Semi-live review - Reflection 10 nights Malta and Greek Islands - 17 July 2023

[Esprit]

Last night there was a “white night” themed party on the pool deck.

[brockmom]

3 hours ago, Esprit said:

Despite numerous visits to Santorini we decided to leave the ship later in the day knowing the last tender wasn’t until 9.15 pm.

We got to the cable car entrance at about 12.30 and there was no queue at all.

Celebrity claimed there would be five cruise ships but there were only three. The Viking ship left mid afternoon and Celestial one came in soon after. 
With a successful shop done we found our favourite bar.

Please share the name of the bar ! What a view !

sorry if you have already and I missed it.

😊

[Esprit]

13 minutes ago, brockmom said:

Please share the name of the bar ! What a view !

sorry if you have already and I missed it.

😊

It’s called the Character Restaurant and has an Italian menu. We just had a drink there this time as it closed at 3 pm for a break.

[sixpackeddie]

On 7/23/2023 at 7:23 AM, Les43 said:

Sorry just catching up on  questions. We had already paid to upgrade from a SS Veranda to a SS sky suite which had premium drinks / Wi-Fi etc included. Those then transferred when we were successful with the Moveup to the CS

Congrats. We are doing the same ship and itinerary next Month. We are also currently in a Sunset Sky Suite and noticed there are still a few Celebrity Suites opened. When you did your move up bid how close to departure were you notified? Also did you have to bid high on the scale to become successful with your bid?

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

[Les43]

34 minutes ago, sixpackeddie said:

Congrats. We are doing the same ship and itinerary next Month. We are also currently in a Sunset Sky Suite and noticed there are still a few Celebrity Suites opened. When you did your move up bid how close to departure were you notified? Also did you have to bid high on the scale to become successful with your bid?

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

Hi! We received the offer to Moveup on the 5th May and were notified that we were successful on the 2st June so approximately 3 and a half weeks before our cruise departing on the 17th July. We bid $500 each which was very low and ‘red’ on the scale. We were surprised to be successful. We have very much enjoyed the extra space of the CS and despite other reviews we have liked having a separate bedroom. Hope this helps. Have added a few photos. 

[Esprit]

Very nice indeed @Les43

[boykin]

We booked Oia on your own excursion. We tendered to a separate port and were bused up the island 😬 to Oia. Had 1.5 hours to explore and then dropped off in Fira. We ate lunch and headed to the cable car line. Surprisingly it was very long but moved at a decent pace, probably took us 35 minutes to the cable car. I heard later in the day the lines were 1-2 hours, can’t imagine in that heat. 
After dinner in the Blu we went to the sunset bar to watch sail away and ended the evening with a night cap in the ensemble lounge. 
below is the view from Oia. 

[Les43]

Catching up

 

It’s now Tuesday afternoon in Malta and I need to update on our meal in Luminae on Sunday evening and our sea day yesterday. I will split these in to separate posts as there’s a lot to update on. 

 

We had a pre-dinner drink in Michael’s and they delivered the pre-dinner ‘snacks’ - if you start to nibble those then there is no chance for a large dinner! I am having to restrain myself!
We enjoyed dinner in Luminae. I had the Pate de Campagne , followed by the Pork Belly and sea scallops. My DH had the smoked potato soup and the beef bourguignon from the MDR menu. We also had the beet ravioli to try but it was tasteless.  I now can’t recall what we had for dessert and I haven’t taken any photos. Oops! We enjoyed the Cabernet Sauvignon and a little dessert wine too. Sunday had been Santorini and sail-away was not until 10pm so the vibe of the ship was a bit different with some people coming back onboard later. Some were reporting long lines at the cable car but others had managed to find a quieter slot. 

 

A few photos from Sunday’s Luminae meal: 

[Les43]

Monday 24th - at sea

 

So Monday was a sea day as we made our way from Santorini to Malta. We had a surprisingly busy day planned. We promised Vishal, our Luminae waiter that we would get up in time for one breakfast. Monday was the logical day as Luminae was one until 9.30am and the clocks had gone back one hour. We made it in plenty of time but I was clearly still asleep as I didn’t take any photos. I had the fruit plate and the Eggs Benedict with a raspberry and pistachio pastry to finish. My DH had the granola parfait and then the crepe with apple and cinnamon. All of the food was lovely although the coffee was a little scarce. 

 

From breakfast, we headed to the ‘exclusive’ visit to the navigational bridge for retreat guests ( sshhhh we were to keep it confidential). There were around 10 of us and we were escorted on the bridge and shown the key features. It was really interesting and we enjoyed hearing more about the watch and how the navigational controls work. We were also given a mimosa to enjoy whilst we listened to the talk and we got good views of the helipad and crew outside area. 

 

After our tour we had some spare time to relax and read and then it was back to Luminae for a light lunch. I had the turkey gyro and my DH had the ravioli. Only one course for lunch as today is lobster day! After lunch we had booked the Around the World wine tasting. It was held in Cellar Masters and we were given a glass and could taste two different wines from 6 different countries. We are not keen on white wine but it was a chance to try it along with some reds. They also provided some cheese and bread sticks during the event (more food)! We tried all of the 12 wines - we still are not keen on white and we liked the French and Spanish reds which we were quite surprised at! Overall, the event is an hour and it was ok not brilliant. 

