Review of Summit to Bermuda

[BrewJack]

This is my review of our July 9^th sailing on the Celebrity Summit to Bermuda.  This was my family’s first time sailing with Celebrity, though in the past we’ve sailed with RC, NCL, and Carnival.  My wife and I celebrated our 25^th Anniversary while onboard.  Hopefully this might help someone decide on Celebrity, the Summit, or the Bermuda itinerary.  I tried to break the review into categories, but some overlap, and I certainly won’t have the fortitude to cover absolutely everything.

 

Ship

 

The Summit was great!  The interior of the ship felt modern and spacious, not at all indicative of it’s age.  I understand it was refurbished within the past several years – Celebrity did a great job with this!  Our last cruise, several years ago, was on an RC mega ship.  The Summit is noticeably smaller, which felt like a positive change.  It didn’t take forever to get from A to B, didn’t feel as crowded, and having less ‘can’t miss activities’ made the entire trip feel less hectic.  We warned our teenagers that they should bring a book to read because there won’t be Wave Riders, climbing walls, slides, zip lines, etc.  In the end they didn’t read much because the basic internet service included with the room was good enough for them to play their favorite cell phone games.   I only noticed a short lag if I was pulling up an online photo album and the pictures would load one at a time instead of all at once.  This was much better than I was expecting it to be.  We were also able to text each other fairly reliably while onboard.

 

While the pool area didn’t feel overly crowded, it was usually hard to find a lounge chair or table in the main pool area or Solarium by the time we got there.  We aren’t early risers!  I do have to mention the ‘bubble loungers’ in the Solarium pool.  I don’t know what these are really called, but it is a series of parallel metal tubes arranged so that they roughly make the shape of a really wide lounge chair with room for 5-6 people on each side of the pool.  You sit on these, kinda half in and half out of the water, and there are bubbles shooting up from below the tubes.  This was super relaxing and our favorite part of the pool deck.

 

Crew

 

The crew of Summit significantly enhanced our enjoyment of this trip.  The captain was engaging, the cruise director was entertaining, and everyone else was smiling and happy to help with whatever we needed.  The staff in Blu really personalized the service and made us feel special, especially on the evening of our anniversary.  My only complaint would be that occasionally some of the bartenders seemed to not know what they had available.  I’m a craft beer guy and they often didn’t have the beer listed on their bar menu and little knowledge of what might be on hand outside of the mass-produced Bud/Miller/Coors/Corona products.  Kudos to the staff that didn’t know, but took the time to have a look and see what they could offer me in the craft beer range of products.  They often had craft beers not listed on their menu, or any of the bar menus for that matter.  Other than this relatively minor issue, the entire crew was spectacular.

 

Room

 

My family was in connecting Aqua Class staterooms, which were spotless. We have two teenage sons, so squeezing into one stateroom probably would have been a bit uncomfortable, but the connecting rooms gave us plenty of space.  We were in rooms 9122 & 9124 in the aft-ish area.  This location provided very convenient access to dining.  Being right around the corner from the aft elevators and stairs, we could walk up one flight directly into the buffet or down to floor 5 and be right outside of Blu.  Being under the buffet, there were only a few times during the cruise that I noticed noise from above, and even then it was a single instance, not an ongoing issue.  Our stateroom attendant(?),  Lenard, was great -> always a smile and hello when he saw us and if we were coming down the hall with our hands full he would open our door for us with his key card.  He even made some towel swans with rose petals on the evening of our anniversary. 

 

One of the benefits of staying in Aqua class is access to the Asian Gardens.  This included a steam room, sauna, and salt therapy room, as well as a ‘waterfall shower’ and heated bench in the main area.  If you like steam rooms and saunas you’ll probably like this too.  We did this once and it was okay, but for me it wasn’t something I’d prioritize visiting.

