Western Mediterranean cruise Positives: Stateroom # 2176 Butler-Nelson was excellent as was room attendant Xavier. The ship staff was very friendly. Dining and beverage: Luminea Dining selection just okay. We frequently ordered from the MDR menu. Four entrees were offered each of the eleven nights. Shrimp were slightly larger than popcorn shrimp were served on a piece of lettuce. Not what I remember from past Celebrity cruises. Martinis at all bars and restaurants were served in small glasses with olives the size of a peanut. I expect more with a premium package. Fortune's Casino: Annoying carnival barker Hawking promotions. Embarkation and disembarkation: As suites guests we went to our room to wait for luggage. We left and went back to room at 3:15. No Luggage wherein we called Butler who promptly had luggage delivered. No the way it was handled on the Summit. Disembarkation- We were told to take a seat in Michael's Club and wait for our number to be called. Announcements were not made in Michaels. We had #23 and made it ti bus #26. We did make flight. Thanks to global entry. Excursions: WE especially enjoyed Nice and San Paul and Marbella and Puerto Banus. This was our fifth Celebrity cruise and our last. Read Less

I chose this cruise because of the places visited and I was not disappointed. I have now been spoilt as I don't think any other cruise will give me such wonderful places to visit. I loved Sicily and our trip to Mt Etna and Taormina, and then explored the history of Malta and visited the old capital of Mdina. We had a beach day in Mykonos and did some shopping in beautiful Santorini. more History in Rhodes museums and then a tour on the hop on hop off bus through Athens ending at the beautiful new Acropolis Museum. It was hot and tiring but well worth it and I enjoyed exploring and keeping away form the long queues. We thought it was supposed to be a five star ship but there was little difference to Royal Caribbean which we are used to. We had an unfortunate start to the cruise with 'misprints' on our key card which the guest relations dealt with reluctantly and little grace. so we were disappointed to find the cabin was a little scruffy with less storage. The pillows were small and hard. We did however like the larger bathroom and shower. We were asked for feedback early on and to the crew's credit they did deal with some issues like replacing a very worn chair. My request to the special services made in advance was not met. I found it odd that there were no instructions or guidance in the cabin about the ship. There was no map. There was no explanation about using the TV and I only found out from other guests about using it to order breakfast by room service. It took a few days to find the films which were all new releases. Our cabin attendant was lovely and worked so hard. Always polite and willing to help. My daughter found it odd that bars closed so early especially when they still had customers. We did like the coffee station on floor 7 which was just outside our cabin. There were always plenty of sun beds, except on sea days when it got busy, and you could help yourself to towels. The food was excellent in the restaurant although a bit pretentious at times. The cafeteria always had plenty of choice although it was difficult to keep a table when on your own as dishes are cleared away very quickly. I never saw the entertainment in the theatre but I enjoyed taking part in the quizzes and my prizes at the end that you get for taking part. The sun shone all the time and we had a wonderful holiday but Celebrity did not live up to my expectations. Read Less

2nd time on this ship, did a Caribbean back in 2013 when she was new. After trying pretty much all cruise lines, I liked Celebrity the best. Still good, but they are definitely cutting some more corners from the last time we used them. We sailed Aqua Class balcony. Ship was clean, and beautiful! Staff was great for the most part. Embarcation in Civitavecchia was very fast. Arrived at 1pm and were on board in less than 15 minutes. Cabin was ready. Our steward Sherwin did a fantastic job! The lawn is just a waste of space. Celebrity should look into better use for these areas! Enjoyed the Persian Gardens most days. Had some nice canapes delivered. Nice little treats... Blu dining was just OK, hit and miss menu. A few service problems 1st day breakfast which were pointed out to the maitre dee. The staff worked hard to make sure we were satisfied after that. Specialty dining: Qsine was a big disappointment! Loved the old small plated format, new deal is lame. Video projector on a plate is not really that interesting, and a fixed menu! Skip it! Tuscan Grille, just OK nothing really special. Nice view of the sun set by the transom windows. Murano: Awesome service, venue and food. Well worth it! Should of used our 3 meal package all in this joint! Beverages: Upgraded to premium package. Glad we did. Shout out to the Mast bar crew Iputu, Igung and Borris. Great service a lots of laughs with these characters! Spent a lot of time up in that area. Café al Bacio had great coffee and fast service! Activities were lacking. Not a lot for such a nice big ship. Entertainment: Lame or no music by the pool at times. Pick it up! Only caught a couple of shows. They were Ok. Loved the Freddie Mercury guy! Excursions: Booked everything off the ship. Much better deals. Hop on Hop off busses are a great way to get around! Itinerary was great! Arrived in Rome a day early to see some sights. Wish we would of arrived 2 days early! So much to see. Very busy cruise. Went to bed early a few nights after the sight seeing all day. Malta is very interesting, but the ship stopped on Sunday when most things are closed. Loved the ports in Greece. Mykonos was my favorite. Santorini is beautiful but too crowded! Loved Pompei! Amazing place. Read Less

