Upgraded Celebrity Solstice Begins Spring Season in the Pacific

Upgraded Celebrity Solstice Begins Spring Season in the Pacific

The Celebrity Solstice recently kicked off a spring season in the Pacific after undergoing a major upgrade project at a shipyard in Singapore.

As part of a $250-million refit program that will see other Solstice-class vessels being modernized, the 2008-built ship welcomed guests back on March 2, 2026.

Sailing from Singapore Marina Bay Cruise Center, the vessel offered a 12-night cruise that ended in Hong Kong earlier this month.

The Celebrity Solstice is now set to offer additional itineraries in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific before repositioning to Alaska for a summer season.

The schedule includes a 14-night cruise to Australia that sails between Singapore and Sydney, featuring visits to Bali, Darwin, Port Douglas, Yorkeys Knob and Airlie Beach.

In early April, the Solstice is also set to offer a 16-night itinerary to the South Pacific that is highlighted by destinations in Fiji.

Sailing between Sydney and Honolulu, the cruise features visits to Lifou, Lautoka, Apia, Pago Pago and Suva.

The 122,000-ton vessel is then set to arrive in Alaska in early May for a series of seven-night cruises departing from Vancouver.

The itineraries include visits to Ketchikan, Skagway, Juneau and Icy Strait Point, in addition to scenic cruising at Hubbard Glacier and the Tracy Arm Fjord.

In October, the ship returns to Hawaii before kicking off a winter season in Australia, New Zealand and Asia.

During its 45-day drydock, the Celebrity Solstice saw the debut of new dining venues, as well as updated public areas and staterooms.

The vessel’s capacity was also significantly increased with the addition of 54 extra cabins to areas across six decks.

Among the new features introduced onboard is Trattoria Rossa, a new Italian-inspired specialty restaurant that replaced Qsine at Silk Harvest.

The Celebrity Solstice also saw the addition of the Sunset Park, a new outdoor venue that will offer lawn games and open-air concerts.

Celebrity Unveils $250 Million Solstice-Class Upgrades

Celebrity Unveils $250 Million Solstice-Class Upgrades

Celebrity Cruises is investing more than $250 million to modernise its Solstice-class vessels, starting with Celebrity Solstice in March 2026.

The company said guests can look forward to eight new experiences, including four new-to-sea spaces, and many redesigned favourites.

Innovations include reinvented outdoor escapes with enhanced views, new restaurants and entertainment designed to create moments of connection with loved ones, as well as a redesigned stay with all-new stateroom categories and ship-wide stateroom upgrades.

“Our Solstice Series ships represent the best of classic cruising, and now we’re elevating this vacation experience even further by adding brand new experiences and enhancements at every turn,” said Laura Hodges Bethge, president of Celebrity Cruises. “Guests will enjoy more ways to explore and restore, all while staying true to what made our guests fall in love with these ships in the first place.”

Highlights:

• Boulevard Lounge – Good times and glamorous vibes will take centre stage at this brand-new, intimate entertainment venue. With always-on programming, from interactive daytime activities like new game shows and trivia to elevated evenings of candlelit concerts and duelling pianos, this cabaret-inspired lounge offers a dramatic new take on showtime.
• Boulevard Bar – Just steps away from the lounge, guests can pull up a seat for handcrafted cocktails before or after the show—or both.
• Celebrity Barcade – Guests should bring their A-game to this new, elevated sports bar, the perfect place to both watch and play games. Guests can catch their favourite sports teams from multiple screens positioned so well they’ll never miss a pass, or challenge their friends to a round of billiards, darts, or their favourite retro board game.
• Trattoria Rossa – Step into an Italian hideaway that blends opulence with modern design to experience a restaurant that bursts with charm from every corner. The perfect setting to reignite date night, guests will have a front row seat to the action with authentic tableside preparations of dishes inspired by Italian classics, including fresh pasta made from scratch daily.
• Fine Cut Steakhouse – The Forbes Travel Guide-rated, Edge Series favourite steakhouse will bring upscale dining with service that’s elevated to an art form. There’s something for everyone at Fine Cut Steakhouse, which offers 30-day dry-aged steaks, fresh seafood, the elevated service Celebrity is known for, and elegance at every turn.

