Summit 8/10/14 Review

My DH and I just returned from our Celebrity Summit Bermuda Cruise. This was our 4th cruise on the Summit. As usual, we enjoyed our summer holiday. I will give you an overview of our vacation.

We were taken to the Bayonne NJ terminal by a car service, courtesy of Celebrity. Since we were in a Celebrity Suite, that is a perk that was offered to us. The program was "free car service" to and from your home if less then 50 miles from the pier. I believe this was only for CS or higher guests.

We arrived at the pier about 11:00. We were ushered into an area reserved for suites and were the only people on line. After a brief registration, we took our boarding picture and sat in a private area. We were offered coffee, tea, water and cookies. At about 11:30, the Captains club hostess , Ashley greeted us. She was a wonderful hostess. Always smiling and greeting guests at all functions. In addition, we also had the opportunity to meet Joile, pronounced YOLA. She was the Michael's club hostess who dealt with the guests CS . Celebrity has changed Michaels club to an all suite lounge, for those guests in CS , Royal and Penthouse suite guests. During the course of the sailing, Michael's club was open 24 hours and those guests could have snacks and free drinks whenever they wanted. Since we had the upgraded drink package, we preferred the Martini Bar or venues that made frozen drinks, which were not available in Michaels. A few nights, entertainment was also provided to the Michaels club guests which was a nice perk.

When we boarded, we also were invited to Normandy, for a complimentary lunch which was a nice touch. I think this was offered to Sky Suite and above guests. Another nice touch. We typically have lunch at Bistro on Five, but this was a nice change. At about 1, we proceeded to our suite. Contrary to what we have heard, the ship is immaculate. Sure it isn't new, and if you check corners, you might find signs of age, but that was an exception. Our cabin was very clean. I have to admit, that it could use a new couch and it wasn't comfortable to sit on, and I can only imagine it must not be comfortable to sleep on. The carpeting and window shades could also be replaced as they also showed wear. However, the room was very clean. Our butler, Peter also helped to make our cruise wonderful. We totally enjoy the adult pool area, but you have to reserve a seat very early in the morning as by 8:00 AM, on a sea day, you might not find a seat. Over the course of the week, we enjoyed the Martini Bar every evening. Yudhi and Richard were great! We also loved the cafe al Bacio and service by Vania, for coffee drinks and pastries daily. We loved Jordan Peters a piano player who performed all over the ship daily. The entertainment was good. Another great performer was Michelle Balan. She is a comedian who was a finalist on the Last Comic standing a few years ago. Celebrity also had a special "party" called Indulgence. It was also entertaining. I think that they are trying to copy the Allure special speak easy type show. The Celebrity show needs a little tweeking, but was enjoyable. The fee for that show as $20 PP. It included, many different sweets, drinks and slider type canapes. The other shows were typical-the usual singers, dancers and acrobatics. They also had a juggler who, I heard was good-but not our cup of tea so we didn't stay for the show.

I was disappointed with the new buffet services. Thought I would really like it- however the baskets do not work for all types of dishes. For example, my DH enjoys bacon in the morning, but the baskets had combo sausages and bacon, so a lot of waste. It works great for french fries, some salads and that type of food, but not for combos. Overall the food in Qsine, the Normady, the main dining room, Pizza, Icecream, gelato and the grill were very good. We dined it Blu once and the food in Blu was also good. The spa food isn't nearly as good as on the Solstice class ships, hopefully that hasn't changed as we are booked on the Eclipse in January.

We spent a day at the hotel Coco Reef, on Elbow beach. They offer day passes. We loved the hotel, for a reasonable fee, you get use of the hotel all day, lunch with wine- and a beautiful immaculate beach. You also get an umbrella, lounge chair use of the pool and other facilities. We have been to the island before, so we weren't interested in any tours. We also took a ferry to Hamilton one morning.

We attended some of the special functions and other parties around the ship and enjoyed them. The shops are okay and sell the usual cheap tee shirts and watches. The fine jewelry store had a reasonable selection. The ship has "art auctions"-which were are not at all interested in. We didn't use the casino, but people who did, seemed to have a good time. The cruise director Kevin, was involved with the guests and also a nice person. We had great service from the photographers, who took lovely pictures and were very visible around the ship and at the ports. Leaving the ship was easy. Found our luggage in the terminal immediately and proceeded with a porter quickly to customs then out to our car service. Home in about one hour!