Charter group cruise; and wanted to visit Mykonos etc. The ship was fine; compliments both to service, organization and especially the Buffet (great pastries in-particular). Criticism for the internet service; although staff were somewhat understanding. Advertised as 'Fastest at Sea'; it certainly is not. Parent Company Royal Caribbean was faster and less overpriced (all are overpriced). Ship officer confided that ultimately this should be included and fast; indicating internet (WiFi) was their biggest 'compliant & biggest money maker'. As a stock market analyst who must upload at least 2 video reports on economics and market activity daily, I struggled with their system consistently; to the point of using land-based access when in Ports if possible. Downloading was 'fair'; uploading a 75 mb file for my market reports was almost impossible, as my U.S. Server would often 'time out'. The ship gave me a nominal credit; but honestly should not only have refunded the charge of $300. but paid me for my troubles; since the struggle to serve clients impeded enjoyment of the cruise quite frankly. Again; although I liked the ship overall; especially the indoor pool. 'Truth in Advertising' matters. That's where Royal Caribbean also slipped a bit. In 2017 on Allure I had truly fast internet. On the newer Harmony in 2018 it was much slower. Why? It appears RCL expanded the Zoom service to their entire fleet; but they all share bandwidth on the same satellite(s). It's not a question of how many passengers are using it on a Ship, but rather their failure to provision adequate bandwidth/backhaul to share among the ships in their fleet. If they spend the money for more capacity, fuller speeds should resume. In the meantime, I cannot cruise on a Celebrity ship unless they improve this Service. RCL overall is now barely better; but both (same company) can be elevated if RCL parent will spend the money to do so. I emphasize this as I do a couple cruises a year; but will shift the ships or take different types of holidays, if I cannot count on 'as advertised' high speed WiFi. Again otherwise loved Celebrity; and hope the EDGE has a better system; but if they depend on the same limited bandwidth among the Fleet, perhaps not? I would welcome a courtesy response (or consideration) from RCL due to the experience on Reflection. Also I do not know if the satellite services in the Med are inferior to what's available in the Carib. Read Less

