Reflection LIVE 6/21-7/1/24: A Perfect Day for a Suite Girlfriends Getaway

[GenerationX]

Well hey there cruising friends!

 

It seems like forever since my last cruise (really only 4 months, but I think that’s like a century in cruise-addict time) and I can’t wait to get back out to sea in just a few days!

 

This time, I’ll be sailing again on the same ship: the Reflection.

 

If you’re looking at the dates in this review title and scratching your head because you thought Reflection was currently doing short 3-4 night cruises, you aren’t wrong.  I made this cruise by booking two 3 night sailings with a 4 nighter in the middle (so technically a B2B2B) for a total of 10 nights on Reflection.

 

Anyone care to virtually come along?

 

A little about me:

 

I’m Charla, in my early 40’s. Seasoned Celebrity cruiser (elite plus, but with little hope of ever making Zenith unless sometime in the next few decades I stumble upon a winning lottery ticket and/or extremely wealthy distant relative who dies intestate) and occasional MSC cruiser when the price is right.

 

When I’m not out getting my vitamin sea, I work as a lawyer and live on a hobby farm about an hour south of St. Louis, MO with my husband, Jeremy and 11 year old daughter (known around CC as Gen Z or Mini Me), both of whom are also frequent cruisers.

 

In fact, 20 days after I get home from this cruise, Mini Me and I will be taking our annual mother-daughter cruise to celebrate my birthday on Beyond!

 

When cruising the Caribbean in summer, I’m usually there more for the ship than the ports, which will probably be true again for at least for the later half of this sailing. I’ll do a separate post soon with more details on ports and plans on and off the ship, but I don’t think I’ll be off the ship much after we make our Key West stop on the second cruise.

 

While I’m very familiar with Celebrity and the Reflection, this cruise still comes with quite a few firsts for me:

 

First #1:  I’ve never done a B2B (much less a B2B2B).  Upon hearing that butler service has been fully restored (and based on prior summer short cruise experiences suggesting that I may need Michel’s Club for an occasional retreat from a more rambunctious crowd than is typical for Celebrity), I decided to sail in the retreat for all 3 cruises.  However, due to limited availability, I’ll be sailing not only in 3 different cabins, but 3 different Retreat suite types, so I’ll be able to share a really comprehensive comparison of the various levels of suite life.

 

Which brings me to First #2:  I’ve sailed  in sky suites (stateroom for cruise #1) and celebrity suites (stateroom for cruise #3).  But for the 4 night middle cruise, for the first time I’ll be trying out the Signature Suite, which is an upper level suite I think is only offered on Reflection.

 

First #3:  Over the course of the 3 short cruises, we will actually make stops at 2 ports I’ve never been to before.  While I’ve spent time in Nassau ad nauseam on Caribbean cruises, I’ve never been to Bimini. On the first and last cruise, we’ll also visit the private island formerly exclusive to Royal Caribbean, Coco Cay.  

 

I think this stop has been a bit controversial for some Celebrity loyalists.  But I’m actually excited to get a chance to check out the island, especially without having to sail Royal Caribbean.  Full candor, everyone has their own cruising style, but for me personally I have minimal interest in ever setting foot on one of RC’s “Anxiety Attack Waiting to Happen, Floating City of Young Kids off their Schedules, Theme Park of the Seas”.

 

Finally, the most exciting first for me: this trip, I’m sailing for the first time with some of my best girlfriends!  

 

Please me to introduce the rest of our party…

 

My cabinmate is my best friend (and last single friend, if any eligible bachelors in their 30’s are following, I’d be happy to make introductions), Kati!  She works in the medical field and is my frequent sidekick for wineries, Nashville country music festivals, fishing trips and Nordstrom semi-annual sales.

 

Also joining us for the first 3 night cruise are my mom friends Tesla (named after the band not the scientist) and Liz.  They’ll be staying in a concierge class balcony (I’ll be sure to also share reports of their cabin and main dining room experiences).  Tesla works in hospitality (REALLY interested in her takes on everything) and Liz in aerospace.

 

Tesla is my spa, casino and concert buddy and we’re also sharing the joys of trying to raise tweens while maintaining our sanity.  Liz and I bonded over sharing my OTHER extremely expensive addiction: horses. 

 

All 3 of these ladies are first time cruisers and with the exception of Liz, who worked in Australia for a few months (I’m still getting over my jealousy), it will be their first times traveling outside the U.S.  I’ve suspected that Celebrity’s goal in offering these short, cheaper Coco Cay runs was to try and get some younger, first time cruisers to give the line a try, so I’ll be very interested to see what my friends in the target demographic think of the experience.

 

Sharing some pics of our cruise crew below.  The last couple of days in the office this week are going to be a bit hectic, but I’m hoping to squeeze in time in the next day or so to do a post sharing about our plans while onboard and in port.

 

As always, if anyone has questions or specific things they’re interested in hearing reports on, please don’t hesitate to ask.

 

Our girls vacay, and journey south to Reflection, starts in less than 48 hours!

 

Looking forward to taking everyone along on another cruise…or this time, 3! 
 

 

 

 

 

[Lvdisnee]

Looking forward to this!!

[JDPCruisers]

Looking forward to another one of your review and pics. Safe travels!

[hcat]

Ahoy Charla..

would love to join  you..but  I would be  the 'granny on board".

 

Other than one trip to secure our Fl place against storms,  we hang out at home in the summer..Long Island NY.

 

We have  and beaches all around...vineyards out east...great restaurants... dtr has a great pool and I love my deck/ backyard.

 

HAVE A GREAT CRUISE!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 17 by hcat

[cruisetonowhere10]

I sense this is going to be a fun one to follow… 🙂

[lettrich]

So excited to see your post.  I always enjoy living vicariously through your travels. Looking forward to reading all about your trip!  I'm not much of a poster but always love reading other posts.  

