(click on photos to enlarge)
Wednesday 5th December 2012
We went out for breakfast near the Park Central Hotel, had a walk on the beach, and then checked out of the hotel and took a taxi to the Cruise Terminal.
No sooner had we arrived than our luggage was taken care of and we were on board CELEBRITY REFLECTION within 15 minutes, and being welcomed with a glass of Mimosa (Champagne and a little orange juice). This is the ship’s inaugural cruise of 3 nights, sailing out of Miami. We are booked in the main Opus Restaurant for dinner. As we had checked in early, it was an ideal time to tour the ship and take photographs after we had left hand baggage in our cabins. I have an Ocean View Stateroom for sole use, which also has a spacious bathroom.
The ship was built in Papenburg, Germany, by Meyer Werft, at 122,400 gross tons, able to carry 2,886 passengers, and was handed over on 9th October 2012. This is a Solstice Class ship, the 5th and final one in the class, and she was formally named on 1st December in Miami, Florida.
This is a beautiful ship, with many Lapidus-style curves, and amazing artwork throughout, chosen for the Celebrity Art Collection. I later read that the Collection was started in the mid-1990s by Christina Chandris, wife of John Chandris, the then owner of the company. In the Murano Restaurant I was pleased to recognise several pieces by Nina Surel, the artist whose work I saw and admired at the Lincoln Art Center in Miami on Sunday.
There is real grass up on the Lawn, on Deck 15 aft, surrounding the Lawn Club and Lawn Club Grille, which made me wonder what my friend Cornelia would think of this.
It was soon time for lunch so we went down one deck to the Ocean View Café, to fortify ourselves ready for sailing from Miami later this afternoon after Boat Drill.
To be continued….
