Celebrity Cruises has been one of my favorite cruise lines since first sailing on them in 1997! Celebrity is considered a premium class cruise line and you’ll see a wide range of ages on board their ships. Compared to Royal Caribbean (who owns Celebrity) you won’t see as many kids – especially on their itineraries longer than 7 days (also true on most cruise lines). The clientele tends to be well traveled and not many first time cruisers.
My latest cruise was on the Celebrity Reflection in November 2019 (keep in mind pre COVID era) on a 10 night itinerary with port stops in Central America, the Western Caribbean, and South America. The Reflection was built in 2012, refurbished in 2018 and holds about 3000 passengers.
Cabin
For this cruise aboard the Celebrity Reflection. I stayed in a Concierge Class balcony stateroom (a balcony is a must on a cruise and this class has some great extra perks!). These cabins are nice size at about 200′ with 50-60′ balconies. Our cabin was very clean, had plenty of storage and a decent size bathroom.
Entertainment
Entertainment was exceptional on the Celebrity Reflection! From large scale productions, poolside activities and small venue musical performances – my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the choices. This was also the best cruise director I’ve experienced at sea (a shoutout to Giuseppe from Italy! 🙂 ).
Dining
During our cruise – we dined in the main dining room (I enjoy meeting people there), snacked in the Spa Cafe, ordered a few room service breakfasts, and lunched in the Oceanview Cafe. Like any cruise – you’ll find a plethora of food choices! This cruise I didn’t dine in the specialty restaurants; but those are also an option for dinner. I enjoyed the variety on the Reflection – but found the food in the main dining room to be not as high quality as previous times on Celebrity.
Service
In my opinion where Celebrity really excels is in their service! From the nice man who made my eggs many mornings and our cabin steward from Mauritius – everyone we encountered on the ship was friendly and helpful!
Favorite Areas
The Sunset Bar on the back of the ship was our favorite hangout spot on the Reflection. We watched the ship set sail from each port, listened to live music, watched the sunsets, and sipped our cocktails from here everyday! The pool deck is also a terrific area on this ship! It never felt too crowded and it had a fun poolside vibe. We spent many afternoons here listening to the ship’s band, lunching, swimming or hot tubbing, and watching the world go by.
I suggest this ship and cruise line for couples, empty nesters, and multi-generational families – it’s not my first recommendation for families traveling with younger children.
Until the next adventure – bon voyage!
Kris