[lola2013]

Charla,

 

Let the adventure begin!  I completed my first (and hopefully not last) B2B on Silhouette in April...four nights with friends followed by ten nights with family/friends.  

 

Quite accidentally, we caught the Captain Kirk rock show on the first leg.  I mention it because I believe he is now on Reflection.  Not many knew about the show that first cruise; but word spread and the theatre was packed for the second cruise.  The man is a legend...guitar, drums, vocals...(and he doesn't look bad either).  So if you have the opportunity, be sure to catch his act...all three times cruises!!!

 

Bon Voyage,

Susan😎

[Lena11033]

I'm looking forward to following along

[mchell810]

I thought it was about time for you to be cruising again 😜 

     Looking forward to all your adventures with your gal pals.

[Mrs_Tiki]

What a great surprise to see you starting another review! I am very intrigued with your impressions of the shorter cruise format on X. I recently took my first solo cruise on a Silhouette 4-nighter and did find the crowd more “rambunctious” as you say! (But it was also a partial charter of Tampa Bay Buccaneer fans, so that was a whole other wrinkle!)

 

Meeting @lola2013 and her friends while waiting to board was a fun way to start that cruise! I agree with her that Captain Kirk’s musical performance was a highlight, as well.

 

I have no doubt that you and your friends will have a great time and look forward to hearing about your sampler platter of Retreat suites!

[harrywpb]

Hi. So great to see you cruising again. We love the Reflection.   And love your input on cruising.  I was wondering if you would be so kind as to point me to one of your previous threads where you were in MSC yacht club one week and a suite in Celebrity the next.  Not looking to abandon Celebrity at all-just want to see what else may be available. Thanks. Safe travels. 

[mac_tlc]

You know I’m following along !!!!! Sounds like a lot of fun. I’m contemplating a Reflection cruise next Apr/May so your observations will be timely. 
 

mac_tlc

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I'll be interested to hear how this goes for you and your friends.  Short cruises are definitely different creatures and attract a different audience.  I just did a B2B on Reflection in April.  Great bartender in The Retreat/Michael's.  Lots more kids than normal.  Warning:  no shopping on Coco Cay--their prices are outrageous.  Do your shopping elsewhere.  Other than that, it's a good stop and I was surprised how well it absorbed the big RCI ship that was there plus the Reflection.

[clochette]

really looking forward to your B2B2B and the different suites, what a fun trip

[cruzzzinma]

Charla, I am glad you are back and look forward to your review!

[DaKahuna]

@GenerationX  Looking forward to another chapter of Charla's adventures on the high seas.  We loved the Michael's Club on Reflection and have fond memories as we did our first ever B2B cruise on her in November 2021. 

 

[miched]

Did you give up on MSC?  🤷‍♂️.   I thought that was your new favorite cruise line from your previous cruises and threads 

 

 

 Based on your comment about loving  horses do you have one of these?   Every farmer should have one of those breeds. 
 

 

 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Edited June 17 by miched

[bjahil47]

Charla, so happy to follow along on your girls trip!  We will be on Reflection next October!  It will be interesting to hear your take on Bimini.  We were there last year on a stop and found it very boring!  All you girls better behave!  😂😂😁😆

[zitsky]

Vitamin sea.  I love it!  Thanks for sharing!  
 

😂

[asnaleah]

So happy for you Charla! Can’t wait to read about your thoughts on the short cruises. Thanks for taking us along❤️

[Swordfish1949]

What a treat! Another wonderful review by Charla.....cant wait to follow along.

[Beachlover1989]

WOOHOO!!!  I love your Lives and am so excited to follow along!  I wish I was one of your girlfriends tagging along!!! 

[dcbiker97]

Looking forward to hearing about your experiences on Reflection.  We are doing a b2b on September and will be the shortest cruises we’ve ever done. Hopefully you’ll love the Signature suites.  We always book those on Reflection and will be in one when we cruise. 

[GenerationX]

10 hours ago, hcat said:

Ahoy Charla..

would love to join  you..but  I would be  the 'granny on board".

 

Other than one trip to secure our Fl place against storms,  we hang out at home in the summer..Long Island NY.

 

We have  and beaches all around...vineyards out east...great restaurants... dtr has a great pool and I love my deck/ backyard.

 

HAVE A GREAT CRUISE!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After meeting you and seeing you hold court at our Gatsby party on Beyond, I personally think that your girlfriend’s cruise energy could keep us all on our toes!

 

Your summer retreat looks and sounds amazing.  Jeremy and I may have to plan an east coast long weekend up that way one summer…I’ll just tell him it’s the hometown of the notorious iced tea cocktail to get him onboard. 😂

 

Enjoy! I hope our cruising paths cross again soon!

[GenerationX]

9 hours ago, lola2013 said:

Charla,

 

Let the adventure begin!  I completed my first (and hopefully not last) B2B on Silhouette in April...four nights with friends followed by ten nights with family/friends.  

 

Quite accidentally, we caught the Captain Kirk rock show on the first leg.  I mention it because I believe he is now on Reflection.  Not many knew about the show that first cruise; but word spread and the theatre was packed for the second cruise.  The man is a legend...guitar, drums, vocals...(and he doesn't look bad either).  So if you have the opportunity, be sure to catch his act...all three times cruises!!!

 

Bon Voyage,

Susan😎

 

Thank you for the tip!  I’m not seeing the show in the app for any of our 3 cruises right now, but I also know better than to trust the app, especially before I’m onboard and connected to ship wifi.

 

I’ll be sure to lurk the paper dailies too so I’m sure not to miss it.