Summit Versus Constellation

Hey everyone!

So, I have been researching cruises to possibly take for my birthday in October. I found a repositioning cruise on board the Celebrity Summit. The dates work, the price works, I love St. Maarten, I've never been to Tortola or Puerto Rico and I think celebrating my birthday in Puerto Rico would be a lot of fun. My problem is that I cruised on the Celebrity Constellation in March of this year and the cruise wasn't exactly what I expected. I came on here afterwards and started a review that I unfortunately didn't finish, because of some unfavorable comments towards me and personal reasons. Many replied that a short cruise is not a fair representation of the Celebrity product, which makes me wonder if I should give the cruise line another shot.

I didn't have any problems with the ship itself. My primary problems were with the customer service I received pre-cruise and during the cruise.

With all of that said, if I was to go on this cruise, would I feel like I am on a different ship, or is the Summit an exact replica of the Constellation? Thanks for all of your comments!

Exact replica - no Similar - yes I say give it a try, that cruise price is running quite low. If you can get a reasonable airfare, you will get a weeks travel on the cheap. Since you like to write, the worst you will get is a lot to write about.

Enjoy the cruise - Don't sweat the small stuff.:)

Exact replica - no Similar - yes I say give it a try, that cruise price is running quite low. If you can get a reasonable airfare, you will get a weeks travel on the cheap. Since you like to write, the worst you will get is a lot to write about.

 

Enjoy the cruise - Don't sweat the small stuff.:)

That is very true! I also forgot to mention that I love sea days (possibly more than port days), and the three sea days on this cruise is a huge pull for me too. I live close enough to NYC that I could take a Mega Bus... I'm all for value traveling!

The pricing and intense port selections make it possible to do B2Bs on Summit. Its more like Century than Connie I think.

The pricing and intense port selections make it possible to do B2Bs on Summit. Its more like Century than Connie I think.

Nope, Century was a C class ship. Completely different from M class ships. Both Summit and Connie are M class ships. Probably the only difference is that they will have different specialty restaurants.

Hey everyone!

 

So, I have been researching cruises to possibly take for my birthday in October. I found a repositioning cruise on board the Celebrity Summit. The dates work, the price works, I love St. Maarten, I've never been to Tortola or Puerto Rico and I think celebrating my birthday in Puerto Rico would be a lot of fun. My problem is that I cruised on the Celebrity Constellation in March of this year and the cruise wasn't exactly what I expected. I came on here afterwards and started a review that I unfortunately didn't finish, because of some unfavorable comments towards me and personal reasons. Many replied that a short cruise is not a fair representation of the Celebrity product, which makes me wonder if I should give the cruise line another shot.

 

I didn't have any problems with the ship itself. My primary problems were with the customer service I received pre-cruise and during the cruise.

 

With all of that said, if I was to go on this cruise, would I feel like I am on a different ship, or is the Summit an exact replica of the Constellation? Thanks for all of your comments!

Having done two short cruises on Celebrity ships (both B2B with longer cruises), I can guarantee you that short cruises are completely different from longer cruises. They attract a different type of passenger. There tend to be more serious boozers on short cruises.

As for customer service, that varies depending on the crew. I've had excellent customer service on the Connie as well as not so good service. Different cruises. Different crew. Haven't sailed the Summit yet. Had one booked, but Celebrity refused to move it from the date I booked to a later date that same season and let me keep the perks attached to the booking (which were supposed to be transferable according to the paperwork I got on board). So their landside customer service isn't exactly high on my list.

That being said, I have 174 nights on board Celebrity ships and 38 more nights booked.

One advantage you will have is familiarity with the structure. Don't discount that. We have been on all the M class ships, some more than once, and there is a sense of "home" when we can negotiate the public spaces and get back to our cabin with ease.

The itinerary meets your needs and desires doesn't it? That says a lot.

The last 5 day cruise was 15 years ago and we vowed we'd never do that again. There is a totally different vibe, and demographic, on a 7 night or longer cruise.

I did the opposite. I sailed on the Summit last November and the cruise of The Constellation is coming up. When I was on the Summit, they were experimenting with unusual, avant-garde entertainment, although it was often late at night so I more heard about it then actually saw these shows. I was wondering if they were doing the same things on the Constellation?

