Trip Report: Summit to Bermuda, 31/07/16 - 07/08/16, Newbie perspective

[A Sixth?]

My girlfriend and I had looked through this list before she decided NOT to take the package . https://secure.celebritycruises.com/celebrity/media/celebrity/shared_assets/pdf/Classic-Premium-Bev-Pckgs.pdf

 

Honestly, unless you can hold your booze pretty well, AND drink quite a bit, even she did not think she could drink enough to make it worth while. Plus, I often worry about people overdoing it at All-You-Can-Whatevers, y'know? Who wants to be drunk on their vacation, do something stupid and not even remember it? LOL!!

 

For the non-drinkers, there was very decent apple/orange/guava juice plus lemonade and ice tea plus water every day, pretty much ALL day on Deck 10. And coffee, teas (at least 6 choices) and hot chocolate mixes.... I made my own iced mocha every afternoon. Sweet! :D

 

Have a great cruise, jobu! :)

 

When they first came out I bought a drink package for a five day cruise and barely made it worth my while. And I did okay on one day (not so much the following day :( )

 

If it's a free-bee we always take it but with the free Elite Happy Hour (which we still attend even with the package) it's a bit dear.

 

There was a day when I could have taken full advantage of these packages... but age has the side effect of forced moderation

 

[Dreamer68]

When they first came out I bought a drink package for a five day cruise and barely made it worth my while. And I did okay on one day (not so much the following day :( )

 

If it's a free-bee we always take it but with the free Elite Happy Hour (which we still attend even with the package) it's a bit dear.

 

There was a day when I could have taken full advantage of these packages... but age has the side effect of forced moderation

 

 

LOL!!!! Love the image. I think folks would be fine with the packages if: 1. They can handle their alcohol well or 2. They don't mind NOT fully taking advantage of the monetary value of the package because the convenience of not overthinking what to drink and how much to drink is worth more to them.

 

For those of us who don't drink much (and there are some of us out there left ;)), it was fine to do à la carte. For me, it would have simply been a nice coffee and one or maybe two cocktails a day (if I could tolerate alcohol, those drinks look sooooooo pretty!!) and that would be USD20 per day I'd spend on "extra" drinks....far from what the package costs per day. In the end, it's your vacation and you choose what works best for you and you "smile" at anyone who tries to help you think you are wrong. :D It's vacation, people!! Yeehah!!

[SailBadtheSinner]

Thanks for the great photos.

 

 

SBtS

[pmctrish]

Very nice review! Thank you for taking the time to post it. We will be on the August 28th sailing to Bermuda.

[Dreamer68]

Thanks for the great photos.

 

 

SBtS

 

Oh. Emm. Gee!! SBtS! I bow to your supreme excellence! :D Your advice and maps and schedules on various boards helped me TREMENDOUSLY in planning our trip. I understand now how you and others like Charles4515 and many more return to Bermuda time and again. I do hope to return but if that road does not come back to me, I am completely satisfied with what our family got to see and do on Bermuda.

[Dreamer68]

Very nice review! Thank you for taking the time to post it. We will be on the August 28th sailing to Bermuda.

 

Thanks, pmctrish!! Obviously, you are one of those whose left a piece of your heart in Bermuda. What a gift to return to this beautiful island. I would love such a privilege. Enjoy your sailing. :)

[dvond]

I know pants are mandatory in dining room but the dailie says shorts allowed on Bermuda nights, just looking for clarification

 

Also what about embarkation day?

[gryffin123]

Thanks for your review. We have a cruise booked on the Summit in Februray- we have cruised Celebritay before, but never one of the M class ships.

 

When you say that the ship "shows her age here and there" what specifically did you notice?

 

Thanks!

[Dreamer68]

Thanks for your review. We have a cruise booked on the Summit in Februray- we have cruised Celebritay before, but never one of the M class ships.

 

When you say that the ship "shows her age here and there" what specifically did you notice?

 

Thanks!

 

Age: mainly rust spots here and there (public and cabin areas), imperfection in the tiles in bathroom in cabin, a door or two in public restrooms that did not close well.....although several restrooms (women's) looked spectacular! The ship had a multi-million dollar "facelift" earlier this year.

 

Honestly, I did not go around looking for fault. These were a few things that jumped out at me as I walked around with a giddy, happy expression. None of them ruined anything for me. I just had an "Oh!" thought in my head as I experienced them and was quick to smile again after. :)

 

I loved the look of the Rooftop Terrace. I enjoyed the seats in the Rendezvous Lounge, the Revelation Lounge (loved some of the stone tables there), the Café al Bacio, across from the Martini Bar, and the range of seating possibilities at the Oceanview Café...some of the seats were more noticeably worn there but again, I'm on vacation! Joy! :)

 

Shakespeare said, "Expectation is the root of all heartache."....when I am on vacation, I am careful with my expectations and I'm all good. I've appreciated my stays in properties like the Conrad Hiltons and Mandarin Orientals in Asia and Europe and yes, even an Econolodge in Virginia Beach.

