Celebrity Reflection Review
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Have cruised nine times before but never with Celebrity and was a bit apprehensive after reading some of the reviews of the Reflection. We stayed in Civittavechia the night before our cruise and the embarkation at the port was fantastic, it took about five minutes, quickest we have ever been. We had a balcony cabin (7324) which we were very happy with. It was quite roomy and the bathroom was probably the biggest we have had. We chose flexible dining and never had to wait for a table and apart from one night we were always seated in the same area and had the same waiters. We had no problem with the food apart from one starter that my husband had (scallops) which was a minuscule portion, and we heard several people remarking about it as well. We didn't use the speciality restaurants as we were quite happy with the food on offer in the Opus restaurant. We had the classic beverage package and although they try very hard to get you to upgrade, we didn't bother because there was more than enough choice for us with the classic. We went to five of the shows and the only one we didn't like was the Elton John tribute. The Macdonald Brothers were brilliant as were the Tenors of Rock. We enjoyed the music at the different venues around the ship. The excursions are very expensive, we only took one, the transfer to Taormina. We did our own thing at all the other ports. The Reflection is a beautiful ship and although it is quite large it never felt crowded, even on sea days there were plenty of sun beds and plenty of tables in the ocean view cafe. (The food there was very good with plenty of choice).
Cabin Review
Port Reviews
Rome (Civitavecchia)
Stayed in Civitavecchia for one night before our cruise. We stayed in the hotel Traghetto which is just across the road from the cruise terminal, it couldn't be handier.
Mykonos
Tendered ashore to Mykonos and just wandered around on our own. It is quite small so easy to get around. Stopped for a drink at a sea front bar and just had a relaxing time.
Kusadasi
Been there twice before and also been to Ephesus so just went ashore and looked around the Bazaar and had a light lunch in a restaurant with a lovely courtyard. It was a peaceful oasis in the middle of the city.
Rhodes
Went on the open top bus which was a waste of 12 euros each as there was no commentary at the seats we were sitting and quite frankly there wasn't much to see. We went into the old town and wished we had just gone straight there from the ship. You can walk there in about 10 minutes and it was very good, plenty of little shops, restaurants, things to see and atmosphere. Before going back to the ship we thought we would take a look at all the yachts moored at the quayside. We had to pass under an arch but unfortunately we were surrounded by a group of women who had a woven bracelet on my arm before I knew what was happening and then expected money. I found them to be a little intimidating.
Santorini
Santorini is beautiful and although we have been before, we hadn't been to Oia. We tendered ashore and on arrival we saw there was a company offering boat trips to Oia. We decided to do this (15 euros each) and it was such good value. You get a couple of hours in Oia and are then taken by coach back to Fira where you can spend some time or make your way back down to where the tenders are. As we had been to Fira before we just joined the queue for the cable car to take us down.
Athens (Piraeus)
As we had been here before and done all the major tourist attractions we just decided to take the local bus into Athens. The stop was just a short walk from the ship and quite a few people had the same idea. The bus was full so we were standing but it isn't too long a journey so we didn't mind. Another option (which we did the last time) is the hop on hop off bus. We just had a wander around, stopped for a coffee and later had lunch in a restaurant in Plaka. We did have to wait about 45 minutes for a bus back as they don't seem to keep to the timetable but with the amount of traffic, it isn't surprising.
Naples
We walked to the train station where we caught the train for Pompeii. We were stopped at the port entrance by a taxi driver offering to take us to Pompeii, leave us for 2 hours and then take us back, for 70 euros. When we declined and said we were taking the train, he told us they were on strike which was obviously a lie, so don't be caught out. The train cost 5 euros 20 cents each return, the entrance to Pompeii is 13 euros per person and we paid for a guide 12 euros each. It is worth paying for the guide because the place is so large and you would probably miss a lot of the most interesting places. Our guide was very good and the tour lasted around 2 hours. I would not recommend this tour for anyone with mobility problems.