Hi Zactack, I have done the Summit several times. The cruise in question specifically. The Summit was great every time. The ports of call are nice as well. We usually do a CC, Aqua or Small suite, depending on the price and have always been happy. I was following your previous post of your Constellation, to bad you did not finish it, it was a good read. Believe me many reviews are not. :p Hopefully we will like the Connie, we are doing the transatlantic this November. We like the seven days at sea. A week in Rome and Naples before, Pompeii is on the bucket list. One more aspect is that sailing from New Jersey is a great sail away, nice dramatic exit. Be sure to write a cruise review.

Have fun and a happy birthday.

Mark and Josh

I haven't been on Constellation since 2006- so it's not fair for me to say what the condition of the ship is today. However, I preferred Constellation to Summit (sailed her in 2012). They are identical hulls- with different decor- but the layouts and size of the ship is identical. I am sailing Summit for the second time at the end of July. I like the M-class ships very much. I like the walking tracks, having all the glass windows looking out at the sea.

So yes- give Summit a try.

To me the only difference between Connie and Summit, is Connie has Tuscan, Summit has Qsine instead.

Any other variances are quite minor.

I'm on the Summit reposition to San Juan you are looking at with several cruise friends I've met along the way, there are a couple of specialty groups booked as well, so it will be a fun cruise. I think our group (BearCruise) has about 400 to 500 in it from what I've been told. Last year there was also a singles group as I understand.

I did the opposite. I sailed on the Summit last November and the cruise of The Constellation is coming up. When I was on the Summit, they were experimenting with unusual, avant-garde entertainment, although it was often late at night so I more heard about it then actually saw these shows. I was wondering if they were doing the same things on the Constellation?

I don't remember this occurring on the Connie in March. I only remember the regular evening shows. Those were hit and miss. There was a ventriloquist act one night and we actually left during that show along with many others because it was terrible.

Hi Zactack, I have done the Summit several times. The cruise in question specifically. The Summit was great every time. The ports of call are nice as well. We usually do a CC, Aqua or Small suite, depending on the price and have always been happy. I was following your previous post of your Constellation, to bad you did not finish it, it was a good read. Believe me many reviews are not. :p Hopefully we will like the Connie, we are doing the transatlantic this November. We like the seven days at sea. A week in Rome and Naples before, Pompeii is on the bucket list. One more aspect is that sailing from New Jersey is a great sail away, nice dramatic exit. Be sure to write a cruise review.

 

 

 

Have fun and a happy birthday.

 

 

 

Mark and Josh

That's good to hear. I've been wanting to go back to St. Maarten since I left a couple of years ago.

And thank you. I just got really frustrated with it, so I didn't finish :( I did have most of it written out to post though.

I haven't been on Constellation since 2006- so it's not fair for me to say what the condition of the ship is today. However, I preferred Constellation to Summit (sailed her in 2012). They are identical hulls- with different decor- but the layouts and size of the ship is identical. I am sailing Summit for the second time at the end of July. I like the M-class ships very much. I like the walking tracks, having all the glass windows looking out at the sea.

 

 

 

So yes- give Summit a try.

Thank you for your insight. I was curious about the decor, primarily. I looked at deck plans and saw they are fairly similar.

To me the only difference between Connie and Summit, is Connie has Tuscan, Summit has Qsine instead.

 

 

 

Any other variances are quite minor.

 

 

 

I'm on the Summit reposition to San Juan you are looking at with several cruise friends I've met along the way, there are a couple of specialty groups booked as well, so it will be a fun cruise. I think our group (BearCruise) has about 400 to 500 in it from what I've been told. Last year there was also a singles group as I understand.

I actually saw the roll call for that sailing. I saw it was lively, so that was a draw for me too. I'd be sailing solo and hope to meet people on the ship, and roll calls seem to be the best way to. The other cruises I was considering have pretty slow roll calls... One of them was even over Halloween!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I personally think that the difference between the Summit and Connie are huge.

Perhaps it was partially due to the fact that I sailed on a five nighted on Connie and have only done 7 nighters on the Summit.

We love the Summit, and just returned from a week in Bermuda. We have two weeks in January booked on the Summit, then back to Bermuda on her next May.

We cruise primarily with Celebrity, but our least favorite Celebrity cruise was on the Connie. The ship looked "tired", and the staff wasn't bad....they just were not exceptional like they have always been on the Summit.

If you're who I think you are, there are a lot of us who posted encouragement in your thread and wanted you to continue.

