CHICAGOPAUL - LIVE! From Celebrity REFLECTION & TURNING 30!!!!!

[chicagopaul]

Paul happy birthday, could you fit in 2 things for me please, could you post a photo of the reflection sunset bar as I heard it's very different from most of the other solstice class ships. Secondly I saw the amazing Putu making your drink a the ,martini bar, would you ask him if he's on at Christmas, we've not seen him for 4 years

 

 

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Thank you! Hope you've been well. Unfortunately Putu is leaving after this cruise and he said he's still finalizing his next contract. Likely his contract would start at the end of June so he'd be on through Christmas but not sure which ship.

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

Today was a sea day. Temps were great. Low 80s but definitely a bit windy. We can slightly feel some movement in the ship thanks to the wind.

 

The Michaels club concierge is Alex. We haven't had much interaction with him but he's been friendly and was great at escorting suite guests on board at embarkation.

 

Today we had lunch at Lawn Club. As you may know Lawn Club is having burgers at lunch. The previous up charge was $10 but now it is $15. However, I find the burgers to be even better than last time. They're definitely using a better supplier for their meat. The last time I had them was on the TA coming from Europe.

 

They also have done away with their potato wedges and have added chips and onion strings. Good choice I believe.

 

 

 

 

Celebrity Signature Burger

 

 

 

 

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[Softball20]

Great reviews so far! Can't wait to sail on the Reflection in May. If you happen to be by the Tuscan Grill, and if it's not too much trouble, a picture of the current menu would be great!

 

Have a great trip!

[Ginnyfyr]

Today was a sea day. Temps were great. Low 80s but definitely a bit windy. We can slightly feel some movement in the ship thanks to the wind.

 

The Michaels club concierge is Alex. We haven't had much interaction with him but he's been friendly and was great at escorting suite guests on board at embarkation.

 

My husband and I chatted quite a bit with Alex on our Feb 4th sailing - he's a really nice guy! You should ask him his thoughts on yogurt for sunburns, lol. My hubby got a nasty burn on his knees and Alex told us he'd heard plain yogurt could take the sting away. He offered to send some to our room which we thought was nice of him. When we returned to our cabin (right next door to yours!) he'd had someone remove the contents of our fridge and completely filled it with individual containers of plain yogurt. We laughed so hard when we opened the fridge! (oh and in case you're wondering, no, it really didn't help with the sunburn, lol).

 

Sounds like you are having a blast - enjoy the rest of the cruise! And Happy Birthday!

[vickykay]

We were on the Eclispe a few years ago with Sue and really enjoyed her. Wait until you see her perform!

[Zoey1]

Today was a sea day. Temps were great. Low 80s but definitely a bit windy. We can slightly feel some movement in the ship thanks to the wind.

 

The Michaels club concierge is Alex. We haven't had much interaction with him but he's been friendly and was great at escorting suite guests on board at embarkation.

 

Today we had lunch at Lawn Club. As you may know Lawn Club is having burgers at lunch. The previous up charge was $10 but now it is $15. However, I find the burgers to be even better than last time. They're definitely using a better supplier for their meat. The last time I had them was on the TA coming from Europe.

 

They also have done away with their potato wedges and have added chips and onion strings. Good choice I believe.

 

 

 

 

Celebrity Signature Burger

 

 

 

 

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Paul,

Thank you for the information about the concierge in Michaels Club. Enjoying your review.

[chicagopaul]

Will Sue Denning be on for the April 1 sailing?

 

 

 

I finally met Sue last night. She is leaving the Reflection on March 18. No word from her on where she is going next or who will replace her. I'll try to get it out of her haha

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

My husband and I chatted quite a bit with Alex on our Feb 4th sailing - he's a really nice guy! You should ask him his thoughts on yogurt for sunburns, lol. My hubby got a nasty burn on his knees and Alex told us he'd heard plain yogurt could take the sting away. He offered to send some to our room which we thought was nice of him. When we returned to our cabin (right next door to yours!) he'd had someone remove the contents of our fridge and completely filled it with individual containers of plain yogurt. We laughed so hard when we opened the fridge! (oh and in case you're wondering, no, it really didn't help with the sunburn, lol).

