ken4556

3 hours ago, Crazy planning mom said:

Glad to read your review.  We are sailing later this winter in a porthole cabin on deck 7.  Was your cabin forward or aft?

We were towards the front in 7118.  

31 minutes ago, helen haywood said:

You must be a Princess cruiser!   

Nope.  Have not been on a Princess boat in 33 years.  Just curious, what made you think that based on our dinner choices?

We had the standard classic beverage package (as it came with our cruise package), but we only used it for soft drinks.

Here is a great reference for the what is included in each package:

https://www.celebritycruises.com/content/dam/celebrity/new-images/12_15_23_OB_SP_Drinks-Flyer_V4.pdf

Just returned home from a fantastic cruise on the Celebrity Apex. Unlike some posts on this forum, the sky is not falling; our Celebrity Cruise was excellent as usual.  We stayed in a porthole veranda cabin, forward on deck 7.

The ship was beautiful and spotless, great mix of ages (no floating retirement home), amazing entertainment, and excellent food.  There was music all around the ship in the evenings, production shows were fantastic, and we really enjoyed the game shows in The Club.  We ate dinner in the main dining rooms five nights, the Marketplace one night, and the Rooftop Garden one night.  All meals we had were excellent and I found the portions the perfect size.  We also had the premium internet package and it worked great, with no dropped phone calls nor dropped teams calls.

The shipped rocked in the rough seas most of the cruise, but the ship rode very well and we did not see too many people who were seasick.  We enjoyed the ports, especially St. Marteen and St. Thomas.

Happy to answer any questions you may have.

While this is great program to allow for a inexpensive cruise, it worries me that it just another death nail into the business plan of HAL.

At some point, you have to sell cruises at a profit at a price people are will to pay for the experience.  Spirit Airlines lost money in the typically the most profitable quarter in the industry.  Delta and United made over a billion dollars each.  I know so many people, including myself, who refuse to fly Spirit because the have an awful product.  It seems from all the promotions that hit my mailbox and e-mail inbox, HAL's only enticement is price. 

I am not saying that HAL has an awful product.  But when HAL cruise are much cheaper than your competitors, who by the way and growing with additional ships, while HAL shed ships and has no newbuilds on order; that signals warning signs to me.

Carnival Corp made around a billion dollars last quarter and so did Royal Caribbean group.  But Royal Caribbean did it on 60% of the revenues that Carnival Corp did. 

The last three cruises, and the one next month, were all on Celebrity.  For each cruise, we priced HAL too.  Each time, HAL was cheaper by a good amount.  We choose to pay the extra to go on Celebrity due to better itinerary and, to us, a better experience in the ships and entrainment.

I know this group loves HAL and I want them to survive and thrive. But the market appeal of HAL must extend beyond the HAL lovers on this board.

We used to cruise HAL at least once a year, but decided we were tired of all the cut-backs, awful entertainment, and the ship being dead by 10 pm.  We decided to try Celebrity and have not been back on HAL.

For us, the newer Celebrity ships are nicer, entertainment options that last past midnight, larger portions at dinner (with better free food options), and better Caribbean itineraries have us choosing Celebrity.

Celebrity is going to be more money.  It has been on  every cruise we have compared to HAL.  To us, the Celebrity has better value for our cruise vacation.  For example, we are tired to going to the same ports on HAL's eastern Carribean itineraries.  Half Moon Cay is nice, but the short port hours make the stop almost worthless.

Celebrity, in general, also draws a younger, more active, customers.  This means fun activities like 70's night and silent disco along with pool music.  For example, the Sunset Bar on the Celebrity ships, with its live music throughout the day and evening, is a fun place to relax and have a drink.

Just off the Celebrity Beyond, lobster was offered on the last formal evening in the main dining room with no upcharge.  I had the lobster with the Beef Wellington (Surf and Turf) while my brother just ordered two lobster tails.

Unlike HAL, I was able to have a shrimp cocktail every night in the main dinning room.  One can also get escargots every night too.  Both without any upcharges.

Just returned from a fantastic eight-day Christmas cruise on the Celebrity Beyond.  Here is a quick review of our experience.

Background

This was my 38^th cruise and our 12^th Christmas cruise in the last 15 years.   Most of our Christmas Cruises have been on HAL, but the last four out of five have been on Celebrity. 