 

Food 

 

The food onboard was excellent!  We ate in Blu most evenings and while the main dining menu was available, we only ordered a few items off of it during the course of the week.  There were a few times we had to wait for a table depending on when we showed up, anywhere from 10-20 minutes.  This wasn’t an issue because they provided a beeper for when a table was ready and Cellar Masters was right around the corner, so we all went there and had a pre-dinner drink while we waited.  One evening, after a bit of a wait, I was concerned we were going to miss the show.  We let our waiter know that we were hoping to make it to the show and he took our orders and expedited our starters.  As soon as we finished the starters, he had the main courses ready to deliver.  We didn’t have time for dessert, but he took our orders and said he would have it sent to our staterooms, where it was waiting for us after the show!  Our sommelier, Reagan, was fantastic!  We don’t have a ‘usual’ drink, so he seemed to enjoy concocting fruity non-alcoholic beverages for my teens, and finding my wife and I something delicious to drink with our meal.  I’m more of a craft beer guy than a wine drinker and he managed to find me a beer that I didn’t even know was available…not on any of the bar menus.  We really enjoyed his smile and service!

 

Our final dinner was in Le Petit Chef.  The food here was also very good, but the show on the tabletop is the real reason to eat here.  The menu is limited to one set course that goes along with the animation and another set of backup options (you can mix and match between the 2 sets).  After having experienced the novelty once, I don’t see myself choosing this over Blu…though I thought it was definitely worth it the first time around.

 

My one complaint about ‘food’ isn’t really the food itself, but the opening times of Blu and the MDR.  Breakfast ends at 9am in these venues.  As mentioned above, my family are not early risers, so to get seated at Blu before 9am was usually a struggle.  Since they don’t serve lunch in Blu it would have been nice to have breakfast served a little later.

 

Shows

 

I thought the shows were hit or miss (which of course is subjective!).  The comedian was very funny, both during his normal set and the late-night ‘adult only’ set.  The ‘adult only’ set didn’t seem to be policed for children (I’m not complaining, only noting this in case it’s pertinent to future cruisers).  The magician was a good change of pace, but did a bit too much close up magic that we had to watch by it being broadcast on a big screen.  The singing/dancing shows, to me, were ho-hum.  The house musicians, singers, and dancers are clearly talented, but they aren’t given great material to perform.  For example, there was a Soundtrack show that I assumed was to be music from movies.  While there was a James Bond theme medley and Somewhere Over the Rainbow (plus probably others that I didn’t recognize), there were other pop hits from the past decade thrown in for no apparent rhyme or reason.  And a lot of the more upbeat music seemed to be toned down a bit.  It was enough to hold my attention for 45 minutes or so but was pretty meh.  It would be nice if they could weave a story or theme through the entire show, so it isn’t just a string of disconnected performances.

 

Bermuda

 

The island of Bermuda was beautiful and the people there were friendly and welcoming.  Of any cruise port we’ve ever visited, this is the island my entire family would love to come back to.  On our first day we took the ‘shipwreck snorkel’ excursion booked pre-cruise through Celebrity.  Unfortunately, it was too windy to complete the trip as planned, but we were able to take a glass bottom boat over the shipwreck and then snorkel in a more protected area.  Overall, a good experience.  In the afternoon we had lunch at the Frog & Onion pub and played minigolf at the port.  The minigolf course there is very well done.  We visited Harbor Nights in the evening, taking the Hamilton ferry there and back.  It was a nice evening out, but I wouldn’t consider it a can’t miss activity.  I will say that the vendors were much better than some at other cruise ports.  They were not pushy at all and pretty much stayed in their stall and waited until we needed help.  The 2^nd day we took the Hidden Gems tour which we booked on our own.  This was also a great tour – cave exploring, cliff jumping, lunch and snorkeling.  Our tour guide was very entertaining.  The final day we did some shopping at the port and took a taxi to Horseshoe Bay and back.  We only had about an hour to enjoy the beach, but it was very enjoyable and had decent snorkeling too. 

