Updated April 8, 2022
We are back in Florida this week to spend some time in the Keys and then cruise the Eastern Caribbean on the Celebrity Reflection. Ann may be having one or more surgeries in the next few months, so we’re taking advantage of this time between appointments to travel.
Last weekend, we got to see our daughter, Meghan, at her new home in Rochester, Minn. Since Ann will likely be seeing her doctors at Mayo Clinic there when we return from our trip, we decided to fly out of Minneapolis instead of Nebraska.
We love flying out of the Twin Cities because we can get a non-stop flight to Fort Lauderdale from there. Delta is also our favorite airline and there are lots of flights to choose from, since Minneapolis is a Delta hub.
Parking is quick and easy, MSP is a wonderful airport, and they are well equipped to keep planes moving through inclement winter/spring weather.
Flying to Fort Lauderdale
For this week’s trip, we flew into Fort Lauderdale and then rented a car and drove about three hours to Marathon in the Florida Keys. Steve’s parents have a winter home there, so we’ve been staying at their place, checking on the house, and working on some upcoming changes to our blog. More on that later.
Cruising on the Celebrity Reflection
Tomorrow, we’ll board the beautiful Celebrity Reflection. Readers of our blog know that we’d planned a back-to-back cruise last January that we postponed when Covid numbers were so high.
Since the pandemic and the reopening of the cruise industry, we’ve carefully considered whether or not it was safe for us to cruise. We’ve taken several cruises since the reopening but we’ve also postponed two. To learn more about some of the things we’ve considered before cruising, CLICK HERE.
Cruising with Celebrity
One of the benefits of cruising with Celebrity Cruises is its “Cruise with Confidence” program. With “Cruise with Confidence,” we could postpone our cruise and receive future cruise credit for the full amount we’d paid for the postponed cruise.
So, we spent a week at the end of February in The Retreat on the Celebrity Apex, and this month are using the rest of our credit for a cruise aboard the Reflection.
Why the Celebrity Reflection?
We chose the Reflection because she is the ship we’ll be taking on our Postcard Jar Friends Cruise in January 2023. We cruised on the Reflection a few years ago, and know that she’s gorgeous. If you’re interested in the Postcard Jar Friends Cruise, be sure to book through our agent, John Walker. Booking with him is the ONLY way you can be a part of our group on the ship. You can email him at j.walker@dreamvacations.com. And anyone who goes through John to book this or ANY Celebrity cruise (in a veranda stateroom or higher) from April 11 through 24 will receive an additional $100 in onboard credit. This credit can be used for anything you’d like on board the ship.
On our cruise this weekend, we’re sailing out of Fort Lauderdale with planned stops in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas (pictured below); St. John’s, Antigua; Roseau, Dominica; and Basseterre, St. Kitts & Nevis.
We’re especially excited to add three more countries (Dominican Republic, Dominica, and Antigua) to the list of places we’ve visited together in the world!
Come along on our journey
We’ll be posting photos and videos throughout our trip and hope you’ll follow along on Instagram or Facebook. If there’s something you’d like to see or know more about, just send us a message on social media or comment below. We’d love to answer your questions about cruising and the Reflection as you consider whether to come along with us in January of 2023.
