Review: Summit Feb. 5-10 – Miami/Cozumel/Grand Cayman

[KellyCz]

This was my first Celebrity cruise and my third cruise in total. I traveled with my daughter (age 22). I’ll hit the highlights here.

Embarkation: Our assigned time was 11:30-12:00. We pulled up in a Lyft at 11:20, checked in, and were being welcomed onboard before we even realized what was happening. It was so quick…definitely under 10 minutes from curb to ship. Great start!

Stateroom: We tried an Ocean View cabin on deck 2 (2164). The window was huge, so plenty of light. Also, the area under the window/behind the curtains was at least 12” deep with a lip on the front edge, which turned out to be the ideal place to store our backpacks, pool tote, and other random items. We welcomed the extra storage space. Having previously stayed on decks 5 and 11 on other ships, it was startling at first to have such an up-close view of the water! The room size was adequate and would have been better with the bed combined. Having them separated created a tight spot between the bed and the desk, which was a small annoyance. Closet space was tight for this 5-night trip, and there was very little drawer space. I would want more clothes storage space for a longer cruise. (We had only carry-on luggage, so we did not overpack!)

Dining: We ate at the Oceanview Cafe only a handful of times. The food was fine, but lines were long and guests were exhibiting some of the worst buffet behavior I’ve ever seen. Using hands to grab food items from serving platters and bowls, eating with their hands while in the line, refilling their used cups at the self-serve beverage station. For the health of all guests, I wish Celebrity would serve all food and beverage items.
The main dining room (Cosmopolitan) was a much better experience. We had dinner there on all but the first night. Food quality was quite good, service was 8/10, and we enjoyed conversation with the guests at the next table. If not drinking wine (which we weren’t), bar service was incredibly slow. After the first night, we stopped by the Martini Bar before dinner and brought drinks with us.
We had burgers & fries for lunch twice from the Pool Grill. Fresh, hot, and delicious both times. I liked the toppings on offer (lettuce, sauteed mushrooms, bacon, onions). Tip: The bacon was in a separate tray out of view from guests, so you have to ask for it.
We visited Café Al Bacio daily. Depending on the time of day, we enjoyed cappuccino and croissants, IGLU (Frappuccino equivalent), whichever chocolate dessert looked most appealing at the time, or Aspen coffee. We had excellent service there.

Martini Bar: Another favorite spot. Great service, entertaining bartenders, delicious drinks. My favorite was the Cherry Lane, and my daughter’s favorite was the Sunset. We had the premium beverage package and made our way through a substantial portion of the martini menu throughout our five days. It was usually busy, so we sometimes got seats at the bar and other times at the adjacent free-standing bar (called Crush). We talked with so many other guests in this area and learned a lot from veteran cruisers.

Pool Area: It was lively and crowded, but we always managed to find two lounge chairs together. [Old person alert]: I would have liked the music to be at a much lower volume. We stayed onboard during the Cozumel port day, and even at 9 a.m. with only a dozen guests on deck, the poolside music was loud enough that I had trouble focusing on my book. Eventually we found the Rooftop Terrace on deck 12, where it was blissfully quiet—but there was no bar service on 12, whereas on 10 and 11 bartenders were circulating so we could always get a bottle of water or a daquiri. Tradeoffs. Sometimes on 10, they came around with trays of lemon sorbet, which was a nice touch.

Tender Process: We followed protocol and picked up our tender tickets for Grand Cayman only after having breakfast and gathering our things so we were ready to go. This was a mistake. We got tender #16 a little after 10 a.m. and waited nearly two hours for our number to be called. We didn’t know to expect this, and it was a big disappointment for my daughter, who wanted to spend the day at a beach. Eventually we got to the island, took a taxi to Public Beach, and rented chairs and an umbrella. It was fine, but not worth the hassle.

Activities: We loved the ABBA sing-along in the Sky Lounge. And the Silent Disco was so much fun. One night we watched karaoke (also in the Sky Lounge), and there were some really talented singers. I joined a line dancing class one afternoon and enjoyed that too.

Debarkation: We opted to keep our bags with us. We walked off the ship at 8 a.m. with no lines and no issues. From there, we boarded one of many vans to the airport ($10 per person) and waited probably 20 minutes for it to fill up before heading out. We were in no rush; our flight was at 12:15.

