MEGA Food & Ship Tour of CELEBRITY REFLECTION【10 Night Adriatic Cruise】 An HONEST Review

Watch this comprehensive ship and food tour of the Celebrity Reflection if you’re curious to know whether Celebrity Cruises is the right cruise line for you. Celebrity Cruises is a premium carrier, which means premium prices- so the food is a BIG deal. Join me for this full ship tour, food walk through, cabin tour and honest review.

🎥 In This Video:
-Balcony Cabin Stateroom Tour
-Tour of Dining Venus
-All Bars & Lougnes
-Dinners at Murano, Tuscan Grill, The Porch & Opus Dining Room
-Mega Buffet Tour
-Why I love Celebrity Cruises
-What Celebrity Needs to Work On

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✋🏼 Videos & Playlists Mentioned in Video
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➟ Costa Smeralda Cruise Tour & Review: https://youtu.be/t8P8Q4XkCao
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💸 Fare Paid
Total Cruise Fare: $4053.51* USD
*Single Occupancy Fare for 1 Adult, Double Accupancy Fare for 2 Adults was just $96 USD more
Class: Deck 7 Balcony Stateroom
Inclusions: $450 On Board Credit, Premium Beverage Package, Surf Wifi, Gratuities, all non-Speciality Meals

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↪ Video Chapters ↩
0:00 Welcome to Rome, Cruise Itinerary
01:16 Check in Process & Ship Exterior
02:25 Beginning to Explore Ship, Deck 3
05:20 Upper Deck Lawn Areas
06:55 Sunset Bar
07:48 Outdoor Pool & Lounge Area
10:10 Solarium (Indoor Pool & Lounge Area)
11:08 Forward Outdoor Lounge Areas
12:40 The Hideaway
13:05 Heading to my Cabin
13:24 Full Balcony Stateroom Tour
18:10 The Oceanview Cafe (Buffet Restaurant)
20:13 Breakfast Buffet Offerings
22:56 Lunch & Dinner Buffet: Hero Dishes
24:27 Lunch & Dinner Buffet: Standard Dishes
25:45 Lunch & Dinner Buffet: Specialty (including Vegan)
27:26 Lunch & Dinner Buffet: Themed Dishes
29:17 Lunch & Dinner Buffet: Dessert
31:22 My Beautiful Montage
35:36 Opus Dining Room
36:28 2 Dinners at Opus (Mediocre)
37:57 Breakfast at Opus (Poor)
38:12 Cafe al Bacio
38:43 Sushi on Five, Lunch (Mediocre)
39:13 The Porch, Dinner (Great)
40:03 Mast Grill
40:21 Spa Cafe
40:49 Lawn Club Grill
41:21 Blu Restaurant
41:31 Qsine Restaurant
41:57 Tuscan Grill
42:36 2 Dinners at Tuscan Grill (Excellent)
44:04 Murano
44:45 Dinner at Murano (Excellent)
46:01 Sky Observation Lounge
46:55 Martini Bar
47:44 The Awkward Bits
48:54 Mast Bar
49:08 Ensemble Lounge
49:36 Fortunes Casino
50:35 Spa & Fitness Center
51:03 Game On, iLounge, The Library
51:49 Outdoor Lower Decks
52:48 Celebrity Central
53:10 The Celebrity Theater & Entertainment
54:30 Final Thoughts
56:05 The Flip Flop Score

This is NOT a promotional video. I pay for all of my flights and hotels (and I always tell you how much!) so I can be as honest and impartial as possible. I do not receive any special treatment that wouldn’t otherwise be publicly accessible, in fact, the hotels and airlines have no idea about my visit and that’s the way I like it!

Thumbnail Component Credit: https://flickr.com/photos/40563877@N00/26468578327

#celebritycruises #celebrityreflection #cruisereview

Welcome to Rome- more specifically the port town of Civitavecchia to the north of the city where you will find the primary Cruise Terminal for the city. I am about to board my Celebrity Cruise for a 10 night Adriatic itinerary which begins and ends in Rome.