 

Sounds like you are having a blast - enjoy the rest of the cruise! And Happy Birthday!

 

 

 

This is hysterical. I'll definitely mention it!

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

Good Morning everyone! Cheers from the pool bar. We are ported in Ocho Rios today but we will stay on the ship.

 

Yesterday was chic night and I must say I was surprised / impressed with how many tuxes and elegant dresses I saw. Everyone looked fantastic and really seemed to be enjoying the night.

 

Martini bar was the usual overly packed on chic night but it made for great people watching.

 

None of us were that hungry for dinner yesterday. The burger from Lawn Club really seemed to fill us up. We still ate dinner but it felt more of an obligation. Truly first world problems huh?

 

I think we will see the show tonight. It's the broadway intimate cabaret show. I believe this will be the show where the production crew sings their favorite broadway songs.

 

 

 

 

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[floridaag]

We had a wonderful day in Key West. If you saw my Instagram photos you saw the weather was perfect. Around 80 and sunny. The clouds kept thinning out and it was nothing but blue skies in the afternoon.

 

We ended up having lunch in Key West with Dawn and Lisa who we met on a previous Reflection cruise and are on this sailing. We ate at Pinchers and had their grouper tacos which were very good. Dawn and Lisa insisted on picking up the check for my birthday. After some protest they won out. Thank you! So sweet!

 

We then walked a little way to find a restaurant that has very good key lime pie. The line was too long so we just walked back and got some by the ship.

 

Prior to getting off the ship we helped open up sunset bar at 9:30am. A couple good screw drivers and bloody Mary's and good banter with Uriel (bartender from Jamaica) and Santa got us ready for the day.

 

I'm sitting on the balcony now and watching the waves go by. It's 6:05 on the ship currently. I'm just waiting for Edward to finish getting ready and we will hit the Martini bar.

 

I'll check to see how long the bartenders are all hanging around for as well as other crew. I can tell you that Putu is leaving after this cruise as well as Dev in Luminae.

 

 

 

2 for 1 drinks at Pinchers. We had no choice!

 

 

Great Grouper tacos. We had them blackened.

 

 

Is this what Alexander, the former cruise director, is doing now?

 

 

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Alexander's Guest House is 3 blocks from my house.:)

[flyingv4me]

Enjoying your review! The signature burger looked great, but huge!

[DebbieMacG]

I finally met Sue last night. She is leaving the Reflection on March 18. No word from her on where she is going next or who will replace her. I'll try to get it out of her haha

 

 

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That's a shame we are on in May. I'd be interested to learn who her replacement is :) happy belated birthday!

[chicagopaul]

That's a shame we are on in May. I'd be interested to learn who her replacement is :) happy belated birthday!

 

 

 

Thank you! I'll see what I can find out. We too are sailing Reflection in May. May 29th.

 

 

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[Ma Bell]

Great report and wonderful photos. Sorry we'll be missing Sue on the Transatlantic. If you get a chance could you find out if Captain Skylogiannis will be on board for the TA? Thanks!:)

[chicagopaul]

Today was a very relaxing day. As I mentioned we did not get off the ship. We ran into another staff member we know. His name is Carlos. He was one of our bartenders on the October TA. He was working Sunset today but is normally in oceanview and casino bar. He remembered our drink orders with no problem. He is on board for the next 4 weeks then he heads home for 2.5 months before coming back to the Reflection.

 

Right now I'm sitting on the balcony as I was our lines come in so we can depart Ocho Rios. There were some clouds today will a couple sprinkles in the distance but the ship remained dry. Very typical weather for this port.

 

I will follow up on the Captain. Also someone requested a photo of Sunset bar. I will take this for you. I'll likely take some video too of Milton and Uriel so you can get the proper feeling of why we like Sunset bar.

 

We ate lunch at Mast Grill today. We both got hotdogs. The burgers looked the same as usual. Most people were ordering them and they looked tasty. Maybe I'll grab one tomorrow so I can report first hand for you.

