My husband and I will celebrate our forty-fifth Anniversary on June 2nd. We praise God for our marriage and the way He continues to bless us immeasurably as we walk hand in hand through life together. To celebrate our anniversary this year, my husband was determined to take me on a cruise. We had wanted to go on a cruise five years ago to commemorate our fortieth, but as my loyal readers know, I was battling endometrial cancer in 2019, so we had to cancel our cruise plans. I always think that God has “perfect timing” down to a science with us, because truly five years later we were definitely more prepared to go on our first cruise than we were five years ago.

***Let it be known that I am not a “cruise blogger”, but for those who are curious what a cruise is like, I hope this article gives a little insight as to what we experienced on our first cruise.***

My husband booked a time to meet with a travel agent and with her assistance, we found a short cruise with the Celebrity Cruise line for four nights traveling out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Nassau in the Bahamas. This being our first cruise, we decided to go on a shorter one, just to try it out to see if cruising was something we liked. I had done my research, and knew what to bring, pack, and plan for. We decided not to book extra excursions at the two ports we would stop at (Coco Cay and Nassau), and just “wing it” on our own. As it turned out, it was just perfect for us with no time tables to follow, walking wherever we wanted to go and exploring on our own.

I tend to be an “overthinker” which also extends to being an “over-worrier”. I will admit to having several sleepless nights leading up to the flight to Fort Lauderdale and the cruise two days later. I had researched that most people suggest not flying into the travel port on embarkation day, so we flew into Fort Lauderdale on the 18th of May preparing for our cruise on May 20th. This gave us a full day to explore the Fort Lauderdale beach and shops on Las Olas Boulevard. We had never been to Florida, so the 90 F heat and humidity took a bit of getting used to, but we refused to complain since when we left Calgary it was 2 C and snowing. (We spent four days after our cruise exploring the Keys, a Water Taxi tour of Fort Lauderdale, and an air boat tour of the Everglades.)

I don’t like air travel. We actually had not been on an airplane since 2019, so we were a little unprepared for travel to the States being so connected with flight, cruise, and city parking apps. I guess we are old enough to still like to have hard copy itineraries etc. in our hands, and not have to rely on our cell phones for everything. In Fort Lauderdale, for instance, parking is paid for by downloading an app and using it, rather than plugging in a meter with cash. My kids just roll their eyes when we still remark about the “good ole’ days” when things were so much simpler. I consider myself pretty tech-savvy for a “senior”, but I will know for next time to ensure all necessary apps are downloaded on my phone before embarking on another international adventure.

If you have no idea what an “app” is…you’re likely a little older than me, and I suggest if you want to go on a holiday, to ask your grandchildren how to download apps on your cell phone. If you don’t own a cellphone, I honestly don’t have any advice to help you in this age of technology.

Having never been on a cruise ship, we really had no idea what awaited us. I’d seen hundreds of reels on Facebook and Instagram of those seasoned “cruisers”, who give all kinds of advice, most of it pretty common sense in my opinion, to those who actually had great suggestions to prepare ourselves for the cruising experience. Still, once onboard the Celebrity Reflection, I was completely blown away by the enormity of the vessel. There is something for everyone. Activities of all kinds, a basketball court, pools, friendly competitions, nightly entertainment, movie watching, dancing, and specialty restaurants. Again, we decided to just eat in the main dining room and it was fantastic! For people who live to eat, the ship’s cuisine was as varied and plentiful as one may like. My husband and I took advantage of the complimentary continental breakfasts offered as room service each morning, and ate on our veranda. We only ate at the buffet a couple of times.

A delightful, daily activity was my collecting free charms from one of the shops (Effy) on board. Every lady passenger was gifted a locket when we embarked, and every day of the cruise a new charm was offered to add to the locket. It was an unexpected surprise and I will always have this keepsake to remember my first cruise. My husband and I did not avail ourselves of the outdoor and solarium pools, preferring the quieter spaces on the ship, like the Library or in one of the many different lounges on board. We also didn’t enter the casino, where we could watch the Stanley Cup playoffs on a big screen. Instead we came back to our room and watched the game on our own T.V. there. (How Canadian am I?)