Along the way we will have stops throughout Italy, as well as Greece, Croatia and Montenegro. There are some docking points in the port here which are not accessible by taxi and that’s where this bus shuttle transit point comes into play.

There is a bay for each of the ships in port and while the tuk tuks would probably be more fun, I think Celebrity prefers we stick to their provided buses. As we pull up to the terminal itself, let me welcome you to the channel if you’re new here.

My name is Kevin and I am the Flip Flop Traveller. I think the internet is in need of a whole lot more honesty when it comes to trip report and travel review content- I’m just here to be real. I make trip reports, high end hotel reviews and occasionally some cruise videos and I

Always self fund my trips. In fact, you’ll always be able to find the exact price I paid in the description below. I didn’t alert Celebrity Cruises that I’ll be filming because I want as normal of an experience as possible.

So, in this video today, I’m going to give you nothing more than my personal, honest and unbiased opinion based on my own experience. Once you arrive at the terminal building, you’ll go through a painless process of filling out baggage tags, checking in and then boarding the ship.

It’s a bit of a dreary day here in Italy though, so let me give you a better look at the Reflection. You’ll notice that she’s all white, but currently, she’s in Celebrities newest livery which is blue and white.

By chance, my cruise was the last cruise before it went into a short dry dock to repaint the hull. Once on board, my first place to go, if allowed, is to the room to drop off my bags.

One of the best changes many cruise lines have made over the past decade or so is allowing guests to access their rooms earlier, with the understanding of, ‘hey, don’t judge us yet, just drop your stuff and go explore…’

In today’s video, we are going to take a detailed look at essentially the entire ship. I’m going to show you ever venue and common space on board and we are going to take a deep and trust me, I mean deep dive into the on board food program.

So, if you’re considering taking a European Celebrity Cruise or a cruise on one of Celebrity’s Solstice Class ships, then you’re going to find this video helpful. But, if you’ve never been on a Celebrity Cruise, you might want to check out my 9 Minute

Celebrity Cruises guide which touches on all of the things that make Celebrity different from the rest of the industry. Just a reminder that there are chapter titles throughout the video to help you skip ahead to the parts that are important to you. I realize it’s a long one.

Right now we are on Deck 3 which has the reception desk- where I spent a lot of time, the Passport Bar and the Shore Excursion desk. This is the lowest desk with common spaces on board, unless you planned on making a stop to the medical center.

Which brings up a funny story, in retrospect. Long story short, I was due to be on this cruise back to back with another Costa Cruise, with family. This video is long overdue for a variety of reasons and at the time, any cruises stopping in Greece still required Covid testing.

Everyone in my family arranged to have the tests on the previous Costa ship the day before disembarkation. You may have guessed by now, but someone tested positive- so they took another loop on Costa in isolation and I continued onto the next cruise- so, it wasn’t necessarily the experience

I was expecting which may be part of the reason why I’ve taken so long to make this video. I needed a good long while to ensure my thoughts and scores were clear and fair. So, detaching our folios and sorting out on board credits and refunds and all of that

Jazz was my primary reason for getting to know literally all of the front desk staff by name. If you know anything about Celebrity, you know they project a modern and cosmopolitan image, which may have you looking at this area of the ship and thinking- wait, why’s it look so dated?

So there are five Solstice Class ships which launched in 2008. This ship, the Reflection, was the last of them, launched in 2012. The downside of that is it to my knowledge is the only one of the bunch that still hasn’t

Had a full top to bottom refurbishment inside- so this is still from Celebrity’s more classic and reserved era, I suppose we can say. So let’s head up top side for a bit of a more refreshing start to the tour.

The heart of the ship truly is this massive elevator shaft which runs from deck 3 up to deck 15 with the Solstice class hallmark live tree suspended in the middle. At the time this class of ship was launched, green things on board were not really the

Norm as they have become on many newer ships and so the lawns on these ships were heralded as perhaps a turning point for cruise ship design. Whether 15 years later they’ve changed the industry, I don’t think so, but I will say I have always enjoyed the green outdoor spaces.

