Around the Caribbean with Celebrity Reflection

A Geoffroy's Tamarin, also called a Panamanian Tamarin
Sunrise over Cuba, from the deck of Celebrity Reflection
Sunrise over Cuba, from the deck of Celebrity Reflection. Photograph, Ann Fisher.

In November 2017, I boarded the Celebrity Reflection in Ft. Lauderdale for the “Ultimate Caribbean Cruise,” two weeks to Key West, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Mexico, and the Cayman Islands.

If you’re going to sail with a large ship, it doesn’t get better than the sleek modern megaships of Celebrity’s Solstice Class. Reflection, the fifth and final of the Solstice ships, launched in 2012. She is lovely, full of contemporary art, and the requisite Lawn Club on her top deck. Reflection is Celebrity’s newest ship — until the Edge launches in late 2018.

The ship’s name informs the curatorial theme of the art designed for her: “The Seductiveness of a Reflection.” Bert Rodriguez’s living tree, suspended in the main atrium of Reflection, hangs above a cast aluminum double of itself. In Carlos Betancourt’s Celestial Garden installation, guests find themselves in a room of black and midnight blue, full of baroque flowers, sometimes full of people passing to dinner, sometimes empty and quiet — save the sound of a mid-pitched bell that tolls once, only now and again.

Celebrity Reflection Caribbean Cruise Review

Hemingway six toed cat
One of the Hemingway polydactyl cats. Photograph, Ann Fisher.

Favorite Ports of Call and Activities

Key West

Relection left Fort Lauderdale and hop-skip-jump, we landed on the last island of the Florida Keys.

I spent the day chasing Hemingway, and you’ll find my account in a separate article:

Cats, Key West, and Ernest Hemingway

Fred Astaire, Winston Churchill, Lauren Bacall, and Howard Hughes pop out from basement grates, stroll through shrubs, and pose for guests visiting a certain Spanish Colonial home in Key West.

Who are they? The Hemingway cats, all descended from Ernest’s original tomcat, Snowball, who had six-toed paws. [read more]

Limon, Costa Rica

It’s the cursed aspect of a cruise vacation: only one day in Costa Rica. What to do, what to do?

I decided to spend my time in a sloth sanctuary learning m…o….r….e  about these charming, s…l…o…w  moving creatures.

T…w…o  types of sloths inhabit Costa Rica: Hoffman’s two toed sloths, and the Brown Throated Three Toed sloth.

The sanctuary started as a birding tour business by Luis and Judy Arroyo, but in 1991, when a massive earthquake altered the flow of the nearby Estrella river, the birding tours ceased.

Close to the same time, children brought a tiny, orphaned sloth to the Arroyos because they knew they were animal lovers. The kids had found the baby near its mother that had been killed by a car. No one knew very much about caring for or rehabilitating sloths then — at the time, they were considered vermin by many Costa Ricans.

Sloth No. 1 was Buttercup. Since she was raised and socialized with humans, she could never be released back into the wild. Fast-forward 27 years, and the couple who saved a single baby sloth now run a sloth sanctuary. Mission: to rehabilitate and release injured sloths whenever possible; to provide a caring home for those they cannot release; and to educate the public.

We finished looking at the sloths. It was a meltingly hot day. Standing in the shade of a tall tree, sweat trickled down my back. I took one look at the canoes they planned to put us in, and then at the narrow stream in full-on sun, with few tree limbs extending past the edge of the banks.

Hhhmmm. A slow moving canoe, no shade, and glaring noon sun . . . yeah . . .  NO.

I opted out, figuring I’d find a spot to write until they returned. When I asked about a place to sit, and they indicated a building with the gift shop. After a short obligatory wander through the tourist junk, I climbed the stairs to a large open 2nd floor verandah, and found a sloth behind an four foot tall clear plastic enclosure, with no wires.

It was Buttercup.

