Cruise News: Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Reflection Leaves Meyer Werft Shipyard

Celebrity Cruises’ highly-anticipated fifth and final ship in the Solstice Class, Celebrity Reflection, has departed the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, to make its way to the North Sea. The 1,047-foot long, 121-foot wide vessel crossed the Ems River in about 10 hours, an amazing feat, considering the scale of the ship and the geography of the shipyard required the Captain to steer the ship backward, assisted by tugboats fore and aft.

Preparations for the transit, known as “the conveyance,” include removing power lines and railway tracks that normally pass over the river, to allow the ship to pass through. The journey must take place when wind conditions are calm and at high tide to ensure ample depth of water in the river to prevent the possibility of the ship scraping its multi-million-dollar paintwork. As in the past, thousands of spectators lined the river to witness the conveyance. Traveling at less than four miles per hour, Celebrity Reflection joins four award-winning Solstice Class sister ships which have made the same complex journey prior to officially entering service. Re-live a "Conveyance" Journey by setting sail with Cruise Diva on the conveyance of Celebrity Eclipse, the third Solstice-class ship in the Celebrity Cruises fleet. Following sea trials and the completion of finishing work while in Emshaven, The Netherlands, Celebrity Reflection will host an invitation-only preview sailing before embarking Oct 12th on her first cruise from Amsterdam.

Celebrity Reflection boasts a number of firsts, including AquaClass Suites, Signature Suites, and the ultra-luxurious Reflection Suite—the first to include a glass shower extending out over the edge of the ship. The ship also will feature designer boutiques, Celebrity’s signature specialty dining venues, a glamorous main dining room, and expanded AquaSpa by Elemis experiences.

After offering vacations from Amsterdam to Belgium and France to Barcelona, ​Celebrity Reflection will cross the Atlantic Ocean to arrive in Miami Dec 1st—when Cruise Diva will be on board for a first-hand report, for an invitation-only promotional sailings—and depart for its inaugural Caribbean sailing Dec 5th. The sleek, new ship will offer guests a series of 7-night Eastern Caribbean itineraries roundtrip from Miami, Florida.

Image Courtesy of Meyer Werft