They give a freshness which simply can’t be duplicated without them. There are also cabanas of sorts for rent surrounding the primary lawn, though in all of my Solstice Class cruises, I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen one rented out.

I should mention- while I don’t have many cruise videos on the channels yet, I have taken around 20 of them with around half on Celebrity and the rest spread across Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Virgin Voyages, Holland America and Princess.

I say this just as a little context to where my opinions about cruising come from. Let’s head further back to the venue that I undoubtedly spend more time at than any other, the Sunset Bar at the back of the ship. As we look around, let me tell you a wee bit about Celebrity.

They are part of the Royal Caribbean Group. They own their namesake and Celebrity as well as Silverseas cruises and 50% of TUI Cruises. In total the group has 57 vessels in their fleet with 8 on the way. For Celebrity, there are 13 ships, 3 expedition vessels and 1 more ship on the way.

Celebrity only having one ship on order is really significant in an industry which multiplies like bunnies. This mainly comes down to a strategy shift for Celebrity many years ago which saw them focus on a more premium product with the goal of forming a very loyal customer base rather than expanding willy nilly.

This is one of the reasons I’ve sailed on Celebrity more than any other. They are modern and innovative, but overall they’re generally more evolution than revolution with a really strong focus on food offerings. In the middle of deck 13 and 14 we have the primary pool on board, flanked by four hot tubs.

This is truly one of my favorite parts of the ship. It is modern but it’s not fussy and there are plenty of chairs for the taking, both in the sun and out of it. I also appreciate that there are always plenty of towels and on these more chilly cruises, blankets available.

I can’t stand cruise lines that make you sign over your house just to get your hands on a towel. If you notice much of my video is free of other guests, that is more by design than by circumstance.

In any of my cruise or hotel videos I try my hardest to let other guests enjoy their holiday as much as possible without having some guy walking around with a camera in their face- so I film during off peak hours as much as possible.

There is also the ubiquitous jogging track around the upper deck. Here’s your friendly reminder to click that thumbs up button, subscribe to the channel and share this video with friends and family. Those are truly the easiest ways- all free for you- to help the channel grow.

If you’d like to support me further my Patreon is linked in the description below. Thanks very much in advance. Next up we have the classier cousin of the main pool, the indoor solarium. This space is climate controlled and is the perfect place to relax around the pool no

Matter the time of year or conditions outside. This area also features the most comfortable lounges on board. Last up, we have one place where I do quite a bit of standing around. Every morning at sunrise, you’ll find me up here just in front of the basketball court

With a cup of coffee, soaking in the sunrise as we pull into port. There is also another deck above this one with additional seating. If you head down to the description you’ll find my next five videos to come out as well

As other bits and pieces like the soundtrack titles featured in this video. On your way down there, don’t forget to subscribe- I release full length videos every Thursday and Saturday. A lot of cruise lines these days go quite- shall we say- tacky in their pool area design,

But Celebrity seem’s to have designed a space that actually does blend in with it’s surrounds, no matter where it may be. Ok, time to head to my stateroom for these 10 nights, which is a very long time for me to sleep in one place, if I’m honest.

As we see looking down, each floor has a different function room off of the central atrium, all of which we will explore. First up though was the Hideaway which was on my deck, deck 7. It’s just a nice and quite space- most of the time- to cuddle up with a book.

There’s also a coffee machine on each deck in this area which generally are operational from 7:00. Coffee and Tea in the buffet area though are 24/7 though, as it should be. For this cruise I was in stateroom 7177, a standard balcony stateroom near midship.

As we take a look around, let me give you a big piece of advise if you’re a light sleeper. You must avoid lower decks in the rear of the ship. The Solstice class ships all have a distinct engine vibration which I’ll show you a bit

Later as you can literally see some of my food at dinner vibrating. In the rear third of the ship, make sure to avoid decks below 9. If it’s my choice, I simply avoid the rear third of the ship all together and always prefer midship.

