3rd Time Lucky! - Miami, Celebrity Reflection 2nd April & Miami Trip Report

[MR_T]

How could I forget the mudslides! [emoji39]

[ebheart]

Wishing you a wonderful time! My fiance and I will be on the Reflection for our honeymoon cruise to the Greek islands/Turkey in June. I enjoyed Mr. T's Reflection live trip report so much, and am enjoying yours already - it's a nice break from wedding planning (and dissertation work, for me!) to look forward to the honeymoon!

 

I'm keeping a running list/google doc of notes/tips for our trip, and I just added Mr. T's recommendations for poolside drinks! :o

[kikki21]

Wishing you a wonderful time! My fiance and I will be on the Reflection for our honeymoon cruise to the Greek islands/Turkey in June. I enjoyed Mr. T's Reflection live trip report so much, and am enjoying yours already - it's a nice break from wedding planning (and dissertation work, for me!) to look forward to the honeymoon!

 

I'm keeping a running list/google doc of notes/tips for our trip, and I just added Mr. T's recommendations for poolside drinks! :o

 

 

Hehe also having a break from wedding stuff for me on a cruise as I own a wedding gift, accessory & jewellery business! [emoji177][emoji183][emoji73]🏼 keeps me out of trouble anyway!

Yeah all those cocktails sound amazing & I'm sure I'll find my favourite, all in the course of experimenting for Cruise Critic!

 

Right the husband has announced he is ready which means we can go, go, GO!!!

 

To the Port of Miami!!!

[Barwick Cruiser]

Loving this review so far!! Ok, so on our last cruise I tried the mudslide, after reading on cc about how good it was and yes, after tasting it I had more than one...lots more :eek: Now, I read about a BBC? What is that? Also tried the Aspen Coffee on our last cruise and can't believe I never tried that before...must book another cruise soon to try all these drinks :D

Cathy

[MR_T]

BBC - bailies, banana liquor & coconut... I think! [emoji39]

[jabrown40]

Yep, that was it, and they were so good, especially while sitting at the sunset bar sailing away after a day in port!

[kikki21]

Sorry about the delay there folks but it all got very exciting for day 1 of the cruise! :D

 

As you may be able to figure out, we have the Unlimited Internet package and I have hijacked my husband's laptop to keep you up to date while he has some more shut eye!

 

I don't get up this early at home so the jet lag is kicking in for me, oh well, I may as well do something useful!

 

I hope someone can tell me how I can get photos to load up to here from my iPhone otherwise you will have to wait till I get some free wi fi in San Juan for more photos and there are a LOT of those! :eek:

 

So where were we..... yes getting to the port, all went to plan in the morning.

We shared a corned beef hash eggs benedict in the Big Pink cafe as it was located very conveniently opposite our hotel!

 

We checked out & they summoned us a taxi and then we got our view of all of the ships in port. I already knew it was going to be a busy Miami day there with MSC Divina, 2 x Carnival ships, Regatta & the fabulous Norwegian Escape in port and us too!

 

Anyway, the new tunnel (didn't exist when I was here last in 2010) got us to the port and after a bit of a haphazard drive, we were there!

 

OMG, it looked like everyone had had the same idea to arrive for 11.30am & get on the Reflection!

Actually, despite the crowds looking horrendous, we were on board drinking our champagne (husband had several glasses!) within 40 minutes!

 

Then we did our usual thing which is to explore what we can of the ship from top to bottom taking loads of photos on the way!

 

Cabins were not yet ready when we boarded, in fact, we only got to our cabin with 15 minutes to go to muster drill which was on very early as sailaway was at 3.30pm & not at the stated timed on port time tables.

 

We had a good reason not to get there earlier to our deck 11 Aquaclass hump cabin - SUSHI ON 5!

 

Thanks to a lot of people saying how yummy it was - we decided to avoid the crowds and have lunch in there! We had the shrimp wontons for a starter & then I had the baked scallop california rolls & hubby had the rainbow rolls - I had the Spicy Mango Tini cocktail & hubby had the stout..... mmmmm it all tasted really good & we thought it was good value for money and also pretty popular!

 

I think Celebrity will end up keeping this concept on board!

[kikki21]

So thankfully after Muster Drill, our cases had finally arrived to the cabin but first we needed to experience that Miami sailaway which I happen to think is one of the best in the world - the husband agreed, he thought it was pretty awesome, that might have been the beer talking though lol!;)

 

I took a lot of photos on my iPhone & my digital camera. I will be uploading photos from my camera later on so you will get a written review, some iPhone photos & more photos from my camera.... sometimes the iPhone takes better pictures than the actual camera itself!

 

We also decided to treat ourselves to a speciality dinner at Murano tonight & I have to say that wow that was a good decision! Well done me! :D

 

As you the reader may have gathered, both of us are foodies!

 

We love all kinds of foods & we like to taste new foods everywhere we go. I have to say that I love the Cuban & Latin American foods available in Miami, I', a definite big fan!

 

We explored most of the ship apart from where there were some private functions and a wedding!

 

The Art on this ship is pretty cool.... my husband loved the trees outside Qsine & I loved the 3D picture of the ladies in Murano.

 

it's become a bit of a tradition of ours to eat in a speciality restaurant for the 1st night of the cruise.... not least here on the Reflection as there was 20% off the cover charge.

We had an excellent meal at Murano, service was very good indeed & both of us had dishes which are prepared table side for our main courses.

 

For a starter I had the scallop wellington which was tasty & my husband had the goats cheese souffle - we do like to order different things so we can have a taste of each other's food!

 

They were good starters, to be fair, I could have had all of the starters to choose & maybe some people do but we were trying to be reasonably good!