Embarkation

We did all our paperwork on-line and through the App and it could not have been easier.  No lines, enter the terminal and meet a person with a tablet.  Showed our passports and walked on.  Sea pass card were in our room.

The Ports

We really enjoyed the itinerary of an evening stop in San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Marteen, Tortola, and a Christmas afternoon stop in Nassau.   We were early into both San Juan and Nassau.  Unlike HAL, Celebrity is not afraid to run the ships at a faster speed for passenger friendly port times.

The Ship

The Beyond is beautiful and well designed.  We only had one day where the Oceanview Café seemed crowded, but still had no issue finding a seat.  The theater with the huge screens allows was a great venue for the shows, The Club was a great place for the interaction game shows, and we loved the Grand Plaza and all the seating on the multiple levels.  We did not make any of the shows in Eden.  The Sunset Bar is a great place to visit and there always seemed to be deck chair available. 

Wifi

I purchased the upgraded internet package and it was fantastic.  I was able to stream Yellowstone and YouTube while I was working with very little buffering. Other family members used the standard included internet and indicated it was fine for checking e-mails and Facebook.  

Our Room

We had an IV on Deck 7 right by the rear elevators.  We love the room, plenty of room and storage.  I have mixed feelings on the IV.  I missed having a true veranda, but I loved the extra space and the picture window when we did not want to be outside.  I would book again and see no need to avoid the IV.

Food and Service

We ate in the dining rooms all evening except one night we ate upstairs.  The first night we did not have the best service, but the service the rest of the nights was perfect.  Food was very good.  I do wish they had a little more variety of the “theme” specials for each of the four restaurants as they seemed to stay the same through-out the cruise.  We ate around 5:30 pm each night, but never saw much of a wait for the dining rooms.  Service and selection in the Oceanview were excellent.  The design allows easy access to all the stations even when it is crowded.

Entertainment

This is a major reason we love Celebrity over HAL is having three real production shows with singers and live 7-piece orchestra.  The guest comedian and three guest entertainers were also very good.  The ship has two bands that played in the Grand Plaza, Eden, and on the Pool Deck.  They also music at the Sunset Bar.  Fun events like the Silent Disco and deck parties were great to attend. The cruise director and staff were excellent.

Captain Kate

Captain Kate joined in the middle of the cruise and was in the terminal to say goodbye to all the passengers as we left the boat.  She indicated she is on-board for the next three months.

Summary

We had a fantastic cruise and the Beyond is a beautiful and wonderfully designed ship.  It rarely felt crowded and really enjoyed the design and well-thought venues.

16 hours ago, tupper10 said:

I have looked at Celebrity and their prices are crazy - sorry for a mint on my pillow not going to pay way more for a Caribbean cruise.  And unless you are in a suite you are now 2nd class - and the infinity verandas on the new ships are not a veranda.  We were avid Celebrity cruisers but gave up with all their changes and their ridiculous prices.  

I did not mean for this thread to turn into a HAL vs. Celebrity discussions....May I suggest you look at the comparison in a different way.

We are all different and place a different value on how we spend our money. I would not spend my money a Mercedes or a BMW because I am not a car guy and do not see the value in spending the extra money.  On the other hand, I would never fly Spirit airlines as I find value in paying more money in flying Delta and the experience and perks they offer.  If you choose to fly Spirit, that is your choice and does not make you a bad person.

I am on the Celebrity Beyond right now.  We paid a lot more to sail on this ship than the comparable HAL ship.  Why?  We found value in the itinerary, the length (8 days) and dates worked well into on vacation schedule and job commitments.  We also find value in having production shows with singers, music in multiple venues and latter at night, usable internet, and were excited to try a new ship and sail with Captain Kate.

That does not mean we do not find value in taking HAL cruise, we found a better value this year on a Celebrity ship.  If you find value in sailing in a HAL ship instead, that is awesome and I hope you have a fantastic cruise.  

Due to vacations schedules and one part of our family owning and running a family business, taking a longer cruise in October or November is not always an option.

I will repeat what I said in my original post...what is HAL thinking only staying in HMC for such a short amount of time?  Even if you only go on-shore for a short visit or prefer staying on the ship, you have to admit that this short port time is ridiculous.

