Hello everyone! Before we get to the nitty/gritty, we will go into facts surrounding Celebrity’s fifth and final Solstice-Class vessel, Reflection. Unlike her other four sisters (Solstice, Equinox, Eclipse, & Silhouette), Reflection is actually a bit larger in size: 126 tons / 3,030 passengers. The added square footage has made space for 89 more cabins, 245 deck chairs, 45 more seats in the theater, 40 more seats in the main dining room, & 118 seats in the newly appointed Oceanview Cafe. In addition to all the extra chairs & seats the extra square footage provides, space has also been made for more suites & cabins:
> 1 Reflection Suite – Sleeps 6 / 1,830 sq. ft. w/Verandah AND an exquisite “Sea-View” shower that extends off the edge of the ship
>34 Aqua-Class Suites (1st of its kind on the Solstice line) Sleeps 4 / 380 sq. ft. w/Verandah
> 8 Sky Suites – Sleeps 4 / 179 sq. ft. w/Verandah
> 19 Concierge Class Cabins – Sleeps 2 (Some sleeps 3) / 248 sq. ft. w/Verandah
> 11 Inside Cabins – Sleeps 2 (Some sleeps 3 & 4) / 183 – 200 sq. ft.
Now that we’ve cleared the facts, let’s now focus on the experiential!
As we board the Reflection, Celebrity’s newest ship; I am reminded of how hospitable, attentive, & wonderfully spoiled Celebrity makes me feel. There wasn’t one sour face in the bunch! Everyone was eager to make me feel welcomed as if I were a celebrity. With a glass of champagne in my hand, I casually strolled through the beautifully appointed main deck oblivious of the luggage I was schlepping around, I could almost feel as if this was all for me. This is Celebrity’s goal, to make you feel like a STAR the moment you walk in, which is how I felt and what the people of this fine cruise line achieved! As I walked into my cabin I noticed how much care & time the architects & engineers involved in building out the accommodations must have taken to make the cabin flow the way it did. To my left we have the bathroom stocked with toiletries and all the other amenities we needed – something totally amiss on my recent tour of RCCL’s Grandeur of the Seas, but that’s a different review. One of my favorite features is the twin sliding glass domed shower door, which sends tingles of happiness up my spine when I see it – I mean shower curtains are so passé not to mention sticky & unsanitary-like (UGH!) moving on…
As I leave the bathroom, I can’t help but think of all the people involved in coming up with the design of this cabin. Considering the size, all the components that make it up fit perfectly and I didn’t even bump into anything on my way to placing my TUMI luggage on the bed to unpack it. While on-board there were a couple first-time evers, one of which was the first Breitling Store ever to open at sea and second, the first ever Omega store to open at sea and I was there to see them both open! Being a watch enthusiast, I had a very interesting yet enlightening conversation with BULGARI Manager, Abhab who expertly discussed the complexities involved in manufacturing the Octo such as its design, casing, and components the late great Charles Gérald Genta, whose work has been dubbed the Fabergé of watches. While most luxury watch makers have their parts manufactured elsewhere, the components for the Octo were made entirely in-house. Unlike other fine watches, the Octo holds two barrels, which give it the massive power reserve of 50-hours ~ 10 more hours than the competition is what puts this watch among the world’s finest… But I digress from the main story! Watches just so happens to be one of my passions and being able to speak with someone who is not just only paid to sell me something I have a passion for keep me interested not to mention teach me something I didn’t already know, is all part of the experience on-board Reflection.
