Celebrity Reflection January 14 to 21 2017

[Bimmer09]

Happy Birthday Late! I tried yesterday to give my wishes of birthday cheer... but CC had other plans.... I HOPE you had a great day!

 

I did have a question... The Tree in the Atrium- is it a live tree? If so HOW does it surive? Watering and other nutrients... I love the different views and I just had to ask- how'd they do that?

Gabrielle

 

It is a live tree, watered with a long wand probably and trimmed with telescopic loppers (We have such a pair) It had recently been trimmed of some branches (cut back). It's just another wonderful out of the box idea from the Board who challenged the designers. The stainless steel "roots" are just whimsy.

You already know how I feel about the S Class design.....

Thanks for the question!

BTW- your birthday greeting was published yesterday.

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Thanks for all the hard work! We are in the reflection in a few weeks and I am enjoying your review very much[emoji41]

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

I get pleasure from reading your response (not meaning to sound like a robot but just stating a fact and not an alternative fact.)

When you enjoy your work it's no longer work!

Thanks for reading it!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Norris

 

I am enjoying your review of Reflection, my wife and I are on Reflection in May for an Eastern Mediterranean cruise. I am enjoying your ship pictures and insight. I hope to meet up with you on a future cruise, I will buy you a Stella.

 

There will be a slew of ship photos on our last sea day.

I will be glad to accept an offer of a cold beer!

Enjoy that fine ship come May!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

My siblings and friends did a food tour in Falmouth that they booked privately. They spoke highly of the tour and the food they sampled, including some patties. They also came back with the knowledge of the large Jewish population, which we all found so fascinating. If you would like the info, please ask and I will share.

 

Yes, please. It will be found in this review for future reference.

Thanks for the heads-up!

Norris

[watchdiva]

We leave on Reflection on Saturday and I have been loving your review! Thanks for helping out us X newbies...

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Bimmer09]

Boat Trip Video

I shot some video of our boat excursion.....

 

Uyf7NUZx1bM

 

 

Once back in the cabin I read this

 

 



 

So that's where we'll go next and after that the evening holds photos and video from a show called Elysium. After that photos and video from dinner in Murano followed (after a sleep, which for some reason I didn't video) a dramatic sunrise and our last full day on the Reflection.

Norris, off to work

[Bimmer09]

I was wondering why there were no notifications today. Guess CC needed a holiday?Happy Birthday Norris. Hope it's the best one yet.

 

Well there was no circus clown blowing up balloon animals so I don't think I could call it a raging success.

Had a marvelous dinner at the Cherry Circle Room in Chicago if anyone knows it. I'll be writing a TripAdvisor review once this is done.

Thanks for the Birthday Greeting!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Helipad Sailaway

I was gung-ho for the sailaway on the helicopter winch pad but Carol wouldn't join me for this as she was off to the gym then a swim in the Solarium.





I went forward on deck 6 and by the elevators was directed to join a line of people already heading down the passenger corridors there until coming to a step-over threshold where assistance was provided for those shaky on their feet, which as I hadn't enjoyed a Guinness yet, didn't include me. A burly officer was there to assist . Once through the doorway I was offered champagne by a butler and took a few glasses as I expected to be out here at least 15 minutes











You pass through the crew recreation area and then up some deck stairs. They don't have a swimming pool like the Princess crew have-just a shower







 

 

There are wooden seats around the shower circle so that other crew may sit and stare at you while you soap-up







 







 

There was already a crowd there and yet I had arrived exactly on time at 4.45 so I guess they couldn't wait. They were at the bow (pointy end) so I shot away from them but you'll see them in the video following.

 

 



 

 

 

Officers at the welcoming door

 

[perfect match]

I am not ready to see this review come to an end! Are you sure you didn't stay on board for another week? ;p

[Bimmer09]

I have booked a trip on Reflection for this July, and was casually perusing the boards here when I came upon your review. I have never heard of you before, and never read any of your previous reviews. I binged all 28 pages yesterday. First, the bad news. You have ruined all other reviews for me. I hope you're happy.

In all seriousness, this was such a wonderful read, full of humour and relevance. I was truly captivated, and I felt very much like I was there with you. I have been on Equinox, not Reflection, so the overall layout was familiar, but I feel like I'm going to be right at home. I too think this class of ship is a classic.

And when I finally pushed back from the computer last night, the next song up on my iPod: Kashmir. I'm going to be looking for those ladies!!!

Hi and thanks for the very kind comments on the review.

Having Kashmir as the next song on your iPod is always a good thing! I was so surprised to hear the string duo play it to some backing tapes.

Enjoy that beautiful ship in July!

Cheers!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

I am not ready to see this review come to an end! Are you sure you didn't stay on board for another week? ;p

Thanks Nancy, for the enthusiasm and for the detailed account of your Labadee zipline adventure earlier.

There's so much stuff waiting in the wings that it will seem like we have another week on the ship as I had to get busy during the last 36 hours.

I am off work this weekend and will have some time to write. This week hasn't been easy because of work and the glitches on CC.

Stay tuned!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Tonight after leaving Labadee was our 2nd Elegant Casual night so some of the sailaway folks were already dressed nicely. I was currently in shorts but would later slip into a fetching blue suit and tie. You'll see people in the video but with the still camera I am trying to avoid them. You can see some of them in the next shot...

 

 

 

 

Eventually an officer told us it was time to leave as we would be picking up speed and the wind would be unpleasant.

