conquesodor

I seem to no longer be able to edit my original post, but for anyone interested, here's the link:

http://travel.usnews.com/cruises/

I'm not sure if the CC guidelines allow me to put the link to the article in my post, but a simple google search will find it. In any case, I thought the Celebrity Cruises board would appreciate knowing how well Celebrity did in the rankings by U.S. News and World Report.

#1 Best Cruise Line for the Money

#2 Best Cruise Line for the Caribbean (#1 Disney)

#1 Best Cruise Line for the Mediterranean

#5 Best Cruise Lines for Couples (#1 through #4 were all "luxury" cruise lines)

In the category for Best Cruise Line for Families, Celebrity did not place. #1 was Disney, followed by RCI, and Carnival). I'm not terribly surprised here.

The final category was Best Luxury Cruise Line: #1 is Crystal, followed by Regent, and Oceania.

They also rank individual ships on a 5 point scale, with the score being a composite of expert reviews, traveller opinion, and health reports from the CDC. The best ranked ship in Celebrity's fleet is Reflection, with an overall score of 4.4, while the lowest rated ship was Summit at 4.1 overall. In my opinion, such a small difference from top ranked to lowest, says something about the overall quality and consistency of the fleet.

I agree with the negative reviews of TG on Summit. My fiancé and I dined there back in April and it was the one experience on board that was truly disappointing. If I had to summarize the experience in one word, it would be "underwhelming." The food was fine, but nothing special either. If it cost a little less, had better service, nicer ambiance, and hadn't replaced Normandie, I might give it a more favorable review. I've commented on it in more detail elsewhere, so I won't do that again here.

Just my two cents, as some others report having a fine experience there.

None of the sushi bars I've eaten in over the years served only sushi. I'd no more assume by the name that Sushi On 5 served only sushi than I would think that a steakhouse served only steaks.

And yet I frequently read comments on here that go something like this: "Did they replace 'Bistro on 5' with 'Sushi on 5' on [insert name of ship]? They did?! Well, I'm not eating there - I don't like sushi."

I like the A La Carte pricing for Sushi. I cannot imagine dropping $35 a head for AI Sushi. I would much rather slide in there for lunch one day, grab a sake with my beverage package and maybe a roll or an appetizer. It would keep me coming back throughout the cruise to try other things at my own pace without feeling like I have to try everything in one setting.

 

Why not offer an AI experience and a A La Carte option?

You make a good point about having the ability to drop by for just a roll and a drink, which you'd be unlikely to do if it was priced the way other specialty restaurants are. I really like your suggestion for them to give us a choice - why not have two menus, one a la carte priced, and the other prix fixe?

I think the name of the restaurant is ill chosen and might put some people off unnecessarily as they serve so much more than just sushi!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

You might be right about the name. I've seen plenty of people comment that "they don't like sushi" elsewhere on the boards, who might not look more closely at the menu. A name that's a little less specific, with perhaps a few more non-raw dishes, would probably appeal to more people. "Mount Fuji on Five" could have worked. :)

On the Solstice in Sept they were offering everything for $25 pp in Sushi on 5.

I'd try it for $25.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Forums mobile app

I'd like to know that the drink package covers the Sakes.

I'd like to know too. :-)

Sent from my SM-G930V using Forums mobile app

Even though I like sushi, I also really like Bistro on 5 and wish we weren't losing one to get the other. However, what really bothers me is how drastically different the expense is from one to the other. For one thing, there's no flat fee for whatever you'd like, instead the menu is a la carte, just like what you'd expect at a traditional restaurant. While $10 at Bistro on 5 got you a nice 3 course meal, at Sushi on 5, that $10 might get you an appetizer or a few pieces of sushi.

If you look for the thread called "LIVE!!! The Reflection Transatlantic - Oct 21st - 2016!" you can find pictures of the Sushi on 5 menu and some examples posted on page 6. The sushi looks very nice, but the prices seem almost exactly like what I'd expect to pay back home at a good sushi restaurant in the city. This seems a bit ridiculous in comparison to every other dining option on board.

