We took an 8 Night Western Caribbean Christmas Cruise on the Celebrity Reflection, departing from Fort Lauderdale, Florida on 12/18/21, stopping at Cozumel, Costa Maya, Belize City, Coxen Hole, and Bimini. This was our first time on Celebrity Reflection, after sailing on Celebrity Millennium, Celebrity Infinity, and later on Celebrity Apex. Out of all of the Celebrity ships we have tried, Celebrity Reflection is one of our favorites.
Pre-Cruise
We were so excited as a family to be on this cruise that we decided to spend the night at an airport hotel just to feel closer to the starting of a wonderful vacation. The hotel we stayed at was the SpringHill Suites Atlanta Airport Gateway hotel. It’s super convenient because you can take the skytrain straight to the terminal. I don’t remember much about the hotel, just that we were super excited. For dinner, we ate at the hotel restaurant, Hickory & Hazel, inside Renaissance Atlanta Airport Getaway Hotel which is next door.
We flew Delta and got on the ship next day without a hitch.
Day 1: Embarkation Day
Embarkation day. We have a Celebrity Suite, which is part of the Retreat, so the embarkation was fast and easy. The whole ship was decorated with Christmas decorations and we were just so excited. We walked around the ship and there was virtually no one on it yet! The embarkation lunch was amazing in Luminae, with items like Lobster Roll and English Pea Soup.
After lunch, we walked around the ship some more and hung out on our massive balcony.
For dinner, we took the kids to Le Petit Chef! One of MANY specialty restaurants on Celebrity Reflection. Le Petit Chef is more than just a dinner, it’s an immersive experience. The meal is served course by course, and each course is presented with a little animated video that is projected onto the table. The story is cute and funny and a little romantic. If you see a different menu at any Le Petit Chef, then it would be a different show as well.
For each set of menu, there’s also an “alternate” option, in case you don’t like the main menu options. The alternate option would not fit the projected videos of course.
Kids loved the whole experience, and the food was really good too. I think this is something fun to do once and see if you like it, then if you do, you can do it again if the menu is different. Each menu adds on to the story. Even though there’s an extra charge for this restaurant, it’s still a lot cheaper than their land based restaurants’ charges. For example, the Le Petit Chef in New York is $270/person for a 4 course meal, and that doesn’t include drinks.
The show tonight was the Broadway Boys. They were all very good. Beautiful voices. We had a great day!!
Day 2: Sea Day
Today is a sea day. I can already tell I never want this cruise to end. I will say though, after one night of sleep, I realized that I have one complaint about our room. We have the Celebrity Suite, which gives us a real bedroom with a door, and a good size living room with the pull out couch. The issue is, the bedroom is like an inside room – there’s no window. I mean, there’s a fake window that is connected to the living room, so there’s no ocean view once you are in the bedroom. We are mostly in the living room during the day so it’s not REALLY like an inside room but I do miss the ocean view from my bed.
Breakfast was delicious at Luminae. I had the smoked salmon and Ava had the French Toast. Yum.
After breakfast, we walked around the ship. Due to COVID, the ship is still mostly empty. We got some gelato and coffee at the coffeeshop Al Bacio (being in the Retreat, everything is included).
The kids love the kids camp on Celebrity ships. There aren’t many kids on the ship so they get a lot of individual attention. They also get tons of freebies. My kids have been in kids camps on MSC, NCL, Carnival, and Disney. Celebrity is hands down their favorite.
Time for lunch. Ted had the frisee salad and vegetable stir fry “pancit”. I had the crab cake sandwich. Alice had the grilled salmon. So delicious.
Back to the room, we were greeted with our afternoon canapes. I can get used to this.
Time to relax on the balcony and work up an appetite for dinner… Kids are back in the camp…
Now it’s time for dinner. No kidding.
The service was so personal that the maitre d personally offered to cut up Ava’s steak for her. When he was done, he asked her if she would like him to pour some steak sauce on it. (Another day, he asked my child if she would like him to remove the skin off the fish for her!)
Tonight’s show is Elysium. It’s an artsy show featuring Aerialists, acrobats, vocalists and dancers perform to a dreamy, pop-infused soundtrack, accompanied by live music, that includes “Imagination” from “Willy Wonka” and “Somewhere Only We Know”. I’ll be honest, I had no clue what the storyline was. But it was beautiful.
At the end of the show, all the officers came on stage with their Santa hats and thanked us for cruising.
Day 3: Cozumel, Mexico
Today’s our first port day, Cozumel. We were immediately greeted with beautiful clear water.
Right at the port are shops and bars and restaurants. It’s nice to walk around here. The name of the port is Puerta Maya Cruise Terminal. Keep in mind Cozumel is one of the most popular cruise terminals (there are 3 different ports here), and often times 4 or more ships could be docked in Cozumel on the same day. So expect to see a LOT of people walking around!
