Perfect Christmas Cruise

Embarkation was quick, smooth, and the VIP start to the cruise I was hoping for.

We ate most meals in Luminae with the exception of the first dinner which was in Murano, and Christmas Eve dinner at Le Petit Chef. During the first lunch in Luminae the host offered 30% off of specialty dining, so I highly recommend waiting until you’re on the ship to book speciality dining nights. Murano was absolutely delicious and I highly recommend the experience. The tableside preparation of the lobster feels old school, but in the best way possible. The service like everywhere on the ship was really exceptional, especially from our waiter Oswaldo. Le Petit Chef was fun, but I wouldn’t necessarily do it again. The food was good, but like many others have said, you go for the experience rather than for the food. Luminae was outstanding. We sailed on the Norwegian Bliss in the Haven back in October and the Haven restaurant menu never changed. The food was delicious there also, but it was really nice to have variety for every lunch and dinner. We also ordered off of the main dining menu from Luminae on occasion. The buffet was better than Norwegian, but the food was still a bit cafeteria-like. It’s the only place on board to get sugar free red bull and food at off times, but it’s not a destination unless you’ve got a taste for chicken tender (which were fantastic). Cocktails: My husband purchased the Drinks and More package as an upgrade to the Premium Drinks package after we booked. It came with 2 bottles of wine which were already in our stateroom, a wine tasting on Christmas Day, $50 casino credit pp, and the minibar replenished daily. I think the Drinks and More/Premium Plus package might not have been socialized to everyone because guest services, our butler, and his supervisor didn’t seem to know much about the package. It ended up working out ok, but corporate could have been better about giving folks on the ship info about the package. World Class Bar is an absolute do not miss if you like any sort of craft whiskey cocktails. Miguel and Santos were stellar. If you’re a Sazerac fan, they make a fantastic one. We also signed up for the mixology class which was a lot of fun and really informative. We talked to them later and they mentioned that they could easily have taught a 3 hour class, and I would’ve been 100% there for it. They were a real highlight of the cruise, and were a big part of the reason I left the ship feeling like Celebrity is exactly what I’ve been looking for in a cruise line.

Casino: The last night we finally made it to the casino to use our $50 free play. I ended up playing slots because I don’t know how to play any table games and won $25. I know that’s nothing to “real” gamblers, but I’m not much of a gambler. The real highlight here was Barbara who was working one of the Texas Hold ‘em tables. There was no one else at the table, so my husband sat down with his chips and Barbara very patiently and kindly explained how to play and took him through a bunch of hands. He ended up winning about $150 which paid for the Drinks and More package and then some! I wasn’t a gambler, but after that experience watching him play, I’m definitely interested in getting more into it. It was the most fun I’ve had at a casino.

The music was a bit repetitive, and DJ Bee was a bit crabby and uncooperative. He cut off the music in the middle of the dance party, walked out of the booth and refused to continue playing music.

I’ve mentioned a couple of the folks that we interacted with so far, but I can’t have a complete review without mentioning our butler Jo, room steward Sunil, Vishal who’s a waiter in Luminae, and Alina the Luminae host. We’ve been on two other NCL cruises in suites with a butler. Those experiences were good to disappointing. Jo was just spot on and nailed everything. He made sure bottles of San Pelligrino were overflowing in our room and his service was attentive without being obtrusive. His service was exactly what I hope for when I imagine what butler service might be. He really surprised and delighted us several times on the cruise and made us feel welcomed and well taken care of. Our butler surprised us with a model of the Reflection as well as a picture of himself and all the other butlers. Again, it was another touch that made us really feel special especially on the holidays. On the last day we were surprised with a visit to the bridge. I’m hugely interested in the inner workings of ships, so this was a real treat. There were only 5 people on the tour, so we had plenty of time to take pics and ask questions. I asked later if suite guests were always invited to the bridge and they said they do it if work loads, weather and conditions allow it.

The cabin was spacious and our room steward kept it quite clean. It had a large sofa that we could both sit on to relax and watch tv.

We left the room around 8am and had breakfast in Luminae then headed to Michael’s Club to be escorted to the gangway. They took us through the back door and right out to have our cards scanned. We were able to grab a porter for our bags really easily, but that turned out not to be necessary because the customs line was nearly empty. I hate to keep harping on the Bliss experience, but we stood in line for an hour in a warehouse waiting to have our passports checked after feeling like we were thrown off the ship. Getting an Lyft/Uber requires some patience, and I’m guessing the port will have some solutions to alleviating the logjam at some point. One suggestion here is to put notes about which ship, cruise line and terminal you’re at so that the driver has less hassle getting in through port security. Even still, you’re likely to wait about 15 minutes. From stepping off the ship to being at the airport took about 45 mins - 1hr.