 

The Celebrity Summit was a lovely ship and I saw her crew out and about often (at inconspicuous hours) keeping her clean and sparkly. They always had a smile and a nod for me.

 

I guess it all depends on what you are looking for in your cruise and vacation. :) I get annoyed at people who book Econolodges who are actually looking for Hiltons or Marriotts and then who trash the Econolodges for not coming up to par. If you're looking for an orange, buy an orange. You can't buy an apple and expect it to look like an orange, right? OK. Maybe in our GMO days, we can but that's another story. :D

 

And you've now reminded me to go update a thread about cabins on the M-class ships. Thanks!! :)

[CruiserN1]

This one's for you, CruiserN1.... I absolutely enjoy eating. Our waiter was nice enough to gather a copy of all the menus for the MDR as a souvenir for me.

 

Here's the link to my Google doc - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B54UuJHl8HiZdEdlSUM5VkpwdkU

 

Thanks SO much!

[Dreamer68]

I know pants are mandatory in dining room but the dailie says shorts allowed on Bermuda nights, just looking for clarification

 

Also what about embarkation day?

 

Hi there,

 

I must have missed the part in the Daily that talked about shorts being allowed on Bermuda nights. So, I went back to my Bermuda days dailies...to take a second look. I did not scan all 4 pages of each daily for my Google doc but here is the inside page of Bermuda Day 2....I've included a photo of it here but I can send you a link to a PDF version if you prefer. I scanned this page because it has information about some dress codes - see bottom half of the page(Captain's Club and Evening Dress code). It says the dress code is applicable in all restaurants and theater as of 5:15 pm.

 

 

Attire for the evenings in the Main Dining Room (assuming the same for Aqua or Suite passengers in their special restaurants) are either Evening Chic (2) or Smart Casual (5 including embarkation day). I had dinner in the MDR all nights but one. I did not recall anybody wearing shorts (kid or adult) to the MDR. I wasn't looking out to catch anybody either, though. I do know my eyes were pleased as I scanned through the crowds every night at dinner. It was nice to look presentable and even good, for dinner. Even my kids appreciated it. And we're not regular dress-up-for-dinner people. :)

 

At the theater for the late show though, I could see that some people had changed in favour of comfortable clothing so I did see some shorts there, perhaps even sweat pants and hoodies. There were always crew members at the entrances of these public places but honestly, I could not see some of the more mild-mannered, polite crew having to gently tell off a perhaps loud, "important-looking" guest with drink in his hand that he would not be allowed in the theater in his shorts.

 

Certainly, I saw one older guy come into the Oceanview café at lunch time wearing his Celebrity bathrobe, barefoot (he looked like he just came out of his cabin bathroom).....he obviously got passed the crew member (like I said, often gentle, meek and mild-looking) at the entrance... I thought that was ridiculously rude of him towards his fellow passengers. And another younger guy who came in shirtless, in his swim pants, barefooted.... again, I thought rude. My guess is these fellas were at the pool on the same deck and wanted to look for family or friends in the café but it disappointed me that they would not even be courteous enough to to put on a shirt and some sandals to come into the restaurant.

 

I only ate at the buffet once in the evening, on a port day, and definitely, the dress code seemed very, very casual, with basic t-shirts and shorts among most people.

 

So, long answer to this is, Celebrity reserves the right to enforce the dress code but I did not see them do it on my cruise. I think though, as passengers sharing this vacation with over 2,000 other people, we should make a small effort to be suitably dressed when eating at the Main Dining Room or any of the Specialty restaurants in the evening. It's just common courtesy. That's my humble opinion.

[Dreamer68]

I forgot to mention that if you are interested in doing the walking tour at St. George's, you have to be able to walk up the hill towards the Unfinished Church. The photo shows us walking down from one of our two hilltop stops. There is a stop at the Bermuda Perfumery halfway through the tour...the owner was there when we were there that day. Beautiful lady, obviously passionate in her work. The place smelled sweet and we appreciated the air-conditioning for a few minutes. I regretted not buying something. I rationalized that I would not be able to replace it unless I went back to Bermuda. Sigh. Elsewhere, I have to say that this walk was the least favourite activity for my teens. I had high hopes for them. Ah well. You win some, you lose some. LOL!!