All in all we truly had a great time. While we are Celebrity ( and Royal) cruisers, soon to be Elite plus, we have decided next August to try the Breakaway for another experience.

Thanks for review.

Re the food baskets: in your example could u just have told them u only wanted bacon and they would make up a basket, or do they just want u to take the combo and throw the food away?

If I really only want one food at a time, I would hate to think of wasting food.

We sail on summit in November. She is my favorite X ship!!

Re the food baskets: in your example could u just have told them u only wanted bacon and they would make up a basket, or do they just want u to take the combo and throw the food away?

For breakfast, they have the pre-portioned baskets and dishes and you can ALSO choose to go to the omelet station and get fresh eggs as you want (fried scrambled or omelette), whatever combo of meats and sides as you desire, a-la-carte.

I also found breakfast meats in the back area where they do sandwiches for lunch, and waffles etc.

In may, they even were doing omelets out at the mast grill (assume still doing so), so 3 separate cooked-to-order stations for breakfast (you could get scrambled, and bacon for example as you wish here, on a plate)

For breakfast, they have the pre-portioned baskets and dishes and you can ALSO choose to go to the omelet station and get fresh eggs as you want (fried scrambled or omelette), whatever combo of meats and sides as you desire, a-la-carte.

 

I also found breakfast meats in the back area where they do sandwiches for lunch, and waffles etc.

 

In may, they even were doing omelets out at the mast grill (assume still doing so), so 3 separate cooked-to-order stations for breakfast (you could get scrambled, and bacon for example as you wish here, on a plate)

You are correct, as if you go to the omelette station you can get a la carte bacon. However, we found it rude to cut the line and get the bacon. We definately preferred breakfast in our suite or at the Cosmopolitan Restaurant.

You are correct, as if you go to the omelette station you can get a la carte bacon. However, we found it rude to cut the line and get the bacon. We definately preferred breakfast in our suite or at the Cosmopolitan Restaurant.

I saw no sense waiting in the line to get just bacon as others were waiting for prepped omelets that needed wait time once ordered. Doesn't seem rude at all to self serve. The omelette line was to the right the meats were to the left and open easy access.

Same for grabbing eggs benedict. they were prepped and ready to serve, so no need to wait. No different than the panini station and grabbing a scoop of potato salad while others wait for their panini to toast or grabbing a slice of pizza while someone is waiting for the special gluten free version to pop out of the oven.

Hi Wendy:) thanks for the review. Sounds like you had a great cruise:D

Been a year since we were on Summit together......where has the time

gone?:eek:

Great Review !!

I find myself reading all the Bermuda Trip Reports with far more interest (focus on the details) now that we have The Summit booked for the same next Spring.

Cheers!

Very informative review, thanks for your insights. Question regarding car service: how were you informed about it? Were you contacted prior to your sailing, or did you hear about it elsewhere and then contacted X yourself?

I'll be in an RS on Summit in a couple of months. And I would welcome this service as I'm only a 15-minute ride from Cape Liberty.

Thanks for the report!

Hi Wendy:) thanks for the review. Sounds like you had a great cruise:D

Been a year since we were on Summit together......where has the time

gone?:eek:

Hi Lois, Didn't we sail on the Silhouette together? yes, we did have a great time, as usual! Forgot to mention, they did stop the grand buffet on the last sail date. They cited health reasons. We didn't miss it. Also no daily chocolates on pillow. My DH missed them. One more item was we never got any towel animals

We used to get them formal nights. Again, no biggie, but a take away.

Very informative review, thanks for your insights. Question regarding car service: how were you informed about it? Were you contacted prior to your sailing, or did you hear about it elsewhere and then contacted X yourself?

 

I'll be in an RS on Summit in a couple of months. And I would welcome this service as I'm only a 15-minute ride from Cape Liberty.

Since I research the cruises often, I noticed an ad and immediately called Celebrity and arranged it. Call them and say that you are interested in this perk. If they are still offering it, you will get it. You must ask for it as I do not believe they will tell you unless you ask. Enjoy your cruise.

Thanks for the review.

Thanks for your review. Sailing for the 2nd time this Sunday, can't wait!

