Brand new to Celebrity advice needed

[cleob]

I’ve always cruised on Royal but my husband and I are looking for a change. I’d welcome any hints, suggestions. We like Southern routes leaving out of San Juan. How is Celebrity Summit? One Southern route goes to Aruba and the other I believe goes to Curaçao. Thoughts?

 

 

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[hiccups]

1 minute ago, cleob said:

 

I’ve always cruised on Royal but my husband and I are looking for a change. I’d welcome any hints, suggestions. We like Southern routes leaving out of San Juan. How is Celebrity Summit? One Southern route goes to Aruba and the other I believe goes to Curaçao. Thoughts?

 

 

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We're on Summit for the first time in November, and our route is St Kitts and Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao.  There are several different routes, as you've noted, but the ABC islands are usually together.

Our first cruise on X was on Equinox in June, and we enjoyed it enough to book again this year!  I know a lot of regular X cruisers say the prices are high, but we've found some good deals.

[davekathy]

22 minutes ago, cleob said:

 

I’ve always cruised on Royal but my husband and I are looking for a change. I’d welcome any hints, suggestions. We like Southern routes leaving out of San Juan. How is Celebrity Summit? One Southern route goes to Aruba and the other I believe goes to Curaçao. Thoughts?

 

 

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Aruba and Curacao would be on the same itinerary. Do a B2B out of San Juan. Eastern and Southern. 

Edited September 3, 2019 by davekathy

[cleob]

Okay, I was just glancing through itineraries. How is the Summit? Cabin suggestions? How is the entertainment?


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3 minutes ago, cleob said:

Okay, I was just glancing through itineraries. How is the Summit? Cabin suggestions? How is the entertainment?


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You can search threads for information on Summit.  There are a lot of pictures after the refurbishment earlier this year, and some review threads.

There are also cabin spreadsheets pinned at the top that provide some information on various cabins.

[davekathy]

14 minutes ago, cleob said:

Okay, I was just glancing through itineraries. How is the Summit? Cabin suggestions? How is the entertainment?


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We did a B2B cruise on the Summit March/April 2014. We enjoyed the itineraries, the ship, entertainment and staff. Pillow chocolates in the evening.Welcome aboard glass of champagne. But things like that are subjective. Had a balcony stateroom deck 8 forward. No issues.  You won't have on Celebrity a studio B, no Royal Promenade deck, no quest, no dedicated DL lounge, no rock climbing walls, no flow rider. We cruise both Celebrity and RC and like the similarities and differences. Less kids on Celebrity. We will be on the Summit 8 September 2019 for 14 nights and doing a B2B cruise out of San Juan on the Summit March/April 2020. If you book with Celebrity call the Captains Club (1-800-760-0654) and make sure your C&A numbers are documented. 

Edited September 3, 2019 by davekathy

[jelayne]

The Summit was just recently redone and it is very nice.  Hard to suggest a cabin without any idea of what category you might be interested in.  

If you like the aft with large balconies & the wake view  try a Concierge 1. For a regular veranda with a large balcony look st the 2C cabins on Deck 6 #s 6016- 6030 on starboard side or 6021 -6035  on the  port side.

For Aqua Class the 5 AQ1 on the very aft are great, large balcony plus Blu as your dining room.

if you are looking at Suites and a large balcony isn’t important the. Look at the Celebrity Suites.  For Sky Suites 6145 or 6146 are very nice.  

 

[alcpa1]

cleob,

Take a look at the Summit deck plans. Do note that there are three elevator banks that make this an easy ship to get around. Entertainment on the forward elevators, Atrium on the center elevators and dining on the aft elevators.

Like any other line a cabin on a tween deck will be the quietest. 

There is an overhang on the deck 9 cabins that some hate but I appreciate when the weather doesn't fully cooperate. The Aqua class cabins on deck 9 aft of 9108 on the starboard side and their complementary cabins on the port side are under the Lido which is carpeted and much quieter than those under the pool deck.

Lifeboats do create vision issues for decks 6, 7, 8 and to a small extent deck 9 but the outward view is not obstructed.

Some cabins even within a class are better than others. You will read about "The Sweet Sixteen" or those 6 larger Concierge cabins on deck 6, or the A1 afts on 11 with terrific balconies.

So the real question has already been asked...what type of cabin are you interested in?

Captain's Club members do have some cocktail options but nothing like the Diamond/D+ Lounges on RCI. It's easy enough to add your RCI status to Celebrity and Azamara.

Please post with additional info and we will be glad to answer your questions.

[sound_guy0918]

19 hours ago, cleob said:

I’ve always cruised on Royal but my husband and I are looking for a change. I’d welcome any hints, suggestions. We like Southern routes leaving out of San Juan. How is Celebrity Summit? One Southern route goes to Aruba and the other I believe goes to Curaçao. Thoughts?

 

We love the Summit.  There are a variety of itineraries to the southern islands...usually repeating every other week but there are exceptions to that.  You will find the Summit generally quieter and calmer with "mature" (not necessarily meaning "elderly") passengers.  Food on X is excellent, especially in the MDR, Tuscan, and poolside grill.  Entertainment is not going to win any awards and often the entire ship is pretty quiet by midnight or so.  If you are looking for peace and quiet while visiting the South Caribbean,  you will love it!  The best advice we can give is to book with perks and get the drink package. 

[cookiersmom]

One note about Celebrity cabin categories.  Aqua class (a lot of people love it) includes dining in the special Blu restaurant. ONLY.  No MDR option.   At Blu, they seat you as you arrive each evening, only with the party you arrive with so if you are a couple only but like to eat with a large group for socialization, Blu is not for you.  Just my opinion.  As I said, lots of people love it.

[alcpa1]

Cookiersmom.

We have been on the Summit five times and quite a few more Celebrity cruises. With one rare exception since the Aqua class was created we have dined in Blu. This would represent well over a dozen cruises in Aqua.

We have shared tables in Blu with strangers/new friends. All you have to do is let the maitre 'd know you'd enjoy sharing a table.

As far as the menu, on all of the M class ships you can order from the MDR menu. If on the other hand you wish to dine in the MDR the Blu maitre 'd can arrange this for you too.

[calicakes]

1 hour ago, cookiersmom said:

One note about Celebrity cabin categories.  Aqua class (a lot of people love it) includes dining in the special Blu restaurant. ONLY.  No MDR option.   At Blu, they seat you as you arrive each evening, only with the party you arrive with so if you are a couple only but like to eat with a large group for socialization, Blu is not for you.  Just my opinion.  As I said, lots of people love it.

So you’re not allowed to dine in 

MDR if you’re in AQ? Not that I want to, just didn’t realize this was a thing.