LIVE Onboard the Celebrity Reflection: Day 2 of My Cruise

Another glorious day onboard the Celebrity Reflection! As I was busy this morning, Anna opted to take a 10 am Boot Camp class, but we agreed to do the 3 pm TRX class together.  The klutz that I am, I twisted my ankle my last day in Mexico and I have been trying not to push it and I’m wondering how that will affect me and my need to work out on this cruise.  We will have to see… For breakfast we wandered over to the Tuscan Grille for the Captain’s Club breakfast and of course, the great view out of the aft of the ship. Nothing beats a breakfast where you can get both a cappuccino and a mimosa, bellini, or Bloody Mary!

The Porch

Lunch seemed obvious as we had enjoyed the Lawn Club Grill so much that we opted today for the Porch.  Situated adjacent to the Lawn Club Grill, this small open-air restaurant is light, bright, and white with sofas and chairs and a completely relaxed feel.  Cover charge is $5.00 per person and you can get a soup or salad and a Panini followed by dessert.  Raul let us choose where we wanted to sit and within a short amount of time, every seat was taken.  So to all those naysayers that say no one will pay extra for specialty dining – people know what is good and will pay extra for it.  I had a super delicious potato leek soup and roasted vegetable Panini and yes, I admit that I had a tasty white chocolate cupcake.  This cute little cupcake had a devil’s food bottom and a white chocolate top with a creamy light green frosting.  My only criticism is that the dessert plates weren’t cold and so the desserts were starting to break down on the plate.  They should keep dessert plates in a separate area and/or not use ones pulled right from the dishwasher.

Solstice Deck

We found a few open chairs up on deck 16, the Solstice Deck, and the weather was absolutely perfect to lay out and grab some sun.  This quiet spot is great for catching some rays, relaxing, and/or reading a book.  Three o’clock was fast approaching and we needed to get to our TRX class.  Ellie was there to drill us into shape and although it was only Anna, myself, and one other person, the class commenced.  Anna does TRX all the time, but this was my first time and Ellie was great at helping the two newbies with manipulating the equipment.  Let’s just say you can’t slack off in this class whatsoever and I was drenched in sweat by the time we left.  Typically a 60-minute class, these are 30-minute class and cost $20 each.  The classes are good, but are not traditional TRX classes as each set is usually 30-60 seconds and our sets were being counted out by the trainer for everyone.  I would say it is a great introduction to TRX, but is not a traditional TRX class.

Cellar Masters’ enomatic wine dispenser

Our dinner reservations had changed and we were going to have dinner with a group of people in the Tuscan Grille on deck five aft.  We stopped by Cellar Masters and Anna used her wine card to get us a few glasses of wine.  Whether you want to sample a $200 bottle of wine or get an old favorite, these self-service enomatic machines are great.  They also hold wine tastings here as well with the sommeliers on the ship, like Juris. 

Insalata di Formaggio di Capra in the Tuscan Grille

Anad was our waiter in the Tuscan Grille and the assistant waiter brought over a gorgeous antipasto platter with roasted peppers, mozzarella, parmiagiano, tomatoes, and prosciutto.  For an appetizer I ordered the Minestrone all’ Italiana followed by the Insalata di Formaggio di Capra (Goat Cheese Salad), which was a perfectly dressed salad of arugula, pine nuts, and goat cheese and a tasty balsamic vinaigrette.  

Risotto allo Zafferno

I would definitely say that they specialize in their meat and fish entrees in the Tuscan Grille as the filet mignon was cooked perfectly as was the branzino.  I, of course, ordered the Risotto allo Zafferno (Golden Saffron Risotto), which, unfortunately was undercooked and bland.  

Dark Chocolate Fondue

For dessert the majority at my table ordered Tiramisu and we also ordered the Dark Chocolate Fondue with Nutella for the table while I ordered the Tuscan Grille Signature Pistachio Marble Crème Brulee with chocolate and pistachios, which was delicious.  Halfway through the meal Anna decided to get another glass of wine and only realized then that she had left her card in the machine in Cellar Masters.  Luckily, it was still there!

Fortunes Casino

The ship was somewhat quiet after dinner and we went up to deck 14 and the Sky Observation Lounge.  They were doing karaoke and we each got a drink and enjoyed the show.  We wondered if people were plants as there were no bad singers and I couldn’t convince Anna to go up and sing “Gangnam Style” and so we left.  Our next stop was a quick visit to Fortunes Casino on deck four after searching high and low for Quasar nightclub.  Turns out that spot that is on every other Solstice class ship has now been replaced with conference rooms.  So if you are looking for a place to dance and have a good time in the evening, you’ll probably only be able to enjoy yourself in the Foyeron deck three.

One of the people we had met on day one, Laurie, was coming out of Michael’s Club and we went with her to the late seating of the main show.  There was first a Captain’s Gala Toast where the Master of the Vessel, Captain Nicholas Pagonis, toasted all of his crew and the guests onboard the ship.  This was followed by the new production spectacular “Center Stage” starring the Celebrity Singers and Dancers.  Featuring hits from various Broadway shows including The Wiz, Wicked, Jersey Boys, Footloose, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Nine, and several others.  This show is high energy, great singing and dancing, and is most definitely not your typical cruise ship show.  Put aside all of your prior expectations as to what cruise ship entertainment is like and go and enjoy yourself!

Tomorrow is our first port day and we arrive into San Juan around 5 pm.  Not sure what we will be doing, but excited to get out and about.  Until next time!