Having just come off of the Costa Cruise, which had what was at the time probably my favorite standard stateroom ever, this stateroom was a bit like walking back in time. That said, these rooms do excel in storage.

Closet space is decent but we can get an idea of what this ship has been through by just looking at the mish mash of hangers. Small details like this are things I don’t expect on a premium cruise line with a very premium price tag. Where they do not excel are these beds.

I’m 6’ tall, 181cm and I cannot stand these beds. First of all, the linens are borderline worn and frumpy, but the bed itself is too small. It is a queen size bed which can be separated to make two extra small twins, but the problem

For me is the length of the bed with it’s silly rounded edge. If I could change one thing on the entire ship, this would be it. The balcony is a standard size and features two reclining chairs as well as a small table.

I remember many years ago when these bathrooms were seen as so modern and everyone was raving about the glass doors on the shower, which are in fact much better than any kind of shower curtain- but this bathroom has seen better days if you take a closer look.

Water stains, rust, a bit of mold, peeling paint. It’s time for a major refurbishment. But let’s change the tune completely and talk turkey- and chicken- and roast beef. Yes, it is time for my favorite part of the video, the 14 minute buffet montage. Wait, wait, wait… don’t fast forward yet.

Just hear me out for a few seconds first. This cruise easily had the best and most consistent buffets I’ve ever had on a cruise. Some of them were truly spectacular. In this industry, the food sometimes is what makes the difference between a $4000 Celebrity cruise versus a $1500 Costa Cruise.

So, if you’re on the fence about whether Celebrity is worth it, for you, it’s worth taking a look at what is on offer. I’ll walk you through the experience, I assure you. First though, I need to point out that the fresh and sun filled Oceanview Cafe is plenty of seats.

In fact, it has almost exactly as many seats as my previous cruise on the massive Costa Smeralda- but that ship has more than double the capacity of the Reflection. The capacity of the Reflection by the way is right around 3000 passengers, which is my favorite size of ship.

Plenty big to always keep you entertained, not big enough to feel like a floating Sheraton. At the back of the deck, just below the Sunset Bar is the outdoor seating area for Oceanview, where you will find me every single morning. Let’s dig in and start with Breakfast.

For the most part, breakfast is a wide variety of foods that does not change from day to do. What you are seeing now is likely what you’ll see daily. Depending on what type of cabin you’re staying in there may be other options for you as well.

Aqua Class passengers can dine at Blu for Breakfast. Suite guests can goto Luminea. Loyalty guests with Elite or higher can have a light breakfast at Tuscan Grill. The Spa Cafe is open for light bites and of course everyone can dine for a sit down breakfast at Opus Dining Room.

We will see these spaces coming up later. Every buffet no matter the meal has gluten free sections, vegan sections and jain vegetarian sections. For the lunch and dinner buffets, I’ll show you quite a bit of the vegan options on offer.

Ok, so I’m combining lunch and dinner buffets together- mostly because it was very much the same caliber and concept of food. Each of these buffets could be broken down into five main sections. The first type of dishes you’re seeing now are what I call the hero dishes.

These were the special dishes or cuts of the day and always fit with the day’s theme. Let me mention, to save a lot of time in what is otherwise already my longest ever video, I’m not showing any food labels or menus in this video.

All of that is of course subject to change and you can get a better idea from Celebrity’s Website as to the current offerings. Today, I’m just trying to give you an idea of what you can expect. The next category were the staples.

These are the basic kinds of food that you’d find at nearly every buffet. From pastas to pizza, grilled meats and fish to salads, cold cuts, vegetables and the like. Perhaps nothing too exciting, but always a decent dependable variety. The next section are the specialty sections.

First up was the Vegan Counter which had a variety of different options each day. I am not vegan, I’m ill equipped to pass judgment on vegan food, but I will say it did feel lacking in protein options in general.