I don't have an issue with the extra fee restaurants, but a la carte pricing breaks the relaxed enjoyment of cruise dining that has always been one of its perks. It's easy enough to decide whether or not to pay the upfront charge for any of the other extra fee restaurants, but then you can just relax and enjoy your meal. (Tuscan's dry aged beef perhaps the only exception?) The prices have always seemed reasonable, considering we are paying a fee in addition to what we have already paid for the cruise, and are much less than what you'd pay for a comparable experience on land. However, Sushi on 5 doesn't appear to offer any unique value at all, especially if you live somewhere that good sushi is already available.

What the heck are you thinking, Celebrity?

Anyone else agree?

My fiancé and I had a wonderful time on Summit at the end of April this year and would not hesitate to sail on her again. It's a little hard to fathom how some folks could come away saying "never again," but I try to remember that everyone has different tastes and priorities. With around 2,000 passengers, there's going to be some variables in what you experience, based on your particular choices, random chances, etc., as well as from one sailing to the next. I've also never sailed on the S class, so I haven't had the chance to become spoiled by a newer ship, which could be the case for some people. However, I've also read many comments here from folks who have tried both and actually prefer the M class. I wrote a more detailed review where I griped about a few things, but my experience overall was that Summit is a lovely ship, with excellent staff and service, which translates to an incredible value.

There were some questions about music and I can say that we really enjoyed a few of the performers on our sailing. There was a folksy acoustic guitar player who frequented the Sunset bar and one night he was joined by a fiddle player, which was particularly fun. There also was a woman singer and guy guitar player (different guy) who we saw a few places, such as Cellar Masters that were quite good. On pervious Celebrity cruises I've been on, there have been string quartets or accapella singers, but we didn't find that this time on Summit. My understanding is that for all cruise lines that musicians can rotate frequently based on availability or if a crew member also has the talent, so experiences can vary considerably. Needless to say, whether or not the music is to your particular taste will also be very subjective.

P.S. - I had no issue with service on board Summit - with the bars on anything else. Service was top notch.

I was on the Summit in April and we wouldn't hesitate to sail on her again. Since you say you have sailed on other M class ships and enjoyed them, you really have no reason not to expect an enjoyable voyage on the Summit.

It's really hard to understand where some of the super negative reviews come from. I can understand being disappointed in one specific thing or another, but you'd think after reading some reviews that Summit is a barnacle encrusted rust bucket, lacking any comforts, and without an edible bite of food to be found on board. I try to account for the fact that tastes and preferences vary from person to person, but some people are just incredibly hard to please. If you've ever worked in a customer service position, I'm sure you are familiar with the type of customer or client who is never satisfied and is always quick to complain. I did witness a few grumpy and disagreeable passengers when I was on board Summit, so perhaps these are the same people that write those sorts of misleading and unrealistic reviews.

When I reviewed my trip on Summit (which is on the boards here), I believe I described her as "aging gracefully" in places, but that she is still a very lovely ship. I had a few gripes, mostly about Tuscan Grille, but overall we loved being on the Summit and wish we were back on her now.

I have yet to sail on an S class ship, but from what I can tell they do appear to be spectacular. However nice the S class may be, I still can't imagine that ever taking anything away from how charming, classy, and comfortable the M class ships are. I hope they are around for many years to come.

To the OP:

I think this thread is a good answer to your question and I'll explain why. The majority of replies are encouraging you to not anticipate feeling uncomfortable dressing casual on Celebrity, while only one or two people say otherwise. So, while it's possible you'd get a dirty look from someone, it would be very rare and I would just ignore it if happens. I'd encourage you to give Celebrity a try and leave your worries at home. As notes by others, I think X is particularly well suited for a couple travelling alone.

I've been on X three times - twice in the Caribbean and once in Alaska, and many people - myself included - can and do wear shorts and t-shirts throughout the day. This includes the MDR for breakfast or lunch. For dinner in the MDR, there is the minimum dress code as mentioned, but it is still very casual. I've seen many men wearing jeans and a polo shirt or Hawaiian shirt. You will see people dressed up to higher degrees, including very formal at times, but not so many as to feel like you are out of place. You can find plenty of people are still dressed in shorts and casual tops in the evening, either in the Oceanview Cafe, or many other locations, including the theater.

