Celebrity Reflection January 14 to 21 2017

[Bimmer09]

Off we go, down to the beach in the bus to catch our boat to the Stingray Sandbar which is about a 25 minute ride off shore. We have to leave your shoes and socks on the dock while we are gone.

 

 

Carol finds a seat in the middle of the boat but as the last one on I am at the stern which was my plan A as I can take photos and video from there.

 

 

Our surroundings

 

 

There were 37 people on our tour. Were you one of them?

 

 

 

 

More...

[Bimmer09]

Twenty five minutes on the Reflection passes in the blink of an eye as a waiter brings another drink or cooks a lobster table side but there is no bar on this fast boat and too much motion to flambe the cognac. The stingrays are a long way out.

 

We pass a boat returning from the sand bar

 

Now we are here and we are not alone

 

We slowly move forward to find a spot to anchor

 

Some squid is cut up to attract the stingrays to our boat

 

It looks like no one else knows about this spot....

[Barwick Cruiser]

Have been silently following this excellent review and enjoying very much the amazing photos you've included. So, thank you for the work that all this involves!! You asked about the change in font colour to Blue and I must say it does make a difference on this new CC format of WHITE!! Great idea on your part to switch to a colour that's easier on the eyes! Keep up the great work...getting me very excited for our upcoming Equinox in October.

[Bimmer09]

There were big swells coming through the crowd in the water and any plans I had of getting in the water with the cameras were put on hold.

 

 

 

One of our crew jumped into the water with the small anchor and embedded it in the sand

 

Now our tour group, one by one, and helped by the crew in the water, could climb down the short vertical ladder onto the sandbar.

 

 

 

 

A group from a nearby catamaran

[Bimmer09]

Carol gets a turn holding the stingray

 

There's a photographer in the crew with an appropriate waterproof camera. Pictures were for sale afterwards by paying cash. They sent them via e mail the next day to Carol.

 

 

Here she is holding one

 

Wearing one as a shawl, which was all the rage at the recent Paris fashion show

 

And kissing it, even though they had only just been introduced

 

And her smile after meeting the stingray

 

I stayed on the boat and took pics of some folks with their camera while they posed in the swell. Then I dove in without the cameras for a quick swim. The water wasn't as warm as I had hoped and as I was afraid of standing up lest I stand on a stingray (not good) I swam back to the boat and up the ladder to dry off. I've petted stingrays in an aquarium but kissing them is out of the question.

 

[YOUTUBE]7dFKYD0vWkQ[/YOUTUBE]

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

We returned to the dock after half an hour or so at the sand bar and boarded the bus for our return to the pier in Georgetown. There Carol caught a tender back to the ship while I went in search of duty free smokes once again. Once again my search was fruitless.

 

I took some random pictures near the port

 

 

Flagship Duty Free got me excited to cross the road but the business is gone and the store empty

 

 

 

 

There was a tender at the dock and it may have been the last one but I made a quick pit stop at the public restrooms before going through security.

 

 

The sign thwarted my next plan

 

 

Onward to the tender!

[Bimmer09]

 

Plenty of folks behind me as I board

 

 

Fully loaded we set off back to the Reflection. Alas I was sitting on the wrong side to get pictures of her. I did see a pirate boat get stopped by the Port Authority as piracy is still frowned upon here.

 

 

A last look over my shoulder at Grand Cayman. Next time- Seven Mile Beach!

 

 

Back at the ship it took some time to unload us all. I was sitting downstairs and waited until the crowd had cleared.

 

Here's a picture of feet on the stairway-can you recognize yours?

 

 

We sailed soon after the tender left and Grand Cayman, being so flat, was soon lost to view.

[Bimmer09]

Have been silently following this excellent review and enjoying very much the amazing photos you've included. So, thank you for the work that all this involves!! You asked about the change in font colour to Blue and I must say it does make a difference on this new CC format of WHITE!! Great idea on your part to switch to a colour that's easier on the eyes! Keep up the great work...getting me very excited for our upcoming Equinox in October.

