Celebration Cruise on the Summit 6/4/23

[MJSailors]

Well,  it was supposed to be a celebration cruise for our 40th anniversary, but things did not turn out as planned.

First, I will write about the positives of the cruise.

The Summit has been refitted and upgraded beautifully. The lighter color scheme, and the furnishings in many areas that offered comfortable seating were very much appreciated. We had taken two cruise previously on the Summit and realized during those cruises that the ship needed a good bit of attention.

The staff and crew on the ship were exceptional!

We have been cruising since 1987 and we cannot recall a friendlier, kinder and more helpful staff.

Kudos to Celebrity in recruiting people who are an asset to the Summit.

We were in an Aqua class cabin 9052. Apollo was our steward who took good care of the cabin and did it with kindness. The serving staff in the buffet, Al Bacio and Blu were very good.

I would like to give a shout out to the young lady who served most evenings at the dessert station in the buffet. Her smile was infectious and her heart shown through while serving those cakes!

I neglected to get her name and I feel remiss about that.

Now, for the turn of events.

On Tuesday, the first day we were docked in Bermuda, my husband took a hard fall at the Turtle Hill Golf Club on a very steep path. The result was broken ribs. This has nothing to do with the cruise or the ship. I am writing about this for two reasons.

We were taken aback by the cavalier attitude of the golf course staff regarding his fall. Not going into detail here, but the reaction was not what we have come to expect from Bermudians in all our past thirteen visits to that country.

Very disappointing to say the least.

We managed to have a pleasant remainder of the cruise. Our activities were somewhat limited as my DH needed to rest at times from his injury. We tried to make the best of the situation.

The Monday after we returned home, I was not feeling well at all. I tested Tuesday morning and it was positive for Covid. We are both recovering.

We drove to Cape Liberty , so there were no air flights or hotel stays involved. We surmise that we contracted the virus on the ship. 
We washed our hands often-“washy washy” , used Putell, kept away from crowds and still succumbed to Covid. It is still out there.

The thing is,the effects of the virus are not as serious as in the beginning of the Pandemic.

My DH and I were aware of the health risks in booking this cruise.

We have been very careful these past 3+ years and have remained healthy.

Given that we are early seventies and I am asthmatic, we did not make the decision to go on the Summit lightly.

I wanted this post to be a truthful account of our cruise vacation and givie both positive and negative aspects of such a vacation 

YMMV

MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

[kruzerci]

About half of our group on the Equinox a couple weeks ago caught Covid. That’s about 60 people just in our group. I did a B2B and there were all kinds of posts the week after our group cruise. I bet half the ship was infected. 
 

That said it was just a cold for us. No reason for alarm but I found the cleanliness and disenfsction of the ship to leave a lot to be desired. Our stateroom even had crumbs and water marks from the previous week. No hand sanitizers at elevator banks or most common areas anymore. Probably more cost cutting. 

[WestLakeGirl]

40 minutes ago, MJSailors said:

Well,  it was supposed to be a celebration cruise for our 40th anniversary, but things did not turn out as planned.

First, I will write about the positives of the cruise.

The Summit has been refitted and upgraded beautifully. The lighter color scheme, and the furnishings in many areas that offered comfortable seating were very much appreciated. We had taken two cruise previously on the Summit and realized during those cruises that the ship needed a good bit of attention.

The staff and crew on the ship were exceptional!

We have been cruising since 1987 and we cannot recall a friendlier, kinder and more helpful staff.

Kudos to Celebrity in recruiting people who are an asset to the Summit.

We were in an Aqua class cabin 9052. Apollo was our steward who took good care of the cabin and did it with kindness. The serving staff in the buffet, Al Bacio and Blu were very good.

I would like to give a shout out to the young lady who served most evenings at the dessert station in the buffet. Her smile was infectious and her heart shown through while serving those cakes!

I neglected to get her name and I feel remiss about that.

Now, for the turn of events.

On Tuesday, the first day we were docked in Bermuda, my husband took a hard fall at the Turtle Hill Golf Club on a very steep path. The result was broken ribs. This has nothing to do with the cruise or the ship. I am writing about this for two reasons.

We were taken aback by the cavalier attitude of the golf course staff regarding his fall. Not going into detail here, but the reaction was not what we have come to expect from Bermudians in all our past thirteen visits to that country.

Very disappointing to say the least.

We managed to have a pleasant remainder of the cruise. Our activities were somewhat limited as my DH needed to rest at times from his injury. We tried to make the best of the situation.