Celebrity actually relaxed the rules recently, which has disappointed some, but I think is a smart move. If you and your companions like to dress up - you can have a grand time - but it gives everyone more freedom to dress as suits their taste. (no pun intended.) Even on the "smart chic" nights, it's really only a suggestion - I've seen some "dressed to the nines" and others still very casual.

Having said all this, I think the Celebrity demographic tends to lean towards a "smart casual" approach and has a classy, yet relaxed vibe overall.

A few caveats:

- I can't speak as to what to expect in Blu or Lumina, as I've not dined there.

- Other specialty restaurants (Tuscan Grille, Murano, etc.) have a more up-scale vibe and people tend to dress accordingly.

- I've heard rumors that Mediterranean sailings can have a different vibe, perhaps due to the big difference in itinerary, which might mean a different sensibility in what people wear, but I can't speak on that from experience. (yet!)

I believe it was around 7:30/45

7:30pm sounds right.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Forums mobile app

I'll have two sea days on the Constellation, beginning May 2, 2017. Hopefully, we'll have some informative talks!

Thank you for sharing your experience. It's a shame that poor attendance is the reason they no longer offer it. If my memory is correct, I can recall natural history talks during the sailing of the inside passage, visit to Hubbard Glacier, and one other time we were at sea, which I imagine is quite different from a Med cruise. However, I would happily elect to go to a cultural enrichment style talk in the evening, rather than attend any of the theater productions - but I'm probably the rare weirdo that feels that way. :D

When I did an Alaska cruise on the Millennium back in 2008, there was a naturalist onboard who gave presentations on the wildlife, geology, and other aspects of Alaska's natural history. It was a very nice touch. However, in the Caribbean, the only information that X offers passengers about ports of call is where to shop and what shore excursions they'd be happy to sell you.

Considering the rich cultural history of the Mediterranean, I'm hoping that X offers some sort of enrichment programming onboard for those sailings.

Can anyone here comment whether or not they have experienced this?

Loved your review and pics...especially the food parts, thank you! What were your favorites in Qsine?

Thanks! :)

I don't remember anything from Qsine that we didn't enjoy. We ordered the amount of courses recommended for the two of us and we were stuffed by the end! We made choices that seemed like the best 'bang for the buck', meaning we skipped things like the tacos, sliders, or disco shrimp, that could easily be found back home. The items we had were:

Sushi Lollipops

Tresviche (ceviche 3 ways)

Lobster Escargot

Painters Mignon (filet mignon with 5 different sauces)

Lava Crab

"Share for two or more Patlican Salata" (Mixed Olives – Tzatziki – Eggplant Imambiyaldi Tabbouleh – Hummus – Chicken Kofta – Zathaar Lamb Chops – Kibbeh Mediterranean Chili – Falafel – Goat Cheese Cigars)

Chocolate Tombstone

I am interested in the same sailing this year.

We love Bermuda and wonder if you were able to swim there. We have been mid to late May and I think the water is fine though many do not.

Were there a lot of people in the ocean when you were there?

Thank you and thanks for the review.

I'm not sure what the exact temp of the water was when we were there April 28-29, but googling the average temp says that it is around 70 degrees at that time of year, which seems about right. We never went swimming, exactly, but after our afternoon kayaking excursion we had a little time to relax and I spent a good part of it up to my knees / waist, which felt wonderful to me. Of course, we had been out for several hours under the sun and the air temp was in the low 70s. (according to one web site, the average water temp range for April - May is 67-74 degrees.)

We went to Horseshoe Bay around 5pm and most of the crowds were leaving when we arrived. When we left, just before sunset, we had the place nearly to ourselves. It was lovely. My guess is it would be very different earlier in the day.

See attachments for pics of both scenes I describe. :)

Regarding Tuscan Grille, I'm wondering if Celebrity was playing with the concept a little when they put it on Summit? Some of the photos of TG on other ships look different than what I remember, but I could be wrong. Has anyone experienced TG on both the Summit and elsewhere? Any differences in setup and service?

