Still love the Summit, even more with Blu!

[ljk76]

A long and still enthusiastic Summit review

 

Feb. 16,2013

 

Saturday Embarkation Day

 

Same time, next year, on our way back to the Summit.I feel so lucky that once again we are able to have this great trip. Last weekend we had a two foot blizzard, and we lost power for more than a day in some very cold temps. We kept saying, thank goodness this isn't the weekend of our trip!

 

I can't wait to feel the warmth of the sun! I expect I will be out on our balcony every possible moment.

 

 

And here I am! We were settled, unpacked, and enjoying the ship by three. Our room steward, Alfredo, appears to be fantastic. swapped out our champagne for a bottle of red, cheese platter instead of canapes, an extra blanket, anything we needed or wished quickly became so, just the kind of magic that makes cruising so much fun. We had our first ever dinner in Blu. We really enjoyed it. I had ahi tuna, and Doug had a great filet mignon. I had a seafood terrine as an appetizer, and a lovely chilled avocado soup. We both enjoyed the great caramel creme brûlée. Our server, Rambo, was excellent and we hope to be in his section often. At 10:30 we met informally at the martini bar with our cruise critic friends. It's our third annual Summit cruise, and we've met up each year with a fun couple from Connecticut. Met some other nice folks, one of which had scored an upgrade to a family ocean view...and was eligible for the free beverage package! Very happy campers.

 

It had been a long day, starting with a 3:15 am pick up, so off to bed. Full disclosure...a little too much noise this evening in cabin 1140. It sounded like a rowdy crew way back on the sports deck, which is well removed from the aft cabins. It quieted down after midnight, and we got a nice eight hours of sleep, much needed.

 

Sunday in St. Croix

 

We enjoyed our first Blu breakfast, fresh oj, hot eggs and omelettes, and great service again. We really enjoyed our Elite benefits, new to us this cruise. ( we had been Elite on a previous Azamara cruise, but it was more inclusive so we didn't appreciate the benefits as much! ) We loved sending out the shirts for pressing the first day, and really enjoyed cappuccino in Normandie as a follow up to our Blu breakfast. While there a waiter suggested "the Chef's Table" which had two seats still available that evening. It was something we had always wanted to try, so despite a big price tag, we decided to treat ourselves. Being big Food Network type fans we were sure we would love it. Much more on that later. Also we enjoyed meeting the captain's club hostess. When I said we were new to our Elite status, she said, very enthusiastically, "oh I know, I've seen your profile!" Hmm...a question the next day she asked was if the drink service was good so far. Is it a coincidence that the only complaint we had ever registered before was about wine service in Normandie?

 

In St. Croix we spent a quiet day at Sandcastle Beach, $6 fare over, $25 for two chairs, an umbrella, and two great rum punches. A nice, stress free first port day, though we got a bit too much sun. On return, we grabbed a light salad in the buffet. Oh well, did sneak in a slice of veggie pizza, while getting the antipasto goodies at that station. We were trying to pace ourselves for our chefs table dinner. We met up with our Conn. friends in Revelations, which is where the Elite cocktail party is taking place this week. We truly enjoyed meeting some very new, interesting and well traveled people. The drink service seemed excellent to us.

 

Our dinner Sunday, the first of the formal nights, was the previously mentioned "chef's table." This ended up as quite a disappointment. Eleven of us met in the Normandie wine cellar for champagne and then we were escorted into the kitchen to our table...set up at the end of the kitchen between the bakery and ...the dish washing station. Our entry was fun, everyone working the kitchen whooped it up. The table was set in full Normandie style. The menu was scrolled at each setting. That unveiling was where the disappointment began. For us. It was mainly items right from the Normandie menu. The entrees were limited to ahi tuna (which I had enjoyed in Blu the previous night) and rib eye (which it turned out was an exact offering in Blu later in our cruise.) we had expected a special menu and special wine pairings. We had one white and one red wine offered during the meal, and an ice wine with dessert. Dessert was limited to the Soufflé or a crepe. There was very minimal chef interaction, and no discussion of the menu items or wines. For the VERY high price tag it was not what we expected, or had been led to believe. The chef, Rene, sautéed some crab used as part of the appetizer, and that was about it. We saw him sitting at his computer most of the evening, in his glass walled office. We were seated with our backs to the kitchen so we had to swivel around to appreciate the action. It was amazing to see how effectively each waiter assembled his tray. Also the kitchen was completely spotless throughout dinner service. At the conclusion of our meal we had a fairly standard galley tour.