 

This post is already much longer than I thought it would be, so I’m going to stop here.  I’m happy to answer any questions or talk about something I haven’t covered though, just ask.  I HIGHLY recommend this ship and itinerary.  As a matter of fact, I told my wife I’d happily cruise this same ship and itinerary again. Based on our experience we’d definitely sail with Celebrity again in the future!

[Nachosdelux]

thanks for the great review!  I agree that Bermuda is worth visiting again

[TPCRUISER2]

Great review! Bermuda is my favorite place to visit. Could you tell me about the hidden gems tour?

BTW, I am loyal to Royal. But, Love Celebrity!

[hcat]

very complete and informative rwview..Glad you enjoyed the cruise. How about the teens?  What did they enjoy most?  Any special activities or movies for them?

 

Happy Anniversary!

[LouChamp]

Aloha.  Loved your review. Have been cruising to Bermuda since the 1970s and also would fly there for weekends. It is only about 90 minutes from NY. Love the people, love the shopping and the food. Their malt vinegar when added to their seafood soup is unreal. Anyway glad you enjoyed and thank you again!

[Georgia_Peaches]

Appreciate your review!  Bermuda is on my bucket list but have put it off bc it seems more like a destination than an actual cruise. Were venues like the casino open in the evening or did everything stay shut down for the time you were in port?

[BrewJack]

9 hours ago, TPCRUISER2 said:

Great review! Bermuda is my favorite place to visit. Could you tell me about the hidden gems tour?

BTW, I am loyal to Royal. But, Love Celebrity!

 

The Hidden Gems tour is an all day (7 hrs) excursion.  We booked directly with the Island Tour Centre prior to our trip.  First stop is at a nature reserve where we took a hike and then explored a cave.  Our guide pointed out flora common to Bermuda during the hike and several features in the cave.  Helmets and headlamps are provided for the cave, as it was pitch black inside.  After the first cave we went to a second that had an underground pool that we were able to swim in.  This was close enough to the entrance that the headlamps weren't necessary.  After this we went cliff jumping into another pool with a choice of 10 or 15 ft. jumping points.  Back into the vehicle for lunch and ice cream at a restaurant near the airport.  Then off to a secluded beach for a bit of snorkeling.  Our tour guide, Dale, had a great sense of humor and it was a fun day. 

Some of the hike and cave exploration was physically challenging, steep/slippery, so be aware of that for anyone with mobility restrictions.  Also, you're likely to get muddy, so we took old sneakers for the hike.  Water shoes might be more ideal.  Our group was on the smaller side, I think close to a dozen.  We passed a much larger group on the same excursion, which may be closer to the norm.

 

I hope this helps!

[BrewJack]

7 hours ago, hcat said:

very complete and informative rwview..Glad you enjoyed the cruise. How about the teens?  What did they enjoy most?  Any special activities or movies for them?

 

Happy Anniversary!

 

There is a teens club, but mine did not participate (one is over the age limit).  There seemed to be a good amount of teens who did participate though and looked like they enjoyed it.  There were also movies shown onboard but we didn't do that either.

 

Both of my teens really enjoyed the food.  My oldest had food allergies when he was younger, so does really appreciate yummy meals (he still talks about a specific meal he had on our prior cruise!).  They mostly stuck with us going to the pool, attending shows, etc.  They both also really enjoyed both sets of the comedian.

[BrewJack]

6 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Appreciate your review!  Bermuda is on my bucket list but have put it off bc it seems more like a destination than an actual cruise. Were venues like the casino open in the evening or did everything stay shut down for the time you were in port?

 

I'm not positive about the casino, but believe the casino is closed on most ships while they are in port.

 

Most of the ships food venues were open, though some may have had reduced hours while in port.

 

There were still shows each night while in port.

 

As you can tell from my review, we didn't spend a ton of time on the ship while we were in port, so I'm sorry that I don't have a ton of details!

Edited July 21, 2023 by BrewJack

[BrewJack]

6 hours ago, LouChamp said:

Aloha.  Loved your review. Have been cruising to Bermuda since the 1970s and also would fly there for weekends. It is only about 90 minutes from NY. Love the people, love the shopping and the food. Their malt vinegar when added to their seafood soup is unreal. Anyway glad you enjoyed and thank you again!

