Celebrity Reflection; Keel laying celebration for fifth and final Solstice class ship
At the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, cruise line executives celebrated the keel laying of Celebrity Reflection.
As is tradition, to bless the ship and as a symbol of good fortune, coins were placed under the first block in the keel. Mr. Jarmo Laakso, the cruise line’s Project Director, had the honors of placing the coins.
Also participating in the event were three executives from Meyer Werft, Manfred Knoop Head of Group, Uwe Wulf Project Manager and Lambert Kruse Managing Director. An 800 ton crane was needed to hoist the 500 ton block into the grand hall of building dock II where the event took place.
The Celebrity Reflection will be built with the same high energy efficiency of the other ships in her class, the Celebrity Solstice, Celebrity Equinox, Celebrity Eclipse and the newest ship on the ocean, the Celebrity Silhouette. Even the ship’s underwater paint is specially formulated to aid in reducing the energy needed for propulsion power.
According to the latest updates from Celebrity, there will be “34 new AquaClass Suites with luxurious interior space and stunning verandas. There are even more inspired additions to this ship. Celebrity Reflection has expanded with an additional deck, 72 additional staterooms overall, and more seating in the main and specialty dining rooms, more sun loungers on the pool deck and more seats in theater.”
The first ship in the Celebrity and Meyer Werft venture began in 1988 with the building of the Horizon. The Celebrity Reflection is the tenth ship that Meyer Werft has built for the cruise line. Coincidentally, both the Horizon and Celebrity Reflection have the same yard numbers: Horizon has S 619, Celebrity Reflection S 691. In maritime legend, this is supposed to be a good sign.
Built to accommodate 3,030 passengers and with a weight of 126000 tons, the Celebrity Reflection is scheduled for her maiden voyage on October 12, 2012 from Amsterdam to Barcelona.
Photo credit: Celebrity Cruises/Meyer Werft