Merry Christmas!

Looking at options for a cruise next December before Christmas, HAL is offering an Eastern Caribbean on the NA with port times at Half Moon Cay from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm.  This is in addition to leaving St. Thomas at 4 pm.

I have been cruising with HAL since 2008 and every year, it is the same Eastern Caribbean itinerary offered with only St. Thomas and St. Marteen being interchanged.  I know many of the HAL faithful will say we do not care about the ports and the early departure times.  But someone of us do value the ports we visit. Why even bother to stop at Half Moon Cay for such a short stop?

HAL has already lost four cruises now to Celebrity due to better itineraries....and it looks like they will loose number 5.

I really starting to wonder if anyone in Seattle cares anymore about the passenger experience they are providing....

Captain Kate did indeed join the ship in St. Marteen on Dec 22.  She introduced herself right before sail out.  She indicated she is onboard for the next 3 months.

On the Beyond now for the Christmas Cruise.  We were told that Captain Kate is joining us today in St. Marteen (12-22) to take over as Captain.

On the Beyond now (Christmas Cruise 12-18 to 12-26) and I upgraded to the premium internet as I had to finish some work projects the first two days of the cruise.  The upgraded internet is quick, was able to stream Yellowstone while I was working with only four or five slight buffering pauses during the hour plus show.  I am able to watch Youtube without any buffering, make Teams calls, and upload/download files with ease.

Other family members have the basic and said it is fine for checking e-mails and Facebook, but is slow checking normal websites.

I personal prefer Celebrity over HAL.  Celebrity has much more entertainment options than a HAL with music going in multiple places and past 10 pm.  The last couple HAL cruises I was on, the ship went quiet at 10 pm.  The Celebrity Reflection Christmas cruise we were on last month had great production shows (mostly eliminated on HAL) and great guest performers.

If you need internet, we have found Celebrity much faster and more consistent.  The included internet on the Reflection was better than the high speed package we had to pay for on our last HAL boat.

I found the food and service about equal, except Celebrity has items like Shrimp Cocktail and Escargot available every night on the main dinner menu.  The newest HAL boats have smaller passenger to space ratio; meaning more people in less space.

If you like a quiet cruise, HAL is a great choice and usually a less expensive option.  If you like entertainment and lots of activities, Celebrity is a better choice.

I wonder if they are waiting until after the election to make a decision.  Who wins the election will probably determine whether Cuba remains closed or opens up again to American visitors.  With the breakers busy on four ships already, there may be no hurry to decide and, instead, take a wait and see attitude until early November.  Just a thought....

If the reasons given in the previous posts are true, then how come deals are hard to find on Royal Caribbean? We went on the Oosterdam last year and it was cheaper than a 5 day Royal Caribbean cruise we originally were looking at. My parents are going on the Harmony of the Seas in May and they are paying much more than you would pay on HAL.

Maybe HAL cannot compete in the market place with their present product and create demand for higher pricing. HAL has upped their game with the excellent food we had on the last HAL cruise, but still no high-speed internet and sub-par entertainment.

I still believe HAL does not know what they want to be....

Internet

I used the internet to check e-mail and Facebook using my free Elite minutes and found the Internet to be quick. My brother pre-purchased an unlimited package and used it to stream a hockey game using the sling app. The game was almost perfect to watch, with just a very small buffer issue every couple of minutes. He told me he was very impressed as he really did not believe the ship’s internet would allow him to stream the hockey game. Well done Celebrity!

Captain’s Club

I do love how Royal Caribbean-Celebrity recognize your status based on which cruise line you have cruised the most on. Even though it was only my second Celebrity cruise, I was considered an Elite member as I am Diamond on Royal Caribbean.

The Summit had a happy hour for Elite and above members each night from 5 to 7 pm in the Revelations Lounge on 11. Since we were with a group and we have the beverage package, I did not attend. Additional perks, that I did use, were the 90 minutes of free Internet and one free bag of laundry. They did offer additional perks and discounts, but I can only remember the photo package discount and special breakfast in the dining room on departure day. They also had a special backstage tour that I did not attend.

They also had a special sail-away event on the bow of the ship that was originally schedule for St. Thomas. It got moved to the next day as we left San Juan due to weather. They had free drinks and officers on-hand to talk with the guests. It was very nicely done.

