Traveling the World: Trans-Atlantic Cruise Aboard Celebrity Reflections - April 26-May 12

Balcony is perfect - Starboard side is perfect for going from USA to Europe; Port coming the other direction

"I've never seen such a beautiful crossing in my 25 years as a Captain..." We didn't know what to expect in terms of weather for our crossing. What we got is reflected in the quote from our Captain when we chatted with him on one of his walks around this ship.

So other than weather, what's important on a long crossing?
1. A Veranda or Balcony for room service breakfast and sunset sun-downers each evening.
2. Well prepared food with good variety of dining experiences
3. A good gymnasium
4. Good Entertainment
5. Plenty of seats around the ship to sit in - around the pool or other nice outdoor areas

Celebrity Reflections Restaurant Ratings and Tips

1. Qsine - best variety of food choices with great personality. Staff is fun and into serving something new and different. Located Starboard side aft with great view during dinner. (3 dinners)
2. Murano - Best reason to dress up. Served with panache and flames. (2 dinners)
3. Tuscan Grill - Food is quite good; service was spotty - location aft is perfect sunset view location for dinner when you are heading east. (3 dinners)
4. Lawn Grill - mediocre food at best but beautiful outdoors location (1 dinner)
5. Blu - special dining for Aqua Class passengers - food spotty, often had to wait, could never get a window seat for two. (3 dinners) Honestly, we wouldn't pay extra for Aqua; Concierge class is good enough.

Travel Intelligence Tip - When to buy additional dining... We did not book any of the restaurants pre-cruise nor did we buy a multi-dinner dining package. Turns out this was the right decision. Almost every night, we would get a phone call informing us about 30-50% off dining at one or more of the speciality restaurants. On two occasions when we didn't get a call, we just went to the restaurant ahead of time -- usually outside the main cafeteria dining room at lunch time - and asked if we could get a break. We did each and every time - really enjoyed the speciality dining experience.