This was our 2nd cruise on Reflection (plus a previous Mediterranean cruise on Equinox) & we love the Solstice class of ships. We found Reflection to be clean & updated, & it’s hard to beat the ports of call. We were in Rome for 2 days pre-cruise, staying at a hidden gem called The Inn at the Roman Forum, minutes from the Colosseum & Forum. We highly recommend the Walks of Italy VIP Nighttime Colosseum with Underground Access if this fits into your schedule. Room: Concierge Class 1014, starboard side. We had great views of the port at nearly every stop. The room was quiet as well. Our steward Nevis was wonderful. We typically weren’t in the room around 3 when the daily appetizers were delivered, so we told him to discontinue that service. Food: we had select dining, but had made a 6:45 reservation for each evening. We enjoyed every meal in Opus....our theory is that it is better food than we’d be having at home, plus we don’t have to shop, prepare or clean up for it! Most nights we ate at Table 406 where Jose, Evan & Cajetan were wonderful & they truly worked as a team. The one night that the Opus menu didn’t call to us, we went to Qsine/Le Petite Chef where we thoroughly enjoyed the animation throughout dinner, as well as the filet mignon & lobster. We also looked forward to the daily treats from Al Bacio on 5. Oceanview was our daily breakfast stop & an occasional late lunch stop. Staff: the ship motto is “happy crew, happy cruise” & we found the staff to be so friendly. We seldom passed by a crew member that they didn’t acknowledge us with a “Good morning” or “Have a good day”. Bonus: being invited to the helipad for sail away from Santorini. Also really interesting was the galley tour on the first day at sea. Spa: just after embarkation I purchased the Persian Garden pass for $149, as we had a lot of OBC to spend. This was a daily stop for me after the hot tub. My husband made use of the sauna & large showers in the men’s changing room every day. Entertainment: we only went to the Broadway Show & silent disco one night. Between the long days ashore & the heat/humidity every day, we went to bed fairly early most nights. Cons: on our previous cruises we loved the Sunset Bar & were there daily for sail away. This is such a beautiful spot on the ship but it is ruined by the strong smell of cigar & cigarette smoke, which always drifted into the non smoking area. Celebrity needs to find a spot....away from the general population & specifically for cigar smoking. We were also charged for a drink here that we did not purchase (we had the beverage package). It took 2 trips to Guest Relations & about 36 hours to get this removed from our account. Embarkation/Debarkation: we were on board within 15 minutes of arriving at the ship. It’s always nice to be welcomed with champagne. We did walk off with our bags & were off the ship at 6:35am. Ports of Call Sicily: we did this on our own, using the HOHO bus (€10 pp). The bus arrived back to the square just at noon, as the clock was doing it’s little performance. This was our least favorite stop. However, the people we talked to that went to Taormina & Mt Etna loved it. Malta: we did a small (14) group tour with Amy Pace (Intensive Cultural Tour). We saw a lot of the island & learned the history. Our favorite stops were the Blue Grotto boat ride & Mdina. Mykonos: from the tender you can see the windmills. Great little town to explore. We ate lunch at Little Venice. Then spent an hour & a half trying to find a little shop that we had seen early in the morning, where we were going to buy a few things. Never did locate it. Rhodes: we did HOHO again (€12 pp) & then explored the walled city. Santorini: if possible, be on deck or your veranda for sail in....it is breathtaking. We were not about to climb the stairs or ride a donkey to the top, & weren’t keen on waiting in line for the cable car, so we pre-booked a small group tour called The Oia Experience with Olympic Traveller. Once off the tender, we boarded their boat to Oia, then went by small bus up to Oia. Our guide spent about 20 minutes pointing out the best spot for photos, then left us to explore on our own for about 2 hours. From there we went to a winery south of Fira, with amazing views of the caldera & our ship. We were dropped off in Fira, near the cable car about 2:45 & immediately got in line, as the line already had a few hundred people in it. But it moved faster than expected & we were back on the ship around 3:30. We did talk to a few people who saw the long cable car lines & decided to walk down the hill. Every one of them said less than halfway down they were regretting their choice, as the stairs were so slippery. Athens: another private 8 hr tour (6 of us) with Greece Tours. Our guide was excellent. After a short city tour, we went to the Acropolis which was amazing. Then to the Olympic stadium, with a long stop in the Plaka for lunch & a little shopping (our choice to stay longer here & skip Leviticus Hill & the changing of the guard), then on to the New Acropolis Museum. Naples: this was the only Celebrity Shore Excursion that we did.....a small group tour to Herculeanum. We had visited Pompeii previously & enjoyed seeing Herculeanum. But being a ship excursion, this was our most expensive ...& shortest....shore excursion. ** the ice cold towels & cold water were always a welcome sight when we’d return after a long, hot day in port. Transportation: we had booked transportation through Civitecchia Shuttle Express. Pickup from our hotel in Rome was scheduled at 9:30. At 8:45 our hotel reception received a call saying pickup wouldn’t be until 11am. I think they had overbooked, though we were just told “there was a problem at the port”. When our driver did arrive at 11, he stated “It’s not my fault” & then conveniently didn’t know any other English. From the ship to the airport, we had scheduled a 7am pick up, & our driver Claudio arrived right on time. He was very personable & explained a lot about the countryside/type of farming on our ride. We thought this was a fabulous cruise & wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it. Read Less