This is one area that Royal Caribbean/Celebrity really excel at is rewarding your loyalty. I am 3-star on HAL and it does not give you much, except a small discount on logo clothes and the Pinnacle Grill. No special Happy Hours, no special events, no special check-in, or time to meet the officers.

Next-up: Final Thoughts

Port of Calls

The cruise was 9-days, with 2 sea days at the beginning and 2 sea days to end the cruise. In between the sea days, we visited St. Kitts, St. Marteen, St. Thomas, and San Juan. Since I been to these ports before, I did not have big plans for any of the ports. Celebrity did provide maps for each port included in the daily program.

St. Kitts

The weather was not good when we docked in St. Kitts, windy and rainy. The rain stopped around noon and the sun came out, but it remained windy. I had booked the Nature Kayaking tour, but is was cancelled along with the sailing excursions. We instead did an island tour while my parents did the St. Kitts train ride. After leaving the ship, we went to the tour booth and they arranged for an island tour for us for $20.00 per person, lasting about 2.5 hours long. Our driver was super nice and gave us great history on the island. After the tour, we walked through the shops before heading back to the ship.

St. Marteen

After shop shopping at our favorite Jewelry Store, Grand Jewelers, we head to the Sunset Bar on Maho Beach. We could not believe the number of people that were on the beach and at the bar. We were fortunate to find a table and ordered lunch. While watching the planes is always fun, the large crowd made it less fun than on past visits. We had six cruise ships, so I am sure that created the crowd in itself. The weather was nice most of the day, but we did have a couple passing showers.

St. Thomas

We docked at Crown Bay and headed again to our friends at Grand Jewelers. We went to the Green House restaurant for lunch before doing some more shopping and heading back to the ship. The weather was cloudy and rainy for most of the day.

San Juan

I was part of a group of eight that went on the Zip Lining tour. It was very well organized, the guides were fantastic, and we had all a great time. After returning to town, we hit Walgreens before heading back on the ship. Others is our group went on the self-tour of the forts. It was a beautiful day in San Juan.

As Elite members, we were invited on the bow of the ship for the sail out from San Juan. They had officers available to talk to and free drinks available.

Up next, Internet and Loyalty Benefits

Food

Let me start by saying I know food is very subjective, so I am also going to also include comments made by my tablemates.

We were on first seating (6 pm) on the upper level of the dining room (level 5). Our group had two tables of 8 and two tables of 4. We ate in the dining room all evenings, except for Friday night when our group ate in the Tuscan Grill. We had an excellent waiter and assistant waiter, who even sung for us at the end of each evening. They were both very personal and made it a point to know us by name.

I found the food to be excellent each night. Some nights had more variety than others, but I am a picky eater. Everyone at our table felt the same way about the food, they were all very impressed with the quality of the dining room food.

Except for St. Marteen and St. Thomas, I had lunch in the Oceanview Cafe each day. They had salad stations, hot food selection stations, a carving station, pasta station, pizza station, asian station, and a soup and sandwich station. In addition, hot dogs and hamburgers were available by the poolside grill. Everything was good, but the pasta and carving stations were excellent. They also had a good selection of bread and desserts. One day, they had nothing but cupcakes for desserts and they were awesome. Except for embarkation day, tables always seemed to be available especially towards the back of the ship. Bar service was ok. Only small complaint I have is many days the ice machines were not working or just out of ice.

I am not a breakfast person, so I cannot comment on the quality of the breakfast offerings. My parents said breakfast in the Oceanview Cafe was excellent and had a great selection each morning.

Our dinner in the Tuscan Grille was excellent. Some in our group said the calamari was awesome as were the meatball appetizers I had. I had the Filet Mignon and it was one of the best I ever had. It had great taste and almost melted in my mouth. The wait staff was excellent and it was a very memorable and enjoyable evening.

My brother and aunt went to Sushi on 5 for lunch and said it was very good. None in our group went to Qsine nor do we try room service.

Next-up, Port of Calls

We have not been on Oosterdam, but have done 3 HAL and 2 Celebrity cruises in last 14 months.

DH commented that X had more offerings but they were not things we were interested in.