We’ve been to Cozumel many times so we weren’t really interested in doing any tours here. We basically walked around the port area and enjoyed the beautiful oceanview and Christmas decorations.
Back on the ship, our amazing afternoon treats were there waiting for us again.
All the walking around in hot weather made us want some cold drinks. So we went to the Martini bar.
For dinner, we decided to switch things up a little, so instead of going to Luminae (the suite exclusive restaurant), we opted for Blu, the exclusive restaurant for Aqua Class cabins. Blu restaurant is free for suite guests if space allows. Since we were only cruising at half capacity, this was not an issue.
Blu’s menu changes nightly, just like Luminae, but Blu isn’t open for lunch. Blu tries to be more health conscious. Everything was delicious here.
Day 4: Costa Maya, Mexico
So the port name yesterday was Puerta Maya, now the city today is called Costa Maya. How confusing.
Today, we decided to take the kids on a little excursion with the glass bottom boat. It was OK. Nothing too exciting. It was cheap and the kids hadn’t done glass bottom boat before so it was somewhat exciting for them.
After the glass bottom boat tour was over, we walked around the port. The port looked really new and absolutely beautiful.
Even though the port is beautiful, the food and drink prices were high. Time to get back on the ship where it’s virtually empty.
Now it’s time for dinner, my favorite part of the day. We are back at Luminae.
The Seared Black Bass came with shiitake dumplings, asparagus, and wild mushroom consommé. It sounded so weird I had to try it. Although everything tasted good, I’m not sure whose idea it was to combine dumpling soup with seared bass…
This was amazing. Besides chicken, it came with turnip, cauliflower, preserved lemon and olives.
Day 5: Belize City, Belize
For Belize City, we took a tour with AyinHa Adventures. We were taken to the Lamanai Archeological Reserve and the tour guide told us a lot about the history here. These are the ancient ruins of a Mayan city. We visited the Mask Temple, the High Temple, and the Temple of the Jaguar. If you are allowed to climb any of these temples, do it.
There are a lot of monkeys in this area also.
Next we were taken on a boat ride which took us back to the tender boat. Belize City is a tender port, so we had to then take another boat ride, which worked out because we enjoyed a beautiful sunset.
For dinner, we changed it up and chose the specialty restaurant, Tuscan Grille. Tuscan Grille is an Italian restaurant and the pastas are made in house.
Day 6: Coxen Hole, Honduras
We woke up to another beautiful day. Port of Roatan was very pretty.
After breakfast, we walked the kids to camp and walked around this practically empty ship. Lots of relaxing swinging beds that are empty.
Then we played some putt putt on the ship.
Then we walked around the cruise port. Lots of shopping here and the port is very colorful.
Then we decided to go back on the ship for some lunch. Since we haven’t been to the buffet yet, we thought we would check it out for lunch now.
Check out their dessert selection:
We walked through the indoor pool and there was not a single person here.
Walked around the dock again. I can’t get over how pretty this water is.
Back on the ship, there was afternoon canapes waiting for us again.
Time for dinner. Tonight we are dining at Murano, the specialty restaurant that’s a steakhouse. The menu is AMAZING.
For my appetizer, I chose the smoked salmon & peekytoe crab parfait. It comes layered with avocado, salmon caviar, crème fraiche, and petite greens. Heavenly.
Teddy got two appetizers. First, the Phyllo Baked Anjou Pear with Roquefort Cheese, with Lollo Russo Lettuce, Spice Coated Pecans and Port Wine reduction.
Next, the Diver Scallop Wellington Style, baked in puff pastry, with black Truffle emulsion, and spinach fondue. Wow.
For entrees, we both got the Murano Lobster. No brainer when you are eating at Murano. The Murano lobster is first presented to us prior to cooking, then made tableside. The lobster tail is flambeed in cognac, and it’s served with fresh basil, applewood smoked bacon, and Dijon cream. Delicious!
For desserts, we got the tableside Crêpe Ballon Rouge, and the Les VI Etoiles du Murano, which are 6 bite sized desserts.
Les VI Etoiles du Murano is designed to be shared by two people but since it’s 6 different varieties, I think it works well for one person as well. They allowed us to get two desserts so it was great. All of the desserts were delicious and tableside crêpe ballon rouge was such a presentation!
Day 7: Sea Day
Today is Christmas Eve. Santa is coming tonight but since it’s a sea day, he will have to come by helicopter and land on the ship, then he’s going to take all the kids from the helicopter landing area down to the atrium where the big Christmas tree is and give a present to every child. What a special way to celebrate Christmas!
Our wedding anniversary is around the corner so the butler decorated our room for a romantic anniversary celebration as well! Besides decorations and door sign, we were also given a bottle of champagne and a small cake.
In the morning, we were invited to the Retreat Lounge where all of the Retreat staff sang Christmas songs.
For lunch we were back at Luminae.
Tonight’s show is a Christmas special. All the ship’s entertainers came together and put on a great holiday show!
