Back from Summit - March 3 Hawaii Cruise (Long)

[RLM77]

Marlee and I recently returned from the March 3 Summit sailing to Hawaii. There is good news to report; the product has not significantly changed since last autumn, and the one significant change we did note was for the better.

 

I’ll start with those things which have remained more or less the same:

The ship remains very clean and well maintained. There is some wear and tear visible, but this is minimal and is likely to bother only a tiny minority of passengers. Some of the more obvious wear and tear issues are being addressed. For example, we noted that many more of the dining room chairs had been reupholstered since last fall.

 

Service remains outstanding in the restaurants and lounges. The cabin stewards/stewardesses continue to be amazing. We were surprised and delighted by the number of crew members who remembered us, even though it had been close to five months since we were last on board. Our waiter from October was no longer on the ship, but many other waiters and assistants remembered us and enthusiastically welcomed us back. More surprisingly, so did some members of both the entertainment and activities staffs.

 

We did not perceive any change in food quality. I admit to being skeptical that food quality would be maintained in the wake of the termination of Michel Roux’s contract. I am very glad to be proven wrong. Celebrity’s traditional strengths (beef, lamb, pasta dishes, sweetbreads, etc.) remain very strong indeed. Areas that used to be somewhat weaker (some of the fish dishes, IMO) continue to be weaker. Dinner menus have not changed from our last cruise. I do hope that Mr. Roux’s departure may allow for some additional variety as, IMO, fourteen nights of mostly Continental cuisine gets to be a bit much toward the end. Menu choices from Mexico, India, New Orleans, and the Middle East (among others) would be welcome for the variety. Some wine prices appear to have increased slightly, although others seem the same as they were last autumn.

 

Embarkation and disembarkation were as smooth as could be expected; we were off the ship within 15 minutes of the time X had targeted. I do have a couple of criticisms around these processes, though. First, getting a (ship’s) wheelchair on embarkation is an involved process, at least for those who arrive at the pier between 11 AM and noon. There should be a designated area in the terminal where those needing wheelchair assistance can sit and wait, even if X is not yet ready to provide the chairs or embark the new passengers. Marlee had to stand outside the terminal for about 15 minutes while I rounded up someone with a wheelchair. That’s not easy for her to do, nor should it be necessary.

 

Second, in October we used an “Express Disembarkation” option that allowed us to be among the first off the ship if we carried all our luggage ourselves and did not use Celebrity’s airport transportation. As the ship was two hours late to the pier back in October, we would have missed our flight had we not elected this option. On this cruise, the Express option was not publicized, although it was available by specific request only. When I asked about it at guest relations they also were very careful to inform me that, although it was available on Summit, different ships handle this in different ways. This is important because I would be tempted to make an earlier flight reservation if I could count on the Express option being available. If, however, availability varies by ship and circumstance then it cannot be counted upon and is therefore of little value unless the ship is late. It’s easier to use the normal disembarkation procedure, which is what we ended up doing.

 

Chair hogs were out in full force. I think X should install parking meters with 20 minute limits.:D If time expires and no one is in the chair, it’s fair game.:eek:

 

Now for the big change. The quality of the entertainment has significantly improved. We noticed some improvement between our March 2006 Mercury cruise and the October Summit cruise. However the improvement between October and now was even more striking. At one of the Captain’s Club events I asked the CD (Allan King) if Celebrity was actively trying to improve the quality of the onboard entertainment. His answer was emphatically “yes”, and he stated that X was paying noticeably more for entertainment that was the case in the past.

 

It shows. Nearly every facet of the entertainment was better. The string quarter (Prelude Strings) played with verve and emotion, not by rote. The guitarist (Jefferson Ang) is a talented young man who does terrific covers of Paul Simon, James Taylor, and Jim Croce, among others. Does a pretty good “American Pie” too. For a 14 night cruise (with 8 sea days) he does need to expand his repertoire a bit, but I’m sure that will come with time. An a cappella vocal group (the Dischords) performed wonderful sets mixing barbershop, doo-wop, and a bit of more modern material in the Cova (and as part of the main show on one night). Even the party band (Top Notch) was the best of its type on our five cruises thus far. The dance band in the Rendezvous Lounge was very good as a quartet, but one of the vocalists either left the ship in Hawaii or was ill for the second half of the cruise. Either way, the band was not nearly as good as a trio. The only disappointing performer was the pianist (Wayne Corelli). He was very competent as a pianist, playing mostly material from the 40’s and 50’s, but he did not interact much with his audience, i.e. did not encourage requests. We preferred Steve Heist, the pianist on our October cruise, who was much more interactive – an entertainer as well as a pianist.