 

The next day we dropped a politely worded note at guest guest services, expressing the nature of our disappointment , in hopes it might be improved for future guests. The food and beverage manager contacted us later in the day. A wine and cheese pairing, quite extensive, was arranged for us two days later. We spent two hours with the maitre de of Normandie, who was very knowledgable about cheeses, and the head wine sommelier for the summit, as well as time with the food and beverage manager. Two other couples from our table were invited as well, so we weren't the only ones expressing disappointment. But ultimately we did get the personal touch. Also, at 11 pm on the final evening of the cruise some junior officers delivered a copy of the very heavy "Exciting the Senses" book. That was a last minute packing challenge to say the least! It seemed like a last minute thought as well, but I had read the book was part of the "chef's table"Experience. They had a pile they were delivering so some other guest must have asked...we were glad American doesn't weigh carry ons!

 

Monday in St. Kitts

 

Our day in St. Kitts consisted largely of covertly avoiding a certain tour guide...we got "bagged, then tagged" to take a $15 tour shortly after wandering off the ship. We were receptive, our skin didn't really look ready for another beach day without a day of recovery. We met up with him and his recruits in half an hour, but then waited and waited for two wives in a jewelry store. That waiting thing set off alarm bells anyway, but when they finally both emerged with their walkers and oxygen bottles we were quite sure this wasn't the tour for us. As we made our way to his cab(reluctantly ) we found our getaway moment when he went to chase two others who had drifted off. Down the closest alleyway we darted, into a shop, behind a rack! Seriously. It was some time before we felt safe out in the open. We took another tour, not too exciting, but at least we reacquainted ourselves with the island.

 

We enjoyed meeting up with our "elite" friends, new and old, Sharon and Phil being the newest, up at the cocktail hour. We enjoyed another great meal in Blu. I had something that tasted like sea bass.

 

 

 

 

Tuesday

 

We finally snorkeled Champagne Reef in Dominica. We were really pleased we had chosen the second time, 12:30, because it was quite rainy and very windy at nine. We enjoyed another lovely and leisurely breakfast in Blu followed by our now customary cappuccino and almond croissant in the Normandie Elite breakfast, highlighted by a lovely rainbow. We had spent some time with DJ, the cruise consultant, learning more about the Galapagos offerings and were very excited to begin thinking ahead to 2015! The rainbow seemed like a good sign to proceed, which we did the following morning. It's a $500 deposit, refundable before final payment, and there was a 10% discount on board. It will be 10 days that will cost us what we've been spending for 12 day European cruises, so we decided to go for it. Blue footed boobies, here we come!

 

There were 35 people on our snorkel catamaran. That was fine until we all got in the water. It was too windy to sail but I was happy the reef area was not too choppy. Last time we were there it looked like a washing machine. Today despite a lot of wind it was relatively calm. Until we all jumped in! I got kicked very hard in the face, and the snorkel mask had a rigid area at the bridge of my nose. It's still a bit bruised. I vowed never again to snorkel with such a large "guided" group. The boating part was lovely, however, as was the energetic crew. This was the only ship's excursion that we took. We made our own way to beaches and planned our own snorkeling and sailing day in St. Thomas later in the week.

 

A quick shower and then some Cape Codders for me at the Elite happy hour. I had seafood in a lemongrass broth in Blu. Quite tasty. We have had great service in Blu, and never had to wait for a table at breakfast or dinner. Marcel, the maitre de, is very charming and efficient at seating guests. Sometimes wine service was a bit slow, despite the bar server really assisting the sommelier. She was always running! This just seems to be an issue on every celebrity ship and in every dining room. It seems like they would have sorted it out by now. We passed on dessert because this was the evening we had our wine and cheese pairing. It was our evening entertainment, luckily the other couple was very social and we enjoyed sharing cruise stories in between our wine and cheese education. It really was a nice evening they put together to improve our experience, and I was glad Celebrity found a way to do it.

 

 

 

Wednesday

 

We enjoyed a fun beach day in Granada. We took the water taxi over to Grande Anse. We had read another great beach recommendation (lsimon, I really hope to meet you and your wife someday!) but we thought it would be a short stay so we kept it very simple. Turned out we really enjoyed the beach, and spent several hours there. We had a slow water taxi ride back to the Summit, after purchasing some spice necklaces.

 

Six of us ate in Qsine this night. We had a fun time and enjoyed the food and presentation very much, but we had experienced it last year so some of the novelty was lost. We were glad we started at seven, because it took us a good three hours to work through the menu!

