Celebrity Reflection Review
Great Itinerary, Nice Ship, Very Enjoyable Cruise
Rating by category
Additional details
This was our 12th cruise and first on Celebrity. The itinerary was perfect for us and we got a nice deal with free tips, free drinks, and onboard credit. We got to see Mykonos and Santorini, the 2 Greek Islands we were most interested in, 2 great cities--Istanbul and Athen (Acropolis), and 2 interesting archealogical sites--Ephesus and Pompeii, with a perfect mix of sea days and pacing of the port stops.
The ship was very nice but I can't quite give the cruise an overall 5 star rating. Our cabin was very nice and comfortable and service was excellent. The food in the MDR and buffet was very good. We did not see the need to try any of the specialty restaurants. We went to the show every night in the theatre and the shows were all good, nothing really outstanding, but nothing bad. There was a guest speaker onboard who gave very interesting historical and sightseeing presentations on each of the ports. Unfortunately they had him give his first few presentations in Celebrity Central which wasn't nearly big enough for the overflow crowds that attended, and when they finally moved him into the big theatre for his final presentation, they kicked him out before he was finished because they needed the theatre to rehearse. They needed to give him more space and more time. We took one ships excursion, Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast, and we were very happy with it. Most ports were very easy to DIY.
We were disappointed in the lack of daytime activities and entertainment on sea days. There wasn't much to do that interested us, other than the guest speaker, although the casino was enjoyable. When they had activities they were almost always held on the deck 3 or deck 4 atrium, where there was very little seating and people would have to stand or crowd around the railings 4 or 5 deep on the deck or 2 above and it was very difficult to see anything. The ship needs a bigger lounge area with a stage and seating to put on some of these shows and activities. They had nightly music and dancing on the deck 3 atrium, often with the Reflection dancers participating that looked like fun, but we could never get close enough to see anything. They also need to have self service laundry facilities. $3 to launder a pair of sox is terrible.
Cabin Review
Deluxe Ocean View with Verandah 1B
The cabin was fine and the service was great. Balcony was roomy. Layout was good and everything worked fine. Only complaint was the bed was somewhat squeaky, whenever you sat down on it or rolled over. It was distracting the first night or 2, but we got used to it.
Port Reviews
Rome (Civitavecchia)
I'm just going to comment on Civitavechia itself. It is easy enough to and from Rome by train, and its a nice enough town. We stayed the night before the cruise in a very nice B and B, Le Maison de Revel, right on the waterfront for 60 euros. It only has 3 rooms, is very comfortable with a good breakfast and a very nice English speaking hostess. At the end of the cruise, after disembarkation, a free shuttle takes you to the entry to the port and from there you can get on a bus for .8 euros per person and per suitcase, it cost us 3.20 euros, that will take you to the train station in about 5 minutes. Very easy and convenient.
Santorini
Beautiful island. Very easy to DIY. We took the chairlift up to Fira for 5 euros each way. Very easy to catch a bus to and from Oia for about 1.80 euros each way and it takes about 15-20 minutes. Oia is not to be missed. Absolutely beautiful. We spent our time just wandering the lanes and streets and passageways and enjoying the fantastic views. Make sure you allow plenty of time for the chairlift going up and down. We were the only ship in port and we waited in line about 1/2 hour each way to get on the chairlift.
Kusadasi
We took a tour of Ephesus with a private company, Ekol Travel, and it was excellent. Cost was $60 each and it included a guided tour of Ephesus and the Terrace Houses. I would definitely recommend including the Terrace Houses in your tour, it is an extra cost if you do Ephesus on your own. There were about 15 people in our group, we had a very good guide and comfortable small tour bus. Total time was about 5 hours. The tour was supposed to include a snack, but we got a very good full lunch instead which was unexpectedly nice. The lunch took place at a carpet factory and store where they also gave a very interesting demonstration of the carpet making process and showed us a large number of beautiful rugs. I was concerned about hard sell tactics when we arrived, but they were very nice and did not pressure us at all to purchase anything.
Istanbul
Another very easy port to DIY. The tram is a short walk from the port and the major sites, Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, and Blue Mosque are all right next to each other right on the tram line. All of these sights are definitely worth visiting and all were very crowded. I've never seen so many people in one area in my life. It was Saturday, and the day before was Turkey's labor day, and apparently everything was closed that day, so crowds were extra heavy. We waited a good half hour in line to get into each place, but they were worth the wait. Make sure you include the Harem when you visit Topkapi, it costs a little more, but its worth it. When we returned to the ship around 5pm, the trams were jam packed with people, and very few who were waiting to get on could get on. It was kind of scary as people tried to squeeze into an already jammed tram car, but we did make it back ok.
Mykonos
Almost the perfect port. Beautiful and very relaxing with not much of anything to do. The ship provided a free shuttle bus into town which was about 10-15 minutes from the dock. A wonderful stress-free place to wander around town and sit outside and have a drink along the waterfront. Very enjoyable.
Athens (Piraeus)
The Acropolis was our main objective here and it definitely worth it. I had read about the X-80 express bus from the port to the historic area but wasn't exactly sure where to find it. We were docked in Port B and we walked out of the port and crossed the street and the sign for the X-80 bus was right there. Very easy. We had just missed one so we had to wait about 20 minutes, but it was only 4 euro round trip (plus ticket was also good on any other public transit), and it took us directly to about 2 blocks from the base of the Acropolis in about 35 minutes. Its a pretty good hike up to Acropolis but well worth it and we were in by a little after 9 so we beat most of the crowds. After the Acropolis we wandered around the area and through the Plaka, where we had a nice affordable outdoor lunch, and caught the bus back to the ship around 2 pm. The trip back to the ship only took about 25 minutes. When we got off the bus in the morning the driver showed us where to pick up the return bus right across the street from where he let us off.