While there was a better variety than I was expecting, it was majority vegetable and rice dishes. The largest of the specialty lines was the always good Indian section with a mix of local and western favorites. The only weak spot I consistently found on board were the east and south east Asian sections.

There were always Indian options, but these other Asian options rotated and were very very very westernized versions of their original selves. The next category of dishes were the supporting cast for the theme of the day- and generally the best stuff on offer. It’s really hard to overstate how good this food was.

You know how many hotels I goto- you know how many cruises I’ve been on- to find a ship with buffet food that is consistently flavorful, has a huge variety, is hot but not dry- it’s nearly a miracle. Most days when we were in port, the food was centered around authentic recipes from that

Region or that country and the food was good enough to want to plan your afternoon around being on board to sample the feat of the day. The sheer variety was hard to believe. Please remember that wrapped veal tenderloin for later. And then, what is a cruise without an excessive amount of dessert.

I’ll be honest, I think desserts used to be a weak spot for Celebrity, but they’ve improved drastically over the years with their offerings. I’m still not a dessert person, but I appreciate the variety and the fact that everything on

Offer is not a syrup or liquor soaked mini square cake which all taste the same like some cruise lines insist on doing till this day. There was always at least one gluten free option for dessert as well as a couple no sugar added options.

So, the food is truly what sets Celebrity apart and is a big part of why I think they are- sometimes- worth the price they charge. But, there is one other part of cruising that I like even more than the food on offer and honestly, it is simply cruising itself.

I love being on the water. I love pulling in and out of port, sunrise and sunset- I love it all. Here’s a four minute montage of a few of my favorite bits from these 10 nights. Ok, back to the food.

As I mentioned there is a section of the main dining room cordoned off named Luminea which has an elevated menu just for suite guests. For the rest of us, we have Opus Dining Room. Food wise, Opus was my only real disappointment for the cruise.

That said, it is a beautiful and massive bi level space. I had Celebrity Select Dining which means you can walk in anytime, but you aren’t guaranteed to have the same table or waiter on a nightly basis. I have always chosen select dining since the program began, so I feel I can compare the

Service here pretty well with prior cruises. The waiters were okay, but the sommeliers and bar staff in the dining room literally could not be less interested with what they were doing- I think compounded by the fact that I had a drink package.

As for the food, it was across the board simply very mediocre. You’ll recognize my main course the first time I stopped by was precisely the same as was on offer at the buffet, but oddly, it was available on the buffet before it was in the dining room.

Celebrity some years back simplified their dining room menus. Soups, starters and salads were combined into one category with six or seven rotating choices as well as four classics choices which were the same every night. Same concept for the mains which featured 6 rotating pastas and mains combined and three classics.

I will admit that part of my feeling that the food here was mediocre was simply because of how good the buffet food was. But I think dining room food at the very least has to be as good in quality and cookery as

A buffet, if it’s not- what’s the point of being served a la carte at all? I also had breakfast in the dining room, once. Once was more than enough. Just not my thing, I don’t want a formal sit down experience just to get the exact same food that’s in the buffet.

If my French Omelet was infact a french omelet and not just an American style chive omelet, perhaps it would have been worth it. What is always worth it though is Cafe al Bacio which is the speciality coffee shop on board.

On one side they have chargeable gelato and on the other the espresso and pastry bar. Pastries are free for all, but the drinks are all chargeable- but all included with most inclusive beverage packages. They open daily at 5:30 or 6:00 depending on the day and there was almost always a small-

Or long- line as they opened. Next up, as we explore the supporting cast of chargeable restaurants is Sushi on Five. On a longer itinerary like this one, it was a nice break from lunch buffets, but it is all very westernized.

On a cruise line like Celebrity, I’d expect lobster ramen and a spicy tuna roll to be more elevated. Sushi on Five is chargeable a la carte. Next up is The Porch, which is likely the only venue on the ship which doesn’t really advertise it’s existence.