 

We will be eating at Qsine tomorrow night with Dawn and Lisa. We're excited to try Qsine again with more people so we can experience more of the menu. At this time I'll also send an updated menu of Tuscan.

 

I'll be heading to Martini bar shortly. Will try and get more photos posted soon.

 

Everyone have a wonderful Tuesday evening!

 

 

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[Lastdance]

Great report and wonderful photos. Sorry we'll be missing Sue on the Transatlantic. If you get a chance could you find out if Captain Skylogiannis will be on board for the TA? Thanks!:)

 

i would like to know this too, as I was looking forward to both of them on the TA:loudcry::loudcry:

[Palmetto Pilot]

Hey Paul, I'm really enjoying your live thread. I've never taken a Celebrity cruise but they are looking more and more appealing to me. I'm not a big production show person but I love live music and late night comedy shows. How does Celebrity rate in those areas?

[Pier290]

Where are those bloodys available? ???

 

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[mit429]

They're from the Lawn Club Grill lunch!

 

Where are those bloodys available? ???

 

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[chicagopaul]

I'll follow up on the above questions in the morning. We're back in our rooms for the night. We didn't drink much tonight but we decided to explore a couple areas of the ship this evening euthanized Dawn and Lisa. They had their first buffet experience at midnight. And we took them to the basketball court and we stumbled upon the arcade. Here is a fun video. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

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[absolutboy20]

We didn't drink much tonight but we decided to explore a couple areas of the ship this evening euthanized Dawn and Lisa.

 

 

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I'm not a big fan of Oceanview Cafe either but euthanizing Dawn and Lisa over the midnight buffet decision seems a tad excessive, BUT it's your vacation/birthday! [emoji204]

 

Thanks for keeping up with the forum, I'm enjoying your updates.

Edited March 1, 2017 by absolutboy20

[Pier290]

They're from the Lawn Club Grill lunch!

Darn!! Going on Equinox...no LCG :(

 

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[chicagopaul]

I'm not a big fan of Oceanview Cafe either but euthanizing Dawn and Lisa over the midnight buffet decision seems a tad excessive, BUT it's your vacation/birthday! [emoji204]

 

Thanks for keeping up with the forum, I'm enjoying your updates.

 

 

 

Haha, ugh autocorrect is killing me! Introduced ***

 

 

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[chicagopaul]

Hey Paul, I'm really enjoying your live thread. I've never taken a Celebrity cruise but they are looking more and more appealing to me. I'm not a big production show person but I love live music and late night comedy shows. How does Celebrity rate in those areas?

 

 

 

I would say Celebrity entertainment has been improving but it is not the same as your big Royal ships, NCL, etc.

 

In recent cruises I've been pretty happy with some of the guest entertainers they've had come on board. Tonight is a comedian that Sue says is very good. We plan to check him out so I'll report back.

 

The production shows have been improving since Celebrity gained ownership of them. In the past they were technically outsourced. Now they're in house and they have more flexibility with what they can do.

 

Last night was a broadway cabaret show which I thought was very good and enjoyed the vocals very much. The cast sang some of their favorite broadway and west end pieces.

 

We've finally gotten to see Sue more often and she's been fantastic. She is definitely FULL of energy. She has her own show tonight which I think we will try to attend.

 

The food last night in Luminae was very good. We both had the crab cake to start. Then for an entree we had the lamb loin with lamb sausage and we shared the tortellini. Both were fantastic.

 

The weather today in Grand Cayman is picture perfect. Low 80s is the high, a few clouds in the sky and extremely calm waters and winds which is good since today is a tender port.

 

I will make a point to take some pictures around the ship today and of the other ships in port.

 

 

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[jules815]

Good morning Paul! Looks like you're continuing to have a great time, and that weather looks absolutely fantastic. After some big storms last night, it's another gray and rainy day here in Chicago. Rain is supposed to change over to snow later, so I guess March is coming in like a Lion. Good news is, it's officially March, and we fly to Miami on March 31 for our cruise on Reflection, so I'm seeing the light at the end of my count down, which has been going on for almost a year now. :)

 

Question. Is the Lawn Club Grill only open for lunch on sea days?

 

Are you staying on board again today?