Celebrity Reflection Review

By Theresa Norton Masek

The  Alcoves on the Lawn Club

The fifth Solstice-class ship offers a few surprises, changes and tweaks

Chances are you're already familiar with the basics of the Celebrity Reflection, which entered service in Europe in October. The Reflection is the fifth ship in the popular Solstice class, so it offers many of the same features and amenities found on Celebrity Solstice, Equinox, Eclipse and Silhouette.

But Reflection carries a few surprises, as a number of changes and tweaks were made. First of all, an additional deck and 72 staterooms were added, increasing the ship's capacity from 2,850 to 3,046 double-occupancy passengers. Here are some of the ship's new features.

Show-Stopping Suites

One of the most high-profile additions is the new variety of suites. And the most eye-popping is the 1,636 sq. ft. Reflection Suite with the all-glass shower extending out over the edge of the ship. Guests can shower while enjoying the sea views or they can flick on a switch to activate an electrochromatic technology to transform the glass from transparent to translucent. The two-bedroom suite is also stunning and sophisticated, looking    almost like a big-city penthouse apartment with floor-to-ceiling windows. It has a 194 sq. ft. wrap-around veranda. The Reflection Suite, which can accommodate six guests, is located in a private area on Deck 14, along with the five new Signature Suites. The area requires a card-key to access.

The new Signature Suites offer a 441 sq. ft. stateroom area and 118-sq. ft. veranda, with floor-to-ceiling windows and veranda doors. Each accommodates up to four guests.

Celebrity has offered AquaClass staterooms for several years now, but with Reflection has added 32 AquaClass Suites that measure 300 sq. ft. with 79 sq. ft. verandas.

Dining

Celebrity Reflection has no less than 12 dining venues. Six are specialty restaurants that charge an additional fee and may require reservations. Blu is a complimentary Mediterranean restaurant open only to AquaClass guests and suites.

Specialty restaurants that require reservations and levy a surcharge include Lawn Club Grill, the do-it-yourself outdoor grill restaurant, $40; Tuscan Grille, the Italian steakhouse, $30; Murano, which serves continental cuisine, $40; and Qsine, the fun, quirky eatery with menus on iPads, $40. Suite guests receive one complimentary reservation per suite for cruises of six or seven nights and two nights for longer cruises.

 Public Areas

A highlight of the Solstice-class ships is The Lawn Club, a half-acre of real grass on the top deck. On Celebrity Reflection, the grassy area includes two oversized Adirondack chairs - used for countless photo ops - and eight cabanas that can be rented for the day (called The Alcoves).

Adjacent to The Lawn Club is The Art Studio, which is used for hands-on art classes and lectures taught by two artists-in-residence from The ArtCenter South Florida. The classes include painting, jewelry-making, drawing and beading, as well as the art of food, with plating, tastings, mixology and other culinary-themed classes. On some occasions, The Art Studio also will host intimate pairing dinners hosted by guest chefs participating in Celebrity's Savor Your Destination program.

 Itineraries

Celebrity Reflection currently is sailing seven-night Eastern Caribbean itineraries from Miami to San Juan, St. Maarten, St. Kitts and St. Thomas.

On April 20, the ship departs on a 16-night trans-Atlantic voyage to Tenerife and Lanzarote, Canary Islands; Barcelona, Spain; Provence (Toulon), France; Florence and Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy.

On May 6, it will depart on the first of its 10- and 11-night Eastern Mediterranean cruises round-trip from Civitavecchia, Italy. Ports of call include Santorini, Athens, Rhodes and Mykonos, Greece; Istanbul and Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey; and Sicily (Messina) and Naples, Italy.