What's to do on the Summit?

We have done the Summit and the Breakaway.

Here is my take and I think demographics of a cruise ship largely depend on the time of year.

We sailed the NCL Breakaway the year it came out and paid top dollar for the trip, and were truthfully disappointed. To date, it was our worst cruise but we still made the best of it. For us, it was far too crowded (and we have sailed the Oasis of the Seas which felt much less crowded and flow was MUCH BETTER) as we fel tthe Breakaway just had too much of a cookie cutter interior design. I felt like I was getting constantly nickel and dimed for EVERYTHING, and the food and service were quite poor (it was 2.5-3 hours the two nights we went so instead we did specialty dining the remaining of the trip). Pools are extremely crowded, as is deck space, and I felt like I was on a spring break trip with adults. On the contrary, the Breakaway, or Escape in this instance, really do have a "WOW" factor when first seeing the ship and does have the bells and whistles. It several water slides and ropes courses which is nice for the kids.

Last summer we decided to give the Celebrity Summit a try, which, is the oldest ship I have every sailed. Initially we booked a balcony room, but the prices dropped so much that we were able to book a suite. While the ship is smaller, this is a much better maintained ship with far better service. Is the ship aging and older? Yes, but the attention to detail and quality of product is far superior in our opinion.

Now I realize while comparing a Celebrity Suite experience is not comparable to a standard balcony suite on NCL, we simply felt Celebrity provided a far superior product. So much so that we ended up booking the same exact cruise this coming July and are bringing our brother in law; unfortunately, I am paying twice the price of last year but we felt that strongly about the level of service you get on Celebrity.

Hope that helps.

Agree with all you say. My comments, however, were to point out that you don't have to pay the bundled price and that sometimes the difference between the two can be rather significant. Maybe not all cruisers would realize that. Either way it is a personal choice based on cost and value to the individual.

 

As example, our 7/16 Summit Bermuda cruise was priced $450 pp less ($900 total) without the perks v having two included. In our case, as we are not big drinkers and so much time would be spent in port off the ship for three days, it was decided that for us the "pay as you go" option was better.

 

We ended up paying our gratuities daily and buying our own drinks at far less than the $450 pp premium would have been to have those options included. Again, this varies by itinerary and sailing date, but it can be worth while to check.

Also, the details provided is far more compelling than the broad brush which got my attention as far as your 'great sound reasoning' and approach to booking. I will now even take this into consideration going forward with our future bookings as well.

Alas, methinks, based on our drinking habits during the day and the various types of beverages we really enjoy, premium may still be the best program, but will consider your approach vs. savings.

Thank you again and bon voyage

What to do on Summit?

Just enjoy the experience!

Also, the details provided is far more compelling than the broad brush which got my attention as far as your 'great sound reasoning' and approach to booking. I will now even take this into consideration going forward with our future bookings as well.

 

Alas, methinks, based on our drinking habits during the day and the various types of beverages we really enjoy, premium may still be the best program, but will consider your approach vs. savings.

Thank you again and bon voyage

Appreciate your comments and hope to cruise with you someday. And truth be told due to our loyalty status on both RCI and Celebrity, we supplement our daily alcohol consumption at the Diamond and Elite lounges, thus mitigating the need for the packages - but it gets looked at each cruise to be sure! So although we may not be big drinkers, the drink package break even definitely gets calculated. :)

What to do on Summit?

Just enjoy the experience!

Yes, We will!!! Thank you to everyone for your great advice. We are going on the Summit!!

Are there any Zumba classes or other aerobic classes during the day on Summit?

Yes, there are Zumba classes. No I didn’t take them........it’s best to let those who can do this to do it without me flailing around in the middle of it all.