 

In addition, Sunset Park transforms the top deck of Celebrity Solstice, where guests can enjoy unparalleled views from this half-acre outdoor oasis. Plus, with elevated cuisine, refreshing cocktails, lawn games, open-air concerts, and more, a day at the park never looked so good.

Celebrity noted all staterooms will be refreshed, and four new categories will be added: the Panoramic Infinite Veranda Suite, Deluxe Panoramic Oceanview Suite, Panoramic Ocean View Suite and Deluxe Panoramic Ocean View.

Bow-to-stern enhancements also include a design refresh for more venues: Café Al Bacio, Cellar Masters, World Class Bar, Martini Bar, Pool Bar, Passport Bar, Blu—exclusive to AquaClass guests, and Luminae—exclusive to guests of The Retreat, the Fitness Centre, and Camp at Sea.

Celebrity Solstice Asia Season Cancelled; Set for Mexican Riviera Instead

Celebrity Solstice Asia Season Cancelled; Set for Mexican Riviera Instead

Celebrity Cruises has announced a deployment move for the Celebrity Solstice, as the Royal Caribbean Group brand said it would cancel the ship's 2022-2023 season in Asia.

Instead, the ship will reposition to the Mexican Riviera, the company said.

"We have made the difficult decision to cancel our Asia season due to the ongoing uncertainty around when international operations might fully restart in this region. Our guests have the option to apply their current booking to select Asia sailings in our 2023-2024 season, or, they may choose a full refund," read a statement from Celebrity.

"We thank our guests for their patience and understanding as the world continues to reopen and we continue to work through unique circumstances. We will reposition Celebrity Solstice to sail a season of Mexican Riviera itineraries beginning in September."

The Solstice was scheduled to move to Asia in the fall after a summer season of Alaska cruises, sailing mainly from Seattle. 

After her Alaska season, the ship was scheduled for longer itineraries, including deployments in Japan in October and then moving to Southeast Asia in November and December.

Celebrity Cruises reveals identity of new ships for Dublin and Southampton

Celebrity Cruises reveals identity of new ships for Dublin and Southampton

Celebrity Eclipse, home porting in Southampton 

Celebrity Cruises has revealed Celebrity Eclipse will become the first ship from a major line to home port in Dublin in 2018 after spending the last eight years sailing out of Southampton.

Solstice-class sister vessel Celebrity Silhouette will replace Eclipse in Southampton, offering northern Europe and Mediterranean itineraries from 2018. The deployment is the most significant ever made in the UK and Ireland by Celebrity Cruises.

Silhouette will sail seven and eight-night Norwegian Fjord sailings, 12 to 14 night Scandinavia and Russia itineraries and 13 to 14 night Mediterranean, Canaries and Azores itineraries.

Jo Rzymowska, vice president and managing director for the UK, Ireland and Asia, said: “The performance of the Celebrity Cruise UK and Ireland business has gone from strength to strength in recent years and we are pleased to be able to grow our offering in the region with both Celebrity Silhouette and Celebrity Eclipse home porting from here during the 2018 season.

“After speaking with our trade partners we saw this as a great opportunity for us to expand and this is the biggest ever change made to UK and Ireland deployment.”

Rzymowska said Celebrity Eclipse is well known by customers and trade so would build a solid foundation as the line’s first ship sailing out of Dublin.

“Eclipse is a much-loved ship, so by moving her to Dublin we believe some guests will follow, as well as attracting new passengers too.

“Dublin is very popular with our north American guests who have great affinity with the country plus with its upgrades Silhouette can offer an enhanced experienced with sailings out of Southampton.”

Russia sailings on Celebrity Silhouette from Southampton in July 2018 include the chance to attend the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Moscow including the third position match in Saint Petersburg.

During its farewell season in 2017, Celebrity Eclipse will host a special ‘Modern Luxury’ two-night sailing to Le Havre as well as a President’s Cruise attended by the line’s president and chief executive Lisa Lutoff Perlo.

The Solstice-class ships will be joined by two other Celebrity vessels in Europe in 2018.