 

For my main, I had the lobster & my hubby had the dover sole..... it was great to watch the lobster tails be prepared at the table side, it was certainly dramatic & nothing like we have experienced on a ship before.... hubby really liked the dover sole, it was a quite a big portion for him so he was too full for dessert!

 

I had enough room left for the rich but not sweet Valhrona Cocoa Cake.... mmmm delicious!

 

I have to say that our Murano experience was probably one of the best meals we've had on any cruise ship so we were well impressed! The wines we had chosen were all good too - I had a white wine which was very fruity - the Marlborough Ned & my husband had a red wine, despite having fish!

[kikki21]

So we had a walk round the shops after dinner & then decided to donate some money to the casino..... whoa that was a bad start to our casino evenings is all I'm saying lol!:eek:

 

There was some dancing going on around the ship with some good tunes being played but for us, it was time for bed!

 

We're looking forward to exploring more of the ship today & seeing the places we didn't get to see yesterday & checking out Blu of course! I think we are just going to chill out today..... there was a time where I viewed sea days as oh no but now I view them as fantastic!:D

[MR_T]

Hi, for the photos I used the tapatalk app... It lets you upload 6 pictures at a time and they come out really well, it's also very simple to use... [emoji4]

[MR_T]

LOVING your review/blog, brings me right back to 4 weeks ago... [emoji4]

 

Hope you figure out the tapatalk/photo issue out so we can see some pics as you go along,

 

We ended our cruise in Murano and also had a great meal & service, it really is a great ship & crew [emoji4]

 

Can't wait for the next post... [emoji4]

[mypyr]

Hi, for the photos I used the tapatalk app... It lets you upload 6 pictures at a time and they come out really well, it's also very simple to use... [emoji4]

 

Mr T,

 

Once you have the app, how do you upload the pics? It might be simple for some lol, but I am technologically challenged. HELP!

[MR_T]

Mr T,

 

 

 

Once you have the app, how do you upload the pics? It might be simple for some lol, but I am technologically challenged. HELP!

 

 

When you have it, I think once your registered (I think you need to sign in[emoji848]) go to the following tab and add option where you add the cruise critic part... Then you can search just like on cruise critic and once in the thread you tap the picture site and follow prompts...

[MR_T]

I'm not the greatest at tech but let me know if you need any more help?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kikki21]

Woo hoo, the new internet works really well! I am on it right now so I can post pictures right from

my iPhone. They may not be the best quality but I will add better ones from my camera when we get home & I can edit them properly!

 

If you are Captain's Club then you get 10% off the unlimited internet package so this makes it $126 for a week & you can log in 3 devices but you can't use them at the same time so we're time sharing it at the mo! [emoji39][emoji23]

[MR_T]

Woo hoo, the new internet works really well! I am on it right now so I can post pictures right from

my iPhone. They may not be the best quality but I will add better ones from my camera when we get home & I can edit them properly!

 

If you are Captain's Club then you get 10% off the unlimited internet package so this makes it $126 for a week & you can log in 3 devices but you can't use them at the same time so we're time sharing it at the mo! [emoji39][emoji23]

 

 

Just a quick note the pictures will come out much better using the tapatalk app vs the cruise critic app/page! [emoji4]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[kikki21]

 

We have an Aquaclass stateroom on the hump deck 11 - out on it now! Not sure whether we will get full sun on it or not!

 

We had a Miami Vice moment with a chopper while waiting for sailaway to start!

 

 

Just wow!

[kikki21]

 

 

A ship dear to us as we were on her maiden voyage!

 

 

 

I just love a Miami sailaway!

[kikki21]

Mmmmm last night's meal in Murano was really very good indeed!

 

 

Goats Cheese Soufflé for hubby!

 

 

Scallop Wellington for me, I could have easily picked any one of the starters as I said previously!

 

 

We sat right underneath this 3D painting - love it!

 

 

Both the Dover Sole for my husband & the lobster were prepared table side which I thought was an excellent touch!

 

 

Dover Sole

 

 

Lobster!

[kikki21]

I still had room for dessert but hubby was beaten by his rather huge portion of fish!

 

 

I had the Valhrona Cocoa Cake - rich but not too sweet!

 

 

We ended our evening in true fashion to us anyway, donating more money to the casino lol! [emoji27][emoji848]

[kikki21]

So onto day 2 of the cruise & we are at sea! A long time ago, I used to dread a sea day, now.... It's like bring it on! [emoji4][emoji7]

 

Today we had breakfast in Blu where we didn't have much to eat & generally we've walked around the ship looking at the places we missed yesterday!

 

 

Blu is certainly lovely & chilled for breakfast!

 

 

One of the lovely chandeliers in Blu

 

 

We spent some time in the Hideaway before walking round the ship & finally stopping at the Mast Grill for a burger where walking round the ship to get a seat, the whole thing nearly took off!

 

 

We love how quirky the ship is in terms of art, we really like it!

 

 

This afternoon we are mainly having a few drinks & chilling out on our balcony where it looks like the sun is going to get round to us! [emoji106]🏻

[nikel]

Loving your review...can't wait for tomorrows installment.:) We will be on the ship for the first time in October :)

[angls2u]

What is the Hideway?

 

We spent some time in the Hideaway before walking round the ship & finally stopping at the Mast Grill for a burger where walking round the ship to get a seat, the whole thing nearly took off!

[angls2u]

We also have a hump aqua class cabin on 11. What is your cabin number?

[kikki21]

What is the Hideway?

 

 

 

 

We spent some time in the Hideaway before walking round the ship & finally stopping at the Mast Grill for a burger where walking round the ship to get a seat, the whole thing nearly took off!

 

 

 

The Hideaway is a bit of a chill out zone area with lots of interesting nooks & seating areas!