Buttercup, a brown-throated three toed sloth.
Buttercup, a brown-throated three toed sloth. Photograph, Ann Fisher.

Instead of writing, I had one of the most charming 45 minutes I can remember watching this beautiful creature.

Reaching Colon, Panama

Ships waiting for their turn to enter the Panama Canal celebrity reflection caribbean cruise review
Ships waiting for their turn to enter the Panama Canal. Photograph, Ann Fisher.

Sailing along the curve of Central America is a way of coloring in the map of the our world — it’s like what happens to our brains when we take a driving trip instead of flying somewhere. It’s one of the things I really enjoy about taking a cruise.

We left Limon in Costa Rica, and 223 nautical miles later, shortly after dawn, we arrived at the port of Colon in Panama. The air felt palpably heavy. Thunderheads boiled thousands of feet into the air, and it wasn’t even 8:00 am. As Reflection made quiet passage to the cruise dock, we passed upwards of 60 moored ships, all waiting their turn to enter the Canal.

Colon is a depressingly grubby port city — not a place anyone would choose to go on vacation — and really not safe to just take a wander. Fortunately, there are many things to do close to Colon.

I chose to spend the day on the Panama Canal, visiting the local primates.

a Georffroy's tamarin on a shore excursion Celebrity Reflection Caribbean Cruise review
Such beautiful creatures! The tamarins were my favorite monkeys of the day. Photograph Ann Fisher

Monkeying Around on the Panama Canal

When the skipper kicked the the motor up a notch, our canopied boat settled back into the water, then sped out into the Panama Canal just above the Culebra Cut.

Like links in unending parallel chains, one massive container ship after another pushed through the water heading either to the Pacific or to the Caribbean. Towering thunderheads gave us intermittent light rain and moments of stunning sunlight.

Container Ship Culebra cut Panama Canal - on a shore excursion with Celebrity Reflection Caribbean Cruise
Breathtaking in size, the mighty container ships moved past us on the Canal. Photograph, Ann Fisher.
A white faced Capucin monkey, review of a shore excursion on Celebrity Reflection Caribbean Cruise
A white faced Capucin monkey, one of several that came to visit us. Photograph, Ann Fisher.

We moved out of the main Canal into Gatun Lake and slowed down, snaking our way through small islands of dense vegetation. A juvenile Frigatebird circled overhead before diving to scoop a fish from the center of the stream.

Finally, our skipper nosed us up under a tree with overhanging vines and cut the engine. Within moments, we’d been boarded by little white-faced pirates.

Yes, they knew him — our guide — his red grapes and his bits of banana, and they came to us, eyes bright and watchful. White Faced Capucin monkeys are long-tailed New World monkeys, and relatives of Dexter of Night at the Museum fame, who I believe is a tufted Capucin.

After leaving our white faced friends, we pushed further into Gatun Lake.

Gatun Lake on an excursion from celebrity reflection caribbean cruise review
A beautiful day on Gatun Lake. Photograph, Ann Fisher.

We saw groups of howler monkeys, watched several iguanas, then made a social call on another island, where we hosted a group of Geoffroy’s Tamarins. These were my favorites — such lithe creatures, graceful and quick. They eat fruit, insects, and lizards, and were quite happy to take a few grapes and banana bits.

Our boating expedition into the Canal and Gatun Lake left from Gamboa, Panama, approximately and hour’s bus ride away from the ship.

A Geoffroy's Tamarin, also called a Panamanian Tamarin, shore excursion on Celebrity Reflection caribbean cruise
A Geoffroy’s Tamarin, also called a Panamanian Tamarin. Photograph, Ann Fisher.

Cartagena, Columbia

The Old Town of Cartagena is beautiful, and it’s not difficult to understand why it has an Unesco World Heritage site designation. One of Celebrity’s changes in their itineraries is to add more two-day ports. Reflection docked in Cartagena, and we were there for two full days.