 

The main shows were uniformly good. Comparing the Celebrity Singers and Dancers of this cruise to those on Mercury one year ago is like comparing night to day. The shows on this cruise would easily hold their own with land-based entertainment. A remarkable improvement. The single acts were consistently good as well. I unfortunately do not recall everyone’s name and so cannot give credit where it is due, but it was a far better line-up than we had last fall.

 

Here’s a name that I do remember: With Mercury now off of the Mexico run, Don Sherman is aboard Summit. Although much of his material is unchanged from last year, it is still wickedly funny and worth hearing again. Besides Mr. Sherman, there were two singers (one of each gender) on separate evenings who were both operatically trained but performed a in variety of styles. There was a vocalist/guitarist (Mario D’Andrea, I believe) who was just plain fun. And there was Pearl Kaufman, a pianist who has performed on cruise ships for many years and who, before that, played the piano portions on the soundtracks of many films.

 

For the enrichment lecturer, we were privileged (and I don’t use the word lightly) to have John Maxtone-Graham, noted maritime historian and author of The Only Way to Cross, among others. (For those of you who have sailed Summit before, Mr. Maxtone-Graham is the narrator of the promotional video that runs continuously outside the Normandie restaurant). He is an informative and entertaining speaker, by far the best enrichment lecturer we have encountered on our cruises thus far. Unfortunately, cruise lines usually do not publicize who the speaker on a given cruise will be. Too bad, because Mr. Maxtone-Graham would be well worth seeking out if you knew in advance on which itineraries he would be sailing.

 

The new policy for generic on-board bookings (which will replace “phantom” bookings) is scheduled to be announced this week. I don’t have any details, but those Cruise Critic posters who are on the water this week will no doubt report on this fully when they disembark. It’s also worth noting that the on-board credit for “real” new bookings is now based on the price of the future cruise, not the cruise’s duration. So someone in booking a Royal Suite for 4 nights receives a larger OBC than someone booking an inside for two weeks. That certainly makes sense from the cruise line’s point of view.

 

Summit will be cruising from San Juan this coming winter and will be on the European run in the summer of 2008. Presumably Millie (which will not be in Europe in 2008) will take her place in Alaska and on other west coast cruises, although this has not yet been announced. Since we currently have no interest in cruising Europe, our upcoming September repositioning cruise may be our last on Summit for a while. Too bad. Although the other three M-class ships are virtually identical, Summit is almost sure to be our sentimental favorite given the great experiences we’ve had aboard.

 

This was another great Celebrity cruise experience; we’ll definitely be back for more.

 

Rich

[toban]

We've been on board the Summit 3 times, most recently last month and agree the ship, service and food were excellent. We are considering a cruise to Hawaii. We would like to know about Hawaii. How were the seas on the way there and back, how was the weather, how were the ports? Where did you depart from? Thanks for your info.

[Cathy Maneri]

Rich thanks for your wonderful synopsis of the Summit.

 

I was first on her a few years ago on a 10-night Southern Ultimate Caribbean and that's when I fell in love with the Millenium class. Since then I have been on all four of them. I have been on the Summit twice and this May I will be on her again on the 13-night West Coast/Alaska cruise.

 

I'm glad that she is being spiffed up a bit in the dining room. I also noticed that the chairs needed a bit of a touch up. It's funny how you don't see it in the evenings with the lights low, but at breakfast and lunch you see the wear on the dining room.

 

I also have to agree that the solo entertainment was always very good, but has gotten better. I have seen Pearl Kaufman on the Connie and hope to see her again. Luckily I was able to see the last of the Cirque de Sole shows that was on the Summit.

 

I am an avid Celebrity cruiser. I like the fact that they are consistent in the their food and service and I have never had a bad cruise experience with them.

 

I'm glad to see they are revamping the OBC. I book many cruises onboard.

 

As far as the 14-night RT to Hawaii, I went in December and had wonderful weather. The ship is a bit rocky the first two days out and back but once you get closer to Hawaii it calms down a bit. I had a CC balcony on deck 9 and if the rolling gets to you, then get a cabin down on deck 3 where you won't feel it as much.

