This was our first transatlantic sailing, but 43rd cruise of which 13 have been with Celebrity. We loved the Reflection! The Civitavecchia Port is basically a container port, but embarkation was a breeze and we were on the ship before noon. We decided to skip the mayhem in the buffet and opted instead for a quiet lunch in Bistro on Five. Later, as we waited for the cabins to be ready we enjoyed performers in the central atrium that appeared to be warming up for their shows.

Cabin 1546 was a great cabin for us. The bed is near the bath which is something we prefer as it allows the sofa/lounge area to extend out to the balcony with a more spacious feeling. We immediately move the small table in front of the sofa off to the side (by the patio doors) so that we can move about freely. The cabin was as expected since we'd cruised in Aqua just three weeks earlier. However one of the big advantages we found was the location near the forward elevators. Because there are no aft elevators on the Solstice class ships the mid-ship elevators tend to be very slow. We found the forward elevators quick to come and get us to our destination with few stops in between.

Since we were dining in Blu I cannot comment on the main dining room food or service. However, I was surprised by the difference in our 'Blu' experience from our previous cruise on the Solstice just one month earlier. The food taste and quality in Blu on the Reflection was definitely a step down from the Solstice. The fish dishes were the worst we've had in any dining venue on our many crises. A few days into the cruise I was prepared to ask to be moved to the MDR. However, after a few days break (in which we tried the Lawn Club Grill (outstanding!) and Qusine (spectacular!!) the food in Blu seemed to improve for the balance of the cruise. I definitely would not go out of my way to sail Aqua on the Reflection again due to this issue. Read more