Celebrity Refection embarks upon Maiden Voyage

Exciting times for Celebrity last week as “Celebrity Reflection”, the company’s brand new Solstice-class ship, the fifth in the fleet, departed the Meyer Werft shipyard to embark on her maiden voyage to Eemshaven, The Netherlands.

The 1,047-foot long and 121-foot wide Celebrity Reflection was watched by spectators as she took a 10 hour voyage over the River Ems; the transit is commonly referred to as “the conveyance.”

Getting the new boat out of the shipyard was no easy task: officials had to carry out preparations for this journey, such as removing power lines and railway tracks which usually pass over the river, this allowed the ship to sail on her way with ease.

The journey itself could only take place during calm wind conditions and during a time when the water had ample depth to avoid any blotches or scratches on the multi-million-dollar paintwork.

Thousands turned out to watch the conveyance as Celebrity Reflection, one excited German couple had even travelled 250 miles to see the ship depart on this special trip!  With the aid of some tug boats, had the ‘thread the needle’ of the lock.  This in itself took around 45 minutes!   Brian Bowell, the Associate Vice President in Marketing at Celebrity Cruises wrote on the company’s blog that the day was exciting:

“Yesterday was an exciting day for me. I arrived at Meyer Werft on Sunday around 9 a.m., and with it being a bright sunny morning, Celebrity Reflection shone just as bright.”

A number of firsts:

Celebrity Reflection boasts a number of firsts, including fabulous AquaClass Suites, Signature Suites and the ultra-luxe Reflection Suite featuring the sparkling glass shower that extends out over the edge of the ship – remember we wrote about this marvellous shower recently?

What else is there to look forward to onboard Reflection?

When passengers stark embarking on journeys in 2012, they can expect to sample delicious food in the speciality dining venues and shop in brand new designer boutiques.

There’s also the Lawn Club with an Art Studio, interactive classes with demonstrations and a Porch for simple, quick and casual breakfasts breakfasts and lunches.

In staterooms, passengers can look forward to sparkly new iPads that control many of the room’s features such as music, television and lights.

Onwards…

From Emshaven, Celebrity Reflection will host an invitation-only preview sailing, before she embarks on her first cruise from Amsterdam to Belgium on Oct. 12th.

Then, Reflection will sail from France to Barcelona before crossing the Atlantic Ocean to arrive in Miami on December 1st, before she’ll be making an inaugural Caribbean sailing on December 5th.  Reflection will offer guests seven-night Eastern Caribbean round-trip itineraries from Miami, Florida.