11 Night Ultimate Caribbean Cruise Photo Review - Celebrity Reflection

[Marvy Mare]

 

The Aida following us to Curacao.

 

 

We had our dinner that night at the Oceanview Cafe.

 

 

 

[CruiserFromMaine]

Still following and getting caught up...enjoying your photos. We were in Cartagena in January on another cruise line and visited some of the same places you did. The rest of your itinerary is different though so it’s fun to follow along. We’d like to visit the ABC islands some day!

[Marvy Mare]

Cartagena was fascinating and beautiful. I highly recommend the ABC islands. Unlike Cartagena, we weren't harassed by hawkers on any of those three islands. Definitely a bonus though I would love to go back to Cartagena as well. 

 

Maris

 

Edited March 28, 2020 by Marvy Mare
correction

[Marvy Mare]

[Marvy Mare]

March 8 - DAY 7 - Willemstad, Curacao

 

Our trip from Aruba to Curacao was not too far. Ken felt that we may have been sitting still during the night or going around in circles. 😂 We did get to the Reflection Theatre on the 7th. It was the Production Cast and the Celebrity Orchestra - An Ode to Broadway. I do enjoy musicals so I enjoyed listening to familiar and not so familiar songs. Not sure about some of the choices, but I was able to sing along (albeit quietly). 

 

We were in store for another hot day. Predicted high was 29 but I think it went up to at least 30. Sunrise at 6:46am and arrival scheduled for 7, so it would be a nice sail in. Our plan for the day was to just walk into town & walk we did. 23,684 steps (16.31 km).

 

We started our approach slowly around 4:30am. Once I woke up and spotted land I was too excited to sleep. I headed up for our first coffees at 4:30. The second soon afterwards. You see how I get started on my daily steps.

 

 

The deck was very quiet at 5:30. There were only a couple of other runners and walkers at that time. Just how I like it. The 'crew member?' who runs fast & sings as he runs was there. I think he may have been one of the fellows I saw cleaning windows later. Maybe someday he would perform in the Showtime Theatre. He was pretty good. Made me smile anyway. I didn't spend a lot of time walking that morning. I figured I'd make up for it on shore. 

 

The pilot boat. Wooo hooo!

Glad that I am an early riser.

Lots of smoke stacks. Does anyone know how the island is powered. Coal?

 

Looks as if our neighbours were sleeping in. And you can just see the Aida ahead of us. Ships passing in the night. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 28, 2020 by Marvy Mare
correction

[Lindagop]

Hi, good afternoon and greetings Maris. Just loving your daily posts. Love your pictures of the early sunrise, entry into ports etc. I too have always been an early riser and find such happiness in the morning quiet before the world starts buzzing about.  Cruise critic is a great way to take a break and escape from the current daily stress we are all surrounded with . I am finding such enjoyment from reading especially your posts. BTW That picture of your fur kids truly is artistically beautiful - one of the best  I have seen. I am cuddling on the sofa at present with two happy and snoring fur babies/iPad in hand - what better way to spend a day like this. Greetings and stay well. (Also extend the same to all cc members).

[hcat]

Lindagop: Love the fur babies

 

MM : spectacular sailaway photos from Aruba... and of course the sunsets!

 

We never had a cabin so far forward.  Was there any greater feel of movement ? Also noticed your cabin location was near the window washing  equip ( I think that's what it is)  Did it ever come by?

 

[Marvy Mare]

1 hour ago, Lindagop said:

Hi, good afternoon and greetings Maris. Just loving your daily posts. Love your pictures of the early sunrise, entry into ports etc. I too have always been an early riser and find such happiness in the morning quiet before the world starts buzzing about.  Cruise critic is a great way to take a break and escape from the current daily stress we are all surrounded with . I am finding such enjoyment from reading especially your posts. BTW That picture of your fur kids truly is artistically beautiful - one of the best  I have seen. I am cuddling on the sofa at present with two happy and snoring fur babies/iPad in hand - what better way to spend a day like this. Greetings and stay well. (Also extend the same to all cc members).