Old town cartagena one port of call Celebrity Reflection cruise
Old Town Cartagena. Photograph, Ann Fisher.
Cathedral Basilica of Saint Catherine of Alexandria - port of call on Celebrity Reflection cruise
Cathedral Basilica of Saint Catherine of Alexandria in Cartagena. Photograph, Ann Fisher.

As the departure point for the convoys of treasure galleons leaving South America for Spain, Cartagena had a reason to fear attack, both from pirates and from countries like England and Holland, and the city was sacked a number of times.

And so the Spanish built the greatest fort in all of the Caribbean, as a deterrent to anyone foolish enough to consider doing it again. Begun in the 1600’s, it took nearly 100 years for Castillo San Felipe to reach its current size. It’s actually a huge complex of smaller forts, linked together with underground tunnels.

Having seen Spanish forts in St. Augustine, Florida, and in Puerto Rico, I had looked forward to seeing Castillo San Felipe de Barajas here. It covers a 130 foot tall (39.6 meters) hill, and it is massive.

The English attacked Cartagena in 1741, under the leadership Admiral Edward Vernon. He had successfully taken Portobelo in Panama, and moved onto Cartagena, hoping for a repeat victory. The English force of 23,000 men, 186 ships, and 2,000 cannon laid siege to Castillo Felipe for a month, and were defeated by a Spanish force of only 3,000 men and six ships.

It’s going to be a HOT time in the old town tonight!

Seal of the office of the Inquisition. As a descendant of Hugenots who fled France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes — the whole thing gave me the creeps.

Can you say auto-da-fé?

Cartagena holds the dubious honor of being one of the most active Spanish Inquisition sites in New World. The seat of trials in Cartagena was the Palacio de la Inquisición, conveniently located on one of the prettiest squares in the center of town.

Here they convicted over 800 people of crimes against the Catholic Church, and then executed them — most frequently death by burning. The Palace of the Inquisition is now the Museum of the Inquisition, and although it is nearly 200 years since the last heretics were torched, it is still a troubling place.

Even without the thought of people being roasted alive, I must say that Cartagena is one of the hottest places I’ve ever been in my life. The temperature hit 90 both days we were in port.

“Doesn’t sound that bad,” you say?

Try it at 80% humidity, which gives you a heat index of 113. Oh, and no breeze. Yes, I’ve been many places with higher temperatures. Much higher temperatures. Cartagena beat them all.

Not surprisingly, the beer I had after a couple of hours of wandering the streets of the old city was the best I’ve ever had.

Snorkeling in the Caymans

This was my second visit to the Cayman islands on a cruise; the first time, the water was so rough that our snorkeling trip was cancelled.

Snorkeling catamaran cayman islands
Perfect snorkeling experience with Red Sail Sports. What a great day! Photograph, Ann Fisher

Following this morning, I understand why snorkeling and diving here is such a special thing. After the heat of our days in Cartagena, swimming with the fishes in the Caymans was SO refreshing!

Cozumel, Mexico

Flying to Chichén Itzá

When I was twelve, I visited Chichén Itzá with my family on my first trip outside of the U.S.A..

I can still remember standing on the top of the Temple of Kukulcan (also called El Castillo) with my Dad. We stood there for a long time. Not only was the view stunning, but looking down the impossibly steep steps gave me vertigo. I would probably still be up there if my father hadn’t coaxed me back down the pyramid one step at a time.

Temple of Kukulcan at Chichen Itza
Temple of Kukulcan, the feathered serpent god, has been closed to climbing since 2006, when a tourist fell to her death. Photograph, Ann Fisher.

It was one of those father-daughter moments that I’ve never forgotten. Dad had read all of John Lloyd Stephen’s books on his explorations of Mesoamerica, and copies of Frederic Catherwood’s lithographs hung above my father’s desk. He had visited Chichén Itzá before, but he wanted to climb the temple with me. I can remember him saying at the time, “One day this will be cordoned off, and you won’t even be able to touch it. Better do it now while we still can.”

