Reflections of the Cruise

Symphony of the Seas and Celebrity Reflection
CocoCay, Bahamas
September 25, 2024

 Being a short 4-night cruise, there is not too much to reflect upon, but I can state that we had a great time. This is now our second Celebrity cruise 

Boarding was efficient and pleasant. It was much better than our experience in Italy during May. We arrived and were quickly processed and just had to wait comfortably for less than 5 minutes to get onboard. We made it onboard in time to enjoy the welcome lunch to which we were invited. During our Italy trip, processing through the Italian security was so slow that even though we were in line in time, we missed the lunch.

Watching the Mooring
CocoCay, Bahamas
September 25, 2024

The Celebrity Reflection is a nice sized ship with activities for most everyone. One night we danced to Abba music and had a really great time.

Dinners were nice. The food was good, but did not exceed the threshold to be considered excellent. We were disappointed that there was no lobster night, which as most cruisers know is usually the last night of the cruise. I enjoyed a chilled soup starter every dinner and I very much enjoyed the variety of soups presented.

The bars on the ship were diverse and each seemed to present its own vibe. We spent the most time in Cellar Masters, which catered to the wine lovers in us through its decor. It also caters to the bourbon crowd. 

My Birthday Cake
Celebrity Reflection
September 25, 2024

The Celebrity team/crew was great. They provided everything we needed and our room service was great. The only issue was the room service breakfast. We ordered coffee, yogurt, and bagels. The bagels were cold and rick hard making them inedible. That happened two mornings in a row and so we stopped ordering the bagels preferring instead to go to the buffet for a light breakfast.

I enjoyed a birthday cake a day early as we celebrated dual birthdays on the cruise. It was a great time with friends.

Perhaps the most impressive activity during the cruise was the real-world emergency in which someone needed to be transferred off the ship for medical care. This occurred after our departure from Key West. The ship diverted into Miami during the night for the transfer. Originally a helicopter was going to land to make the transfer.  Later, I heard that a Coast Guard cutter was going to rendezvous with the ship off the coast, but the weather was too rough for either the helicopter or the at-sea transfer and so the ship went into the Port of Miami, but not mooring, to make the transfer. It all worked and I slept peacefully through it all. Out arrival into CocoCay was delayed by about two hours, but I was impressed with how the transfer happened without most of the passengers even realizing what was happening. I wished I had been awake to take some pictures. 

And now, I have to plan our next cruise adventure. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL