In the last 15 years, we have taken a January cruise in 9 of those years. It can be a great time to cruise - warmer weather in the caribbean vs. the northeast, less children onboard, and great prices! On our cruise aboard the Eclipse in January 2012, we booked a January 2013 cruise on the Silhouette. Well after doing 3 cruises in 2012, my wife used all of her leave at work (a month total on cruises last year), so we decided to cancel the January '13 cruise. But as the holidays rolled around, I started getting the itch - yeah you know the one I'm talking about! I started looking at the options Celebrity had in the caribbean for January and I happened upon the Reflection itinerary - the same exact one that we did on the Eclipse last year - Miami, San Juan, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Miami. We loved it last year so I was not hesitant to do it again. But we had this small problem - my wife did not have enough vacation time. Me being self employed can make as much time as needed! After discussion for numerous days, my wife finally said the words - 'honey, you and our daughter can go without me'. She didn't have to say it again.

On New Years Eve, I booked a cruise on the Reflection for my 12 year old daughter and I to sail on January 26th, 2013. I have used a travel agent for the last 17 cruises I've been on, but since it was a holiday, the agent's office was closed, and the price was so unbelievable for this particular sailing that I did not want to lose it - the biggest reason for sailing this cruise. Being internet savvy, I booked directly through the Celebrity website, booking a guaranteed balcony cabin - another first. We normally book a balcony cabin, but we always pick our room, so there was some hesitation with this booking. Four days later, I received an email from Celebrity with our cabin assignment - a 2B - not bad, but I wasn't pleased with the location towards the front of the ship. We normally book a room near the stairwell/elevator for the sake of convenience, not because we can't walk or are lazy. After reading the Cruise Critic forums through the years, I realized that I wasn't necessarily stuck with this cabin, so I called the Captain's Club hotline to see what could be done. I received a pleasant response and a woman that was willing to help me find something better. Not a lot of choices left, but she was able to get us a bit closer to the elevators with cabin #7123.

A week later we booked flights aboard American into Miami International and a week after that we booked a hotel room at the Double Tree near the airport. (We always fly to the port the day before.) Though the Double Tree did not get rave reviews on Trip Advisor, I figured it can only be so bad - it's a Hilton property, and being a Hilton Honors member, near the bottom rung mind you, I was familiar with the Hilton brand. Part of the reason for this particular hotel was also because they offered 24 hour shuttle service from the airport. Our flight was not due to arrive until after 11pm. Because of a bit of snow in our home state on the evening of departure, our flight was delayed, so it was after midnight when we arrived at the airport. The reviews on Trip Advisor of the Double Tree were accurate - a tired hotel but fits the need for a pre-cruise stay. The hotel has an 'alliance' with a shuttle service to the Miami cruise port - $10 per person. This worked for us. Read more