Our first port of call was named, A Perfect Day at Coco Cay. It was phenomenal weather, and I had packed a beach blanket we use when we camp at home so we didn’t feel the need to purchase the use of lounge chairs on the island. Coco Cay is really a glorified water park, with water slides, hot air balloon rides, cabanas and more. Cruise lines do make a point of encouraging travelers to buy excursion packages. I’m sure many who bought them thoroughly enjoyed the activities, but my husband and I were quite content swimming in the ocean and lazing on our blanket for the morning before returning early to the ship for a late lunch when the ship was very quiet with most passengers on shore. The same was true when we docked in Nassau. We walked about and saw several sites on our own including Christ Church Cathedral and the Pirates of Nassau museum. With four cruise ships docked that morning in Nassau, the main street close to Port is a tourist haven (or trap) depending on how you look at it. Reminds me of Banff’s main street filled with tourist, jewelry, beauty boutiques, clothing and t-shirt shops. Some shops offer enticing “free” gifts to come in just to browse. I didn’t buy anything, but I did get a few free trinkets just for looking. It was fun to talk to the locals and get a sense of the Bahamian culture. No, we didn’t swim with dolphins, or pigs, or jet skied, or hang glided, but we had a great time doing what we love to do – explore.

Perhaps my favourite day was actually our “Sea Day” cruising from Coco Cay to Nassau. Being on the ocean, watching the sun come up, enjoying the ship’s amenities; my husband worked out in the gym, and I read my book out on a quiet deck at the bow of the ship. It was a deck by the gym that no one seemed to want to congregate, so I felt like I was the only person on a ship with over 3000 people on it. It may seem boring to some, but to me, it was perfect. One thing we both remarked on several times, was the fact the ship was surprisingly spacious for so many people onboard. We never felt like we were feeling crowded or claustrophobic. We were fortunate to have calm seas each day, but it still surprised us that we hardly felt the movement of the ship as it skimmed over the waves. Indeed, inside the ship, it was like being in a large resort hotel and not on a ship at all.

I cannot comment on other people’s experiences onboard, but we were impressed by the incredible service from the entire service staff, and crew from the moment we stepped onto the ship to the time we disembarked. Our veranda cabin on deck 8 was spacious and comfortable, and our little deck was fantastic! We wanted an unobstructed view from our veranda and the pictures I took off of it during the cruise made the extra cost of an outer cabin worth every penny! It also afforded us quiet times, every morning to have our morning devotions and watch the sun rise. Our cabin steward, Ivan was so friendly and helpful. He greeted us warmly each morning as we left our cabin and made up the room while we ate breakfast. Then the cabin was prepared for the evening with soft lighting and chocolates on our pillows. Nice touch.

The highlights included three course meals in the Opus Main Dining Room, and the wonderful nightly entertainment in the theatre from the very talented Reflection Band, dancers, aerialists, and singers. On one night the ship’s Captain Kirk (yes, that is his real name 🙂 )performed with the band by singing, playing guitar and on one song playing the drums. We were surprised and delighted by his incredible talent on stage. We made a point of catching the early shows each evening at 7 p.m., coming early to get great seats, and then eating after the show in the main dining room. In the main dining room, we were able to sit at a table for two each evening. We had thought we might have to share a table with other guests, and we were prepared for that, but most of those tables actually were filled with families, and friends traveling together. If you ask for a table for two, they make every effort to accommodate that request. If I have one comment for those who cruise with teens and children, the Reflection would not be my choice of ship. They do have a Kid’s Club with daily activities, but on this particular ship, there are no water slides, or other amusements geared specifically towards children. That said, it’s not “senior central” either. Perhaps it was a quieter ship than others, but that was actually a bonus for us.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words so I’ve included a few: Fort Lauderdale Beach; the Celebrity Reflection docked at Coco Cay; Sunrise coming into Port of Nassau; Full Moon with the ship’s bridge on the right.

I am praying, God willing, that we will be able to cruise again in the future. Thank-you, Celebrity Cruises and the staff and crew on the Reflection. Our first cruising experience was just exceptional!