Thanks Linda. 
 

Very cute puppies. It is a miserable day here in Lakefield too. Our dogs are loving having us here every day with them. Our younger one (she’s 9) wants in & out constantly no matter what the weather. Heading out for a walk with her shortly before the rain. Going through photos and writing about our trip brings it all back. I can even pretend for a little while that this isn’t really happening. 
 

Maris

[Marvy Mare]

14 minutes ago, hcat said:

Lindagop: Love the fur babies

 

MM : spectacular sailaway photos from Aruba... and of course the sunsets!

 

We never had a cabin so far forward.  Was there any greater feel of movement ? Also noticed your cabin location was near the window washing  equip ( I think that's what it is)  Did it ever come by?

 

We were at the back. Surprisingly, we had no problems with movement. On our last cruise we were near the middle and Ken had some issues with mild seasickness. This time we made sure he had lots of medication just in case and he was fine. That does look like window cleaning equipment. Didn’t notice it being done but our balcony glass was regularly cleaned. 
 

Maris

[hcat]

25 minutes ago, hcat said:

Lindagop: Love the fur babies

 

MM : spectacular sailaway photos from Aruba... and of course the sunrises

 

We never had a cabin so far forward.  Was there any greater feel of movement ? Also noticed your cabin location was near the window washing  equip ( I think that's what it is)  Did it ever come by?

 

Oops Tired to correct from sunset to sunrise..did not work well.  Sorry i am lo tech

Edited March 28, 2020 by hcat

[frteach]

Reading your posts is helping with my cabin fever, especially as a cruise similar to yours is the next one I will be on next March. Our Alaska was cancelled of course, but I found Air Canada and the hotels in Vancouver were fine with giving credit for the flight and the hotels which I had paid for already. A rainy day here too on the north shore of Lake Erie. I am enjoying all your photos and planning things I will do next year. Looking forward to the rest of your review. Thanks, Maris. 

[Marvy Mare]

frteach

 

Great that you could get credit for your flight and hotels, but disappointing that you couldn't go on your cruise. By next year things should be all good. We didn't book a future cruise onboard. The prices were ridiculous. I hear they are dropping already. Wonder why? We will probably book again two years from now and do a road trip next year. 

 

Maris

[CruiserFromMaine]

6 hours ago, Marvy Mare said:

I highly recommend the ABC islands.

We were supposed to sail there next week...

 

Hopefully some other time. We’re going through cruise withdrawal right now. ☹️

Edited March 28, 2020 by CruiserFromMaine

[Summer1961]

Hi Maris,

 

we are from Gatineau, Qc, just on the the border from Ottawa.  You were right, we went out today and it was a strange world.  We picked up groceries and will be staying put for a while yet.  We are simply safer at home.

 

I kind of wish we were still on the ship, enjoying our quiet seadays.  Like you, we spent a lot of time in our cabin and our balcony on this cruise.  It was very windy and we found the solarium, which we usually love, too cold.  Our cabin was just perfect! 

 

I did check our photos from the Heli-pad but there were very few.  Didn’t see you in any of ours.

 

Looking forward to your next post.

 

Christine

 

[Mike981]

Hi Maris, just an FYI you have over 9,100 views. So yes, A LOT of people are following along.

Thanks again for filling in our cruising void.

[cruisingxpert]

You're making my weekend.  This is so much more fun than watching or reading the news.

I'm not an early riser so I feel like I'm seeing a whole new world 😊

 

[Marvy Mare]

9 hours ago, Summer1961 said:

Hi Maris,

 

we are from Gatineau, Qc, just on the the border from Ottawa.  You were right, we went out today and it was a strange world.  We picked up groceries and will be staying put for a while yet.  We are simply safer at home.

 

I kind of wish we were still on the ship, enjoying our quiet seadays.  Like you, we spent a lot of time in our cabin and our balcony on this cruise.  It was very windy and we found the solarium, which we usually love, too cold.  Our cabin was just perfect! 

