Celebrity Reflection emerges into sunlight at float out

The Celebrity Reflection is the fifth ship in the Solstice-class series 

With the help of  tugboats, just after dawn on Sunday morning, the Celebrity Reflection, the newest ship in the Celebrity Cruises, fleet slowly backed out of the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. It was a slow-going process and amazing to watch as the enormous ship emerged into the daylight and made her way over to her new outdoor home at the pier at Yard Harbour.

Once the Reflection is berthed at the pier, the signal mast and two funnels will be put in place and a series of tests and trials would begin. Because the Celebrity Reflection is taller than the other four sister ships, the mast and funnels need to be attached when the ship is docked outside.

With the ship being berthed at the yard’s pier, the remaining interior finishing work as well as tests and trials will be carried out in the next few weeks. The first members of the crew will move into their onboard quarters. The Celebrity Reflection will stay berthed at the pier until the Ems River conveyance. The new ship will be the backdrop for the Papenburg Festival 2012, which will take place at the grounds next to Meyer Werft shipyard on September 8.

The Celebrity Reflection is likely begin the Ems River conveyance on route to the port of Eemshaven (NL) between September 16 – 18, to begin her sea trials. Delivery of the Reflection to Celebrity Cruises is on schedule. The detailed date and time for the official conveyance ceremony has yet to be confirmed.

The 126,000-ton Celebrity Reflection is the only ship among the five sister ships to have sixteen decks rather than the usual fifteen. This new design will give the Reflection an additional 72 cabins and will accommodate over 3,030 guests.

Unique to the cruise industry, the Celebrity Reflection will feature an all-glass shower which will extend out over the edge of the ship. Found only in the 1,636 sq. ft. Reflection Suite, Celebrity’s first two-bedroom suite is located in the corner on the ship’s fourteenth deck. The glass shower will be equipped with electrochromatic technology which, at the touch of a button, transforms the glass from transparent to translucent.

Source: Meyer Werft Shipyard
Photo credit: Meyer Werft, Celebrity Cruises, WorldCruises.com, Andreas Depping