Last week on Eurodam we enjoyed BB Kings, the dueling pianos, and the shows in the theater. The first two were standing room only most if not all nights, so HAL is doing something right.

The Lincoln Center was almost mostly full every time we passed.

During our cruise on the Oosterdam, the Dueling Pianos guys were fantastic and played to standing room only crowd. That is the part of the problem, the area only holds maybe 150 to 175 guests. The Queens Lounge where BB Kings played was also very well attended, but the Queens Lounge only holds 425 people. Lincoln Center Stage holds, at most 100 people.

So the three lounges that offer music hold approx. 700 passengers of the 1,848 on-board. That is around 37% of the ships capacity. Where are all the other passengers supposed to go before/after the production shows?

Also, you have one lounge that holds 250 passenger having music before dinner. I guess the rest of the 700 passengers on first seating dinner are just out of luck in finding music before dinner. This is why I am a complete lost about HAL decision to take all music from the Crow's Nest.

Entertainment

I have to be honest, I was a little worried about what the entertainment would be like on the Summit as this cruise was in between a bunch of charter cruises. My worries were unwarranted as the entertainment was awesome. I was amazed with the number of musicians on-board to play in the lounges and both the production shows and guest entertainers were excellent.

On board the Summit, not counting guest entertainers and singer and dancers, were the following:

Bill Forest, Piano player

Lado Strings Duo

Acoustic Duo

Jessica Lajner, Vocal Guitarist

Andrea Lisa Band (4 members)

Jim Beam Band (4 members)

Summit Orchestra (7 members)

As an example, here is the musical entertainment for the first sea day/formal night:

12:15 pm Piano entertainment in Caf? on 5

1:15 pm Piano entertainment in Caf? on 5

2:15 pm Soloist guitar in Martini Bar

3:00 pm Jim Beam house band, pool side

3:15 pm Lado strings Duo in Caf? on 5

4:15 pm Soloist guitar in Sunset Bar

5:00 pm Lado strings Duo in Caf? on 5

5:15 pm Soloist guitar in Sunset Bar

5:15 pm Piano entertainment in Rendezvous on 4

6:00 pm Lado strings Duo in Caf? on 5

6:15 pm Soloist guitar in Sunset Bar

6:45 pm DJ in Martini Bar

7:00 pm Jazz, Soul, & R&B with Andrea Lisa Band in Rendezvous on 4

7:45 pm Lado strings Duo in Grand Foyer

7:45 pm Acoustic duo in Sunset Bar

7:45 pm Meet of the Officers/Photos with Captain

8:00 pm Jazz, Soul, & R&B with Andrea Lisa Band in Rendezvous on 4

8:30 pm Celebrity Showtime with singer and dancers and live 7-piece orchestra

8:30 pm DJ in Martini Bar

8:45 pm Acoustic duo in Sunset Bar

9:15 pm Jim Beam house band, Revelations on 11

9:30 pm Jazz, Soul, & R&B with Andrea Lisa Band in Rendezvous on 4

9:45 pm Acoustic duo in Sunset Bar

10:15 pm Celebrity Showtime with singer and dancers and live 7-piece orchestra

10:30 pm Jim Beam house band, Revelations on 11

10:30 pm Karaoke in Rendezvous on 4

11:30 pm Late night comedy show

11:30 pm Jim Beam house band, Revelations on 11

11:45 pm Jazz, Soul, & R&B with Andrea Lisa Band in Rendezvous on 4

12:15 am DJ, Revelations on 11

Here is the list of guest entertainers and production shows:

Sat, Feb 18 - Comedian Steve Bruner. He was very clean and funny.

Sun, Feb 19 ? iHollywood Production Show. A visual and musical feat of all your favorite movie moments and stars. The show was excellent; music was by the Summit Orchestra.

Mon, Feb 20 ? iMagic staring Stephen Williams. Show was excellent and it was fun seeing a magic show using technology.

Tues, Feb 21 ? James Stephen III. This show was great, part comedy, part singing, part impressions. He was backed-up with the Summit Orchestra.

Wed, Feb 22 ? Broadway Cabaret featuring the Summit singers, music by the Summit Orchestra. Show was very good.

Thur, Feb 23 ? Flash Back Four. The show was very good and entertaining.