The Monday after we returned home, I was not feeling well at all. I tested Tuesday morning and it was positive for Covid. We are both recovering.

We drove to Cape Liberty , so there were no air flights or hotel stays involved. We surmise that we contracted the virus on the ship. 
We washed our hands often-“washy washy” , used Putell, kept away from crowds and still succumbed to Covid. It is still out there.

The thing is,the effects of the virus are not as serious as in the beginning of the Pandemic.

My DH and I were aware of the health risks in booking this cruise.

We have been very careful these past 3+ years and have remained healthy.

Given that we are early seventies and I am asthmatic, we did not make the decision to go on the Summit lightly.

I wanted this post to be a truthful account of our cruise vacation and givie both positive and negative aspects of such a vacation 

YMMV

MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

You may surmise that you caught the virus on the ship, but because you were off the ship while you gathered your luggage and went to your car, you had other avenues of exposure

[kruzerci]

2 minutes ago, WestLakeGirl said:

You may surmise that you caught the virus on the ship, but because you were off the ship while you gathered your luggage and went to your car, you had other avenues of exposure

it seems to be fairly rampant right now on several ships regardless of where the exposure occurred. 

[MJSailors]

@WestLakeGirl Summit was the only ship at Cape Liberty, Bayonne,NJ. 
Contact with others was quite limited there. Embarkation and disembarkation was quick and flawless. 
Getting off the ship, we were with fellow passengers, had brief contact with the Custom officer  at face recognition and a porter helping with the bags.

MJ

[cruisestitch]

Realistically, you will never be able to figure out where the exposure took place. Going to and from the golf course? At the golf course? On the ship? In the terminal? There is no way you will ever know

[Water709]

I'm so glad to hear a fellow passenger giving an objective commentary about this particular voyage.  My husband and I were also on this particular sailing.  We have sailed on Summit several times and have been to Bermuda as a port several times as well.  Coincidentally we too are celebrating our 40th anniversary this year.  We also followed all the health protocols and did the hand sanitizing, hand washing, etc.  We did our best to avoid the largest crowds (did not attend any of the shows except for the magician which was around half full) and we did not attend any shore excursions.  We noticed that there was not much attention regarding keeping common areas of the ship consistently clean and sanitized as there has been as recently as last year on this same sailing.  We also drove to and from Bayonne for this sailing and did not fly to or from the ship.  On Tuesday after debarkation we both tested positive for Covid.  We both have had all vaccines and boosters (five shots in all, each) prior to this voyage.  I was hit much harder by the Covid virus than my husband who only has cold symptoms.  I have had severe flu-like symptoms; severe body aches, a deep terrible cough, shortness of breath, nausea.  We contacted our family doctor and she prescribed Paxlovid which we are both taking.  I am starting to feel somewhat better but for the deep and painful chronic cough, but this virus can still hit very hard, and without the Paxlovid I have no doubt I would be hospitalized at this point, or worse.  We enjoyed the cruise very much, our cabin was lovely (a Celebrity suite) and the staff members were all very dedicated and helpful.  But feeling as awful as I am right now, I am hesitant to sail again anytime soon on this cruise line (or any other) as the Covid related precautions have been relaxed or nearly eliminated.  Clearly the virus is still around and very contagious.

[MJSailors]

@Water709 I hope that you and your hubby recover soon.

Someone on this cruise’s roll call reported that he, his wife and son also tested positive with his wife having the most severe symptoms.

I do understand your feelings about taking future cruise vacations.

Others have gone on cruises and have remained healthy.

There is, and hasn’t been, any medical explanation given as to why some contract the virus and others remain free of it.

Wishing you and your husband a happy 40th anniversary!

MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

[nashville15]

Hope that your husband is recovering from the fall and both recovered from Covid.

I have read done reporting that there was a sewage smell on Deck 2 and outside theatre. 
Did you smell it or hear anything about it?

We are booked for a Fall 24 trip on Summit and are concerned. 
Thank you.

[MJSailors]

@nashville15 Thank you for the kind words. We are coming along.

As to a sewage smell.

I had to go to guest services on Deck 3. For some reason, the elevator I took led to a cabin corridor -starboard side- to get to the guest services desk.

I seem to have arrived on deck 3 near the Tuscan Grill which kind of blocks a direct walk to guest services. I mention this because I noticed a sewage smell as I was near those cabins on deck 3.

