A last minute booking, due to several changes that were coming to our lives, we decided to take a cruise for a week in the Caribbean. We found a good price with Celebrity Reflection thanks to iCruise, 7 nights with 3 ports of call. It would be my 4th cruise and the 1st for both of us on Celebrity. (Check here other cruises I’ve taken)
Cruise ship: Celebrity: Reflection.
Nights: 7
Port of Call: Nassau (Bahamas), St. Thomas (USVI) y Philipsburg (St. Maarten).
Since we bought the tickets, we were able to login to the Celebrity site with our info to find out all the details of the ship. From examples of menus at the restaurants, checking out the decks and what do they offer at each one, knowing our cabin number and a few days before boarding, we were able to check-in and had to choose a block of time to be at the port ready to board.
We chose 12pm since it would give us time, no rushing, to drive from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale (where we were leaving), drop the car at a parking lot and from there a shuttle to the port. Speaking of parking, I think it was my 1st time seeing that organization and a great system to park the cars and then when you are picking up the car to go home, the first time I used Park N’ Go and loved it.
Since we checked-in online before arriving, I don’t know if it’s because of Celebrity or the changes after Covid-19, but we found the process to get on the ship super easy and fast. They simply checked our passports, just making sure that we were the one cruising. Within 30 minutes we were already walking towards the ship’s lobby, or known as the atrium or in this case “Grand Foyer”.
For this trip, we chose an interior cabin, yup, no windows at all. First time and maybe last 😆. Cheaper, but not being able to see the sea drove me nuts a bit, of course, we were trying not to spend a lot of time in the room, it was just to sleep and use the bathroom. In general, very comfortable for the two of us, with a closet, several drawers, 2 spaces on top of the bed, a chair and an armchair, TV, safe and a small refrigerator.
I think, in general, the ship was great. We didn’t feel like sardines, unless I was looking at the main pool since it always seemed to me that it was crowded and I don’t like that at all. The indoor pool was nicer and quieter. The shows at night were very good and entertaining. The food at the buffet was delicious and diverse, one night we had Spanish, another Mexican, Greek, lots of sweets and there was always pizza. In the main dining room (the one that is included) we only tried it 2 nights and it was really good.
One of my favorite areas was The Hideaway. It’s a quiet area with some very interesting furniture and a coffee station, perfect place to sit, relax and perhaps read some book. Actually, on a higher deck you can find a small library with a variety of books.
Oh… and I have to add, I think it’s the ship where I’ve met the friendliest staff ever.
