Live Blog: Reflection, Italy, Croatia and Montenegro. September 16-September 26.

[calicakes]

36 minutes ago, hcat said:

Did not know they offer lunch in Luminae..On E Class we usually go the the Bistro..upcharge, or EDEN cafe no upcharge

 

Dh will love the crabcakes..if they taste as good as they look. Desserts look great which I can't have..maybe just  a spoonful!

Lunch is only on sea days. It was tasty, just not lump crab.

[calicakes]

Beet risotto for a starter.  I forgot to ask them for a 1/2 portion. The risotto is very rich. Lobster was the special in all restaurants it was butter poached in lemonade illuminate. They left the green poop shoot in the lobster and that kind of grossed me out. Julie had kids bolognese. Mashed potatoes were cold. Baked Alaska was rock solid.

[Purplsmurf]

18 hours ago, calicakes said:

Maybe we should add Venice to our "cities to look at ".  I don't think Naples is too pet friendly.  The beaches are gorgeous.  Julie really wanted to move to Marco Island, but I said NO.  I won't pay more for a house in FL, than we paid for a house in CA.   

I’m with Julie! LOVE Marco Island. Looking to buy a house there one day hopefully soon.

[calicakes]

4 hours ago, Purplsmurf said:

I’m with Julie! LOVE Marco Island. Looking to buy a house there one day hopefully soon.

Julie is also from Milwaukee, WI. LOL

[calicakes]

Messing, Sicily. We booked a ship excursion. Taormina by land and see. 318.00 for 2. Board a coach, n95 required. 1hr ride to Taormina. Board boat. 1hr 40 min ride. Seas are rocky. You can swim off boat for 30 min.  Supposed to swim in the blue grotto but it was too rough. We did not swim. Unfortunately Julie felt very sea sick.  We were given almond cookies, cannoli and some sparkling wine. Back to city center for time on our own.

 

Edited September 23, 2022 by calicakes

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, calicakes said:

Messing, Sicily. We booked a ship excursion. Taormina by land and see. 318.00 for 2. Board a coach, n95 required. 1hr ride to Taormina. Board boat. 1hr 40 min ride. Seas are rocky. You can swim off boat for 30 min.  Supposed to swim in the blue grotto but it was too rough. We did not swim. Unfortunately Julie felt very sea sick.  We were given almond cookies, cannoli and some sparkling wine. Back to city center for time on our own.

 

We love Taormina, unfortunately on our cruise last month we had a huge thunderstorm hit as the Reflection was trying to dock in Messina. We were almost 2 hours late docking which canceled our private tour we had booked to Taormina and Gambino winery on My Etna. We spent 3 nights in Taormina in 2018 and love the little town. Taormina claims they invented the cannoli, almost every shop has them for sale.

[calicakes]

It was gorgeous. We had 2 hours to walk around.

[theopup]

The town looks lovely, a nice place to explore and walk around 

[hcat]

Great photos.. sorry for choppy  seas and sickness.

 

We took a ship's excursion on a bus .. long ride, some very nice scenery, along curvy steep roads! Could feel car sick at times. But was worth it!

 

Loved the unique city...had a great historical walking tour which became a bit too long,.  We  went off on our own for awhile. Nice shopping  (lovely Italian Pottery)  & tasty lunch,  all pricey.  We had the bonus of seeing an Italian wedding group come out of church in all their finery.

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

Can you help putting the right name to the face-   Do I have it correct that Randi is on the Right  and a little shorter and Julie on Left.   

 

 

 

[calicakes]

52 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Can you help putting the right name to the face-   Do I have it correct that Randi is on the Right  and a little shorter and Julie on Left.   

 

 

 

Yes, I'm the femme : )

[Mike981]

12 hours ago, calicakes said:

Julie is also from Milwaukee, WI. LOL

 

Julie and I have something in  common, I was born in Milwaukee and raised in Madison.

Sorry to hear about the sea sickness.

[calicakes]

We ate in OV for dinner.  The menu in Luminae did NOT appeal to either of us.  Quite frankly, neither did OV, but we WE WERE planning on going to the Silent Disco for Suite guests so we wanted a quick dinner.    

 

We began talking with a couple sitting next to us.  They both just got out of quarantine.  They were on the PREVIOUS cruise and tested positive a day before debarkation.  Italy would not let them off the ship, so they were forced to continue their quarantine on another cruise.  The man told me that when the medical staff came around to test him, he glanced down on their paperwork and saw at least 20 names and there were at least 20 tests on their tray. 

 

I'm pretty sure the suite next to ours is in Quarantine.  They have been taking ALL OF their meals as room service and tonight, their trash was bagged up sitting outside their room.    There are quite a few cabins on this floor that are taking all meals with room service, AKA they've been in deep sleep almost the entire cruise. 

 

With all that being said, we decided to skip the disco.   We were required to wear an N95 on the bus ride today.  Very few folks are wearing them onboard and the elevators are always packed.   

[calicakes]

@Jim_Iain  I wish I was just a little bit shorter.  Julie is 5 inches taller than me.  

[calicakes]

5 hours ago, terrydtx said:

We love Taormina, unfortunately on our cruise last month we had a huge thunderstorm hit as the Reflection was trying to dock in Messina. We were almost 2 hours late docking which canceled our private tour we had booked to Taormina and Gambino winery on My Etna. We spent 3 nights in Taormina in 2018 and love the little town. Taormina claims they invented the cannoli, almost every shop has them for sale.