 

I have to be honest there are two cruises I probably would not repeat. One is the Panama Canal and the other is the RT to Hawaii. I love sea days, but found it a bit long. My favorite cruise so far has been the Canada/New England on Celebrity.

 

But I'm sailing to Alaska for the first time in a Celebrity Suite on the Summit in May and I have a feeling this one is going to top it all.

 

Happy cruising.

[The Mommy]

What an excellent review - beautifully balanced and well delivered - thank you. We are due to sail on Summit for the first time at the end of April and your comments are very encouraging. This will also be our first trip to Hawaii and we are a little concerned about the weather and the crossing. What were your experiences in this area please.

Kind Regards

Gail

[RLM77]

We've been on board the Summit 3 times, most recently last month and agree the ship, service and food were excellent. We are considering a cruise to Hawaii. We would like to know about Hawaii. How were the seas on the way there and back, how was the weather, how were the ports? Where did you depart from? Thanks for your info.

 

This was our second mainland-Hawaii round trip. Both cruises departed from LA. On three of the four crossings the weather was fine (though somewhat cool within 36 hours of LA) and the seas smooth. On the trip back to LA in October we ran into some rough weather, which is why we were two hours late. By "rough" I mean sustained winds of 35-50 knots and seas in the 8-10 foot range. Not a hurricane by any stretch, but enough. Summit handles higher seas quite well, but the pitching and rolling was still noticeable.

 

The ports on Celebrity's version of the cruise are Honolulu, Hilo, Lahaina, and Kailua-Kona. The duration in each port varies depending on the sailing; in October we overnighted at Lahaina (Maui) and this past cruise in Honolulu.

 

Hawaii's weather largely depends on whether you are on the windward or leeward side of any given island. The windward sides are more pleasant in terms of temperature and cooling breezes but are also wetter. Leeward sides get less rain but can be hot and humid from mid-April through most of November.

 

Hilo is the port from which one departs to see the volcanoes. It's on the windward side of the Big Island and is very pleasant but is also one of the rainiest places on earth. Lahaina is on the lee side of Maui; it can be hot if you visit between May and October. Kona is similar. Honolulu is also on the lee side, but the weather seems less oppressive than Lahaina's or Kona's.

 

We were fortunate this last cruise in that there was no rain in any of the ports. As December through mid-April is a slightly "cooler" time of year; we found the weather ideal everywhere.

 

Be aware that Celebrity is (at least temporarily) discontinuing this itinerary after 2007. I know that there are a few cruises in October and November this year, but if you're interested in traveling in early 2008 you may need to go with HAL or Princess. NCL America has three ships cruising Hawaii full time on one-week itineraries that include another island -- Kauai. Be aware, though, that the NCL cruise experience is said to be very different than Celebrity's. Also be aware that all the NCL cruises start and end in Hawaii, so you'll need to fly from the mainland to the islands. X's fall 2008 and winter 2008-2009 itineraries are due out in April or early May (except for Solstice), so we'll soon know whether or not there are any Celebrity Hawaii cruises planned in the future.

[Rev22:17]

RLM77,

 

Be aware that Celebrity is (at least temporarily) discontinuing this itinerary after 2007. I know that there are a few cruises in October and November this year, but if you're interested in traveling in early 2008 you may need to go with HAL or Princess.

 

"Discontinuing" really is not a fair word in this context. The sailings for the 2007-2008 winter season are early (the dates are 28 September, 12 October, 27 October, and 09 November aboard GTS Summit and a holiday sailing on 21 December aboard GTS Infinity) but that's still a pretty good number of sailings for a fleet that is spread thin. The "Celebrity Cruises" fleet will be down to seven ships from the departure of MV Zenith next month until the arrival of the first vessel of the Solstice class in the fall of 2008. The line simply cannot run all of the itineraries that it would like to run right now, but it's doing a remarkable job of offering a good diversity over the course of each year.

 

I fully expect that there will be more "Hawai'i" itineraries in the 2008-2009 winter season. The early part of the season is the logical time for these itineraries, as the line needs the ships running seven night cruises duting the holiday and spring break periods. Indeed, I'm surprised to see the holiday sailing to Hawai'i this year!

 

Norm.

[sexyaznboy]

Thanks so much Rich for that wonderful review. Off to Panama March 31 on Summit, I'm incredibly nervous (I always am on trips) but I'm glad to see you had a good time. My only comparison has been my first trip on Carnival three years ago to the eastern Caribbean, and we enjoyed that trip immensely. From what I hear the cruiselines are like night and day so it should be interesting!