Hi Lois, Didn't we sail on the Silhouette together? yes, we did have a great time, as usual! Forgot to mention, they did stop the grand buffet on the last sail date. They cited health reasons. We didn't miss it. Also no daily chocolates on pillow. My DH missed them. One more item was we never got any towel animals

We used to get them formal nights. Again, no biggie, but a take away.

Hi Wendy:)nope, I sailed Sihlouette in April 2013..don't think you were

on that one....I was in AQ on that cruise.

We sailed Summit....August 2013...we were going to do that resort

together but I think Lloyd fell? Or you fell? And didn't go...I never went

there either. Does that ring a bell?:)

Hi Wendy:)nope, I sailed Sihlouette in April 2013..don't think you were

on that one....I was in AQ on that cruise.

We sailed Summit....August 2013...we were going to do that resort

together but I think Lloyd fell? Or you fell? And didn't go...I never went

there either. Does that ring a bell?:)

You are correct! We both fell. Lloyd tripped and fell on me! I actually broke my foot and had a SLAP tear of my shoulder! The Fx wasn't diagnosed by the ships MD and the shoulder hurt when I arrived home. My son is a Dr. and X-rayed me at home and told me I broke a bone in my foot! My shoulder still is a problem! Not 21 anymore!!

Thank you for your review.

Keith

Looking forward to boarding in a few weeks and enjoyed your comments. Although doing NE & Canada have Bermuda booked for next summer. Bobbi

Enjoyed your review of the Summit! My husband & I have sailed Reflection & Silhouette several times along with Oasis & Allure. Love them all ! We are looking for a cruise from NY for end of May next year for my brother & sister-in-law ( late 50's) who will be celebrating their 25th. They were on both the Oasis & Allure with us & their adult kids & now it is time for them alone after all these years!!

Some of the reviews on crowds, food, service leave me very hesitant to suggest breakaway. Liberty is a baby Oasis and only 5 nights. Given you have been on several Celebrity & RCCL ships & given the age of the Summit what might be your thoughts? Was there a good amount of activity in the evening ( music & dancing) on the Summit?? They would be in a balcony cabin & some photos of the summit show age really creeping up. Liberty does get good reviews, unlike Explorer.

Would appreciate your feedback. Paula

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Thanks for your nice review. Glad you had a good cruise.

Enjoyed your review of the Summit! My husband & I have sailed Reflection & Silhouette several times along with Oasis & Allure. Love them all ! We are looking for a cruise from NY for end of May next year for my brother & sister-in-law ( late 50's) who will be celebrating their 25th. They were on both the Oasis & Allure with us & their adult kids & now it is time for them alone after all these years!! You tube might have videos of the staterooms- seach on line.

 

Some of the reviews on crowds, food, service leave me very hesitant to suggest breakaway. Liberty is a baby Oasis and only 5 nights. Given you have been on several Celebrity & RCCL ships & given the age of the Summit what might be your thoughts? Was there a good amount of activity in the evening ( music & dancing) on the Summit?? They would be in a balcony cabin & some photos of the summit show age really creeping up. Liberty does get good reviews, unlike Explorer.

 

Would appreciate your feedback. Paula

 

 

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I enjoyed the summit, all four times. However it isn't the Reflection or Silhouette. It is smaller and older, but well maintained. Yes you will have some evening activities, a band typically plays nightly until very late on the lounge on top of the ship. The Martini bar is also a nice place to spend time in the evening.

I would strongly suggest you consider CC or AQ class. The cabins are larger then the balcony cabins, 170 square feet for the balcony and CC and AQ 194. You also get more amenities with CC and AQ. The AQ cabins are the newest- so you might want to consider. Funny that sometimes when you book, the CC or AQ prices aren't much different then the balcony cabins.

I have never sailed on NCL and like you haven't heard "wonderful" things- but that is true with all ships. We will be in the Haven, which helps eliminate some of the chatter about crowds by the pool, etc. So I will reserve my opinion until next August. We will also be sailing this spring, out of NJ on the Quantum of the Seas, which should be more like our experience on the Allure and Oasis. I am not sure if that ship will be sailing out of NJ in the Summer, but it might be another option if the dates work for you. I did enjoy the Freedom of the Seas, and Liberty of the Seas, but 5 days vs. 7 would make me consider another ship.

If you are traveling with family, for such a special occasion, you will enjoy your trip on any ship!