Dinner we are back at Luminae. For tonight, lobster is on the menu.
For appetizer, the smoked trout came with hearts of palm, shiso, and grapefruit. So good.
The Poached Cold Water Lobster is served with red pepper choron sauce, which was delicious.
Scallop is on the menu today also. Our other favorite.
Seared scallops with salsify puree, black truffles and Brussel sprouts. Delicious.
Now we are finished with the dinner and show, all we need to do is wait on Santa to arrive. Of course Santa and his elves arrived right on cue and the whole ship’s children walked from the top deck to the atrium together. Ho ho ho!!!
Santa came with boxes and boxes of gifts so each child had one. (The gifts were divided by age, so each child could get an age appropriate gift.)
Back in the room, there was Christmas gifts for the adults waiting for us.
Day 8: Bimini, Bahamas
Today is Christmas day and the last full day of our cruise. Why does it have to end? Kids of course woke up early to check out their stockings from Santa – while I was still trying to get some rest!
We then went to the buffet for brunch. The buffet was doing a special holiday meal, which was quite impressive.
There was duck terrine, seafood terrine, and pork terrine. Terrine is a holiday staple for Italy!
Turkey is a traditional holiday dish for both England and America.
Next, we visited the helipad, the place where Santa landed yesterday (and presumably left from this morning).
Now it’s time to get off the ship and walk around. Bimini is a very small island and there’s a free shuttle that comes quite often that takes you around the whole thing. The water here is SO BLUE and the sand is SO SOFT. I’ve never been to Bimini before but this place is amazing, especially considering how close to US it is.
The Resorts World Bimini Beach is where you get off to enjoy the beautiful beach (for free). The resort is also the one providing the free shuttles. The Resorts World Bimini is owned by the Resorts World group but designed specifically for Virgin Voyages, however, if you are not cruising Virgin and Virgin isn’t docked that day, you can purchase a day pass and use their facilities.
Back on the ship, the afternoon canapes are waiting for us again.
Then we had some Dogfish Head over sunset.
Then we thought it would be funny to include the stuffed Nemo the children got for winning the Harry Potter Trivia contest, because the beer is DogFISH Head, get it? Get it?
For dinner, they comped us for another specialty restaurant. Murano was so good that we decided to go there again.
The salad came with shallot truffle vinaigrette, sunny side egg, pork rillettes, and Brioche croutons. So good.
For the entrée, we ordered the chateaubriand for two, which came with tableside presentation as well. The meat was super tender.
Of course, we also got a lobster to go with that.
Dessert, we had the same thing as last time because it was so good.
Day 9: Disembarkation
Today is the last day of our cruise. We had learned the night before that our return flight was canceled so we had to fly home the next day. We told our concierge about this (not their fault obviously, especially since we didn’t even book the airfare through them), so they made sure we were the last ones off the ship so we could enjoy the ship’s amenities for as long as possible. (They also comped our meal for the night before and gave us discounts on our spa treatments, all because they felt bad for us!) This morning, we had breakfast at Luminae, where the service was amazing and food was awesome as always.
I booked a night at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Fort Lauderdale 17th Street. I wasn’t expecting anything fancy because the review was pretty mixed but it was cheap and I know with Embassy Suites, we’ll have separate rooms so that’s all we cared about. It worked well for us.
Even though we were last ones to leave the ship, we still couldn’t check in at the hotel for quite a while. We sat around and waited and I thought it was funny that they call this a “selfie spot” so I took a picture.
Time for lunch. We went to Duffy’s, which is walking distance from the hotel.
Even though the room was shabby, the exterior of the hotel was quite nice.
Day 10: Flying Home
We flew home today after such an amazing trip. Kids were given delta badges and they liked that. This was a trip of a lifetime as I don’t think we’ll ever see a ship as empty as this ever again. Don’t forget this was over Christmas break, which is a time that is typically VERY crowded. I’m so glad we took this trip.
Conclusion
This was one of the best trips we’ve ever had. We loved the ship and the selection of many specialty restaurants – more than any other ship we’ve ever been on. The kids loved the kids camp – more than the kids camp they’ve been on before (Disney, NCL and Carnival). Like I mentioned earlier, if I were to book this class of ships again, I wouldn’t book a Celebrity Suite because the bedroom felt too much like an inside room. Our room number was 1235. I have no complaint about this room other than the bedroom issue. I know it probably feels like all we did was eating the whole time, but we also enjoyed many treatments at the spa! Teddy even got a haircut at the spa, which for some reason, the barber decided to give him an undercut. Very funny. Besides the room, there was one other disappointment on this ship – the library. The library was beautiful but useless. There weren’t many books, and the few that were there were mostly serial books but missing most of the installments. The books also weren’t divided by age or genre or even language – I was surprised how many foreign language books there were which I have nothing against but overall, the library could only be used as a decoration. In comparison, the NCL Jewel’s library was light years better.