countingbackwards

From memory of the courses in Bermuda...Port Royal will be a bit challenging for a new golfer, but is pretty close to the ship so easy to get to.

St George's, Southampton Princess and Ocean View are the courses that the "hacks" played when I lived there...the Princess are all par 3's but there are some spectacular views, the course is well kept, and I recall paying very reasonable green fees. Ocean View and St George's aren't as well kept, but are also good for beginners - but, they're far from the ship.

I'd consider Port Royal (leave your ego at the door and enjoy the beautiful course) or the Princess. Other options would eat up a full day.

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We have never cruised Celebrity before. Our other cruises have been on Carnival and Disney. My husband will no longer cruise on Carnival because the food was awful on our last cruise in 2012. And our last 5 vacations have been Disney World so we don't want to do a Disney cruise.

 

We heard that the food on Celebrity was great and we really liked the free drink package perk among other incentives we received with our booking.

 

However, we are having second thoughts about going on Celebrity with our 2 young children. My daughter is 6 and turning 7 on the cruise and my son will be 3. Upon reading reviews and then watching a youtube video of the Summit, we realized that our children might not enjoy themselves as much as we hoped they would. And we are worried that we will feel out of place for bringing the kids.

 

Not to mention my daughter did watch the video as well as complained that the ship looked boring and that she does not want to go on it.

 

So should we switch to NCL or RCL? It's a summer trip during the 4th of July.

I was asking myself the exact same question - we booked the Summit out of NJ, then started to wonder if we should have gone with the Breakaway since it has more kid-friendly activities.

At the end of the day, I figure that the high-quality kids' club, nice pool and availability of fun food & drink that they aren't usually allowed to eat, means that the kids should have a great time regardless of the fact that Celebrity isn't really a kid line. It's still a mass-market line that does market to families and has specific "family veranda" rooms, so it's not like kids aren't expected to be on this ship.

Further to that - when if at some point they don't want to go to the kids' club (which would surprise me with my kids), or the kids' club is closed, and it's not pool time - I'm hoping to have some time to just "chill" with the kids - play a board game, play shuffleboard, go to the bar with them (they'll have a juice!), etc. I'd worry that they wouldn't be able to focus on small pleasures like that on a cruise ship that's full of waterslides and other distractions that they'd constantly be bugging us to go to.

There are pros and cons to all of your choices…but I'd go with the Summit or NCL before RCI on this route since RCI only does 5 day cruises to Bermuda from NYC.

I don't see anything scary in that article? They're just describing an attempt to find creative ways to provide interesting entertainment options. How is that scary? The comment about them charging for entertainment...it seems that it would be logistically difficult given the nature of the entertainment they're describing.

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Having recently made final payment on my first Celebrity cruise, and being in that 30's demographic people are talking about, having done various vacations including all-inclusives, Disney and other cruises - I feel in a good position to comment here as to Celebrity's "direction" even if I haven't sailed them in the past. Some points about their direction:

1) 30 and 40-somethings tend to travel with children, particularly on 7-day itineraries that Celebrity does to Bermuda and the Caribbean. Given that they don't have the "wow factor" kid features, the 30-40 something crowd coming on board will tend to be limited to those who have an interest in some quality family time combined with quality kids club…but who don't want to be with hoards of kids and the noise that comes with it. This significantly limits Celebrity's ability to attract the 30-40 somethings regardless of marketing, drink packages, etc.

2) Having sailed on Carnival a couple of years ago, I found that the constant push to consume alcohol on-board (I was literally offered a drink every 5 minutes on the first day) was so off-putting that my wife and I both had less to drink than we wanted to…because we want to drink when WE want to drink, and never felt that we were "in control" of our choice to have a drink - so we didn't have any. And mystery colourful drinks with a million calories aren't what we want: we want creative drinks made with quality ingredients (including name-brand alcohol).

3) Celebrity's key selling point to me, is the concept of "quality". I'm not looking for a big plate in the MDR, I'm looking for one made with quality ingredients. After all, it's a cruise ship, and there's always food available - so there's no reason to overeat. I'm not looking for 3 litres of wine, I'm looking for a few glasses of excellent wine. And I'm not looking for the lowest possible price - I'm looking for the best value. I'll definitely drink more being on the 1-2-3 GO package, as will my wife and kids, and my wife and I will probably upgrade to Premium in order to drink higher quality (not quantity) drinks. It's not the cheapest way to go - but it will be freeing and fun. From a parent's perspective…I like the option to offer my kids fresh-squeezed juices rather than sugary drinks - yes they have sugar, but at least fresh-squeezed juices are real natural food.

