This is the final installment of the Celebrity Reflection Thanksgiving cruise review. It was a fantastic cruise, overall, starting with our suite. I reserved a category S1 Sky Suite, and chose the aft corner of the ship, much like we had on the Solstice in Alaska.
The suite itself is spacious, a generous 300 square feet (nearly twice the size of a regular balcony cabin). These corner rooms do have support poles, and there were two large steel poles in our room. Fortunately, they did not detract at all from the enjoyment or usability of the room.
Upon entering the room there are two large wardrobes, one with hanging space (and life jackets) and the other featuring shelves, and the safe. Between the hanging space, shelf space, and drawers in the desk area, there was more than enough space for all of our stuff.
The bathroom is another nice feature, boasting a tub/shower, complete with rainfall shower head, combination, as well as a modern vessel sink and loads of storage space. Our suite came with butler service, and although we did not really utilize him for much, Vishnu was pleasant, efficient, and handled the few requests we had quickly.
Of course, some of the eagerness to get things done ends up quite funny. My parents were in the suite down the hall, at the other corner of the ship, and one morning as we were returning to the room, Vishnu saw us in the hall and asked if my mother was ready for her morning cappuccino. How would I possibly know this? At some point he figured it out (probably when she called him and requested said cappuccino) but it made me laugh. Out loud. He also kept referring to my mom as “Mrs. Paula,” which I have found amusing enough for it to stick. Yes, I do refer to my mom as “Mrs. Paula” fairly often, and it cracks me up every time.
Butlers also bring around afternoon tea to the suites, with choices of coffee or tea as well as pastries. The first day I let Vishnu know that (a) we are likely never in the room at 4 PM, and (b) we are eating plenty on this trip, so there is no need to leave us a plate of snacks, as they would just go to waste. I promised him we would neither starve nor suffer, and yes, if I changed my mind I would let him know. Vishnu later informed Mrs. Paula that he was not leaving us any treats, because I didn’t want them to be wasted. Then he tried to give Mrs. Paula our treats, too. (She declined.)
ACTIVITIES/TRIVIA
We did not make it to any shows, nor did we get to the Officers vs Guests Bocce tournament at the Lawn Club, but we do enjoy a good round of cruise ship trivia. We started at the beginning of the cruise with morning and afternoon trivia, since it is only half an hour at a time, it is not much of a commitment. But it is fun. By the end of the cruise (and on the rainy day), the Ensemble Lounge was standing room only.
Our team started off as FKGuy and me. By day 2 my parents and our friends had joined the madness. Around day 4 we teamed up with some other geeks. Our team was growing daily. We did enjoy a lot of laughter, and a pretty good winning streak, coming in either first or second place most days. Plus, it is a good educational experience. Did you know that Dorothy’s slippers in the book version of The Wizard of Oz were silver? I didn’t either (and, frankly, neither did anyone else on our team.)
The thing about trivia is this: people (myself included) take it way too seriously. So, we gave Megan, the activities host a tough time. It was a fun, and rowdy group that had a great time over the course of the week.
There were also a couple of music trivia sessions, hosted by one of the DJs. (We totally rocked the 80s trivia, with 28 our of a possible 30 points, only missing one ridiculous Alphaville song.) Unfortunately, the Dj did not have much of a personality, but it was still quite a lot of fun.
OVERALL EXPERIENCE
The whole Celebrity experience was fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed every part of it, and am already looking forward to next year’s Thanksgiving cruise.