C-A-H,

Thanks for posting. :)

Thank you Cruise a holic for your prompt reply! Yes, my husband & I sail Aqua on the "S" ships & love it - primarily because of Blu & our access to the Persian Gardens. We will not be on next summer's trip with my brother. It it their special time & they will be doing this one solo. I wish Quantum was an option for them, but that ship is moving to China after the winter & early spring sailings.

I will give them the pros & cons, compare prices & let them make their decision. I am most comfortable with Liberty or the Summit - we know the quality of Celebrity & RCCL. You will probably be fine on the Breakaway given you will be in the Haven. Unfortunately not an option for them. Those crowds & the fact that the venues are so small truly concern me. How funny, the Oasis & Allure carry 6000 pax and the crowds were never a problem. Getting a chair on deck even in the early afternoon never a problem. The food in the main dining room this past July on our cruise was outstanding!! On Breakaway my thought is they would need to buy the Specialty Dining Plan.

We shall see - enjoy all of your upcoming cruises. Look forward to you Quantum review!!

Thank you Cruise a holic for your prompt reply! Yes, my husband & I sail Aqua on the "S" ships & love it - primarily because of Blu & our access to the Persian Gardens. We will not be on next summer's trip with my brother. It it their special time & they will be doing this one solo. I wish Quantum was an option for them, but that ship is moving to China after the winter & early spring sailings.

 

I will give them the pros & cons, compare prices & let them make their decision. I am most comfortable with Liberty or the Summit - we know the quality of Celebrity & RCCL. You will probably be fine on the Breakaway given you will be in the Haven. Unfortunately not an option for them. Those crowds & the fact that the venues are so small truly concern me. How funny, the Oasis & Allure carry 6000 pax and the crowds were never a problem. Getting a chair on deck even in the early afternoon never a problem. The food in the main dining room this past July on our cruise was outstanding!! On Breakaway my thought is they would need to buy the Specialty Dining Plan.

 

We shall see - enjoy all of your upcoming cruises. Look forward to you Quantum review!!

We have already booked our dining on the Quantum. Some people are nervous about the new dining model. I had no problem making reservations at the "free" restaurants of our choice and linking the reservation to another so my niece, nephew and grandniece can join us. We will also add one speciality dinner at Chops for the 5 of us, but will do it on board as we are entitled to a 20% discount and my grandniece is under five and should be free. This couldn't be done on the phone or online Do not want a refund- as that could potentially be a problem. and why should I give them my money now.

I agree about the flow on the Oasis and Allure. They have mastered the art of crowd control. We never had a problem with large crowds, and also always found a seat at the pool (adult) any time of day. Had many problems on Princess with crowds and lack of seating at pool and in theatre-especially the Caribbean Princess.

On the Silhouette and Reflection, we do book a package to dine at Speciality restaurants only. We really like it on Celebrity as the newer ships have many choices of restaurants. Have dined in a few speciality restaurants along with fixed dining in MDR on the Allure and Oasis.

Not surprised to hear you had no difficulty booking the various dining rooms on Quantum. I am sure they really thought this dynamic dining through. RCCL has their act together!! We enjoyed Chops on the Allure & this time did the Solarium for dinner. It was truly amazing in quality of food, ambience & service. Hope they do not do away with Solarium for dinner after dry dock. We will need to wait awhile to sail Quantum & Anthem. Conflicts with work & some of their sail dates. We also prefer to sail in warm weather. Thought Quantum would homeport in Florida but China is getting her. :-) Thus for now we will share our time with "S" class & current Oasis class ships. Wonderful ships & sailings to look forward to!! Not doing Princess for some of the reasons you mention. We thought of HAL as we love to dance & Celebrity has cut out a lot of their music options PLUS the Grand Foyer is so limited. Not sure if we may find the same on HAL. Hard to give up Aqua but we shall see!!

Enjoy - we are all fortunate to be able to do what we do!

My DH and I just returned from our Celebrity Summit Bermuda Cruise. This was our 4th cruise on the Summit. As usual, we enjoyed our summer holiday. I will give you an overview of our vacation.

 

We were taken to the Bayonne NJ terminal by a car service, courtesy of Celebrity. Since we were in a Celebrity Suite, that is a perk that was offered to us. The program was "free car service" to and from your home if less then 50 miles from the pier. I believe this was only for CS or higher guests.