4) The key here is that quality doesn't get cut. I'm not bothered if I need to go get my drinks and wait a couple of minutes (within reason) to get them - but the value of the free drinks package is that they are awesome drinks, creating a very high-quality vacation. Grey Goose vodka in interesting martinis, nice red wines, sparkling wines, interesting craft beers…these are drinks that you savour, not drinks to "pound back".

5) Something that I didn't like on Carnival was that it seemed like lower-grade ingredients were used on most food in the MDR than I'd expect in a fine-dining establishment. It was decent enough food - I wasn't left wanting, and my wife enjoyed the no-charge sushi bar, but it wasn't at all to the level I remembered from RCI in the Mediterranean in 2003. I don't know how much of that is changes in the industry or differences between cruise lines, but I'm hoping to see a higher standard of food on Celebrity than we saw on Carnival.

So basically…in my view, the #1 selling point for Celebrity is quality. They don't offer as many entertainment nor amenity options as other main stream cruise lines, so they need to offer superior service, superior food quality and superior drink quality, combined with a more relaxed environment where you don't feel as if a hand is reaching for your wallet at all times. If they don't offer these advantages, there is no reason to sail with them.

Yes and the kids will love Qsine- do one night there for sure! :) Same with Bistro on Five.

Do kids have to pay on QSine too? $45 per person is one thing…but for the little bit my kids eat at dinner, I wouldn't want to have to pay for them too!

So, figured it'd only be fair to close the loop on this topic by letting everybody know what I decided and why!

We decided to stick with the Summit. The main reason is that with the Family Veranda room, we can get the best of both worlds in terms of having our own space but being close to the kids: I wouldn't want the kids in a connecting stateroom due to their age (they'd probably be fine, I wouldn't though), and didn't have the budget to pay for a suite with separate rooms within the one suite. The FV room on the Summit is far and away the best value option to have separate rooms.

Also, the ability to put the kids to bed, order an MDR meal from room service and enjoy it on our large veranda would seem to be a better option than running back and forth to the buffet when the kids are in bed.

So while the Breakaway would have the benefit of those awesome-looking water slides…I figure we can take the kids to a water park this summer to have even better water slides, so when you take them out of the equation, the Summit just makes more sense for us.

So…now it's time to start planning the trip and planning for our days in Bermuda! Early seating vs. select dining, beaches vs. tours, etc…but that's a different topic for a different day (and an easy one in a way, since I know Bermuda so well).

123 Go offered non-alcoholic drink package plus some internet time for 3rd and 4th pax in a room, pick your perk does not.

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Oh so pretentious and patronizing.

I disagree. Perception of food quality is entirely dependant on what you're used to. And I'm one of the ones who enjoys cruise dining because frankly I don't get much chance to eat at great restaurants!

I also think that one of the reasons that people say that cruise food isn't what it used to be, is that our perceptions change with time. 20 years ago, you had far less dining experience than you do now, so it's much harder to impress you now than it was then.

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An update...the Breakaway is back in the picture as a result of the new promo where kids sail free + free UDP...so it's gone from the most expensive option to the least expensive option. It's one step forward, 2 steps back in terms of this decision!!

For the Breakaway, I'd go with a mini-suite - it would seem to be the smallest balcony stateroom that would be comfortable for 4...

At this point - the Dawn is in 3rd place, the Summit seems much more favourably reviewed and the bev package seems like a more useful perk than the NCL suite perks.

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I like these packages, because without them l, my wife will rarely order a drink and even be upset with me if I go get her one. With an all-inclusive package, she'll calm down and enjoy the drinks, and we'll both have a ton of fun!

In "real life" I'd not want a package like this, but on vacation it's lots of fun. The finances are secondary to me...you'll win or lose by a little bit either way. It's more about how you want to vacation.

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lol... I hear ya. I took the family to WDW, and my son (3) pretty much hated most of the things that make Disney Disney, so I now look for best value too, as we only get one week of family vacation per year, so need to make it count.