Fri, Feb 24 ? Comedian Al Ducharme. The first half of the show was very good, but the second half of his act was confusing and hard to hear and understand.

Sat, Feb 25 ? Stars in their Eyes production show. Show was excellent; music was by the Summit Orchestra.

Sun, Feb 26 ? Singer Tetiana. She was a finalist on Canadian Idol. She was very good and put on a nice show. Al Ducharme did a late night comedy show, but I did not attend.

I have to say a word about the Summit production singers. I have not seen a group of singers that danced like they did. In addition, one of the singers became a dancer in parts of the show. In all my cruises, I have not seen a person move back and forth like she did between singing and dancing. I also loved that all three production shows were done to live music. The singers and dancers were also part of the Motown Interactive Theme Party and the Wonderland Interactive Theme Party. I was told that they were in the studio during the charters and came back on-board just for this cruise before heading back to the studio for the next round of charters.

The Love & Marriage Game Show along with Liar?s Club were very funny and well done. The cruise director, Chris Sweets and his side kick Sara, were excellent and around the ship.

Up next, Food

We sailed on the Celebrity Summit for nine wonderful days to the Eastern Caribbean, leaving Port Everglades on Saturday, February 18th and returning on Monday, February, 27th. Since I have not seen many reviews on the Summit posted recently, here is a review on our cruise.

Background

My dad turned 80 in February, so my brother, sister-in-law,and I decided to take mom and dad on a cruise to celebrate. In addition, we opened the cruise to friends and family to celebrate with us. We had a total of 24 of us for dad?s birthday cruise.

We started looking at cruises last March and we settled on the 9-day cruise on the Celebrity Summit. The early booking pricing was comparable to the normal 7-day cruise plus Celebrity included two perks. We also loved having the two extra days, and with the Saturday departure, only required one additional vacation day.

The Ship and Staff

I loved the design of the ship, it was easy to navigate and had plenty of bars and lounges. The3-story foyer allow the lounges on decks 4 & 5 to enjoy the music. The bartenders at the Martini bar were fun to watch. The Rendezvous on 4 and Revelations on 11 were great lounges to enjoy the music or activities. The main showroom had great sightlines to watch the great shows from.

I was in room 6051, a standard verandah balcony room just off the forward elevators. While to room was not super spacious, it did have plenty of storage space and a large shower. We had a small issue with our TV that was promptly fixed. Some others in our group had small issues with their cabins, but all issues were handled promptly. They were replacing the tiles in the shower on our floor while we were on-board.

The ship does have some wear and tear and some areas paint is peeling, especially around the balcony sliding doors. But overall, the shop was in very great ship. I did not see one spot or tears in any of the carpets and did not see any areas out of order due to plumbing or air conditioning issues during our entire cruise.

The ship was clean, but I did notice that glasses were left in odd places (like on the art shelves in the stairwells not being picked-upright away). Service was very good,except for the bar service. Bar service was spotty. In some lounges it was very good, others not so good. Bar service in the dining room was usually just at the beginning of dinner, it was very hard to get a second drink at dinner.

Captain Alex was super friendly and available around the ship. He was very humorous during his 10am announcements and made himself available for photos many times during the cruise.

Our cruise director, Chris Sweets, and his side kick Sara,were excellent. They did an awesome job during Liar?s Club and the Love and Marriage Game. Others in our party attended other activities such as Majority Rules and Battles of Sexes and indicated they were very well done and well attended. In fact, some in our group had a hard time finding a seat as they were so well attended. These activities were done in a nice size lounge, so that indicates how popular they were.

Up next, Food and Entertainment

I just returned from a 9-day Eastern Caribbean cruise on theCelebrity Summit. Having sailed on theOosterdam on a 7-day Western Caribbean in December, I posted how boring the Oosterdamwas with lack of evening entertainment. Ithought I would share the entertainment options between the two trips to seethe difference between the Celebrity Summit that had life and the Oosterdamthat was boring.