Celebrity Constellation will sail out of Venice, Rome and Barcelona while Celebrity’s newest ship Reflection will sail out of Rome with eastern and western Mediterranean itineraries. 

Celebrity Cruises to base ship in Dublin

Celebrity Cruises to base ship in Dublin

Irish travel agents will have a dedicated ship to sell when Celebrity Cruises becomes the first major cruise line base a ship in Dublin.

One of the line’s 2,800-plus passenger Solstice-class vessels will run five sailings from the Irish capital’s port between April and June 2018.

Itineraries will run throughout northern Europe with details to be announced later in the year.

The line expects to attract more than 14,000 passengers to the Dublin sailings.

The move is estimated to be worth almost €6 million to Dublin and the surrounding area in knock-on economic benefits.

Celebrity Cruises already features Dublin and other ports throughout Ireland in its European deployment.

However this is the most significant increase in its investment into Ireland in the history of the global business.

UK and Ireland managing director Jo Rzymowska said: “Celebrity Cruises has enjoyed significant support from our travel agent partners and guests throughout Ireland for many years.

“Now we are saying thank you by basing one of the flagships of our fleet in Dublin for a mini season during early summer 2018.

“We know that our guests from around the world, and in Ireland, will love the warm welcome they receive when starting a holiday in Dublin.

“Calling Dublin home in 2018 is a major development to our European deployment.”

Dublin Port has hosted more than 180,000 cruise visitors on over 100 cruise ship calls this year, including four turnarounds where the ship begins its sailing and guests embark.

Head of corporate services Pat Ward said: “It has been a clear ambition of Dublin Port to attract a cruise line to offer our great city as a homeport.

“Today, that ambition is realised and Celebrity Cruises will be an important step-change in our history.

“The opportunities that this new investment will bring are extensive. We look forward to maximising this new platform for growth and welcoming yet more cruise ships and holidaymakers to Dublin for the first time.”

Just one cruise ship scheduled to use new Panama Canal locks

Just one cruise ship scheduled to use new Panama Canal locks

Caribbean Princess

The new, wider locks on the Panama Canal will open June 26 with the first official transit of a cargo ship, but don’t expect much traffic through them from cruise ships.

Only one cruise ship has reserved space to move through the new locks, which are open to one cruise ship a day starting in June 2017, according to the Panama Canal Authority.

Princess Cruises' Caribbean Princess is scheduled to make a series of thirteen 10-day cruises through the canal beginning Oct. 21, 2017.

At 118 feet wide, the 3,080-passenger Caribbean Princess can’t fit into the 110-foot locks that were opened in 1914. The new locks had been scheduled to open in time for the centennial but were delayed by disputes between Panama and the consortia of contractors that built them.

The new locks rely on tugs rather than electric locomotives to move ships through them. Doubts have been raised about the ability to fit the tugs in the locks along with the longest ships, but at 951 feet, the Caribbean Princess will have room to spare in the 1,400 foot locks.

For cargo ships, questions have also been raised about the record-low depths of water in Gatun Lake, which connects locks on the Atlantic and Pacific side of the canal. Depths hit 81.75 feet earlier this year. But large cruise ships typically need only about 30 feet to operate.

Most cruise ships transiting the Panama Canal will continue to use the old locks. Cruise lines have several ships operating in Alaska that would need the new locks to move to the Atlantic, such as Royal Caribbean International’s Explorer of the Seas and Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Solstice. But for now they are stationed year-round in the Pacific, moving to Australia, New Zealand and the Far East during the winter.

A spokesman for Carnival Cruise Line said Carnival doesn't have any full transit Panama Canal cruises scheduled through April 2018.

Holland America Line recently launched the Koningsdam, the first HAL ship that will not fit through the old locks, but it is currently deployed in Europe during the summer and the Caribbean during the winter.

Celebrity Cruises packages combine ocean and river voyages

By Tom Stieghorst

Celebrity Cruises said it will offer 11 itineraries next year that combine an ocean cruise with a river cruise in Europe.

The fully commissionable packages range from 16 to 24 nights and will be available on four well-known rivers: the Danube, Rhine, Rhone and Seine. Celebrity's river cruise partner is Amras Cruises.