 

 

And this is the schedule that's available at the Visitor's Info Center at the Dockyard in case you are interested in any of the St. George's activities. We did the UNESCO walking tour. It was USD10 for each of us, including the 13-year old. At about 12 pm was when hubby was being recruited at King's Square for the Ducking re-enacment. :)

 

[Dreamer68]

These photos are reasons why I decided a boat rental was a good choice for my family while in Bermuda. Does anybody know what these things are? My kids thought they were nests of some kind....

 

 

Would have missed this on a land tour...

 

Wonder how much it costs to stay here?

 

 

[Dreamer68]

I understand why people return to Bermuda....I'm having difficulty leaving my photos behind...

 

 

....even though this photo looks somewhat fake...

 

 

 

...it was very interesting to see this traffic light as we waited our turn to go under the smallest drawbridge in the world ;)

 

[Dreamer68]

I know you can see photos of this famous bar if you simple Google it but I get a little smiley-faced having my own photos anyway. The Martini Bar is quite the happenin' place in the evening. Due to my own evening schedule, I never did make it here at a time where the bartender was doing his magic of pouring 20+ martinis all at once.

 

 

Had no idea there were so many kinds of vodkas.....errrr....these ARE vodkas, right? LOL!!

 

 

and these?

 

 

...this looks almost jewel-like....

 

 

[easyboy]

Nice photos.

[dvond]

Hi there,

 

I must have missed the part in the Daily that talked about shorts being allowed on Bermuda nights. So, I went back to my Bermuda days dailies...to take a second look. I did not scan all 4 pages of each daily for my Google doc but here is the inside page of Bermuda Day 2....I've included a photo of it here but I can send you a link to a PDF version if you prefer. I scanned this page because it has information about some dress codes - see bottom half of the page(Captain's Club and Evening Dress code). It says the dress code is applicable in all restaurants and theater as of 5:15 pm.

 

 

Attire for the evenings in the Main Dining Room (assuming the same for Aqua or Suite passengers in their special restaurants) are either Evening Chic (2) or Smart Casual (5 including embarkation day). I had dinner in the MDR all nights but one. I did not recall anybody wearing shorts (kid or adult) to the MDR. I wasn't looking out to catch anybody either, though. I do know my eyes were pleased as I scanned through the crowds every night at dinner. It was nice to look presentable and even good, for dinner. Even my kids appreciated it. And we're not regular dress-up-for-dinner people. :)

 

At the theater for the late show though, I could see that some people had changed in favour of comfortable clothing so I did see some shorts there, perhaps even sweat pants and hoodies. There were always crew members at the entrances of these public places but honestly, I could not see some of the more mild-mannered, polite crew having to gently tell off a perhaps loud, "important-looking" guest with drink in his hand that he would not be allowed in the theater in his shorts.

 

Certainly, I saw one older guy come into the Oceanview café at lunch time wearing his Celebrity bathrobe, barefoot (he looked like he just came out of his cabin bathroom).....he obviously got passed the crew member (like I said, often gentle, meek and mild-looking) at the entrance... I thought that was ridiculously rude of him towards his fellow passengers. And another younger guy who came in shirtless, in his swim pants, barefooted.... again, I thought rude. My guess is these fellas were at the pool on the same deck and wanted to look for family or friends in the café but it disappointed me that they would not even be courteous enough to to put on a shirt and some sandals to come into the restaurant.

 

I only ate at the buffet once in the evening, on a port day, and definitely, the dress code seemed very, very casual, with basic t-shirts and shorts among most people.

 

So, long answer to this is, Celebrity reserves the right to enforce the dress code but I did not see them do it on my cruise. I think though, as passengers sharing this vacation with over 2,000 other people, we should make a small effort to be suitably dressed when eating at the Main Dining Room or any of the Specialty restaurants in the evening. It's just common courtesy. That's my humble opinion.

 

Thank, it was on the 1st page of your dailies for day 1, I was planning on changing after dinner, are you saying they want people t stay in pants for the theater?

[gryffin123]

Thanks! I think the Summit will suit us just fine, and you have made me want t plan a cruise to Bermuda!!!

[Dreamer68]

dvond....according to the last paragraph in the Summit daily I posted just above, the answer would be, "Yes"...as it says, "Dress codes are in effect for all restaurants....and in the theater during evening performances....etc. etc."

 

BUT....I also told you what I observed. So...do as you see fit. :) Just don't look sloppy, right? :D Before I noticed this paragraph, earlier during the cruise, I did go change to more comfy clothes on Evening Chic 1 but after I saw this paragraph, I decided to stay in my Evening Chic 2 clothes, although hubby changed out of his shirt and tie for his polo shirt for the theater that night.

[Dreamer68]

Thanks! I think the Summit will suit us just fine, and you have made me want t plan a cruise to Bermuda!!!