 We were in cabin 9062 -deck 9  starboard.No sewage smell there and we noticed none near the theater.

Keep in mind, the Summit is about twenty years old. Parts can wear out and break down on a ship of that age given almost constant use.

It has been refurbished nicely,as far as the eye can see. 
If you have a cabin on deck 2 or deck 3, you may consider rebooking to a higher deck.

The crew on the ship is outstanding!

I wish you a safe and healthy cruise!

MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

 

[bunnyette]

On 6/17/2023 at 1:05 PM, MJSailors said:

Well,  it was supposed to be a celebration cruise for our 40th anniversary, but things did not turn out as planned.

First, I will write about the positives of the cruise.

The Summit has been refitted and upgraded beautifully. The lighter color scheme, and the furnishings in many areas that offered comfortable seating were very much appreciated. We had taken two cruise previously on the Summit and realized during those cruises that the ship needed a good bit of attention.

The staff and crew on the ship were exceptional!

We have been cruising since 1987 and we cannot recall a friendlier, kinder and more helpful staff.

Kudos to Celebrity in recruiting people who are an asset to the Summit.

We were in an Aqua class cabin 9052. Apollo was our steward who took good care of the cabin and did it with kindness. The serving staff in the buffet, Al Bacio and Blu were very good.

I would like to give a shout out to the young lady who served most evenings at the dessert station in the buffet. Her smile was infectious and her heart shown through while serving those cakes!

I neglected to get her name and I feel remiss about that.

Now, for the turn of events.

On Tuesday, the first day we were docked in Bermuda, my husband took a hard fall at the Turtle Hill Golf Club on a very steep path. The result was broken ribs. This has nothing to do with the cruise or the ship. I am writing about this for two reasons.

We were taken aback by the cavalier attitude of the golf course staff regarding his fall. Not going into detail here, but the reaction was not what we have come to expect from Bermudians in all our past thirteen visits to that country.

Very disappointing to say the least.

We managed to have a pleasant remainder of the cruise. Our activities were somewhat limited as my DH needed to rest at times from his injury. We tried to make the best of the situation.

The Monday after we returned home, I was not feeling well at all. I tested Tuesday morning and it was positive for Covid. We are both recovering.

We drove to Cape Liberty , so there were no air flights or hotel stays involved. We surmise that we contracted the virus on the ship. 
We washed our hands often-“washy washy” , used Putell, kept away from crowds and still succumbed to Covid. It is still out there.

The thing is,the effects of the virus are not as serious as in the beginning of the Pandemic.

My DH and I were aware of the health risks in booking this cruise.

We have been very careful these past 3+ years and have remained healthy.

Given that we are early seventies and I am asthmatic, we did not make the decision to go on the Summit lightly.

I wanted this post to be a truthful account of our cruise vacation and givie both positive and negative aspects of such a vacation 

YMMV

MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

What a shame, we were down the hall from you in 9060.  We were at Turtle Hill on Wednesday as well.  I’ve got plantar fasciitis so we took a cart.   I think you should write to the golf course as that kind of reaction is very out of character.   I hope they called you a taxi!  Apollo was amazing 

[Silkroad]

@MJSailors I’m so sorry about your husband’s fall (and the subsequent failures on the part of the golf club’s staff). I’m also sorry that you have caught Covid. 

 

@Water709 I’m sorry you and your husband also caught Covid, and I’m glad you were able to begin a course of Paxlovid. 
 

I wish all four of you a swift recovery. I also hope the rest of your 40th year together will be filled with happiness. 

[Essiesmom]

I was on this cruise, inside cabin deck 2 forward.   No sewage smell there.  No Covid either.  EM

[MJSailors]

@bunnyetteThank you for your thoughts. Were you the couple we saw in the hall taking your golf clubs off of the ship?

We had a brief conversation in the corridor about playing golf that day.

My husband was/is reluctant to pursue the matter with the golf course or the Bermuda Dept of Tourism. I have the thought of reporting the incident as something should be said to prevent anyone else being put in a similar situation.

We were saddened to see the Southampton Princess closed as we had many good vacations there. It gave me an eerie feeling to see it shut down and the grounds in need of attention.

Hoping you had a good round.

No way would I have ever walked that course!

Yes,Apollo was exceptional-I hope he did not get sick. I think he was nearing the end of his contract and was looking foreard to going home.

Take care-

MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

[MJSailors]

@Silkroad Thank you for your kind words.

We are recovering slowly.

MJ🙋🏻‍♀️