“By introducing these river-and-ocean cruise packages, travellers can immerse themselves in Europe more so than ever before, with the ease of choosing a vacation package exclusively created by Celebrity,” said the cruise line's president, Michael Bayley.

The deluxe packages will be sold with airfare, pre-cruise hotel stays, transfers and a beverage package, making them similar to a luxury cruise in concept. 

Celebrity to offer high-end cruise tours

By Tom Stieghorst

Celebrity Cruises plans to launch regular high-end cruise tours, with the first three set to be offered in 2015.
The product will be known as Celebrity Explorations. Travel agents will earn commission on the land portion at the same rate as their cruise commission, said Dondra Ritzenthaler, Celebrity’s senior vice president of sales and trade support and services.

“We are always trying think of things that our travel partners will like and embrace,” Ritzenthaler said, while at the same time being popular with cruise customers.

A cruise tour that combines a three-night stay and city tour in Sydney with a Celebrity Solstice cruise from Australia will kick off the new venture in January.

In August, Celebrity will begin offering a five-night African safari that will end with a cruise on one of several itineraries from Southampton, England.

Finally, in December, Celebrity will begin offering a river/ocean cruise combination that includes a four-night voyage on the Amazon River and a longer Celebrity Infinity cruise in South America.

Ritzenthaler said there will be other cruise tours developed as time goes by. “The strategy is we’ll continue to give our travel partners and guests Celebrity Explorations on an ongoing basis, so it’s not a one-time deal,” she said.

Celebrity earlier this year promoted a five-night African safari with a Black Sea cruise with departures this fall as part of a pilot program for the new offerings. 

Celebrity’s new spa provider plans more than pampering

By Tom Stieghorst

 Celebrity Cruises is shaking up the spa services available on its ships starting in March when Canyon Ranch takes over the concession on 10 ships from Steiner Leisure Ltd.

Peter Smith, Canyon’s COO, promises to announce new treatments in the next few weeks that will be available to Celebrity passengers once the hand-off occurs.

In an interview last week, Smith outlined three emerging areas in the spa industry and in particular at Canyon Ranch, which puts as much or more emphasis on wellness as on beauty care.

• Brain health: Smith calls this “a major issue for many of our customers.” With longevity rising, there are more seniors living to an age where diminished memory or various forms of dementia are distinct threats. Canyon Ranch plans an onboard lecture series on the latest thinking behind brain health and what can be done to prevent or mitigate declining mental skills.
Brain health is a major focus for Dr. Richard H. Carmona, president of the Canyon Ranch Institute and a former surgeon general appointed by George W. Bush. He is the author of “30 Days to a Better Brain,” due out from Atria Books in May.

• Stress: “This is a huge issue right now,” said Smith. Many passengers choose to cruise in part or entirely to escape the pressures of their daily obligations to work, family and even themselves.

“It really crosses every aspect of our lives,” said Smith, and is a contributor to many modern ailments from teeth grinding and overeating to high blood pressure and heart disease.

“We’re spending a lot of our time trying to explain how to cope with stress,” said Smith.

• Sleep: Whether it is a sleep disorder or the simple difficulty of getting a full night’s rest, more people than ever need help achieving regular and healthy sleep. “As a nation, we don’t sleep,” said Smith, who said improvement of sleep habits will be another wellness offering at Canyon Ranch spas.

Although the more exotic treatments at spas can sometimes seem trivial or silly, the wellness concerns outlined by Smith are serious ones shared by many potential cruise passengers. By attending a Canyon Ranch discussion on one of these topics, they may be getting more lasting insight into rest and relaxation on their next Celebrity cruise.

Celebrity Cruises' new Suite Class includes exclusive restaurant

By Tom Stieghorst

Celebrity Cruises said it will launch a Suite Class on its ships to upgrade the experience of guests in its premium suites.

The category will include a dedicated restaurant that will have menus not available anywhere else onboard.

It also will include complimentary meals at all specialty restaurants, premium beverages, access to the Michael’s Club VIP lounge and unlimited Internet access for guests in Royal, Penthouse and Reflection suites.

Suite Class will be fully implemented in April, Celebrity said.