Firstly these are the things I liked about this cruise: -the cabins were large including the bathroom. They might not have won any interior design competitions but they were comfortable. -the ports visited were very good and we enjoyed all of the tours I arranged independently of the boat -the food overall was of good quality in the Opus restaurant and for afternoon tea and for some dinner choices in the 14th floor cafe -the serving staff in the restaurants and bars on board were smiling and helpful -the sunset bar at the back of the boat was one of our favourite areas on board and the martinis at the Martini bar were very good. -the gym was well equiped and large. -the iced towels and water that we were greeted with before we embarked back on the boat at each port of call. -Lunch at the Porch restaurant was well worth the additional fees. But, here are the things I really did not like and spoilt our cruise to some extent: -the check in desks in Rome were small and the whole atmosphere was chaotic and did not lend itself to a relaxed embarkation -we had free wifi and a drinks package which was not initially honoured by the ship and it took a few hours into the cruise before this could be sorted out, which was an unnecessary aggrevation. -the safety demonstration was awful. We had to watch a lame video which made a mockery of what should have been a serious safety briefing -we went for breakfast on the first day of the cruise at the Opus restaurant. The dinning room was only about 20 percent full but they insisted on shoving everyone into one corner of the dining room which did not make for a comfortable dining experience. The same thing happened on the second day so we stopped using the dinning room for breakfast for the remainder of the cruise, which was a shame as I normally enjoy sitting down for breakfast and having it served on holiday -one of the Food and Beverage managers for the Opus Restaurant was quite rude and acted in a belittling manner, but in fairness to the cruise line the maitre de called me back after recieving the feedback form and offered us not only his apologies but a free upgraded dining experience by way of apology which was much appreciated. -as fairly in experienced cruisers we did not realise that the water bottles in our cabins were not free of charge and were stunned to receive charges of over $100 on our final account. I think they should be clearly indicated as mini bar items on the bottles themselves and chargeable as such. -public areas that you would expect to be quiet such as the library, games area and reading area are located in the atrium so are not quiet at all. -music was played virtually everywhere on board and it was difficuly to escape from and it really wasn't our cup of tea, with the exception of some accustic music at the sunset bar and the violinist and cellist on board. -our bingo fiasco was one event which really spoilt one evening. We thought we would play bingo for a bit of fun with our daughters which at $49 a board did not seem that cheap to us. It included some raffle tickets. A big deal was made out of the draw, read out one number at a time until the $1,000 winner was announced. Turned out to be my husband, we were so excited not having won much before. At the end my husband went to claim his prize which was not the on board credit we were expecting but a certificate for $1,000 off our next cruise with Celebrity which as it can only be used directly with them is probably not worth anything when travel agents offer other incentives to get you to book. As my husband said afterwards he felt he had won a $1,000 and lost it all in the space of one evening. So would we travel with Celebrity Cruises again. In honesty if the prices was right and the ports of call were interesting, maybe, but the overall feeling that we felt about this cruise line is that it is a bit underhand in it's charging and constantly looking for ways to make you spend as much money as possible on board. I think we would look at a different cruise line next time. They certainly didn't do much to entice us to come back again. Read Less

This was my first cruise and celebrity didn't disappoint. The celebrity reflection was very clean and there was plenty to do on board. The main dining room Opus offered a good selection of beautifully cooked food and there was plenty of choice for our daughter who is Coeliac and has special dietary requirements in both Opus and the ocean view cafe. Our waiter Philip was fantastic even taking time to make animals out napkins for my daughters and show us tricks every meal. In fact the whole team on Reflection were fantastic. Our room attendant Edwin was extremely helpful and helped make our stay very comfortable. There are many different bars and restaurants to choose from our favourite was the sunset bar. As well as beautiful views it's a designated smoking area, but we found it did get very busy at certain times. I would definitely recommend a drink package - we went for the classic package which included most standard beverages and some cocktails - plenty of choice. We will definitely be looking to travel with Celebrity again. Read Less