 

 

 

Thursday

 

We had a quiet day at sea. Our first cruise critic meeting was a complete bust...only 6 people turned up because everyone was off the ship in St. Croix by 10:30. Pearlene, the guest services officer, had kindly agreed to a retry on our at sea day. This time more than 20 members attended, and it was fun to reconnect with people we had met at our own informal meet up.

 

It was the second formal night, but of course smart casual and above in Blu. Doug wore a sports jacket with a tie, and I did "the little black dress" routine with some dangly earrings, and we felt comfortable in both senses of the word! We enjoyed lobster tails and also split a filet mignon between us....the first time ever ordering more than an entree each...it worked perfectly,though.

 

Friday. St. Thomas...our last day.

 

We had a great day sailing and snorkeling on the Independence out of Red Hook. It was just 4 of us so we had a lot of attention. Everything was great, just the right amount of sun and wind, two great snorkeling spots, Christmas Cove being one of them. Great lunch, wonderful rum punch, and we always enjoy sailing with Pat. She had another great first mate this year, Andy.

 

Our last dinner in Blu featured lamb shank for Doug, and salmon Hawaiian style for me. Then I had to finish with creme brûlée, a desert we very rarely would have at home!

 

Saturday, return to reality

 

Disembarkation breakfast was very pleasant in Blu. Then we were able to wait in the Normandie. The time passed quickly chatting with Sharon and Phil and another nice couple from Toronto. We quickly went through customs and grabbed a cab. Free wifi made the two hour wait go by quickly.

 

Some other random Summit thoughts...

 

Cabin 1140 was nice and we liked having a brand new room on deck 11. The glass shower doors, and nifty jets, were fun. We had a bit of noise, but nothing serious, and no noise at all from above. There were a few moments we could smell smoke from the aft bar, but it was rare. We have booked 1138 for next year. The balcony is just a tiny bit smaller, it's a bit more removed from the smoking side of the bar, and we actually think we may like the more open views.

 

It was our first time in Aqua, and we loved it mainly for Blu. We talked about going with a cheaper cabin for next year, but its hard to give up that dining room experience. I checked out the Persian gardens and it did nothing for me. I ended up enjoying the sauna, though, which is available to everyone, and has a huge portal window. I found the other area to be a bit claustrophobic for me.

 

We did have lunch one day in Bistro on 5 and it was still great, and I think represents a great value for $5. Honestly my dessert crepe there was better than the Normandie crepe. Ir would even be a nice dinner alternative.

 

Wow,those Elite benefits are really quite impressive. We estimated that we enjoyed well over $300 in laundry services, morning cappuccinos, happy hour cocktails, Internet minutes, wine discounts...it is a program that does keep you loyal. We love the overall product anyway, and the benefits are some nice icing on the cake.

 

We would really like to try an S class ship again ,and we so wish they had better Caribbean itineraries. As much as we like the Summit we'd like to try another X ship. But we aren't "the ship is the destination" types and really enjoy days in port, and the S class schedules don't really excite us. Maybe for our next European cruise.

We have learned to enjoy the freedom of packing light! Because of a very tight connection on arrival day we did carry on only. There were still clothes I never wore! But I packed five dresses, a few dress shirts and lots of golf shirts for my husband. He wore his sports coat as outerwear in Boston, and it was all very doable. The laundry coupons did help! The only thing I missed was our own snorkel gear.

 

We had great and sincere service in every area of the ship and that's another reason we remain celebrity loyalists. Another is that you simply encounter lovely fellow cruisers. It was always a pleasure to meet and chat with new folks. Sorry for this long review, it's kept me entertained on a long plane ride home! PS...composed on my iPad so there well may be some random substitutions that seem strange!

[Ron_L]

Thanks for the review! We're doing this itinerary on the Summit in December.

 

Will you be posting any pictures?

[shoesonfire]

Enjoyed your review. We've cruised Azamara 3 times, 2 in Med and 1 in West Indies. We cruised Celebrity a number of years ago and are enthusased about sailing on the Summit to Bermuda in early June. We selected Summit this year to return to Bermuda after many many years and to enjoy a larger ship experience (but not too large). Loved Azamara, small ship very attentive service, hoping to enjoy the Summit as well? We have an Aqua cabin and looking forward to Blu. Your review is assuring that we'll have a great cruise returning to Celebrity.

[Max Circus]

Thank you for your review. We head onto the Summit this April - and April 2014 as well.

 

Do you have any suggestions for what to do in San Juan? We are thinking of a private city tour.

[SmittyNYC]

Fantastic review! Thank you!

We set sail on the same itinerary aboard the Summit in just under three weeks... Great to hear a report of solid service!

