Celebrity Reflection – – interview, review, menus and video

This week we complete our profile of Celebrity Reflection with several new items.

 

First, we have an interview with Hotel Director Julian Brackenbury and Cruise Director Paul Buya. I first met Julian on the stately Celebrity Summit when that ship was cruising the Caribbean. I met him again when Celebrity was preparing to re-vilatize Summit adding a panoply of features as part of the line’s Solsticization project. Paul, I know from Celebrity Silhouette, a ship I found to have a strong pulse. As the person in charge of entertainment there, Paul played no small part in making it a lively cruise experience.

 

I asked them to tell us what is new about Celebrrity Reflection? The ship is the fifth and final ship in the Solstice class Each ship in the class has retained the essebtial Solstice design but each of the prior ships has been somewhat different. As they replied, Celebrity has not run out of new ideas but has channel in its thinking in a new direction. The interview is posted at http://www.beyondships2.com/celebrity-reflection-interview.html

 

We also have a review of the Murano specialty restaurant. There are Muranos on each of the Solstice class ships and on Celebrity Century. They offer perhaps the most elegant, old school fine dining experience at sea. The review is at http://www.beyondships2.com/celebrity-reflection-murano.html

 

We have also added a menus page to the Celebrity Reflection profile with examples of menus from the main dining room and some of the specialty restaurants. http://www.beyondships2.com/celebrity-reflection-menus.html

 

Finally, we have a short video showing the ship in several Caribbean ports. http://www.beyondships2.com/celebrity-reflection-video.html

 

So who is Celebrity Reflection for? In my opinion, she is for experienced cruisers who like what used to be called the better things in life. She ius a pretty ship with attention to detail in the design. She has an excellent array of dining options. She has a good enrichment program although not as strong as Cunard or Holland America. She is not a party boat but rather is sophisticated without being stuffy.

 

 

Cruise Ship Dining – – Reviews and Articles

Executive Chef Claudio De Carlo of Celebrity Century

The days are past when the only thing to do on a cruise was eat.  However, when you tell people you have been on a cruise, one of the most frequent questions is “How was the food?”  Thus, dining is still an important part of the cruise experience.   In addition, cruise ships have so many dining options these days that it is helpful to have some guidance on what all the dining venues on the ships are about.  Accordingly, this week focuses on dining on three of the ships that we have been covering recently.

            First, there are three restaurant reviews.  We have the fine dining experience of the Murano Restaurant on Celebrity Century. http://www.beyondships.com/Celebrity-Century-review-Murano.html   Then  we have the sophisticated but informal Cagney’s Steakhouse on Norwegian Gem.  http://www.beyondships.com/NCLGem-Cagneys-Review.html Finally, there is the family style Italian restaurant Giovanni’s Table on Allure of the Seas. http://www.beyondships.com/RCI-ALOS-review-Giovannis.html

            All three restaurants are quite different experiences.  My hope is that these reviews will not only inform you about the specific experiences I encountered but that they will also provide an indication of the range of dining experiences that one can have on a ship.

            Speaking of the range of options that one has on a ship, we have two new dining guides.  Food and Beverage Director Ivo Belev provides commentary on the many different dining venues that guests have to chose from on Norwegian Gem.  http://www.beyondships.com/NCLGem-dining.html  Along the same lines, Executive Chef Claudio De Carlo discusses dining on Celebrity Century. http://www.beyondships.com/Celebrity-Century-Chef.html  (Our guide to dining on Allure of the Seas with Food and Beverage Director Joao Mendoca was published earlier and is posted at http://www.beyondships.com/RCI-ALOS-art-FB.html ).