony...works for us!:p

 

 

I am glad you are enjoying it! We thought about booking our next cruise while on board but we just aren't sure what our next vacation will be...but I TOTALLY regret not booking it. Even if we decided to cancel later, the deals are amazing on board. I actually feel stupid for NOT booking on! lol So good for you! You will love the cruise :)

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