It’s a flat fee chargeable dinner option and focuses on casual seafood. The waiter told me that generally all but two tables are reserved for suite guests, which is why it’s not advertised. It was overall a really nice experience- besides the weird american cheese bread- the highlights

Being the fish tacks and the lobster roll. Next up was the Mast Grill. Located just above the pool, the mast Grill is open for lunch daily and has bugers and dogs with all of the fixings. The Spa Cafe is meant to be a healthy and light breakfast and lunch offering located

Within the solarium. The Lawn Club Grill, I’ve never felt the need to dine at and it just feels like an odd concept to me. It’s essentially a cook it yourself steakhouse, but if you want they’ll help you cook it- but it’s not social like Korean BBQ since the grills are not table side.

Just feels like a disjointed and unnecessary concept since Tuscan Grill is so good. Speaking of which, let’s head now to the main attractions. First up is the Aqua Class restaurant Blu, which frankly is the main benefit in my opinion

Of having an Aqua Class room, an incremental cost I’ve never thought was worth the price. Next up, Qsine. When this debuted on one of the Millennium class ships many many years ago, it was innovative and fun and edgy.

Now, I feel like it’s time as a concept has passed- feeling more gimmicky than anything else. I’ve dined there on other cruises, the food is good, but wasn’t worth a visit for me this time. What was worth two visits for me though was my favorite, Tuscan Grill.

As a full steakhouse experience, I think the food here is the best at sea- and the service both here and at Murano was beyond exceptional. Personable, attentive, knowledgeable beyond the book- likely the best of the service staff on board. As for the food, honestly it’s hard to go wrong.

The crab cakes are fantastic, the slab of bacon, I mean it’s a slab of bacon- oh and here, take a look at my mozzarella ball, can you see it vibrating a bit? You’ll see it in the sauces and meatballs coming up as well. That’s the engine vibration I was talking about.

The beef cheek pappardelle was probably my favorite thing from the menu. Steaks were also very well cooked. The second time I went a bit more classic. The meatballs were delicious. The calamari was fine, but pretty basic and the Carbonara was not a real carbonara, more like an oversauced alfredo with peas.

But the steak and polenta fries did make up for it. The equally good highlight food wise came from Murano, the French specialty restaurant. Very old school in design and menu and service, Murano is an occasion which I’d recommend for anyone on board. Tuscan Grill, Qsine and Murano are all fixed price chargeable venus.

You pay a flat fee and can order anything you’d like. Note that booking ahead of your cruise online will give you a discount as will going to a speciality restaurant on the first night of the cruise. The meal started off with a rose water panna cotta and a selection of breads to choose

From- really good breads. For starters, I tried the Creamy Maine Lobster Bisque and the Wild Forest Mushroom Cappuccino. To say that you were encouraged to over order here and at Tuscan Grill would be an understatement. For the main I had the Dover Sole served beautifully, tableside.

For dessert I had the Grand Marnier Souffle which was accompanied with chocolates, because why not. Plus, since all of that wasn’t enough, there was the final cheese course which you can pick from the cart. It is truly a feast at these restaurants.

Ok, food is done, let’s move onto some of the bars and lounges. My goto spot on board anytime the weather outside was crappy was always the Sky Observation Lounge. It’s always been one of my favorite places on board during the day when it’s not actually functioning as a bar and lounge.

Always quiet with great views. At night, they often feature live music and a full bar. Let’s talk about service. This is a bit of a mixed bag, so I’m going to split it into a couple categories. As I mentioned, the specialty restaurant staff were the best on board.

The stateroom attendants were diligent and friendly across the board- greeting you in the hallways regardless of if they were your attendant or not. The officers and upper level staff as well as the lower level staff- I’m talking about cleaners and such were all much more engaging than usual and were constantly exchanging

Smiles and pleasantries all around them. The only letdown when it came to service were I suppose you’d call it, the core staff. From bar staff, to the main dining room, to reception- there was a nonchalant quality of them which I strangely think was pretty similar to my United flight from Tokyo to

LAX quite a while ago. It was familiar, but not necessarily friendly. It kinda felt like you were going to work and were saying hello to colleagues who you had to be nice to on a daily basis but in reality didn’t really care for. Just a strange vibe.