 

:D Glad to be of service. LOL!! I see your signature and I can say that we've also been to Jamaica (Negril and Ocho Rios), St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Bahamas and seen other spectacular islands in the East like Phuket and Redang and Bermuda surprised me completely. I had heard of her beauty but I did not anticipate how stunning she would be. If I had the chance to go again, I would not hesitate. :)

[Dreamer68]

I think I will mention that considering I am a very casual dresser in general, I did not think Celebrity's guidelines for evening attire was unattainable and was in fact, quite reasonable.

 

Although the youth in our group moaned and groaned a little when we first set the rule that we would all eat together in the MDR, nobody complained when we were onboard. All the kids were interested to know the dress code for the evening and dressed appropriately on their own. The dads in our group went with long-sleeved shirts and ties on Evening Chic nights and nice short-sleeved shirts and Docker-typed pants on Smart Casual evenings. The moms and girls in the group ranged from full length dresses or shorter cocktail dresses for Evening Chic nights to similar cocktail dresses and summer dresses or just nice blouse and pants/skirts for Smart Casual nights.

 

At the theater, I sat next to a guy with a full-on tuxedo on Evening Chic 1. There were at least half a dozen tuxes around. The other Chic night, there were a bunch of white dinner jackets. The comedian that night made jokes about a few "James Bonds" in our midst. :) Lots of bling among the ladies' dresses but I honestly did not see any overuse of silk and taffeta on Evening Chics.:D It was actually quite nice to see everybody dressed up.

 

On Smart Casual evenings, it was a pleasure to see so many cleanly and smartly dressed people of ALL ages at the MDR. ;) Lots of cute-ly dressed kids. But really, just about everyone I saw looked beautiful and it added to the special atmosphere of eating there.

 

The night I ate at Oceanview was a Smart Casual one and I was totally fine there seeing people very casually dressed in nice shorts and t-shirts.

 

There has been much talk among the forum boards about the lack of respect towards the dress codes on all ships. On the Summit for my particular cruise, I did not notice much disrespect and I am glad for that. I think such dressy evenings can add to the special vacation that IS a cruise.

[dvond]

I think I will mention that considering I am a very casual dresser in general, I did not think Celebrity's guidelines for evening attire was unattainable and was in fact, quite reasonable.

 

Although the youth in our group moaned and groaned a little when we first set the rule that we would all eat together in the MDR, nobody complained when we were onboard. All the kids were interested to know the dress code for the evening and dressed appropriately on their own. The dads in our group went with long-sleeved shirts and ties on Evening Chic nights and nice short-sleeved shirts and Docker-typed pants on Smart Casual evenings. The moms and girls in the group ranged from full length dresses or shorter cocktail dresses for Evening Chic nights to similar cocktail dresses and summer dresses or just nice blouse and pants/skirts for Smart Casual nights.

 

At the theater, I sat next to a guy with a full-on tuxedo on Evening Chic 1. There were at least half a dozen tuxes around. The other Chic night, there were a bunch of white dinner jackets. The comedian that night made jokes about a few "James Bonds" in our midst. :) Lots of bling among the ladies' dresses but I honestly did not see any overuse of silk and taffeta on Evening Chics.:D It was actually quite nice to see everybody dressed up.

 

On Smart Casual evenings, it was a pleasure to see so many cleanly and smartly dressed people of ALL ages at the MDR. ;) Lots of cute-ly dressed kids. But really, just about everyone I saw looked beautiful and it added to the special atmosphere of eating there.

 

The night I ate at Oceanview was a Smart Casual one and I was totally fine there seeing people very casually dressed in nice shorts and t-shirts.

 

There has been much talk among the forum boards about the lack of respect towards the dress codes on all ships. On the Summit for my particular cruise, I did not notice much disrespect and I am glad for that. I think such dressy evenings can add to the special vacation that IS a cruise.

 

Chic night gives you lots of options including jeans so probably rolling with that as we are not a dressy family, thanks for your answers

[Dreamer68]

Chic night gives you lots of options including jeans so probably rolling with that as we are not a dressy family, thanks for your answers

 

dvond, you'd be very pleased to know that Celebrity does give you the freedom to wear nice jeans.... check out the thread here -

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2373699

 

No need to overdress....some people enjoy it though and to each, his/her own. Simply look decent and respectful and everthing's irie mon.... sorry, ;) some leftover from dear sunny Donovan at Oceanview Café every morning. I hope you get to see him. He is DELIGHTFUL!

 

Enjoy your cruise !

[sasset]

Maybe I missed it, but who was your Cruise Director and what did you think of him/her?

[TPCRUISER2]

Dreamer68: Thanks for the awesome review! I am also sailing on the Summit on the 28th. My second time on the Summit, yet this will be another repeat visit to my favorite island. Glad you enjoyed Bermuda! Bermuda usually takes a piece of all out hearts!