 

I did check our photos from the Heli-pad but there were very few.  Didn’t see you in any of ours.

 

Looking forward to your next post.

 

Christine

 

Hi Christine

 

We did enjoy quiet time on our cabin balcony but not a lot of time in the cabin. Mostly just morning coffee and usually an early to bed. Something that we had talked about doing on this trip was staying up late (for us that's past 10pm). Didn't happen. But the cabin was perfect, as you say and though I was always up early, I found the rocking of the ship helped my sleep quality. We spent sea days up on the deck above the pool under one of those large awnings. 

 

I suppose you will be enjoying a rainy Sunday in Gatineau. It hasn't started here yet. I'm up early again. It's 3:30am.

 

Maris

[Marvy Mare]

8 hours ago, Mike981 said:

Hi Maris, just an FYI you have over 9,100 views. So yes, A LOT of people are following along.

Thanks again for filling in our cruising void.

Wow! That's amazing. Thanks Mike.

 

Maris

[Marvy Mare]

6 hours ago, cruisingxpert said:

You're making my weekend.  This is so much more fun than watching or reading the news.

I'm not an early riser so I feel like I'm seeing a whole new world 😊

 

Hi Catherine

We almost managed to go an entire day yesterday without watching the news. FYI, it's dark out now🤣.

Just for you as a prelude to miserable weather, we had a spectacular sunrise here in central Ontario yesterday. I was out on the road in my pjs and sandals. Glad the neighbours sleep in.

Maris

[Marvy Mare]

March 8 - DAY 7 - Willemstad, Curacao

I found the answer to one of the questions that I had yesterday. The chimneys? A major industry in Curacao is oil refining. I also read  about air quality issues there. Something you don't expect in paradise.

 

 

Just pulling in. Sunrise scheduled for 6:43. I keep checking back to the date stamp on my photos. I have to remember that it was an hour off. The Aida beat us to port. Got the best parking spot too.

 

 

 

See those smoke stacks.

 

Our plan for the day was just to walk around town.  We had all day. In port from 7am to 7pm, so we enjoyed our breakfast before getting off the ship. 

Of our first 4 stops, Curacao was my least favourite. It may have been that we didn't really have a plan. I know experienced cruisers often just go with the flow, but we are still newbies. We didn't have a lot of on board credit, and what we had was spent on that dinner package (never again), so this would save us a few pennies. It was also Sunday and a lot of stores weren't open, though I don't really care to shop anyway. Part of the day was overcast and what we saw just wasn't as pretty as the pictures I'd seen. 

Our Unplan was following a guide that I'd printed off the internet. I did contact the Curacao Tourist Board about getting a hard copy of the Guide 'Historic Willemstad Architectural Walking Guide' but was told that they don't produce one anymore. So I printed a bulky black and white guide and studied it at home. As previously mentioned I'm directionally challenged. Ken didn't have his reading glasses with him to help me out. After a few attempts to do the 'Self guided tour' we just walked & walked (23,684 steps). My record for our vacation.

 

3 minute walk? Right! We even got lost here. 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 29, 2020 by Marvy Mare
correction

[Marvy Mare]

We started our tour around 9:30 and it was a beautiful morning. It looked like a lot of folks had taken their time getting off the ships. Only the two in port, but I think the Aida was even bigger than the Reflection. Apparently, the Reflection wasn't at capacity. People had cancelled. At one point on the cruise there was some kind of a draw? Bingo game? to win a balcony cabin. What would we do with two cabins?

 

I see children up ahead in this photo. They were probably from the Aida. There were very few children on our cruise; a few toddlers, a few teens (19), and a pair of twin girls who were always identically and impeccably dressed. 

 

Riffort built in 1828 - now I'm starting to figure out the Walking Guide. Ken often walks on ahead of me. I don't know if he wants to be in my pictures of just gets tired of waiting.