 

My wife loves malt vinegar on her fries.  This is something to add to our to-do list for our next visit, thanks!

[Cruzinforpeace***]

Very good review!  You hit all the important parts.😀

[cyntil8ing]

It's good to see a review that mentions teens, and that they had a good time, even without the rock walls, skating rinks and zip lines. My own teens have been on Celebrity a dozen times since they were 4 and 6 including three times to Bermuda on Summit. They've always had a great time. 

 

We got all geared up for a return to Bermuda this year. Our last trip was in 2014! But unfortunately, Celebrity stops calling in Bermuda at the end of this month, and our cruise time frame is next month, so we will be cruising on another line. 

[Blueseas109]

8 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Appreciate your review!  Bermuda is on my bucket list but have put it off bc it seems more like a destination than an actual cruise. Were venues like the casino open in the evening or did everything stay shut down for the time you were in port?

I was on this same cruise. The casino opens at 9 pm every

evening while in port.

[hcat]

1 hour ago, cyntil8ing said:

It's good to see a review that mentions teens, and that they had a good time, even without the rock walls, skating rinks and zip lines. My own teens have been on Celebrity a dozen times since they were 4 and 6 including three times to Bermuda on Summit. They've always had a great time. 

 

We got all geared up for a return to Bermuda this year. Our last trip was in 2014! But unfortunately, Celebrity stops calling in Bermuda at the end of this month, and our cruise time frame is next month, so we will be cruising on another line. 

sounds like the Hidden Gems excursion reviewed above would be great for active teens and adults! Sounds like an exciting day!

[CruisinBanka]

Thanks for the great positive review! We have sailed on the Summit 11 times and have always had a great cruise with some of the best and friendliest staff at sea. Looking forward to our upcoming 11 day sailing on her in September! 

[Mr. Click]

Thanks for posting this BrewJack.  We were on this trip too but not in Aqua.  Everything you said about the ship, the crew, etc is right on the mark.  This was our first cruise since the pandemic but our 11th with Celebrity and 17th overall (I think) and I have to say this was THE best cruise ever for us.  The food in the MDR was fine, very good really but we all know that food is subjective.  With so many sea days down and back we did a lot of lunches in the Ocean View Cafe and were pleased with the offerings and the service there too.  One night we did dinner in the Tuscan Grill and it was top notch.  We passed on LPC and Sushi on 5 because of food allergies so I can't comment on them.  Mrs. Click had her hair done in the SPA and came away very happy as we sailed away from the Dockyards.  

 

Some notes about our time in Bermuda. This was our second time and we spent some time on day 1 going to Horseshoe Cove for the afternoon. The $7 shuttle buses are a good deal and drop you right at the beach. In the evening we took the ferry into Hamilton for Harbor Nights. It was fun, we had done it before so we knew to plan to get an early ferry before it got crazy crowded.  That meant eating before the OVC or MDR opened and we opted for burgers at the pool grill and their were good.   Day two we did a 5 hour full island tour with Tradewinds Tours.  Just 4 of us on the tours so it was anything we wanted to see and more.  The tour ran over and our guide said it was on her, no extra charge for the extra hour.  The last day we just spent some time shopping and walking around the Dockyards to get some gifts and stuff.

 

Lastly, we got lucky with the weather.  Lots of sunshine, almost no rain, pretty calm seas too.  You really cannot ask for anything more.  

 

Oh, boarding and departure were very smooth, until it came time to go out into the rain and find our Lyft driver........but we did find him.

 

Bottom line, if you are thinking of doing this one, go for it and book early. They do fill up.  Captain Smith told us that it is so popular that Celebrity is moving the Summit to Alaska for next summer and bringing the Eclipse to Bayonne for next summer so now I am thinking how can I manage to do the Summit's Panama Canal trip in April and the Eclipse's trip to Greenland and Iceland in August.....the trials of being an old retired guy  :).