Chose this cruise for itinerary, plus no days at sea. Ship stylish and very clean. Conceriage class balcony room, really nice at the aft of the ship 11 floor, good views of destinations on sail away. Our cabin guy Green could not do enough for us, really looked after us. Dining=well the main cafeteria dining room you could of eaten there every night and been happy, but you had Opus restuarant as well and that was a step up again! Horas our main waiter was really excellent at what he does, remembering our names, what we ate last tme we visited etc, a real credit to the ship. All trips we went on really enjoyable, but the Highlight was Sorrento and Pompii trip, long day but so enjoyable at the same time, with a trip to a farm to watch mozzeralla making, etc then a lunch on there produce etc, tour through the coastal roads. walk round Sorrento and finally Pompii, A day to remember. Mum, dad and daughter of 20, we really enjoyed it, need to book again soon Read Less

This was a sampling first time experience for us after hearing from regular cruising family and friends that we are missing out on a new experience. It’s taken nearly 30 years for my wife and I to take the plunge, (not literally). What better way to start than a 6 day trip around the Amalfi coast, stopping off at a different port every day. On board this floating hotel equipped with an array of fine dining with a choice of different eateries serving the best food catering for everyone’s needs, amazing entertainment through the day and night and not forgetting the wonderful staff who look after your every needs, there was absolutely nothing to complain about. Our cabin, although small but equipped with a balcony, was exceptionally clean and kept tidy by the wonderful Calvin. From embarkation to disembarking, there was nothing to fault about our first time experience on the seas. Would we do it again, in a blink of an eyelid. Well done Celebrity Cruises. See you again. Read Less

We picked this cruise because of the ports especially La Spezia as we wanted to go to Cinque Terre and also the price. Ship embarkation was well organized and quick. Cabin was inside guarantee and was on deck 8 front and was spacious lots of storageand larger bathroom also with lots of cupboards. It was a long walk to main dining room. Dining only did main dining room which we had fixed time to eat 6:15pm but table wasstuck under stairway but quieter area than other tables.Food was okay lobster one night but it was tough. Every night they had salmon, chicken or one other item standard. Appetizerswere okay had scrimp cocktails most nights. Desserts were mostly very rich and didn't find them that great. Main buffet ate lunch and breakfast there good variety. Did breakfast once in main dining room but mostly egg dishes or pancakes no variety.Did not do any speciality restaurants as they were expensive. Entertainment was lacking only one night with good production last night. Had areas roped off in the theater for only certain people which didn't make you feel welcome. Did this in some dining rooms you couldn't use at all. Activities were almost non existent nothing on pool area except screaming kids and a band that played for 40 minutes who couldn't sing and weren't very good. Quiet pool was too cold to sit in with air conditioning. Steward for cabin was outstanding. Disembarkation was very well organized was off in 5 minutes as we had our own luggage. Did not do any ship excursions. Civitavecchia port took Roma Cabs from airport very effecient as plane was 3 hours late and they were there. Stayed at Hotel Traino comes with breakfast and free shuttle to ship. LaSpezia took cab then train to Cinque Terre bought ticket for Cinque Terre online unlimited use for 13Euro for senior. Nice(Villefranche) tendered port very effecient went right off onto shuttle boat coming and going. Took local train to Nice then hop on hop off bus but should have taken the hop on hop off bus from port stops at castle entrance right at port Villefranche. Ajaccio, Corsia walked around town Cagiliari, Sardina took Petit Train or 9Euro went up and down narrow streets plus checked out local market Naples wanted to go to island of Capri but arrived in port at 9am and couldn't get off ship till 9:30am and calling for thunderstorms so didn't go on high speed ferry. We did the hop off hop on bus around Naples did the red route downtown area and also the blue route which was along the coast. It cost 23Euros. Rome took an extra day after cruise stayed at Hotel Ariston gave us a free upgradeand walked to train station to catch hop on hop off bus took the green line one but not a good tour stops were no where near the sites. Took bus to airport left from train station and was $6.90Euro. Ship was spotless even had lawn on the upper deck. I travelled with my husband and he didn't really enjoy Celebrity cruise line probably wouldn't book with Celebrity again. Read Less