 

Celebrity is considered a classier line than NCL, and I would not hesitate to sail on Summit. As Rebecca mention, their kids club gets rave reviews. Their dining is a notch above too. I think both ships are about same size too. Seeing as you are not going during peak season, Summit would be fine. I did read that Summit cannot handle the summer rush of kids as well as other lines, so that was my only concern.

 

One last thing to consider - the water (ocean) will be cold in Bermuda in May, so see which ship offers the better pool area...lol...the kids may be depending more time there than in the ocean.

I used to live in Bermuda and am pretty comfortable swimming there in late May, I did it when I lived there - we're going after the Bermuda Day, which on May 24 marks the official opening of the swimming season for locals. Also…being Canadian, I have perhaps different expectation of what swimmable water is. May waters in Bermuda will be quite acceptable to the kids, so long as the Man-O-War's are at bay.

That said, my research shows me that there is no kids' pool on the Summit but that its regular pool should be OK for my kids (both can swim), whereas they would have 2 pool options (kids and regular) and waterslides on the Dawn.

That's an interesting point about the Summit being a problem for kids only when there are lots of them aboard…if this was a July cruise, that would be enough to make up my mind.

I guess it comes down to, is the inherently classiness of the Celebrity line and dining rooms along with the bev package enough to offset the loss of suite perks? It seems that the Dawn would be marginally better for the kids in terms of options, but not enough to make a decision based on that difference - my guess is that they'll be having a great time on either ship (kids club + pool + fun food that they're not usually allowed to eat = a great week for them). So it comes down to which would be better for the adults.

I guess if I stick with the Summit, that I'd be best off switching to Select Dining with kids? Thus somewhat combining the virtues of the 2 lines?

Ah...you sound like me. You book the cruise than scour every other possible itinerary and cruise line to see if you can't find a better vacation - my wife calls me obsessive...lol.

 

But to your question, we don't drink but love suite perks, so would go with Dawn. Also another consideration - when will you be sailing? If it's over summer, you may want a ship that has more to offer kids, as the ship will be loaded with them. So, while your kids may not be that into some of the things on Dawn, these things will help to occupy the other 500 or more kids on the cruise. Lastly, I always look for convenience - I.e., which port is easiest for me to reach (if cost and ports are all equal). For our next cruise, I loved the itinerary of Fem, but went with Grandeur because it was easier to reach...lol.

 

 

 

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Haha…you've got me figured out, we don't do many family vacations so when we do them, I try to organize them right…not "right" as in expensive/luxury "right", but "right" as in best value "right". So if the Dawn with its Cagney's breakfasts/lunches, more space, priority embark and debark and a butler (with less line issues to consider due to the suite perks) is a better overall value than the Summit FV with bev package, then that's the one I want. If the Summit is a better value, then that's the one I want. I have no allegiance to either brand, having never sailed with them, so just want the best possible vacation for the money.

We will be sailing in May, so it won't be high season in terms of kid count…which is fine by me, as my kids tend to be more social in smaller groups than in bigger ones.

My wife and I are not big drinkers, but we are a bit picky when we do drink…she enjoys nice wines (not "exclusive" wines, but nice ones), I enjoy better quality hard stuff and beer. I don't want to take in a zillion extra calories in beverage form, but I'm fairly particular about what I do take in (for example…I can't drink Bacardi rum, Gosling's Black Seal rum on the other hand is fantastic!). So the beverage package does suit us, but I don't think it would kill us to do without - it just means that the ultimate cost will wind up a bit higher on NCL given approx. the same starting price, since we'd spend some money on drinks (and likely on specialty dining and extra tips).

My family is currently booked on the Summit in a FV stateroom for a cruise to Bermuda - the corner aft stateroom with the huge balcony (with the 123Go beverage package of course!). I've noticed when looking around that for the same price, we could be in an SD family suite with balcony on the Dawn, which comes with full NCL suite perks and is a HUGE stateroom.

My kids, currently 6 and 9, were very happy on the Carnival Destiny's kids club 2 years ago (and I mean VERY happy - they would cry when we came to get them at 9:30 pm!). Based on the state of that kids club prior to the ship's dry-dock, the fun must have been due to the staff on-board and the activities they were doing…which means, to me, they'd probably be happy with the kids' clubs on either the Dawn or Summit as long as the staff are good. I'm presuming that there's a bit more to do for both kids and adults on the Dawn, and a bit more relaxation to be had on the Summit…really, both options sound good to me.