My father is in his eighties, and an emergency surgery last fall during a trip to Spain has left him largely confined to a wheelchair.

El Castillo at Chichen Itza, a 19th century lithograph by Frederick Catherwood.

A return to Chichén Itzá, well. Let’s just say it was really calling me. Better do it now while I still can.

Here’s the thing though. To get to Chichén Itzá from Cozumel is an all-day journey on ferry and then bus — approximately 8 hours of travel round trip to spend a single hour at the pyramid site. I knew this all too well from the visit when I was twelve. I vividly remember a very long, hot ride in an unairconditioned Volkswagen Thing.

This time, I chose to fly. It was an amazing day.

Flight time was approximately 40 minutes, one way. After a quick van-ride to Chichén Itzá, we spent two hours at the site, followed by lunch at the historic Mayaland Hotel.

While visitors can no longer touch any of the buildings at Chichén Itzá, let alone climb them, it was wonderful to be here again. The tour was great, and with only eight of us, we were able to make stops, take time, and ask questions.

The day has me thinking about making a Mayan ruin focused trip to the Yucatan: staying at the Mayaland Hotel so that I can walk into the pyramid site first thing in the morning . . . before day visitors from Cancun and the cruise ships arrive. There is a similar hotel next to Uxmal — hhmm. Now there’s a thought!

Note: Several passengers on the flying excursion to Chichén Itzá found the description of the tour misleading. They thought we were going to fly over the site and have a chance to photograph it from the air, and so were somewhat disappointed. In our post 911 reality, it would never have occurred to me that the Mexican government would allow planes to buzz El Castillo, with the pyramid’s potential as a terrorist target. Also — a flight to Chichén Itzá may be a perfect splurge excursion for you. It certainly made for a more pleasant day than eight hours on a bus. If you decide to go for it, book early because there are not many spots on this tour.

Temple of the Warriors. Chichen Itza - shore excursion on Celebrity Reflection Cruise in the Caribbean
Temple of the Warriors. I can remember wandering around and through the pillars and climbing to the top. Photograph, Ann Fisher.

Considering a similar Itinerary?

If you are reading this Celebrity Reflection Caribbean Cruise review, along with others, you may be comparing different itineraries. Here are some additional notes for people contemplating similar cruises.

Most visitors to Costa Rica head to the Pacific side of the country. Rather obviously, this cruise stops on the Caribbean side, so do some reading to determine whether activities available around Limon will satisfy your interests.

Another point: several of the stops on this itinerary are NOT suitable for people who plan “to just to walk around in port.” You will either need to take a ship excursion, or make independent plans, either for an excursion or to have a reputable driver pick you up from the Limon, Colon, and possibly Cartagena. This is typically easy to do by following Trip Advisor reviews and making arrangements ahead of time.

The HEAT. After numerous trips around different parts of the Caribbean, I don’t think I realized how much hotter Central America and Cartagena would be in comparison to the islands, and it’s because the “real” temperature numbers didn’t seem much higher. The heat index is what did it. I loved my time in all of these places, but I think for people with health problems, having a true understanding of heat index issues in Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia is vital.

Lesser Ports of Call

To get to the most interesting ports on this itinerary, we were doing a very standard Western Caribbean cruise run . . . and I’m not wild about Roatan or Costa Maya. Snorkeling in Roatan was pleasant, but not extraordinary.

The following day found us in Costa Maya, which is a government developed cruise terminal town — think “engineered” Mayan experience. I’ve been before (and found the port underwhelming) — so it was a perfect day to take advantage of a special at the Reflection spa. In some ways, the timing could not have been better, since the next four days would be busy ones in Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia.

Pool deck onboard the Celebrity Reflection
Pool deck onboard the Celebrity Reflection. Photograph, Ann Fisher

Days at Sea and Wine Tastings

And then there are those days at sea — nice breaks from the bustle of shore excursions. The greatest strength of large cruise ships? As floating resorts, they provide a wide selection of public spaces and activities to suit different guests.