So, what did you do?  

[LATTELOVE]

1 hour ago, calicakes said:

We ate in OV for dinner.  The menu in Luminae did NOT appeal to either of us.  Quite frankly, neither did OV, but we WE WERE planning on going to the Silent Disco for Suite guests so we wanted a quick dinner.    

 

We began talking with a couple sitting next to us.  They both just got out of quarantine.  They were on the PREVIOUS cruise and tested positive a day before debarkation.  Italy would not let them off the ship, so they were forced to continue their quarantine on another cruise.  The man told me that when the medical staff came around to test him, he glanced down on their paperwork and saw at least 20 names and there were at least 20 tests on their tray. 

 

I'm pretty sure the suite next to ours is in Quarantine.  They have been taking ALL OF their meals as room service and tonight, their trash was bagged up sitting outside their room.    There are quite a few cabins on this floor that are taking all meals with room service, AKA they've been in deep sleep almost the entire cruise. 

 

With all that being said, we decided to skip the disco.   We were required to wear an N95 on the bus ride today.  Very few folks are wearing them onboard and the elevators are always packed.   

WoW!!

Not a good way to end the cruise.

Too bad this stuff it's around.

[terrydtx]

3 hours ago, calicakes said:

So, what did you do?  

We walked on our own around Messina but it was so hot an humid the day we were there. 

[terrydtx]

3 hours ago, calicakes said:

We ate in OV for dinner.  The menu in Luminae did NOT appeal to either of us.  Quite frankly, neither did OV, but we WE WERE planning on going to the Silent Disco for Suite guests so we wanted a quick dinner.    

 

We began talking with a couple sitting next to us.  They both just got out of quarantine.  They were on the PREVIOUS cruise and tested positive a day before debarkation.  Italy would not let them off the ship, so they were forced to continue their quarantine on another cruise.  The man told me that when the medical staff came around to test him, he glanced down on their paperwork and saw at least 20 names and there were at least 20 tests on their tray. 

 

I'm pretty sure the suite next to ours is in Quarantine.  They have been taking ALL OF their meals as room service and tonight, their trash was bagged up sitting outside their room.    There are quite a few cabins on this floor that are taking all meals with room service, AKA they've been in deep sleep almost the entire cruise. 

 

With all that being said, we decided to skip the disco.   We were required to wear an N95 on the bus ride today.  Very few folks are wearing them onboard and the elevators are always packed.   

My wife got covid on the Holland cruise we did that followed the Reflection.  It was a 14 night cruise and she got covid 5 days before we were to disembark but Italy made us quarantine for 3 days in Venice before we could fly home. I got covid the day after we flew home. We heard that 75 people out of the 1100 on our cruise were quarantined on the ship, but judging by all the coughing and hacking many more passengers were sick with covid. Our ship also had a norovirus outbreak.

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, calicakes said:

Yes, I'm the femme : )

LOL...  I was just thinking if you were the Cop you were a really mean one... but again we met a female couple that were both NYPD Cops and the smaller one I would never want to mess around with.    We were on a Gay Group Cruise and they arranged with the Cruise Director to have the stage cast give our group of 50 private lessons.    It was great fun. 

 

Even more fun they brought their handcuffs to dinner one night.    As a treat they brought us all NYPD golf hats. 

 

When you were talking about your meals, I had just envisioned Julie being the adventuresome eater and you more picky.    I was just imaging sitting with you when your dining. 

 

Thanks for your great blog.     I sitting here reading some of it to our daughter. 

[Purplsmurf]

18 hours ago, calicakes said:

Julie is also from Milwaukee, WI. LOL

Wow! Really? We are just outside of Milwaukee in the Waukesha/Pewaukee area. Small world!

[calicakes]

6 hours ago, Purplsmurf said:

Wow! Really? We are just outside of Milwaukee in the Waukesha/Pewaukee area. Small world!

Her parents moved to waukesha, so when we would come to visit, we stayed in waukesha. All her siblings still live in the area. Brookfield and waukesha. Her aunt is in Pewaukee.

[calicakes]

Good morning Naples.

[calicakes]

1/2 Benny. No asparagus, no potato, no mushroom. Grits. J had oatmeal.

[bothluv2cruise]

I wanted to hop on here and let you know I am enjoying your blog! DH and I are sailing on the Reflection on Oct 31st from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale.  We also booked an aft sky suite and are very much looking forward to the cruise. Thanks for sharing.

Regarding moving to FL, I live in S F ;  Plantation as a matter of fact :).  It is so hot and humid and home prices have soared pretty much everywhere.

[calicakes]

29 minutes ago, bothluv2cruise said:

I wanted to hop on here and let you know I am enjoying your blog! DH and I are sailing on the Reflection on Oct 31st from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale.  We also booked an aft sky suite and are very much looking forward to the cruise. Thanks for sharing.

Regarding moving to FL, I live in S F ;  Plantation as a matter of fact :).  It is so hot and humid and home prices have soared pretty much everywhere.

Wow, Plantation, I have great memories growing up there.  I went to S. Plantation High, class of 1984.  Every sunday morning, we'd get bagels from Marion's Bagel host( across the street from the Broward Mall".    I wanted to move back there, but then Julie saw Naples/Marco and her mind was made up.  

 

Have a great cruise.  I love this location of a cabin.  I do hear a bit of noise from the restaurant above us, but its not that bad.  I only hear it if I'm on the balcony. n