 

Monday evening

So Monday evening was our second chic night. We got ready - black sparkly number for me and DH wore a nice shirt (and trousers!) 🤪. We had pre-dinner drinks in Michael’s and chatted to Cranston. We then headed back Luminae for dinner……we both felt like we were living there! The food was excellent. - I had the smoked trout appetiser and then the lobster, my DH had the kale soup and a filet mignon. We both really enjoyed everything we had. Vishal brought me two generous lobster tails which were delicious. They brought a plate with the macaron and other sweet treats and we both tried the baked Alaska. It was ok but as others have said, it’s not really baked and very very sweet. We noticed lots of others tried it and left some ‘ most. We had a coffee and dessert wine - our meal took around 1 and a half to 2 hours so no rush from the staff. The captain and senior officers popped by and as usual the Maitre D’ (Nevron) was doing the rounds. 

 

After dinner, we wandered the shops, then watched some of the dancing in the grand foyer and finished off with a night cap in Michael’s. 
 

A few photos from our sea day yesterday . Later I will update on our last port of Malta today. 

[ladylemondrop]

Great photos! The Bridge tour looks good, I love the vigilence signage! 

It is a shame about the Baked Alaska, as when its done well, its my favourite dessert, I like the meringue a little warm, and some coulis on the side....mmm.... 

Oh well! The food in general looks very well presented.   

[Eloise4Ever]

On 7/24/2023 at 12:54 PM, Esprit said:

It’s called the Character Restaurant and has an Italian menu. We just had a drink there this time as it closed at 3 pm for a break.

 

We will be visiting Santorini on Reflection this September and celebrating a very special wedding anniversary that day. Would you recommend this restaurant (or any other) for an occasion dinner? 

[Esprit]

1 hour ago, Eloise4Ever said:

 

We will be visiting Santorini on Reflection this September and celebrating a very special wedding anniversary that day. Would you recommend this restaurant (or any other) for an occasion dinner? 

 

1 hour ago, Eloise4Ever said:

 

We will be visiting Santorini on Reflection this September and celebrating a very special wedding anniversary that day. Would you recommend this restaurant (or any other) for an occasion dinner? 

There are quite a few restaurants with similar views so don’t feel pressured into thinking this is the one!

[Esprit]

 

 

 

Edited July 25, 2023 by Esprit
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[Esprit]

Merano Monday night. Food and service was once again amazing.

[Esprit]

The side thrusters has just started up and we are spinning around!

I wonder if there is a boat near us in need of assistance!

Almost a complete stand still now in the middle of the Med

[Les43]

10 minutes ago, Esprit said:

The side thrusters has just started up and we are spinning around!

I wonder if there is a boat near us in need of assistance!

Almost a complete stand still now in the middle of the Med

The ship has been rolling a bit overnight too !

[Esprit]

Seems we are back on a westerly course again doing 17 knots.

Very odd what happened earlier and I agree the ship has been rolling for some hours now.

[Esprit]

We are speeding up. Now  19.1 knots. Are you getting vibrations again where you are @Les43 ?

Nothing for us!

[Les43]

31 minutes ago, Esprit said:

We are speeding up. Now  19.1 knots. Are you getting vibrations again where you are @Les43 ?

Nothing for us!

Just looked at the map on the TV and we definitely diverted off course around something. When it zooms in you can see the loop. Wonder if the captain will mention in his 10.45am address? The vibration is ok just getting a bit of rock and roll! 

[Esprit]

I hope we get to find out what it was all about.

Liking the motion on the ocean too!

[boykin]

Wow, hope we find out. Definitely rocking and rolling our way to Barcelona on this beautiful say.  No vibration on deck 11 midship. 
 

 

 

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Your reviews and especially the food pictures lol are most enjoyable and entertaining! We sailed your ports visited and also with Celebrity. I have heard and perhaps you can provide and update that the dinner buffet has been minimized somewhat.  We generally in fact always eat in a dining room but occasionally I may sneak upstairs to sample a bit before dining.  We have taken a few cruises with the more luxury lines but have a few booked with Celebrity and HAL and Cunard and just monitoring if there have been cutbacks in areas that would be disappointing. Any feedback would be appreciated.  All the best!

[brockmom]

4 hours ago, Les43 said:

Just looked at the map on the TV and we definitely diverted off course around something. When it zooms in you can see the loop. Wonder if the captain will mention in his 10.45am address? The vibration is ok just getting a bit of rock and roll! 

Maybe he is keeping you out of the “rain” so you can enjoy 

your sea day ! One can hope lol.

enjoy and thank you for a great review.

brockmom

[Les43]

5 hours ago, Esprit said:

I hope we get to find out what it was all about.

Liking the motion on the ocean too!

The maitre d’ in Luminae at lunch said that the ship was moving course because there was a sailing boat some way ahead that was struggling with the wind. He said the conditions today are ‘normal’ and what they always experience here. He says sometimes the waves are very very high. 

[Les43]

3 hours ago, LouChamp said:

Aloha. Your reviews and especially the food pictures lol are most enjoyable and entertaining! We sailed your ports visited and also with Celebrity. I have heard and perhaps you can provide and update that the dinner buffet has been minimized somewhat.  We generally in fact always eat in a dining room but occasionally I may sneak upstairs to sample a bit before dining.  We have taken a few cruises with the more luxury lines but have a few booked with Celebrity and HAL and Cunard and just monitoring if there have been cutbacks in areas that would be disappointing. Any feedback would be appreciated.  All the best!

We haven’t dined in the OVC in the evening but we have taken a wander through. From what I could see it had not been minimised in any way and there was a huge range of food. My only observation was that it appeared quite similar to lunch. The food on this cruise has been fantastic.