Hideaway on Celebrity Reflection
Hideaway seat facing Reflections mirror-image tree. Photograph, Ann Fisher.

For some, the focus is on spending the day next to the pool. Others will beat a path to the spa. For me, it’s time to to curl up with a good book, write, perhaps play bocce at the Lawn Club, and to drink some wine!

My favorite reading spot on Reflection is the Hideaway. Whether it was a curved green wall seat, a cocoon pod, or a seat facing the Reflection tree, I found it to be a great space for computer work and napping . . . with a supply of hot coffee right there for the taking!

Our first day at sea came just after our stop in Key West.

I signed up for a wine tasting at Cellar Masters, Reflection’s wine bar. This was an “around the world” themed tasting, with tables from six countries each offering a red and a white wine. The wines were good, but nothing extraordinary. Mostly it was fun — and I met a great threesome of friends traveling together. We enjoyed each other’s company so much, not only did we spend a lot of time together on the rest of the cruise, we’ve now finished our third post-cruise trip together.

We went for two more tastings on different sea days, one with Reidel Vinum glasses (my favorite), and finally Cellar Master’s Premium Wine tasting. This last was outstanding, the only disappointment being that our favorite wines were unavailable for purchase, either by the glass or the bottle.

Food on the Celebrity Reflection

A Mediterranean sea bass in the main dining room of Celebrity Reflection
A Mediterranean sea bass in the main dining room. While the dish had a good combination of flavors, the fish was slightly overcooked. Photograph, Ann Fisher.

This was my third cruise with Celebrity. The biggest change I’ve seen over the last seven years is how immersed in specialty dining the cruise line has become, sadly to the detriment of the food in the main dining room.

My friends who are Elite Plus tier in Celebrity’s Captain’s Club agree with me on this. On this cruise in the fall of 2017, I’d call the food in the main dining room solidly good, and occasionally outstanding. We can all remember a point when it was regularly great.

If you’re a foodie on a cruise with Celebrity, you now have to dine at the specialty restaurants if you are looking for an elevated experience. Our best meals on Celebrity Reflection were in Murano and the Lawn Grill — hands down.

Venison in the Murano restaurant onboard Celebrity Reflection
My favorite dining experience onboard Celebrity Reflection was in the Murano restaurant. My venison was perfect: the celery root puree, wilted spinach, with a marmalade made of red cabbage set it off beautifully. It was an amazing meal from start to finish. Photograph, Ann Fisher.

We also ate in the Tuscan, Qsine, and Sushi on Five. Sushi on Five was very good, and a great change from other dining options on Reflection. Qsine — how much fun! This restaurant succeeds in its mission to make wonderful food presented in quirky, inventive ways.

The only big “miss” for me was Tuscan. I spend a lot of time in Italy, and I found Tuscan’s pasta highly Americanized and not to my taste. The steaks here are very good, but we liked the ones at the Lawn Grill even more.

Frankly, what I’ve just said about Reflection’s specialty restaurants means that Celebrity has succeeded with their food program. This is a BIG ship catering to a wide variety of people, and trends in cruise dining have completely shifted towards specialty dining. We all have different tastes! I know that Murano and the Lawn Grill are my restaurants. And Qsine captivated me with its Alice-in-Wonderland playfulness. For others, Tuscan may be spot on.

Note: Murano gets booked up. We ate there first, then after our meal at Tuscan, we really wanted to return to Murano. However, there were no reservations left for any of the remaining seven nights of the cruise. If you are planning to eat at Murano once — or more 🙂 — get those reservations in early!

Final Thoughts

So, at the end of all of this, what did I think of the cruise? I loved my two weeks on Celebrity Reflection. We had a deluxe balcony cabin on deck 9, which was quite comfortable. I found the ports a wonderful balance of opportunities, from water-focused activities, to history focused visits.