[SPacificbound]

Thank you for your review!!

 

[olemissreb]

Can you tell me what is on the menu at Le Petit Chef? We aren't going to be on Summit till March '25 and we have a picky eater in the group. Dinner there sounds interesting, but don't want to book anything if there won't be anything for him to eat.

 

Thanks!

[BrewJack]

23 hours ago, olemissreb said:

Can you tell me what is on the menu at Le Petit Chef? We aren't going to be on Summit till March '25 and we have a picky eater in the group. Dinner there sounds interesting, but don't want to book anything if there won't be anything for him to eat.

 

Thanks!

 

My understanding is that there are several versions of the menu and accompanying animation.  We actually had our dinner reserved for earlier in the cruise, but upon checking the Celebrity app, we found that mid-cruise the main was changing from short ribs to lobster tail (along with the rest of the menu changing over), so we changed our reservation to the last night based on that.

[RenieRaider]

On 7/21/2023 at 12:55 PM, BrewJack said:

 

The Hidden Gems tour is an all day (7 hrs) excursion.  We booked directly with the Island Tour Centre prior to our trip.  First stop is at a nature reserve where we took a hike and then explored a cave.  Our guide pointed out flora common to Bermuda during the hike and several features in the cave.  Helmets and headlamps are provided for the cave, as it was pitch black inside.  After the first cave we went to a second that had an underground pool that we were able to swim in.  This was close enough to the entrance that the headlamps weren't necessary.  After this we went cliff jumping into another pool with a choice of 10 or 15 ft. jumping points.  Back into the vehicle for lunch and ice cream at a restaurant near the airport.  Then off to a secluded beach for a bit of snorkeling.  Our tour guide, Dale, had a great sense of humor and it was a fun day. 

Some of the hike and cave exploration was physically challenging, steep/slippery, so be aware of that for anyone with mobility restrictions.  Also, you're likely to get muddy, so we took old sneakers for the hike.  Water shoes might be more ideal.  Our group was on the smaller side, I think close to a dozen.  We passed a much larger group on the same excursion, which may be closer to the norm.

 

I hope this helps!

HOLY MOLY!!!   That is quite the tour! We have walked through two caves but never knew people could SWIM in them!? What town were these Caves in? Sounds fantastic!

[RenieRaider]

Thank you for the detailed review! I am glad you enjoyed you cruise.

I loved reading it!

Did you mention Bingo? Did they have it? Any luck?

Thanks again for your time.

[BrewJack]

16 minutes ago, RenieRaider said:

HOLY MOLY!!!   That is quite the tour! We have walked through two caves but never knew people could SWIM in them!? What town were these Caves in? Sounds fantastic!

The caves were in Tom Moore's Jungle nature preserve.  I'm not sure what town it is in or close to.

[BrewJack]

10 minutes ago, RenieRaider said:

Thank you for the detailed review! I am glad you enjoyed you cruise.

I loved reading it!

Did you mention Bingo? Did they have it? Any luck?

Thanks again for your time.

 

Yes, I believe they did have bingo but we didn't play. 

 

The night they added $5 in slot play to everyone's Seapass card my 18 year old sat down beside me at a video poker machine and the first hand, when I was showing him how it works, he ended up with two 4 of a kinds and walked away with over $60.  A good haul for a teenager!

[KitKatK]

On 7/21/2023 at 6:58 AM, Georgia_Peaches said:

Appreciate your review!  Bermuda is on my bucket list but have put it off bc it seems more like a destination than an actual cruise. Were venues like the casino open in the evening or did everything stay shut down for the time you were in port?

The casino opened at 9pm. The shops remained closed. We had bingo on the first and second sea day, Deal Or No Deal on the third.

Edited July 31, 2023 by KitKatK

[Georgia_Peaches]

2 hours ago, KitKatK said:

The casino opened at 9pm. The shops remained closed. We had bingo on the first and second sea day, Deal Or No Deal on the third.

Great!!  Thank you for posting!