This was only our second cruise with Celebrity and our third in total. We have previously sailed for 4 weeks, transatlantic both ways, with Fred Olsen on the Black Watch and then, some 9 months ago, with Celebrity on the Century from Sydney to Auckland for two weeks departing Sydney on Christmas Eve 2011. The Fred Olsen cruise was small, luxurious and intimate giving us a taste for another transatlantic crossing with a week of sea-time being acceptable.

The fact that there were to be only three ports of call on The Reflection cruise was not perfect but with the sea day in between Palma Mallorca and Tenerife before setting off across the Atlantic for seven days, we thought it would be just about bearable and we were keen to see the new ship after being on the much older Century. We made all our travel arrangements with Celebrity and, although considerably more expensive than doing it ourselves, the flights and transfers went very smoothly if slightly more complicated than necessary involving two flights and an overnight stay in London before boarding where one flight direct with better timings was available. Still, you live and learn.

Arrival at the quayside in plenty of time for boarding was nice, what followed was not, long queues, long delays and no-one on board to show us to our stateroom when we eventually got on board. Still the ship looked well and we were keen to see around. Our first disappointment awaited in our room, the stop in Tenerife had been cancelled because of an engine problem and, after Palma Mallorca, we were going to be at sea for TEN DAYS! This meant only two Ports of call at the very start of the cruise and then nothing until disembarkation in Miami, not something we would have been happy to do if we had been told. Celebrity knew about this for at least ten days before our sailing and did not do us the courtesy of letting us know, not great customer relations there I think. The compensation given of $150 on-board spend(or cash at the end of the cruise if preferred) was derisory to say the least. We had planned to meet some friends in Tenerife for a special Birthday party and had presents with us, sadly they had to come back home at the end of our cruise. I am still not convinced about the reasons given for this change of schedule and the subsequently more more northerly course in colder weather especially as we arrived in Miami well ahead of schedule after a very slow last few days at sea. We found those extra sea days to be very tedious. Read more