The pricing and intense port selections make it possible to do B2Bs on Summit. Its more like Century than Connie I think.

I disagree....Summit and Constellation are sister ships...same deck plans,

hull, same everything......same size. They are both M class ships.

Century was a C class and was 20,000 tons smaller...2 totally different

ships.

Hi Zactak,

I have never been on the Constellation, but we've sailed the Summit three times, with our 4th cruise on the repo October 18th! In fact, this will our 3rd time doing this itinerary. We love the combination of a pre-cruise in NYC, days at sea, caribbean ports (SXM being one of our favorite cruise and vacation destinations) - PLUS - we're big fans of San Juan. When you factor in the price, it's a win all around. The Summit is a great ship and even though I like the overall feel of the S-class better - we still love the Summit.

To the Original Poster.......I have sailed SUMMIT 6 times and am booked

on her in November for#7:D.......she is one of my favorite ships.:)

As for the ship itself.......she is the sister ship of Constellation.......

actually all the M class ships are sisters......they have the same

deck plans, hulls, etc.......they hold the same amount of people...the

restaurants may vary........as you can see, some folks prefer one to

the other......so it really depends on the person. My last cruise on

Constellation was probably my least favorite:eek: (that is over a 12 year

span sailing with Celebrity)....

I can't wait to sail Summit again though:)

I don't understand this. The ships are essentially identical. Yet so many people say they prefer the Summit to The Constellation. In fact the reviews for the Summit seem to be better than the Constellation. So often someone says, but my trip of The Constellation what the least enjoyable of all that I have done with Celebrity. Is it the entertainment or what is it? I am baffled. And here I am; I enjoyed the Summit and now I will be heading out on The Constellation with maybe not such high hopes.

ENJOY YOUR CRUISE!!! ENJOY YOUR CRUISE!!! ENJOY YOUR CRUISE!!! ENJOY YOUR CRUISE!!!

This is the problem with reading too much before you go cruising.

ENJOY YOUR CRUISE!!!

(The old timer's are still upset that they got rid of the "hole" in the deck of the Constellation)

I don't understand this. The ships are essentially identical. Yet so many people say they prefer the Summit to The Constellation. In fact the reviews for the Summit seem to be better than the Constellation. So often someone says, but my trip of The Constellation what the least enjoyable of all that I have done with Celebrity. Is it the entertainment or what is it? I am baffled. And here I am; I enjoyed the Summit and now I will be heading out on The Constellation with maybe not such high hopes.

I think maybe Connie gets some grief often times due to her positioning in the Caribbean with the 4 and 5 night shorter more "party" cruses than the other ships sail. All those turnarounds can make things look tired. Connie seems to get lots of raves when in the Med.

I think Summit gets a lot of favoritism due to her sitting in port for 3 nights and it's just a very nice relaxed week at sea and in Bermuda.

I like them equally, with a favor to Connie due to Tuscan Grill. I did just get off a 13 night TA to Rome on Connie, and loved the trip and ship.

Summit and Constellation both M Class ships, both were Solsticized and basically they are the same ship except for different colored carpeting, bedding, etc.

I was following your review and was hoping that you'd finish it. Since you didn't finish I don't know all of your complaints about service on that cruise but I do know one was w/ the Select Dining process and waiting. Since you said you are going to be solo I'm guessing you may choose Traditional dining in order to have tablemates during dinner. That will eliminate the issue w/ wait times (or being overlooked) at the Select Dining. (but I may be wrong in my assumption). I also never experienced anyone asking me to purchase/upgrade a beverage package or book a specialty restaurant.

If memory serves from your review you sometimes have anxiety or may be a little introverted vs. extroverted. You're attitude and openness will also have an effect on how much you enjoy the cruise. If you are open and willing to meet new people or be willing to strike up conversations with other people you should have a great time. Also you won't have anyone else you are travelling with to make you feel guilty/pressured about doing something you are not wanting to do (again something I think I remember about your review that caused you some angst). You only have 1 person to make happy and that's yourself.

I was on the Summit last March as a solo traveler. I experienced excellent service and had a great time onboard. We had a great roll call and I met many wonderful people who made the cruise exceptional. I'm actually booked on the Summit again next March.

I say go in w/ and open mind and just enjoy yourself.

If you're who I think you are, there are a lot of us who posted encouragement in your thread and wanted you to continue.