[Casanova02]

Hi ljk76

 

What a super review. Just as SmittyNYC, we'll be on the Summit in less than 20 days with the same itinerary. It's going to be 20 LONGGGGGG days before the departure :D

 

Hope you will post some pictures....

 

I got few questions for you...

 

 

 

Sunday in St. Croix

 

In St. Croix we spent a quiet day at Sandcastle Beach, $6 fare over, $25 for two chairs, an umbrella, and two great rum punches. A nice, stress free first port day, though we got a bit too much sun.

 

Just like you, we will go to Sandcastle Beach (places is already reserved). You said 6$, is it round trip per person ???

 

Does Sandcastle is good place to snorkel ?

 

Monday in St. Kitts

 

 

We took another tour, not too exciting, but at least we reacquainted ourselves with the island.

 

 

 

Was it a private or Celebrity tour ? If private, do you know the company name (Thenford Grey or others) and what was the tour ?

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday

 

We finally snorkeled Champagne Reef in Dominica.

 

I guess it was a Celebrity Tour right ?

 

We did book a private tour that day to that place, is it good ?

 

I will do snorkeling but my wife won't. From your opinion, will it be boring for her if she doesn't do snorkeling ?

 

 

 

Wednesday

 

We enjoyed a fun beach day in Granada. We took the water taxi over to Grande Anse. We had read another great beach recommendation (lsimon, I really hope to meet you and your wife someday!) but we thought it would be a short stay so we kept it very simple. Turned out we really enjoyed the beach, and spent several hours there. We had a slow water taxi ride back to the Summit, after purchasing some spice necklaces.

 

 

 

Just like you, we plan to go to Grande Anse, may i know the fees for water taxi ?

 

Well thanks in advance for your information and again, your review is No. 1 and precious for us....

 

Robert

[blythe]

We are on the Summit to Bermuda in August and I am reading everything I can about the ship. Thanks for the info!

[Lady Arwen]

Thanks for your review. We have 2 upcoming cruises booked on Summit and we really appreciate others opinions.

[jay&cheryl44]

thanks for the review....!

 

Fellow New England'ers here flying to SJ the early morning of departure as well.

 

I am guessing you had the short layover in Phili? Were you nervous about your bags not making it to SJ?

 

Trying to decide how to pack myself, not sure If I want to do formal night as that will require me to pack my suit. If I just pack casual I can do it with my carry on.

 

Will be on the Summit 4/6!

 

We are first time cruisers so for us was all about the ports! Although we are already thinking about a Med cruise next year :D

[ljk76]

Hi ljk76

 

What a super review. Just as SmittyNYC, we'll be on the Summit in less than 20 days with the same itinerary. It's going to be 20 LONGGGGGG days before the departure :D

 

Hope you will post some pictures....

 

I got few questions for you...

 

 

 

 

Just like you, we will go to Sandcastle Beach (places is already reserved). You said 6$, is it round trip per person ???

 

Does Sandcastle is good place to snorkel ?

 

[/color]

Yes, $6 round trip per person, short ride! Nice view of ship. We didn't bring our gear, but we did see people snorkeling off the beach.

 

Was it a private or Celebrity tour ? If private, do you know the company name (Thenford Grey or others) and what was the tour ?

 

It was just a cab tour...it was a case of getting what we paid for...not much! I hear good things on Grey, I just wasn't organized, because originally we were planning to beach it in St. kitts.

 

 

 

I guess it was a Celebrity Tour right ?

 

We did book a private tour that day to that place, is it good ?

 

I will do snorkeling but my wife won't. From your opinion, will it be boring for her if she doesn't do snorkeling ?

 

We were a little underwhelmed with the site, there were some bubbles, warm water comes up through thermal crevices, but not a lot of fish that day.

 

 

 

Just like you, we plan to go to Grande Anse, may i know the fees for water taxi ?

 

Water taxi was $8 per person, round trip, very easy.

 

Well thanks in advance for your information and again, your review is No. 1 and precious for us....

 

Robert

Have a great time!

[ljk76]

thanks for the review....!

 

Fellow New England'ers here flying to SJ the early morning of departure as well.

 

I am guessing you had the short layover in Phili? Were you nervous about your bags not making it to SJ?

 

Trying to decide how to pack myself, not sure If I want to do formal night as that will require me to pack my suit. If I just pack casual I can do it with my carry on.

 

Will be on the Summit 4/6!