Let’s finish with the wake of the Reflection, quiet sound of wind and water in the Caribbean.

Fair winds and following seas.

 


 

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This article is a Celebrity Reflection Caribbean Cruise Review from a fourteen day cruise from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in November 2017. If you have questions you’d like to ask, please leave them the comment section below — and I’m happy to answer anything I can.


For my female readers: if you are headed for a two week cruise in the Caribbean, you may find my article on using a capsule wardrobe system useful:

Packing for a two week Caribbean Cruise

Ann Fisher

Writer, traveler, and cancer fighter. Get out there and live life!

Learn More →

22 thoughts on “Around the Caribbean with Celebrity Reflection

  1. Ferna July 24, 2018 at 6:46 pm

    One of the things I would love to try is be on the cruise. And this got me chills, as its complete and all. Never thought how sloooowwww the sloth is and Cayman is on my list as well. All the places this cruise navigated to are insane as they stopped to places that are different from each other and totally beautiful. Also, I am such a foodie and I’m taking notes of the getting reservation for Murano in case I’d choose this cruise. I love how you give an honest feedback for Tuscan and the others it gives us readers the info we needed.

    Reply
  2. Indrani July 23, 2018 at 10:25 pm

    Wow amazing trip experiences!
    Buttercup is so slow in real or the video was taken in slow motion?!!! Amazing movements. Loved that video.
    Pictures of Old Town of Cartagena are so beautiful.
    I have never tried a cruise trip before. Your descriptions make me think on those lines now.

    Reply
    1. Ann July 23, 2018 at 10:27 pm

      That is Buttercup in REAL time. She’s s . . . l . . .o . . . w — really!

      Reply
  3. Holly July 23, 2018 at 3:11 pm

    I have yet to go on a cruise, I know what is wrong with me? I love this route. I’ve been to Costa Rica and Columbia, but this gives a different spot in Costa Rica so thats awesome. I’ve been to Cartagena. I really want to visit Key West too.

    Reply
    1. Ann July 24, 2018 at 7:41 am

      Well, there are so many wonderful ways to travel, you just haven’t gotten around to it yet. But there is something very special about taking a cruise, so I hope you’ll try it.

      Reply
  4. Kathleen C July 23, 2018 at 7:26 am

    Great summary of your cruise. I watched your sloth video and they even fall slow! So cute though. They have the best little faces. We went to Chichén Itzá back when you could still climb, huffing and puffing, to the top. It was such a great experience. They closed it I think 2 months after. I’m glad we were able to do it, but totally understand why they closed it. We took the bus tour from Playa del Carmen. It was a long day. I think if we go back ever, we will try your plane route.

    Reply
    1. Ann July 23, 2018 at 8:06 am

      Yes, Buttercup the sloth — oh, so loved watching her!

      The trip to Chichen Itza on the bus does make for a LONG day. The flight there was such a treat — it was my big splurge excursion, and well worth it.

      Reply
  5. Andi July 22, 2018 at 3:38 pm

    I absolutely love cruising, I don’t do it every year, but I always enjoy it. I’ve done cruises that hit most of these ports and definitely see that you hit the highlights. I spent 2 weeks in Key West, love it there, saw sloths in Costa Rica, went through the Panama Canal, etc. And days at sea are the best for relaxing, reading and eating!

    Reply
    1. Ann July 22, 2018 at 4:33 pm

      I always enjoy it, too. Cruising is an incredibly relaxing way to travel, and that’s why the industry has grown so much in the last twenty years.

      Reply
  6. SherianneKay July 22, 2018 at 10:55 am

    Oh my gosh, that does sound like the Ultimate Caribbean Cruise! Visiting a sloth sanctuary is high on my bucket list and those tamarins are adorable. It would be special to go through the Panama Canal

    Reply
    1. Ann July 22, 2018 at 4:35 pm

      Yes, the itinerary on this cruise definitely checked a few things off of my list of things I really wanted to see.

