Last week I was onboard Celebrity Reflection for a Seminar at Sea. Celebrity Reflection is 5th and final ship in the Solstice class ship. She has a capacity of 3,046 guests. On my sailing we were at capacity, but the ship did not feel crowded at all. I was pleasantly surprised. Guests age varied. I was on a short, 3 night sailing and saw a few bachelorette parties. They were not wild, but had a great time. It is a more elevated experience. I enjoyed talking to new friends I met walking around or in the elevators. I was always able to find a place to sit to eat, catch some rays, or just relax.
So what makes Celebrity different than the other cruise lines? Two things stand out. While Celebrity is not luxury, it is an elevated experience. They brand themselves as elevated premium. The staff was always very welcoming. You will see a few children onboard, and those that you see are well traveled. This ship doesn’t have the slides, zip line, or roller coasters like other cruise lines have. They do have a kids club that is STEM focused and kids will have more individual attention. Bonus: On the top deck, they have the lawn club. Yes, there is actual grass on the cruise ship.
I recommend doing at least one night of specialty dining. I ate at La Petite Chef and in addition to being highly entertaining, the food was the best I had the entire cruise. As always, book your dining ahead of the cruise for the biggest savings. The other nights, I dined in the complimentary dining, Opus Restaurant. Pro tip: If soup is on the menu, order is!
Reservations were not required for entertainment and there was no problem finding seat. This was a common theme – I was always able to find a seat where I wanted on the ship. As excepted, the performers had fantastic voices.
Yes, there is a casino and it is non-smoking. While I walked through it, I did not play.
The cabins are typical of most cruise lines balconies. I do wish there were more outlets but this was fixed in the Edge class series of ships that were built after this one. I was able to tour the Reflection Suite. This cabin is only available on the Celebrity Reflection within the Solstice class. It comes in at 1636 square feet and has the biggest shower that I have seen on a cruise ship. And yes, there is a button for privacy to make the shower glass non-translucent.
Celebrity Reflection has four godmothers: Jovanka Goronjic, Megan Mathis, Helen O-Connell, and Rosey Rodriguez.
Another thing that stood out is the pools. There are two areas with completely different atmospheres. I prefer the pool in the Solstice. There is calm ‘spa’ like music playing and has a very relaxing environment. Most of the time, this area is adults only. For the elevated experience, Celebrity left towels out on the chair for your use. If you want something more lively, next-door there are twin pools that have either live music or music playing through the speakers. I really like that there is something for everybody.
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