Here's a short video and at the end of it I spot the string duo playing in the Atrium as I pass by

 

 

t0MG80uvJV8

 

Norris

[33917]

I Want to THANK YOU for this review, we just returned from our cruise on the Reflection Feb 11-18. It was all you described and more. We made reservations at the Lawn Club Grill that first night ( with a 35% discount), it was one of the best meals that I have ever had, EXCELLENT! EXCELLENT! We made reservations for 7:15pm and it was not crowded at that time, enjoyed the filet mignon, a warm breeze and a full moon, life is good.

Jane

[Jasperdo]

I take it from your photos that the Helipad isn't normally open to passengers. One of the nice things about many of the Royal Caribbean ships is that the Helipad is always open to guests, except when it's windy. It was one of my favorite places on the ship:

 

 

[nanabananna]

I am not ready to see this review come to an end! Are you sure you didn't stay on board for another week? ;p

 

I agree! I enjoy so much reading your reviews.

I (Might) have to contribute to your cruise fund so that I can read more of them! hehe

 

As always, thank you so much Norris for yours and Carol's time for note taking, photos, and good and not so good experiences. I will be reading along until the end of this review :loudcry: It helps to pass my time until my next Alaskan Cruisetour coming up in May.

If only my review could be 1/4 as grand as all of yours have been.

 

Until we meet again,

Sandra K.

[Bimmer09]

I Want to THANK YOU for this review, we just returned from our cruise on the Reflection Feb 11-18. It was all you described and more. We made reservations at the Lawn Club Grill that first night ( with a 35% discount), it was one of the best meals that I have ever had, EXCELLENT! EXCELLENT! We made reservations for 7:15pm and it was not crowded at that time, enjoyed the filet mignon, a warm breeze and a full moon, life is good.

Jane

 

I'm so glad you tried the LCG and enjoyed the experience to the Max!

If this review helped you enjoy your cruise then my work is done....but there's more!

Thanks for letting me know you had a great time.

Norris

[Bimmer09]

I take it from your photos that the Helipad isn't normally open to passengers. One of the nice things about many of the Royal Caribbean ships is that the Helipad is always open to guests, except when it's windy. It was one of my favorite places on the ship:

 

 

 

No it was just a brief suites-only thing but I am glad I went as it was something beyond the norm. I see the Royal ship has a helipad where a chopper could land. The X pad is a winch pad where the helicopter would be expected to hover. It does have a short pivoting mast with a hollow in the deck for it to be dropped into.

If I had unlimited access I would be on that deck more, wind permitting. On Princess as you know it is easy to get up to the bow on Grand Class ships. It won't happen on the Regal in October for sure.

Thanks for being in all my reviews and for always being helpful!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

We leave on Reflection on Saturday and I have been loving your review! Thanks for helping out us X newbies...

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

You're in for a real cruising treat on that fabulous ship! Bon Voyage!!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Tonight was Thursday and Labadee was now just a pleasant memory and we were in our usual Show and then Dinner mode. I know what the dinner would be as our Butler, Dominic from India, had booked us in Murano and my juices were flowing at the prospect of eating there again.

First there was the show Elysium and unlike our four Band or solo singer shows on the Silhouette this would be one of those Celebrity shows I had heard of and always wanted to see. Singing, some daffy tissue thin plot, dancing and some acrobatics!

Two of the world's greatest Cirque du Soliel fans walked down that long corridor, excited.

We have seen some Cirque shows in Las Vegas where they live in custom-built theaters with state of the art staging. Most we have seen twice. I'm talking "O", Mystere, Ka, Love etc.

This would be on a small stage on a ship, sometimes rolling from left to right.

There will be a lot of photos and you may nod off or scroll rapidly but that's ok. We are into live theater in the biggest possible way and it was a revelation to us how good a ship's performance could be with a live band and no CGI screens as they have on some Princess ships.

 

Yes it's wacky and who the hell can explain the plot but the singing-the everything is top notch and it's "beyond the norm" which is the phrase that gets me out of my armchair in Chicago and onto a cruise ship.

 

 

I think the woman in black is an evil witch who turns out to be a nice gal after all-or something

 

 

Pretty girls with great voices-what's wrong with that?







 

 

They are singing modern pop songs but don't ask me to name any of them as I have forgotten already

 

 

[Bimmer09]

And then from out of the ceiling....

 

The people who will risk injury to entertain us appear!





 

 



 

 

Luckily she is not ticklish

 



 

 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carol and I practiced this next move in the cabin that night

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[perfect match]

Norris, I love :hearteyes: your show pictures! We are also huge Cirque du Soleil fans. We have seen a number of their Vegas shows as well as their touring shows, and are heading back to Vegas again at the end of April with more Cirque on the agenda. Between your description and photos from the Lawn Club Grill and the pictures from this show, I think Celebrity will owe you a commission. I have been looking at Celebrity for a while now and you have me convinced to book us on a Celebrity cruise in the near future! :ship:

 

So many cruises on my bucket list and it just keeps getting longer! :eek:

[LC1950]

Carol and I practiced this next move in the cabin that night

 

[



 

 

 

 

Of course you did! Sheesh, I'd love to see that. :eek: Yep, 45 years ago I could have done that, but now .... oh nooooo, just forget it! In fact, I hope those fabulous kids can still enter into old age with as much grace and aplomb as they present on stage now.

 

 

Very much enjoying this current epic adventure with you Norris and Carol. Keep on keeping on. :)

[Bimmer09]

I shot some video from the show, something that wasn't easy to follow as I didn't know what would happen next. I'd be focusing on a singer and out of the corner of my eye would notice acrobats and had to pan over or up as they came in from above the proscenium.

 

 

Kr_cofuc2t4

 

 

Norris

[jlf1]

Norris,

Wow! Your show pictures are far and away "beyond the norm".

Judy