 

There he is again. As you can see it is starting to cloud up. We did have mostly sunny skies on our trip. It may have rained one night on our trip and I missed one 30 second shower and there was another quick shower one sea day while we were having lunch. The weather was perfect.

The little sign on the wall says "Watch your step". I did stumble on these steep steps. Could have ruined a perfectly good vacation.

When you get to the top of the stairs there were more stairs with instructions in 3 languages. They didn't need to tell me not to try these ones.

The view from the top. Can you see Ken? The view out to sea wasn't worth the climb.

 

I couldn't resist. Look at that great hair! 

 

Punda

 

These colourful houses were pretty cool!

 

The group on the right is listening to a tour guide. I think the guide was speaking German. Would they bring their own tour guides on the Aida or are there enough German tourists in Curacao to have local guides? 

Governor's Palace built in 1635 and completely renovated in 1868. I'm starting to figure out the walking guide.

Originally built between 1708 and 1733 and later renovated, the Pehna Building is an example of baroque architecture. 

Looking back across the Queen Emma Bridge.

 

 

 

 

There's room there for a few more. 

Ken liked this car - Saab? I liked the train.

 

Dogs are up looking for breakfast. Until later.

 

 

[Marvy Mare]

This is the Temple built in 1867 by the Dutch Reformed Israeli Community. This is neoclassical architecture. 

This was one of the back streets where nothing was open. 

 

This firetruck didn't seem to be in too much of a hurry. 

As we were walking around, we noticed a group of firefighters and others standing around looking down a grate. Don't know what was down there. Did anyone find out?

Dushi means sweet, nice or good. Hey, that's me! The Temple behind me. The sign could use a touch of paint. Just dirt on the ground in front of it too. The ABC islands are very dry. 

This little street was pretty. Shades of Cartagena. There must be a lot of watering done to keep things green.

Another thing I noticed was all the garbage cans. I guess they are trying to keep things clean but I see 3, maybe 4 garbage receptacles in this photo. 

The Queen Julianna Bridge stands 185 feet above the water at the top. 

According to Marine Traffic the Tatoosh left Willemstad on March 18 and arrived in St. Petersburg, Florida on March 18. It's moored there now.

 

Heading out for a dog walk in the rain. Later!

[Summer1961]

Yes, rainy day expected here, but with this isolation, it doesn’t make much of a difference in our plans for today 😊.

 

We didn’t plan much for Curaçao but went to Mambo Beach in the morning.  It was pretty enough but small and it filled up quickly.  We took a cab back to the ship after our beach walk, had lunch and went for a city walk.  We were also a bit disappointed in the city after hearing so many good things and seeing so many beautiful photos, but I think part of the disappointment was the fact that it was Sunday and there were a lot of things closed by 2pm.  

 

Sundays are not always good port days.  Something to remember when booking cruises.

 

BTW, I think that car is a Citroen.  Love it!

 

[Marvy Mare]

Summer

Yes, you are right about the car. Ken wasn't up yet so I wasn't able to ask him. Maybe an organized walking tour around Willemstad would be the best thing to do. I did read somewhere that since the political situation has escalated in Venezuela, there has been a bit of an economic downturn in Curacao.

 

I'll keep that in mind about Sundays.

 

Thanks

Maris

 

[Marvy Mare]

March 8 - DAY 7 - Willemstad, Curacao

 

Looking back at Otrobanda.

A pretty restaurant by the water. The 'smoke' (that's what we thought it was at first) was misters for the flowers. 

 

 

You can see the floatation here under the Queen Emma Bridge. It's hinged at one end and opens up to allow boats to pass.

Heading back over the bridge at about 10:30. We did manage to purchase a few gifts for our grandkids just as one of the stores was opening. The store clerk was gorgeous and so helpful. We may have paid a bit more than we would from a street vendor but it was a positive shopping experience for a non-shopper.

 

 

 

The shopping area closest to the port - pretty quiet.

This area was a lot quieter than it had been an hour or two before. 

 

Edited March 29, 2020 by Marvy Mare
correction