 

Hi and thanks for speaking up and identifying yourself. Welcome!

 

Thanks for the vote for blue- I like it and am keeping it.

 

My next X cruise isn't until the Silhouette in Norway late in 2018. Next cruise is Regal Princess in October this year to Canada/New England then there's a ? about next January's cruise to the Caribbean. Plenty of time to explore options. We have Equinox for January 2019 booked.

 

Thanks for reading along as we near the halfway point.

 

Norris

[british lady]

Enjoying your review thank you.

I have only found one song?

Sara

[PghCruiseGrrrl]

 

A heron or a crane?

 

 

 

An egret I believe, which is a type of heron.

[CoatRackOfDoom]

...Anyway my middle name is "I digress"

 

Thanks for stopping in. I hope that everyone who begins reading this follows until the end.

 

Norris

 

There are few things as melancholy as the end of one of your reviews, Norris! And yet, time after time, I read to the very last page...

 

Ed

[easyboy]

 

7dFKYD0vWkQ

 

Norris

Nice video shot. Haven't seen that many stingray swim around people!

[PurpleTraveller]

Thank you for yet another wonderful review. I am really enjoying all your fabulous photos. It is great to have your review to read each day while I wait for my next cruise in June!

[Bimmer09]

Enjoying your review thank you.

I have only found one song?

Sara

 

Hi Sara and welcome!

 

I am sure there was more than 1 but they are always in the titles and the new forum look has a title bar at the bottom of the options but it doesn't work yet so I am without titles and not happy with the ineptitude of the new forum roll out-but I'm not alone in that. If the titles come back soon I'll be dropping some song references.

 

In the meantime we'll be having a nice dinner in a very good restaurant on board and then we'll be visiting Jamaica!

 

Cheers!

 

Norris, British Gentleman

[Bimmer09]

Nice video shot. Haven't seen that many stingray swim around people!

 

Thanks but it's not the video I wanted it to be-let me explain. I only use the GoPro on vacation and the rest of the time it sits in its case.

The night before we left for the cruise I got it out to charge it and put in a new memory card and found that the back of the GoPro was missing and that meant I couldn't use it underwater which is what I had in mind for the stingrays. I went to Miami knowing I couldn't use it underwater-which won't happen again!

 

Glad you liked the tiny bit of video I shot but you deserved better.

 

Gotta go, my dad is going to give me 40 lashes with his belt....

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Thank you for yet another wonderful review. I am really enjoying all your fabulous photos. It is great to have your review to read each day while I wait for my next cruise in June!

 

Thank you for the compliments!

I'm glad to have you reading along and letting me know it.

 

Cheers!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

There are few things as melancholy as the end of one of your reviews, Norris! And yet, time after time, I read to the very last page...

 

Ed

 

CoatRack-Amen brother.

It is always with a sigh that I end my reviews as it will be 7 months until my next review once I finish this and that one will be on the Princess board and I'll miss the people I interact with on the X board, but I can't be in two places at once and a lot of the people who read my stuff on Princess haven't shown up here as they don't surf the X board...something I always did before sailing X just a year ago.

 

I am curious about all the cruise lines even the ones I don't ever plan on setting foot on. Knowledge is power!

 

Lots of good stuff coming up ahead....take my word for it!

 

Cheers,

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Just caught up again and remembering my own stingray city excursion from our cruise in 2015. We were on that big green and yellow boat you had in your pictures :) Such a neat experience

 

Crystal- so glad you are still reading....so much good stuff coming up ahead.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

An egret I believe, which is a type of heron.

 

Thank you and I believe Carol told me egret at the time but I'm writing it 2+ weeks later. We've seen them many times in Florida.

 

I'm glad one of us is paying attention!

 

Cheers!

 

Norris

[Barky]

Norris,

 

I went to your signature because I wanted to see something in one of your other reviews and by gosh it seems your cruise reports have multiplied. How did that happen? Are you trying to confuse me? It's easy to do these days lol.

 

Keep on keeping on.

 

Barb

[Gabrielle R.]