 

We arrived at the pier about 11:00. We were ushered into an area reserved for suites and were the only people on line. After a brief registration, we took our boarding picture and sat in a private area. We were offered coffee, tea, water and cookies. At about 11:30, the Captains club hostess , Ashley greeted us. She was a wonderful hostess. Always smiling and greeting guests at all functions. In addition, we also had the opportunity to meet Joile, pronounced YOLA. She was the Michael's club hostess who dealt with the guests CS . Celebrity has changed Michaels club to an all suite lounge, for those guests in CS , Royal and Penthouse suite guests. During the course of the sailing, Michael's club was open 24 hours and those guests could have snacks and free drinks whenever they wanted. Since we had the upgraded drink package, we preferred the Martini Bar or venues that made frozen drinks, which were not available in Michaels. A few nights, entertainment was also provided to the Michaels club guests which was a nice perk.

 

When we boarded, we also were invited to Normandy, for a complimentary lunch which was a nice touch. I think this was offered to Sky Suite and above guests. Another nice touch. We typically have lunch at Bistro on Five, but this was a nice change. At about 1, we proceeded to our suite. Contrary to what we have heard, the ship is immaculate. Sure it isn't new, and if you check corners, you might find signs of age, but that was an exception. Our cabin was very clean. I have to admit, that it could use a new couch and it wasn't comfortable to sit on, and I can only imagine it must not be comfortable to sleep on. The carpeting and window shades could also be replaced as they also showed wear. However, the room was very clean. Our butler, Peter also helped to make our cruise wonderful. We totally enjoy the adult pool area, but you have to reserve a seat very early in the morning as by 8:00 AM, on a sea day, you might not find a seat. Over the course of the week, we enjoyed the Martini Bar every evening. Yudhi and Richard were great! We also loved the cafe al Bacio and service by Vania, for coffee drinks and pastries daily. We loved Jordan Peters a piano player who performed all over the ship daily. The entertainment was good. Another great performer was Michelle Balan. She is a comedian who was a finalist on the Last Comic standing a few years ago. Celebrity also had a special "party" called Indulgence. It was also entertaining. I think that they are trying to copy the Allure special speak easy type show. The Celebrity show needs a little tweeking, but was enjoyable. The fee for that show as $20 PP. It included, many different sweets, drinks and slider type canapes. The other shows were typical-the usual singers, dancers and acrobatics. They also had a juggler who, I heard was good-but not our cup of tea so we didn't stay for the show.

 

I was disappointed with the new buffet services. Thought I would really like it- however the baskets do not work for all types of dishes. For example, my DH enjoys bacon in the morning, but the baskets had combo sausages and bacon, so a lot of waste. It works great for french fries, some salads and that type of food, but not for combos. Overall the food in Qsine, the Normady, the main dining room, Pizza, Icecream, gelato and the grill were very good. We dined it Blu once and the food in Blu was also good. The spa food isn't nearly as good as on the Solstice class ships, hopefully that hasn't changed as we are booked on the Eclipse in January.

 

We spent a day at the hotel Coco Reef, on Elbow beach. They offer day passes. We loved the hotel, for a reasonable fee, you get use of the hotel all day, lunch with wine- and a beautiful immaculate beach. You also get an umbrella, lounge chair use of the pool and other facilities. We have been to the island before, so we weren't interested in any tours. We also took a ferry to Hamilton one morning.

 

We attended some of the special functions and other parties around the ship and enjoyed them. The shops are okay and sell the usual cheap tee shirts and watches. The fine jewelry store had a reasonable selection. The ship has "art auctions"-which were are not at all interested in. We didn't use the casino, but people who did, seemed to have a good time. The cruise director Kevin, was involved with the guests and also a nice person. We had great service from the photographers, who took lovely pictures and were very visible around the ship and at the ports. Leaving the ship was easy. Found our luggage in the terminal immediately and proceeded with a porter quickly to customs then out to our car service. Home in about one hour!

 

All in all we truly had a great time. While we are Celebrity ( and Royal) cruisers, soon to be Elite plus, we have decided next August to try the Breakaway for another experience.

Cruise a holic - may I ask you how you got from Kings Wharf to Coco Reef at Elbow? Did you take a private taxi- if so do you recall the cost? Sounds lovely . Were there any type of water sports ( sunfish , etc) available to take out. About how long was the ride. My brother needs to be back on board by 4pm latest- playing it safe which we always prefer to do!! Thank you in advance.