Reflection is decidedly the most beautiful vessel in the Celebrity fleet. We went onboard and walked around to see what kind of changes had been made to improve upon the earlier Solstice class ships. We’re big fans of the Eclipse, having cruised on her twice. Most notable was the expanded covered area on the after deck of level 14. The other Solstice class ships have a bar in that area, but are short of seating spaces under cover for folks who want to stay out of the sun. To make up for the lack of a bar, Reflection has set up a table with drinks on ice and assigned a sommelier and waitstaff to the area who will bring you a drink. This is a definite improvement in seating and service to this area aft of the Oceanview Cafe.

The Lawn Deck is beautiful despite the groundskeeper’s obvious difficulty in keeping the grass growing and green. The new venues on this deck are lovely but most of them cost extra and there is something very contrary to total relaxation about seeing your check out bill mounting on a daily basis. We were extremely grateful for the 123GO drinks package which we had upgraded to the premium level. It is so nice not to have to worry about the cost of every beverage.

The Porch would be such a nice place to have lunch if it weren’t so hot inside. Whoever designed it forgot it was a solarium and didn’t put in air conditioning. The $5pp charge seems ridiculously unnecessary. The fare is limited to paninis, soups, salads and desserts, most of which can be had elsewhere on the ship for no extra charge. It is beautiful, but just too hot inside for enjoyment. Read more