Overall: I would return to Celebrity for Café Al Bacio and the Martini Bar alone. (In fact, I will be returning this summer, with my husband to Alaska on the Solstice.) This was intended to be a relaxing, affordable, escape-the-Midwest winter break for my daughter and me, and it definitely fit the bill.

[cbfb]

Thanks so much for your review. We are on the summit in 4 weeks after just getting off an amazing cruise on the Silhouette. We also love the martini bar. I noticed on the celebrity app that the martini menu is different than we have had the last 10 years and on this last cruise. Did you try to order any of the martinis no longer on the menu. Fresca and 25th anniversary are our favorites. 

[Jim_Iain]

Thanks for the well balanced review of your cruise.   Happy to see you had a wonderful time. 

 

I have to agree -  the OVC scares me when so many people misbehaving and not  using proper buffet etiquette.   I guess it's no wonder many refer to it as the pigs trough.   

 

It is especially concerning when reading the new CDC Warning of Shigella - a drug resistant intestinal bacteria.

[jelayne]

10 minutes ago, cbfb said:

Thanks so much for your review. We are on the summit in 4 weeks after just getting off an amazing cruise on the Silhouette. We also love the martini bar. I noticed on the celebrity app that the martini menu is different than we have had the last 10 years and on this last cruise. Did you try to order any of the martinis no longer on the menu. Fresca and 25th anniversary are our favorites. 

I’m thinking the wrong Martini Bar is showing on the app.

That is the E class menu and it does not have a Cherry Lane martini on it.  This was the OPs first Celebrity cruise and they were working their way through the Martini menu, so they probably had the menu that has been in the S & M class ships for a long time.

[cbfb]

7 minutes ago, jelayne said:

I’m thinking the wrong Martini Bar is showing on the app.

That is the E class menu and it does not have a Cherry Lane martini on it.  This was the OPs first Celebrity cruise and they were working their way through the Martini menu, so they probably had the menu that has been in the S & M class ships for a long time.

Yes as soon as I did the reply I remembered she said it was her first celebrity cruise. Hoping you are right and/or the bartenders know how to make those other martinis! As my son would say, first world problems! 🤣

[KellyCz]

1 hour ago, cbfb said:

Yes as soon as I did the reply I remembered she said it was her first celebrity cruise. Hoping you are right and/or the bartenders know how to make those other martinis! As my son would say, first world problems! 🤣

Yes...just coming back to say that I didn't know any other martinis to request. Plenty of options for us newbies on the Summit menu. Hopefully they'll be able to make your preferred options!

Edited February 28, 2023 by KellyCz

[PH2]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

It is especially concerning when reading the new CDC Warning of Shigella - a drug resistant intestinal bacteria.

 

We did our first ever cruise 2 weeks ago on Carnival and the wife got both shigella and Covid. Not a fun experience for sure, but hopefully just unlucky and it's not going to deter us from future cruising (including a couple already booked on Celebrity).

[KellyCz]

2 minutes ago, PH2 said:

 

We did our first ever cruise 2 weeks ago on Carnival and the wife got both shigella and Covid. Not a fun experience for sure, but hopefully just unlucky and it's not going to deter us from future cruising (including a couple already booked on Celebrity).

Wow, your wife is a trooper! I think that might deter me...

[SusieAV8R]

8 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Thanks for the well balanced review of your cruise.   Happy to see you had a wonderful time. 

 

I have to agree -  the OVC scares me when so many people misbehaving and not  using proper buffet etiquette.   I guess it's no wonder many refer to it as the pigs trough.   

 

It is especially concerning when reading the new CDC Warning of Shigella - a drug resistant intestinal bacteria.

Mmmmm...I understood the most common cause of shigellosis is drinking water that has been contaminated with sewage or flood waters. There are other ways (I will skip the graphics) but it does not appear to ban illness  likely caught through  possible "misbehavior" in OVC. 

[SusieAV8R]

2 minutes ago, SusieAV8R said:

Mmmmm...I understood the most common cause of shigellosis is drinking water that has been contaminated with sewage or flood waters. There are other ways (I will skip the graphics) but it does not appear to ban illness  likely caught through  possible "misbehavior" in OVC. 

likely that not "to ban".

[tdmcdonough538]

Thanks for the review; we're trying our first Celebrity cruise on the Summit at the end of April. So looking forward to it. The Cafe al Bacio sounds great!