Celebrity did not say what fare premium would be associated with Suite Class.

Celebrity Summit wears refurbs well

By Rebecca Tobin

The cruise industry keeps outdoing itself. No sooner does one company introduce a ship with a lineup of new features, innovative use of deck space and a celebrity chef partnership than another ship is on the drawing board with another new dining concept, new family stateroom configuration, new amazing waterpark.

The speedy advance of shipboard features for a line's flagship class leaves the line with a perennial problem: what to do about the older vessels in the fleet. How do cruise lines update ships that were designed at great expense and often refurbished but don't have the new bells and whistles, or were built during an era of cruising when tastes and priorities were different?

The issue can affect the company throughout: Being able to train and move crew effectively between classes of ships, for example, or in sales and marketing.

Each line deals with fleet upgrades in different ways, depending on the need — from individual ship refurbs to multiship programs like Carnival's Evolutions of Fun and Holland America's Signature of Excellence — and one way is to bring the best of the new innovations to the older ships and make them into brand standards.

Take Celebrity, for example. The Celebrity Solstice debuted in 2008 to a storm of praise and a slew of new features: The "clean cuisine" at Blu, the AquaClass category of suites, the creperie called Bistro on Five and the Lawn Club with real grass, to name a few.

Celebrity's Millennium class, meanwhile, is separated from the Solstice by about eight years. The 2,000-passenger Millennium ships are different from their modern sister ships because of their size and because, simply, they were constructed when different trends were in vogue.

The ships had a main dining room and an alternative-dining restaurant for the special-occasion night, serviceable bars (martini bar on the port side, champagne bar on starboard), a cigar bar, a linear lido buffet restaurant, an Internet cafe. There were three levels to the evening dress code.
In January 2010 then-CEO Dan Hanrahan revealed the plan to import the best of the Solstice innovations to the Millennium ships during three-week drydock periods, and introduced the term "Solsticize" as a verb and industry buzzword.

Greg Purdy, Celebrity's senior vice president of operations, last month talked about some of the reasoning behind the Solsticizing of the older vessels.

"I think what we did — we know we're not going to get a Solstice-class ship — [was] to make sure the ships are relevant and attractive to the market we're going after," he said.

"You'll feel like you were with the brand you were marketed to."

The Summit experience

On a cruise aboard the 12-year-old Summit this summer, the melding of old and new seemed consistent. If I hadn't studied an old deck plan, and had memories of sailing on the Constellation, several years ago, to guide me, I probably wouldn't have known that the Bistro on Five had been carved out of a former lounge, or that Qsine hadn't always been in its space on Deck 11.

In fact, occasionally, a few of the Solstice amenities seem better situated on the Millennium-class ships, Purdy said. Qsine was a perfect example: With the room's "dramatic" high ceilings and tall, windowed walls that look out to the top deck and over the ocean, guests are treated to a stellar view (see related report, "In dining, whimsy vs. refinement.").

Some of the innovations in traffic patterns can't be replicated on an older ship without tearing the footprint out completely. There's no getting around the linear setup of the Oceanview Buffet, which had some, but not all, of the same food offerings on its port and starboard counters.

I'd brought my young daughter, so I was ineligible to stay in the adults-only AquaClass. On the Solstice these cabins are located on the deck below the spa, but on the Summit the cabins are located aft; the spa, far forward; and Blu, the exclusive restaurant with its own design scheme, is a carve-out of the main restaurant.
The Martini Bar in the ship's atrium appeared to be a clear winner: It was set into a windowed alcove and featured a solid menu of drinks, from fancy cocktails to the familiar standards, expertly poured.

One thing that Solsticizing does is sharpen some of the spaces that previously were less defined or less trafficked. For example, the Martini Bar, which Purdy said "livened up that whole central atrium area."

Bistro on Five was a pleasant change from dinner in the large Cosmopolitan dining room, and the menu of crepes was unique. The design of the room was fresh and modern. Its presence also leaves the adjacent Cellar Masters with a more defined space. One fun feature here is a wine dispensary where cruisers can swipe their cards for a measure of wine (bartenders are also on hand).