All of you that were supportive definitely didn't go unnoticed. I appreciated the support. Even though I was very open on the review, people still only got a small snippet of what was going on to cause those stressors beyond the cruise.. I come on here to gain knowledge, but also for entertainment. Coming on here seeing the negativity was the last thing I wanted to do. I'm sorry for not finishing it :( I actually didn't even come back to the forums until a week or so ago, and even then I was just lurking.

Hi Zactak,

 

I have never been on the Constellation, but we've sailed the Summit three times, with our 4th cruise on the repo October 18th! In fact, this will our 3rd time doing this itinerary. We love the combination of a pre-cruise in NYC, days at sea, caribbean ports (SXM being one of our favorite cruise and vacation destinations) - PLUS - we're big fans of San Juan. When you factor in the price, it's a win all around. The Summit is a great ship and even though I like the overall feel of the S-class better - we still love the Summit.

That's great to hear! I was in SXM two years ago on the Norwegian EPIC and absolutely loved my time there. It's by far been my favorite destination in the Caribbean. I also love sea days and I'm excited to go to Puerto Rico. I plan to be there the 24-27.

I don't understand this. The ships are essentially identical. Yet so many people say they prefer the Summit to The Constellation. In fact the reviews for the Summit seem to be better than the Constellation. So often someone says, but my trip of The Constellation what the least enjoyable of all that I have done with Celebrity. Is it the entertainment or what is it? I am baffled. And here I am; I enjoyed the Summit and now I will be heading out on The Constellation with maybe not such high hopes.

I obviously can't say anything about the Summit, because I haven't sailed on her yet, but I will say that I think cle-guy is onto something about the shorter cruises on the Connie. I didn't feel the customer service was on par with past cruises I've done and the entertainment was hit and miss. There was a comedian the first night and he was great. The ventriloquist a few nights later was so awful a lot of people in the theater walked out.

I was following your review and was hoping that you'd finish it. Since you didn't finish I don't know all of your complaints about service on that cruise but I do know one was w/ the Select Dining process and waiting. Since you said you are going to be solo I'm guessing you may choose Traditional dining in order to have tablemates during dinner. That will eliminate the issue w/ wait times (or being overlooked) at the Select Dining. (but I may be wrong in my assumption). I also never experienced anyone asking me to purchase/upgrade a beverage package or book a specialty restaurant.

 

 

 

If memory serves from your review you sometimes have anxiety or may be a little introverted vs. extroverted. You're attitude and openness will also have an effect on how much you enjoy the cruise. If you are open and willing to meet new people or be willing to strike up conversations with other people you should have a great time. Also you won't have anyone else you are travelling with to make you feel guilty/pressured about doing something you are not wanting to do (again something I think I remember about your review that caused you some angst). You only have 1 person to make happy and that's yourself.

 

 

 

I was on the Summit last March as a solo traveler. I experienced excellent service and had a great time onboard. We had a great roll call and I met many wonderful people who made the cruise exceptional. I'm actually booked on the Summit again next March.

 

 

 

I say go in w/ and open mind and just enjoy yourself.

I actually have most of the last two days and debarkation written out. I just never posted them. There's already a waiting list for traditional dining, but I didn't really have a problem with Select Dining, per se. I just think the process could be better. When our pager didn't go off the first night, it made me not trust it anymore. It also would have been nice to know how long the wait would be. I'm sure we could have asked, but that should be info they give up front.

I do have a lot of anxieties, but I think I'm a shy extrovert. I'm outgoing, just shy in some circumstances. This will be my second solo cruise, and I've already connected with the roll call. I'm sure I'll easily be able to meet people on board. I'm glad to hear you had excellent service last year. I hope I experience the same. A big reason why I chose to reconsider Celebrity was all of the comments on my review where people said the short cruise was not an accurate picture of the cruise line. I guess I will now see :)

And yes, not having someone with me, nagging that I do things I don't want to do will be a great chance from March... Being able to do my own thing is one reason I love to travel alone.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I actually have most of the last two days and debarkation written out. I just never posted them.

I'm sure I speak for the supporters who were following your review, Please post the final part especially if you have it all written out. We'd love to hear the rest of the story.

I actually have most of the last two days and debarkation written out. I just never posted them.

 

I'm sure I speak for the supporters who were following your review, Please post the final part especially if you have it all written out. We'd love to hear the rest of the story.

I agree. Please do.