 

We are first time cruisers so for us was all about the ports! Although we are already thinking about a Med cruise next year :D

 

Hi, our layover was in Miami, only 50 minutes and that can be a big airport. We made it with 8 minutes to spare, since we spent 1/2 hour extra on the ground in Boston. My husband wore a sports jacket (with shirt and tie) and even in the main dining room you would be fine. He just wore his jacket as his outerwear down. Luckily the snow storm didn't really happen last night!

 

You will love the ship, the fun ports, and the Med is an awesome cruise. Have fun!

[Casanova02]

Have a great time!

 

 

Thank you very very much

 

We (my wife and I) do appreciate.

 

And with your informations, we will have a great time for sure.....

[Texed]

76,

Thanks for posting. :)

[Durkman]

Great review, thanks for posting. We were on the same cruise and completely agree with your overall assessment.

 

We looked into booking one of the available spots on Independence with Pat, but we wanted to get back a little earlier (DW just had to hit Ajanta Jewelers in Drake's Passage :)) so Pat recommended High Pockets (http://www.sailhighpockets.com/), which had an open schedule and could accomodate our request to return to Red Hook by 2:45. It worked out for the best anyway, since friends of ours booked their cruise at the last minute and joined us on High Pockets. What a great experience.

[rollnoles2]

Thanks for the review. We are in 1140 in less than 4 weeks and can't wait! Besides the first night, did you have any problems enjoying your balcony?

[vplsh]

Thanks for the wonderful review. We will be in 1138 in just 4 weeks and are really looking forward to enjoying the Summit as elite cruisers in Aqua class. This time we aren't getting the beverage package, so hope to utilize the elite perks a little more than on our last cruise.

 

Glad to hear you enjoyed your Blu experience. We loved Blu on Eclipse last year and had read some not so flattering reviews of it on Summit. Hopefully, our experience will be more like yours.

 

Disappointing to hear your experience with Chef's Table. We have enjoyed them several times on Princess and Carnival and considered looking into it on Summit. Might just enjoy Qsine again rather than risk it at the high cost.

 

Thanks again!

 

Lisa

[dln929]

Great review! I am glad to see that you're enjoying being Elite--we will be too, after our transatlantic and I'm looking forward to it. Especially the laundry because we sometimes travel with carry-on. Thanks for the heads up on that little perk! We sailed Aqua on the Summit and it's good to know that Blu was running efficiently. As much as we loved the food at dinner and breakfast, service had a slightly chaotic feel to it.

[Wine-O]

We did the Chef's Table on the Equinox TA this past November and also were very disappointed. There were 9 of us and didn't sit in the kitchen. They paraded us thru the kitchen then sat us in the cordoned off wine room in Murano. For the $300 per couple, we got a nice, heavy cookbook, served basically the same food they served in Murano (we dined there on a previous evening), along with wine. It was a real disappointment since I had read rave reviews on cruise critic from those who had done it in the past.

 

Glad you enjoyed Summit. We participated in a wine luncheon on Summit last summer, and all the food was prepared in Blu. It was fantastic.

[ljk76]

Thanks for the wonderful review. We will be in 1138 in just 4 weeks and are really looking forward to enjoying the Summit as elite cruisers in Aqua class. This time we aren't getting the beverage package, so hope to utilize the elite perks a little more than on our last cruise.

 

Glad to hear you enjoyed your Blu experience. We loved Blu on Eclipse last year and had read some not so flattering reviews of it on Summit. Hopefully, our experience will be more like yours.

 

Disappointing to hear your experience with Chef's Table. We have enjoyed them several times on Princess and Carnival and considered looking into it on Summit. Might just enjoy Qsine again rather than risk it at the high cost.

 

Thanks again!

 

 

 

Lisa

 

Yes, one of the couples that did it with us said they FAR preferred Carnival and Princess for Chef 's Table. They were quite vocal in their disappointment. We didn't do the beverage package for the first time in our last few cruises, and really didn't miss it with the Elite benefits.

[blacksheep2]

We are 1117 next cruise 2/1/14 new to Celebirty from Royal-Stay in Old San Juan-and wander-we love the city-on the weekend there is a wonderful street fair-great little places to eat-have a malorca (sp) for breakfast-take the transit system-trolly, open air or closed-and the busses are great-we come in early just to see the city.

[blacksheep2]

We are 1117 next cruise 2/1/14 new to Celebirty from Royal-Stay in Old San Juan-and wander-we love the city-on the weekend there is a wonderful street fair-great little places to eat-have a malorca (sp) for breakfast-take the transit system-trolly, open air or closed-and the busses are great-we come in early just to see the city. Take the water taxi/ferry acrosse the bay and enjoy the tour and drinks at Bacarddi-you will never see rum the same way again-and the grounds are beautiful