Norris,

I'm over from the Princess board. I'm a little bit like you, I surf several different boards. Looking for our next cruise, So of course I have to check out what you have been on! I'm thinking of the Silhouette because of your last review. not sure if we will do X at Christmas. Princess doesn't have a sailing that fits our time frame. My Sister-in-law and her DH want to go with us.... He pitched a fit for dressing up 2 times on the one he took with us. I'm not sure if I want to endure listening to him complain EVERY NIGHT he 'has to' dress up.......

 

HOW dressed up are passengers in the dining rooms? When we sailed X MANY years ago (12 years) a 7 day sailing we had 4/7 nights as formal and semi-formal. DH and I don't mind dressing up... but the in laws... well.... Any insight on what you noticed would be great. THANKS!

Gabrielle

[nekzaadvakil]

What a wonderful review and such amazing pictures. I'm sitting at my workstation all the way on the other side of the planet, in Mumbai, India and all I want to do is book a cruise on one of Celebrity's S class ships right away. :)

 

Nick

[tigerbeth]

CoatRack-Amen brother.

It is always with a sigh that I end my reviews as it will be 7 months until my next review once I finish this and that one will be on the Princess board and I'll miss the people I interact with on the X board, but I can't be in two places at once and a lot of the people who read my stuff on Princess haven't shown up here as they don't surf the X board...something I always did before sailing X just a year ago.

 

I am curious about all the cruise lines even the ones I don't ever plan on setting foot on. Knowledge is power!

 

Lots of good stuff coming up ahead....take my word for it!

 

Cheers,

Norris

 

Some of us are here from the Princess board Norris !!

Enjoying your review once again !

Have enjoyed several wines during this one too ! Lol

Very interested to see what other cruise lines offer.

Happy cruising can't wait for the remainder !😎

[Bimmer09]

Norris,

I'm over from the Princess board. I'm a little bit like you, I surf several different boards. Looking for our next cruise, So of course I have to check out what you have been on! I'm thinking of the Silhouette because of your last review. not sure if we will do X at Christmas. Princess doesn't have a sailing that fits our time frame. My Sister-in-law and her DH want to go with us.... He pitched a fit for dressing up 2 times on the one he took with us. I'm not sure if I want to endure listening to him complain EVERY NIGHT he 'has to' dress up.......

 

HOW dressed up are passengers in the dining rooms? When we sailed X MANY years ago (12 years) a 7 day sailing we had 4/7 nights as formal and semi-formal. DH and I don't mind dressing up... but the in laws... well.... Any insight on what you noticed would be great. THANKS!

Gabrielle

 

Hi Gabrielle, love the blue text!

 

Celebrity calls Formal Night "Elegant Chic" with no requirement for jacket and tie but the majority of people I saw at dinner and in the atrium were dolled up as you would see on a Princess Formal night. Part of this may be the photo opportunities for formal couple shots and the fact that the age range skews similar to Princess and you have people used to the tradition.

 

We weren't dressed up on E.C night 1 (Sunday at sea) as we were using the Alcove and intended on eating burgers and fries from Mast Grill there.

 

As on Princess many were eating in the buffet and Specialty restaurants where they could be casual in the Dockers, jeans and polo shirt vein.

 

I took a suit and tie as I feel it fits Murano where we like to eat on E.C. night and we are used to dressing up for the Opera frequently.

 

Other nights I wore a sleeved shirt and black Dockers to go to dinner and the shows. That's my choice. I change to go out for dinner in Chicago too as dinners to me are special treats.

 

X is not a stuffy line as I see it. We have two more cruises booked on itineraries not offered by Princess when I looked. Our next cruise is on Princess also for itinerary reasons.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

What a wonderful review and such amazing pictures. I'm sitting at my workstation all the way on the other side of the planet, in Mumbai, India and all I want to do is book a cruise on one of Celebrity's S class ships right away. :)

 

Nick

 

Nick glad to see you reading along from Mumbai! Thanks for the compliments.

 

I'll be getting to my glut of Ship photos soon and that will push you over the edge...

 

Norris