My View: Ringing in 2023 on Celebrity Reflection (semi-live)

[APDMOM]

Views of Costa Maya from the ship: (I always wonder about this place with the slides - looks like it may be fun to try at some point)

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful clear water!

 

[APDMOM]

Sunset:

 

Views of Carnival Glory at night:

 

[APDMOM]

The rest of this "View" will need to wait until we are home, including the end of Costa Maya,  Views of Roatan and Cozumel, Final summary of our experience, and the Dailies!

 

It has been an amazing week.  

 

We have put the hangers on the ground in the closet so that we don't need to hear their clickety-clack announcing the empty closet and end of our cruise!  (And now I have "Beautiful Noise" to lul my mind to sleep 😂  Thanks, Neil Diamond)

 

Hopefully posting more tomorrow night from home.

 

❤️APDMOM

[HS2BS]

Thanks for taking us along!

 

Boarding in at 11am!
 

Barbara & Hal

[mahdnc]

Nice photos, nice review. It look like you all had a good time. Thanks for posting. 

[dock]

From one SA to another, thanks for the great review. 

[APDMOM]

6 hours ago, HS2BS said:

Thanks for taking us along!

 

Boarding in at 11am!
 

Barbara & Hal

Enjoy every moment!  

[APDMOM]

Production Show: Broken Strings

Disclaimer:  I grew up in a musical family, a household constantly making music, traveling Europe with choirs, etc.  So, I may be overly critical… Don’t let my review influence your decision to try the shows.  I am adding a short video clip so you can see what you think. 

 

TIP: You are allowed to, even encouraged to, take video and photos of the shows.  They just don't allow flash photography.

 

This was the last production show we tried.  We have been spoiled by the amazing MSC shows and we were not impressed with the singers in the Celebrity theater…

 

The dancers in this show were good, the set was beautiful, but the singing was just not enjoyable to listen to.  Not everyone who can hold a tune should be a soloist. There was a lot of forced singing/yelling, with very little dynamics.  

 

 

 

 Since our previous experience with the production show was so negative, we decided to sit way in the back on the top gallery for this show.  We walked out after about 3 songs - it was just not worth spending our time here when we had so many great live options around the ship.  Hopefully, Celebrity can recruit some better singers for future performances.  At this point, MSC is hands down the best in the industry that we have seen, especially on MSC Seaside 2019!

 

TIP: If you are unsure if you will like a show, find a seat on the barstools way in the back of the deck 5 area of the show lounge.  That way, you can slip out without bothering those who are enjoying the show. See picture below:

[APDMOM]

My Favorite View: End of Day 5 - Costa Maya

Never getting tired of that balcony view!

[APDMOM]

My View: Day 6 - Roatán

 

[APDMOM]

TIP: Book an excursion for this port -  I highly recommend a ship excursion.

 

Many people complain about this port.  There really is not much in the port area itself.  However, Roatan is beautiful and worth taking an excursion.  We went on one in November 2019.

Click here for review of Roatan 2019

 

 

[APDMOM]

Arrival:

 

 

TIP: When the ship pulls in, try to be on a deck where you can see the pier.  We always receive a warm welcome here!  Fortunately, the ship docked port side and we were able to watch the action from our balcony:

 

We only did a quick walk around the port this time.  I really wanted to replace a purse from Roatan that I gave to my niece, but the new options had very poor zippers. So, we just took a few pictures and then enjoyed the quiet ship.

 

A Few Views of Roatán:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

TIP: The Roatan sign is not far from the port - just over a mile.  It is probably possible to walk there, but do so in a group - safety in numbers.  Also be careful because the roads are narrow with lots of traffic.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 8, 2023 by APDMOM

[APDMOM]

Senior Officers Party:  This was also the second "formal" night.

 

 

 

Really enjoyed our chats with Inrich during our morning cappuccino.  

[APDMOM]

My Favorite View: End of Day 6: Roatán

I finally taught my two favorite guys to drink coffee/latte/cappuccino:

[APDMOM]

My View: Day 7 - Cozumel, Mexico

[APDMOM]

The moon (not the sun!) setting over the water:  The first picture was taken with my iPhone.  The second was taken with my Nikon P900

 

 

Sunrise on the other side of the ship:

 

TIP:  If you catch the full moon at sea, you will be able to watch the moon set just before the sun rises.  A perfect combination. This is usually the morning before the official full moon night.

 

[APDMOM]

Cozumel:

We were the only ship at Royal Village.  There were three ships at the Carnival dock, while Norwegian Breakaway docked at Punta Langosta.

 

These Catamarans looked like so much fun - they are now on our bucket list for a future trip to Cozumel.

[APDMOM]

We just had some fun walking around port, bought a hat, and took too many pictures.  😄 

 

 

My new hat - a good excuse to support the local economy:

[APDMOM]

DH and DS on our balcony:

[APDMOM]

On that note, I will share about our stateroom - 8279:

 

My parents had this angled type of balcony on our cruise to Alaska.  We loved the larger size with the wind blocked for Alaska.  For this cruise, I wish we had booked the forward facing angle, as this balcony got quite hot on the way to Grand Cayman.  It was sunny on the balcony most of that sea day.  On the way back, it was the opposite, with nice cool breezes though.  So, all in all it was a great choice.  For warmer weather I would just switch to the forward angled balcony in the future.

 

Pictures of our room:

 

First glimpse upon arrival:

 

Later, with the bed ready for our son:

 

Storage space:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The safe is nice and spacious.  We were able to fit 2 iPads and our MacBook Air into the safe with ease!

 

The bathroom:

 

 

 

 

Lotion, Soap, Shampoo, and Conditioner were provided.  

 

TIP:  If you are picky about shampoo, bring your own.  I did not like this shampoo and conditioner at all.  It dried my hair out.  So, I only used it one time then switched back to my trusty Pantene.

 

 

 

The Minibar:  This one actually got quite cold - more like a regular fridge.  I know there is always debate about this being more of a cooler than a fridge.  However, this one was definitely cold enough to keep milk fresh, or to chill a cafe latte for later 🙂 

 

[APDMOM]

The Balcony:

 

The View Forward - you have to kind of lean over to see forward:

 

 

The View Aft:

 

The View Straight Down:

 

The Location - Midship, Port, Just 3 doors from the elevator area:

 

 

[PoorBuoy]

We sailed on Reflection the week ahead of APDMOM. On the ABBA night almost all of the glass elevators had people dancing in them, which made for a fun time. There was an elevator with a stoic Asian family looking somber, but with their small children, pressed up against the glass, enthusiastically dancing. 

[mahdnc]

48 minutes ago, APDMOM said:

The moon (not the sun!) setting over the water:  The first picture was taken with my iPhone.  The second was taken with my Nikon P90

 

 

The P900 is a very affordable camera with a crazy stabilized zoom lens.  Nice camera.  Be sure to try it out during next year's total solar eclipse.

[APDMOM]

A few more Views of Cozumel

 

 

It is a busy place!

 

Seascape sailing away: