The President and CEO of Celebrity, Dan Hanrahan, switched on the machines that cut the first piece of steel that will eventually form part of the new 3,030 passenger cruise liner the Celebrity Reflection. The event took place at the Meyer Werft Shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.

The Reflection will be the last ship of an order for $3.7bn dollars placed by Celebrity a number of years ago. The first ship in the series was the Celebrity Solstice, which was delivered in 2008. Since then a new ship was added to the company’s fleet every year.

The Reflection will be the biggest of them all. Whereas the other four cruise ships could each handle 2,850 passengers, this one has a capacity of well over 3,000 passengers. This was achieved by making it wider than its predecessors and adding an extra deck.

The extra space thus created allowed the builders to add an additional 72 cabins, which include 34 Aqua class suites. These suites will offer exclusive access to the ship’s exclusive Blu restaurant for “healthy, clean cuisine” as well as to the spa.

The ship’s restaurants and theatre will be able to accommodate more passengers and the pool deck will also be bigger with hundreds of additional lounge chairs.

The Reflection is also heavier than its four predecessors, weighing in at 126,000 tons.

The ship’s predecessor, the Silhouette, is in fact not even in service yet. It is still under construction in the same shipyard and will only embark on its maiden voyage in July 2011.