Home Pix of the Trade Celebrity Reflection leaves shipyard

Celebrity Reflection leaves shipyardCelebrity Cruises’ highly anticipated Celebrity Reflection has left the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, and is sailing to the North Sea. The 1,047-foot long, 121-foot wide vessel crossed the Ems River in about 10 hours — an amazing feat, considering the scale of the ship and the geography of the shipyard required the captain to steer the ship backward, assisted by tugboats fore and aft. Preparations for the transit — known as “the conveyance” — included removing power lines and railway tracks that normally pass over the river, to allow the ship to pass through. The journey had to take place when wind conditions were calm and at high tide to ensure ample depth of water. Thousands of spectators lined the river to watch the conveyance. After a series of sailings from Amsterdam to Belgium and France to Barcelona, Reflection will cross the Atlantic to arrive in Miami Dec. 1 and depart for its inaugural Caribbean sailing Dec. 5.