This article is Celebrity Reflection – Four Great Things. It is a review of my experience sailing on Celebrity Reflection.
Booking
I attended a travel agent seminar on Celebrity Reflection. The cruise was booked via the travel host agency under a group package which included premium wifi, gratuities and the classic beverage package.
My inside room had a cost all-in of $1,750 for the six-night sailing.
Celebrity previously offered all-in fares that included gratuity, standard Wifi and the classic beverage package. They have sense removed the included gratuities and only include standard Wifi and the classic beverage package when you book the all-in price.
One negative thing on this cruise was, while the basic Wifi is good for checking emails, it is not ideal for social media or doing work so it is recommended to pay up to get the Premium Internet package. Celebrity Reflect used Starlink for Internet, so the premium works pretty well.
Due to the way that the premium internet was added via the group, it worked great on my phone but when I logged off that device and tried to use my laptop it only provided basic. So it was frustrating all week trying to do work on my laptop with how slow the internet was compared to on my phone.
When I have had premium internet in the past on Celebrity ships it worked seamlessly between devices when you log off of one and login on the other. So I am not sure what happened other than in order to get the Premium on my phone, I had to visit the internet desk where they had to manually add Premium rather than the system automatically processing the premium internet. I feel this is more an issue with how the group paid for the Premium Internet rather than Celebrity.
Room
I was booked in an inside room on Celebrity Reflection in cabin 1671 on Deck 11.
The room was comfortable overall but it was a bit dated in terms of the colors and the setup of the room.
The room was large overall and had plenty of space to store my personal items.
The beds were made together into a king size bed which was comfortable.
The room offered a chair near the bed as well as at the desk.
In between the bed and closet there was a large amount of space which was surprising as most inside rooms are smaller.
The bathroom offered a shower.
There were two drawers next to the sink as well as a cabinet that offered plenty of storage.
Inside the shower, you found shampoo, body wash and conditioner. The amenities were of good quality.
At the sink, there was lotion and a bar of soup. No liquid soap was provided for the sink.
Overall the room was clean and comfortable.
Since the ship is older, the power outlets were limited so it is a good idea to bring a power outlet in order to have power by the bed.
I normally bring this one which has USB-C, USB-A and regular outlets.
Four Things that I loved about Celebrity Reflection
It was a great cruise overall on Celebrity Reflection.
In looking back at the trip, four things stood out that really made the experience awesome!
Amazing Specialty Dining
For this trip, I bought the unlimited specialty dining package for about $300 that allowed dinners each night in the specialty restaurants as well as lunch on sea days.
The food in all of the specialty dining spots was exceptional.
Murano
My favorite was at Murano which is the French restaurant on Celebrity Reflection. Dinners normally cost about $70 per-person.
I had three dinners at Murano it was so good!
Some of the dishes were prepared table side including this lobster flambe!
Everything from the preparation to the presentation was amazing.
Le Petite Chef
I enjoyed the Le Petite Chef experience as well with the dinner theater on the table via video projections and sound.
Le Petite Chef has a cost of about $55 per-person for dinner and offers two different menus. The menus are offered on alternating days.
While it is a little comical watching the video chef preparing the meal, it turned out to be a fun experience overall. The highlight of the meal was the first course which was a tomato dish that was amazing.
I previously skipped Le Petite Chef since it seemed gimmicky. But with a good friend group its a fun experience overall.
Lawn Club
There is something about eating outside on a cruise ship. Lawn Club Grills offers burgers at lunch and great grilled options at dinner.
Without the unlimited dining, Lunch costs about $20 and dinner costs about $50 per-person.
I enjoyed both lunch and dinner at Lawn Club Grill.
The burger was fresh and juicy and it was cooked perfectly with a great cheese pull on the cheese topping!
For dinner, I was with a large group so we got to sample several grilled favorites.
I went for the surf and turf with a lovely fish as well as ribeye pictured here with a creamy corn side.
The food was prepared outside so guests could watch which further enhanced the experience.
Tuscan Grill
I enjoyed Tuscan Grill for lunch one day and dinner another day.
Tuscan Grill is the official steakhouse on the Celebrity Reflection and offers Italian items as well.
For lunch, the cost is about $40 and dinner is about $55 per-person if you don not have the unlimited dining package.