My wife's feeling is that she's not overly comfortable with the idea of a butler, though the extra space would be nice.

So…my question…if you were choosing between Summit in an FV with the drinks package, or the Dawn in an SD family suite with no drinks package, which would you go with?

BTW - not considering the Breakaway at this point because the price is too high (would be in a much smaller room for a bit more $$ than the other 2 options, along with an extra hundred in parking at the port), and the idea of lines for everything without suite perks sounds like it would be an inferior experience to the other 2 ships.

Thanks for any input!

Thanks for the input guys…I haven't come to an absolute decision yet, but I've decided against 2 OV's because I realize that for me to sleep comfortably, there'd have to be an adult with a child in each room…and that's no fun! So it would come to a 2nd bathroom vs. a huge balcony with an aft view…and I'll go with the balcony in that comparison, given that if we're waiting around while people get ready - those who are waiting can just sit on the balcony and stare at the wake!

So it really comes down to a decision of whether to save some cash and get a basic 2C balcony room - which is probably false economy, with the potential to turn an awesome holiday into one that has us feeling like we're falling over each other. But it's at least an option that is open until final payment. The fact that I had my choice of corner FV's makes me think that there's a good chance I'll get a price drop, and the increase in price over a standard balcony won't wind up being much.

When I lived in Bermuda, I loved John Smith's Bay in Devonshire...it was like a mini-Horseshoe with less people, but with basic facilities and a food stand (that was better than Horseshoe's). It has a similar shape to Horseshoe as well. It's not so popular with tourists, so I'd suspect it'll be quite quiet on weekdays when locals are at the office. The only problem is that beach tended to get the Portuguese Manowars in the winter/spring...think it was OK after May 24 though.

You'd need to take the ferry to Hamilton and take a bus from there...not sure which bus cause I got around on my Vespa so am unfamiliar with the bus #'s.

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I may be stating the obvious here...but this promo applies to very few dates it seems, it's great if it fits your booking but i suspect it's application will be very limited...

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Hi,

New to this forum...and new to Celebrity. I am in the process of planning a family vacation cruise to Bermuda on the Summit with my wife and 2 young children (aged 9 and 6) - this will be a return to a beautiful place where my wife and I used to live, and an introduction of this former abode to my children (who may ask what we were thinking to leave that place). It should be quite a trip!!

We have been on the Weezer cruise on Carnival Destiny in 2012, and my wife and I did our honeymoon on the RCL Splendour of the Seas in the Med in 2003. The Weezer element of the Carnival cruise was phenomenal and made it a memorable vacation, but in terms of the ship, amenities, people, food, service, etc. - we FAR preferred the RCL experience. Mind you, the RCL cruise was a long time ago, when they still had the midnight buffets and on a ship with no specialty dining leading to the best food being in the MDR. So I'm not sure that RCL today is the same as RCL back then - but it seems that Celebrity today may be comparable to the RCL experience at the time.

Fast forward to today...we are looking at 3 different stateroom options. There's the corner FV room with the huge balcony that we currently have reserved. It obviously seems like a fantastic room, and we absolutely loved our aft-facing balcony when on the Splendour in '03. The tiny balcony on the Destiny seemed less functional, although the more private feeling over the water was nice too.

Our other options...we could get connecting OV staterooms on the 3rd deck, the new ones with the big windows, at about the same price as the FV. That adds a bathroom and deletes a balcony, without perhaps adding much given that I'm not sure how comfortable I'd be with my daughter (6) being in a room without an adult even if it's connected. Alternatively, we could get a "sweet 16" balcony room for about $900 savings compared to the FV or connecting rooms.

My concern with the Summit is the small size of the basic cabin for 4 of us, that 170 sq feet just won't be enough for us to feel comfortable...this is why I reserved the FV while researching my options...on the Weezer cruise, the rooms were a bit bigger than on the Summit, and my kids were a bit smaller, and it was TIGHT...fine for 4 nights of excitement, but maybe not for a week of (attempted) relaxation.

Any thoughts are appreciated...if the design of the "sweet 16" cabins is such that it would be fine for 4 of us, then the savings could be put to other uses...a bit to specialty dining and the rest to...well...retirement savings! Or should I just keep my cabin with my 123Go, hope for a price drop (mine is the only one sold at this point!), and enjoy the FV either way? It's currently priced more than a C1, so it seems like the price is high.