Although a few people we chatted with said they loved TG on Summit, when we ate there the dining room was only about 25% full the entire time, which gave a strong impression that most passengers weren't thrilled with the change. (It also could be a coincidence, but Qsine was full when we ate there, and back when I dined in the Olympic, it always seemed to be lively.) The food in TG was good, but as I've already said, the menu and ambiance just didn't feel special. That's subjective of course, and your mileage may differ.

We enjoyed Qsine a lot, and while I am looking forward to eating there again on my next cruise, I can understand only wanting to go there once per voyage. Whereas, some of the other options could more easily be repeated.

While I love sushi, I will miss Bistro on 5. Can't we have both? :D

Another question - has anyone eaten in both the M-class "classic cruise ship" restaurants, as well as Murano on S-class? How would you compare and contrast them? A few descriptions I've read of Murano recently sounded like they had a similar menu and fine dining experience, although without the classic liner ambiance.

I hope it's true that Ocean Liner's will be staying. I think replacing the distinct and elegant "ocean liner" restaurants on the M class ships with Tuscan Grille has been a big mistake. :(

To quote my review of my recent sailing on Summit:

My only previous experience with upcharge dining was in the Olympic restaurant on the Millennium in 2008. I ate dinner there with four other members of my family and we all opted for the wine pairing option. The entire evening, from the food, to the service, and the ambiance, was exceptional and is recalled fondly by all of us to this day. Needless to say, this set a very high level of expectation for what Celebrity can and should offer for an alternative extra fee restaurant.

After the Millennium, I sailed on the Mercury, which did not have any alternative dining, so I was really looking forward to dining in Normandie on the Summit - that is until they removed it during the recent dry dock and replaced it with Tuscan Grille. This was very disappointing, but I was still hoping that the same level of excellence would be evident. Unfortunately, Tuscan Grille fell far short of the special dining experience that it should have been. Whereas the Olympic restaurant was elegant and classy, the Tuscan Grille was very contemporary and understated. A more modern ambiance isn’t necessarily a bad thing and it’s hard to quantify exactly why it was underwhelming, but in this case it simply didn’t feel distinctive, inviting, or special. Another factor was the quality of the service, which wasn’t nearly as personal, attentive, or polished as was evident in Olympic. In fact, the dining room was less than half full, yet the service felt kind of flat, almost aloof at times. Finally, while the food was prepared well and of good quality, the Italian steak house menu wasn’t particularly inspired. In other words, Celebrity replaced Normandie with a restaurant experience that isn’t hard to find back home in the States, whereas Olympic (and it’s sister restaurants) were each unique and offered guests a truly special experience. Going further, I should say that even if I didn’t have Olympic as my yardstick of comparison, I still wouldn’t have been particularly impressed with our time in Tuscan Grille.

Celebrity Summit

April 23 - May 1, 2016

8 Day repositioning cruise from San Juan to Bayonne.

Ports: San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands; St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles; King's Wharf, Bermuda; Bayonne, New Jersey

Veranda cabin # 6094

This was my 3rd cruise with Celebrity and the first time for my fiancé. We both had a fantastic time and our overall experience with Celebrity and Summit was very good. I don’t have a detailed, day by day review to offer you, but I’ll highlight some of my key impressions for the things that matter most to us. I meant to post this review sooner, but having just booked my next Celebrity cruise, it has prompted me to finally do it. I’ll share a link to a gallery of some photos from our trip and will do my best to answer any questions.

Summit is a lovely ship and she met our needs almost perfectly. We had read about the refurb and can say that Summit was in great shape. Our deck 6 veranda cabin was clean and well maintained, although cabins such as these and other areas that were not part of the refurb showed some graceful signs of age. The only unpleasant thing we noticed the entire trip was a funky smell in the corridor outside our cabin on a few occasions. There was a heavy duty dehumidifier running in the area on the same days, so perhaps there was a plumbing issue, but thankfully it was only apparent a couple times and only in the corridor.

