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| Celebrity Reflection Copyright Andy Richards 2022 |
IN 2011, we took a trip in October to San Francisco to visit my daughter. October is our anniversary month, and we often take a trip during that time. During our week in San Francisco, we did an overnight trip up to Napa, where we did some private wine-tasting. We joined the "wine club" of one of the vineyards where we particularly liked both their wine and their story. Neither of us are big wine drinkers (me more than my wife perhaps), but that didn't stop us from signing up. Unsure what this has to do with cruising, or with celebrity or celebrities? Well, this is important, so pay attention! 😁
THE O'BRIEN Estate Vineyard has a story behind their wine selection, and they (we agree) think it is rather clever. It is the story of romance. Each of their wines have a name which corresponds to the budding and growth of a long-term relationship. Fittingly, their early Sauvignon Blanc is named "Fascination." Most California vineyards have a feature wine which is usually a blend - known as a meritage. The Obrien Estate Meritage is called "Seduction," and is probably the best red wine I have had over the years. Great relationships "age" well. The "dessert" wine from Obrien Estate "reflects" on time-tested relationships and is called "Reflection." I know. Still a long way from relevance, but stick with me here. In 2013, the owners of Obrien Estate, Bart and Barb O'brien, decided to sponsor a cruise in the Caribbean. We learned about it from the newsletter accompanying one of our quarterly wine allotments. We decided it looked like a good deal and a fun cruise.
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| Bart and Barb OBrien OBrien Estate Vineyard Napa, California |
WE WOULD, for the first (but not last) time, be setting off on a cruise all on our own, knowing nobody and being unfamiliar with the cruise line: Celebrity. The reason Bart and Barb chose Celebrity for this cruise? We would be cruising on Celebrity's then-newest ship, named after their own wine (not really 😉): the Celebrity Reflection. See? I told you I would bring it around. In January 2013, we set off on our first (of several) Celebrity Voyages (we have since sailed on the Reflection 3 more times).
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| Celebrity Reflection - Obrien Wine Cruise - 2013 |
IN THOSE days, most of the larger cruise lines were still following the model of a "set" table dining experience, and we were paired with a group of six (4 family and 2 friends) for the week. We quickly became close friends with Lou and Penny, and have traveled to California again with them since, as well as having them at our Florida home a couple times. We spent some of our time on shore with them as well, during this cruise. We also became much better acquainted with Bart and Barb on the cruise and would travel with their group a couple more times over the years, as well as re-visit the Obrien Estate Vineyard.
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| Main Dining Room - Celebrity Reflection Copyright Andy Richards 2013 |
HAVING SAILED only on Princess, I may have been biased. We really liked our experiences. I was prepared to not like Celebrity as much. At first, that may have been the case. The ship seemed more modern in its appointments - and to me, less "cozy." The buffet (which admittedly was only a breakfast thing for us) seemed to be simpler, with less choices. For example, the Princess ships buffets consisted of smaller areas with different foods along the length of, and on either side of the dining areas. They had one spot where they routinely served different kinds of eggs, including eggs benedict and eggs Florentine. The Celebrity setup was more open and in the middle of one large area. "Specialty" eggs were available but cooked to order (something I didn't learn right away).
Slowly, Celebrity's "way" won me over
THE STATEROOMS were also more modern. The Princess Ships had a full tub. The Celebrity rooms had a shower stall. It actually probably took less space, leaving more space for the actual stateroom. It was roomy enough. And I always shower anyway. So more than anything, it was change, and some of us react to change slowly and sometimes negatively.
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| Wine Tower - Celebrity Reflection Copyright Andy Richards 2013 |
SLOWLY, CELEBRITY's ways won me over. I noticed from the first night in the dining room, that the food seemed noticeably better. Again, they do things differently. The Reflection (and its class of ship) are very wine-centric (probably part of the reason the Obrien's picked the cruise). That's fine, but in the dining room that meant that there was a separate person responsible for ordering wine, and another for other drinks, in addition to our wait staff. On Princess, our wait staff has always handled all of that, and very efficiently so. We found the separate "service" to be not very efficient (something that continued over the course of several more cruises) - one of the very few criticisms I have of the Celebrity experience. So, food quality: Celebrity; dining room beverage service: Princess. You be the judge of which is more important to you. And surprisingly to me, the food in the buffet was actually quite good (much better, in my opinion, than Princess). But I never complained about Princess' buffet, because after all, it is a buffet. I expect buffet quality food. Which is why I found Celebrity's to be surprising.