Next up, likely the most popular evening bar on board, the Martini Bar with over 100 varieties of Vodka and Gin on offer- most of which are included with the premium drink package. The bar surface itself is frozen to keep your drink extra cold and the crush bar just next

Store has a beautiful display. The next couple of bars honestly, are my least favorite venues on board. This part of the ship always felt unnecessary and out of place to me. Integrated into the shopping area is the World Class Bar which is generally used for one

Reason, when the Martini Bar doesn’t have any open seats. Then we have Cellar Masters. At night it is a dimly lit wine bar with an impressive wine list, but during the day it’s just another comfortable lounge to sit and chat away.

Up top we have the Mast Bar, which also has a mobile version you’ll see constantly roaming around the decks. Finally, we have the Ensemble Lounge where you’ll find nightly live music and a very dark jazzy vibe. As for other venues that aren’t primarily drinking holes, first up we have the massive casino.

The casino itself does of course have its own bar. And just in case you win big, they have the future cruise office and art action just close by to try to recapture some of your winnings. Then we have the spa and fitness center- a very well equipped one.

Now we are moving on to those other spaces off of the atrium. Up top we have the Game room. Then we have the once innovative Celebrity iLounge for those of you that like to buy your computers while sailing.

Just below that we have the bi level Library, just another nice place to curl up and read. As for lounging areas, the final space is the near wrap around outdoor deck which you’ll find behind the life boats with great views and often not many guests.

Last up, we have the non-liquid night time entertainment. There are two primary venues for performances on the ship. The first is called Celebrity Central and hosts everything from movies at sea, to game shows to smaller comedy sets. The granddaddy of the venues though is the Celebrity Theater which can seat up to 1115

People. In general they feature cover bands, comedy shows and in house shows and this cruise was no exception- but I will say the in house show was a major disappointment. Many years ago, Celebrity debuted a new style of their own in house shows which were meant

To be “broadway style” in nature and in the past, they were really- really good. On this sailing, it was the complete opposite. The show titled Elysium was just a trainwreck. It almost felt as if all of the cast were the understudies to the understudies and the

Majority of the problems were with the vocals. It was cringeworthy how off pitch they were- always. I genuinely don’t know if this is a cost cutting measure, Covid related or perhaps they were actually understudies. The audience in attendance can tell you all you need to know.

I’ll note, this ship was packed during my trip. What never disappoints on Celebrity though are the house bands who would often set up camp at the base of the atrium. I never really considered this much previously- I just thought it was the way it was.

But after cruises on Costa and more recently Virgin, I think there’s something to be said about officer interaction. On Costa, I’m not even sure we had a captain, they never said a word. On Virgin, we got a 15 second monotone welcome on embarkation day- nothing more.

On celebrity, they captain gave daily updates on our progress and course and like all other Celebrity captains I’ve had, had an excellent customer facing personality. By chance during my cruise the Reflection had it’s 10th Birthday.

So, this was a long one for sure, but if I’m going to tell you the best thing about the cruise was most of the food and especially the variety of it, well then I think I better show you exactly what I mean so you can make a proper decision about whether Celebrity’s

Prices are worth it, because let’s not kid ourselves- Celebrity charges a massive premium compared to some other mainstream lines. On these older ships, where the rooms aren’t state of the art and some of the spaces on

Board are feeling a bit older- I don’t think those are major problems, but in my mind it simply hinges a lot more of the decision making on other things like the food offerings. Whether or not it’s worth it for you- well that’s a decision I can only assist you in making.

All of that said, quite a lot, I really do hope that you found this full tour and review of the Celebrity Reflection useful. If you did or if you want to see my other hotel and airline content twice a week, be sure to subscribe and click that thumbs up button.

I’ll see you next time on board Aegean Airlines from London Heathrow to Athens.