Carnival Platinum Cruiser takes on the Summit

1/23/16 South Caribbean out of San Juan

My group of 15 chose this cruise for it's itinerary AND to give Celebrity a try. It was an awesome cruise Weather was perfect . I am 62 years old and I felt like a youngster on this cruise...LOL. Not sure if it was the time of year or that is Celebrity.

I was a little apprehensive when I read posts of wear and tear.....I didn't see any but I did feel it in my cabin....I think it was time for a mattress change......LOL

Food...we ate at late seating dinner and were thrilled with our servers Pinto and Colorado. I enjoyed all my appetizers, soups and entrees, however I was disappointed in desserts..some I didn't like and many nights I didn't have any. All other meals we ate at the grill or Oceanview.

Pool...Loved the walk-in pool..

Entertainment..went to 3 shows enjoyed them..especially "The Unexpected Boys" take off on Four Seasons.

Bars/Service.....We had the classic drink package as an apology from Celebrity on a travel agent error. I don't know if it is because so many people had the package due to the promotion they ran on individual bookings (we were a group booking) but waiter service for drinks was horrible. At the pool the only time we saw a waiter was when "the drink of the day" was being served. You had to go to the bar to get your own. We spent every evening at the Sunset Bar for the sunset and we had to go to the bar to get our own drinks. (I'm thinking it was not enough servers).

Excursions: We did not book anything through Celebrity.

Barbados: Elegance Catamaran...we had the catamaran to ourselves (15 of us) it was a beautiful day and awesome crew and lunch.

St. Lucia: We used Spencer Ambrose Tours (11 of us) Great boat, taxi cab tour. We got to the mud baths and waterfalls before the cruise ship tours.

Antigua: We used Lawrence of Antigua (15 of us) great tour and beach stop.

St Marten: Bernards Tour (11 of us) once again..awesome

St. Thomas: I have been hear several times so the group all went out on their own. My sons and I took a ride up to Paradise Point and enjoyed the views!

I truly enjoyed the cruise but it will not take me away from Carnival, and I will probably sail Celebrity again too.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. Seems you were active on your roll call and had a number of excellent private cruises. Drink service with most on board having free drinks is impossible for servers to take drink orders as waiters. In the future maybe hanging out at the same bar works as the servers get to know you and your preferences.

Thank you so much for posting your review. I am also a Platinum Carnival cruiser, but, for us, there is no turning back. Celebrity is now our cruise line of choice. I won't say I will not cruise Carnival again, but, I have no plans to. They do put out a very good product, but, I am ready for a more kid free, sophisticated environment that Celebrity provides. Btw, in addition to Carnival, and Celebrity, we have cruised on Princess, RCI, and HAL. I am 53, and dh is 67.

Marie

We were exactly the same, platinum on Carnival and always enjoyed what was offered. We decided to take a Celebrity cruise on the Equinox last March on an Eastern Caribbean itinerary, particularly as there were 3 new ports that we had not visited. Carnival's itineraries were getting boring.

We absolutely loved the ship and the cruise was excellent. As Florence Italy posted above, it wont stop us sailing Carnival again, in fact we are booked on the Vista later this year, mainly because a large group of roll call friends from previous cruises convinced us that we should celebrate our Ruby wedding anniversary on board with them. there will be 40 of us altogether , so should be a great party.

However I do think the Celebrity product is a step up.We have another cruise booked on the Equinox next year, so lets see if the can convince us they should now be our cruise line of choice

Please tell us what you like about Carnival that draws you back?

Thanks!

Please tell us what you like about Carnival that draws you back?

 

Thanks!

Long story short, first cruise was part of a timeshare package, buy another week and we'll give you a free cruise.

Next three were timeshare swaps. After that, us being from England, they had new ships built in Italy almost every year from 2007, so Med cruises were attractive, before you know it your Platinum and feel hooked in.

We then did a Baltics with them because of the itinerary and roll call friends sailing as well.

Never had a problem with the so called Carnival party ships, we've even sailed with them during Spring Break.

Now we've sailed with Celebrity don't think we would go back to Carnival apart from any new ships in the Med, because its a different demographs there.

As they say if you want bang for your bucks then its Carnival, if you want something affordably better then its Celebrity. The difference between a 4 star and a 5 star.

Thanks for your review!

Try an S class ship and prepare to be wowed! Did 26 cruises with Carnival and the Celebrity Reflection knocked our socks off.

Thanks for your review!

 

Try an S class ship and prepare to be wowed! Did 26 cruises with Carnival and the Celebrity Reflection knocked our socks off.

Isn't the Summit an S class ship ?

Isn't the Summit an S class ship ?

Summit is an M class ship.

Isn't the Summit an S class ship ?

The Summit is a M-class ship.

But thanks to cruisercathy for starting such an informative discussion.

What draws me back to Carnival: Being a Platinum cruiser I now have perks, early embarkation, laundry etc....and it is a fun ship. More pools..great food, serve yourself ice cream... Celebrity is more sedate...... but I will sail Celebrity again.

Another disappointment I had was when we got on the ship and took ourselves on a tour and found the Revelations lounge, I couldn't wait to spend some time in there. Thought it would be a great place for before dinner cocktails...however the lounge didn't open till 8 Pm or or so and when we finished with dinner at 10 or after....exhaustion had set in.....It was a port intensive cruise and we were up early every day. It was a quick stop at the casino and off to bed...

I have now been to most ports so I am looking for different itineraries so what ship I sail on now will depend on itinerary.

Carnival Diamond cruiser here - and definitely find myself straying from my "first" line (Carnival).

OP - after seeing the last few cruises in your signature prior to the Summit, might I suggest that you owe it to yourself to try a Solstice class ship next time on Celebrity. That will be a better apples-to-apples comparison, as least as far as the size and age of the ship.

Since we sail in suites the last several years, it's become more and more apparent to us that Carnival does not attempt to match the benefits of suite travel on other lines.. they don't even come close. For our cruise next month on the Equinox the cabin we booked comes with a premium beverage package plus unlimited specialty dining and unlimited internet. Sure, I'm paying a pretty penny for the cabin - but I don't have to spend extra once onboard.

The BEST thing Carnival has going for it is their Steakhouse - we gave up on the main dining room years ago. Guy's Burger Joint is a plus as well.

Tom

summit is my favorite X ship. Many on these boards like the larger, glitzier S class ships, but we just love the size and the deck 4 promenade. S class ships have no real promenade (at least not in the typical "See the water" sense).

It is also interesting reading about others that are testing different cruise lines. We are elite plus on X, which is the higher "middle" level on X(X has one higher elite level, but it really is unobtainable for the vast majority of passengers).

We are taking our first cruise on different line (MSC) in September, and I never thought I would be exploring other lines.

X has issues that generate complaints, like other lines, but still have many wonderful things to offer. welcome to our family, disfunctional as it might seen to some.

Like many others here we are Platinum on Carnival as well and will shortly be Select. We truly enjoy both lines for different reasons. My favorite ships with Celebrity were the Century and the Summit. Our First S Class ship will be next year and we are looking forward to that one as well as the Carnival Vista reposition cruise later this year.

Like someone else said, it is hard to give up the Platinum perks such as priority boarding and laundry and hence why we still will cruise with Carnival if the price and ports are favorable.