The Summit's iLounge, on Deck 6, isn't as striking as the Apple displays on the Solstice ships, which are on view in the main atrium.

However, the ship is WiFi-enabled now, so cruisers are able to use their MacBooks aand PC laptops throughout the vessel. They can shop for Apple products at the store in the Galleria shopping zone separate from the iLounge.

Some things onboard just change over time, regardless of Solsticizing. Michael's the cigar bar is now Michael's the craft beer bar (cigars can be purchased and smoked at the outdoor bar behind the Oceanview).

And other interesting Solstice favorites aren't on the older ships. I was disappointed that there wasn't a Lawn Club, for example, which I thought could have been a great add to the Summit's forward top deck.

Of course, not every bar and lounge and blade of grass can make the final cut during a Solsticizing, and Purdy said that the line makes decisions based on, among other things, amount of drydock time available, perceived return on investment and what they think will be "the best for the experience" — it is a business, after all.

The retrofit also added cabins to the Millennium-class ships. But Purdy emphasized that the return isn't necessarily all based on bottom-line dollars and cents.

"The bigger kind of return is that we can market all our ships more cohesively, and ticket prices [are] more cohesive," he said, "having the iconic venues to make it a more cohesive fleet."

Rebecca's picks

• Kudos to the roving waiters in the Oceanview breakfast buffet who toted carafes of coffee to diner's tables, and in particular the waiter who sang out as he walked. "Coffee, coffee!" No matter what shape you're in, if you're a coffee lover it's always better to receive your coffee with a song and a smile. And the complimentary coffee in the Oceanview is pretty darn decent.

• Parents: Kids can hang at the Fun Factory during the day, and/or they can stay for the dinner hour and nosh (chaperoned) on pizza at the Oceanview cafe; there are also Fun Factory evening hours. This is perfect for parents who want a nice dinner with a length or conversation above the tolerance of your standard grade schooler. A high schooler we met onboard gave good marks to the XClub for tweens and teens.

• The Bermuda route is a unique itinerary: two days at sea, two-and-a-half days in port in Dockyards, Bermuda, then one day at sea. It's an excellent offering for clients who a) like the cruise experience and b) like sand and sun on their vacation but c) want to spend a little more time in one destination. The Summit departs from Bayonne, N.J., convenient to Newark Airport. It also attracts a big drive market.

• The food on the Summit was good: The lunchtime pool-area grill was OK, and the healthier fare at the spa cafe next to the thalassotherapy pool was good for those people who like healthy food on their cruise (I am told that Those People do exist). However, lovers of Indian food are in luck. To my tastebuds the Asian fare seemed to be the most consistently great offering at the Oceanview, and the Indian fare was the best of the Asian offerings. The Indian-influenced plates at Qsine were also terrific.

Celebrity invests in New York

By Tom Stieghorst

Having finished the Solstice-class shipbuilding program, Celebrity Cruises has pivoted to focus on yields.

Typical is the campaign unfolding in the New York area, one of 10 urban centers where the demographics match up well with Celebrity’s pitch for "modern luxury."

To goose sales while moving rates upward, Celebrity is making its presence known in multiple ways. It has a list of 1,500 agents in the New York area it will be contacting to get better acquainted.

Representatives have been attending targeted events, such as the New York Wine Expo earlier this month.

Through May 31, Celebrity is offering area agents a bonus commission for sailings of six nights or more of $200 for a suite and $75 for balcony cabins, plus $100 onboard credit for clients. And starting next week, Celebrity will conduct a sales blitz with the goal of face-to-face contact with 750 New York area agents. 

“We’re going to be out for a full week,” said Celebrity’s Northeast sales manager Sheri Pasternak. “We won’t see our families, but it's all good,” she said.

With three sales reps for New York, northern New Jersey and Long Island, Celebrity normally keeps in touch with 300 to 400 area agents. For the March Madness push, Pasternak is getting help from a sales team flown in from Miami for the week.

To capture agents’ attention, there will be extra commission incentives, giveaways, mystery caller contests, and consumer offers exclusive to the New York area. 