[NOTE: All of these early cruises were pre-2020 Pandemic (a/k/a Covid-19). The world went through a massive "shutdown" during 2020-2021. It only began to recover in very late 2021 and early 2022, and at the time of this writing (September 2022), we are still feeling its effects. Travel, logically, was hit as hard or harder than any sector of the economy, as we all stayed home. No part of the travel industry was hit harder than the cruise industry. Between employees staying home (recall that most cruise line employees come from outside the U.S. and central Europe - often from poorer countries), supply chains being totally disrupted, and empty cruise ships, it is pretty amazing that the industry is still "alive" (the "and well" part has taken longer, but we are seeing "light on the horizon"). I have recently read a few complaints about the food quality on Celebrity taking a slide. I partially experienced it on my most recent Celebrity outing - though I am not as critical as some are about it. And I mostly chalked it up to the effects of the Pandemic. Time will tell. We will be on another Celebrity ship in about a week and it will be interesting to see]
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| Martini Bar - Celebrity Reflection |
ONE OF the best things on both the Millenium and Solstice Class ships is Celebrity's vaunted Martini Bar. What a cool spot! maybe the "coolest" spot for social gathering on any ship I have been on (sadly, they changed it up on the Edge Class ships - in my opinion, a negative. I will say more about this in future posts). For now, on the Solstice and Millenium class ships (Reflection is the final Solstice ship), the bar rocks! I always carry a camera on these trips, and most of the imagery on the blog is my own. But when writing this, it has occurred to me that I need to do this a bit differently. I make pictures during the day (mostly mornings and on shore excursions). Mostly, they don't have people in them. So, my illustrations of the Martini Bar don't do justice to the atmosphere it creates. I'll have to remedy that the next time I am on a Solstice or Millenium class ship. But look at the shots of the (empty) bar in the early morning, and imagine, instead that it is 6:00, before either dinner setting, and the bar stools are full, with passengers standing one or two deep behind them, either socializing, or ordering drinks. There is (moderately) loud music playing in the area (sometimes live) and sometimes the dance floor is full. People are having fun! The atmosphere is short of raucous or rowdy, but it is close (remember, the demographic for Celebrity tends to be older). This is the place to rendezvous before going to the dining room in the evening, and equally a great place to finish up with an after dinner - or even after theater drink! When on these Celebrity Cruises, we have made this our standard evening "meeting spot."
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| Celebrity Martini Bar - "Martini" Flight Copyright Andy Richards 2013 |
ONE OF many bars on the ship, The Martini Bar is perhaps the most popular. One of the "fun" things they do in this bar is their "Martini Flights." To me, a "martini" is a very traditional drink with either gin or vodka and vermouth, best served (I think) "straight up" in a martini glass. Gin for me and skip the Vermouth. 😋 In recent years, the "martini" has trended to virtually any cocktail mixed, shaken and poured into a martini glass. Bah humbug, I say! Being a "traditionalist," I like my Old Fashioned, well, "Old Fashioned" and my Martinis with gin! But it's just not all about me (so I am told 😁). So, we will go with the newer definition, and just say that the Celebrity Martini Bar has it all. The photo shows a completed flight. I made a phone video one night on the ship, but alas, cannot find it today! But here is a link to a YouTube video where you can see how they do this. It's fun to watch and amazing to see their skills! Note how they stack a dozen or more shakers and pour without spilling a single drop! Only on Celebrity.
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| Obrien Wine Reception - Celebrity Reflection |
WE WERE probably unfairly influenced in our first introduction to Celebrity. Because this was a sponsored cruise for a select group of passengers, the group was treated to some amenities that were exclusive. Bart and Barb brought a few cases of their wine aboard, which would only be offered to, and consumed by the Obrien cruise group. There was a reception in a private area in the forward part of the ship the first night, offering Obrien Estates wine. Later in the week, there was a wine-pairing lunch. And finally, there was a farewell reception. As you can see from the photo, here, our group took full advantage of the Obrien offerings. 😄 All of these events featured Obrien wines. We also were given a behind-the-scenes ship tour, which included, among other areas, the kitchen and the impressive wine tower which is featured in the middle of the main dining room on the ship.
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| Sunset Bar - Celebrity Reflection Copyright Andy Richards 2013 |
SOME TIME during 2012 - 2013, I began to pay more attention to cigars and cigar smoking. While it had started out as something we would occasionally do on the golf course, I began to spend more time learning about fine cigars, their different flavors, sizes, tobacco types and construction. And as I did that, I began to smoke them as a part of my leisure and enjoyment and not just on the golf course. I don't think I did much - if any - cigar smoking on this cruise. But there is on area on the ships ("Millenium" and "Edge" Classes especially) that is cigar friendly. And on future cruises, this area became a focus of my daily on-board activity. The Sunset Bar is set on these classes on the top deck on the very back of the ship. The bar is aptly named, as it is a wonderful place to sit at the end of the day and watch the sun set (often during or immediately after the sail away). I was soon to learn that, with ample seating area for non-smokers as well, this is a very popular spot-on Celebrity ships. Perhaps (after the Martini Bar) the second most popular bar. On the Solstice Class ships, the bar is a semi-sunken oval bar, in the middle of the rear deck, that is quite small, but always crowded, and often full of laughter and merriment. In spite of its small size, there are usually 3-4 bartenders behind the bar - and often additional servers walking around the rear-deck bar area. This bar essentially takes up the center rear deck area (note that the Edge class brought substantial changes to this bar, and the changes are a "mixed bag," in my view. Again, more on that on later posts). The bartenders are very, very good. Attentive and entertaining. I have had so much fun over the years back here that I actually keep in touch with two of the bartenders I have gotten to know on Facebook. We have been on the Reflection on multiple cruises and both of these gentlemen have been on more than one of them. These days, I bring plenty of cigars with me and in the afternoon, or during the day on at-sea days, there is a pretty good chance you will find me back there!
[You can see my post shortly after this cruise on my photoblog; LightCentricPhotography Blog- and more of my photos of the Caribbean on my website; LightCentricPhotography]
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