As a foodie who not only has one but three chefs in the family, I can be a hard sell in this arena; however, when judging the meals being provided on a medium-sized 3,000+ vessel such as Reflection, I have to be realistic and consider the number of people being cooked for. It’s easy for anyone with a good pallet whether they be a judge on Top Chef or Chopped to critique a meal being cooked for a panel of three or four judges; I mean there’s really no room for error; however, it may be a little more difficult to fairly critique a meal that’s being provided for a dining room consisting of 1,200 seats spread over two (2) decks. BUT, just when you begin to believe this might be watered-down meal, SHAZAM! It was not the case on Celebrity’s Reflection… Dinner was perfectly cooked on both nights of my cruise! The Barolo Braised Beef was cooked to perfection – hints of rosemary & cinnamon were evident, and the beef itself was browned & caramelized perfectly. Their Chateaubriand was exactly how I requested it to – medium rare w/warm red center & every bite melted in my mouth. It’s the only dish (when prepared correctly) I don’t mind having my green beans and to say my plate was cleared is an understatement. This is VERY difficult to accomplish when cooking for 1,200 guests and it’s a point most critics miss, which results in travelers not to mention people in general tend to take seriously coming from an accomplished taster. However, it’s a reality some cruiselines face when making it easy for critics to give a sub-par grade and one the Reflection dodged with this merciless but fair critic.
One thing that comes at no surprise is the entertainment! Unlike other lines I’ve cruised on, which I expected to bring it in every way as it pertains to entertainment only to be disappointed, Celebrity did just the opposite. From deck four sitting at the Martini Bar we could hear music being mixed flawlessly by a DJ, but what caught our attention was the live drumming going on to the beat of the music. On deck three there’s a dance floor filled side to side with people dancing to the music mixed by DJ Xio and his partner, Daniel who played live drums to the music whether it was Salsa, Dance, Hip Hop, Electric Slide, or Wobble, it didn’t matter – there wasn’t a beat this drummer couldn’t beat his drums to. Something I had never seen, but embraced by everyone including me! These guys weren’t only cool on the dance floor, they were awesome off too! I walked up to DJ Xio while he was choosing his breakfast on the Lido Deck to compliment him over his performance the night before and he couldn’t have been cooler about it. He provided me with a card, which I intend to use for our next big company function. I was also lucky to have met Daniel (The live drummer) as we were making our way to the parking garage and he couldn’t have been nicer if he tried!
In addition to the dancing & drum collaboration, the acrobatics and singing taking place inside the Reflection Theater the next night was AMAZING! The show Reflection The Show consisted of 80s rock music , incredible costumes, makeup, and amazing acrobatics! The show began with a gang of wild rockers choosing their next leader from the audience, which started out shy, but flourished into a full-fledged rocker with inked up face and amazing vocals as the show progressed. In other words he was Neo being groomed to become THE ONE by Morpheus. By the time the show ended, he achieved everything shy of stopping bullets! As for the Martini Bar located on deck 4, my only suggestion would be to pick out some land early as it fills up furiously fast with no chance of buying out space from anyone. To say space at the Martini Bar would be a fine piece of real-estate investment would be an understatement! But let’s not stop there… Who enjoys a good glass of wine? Well, it just so happens Cellar Masters is located just across the way from the Martini Bar, where we’re met by Yolvan, Cellar Master’s resident sommelier who explains the machinations of the “pour-by-the-glass” dispensing systems located throughout the impressive cellar, which rivals the masculinity of a Capital Grille. Let’s not forget about the Molecular Bar where Master Mixologist & Liquid Chef, Junior Merino concocted his magic with essence of citrus, pomegranate, & blackberries. But the real magic started when Junior began slowly pouring liquid nitrogen into the glass! Even though I had experienced the Molecular Bar back on the Eclipse, I couldn’t help but feel in awe of what I was seeing here once more
Who remembers Dr. Bram Walker, Charlotte’s main squeeze on the second season of Sex and the City? Well, Kevin Flynn who played Dr. Bram Walker was none other than the headliner on-board Reflection. The man was funny! The art of his stand-up comedy was in his delivery and how he related his experiences as a father not to mention a son being raised in an Irish Catholic family with everyone else in the audience. Those passengers sitting in front of the stage were engaged by Flynn w/o rudeness, which is rare and why you would never find me sitting up front to be hackeled. Kevin Flynn was a gentleman that had us all in stitches and in return there wasn’t one person in the audience that did not reciprocate with a standing ovation.
The only complaint I would have about Reflection would have to be in the area of coolness… The a/c on-board was just not pumping enough cool air throughout the ship and as a result, sticky shirt syndrome, which is not pleasant or appealing and I don’t sweat profusely.
Other than the coolness factor or lack thereof, I give the experience on-board 4.5 out of 5 stars.