“It’s kind of something new for us, that we’re trying,” Pasternak said.  “We don’t have the kind of dollars that our sister company Royal [Caribbean] has for TV, so we’re really doing more local efforts and truly laser-focused.”

The push continues in April, Pasternak said, with “lunch n’ learn” sessions in three or four northeastern cities.

Sailing options from New York will increase this year with the year-round debut of Norwegian Breakaway in May.  That month, Celebrity Summit starts a summer of sevem-day New York-Bermuda cruises, the same route offered by Breakaway.

“We’re up against some hefty competition, and we understand that,” Pasternak said.

But she thinks the time is right for Celebrity’s "modern luxury" branding to break through. 

“Even though we’ve had it for a year and a half, its now just starting to resonate with the consumer,” she said. “So we’re going to continue that even more so, and really get the price that we deserve.”

With Celebrity Reflection, a big finish for Solstice class

Celebrity Solstice arriving in Fort Lauderdale ahead of her inaugural celebrations

By Tom Stieghorst

The Celebrity Reflection is the last of five Solstice-class ships built by Celebrity Cruises, and although executives won’t say they like it the best, they clearly take pride in the new baby.

The Reflection stands apart from its siblings based on size alone. Its 126,000 gross tons is 4,000 more than the others. That enables the ship to carry 72 extra cabins, adding between 150 and 200 more passengers.

The Reflection is also home to Celebrity’s first two-bedroom suite, a 1,636-square-foot apartment that offers a glass-sided shower cantilevered over the ocean.

The suite, not yet sold out for 2013, is one of a half-dozen new suites along a corridor on Deck 14 that is accessed with a private cardkey. All have extra-tall ceilings and butler service.

The rest of the vessel carries all of the Solstice hallmarks: the half-acre lawn so inviting to the toes; the bevy of specialty restaurants such as Blu and Qsine; the quirky bird’s-nest getaway nooks in the Hideaway, one of several two-deck public rooms that give the Reflection’s interior such a spacious feeling.

Of those, my favorite was the Library, a soaring wall of books with fiction on the port side and nonfiction to starboard. Sitting in front of the wall is a cozy quartet of wingback chairs that practically beg to be occupied.

A close look at the ship reveals some subtle changes in the Solstice product. Gone is Quasar, a disco. Instead, the ship’s conference center takes Quasar’s space on Deck 4.

The Reflection also has 34 new AquaClass suites, which include unlimited dining for occupants at the ship’s “clean cuisine” specialty restaurant, Blu.

Another change: Four more cabana-style Alcoves have sprouted from the lawn, double the number on Reflection’s predecessor, the Silhouette. The Alcoves, which rent for $99 on port days and $149 on sea days, fit four or five guests and provide a sun- and wind-sheltered way to enjoy the passing parade of passengers on Deck 15.

The Sunset Bar, an outdoor venue overlooking the Reflection’s stern, has been turned 90 degrees so it protrudes from the aft deck. It features a new Middle Eastern kasbah theme with orange-and-purple sofa benches and a drinks program that includes pitchers of beverages.

All of the bars seemed to have something to offer on the Reflection. The design in the Sky Observation Lounge is nothing but circles; at Michael’s Club, squares and right angles rule. There’s always a predinner crowd buzzing around the Martini Bar.

At the Molecular Bar, Junior Marino serves up fascinating cocktails made with artisanal ingredients and chilled with liquid nitrogen.

“The drinks are designed to appeal to all five senses,” said Marino, who runs a New York laboratory for high-tech designer drinks and has licensed the Molecular Bar concept to Celebrity for the Solstice ships.

Cabins on the Reflection are in keeping with Celebrity’s theme of “Modern Luxury.” At 194 square feet, my AquaClass cabin was a tight fit at times for two people. But a balcony, included on 85% of the accommodations on the Reflection, enhanced its spaciousness.

Musical entertainment on the Reflection ran the gamut from classical to pop vocalists to jazz and seemed to engage many of the guests on this two-day introductory cruise.

Speaking of a two-day cruise: I disembarked wanting more. There’s enough on the Reflection to easily occupy passengers on the weeklong cruises it is scheduled to take this winter, or the 10- and 11-day Eastern Mediterranean cruises on its deployment next summer. 

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