 

My disembarkation is at 7am (in the itinerary), I am worried if we get into port late, my international flight to Toronto is at 11:55pm. And on the other side my flight gets into LAX at 11:15am, I'm actually worried about being late on both sides. Although I would think that if the ship leaves at 5pm we should be ok. We may end up doing the Express disembarkation if we realize we will be late.

 

Glad about the food as well, I've heard various things about the so called decline in quality. God knows I love to eat! But I'll be going to the gym a lot as well to work off the calories and justify my binging for 2 weeks!

 

I'll be definitely giving my reviews when I return...

 

Happy cruising!

[bestbuytvguy]

Reading your report was like a replay of the cruise appearing before my eyes.

I agree wholeheartedly that Summit entertainment has improved while all the other good things have remained top quality. I would do the Hawaii cruise again hopefully within the next 2 years. I enjoyed meeting both of you on our heli excursion in hilo Yours truly bestbuytvguy. Stay well keep your spirits up and keep on cruising.

[Andy]

X's fall 2008 and winter 2008-2009 itineraries are due out in April or early May (except for Solstice), so we'll soon know whether or not there are any Celebrity Hawaii cruises planned in the future.

 

Hi RLM !

 

Thanks for the excellent review ! Summit is one of our favorite Celebrity ships as well.

 

FYI, Celebrity mentioned that Hawaii itineraries for 2008/2009 are due to be released on April 11th, and Caribbean itineraries should be released around April 15th. While I do not know if Celebrity will have a big presence in Hawaii, I believe there will be at least some Hawaii sailings. I was also told that Solstice itineraries will not be released yet. At any rate, I hope they are released in the near future !

 

We should know more about Celebrity's plans for 2008/2009 over the next 3-4 weeks.

[Gateway Cruiser]

Rich,

Thanks for providing such a detailed and thorough review. Such posts are what makes surfing these boards worthwhile. I was also happy that your review was so positive since we will be taking our first cruise this fall and it happens to be to Hawaii on the Summit.

 

Ron & Brenda

[RLM77]

RLM77,

"Discontinuing" really is not a fair word in this context.

 

I fully expect that there will be more "Hawai'i" itineraries in the 2008-2009 winter season. The early part of the season is the logical time for these itineraries, as the line needs the ships running seven night cruises duting the holiday and spring break periods. Indeed, I'm surprised to see the holiday sailing to Hawai'i this year!

 

Norm.

 

To paraphrase a line from "Fiddler On the Roof", May God bless and keep students on spring break -- far away from Celebrity!;)

Although I agree that 7 night cruises are the most popular, there is also significant interest in longer (and shorter) cruises. In fact, if you scan the Holiday offerings available from all the major cruise lines, you'll note a decent number that are longer than one week. Certainly nowhere near a majority, but enough to provide a reasonable selection. The luxury lines, Oceania, smaller HAL and Princess ships, and now Journey and Quest all devote most of their schedules to longer itineraries. Among Celebrity's larger ships, most of the European itineraries are longer than one week, as are all the Southern Hemisphere cruises, the Hawaii and Panama Canal itineraries, and the repo cruises.

As the North American population continues to age and more folks achieve retirement my guess is that there will be yet more demand for longer cruises. IMO, one week just isn't long enough for those who have the flexibility to take longer vacations.

[usha]

RLM77, thanks for your Summit review! We've got quite a wait until our b/2/b on Summit next Feb in the Caribbean, but it's so exciting to read great stuff about the ship we'll be on! Thanks again.:D

[DJHere]

What are the Activities on The Summit after dinner & the Show???

 

I've cruised RCL, Princess & Carnival and many of the Evening Activities are the same.

Does Celebrity have a Sail-A-Way Party on Deck with Music & Dancing?

Theme Nights for Dancing such as 70's, Country, 50 & 60's, Island Party?

Love & Marriage Game Show?

Royal Caribbean is Famous for Quest?

I think I might of read of Dance Lessons???

 

What Activities during the Day on Sea Days???????

 

We're sailing on October 26, 07.

 

Thanks for Info on The Summit....

 

Donna

[amarillocruisecat]

Rich,

 

Glad to have you and Marlee back. Sounds like you had a great cruise. Did Marlee take lots of photos? Would sure like to see them if she did.

 

Thanks for all the info on the entertainment. Were there opportunities for ballroom dancers on the cruise?

 

Did you book another cruise while on board?