For lunch I went with the Italian options and it was excellent.
Dinner, I had a perfectly cooked steak. It was served with a sauce on the side but it honestly wasn’t needed as the steak was excellent seasoned.
Not so great
One thing that is a bit annoying is that you cannot use the unlimited dining package on the first day at Raw on Five for lunch even though the restaurant is open. I was looking forward to having sushi for lunch with the package; however, I was told that I would have to pay the al cart pricing for lunch that day.
That put a damper the first day, but the other restaurants I enjoyed throughout the week made up for it.
On Royal Caribbean, the unlimited dining plan gives a dollar credit against the ala cart restaurants that you could use daily such as Playmakers and the sushi options. So I was honestly surprised I couldn’t just use the daily credit for Raw on Five on the first day at lunch since it was open for guests that day.
Fun Port Experience
The second thing I loved about my sailing on Celebrity Reflection was the fun port experience.
This six-night sailing visited Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Bimini.
The cool thing is going forward as of April, 2024, Reflection will be visiting Perfect Day at Coco Cay on most of her sailings which is such an awesome addition!
Cozumel
In Cozumel I went to some beach resorts and got to take in some amazing views of the ocean! The beach experiences were thanks to Delta Vacations who hosted me for some site inspections.
Grand Cayman
In Grand Cayman I walked around the island and had an amazing local curry lunch! Lunch came thanks to Sandals who hosted me for a lunch and learn about the amazing new Sandals resorts including one in St. Vincent!
Bimini
For Bimini I visited the Hilton and got to take in some great views of the island from the resort deck at the top of the hotel!
Normally when I visit ports, I love going on tours from Shore Excursion Group who offers similar options to the cruise line but without the high markup. In addition, most of the tours I’ve been on with them have been small group and so much more fun than the large bus tours offered by the cruise line.
You can also find some good options on Viator such as these for Grand Cayman.
In Cozumel I normally book a beach club from Resort for a Day and have a lazy beach club experience on the beautiful island.
Thanks for your support of John the Wanderer by using my links to book your excursions!
I loved the combination of Bimini, Cozumel and Grand Cayman. It really made it memorable.
Great Entertainment
The third thing that made my cruise on Celebrity Reflection awesome was the great entertainment.
I love the options for live music, great theatrical shows as well as fun experiences at the Martini Bar and other spaces onboard the ship.
Of course, my favorite cruise experience is Silent Disco. Celebrity Reflection offered two Silent Disco parties in the Grand Foyer.
It is so much fun having one headphone on and the other ear listening to everyone singing along to their channel. What a fun party experience it is! Do you like silent disco?
The Martini Bar offered great bartenders with flair that kept the environment lively!
The cruise director and entertainment team put on a great deck experience at the Full Moon Party!
From the dancers putting on a show to leading everyone in line dances, it sure was a fun night up on deck!
During the week, one of the guest entertainers was Ashlie Amber who performed some incredible Whitney Houston tunes as well as some of her original work.
Between the amazing shows in the theater, fun Silent Disco Parties and flair bartending, Celebrity Reflection entertainment is awesome!
Awesome Public Spaces
The final thing that made my cruise experience on Celebrity Reflection awesome was the really great public areas on the ship.
I love how the Solstice Class ships have Lawn Club where you can sit on the grass and enjoy the sunshine!
The pool deck area is also pretty cool with the layout and there are plenty of chairs to enjoy the sunshine!
The solarium offers some cool water features and a good place to enjoy the sunshine through the dome bubble.
Of course, I love grabbing a coffee at Cafe al Bacio!
Bacio is a great place to start the day or to grab an afternoon pick me up with a great cup of coffee like my Cappuccino!
Probably the most remarkable spot on the ship is at the aft of the lawn club at the Sunset Bar.
I loved taking in the views most of the nights.
I really loved the public spaces on the ship. They made the voyage awesome!
Celebrity Reflection
It sure was a fun time sailing on Celebrity Reflection!
From the amazing food in the specialty dinning to some awesome ports of call, the ship really was a lot of fun. It is awesome how the cruise director and team put on such an awesome program of entertainment options to make everyone happy. In addition, the public areas are really fun to hang out in and take in the views.
I am looking forward to my next Celebrity Cruises sailing!
Have you sailed on Celebrity?