We really enjoyed this itinerary, with its mix of caribbean ports and Bermuda. We arrived one day early in San Juan and had a very nice stay at the Marriott in the Condado section of the city. We arranged ahead of time to take the “Flavors of San Juan” food and culture walking tour, which was fun and educational. It made for a great way to spend the day before boarding the ship. We booked two Celebrity excursions, snorkeling in St. Thomas and kayaking in Bermuda - both excellent. We did St. Martin and most of Bermuda on our own, which worked out great. We ate a particularly memorable lunch at Le Chanteclair bistro on Marina Port Royale in Marigot.

Speaking of memorable dining, I’ll disclose that I’m a pretty good cook and a foodie who has sometimes eaten in world class restaurants, so food and wine on board were important considerations. That said, I also understand that a kitchen pumping out thousands of meals a day isn’t going to serve food with the meticulous care that a small, fine dining restaurant can achieve. However, we still felt that the food overall was quite good, especially considering what we paid for it and the challenges that serving food on a cruise ship entails. There may have been the occasional dish here or there that was disappointing, but we generally enjoyed ourselves and ate some terrific meals. I’ll go into a little more specific detail below.

The quality of the food in the main dining room was usually very good and lived up to what I’ve come to expect from Celebrity in the past. It seemed as if Celebrity has taken to offering smaller portions in the MDR than I recall previously, but I don’t necessarily think this is a bad thing. I actually enjoyed the experience of ordering the full range of courses and not feeling like I was overdoing it. Considering how easy it is to eat as much as you want on board, I can’t fault them on what is perhaps a sensible way to cut back on waste. I should mention here that we went with “Celebrity Select” flexible seating and we always requested a table for two. We usually went to dinner around 7pm and only once did we have to wait more than 5 minutes for a table (which was about 20 minutes). We ate a few breakfasts and a lunch in the MDR, which were enjoyable as well. Carmello, one of the servers in the MDR, was exceptionally good.

Our feelings on the Oceanview Cafe are a bit more mixed. Most of the time there was a nice selection of food offered, much of which was quite tasty. However, at times we were surprised to find sections that were either closed or had been severely depleted. One evening we were hoping to enjoy the salad bar, only to find that the greens were all gone. Crew went off to try to bring more up, but if it came, it was long after we had given up. (It was probably after 8pm, for what that’s worth). There was plenty of food during peak hours, but the crowds sometimes made the experience difficult to enjoy.

We tried all three of the upcharge restaurants, which was our first time eating in either Qsine, Bistro on 5, or Tuscan Grille. My only previous experience with upcharge dining was in the Olympic restaurant on the Millennium in 2008. I ate dinner there with four other members of my family and we all opted for the wine pairing option. The entire evening, from the food, to the service, and the ambiance, was exceptional and is recalled fondly by all of us to this day. Needless to say, this set a very high level of expectation for what Celebrity can and should offer for an alternative extra fee restaurant.

After the Millennium, I sailed on the Mercury, which did not have any alternative dining, so I was really looking forward to dining in Normandie on the Summit - that is until they removed it during the recent dry dock and replaced it with Tuscan Grille. This was very disappointing, but I was still hoping that the same level of excellence would be evident. Unfortunately, Tuscan Grille fell far short of the special dining experience that it should have been. Whereas the Olympic restaurant was elegant and classy, the Tuscan Grille was very contemporary and understated. A more modern ambiance isn’t necessarily a bad thing and it’s hard to quantify exactly why it was underwhelming, but in this case it simply didn’t feel distinctive, inviting, or special. Another factor was the quality of the service, which wasn’t nearly as personal, attentive, or polished as was evident in Olympic. In fact, the dining room was less than half full, yet the service felt kind of flat, almost aloof at times. Finally, while the food was prepared well and of good quality, the Italian steak house menu wasn’t particularly inspired. In other words, Celebrity replaced Normandie with a restaurant experience that isn’t hard to find back home in the States, whereas Olympic (and it’s sister restaurants) were each unique and offered guests a truly special experience. Going further, I should say that even if I didn’t have Olympic as my yardstick of comparison, I still wouldn’t have been particularly impressed with our time in Tuscan Grille.