      Reply
  7. Medha Verma July 22, 2018 at 6:35 am

    I am always divided about taking cruises – on one hand they help you cover a lot of ground in a short period of time on the other, you get very limited time in ever city you visit. Celebrity cruises is one of the good ones I’ve heard of and I’ve always wanted to cruise in the Caribbean because its the best and fastest way to cover maximum number of islands. I’ve already been to Key West but all other destinations in your itinerary are alien to me. I’ve heard about them but never travelled even close. Cartegena Columbia and Cozumel Mexico are two places I really want to go to on a cruise! They look gorgeous and from your pictures, I can see I am not wrong!

    Reply
    1. Ann July 22, 2018 at 4:36 pm

      Yes, that’s the hardest part of cruising! I look at it as a great overview trip — then you pick the most special places for potential in-depth trips later.

      Reply
  8. Carol July 21, 2018 at 4:57 pm

    I would like a cruise to Costa Rica, Panama, and Columbia as my first try in South America, the only continent aside from Antarctica I have not visited. And I would prefer it to be coming out of Corpus Christi it Galveston, Texas.

    Reply
    1. Ann July 21, 2018 at 7:42 pm

      Well, that’s a nice thought — but at this point you’ll either have to fly to Florida, another part of the Caribbean, or do a Panama Canal Crossing coming from California through to get those ports. Wouldn’t it be nice if they added that itinerary to a Texas port!

      Reply
  9. Sam July 21, 2018 at 2:43 pm

    This is such a cool write up, i’ve never been sure about the whole idea of cruising but this looks lush!

    Reply
  10. Jenn and Ed Coleman June 18, 2018 at 8:54 pm

    Jenn got to climb Chichén Itzá back in the day. I love the idea of canoeing just about anywhere, but that Buttercup (dear little Buttercup) experience sounds amazing. We saw a lot of sloths in Costa Rica but no experience like that (with a sloth that clean none the less). The story of Hemingway’s cats inspired us. It’s a lot cuter than Schrodinger’s Cats and we are going to Key West in a couple of weeks (like 6). We are going to check those out for sure.

    Reply
    1. Ann June 19, 2018 at 6:36 am

      I’m glad I climbed the pyramid all those years ago with my father. I do remember the steep steps terrifying on my way back down. I look forward to hearing about your Key West jaunt!

      Reply
  11. Browsing the Atlas June 17, 2018 at 2:18 pm

    Thanks for sharing the good and the not-so-good. I would definitely book excursions; I want to see as much as possible, not just “walk around.” And I don’t really mind the heat. Usually. At least, I don’t think I’d mind if it meant I could explore Panama and Cartagena. Those are two destinations I would LOVE to visit and doing it on a ship like Reflection would be amazing! I’ve taken other Celebrity cruises and have been quite happy with them. A nice new ship with new ports to explore is making me think it’s time to start thinking about my next cruise!

    Reply
    1. Ann June 19, 2018 at 6:34 am

      Well, I definitely mind the heat — although since I’ve lived in the Gulf south all of my life, you’d think that I’d be used to it 🙂 . I do agree that Panama and Colombia are worth dealing with the heat.

      Reply
  12. PaulSeesTheWorld June 8, 2018 at 6:25 pm

    Yours is a very complete write up. I was on Celebrity Solstice for an Alaskan Cruise a couple years ago – loved everything about it. We decided to do a specialty restaurant only one night. We had a large party and we managed to get the wine room in Murano – what an experience that was.

    Reply
    1. Ann June 8, 2018 at 7:31 pm

      My daughter and I sailed on the Solstice for an Alaskan cruise about five years ago, and had a marvelous time. We didn’t any specialty dining on that cruise, and I was so impressed with Murano on the Reflection trip. Outstanding food! I’ll bet your set of friends had an amazing night in the wine room. Lovely setting.

      Reply

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