Here is the comparison for the first sea day/formal night:

Oosterdam

2:00 pm Lincoln Center Stage stringplayers

5:00 pm Piano Classics with Solo Pianistin Ocean Bar

7:00 pm Lincoln Center Stage

7:30 pm Dueling piano players ***** 3

8:00 pm Showtime with dancers only ? No orchestra,taped music

8:00 pm Piano Classics with Solo Pianistin Ocean Bar

8:30 pm Dueling piano players on 3

8:45 pm B.B. King?s All-Stars in QueensLounge

9:00 pm Lincoln Center Stage

9:45 pm B.B. King?s All-Stars in QueensLounge

10:00 pm Showtime with dancers ? No orchestra,taped music

10:30 pm Dueling piano players

10:45 pm B.B. King?s All-Stars in QueensLounge

11:30 pm DJ in Queens Lounge

CelebritySummit

12:15 pm Piano entertainment in Caf? on 5

1:15 pm Piano entertainment in Caf? on 5

2:15 pm Soloist guitar in Martini Bar

3:00 pm Jim Beam house band, pool side

3:15 pm Lado strings Duo in Caf? on 5

4:15 pm Soloist guitar in Sunset Bar

5:00 pm Lado strings Duo in Caf? on 5

5:15 pm Soloist guitar in Sunset Bar

5:15 pm Piano entertainment in Rendezvouson 4

6:00 pm Lado strings Duo in Caf? on 5

6:15 pm Soloist guitar in Sunset Bar

6:45 pm DJ in Martini Bar

7:00 pm Jazz, Soul, & R&B with AndreaLisa Band in Rendezvous on 4

7:45 pm Lado strings Duo in Grand Foyer

7:45 pm Acoustic duo in Sunset Bar

7:45 pm Meet of the Officers/Photos withCaptain

8:00 pm Jazz, Soul, & R&B with AndreaLisa Band in Rendezvous on 4

8:30 pm Celebrity Showtime with singerand dancers and live 7-piece orchestra

8:30 pm DJ in Martini Bar

8:45 pm Acoustic duo in Sunset Bar

9:15 pm Jim Beam house band, Revelationson 11

9:30 pm Jazz, Soul, & R&B with AndreaLisa Band in Rendezvous on 4

9:45 pm Acoustic duo in Sunset Bar

10:15 pm Celebrity Showtime with singer anddancers and live 7-piece orchestra

10:30 pm Jim Beam house band, Revelations on11

10:30 pm Karaoke in Rendezvous on 4

11:30 pm Late night comedy show

11:30 pm Jim Beam house band, Revelations on11

11:45 pm Jazz, Soul, & R&B with AndreaLisa Band in Rendezvous on 4

12:15 am DJ, Revelations on 11

Thedifference is pretty amazing in just the number of musicians that the Summithand compared to the Ooosterdam. Theresults were full lounges on the Summit before dinner compared to the Oosterdambeing pretty dead before dinner. TheSummit orchestra was used for all three productions shows and two guestentertainers. The Oosterdam productionshows all used taped music.

Theproduction shows on the Summit were all between 50-55 minutes long compared to 33and 35 minutes long on the Oosterdam. There was also no comparison in the quality of the shows, the Summitsingers danced like they were part of the dance team and had a couple that did arielacts as part of the show. The Summit singerand dancers also put on two late night interactive shows where the Oosterdamsingers and dancers did nothing beyond the two short production shows (exceptfor the dance classes).

The Summitalso had two guest speakers that spoke each morning on the sea days. HAL had no guest speakers.

Of interestis that I did not see much difference in the age demographic between the twocruises. But the difference in the shipswas pretty amazing. One had life and onewas dead.

Happy toanswer any questions and post comparison on other nights of the cruise. This Celebrity Cruise just confirms how muchHAL has cut back on the entertainment. The sad part is that I am not sure they care.

Happy Hour all days except the first night:

Billboard Onboard (dueling pianos): 7 pm to 8 pm

Crow's Nest and Ocean Bar: 4 pm to 5 pm

Galley Bar: 10 pm to 11 pm

Music after 10 pm:

Billboard On-Board: 7 pm, 8:30 pm, 10:30 pm most nights, some nights the times varied.

BB King: 8:45 pm, 9:45 pm, and 10:45 pm most nights, some nights the times varied.

DJ in Queen's Lounge started at 10:30 pm or 11:30 pm each night, depending upon the times of the BB King group.

While on-board, we were told that the ship has four production shows. My OP was only about two of the four shows. It sounds like maybe we have missed the two good shows.