Thankfully, our experiences in Qsine and Bistro on 5 were both much more enjoyable. If it had been up to me, we wouldn’t have tried Qsine, as it seemed kind of gimmicky in concept and I worried it was more style than substance. However, my fiancé wanted to try it and Summit was offering a discount, so we booked it. I’m happy to say that I was very pleasantly surprised with how good the food was, as well as the quality of the service and general ambiance of the dining room. Our waiter “Madee” (not certain of the spelling) was very warm, engaging, and eager to please, which helped make the entire meal that much enjoyable. We tried Bistro on 5 for dinner on a different evening and had an extremely good time there as well. There were very few people eating dinner there (I later learned it’s much more popular at lunchtime for some reason), so it felt like we had the place to ourselves. One of our servers was Annamaria and she was a delight. I had the tuna tartar and the cowboy crepe, both of which were outstanding.

A few negatives that deserve calling out:

We did not enjoy the DJ party atmosphere that took over the center of the ship in the evening. The loud dance club music detracted from the ambiance of decks 4, 5, and 6. You could hear the music well inside Tuscan Grille, and detracted from enjoying an after dinner special coffee drink at Cafe al Bacio. We liked the martini bar, but avoided it when the DJ was playing. There already is upbeat music playing at Crush, so Celebrity really should leave the DJ for venues that are more isolated.

I dId not appreciate the hard sell of drink packages immediately upon embarkation and throughout the first evening of the cruise. Thankfully, this disappeared the rest of the cruise. (This cruise hadn’t qualified for the go-better-best promotions offered on many others, so perhaps they don’t always do this?)

The ship's photographers and the costs for photographs were disappointing / outrageous. We opted to get our pictures taken on many occasions, but found that we liked very few of the shots taken of us. We only found a few pictures that we truly loved and thought the prices very expensive and options to acquire them limited. Having recently vacationed at Disney World, we found the flexibility and convenience of their program far superior.

I wish Celebrity offered more / better information on ports of call. I generally like to research destinations ahead of time, but I still would have liked to have seen handouts or presentations that gave more practical advice or historical / cultural knowledge about each location. It seemed that most of what is offered passengers is either promoting Celebrity’s own excursions or where you “should” go shop. This is of limited value to those of us who want to explore on our own and have a more authentic experience.

Returning now to the good stuff:

Some of our favorite places on the ship were the Sunset bar and Cellar Masters. The bar staff here were excellent and we also enjoyed the musicians that frequented these two locations - a folksy guitar player and a guitar/singer duo. (I did miss the string quartet that was on previous Celebrity cruises.)

Cafe al Bacio was wonderful and was visited by us once or twice every day.

We loved our veranda (aka balcony) and relished having room service breakfast there on many mornings and drinking wine there almost every night. :D

The thalassotherapy pool area was lovely.

Seeing some of the other overgrown cruise ships in port, with what appear to be entire amusement parks stuck on top of them, made me appreciate Celebrity even more! :eek: :)

Service across the ship was generally friendly and courteous. This was particularly noticeable on a few occasions when some of our fellow passengers were witnessed being rude or obnoxious to crewmembers that nevertheless maintained their composure.

I hope you found this review helpful or interesting. While I highlight some of my disappointments and gripes, I hope you won't think that we have any regrets about Summit or choosing Celebrity. We loved our time on the Summit and are looking forward to future sailings with Celebrity!

As promised, here is a link to a photo album of some pictures from our trip. It’s not everything we saw or did, but with a few exceptions focuses on life on the Summit.

Album: https://flic.kr/s/aHskK3i3cE

Thanks for the great information!

I'll be arriving @ Kings Wharf on the Summit for two days next week. I know I can take a ferry to Hamilton or St George's, but how easy / expensive will it be to use taxis to explore other parts of the island? What are the pros / coins of taking the bus?

We thought about renting scooters, but decided that's not for us.

Thanks!!

Thank you for the quick replies!