SUMMIT - General Discussion

[CPADWJ]

We will be taking a cruise on the Summit soon. Having never before been on the Summit, I thought it might be interesting to start a general discussion of some of its highlights, cabins, the crew, food, specialty restaurants and anything else anyone wants to talk about. I would like to hear about your experiences on this particular ship.

[kitty9]

Rikki is the best butler in the business. He takes care of the Starboard side suites on deck 6. We love the alternate restaurant. On longer cruises, it's not unusual to see us in there at least 4 evenings. Love their pasta bar, sandwich bar and the pizza is very good. Don't like the Bar at the Edge--prefer the old Revelations Lounge.

[spalady]

Hi Kitty

Do you remember the price of the Normandie Restaurant?

[CatServants]

I hope you'll enjoy the Summit as much as we did. It's a beautiful ship - it's not a brand new ship so don't expect a complete lack of wear and tear - but the Summit is elegant and refined with well thought out public spaces with a sense of calm intimacy. Surprising on such a large ship. Our cabin was a CS (Alaska) and we LOVED it. It provided a unique and beautiful perspective on the world. But again, there is some wear and tear. Only you know how important that aspect may be to you.:o

 

The service on board is beyond exceptional and always performed with a smile.:)

 

The food is quite good. The Spec Rest is a must with FANTASTIC food/service. We LOVED the AquaSpa Cafe for lunch. I would go to the grill for lettuce/tomato/etc., then go back to the AquaSpa Cafe for fresh salmon to put on top - YUMMY! It only took two or three lunches for the servers to figure out my routine - and then I was REALLY SPOILED.:p As I said before, GREAT SERVICE! We're Cabin Rats and ALWAYS breakfast in our cabin - wonderful and lazy!:) I DON'T recommend the lobster on lobster nite - rubbery. I DO RECOMMEND Summit's ice creams/sherberts - yummy!

 

Please remember, these are just my opinions. It's possible that a year out from my Summit cruise, I simply don't remember things I didn't like. I know nothing is perfect so there MUST be things that didn't please me - so take this with a grain of salt just to be safe.;) Other cruisers may have different opinions about the Summit, even about the same cruise!

 

If you have any particular questions, I'll help all I can.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!:)

 

Denise

[OceanLiner]

Is the Summit propelled by Aziopods (sp?) or standard propellers?

[CatServants]

Is the Summit propelled by Aziopods (sp?) or standard propellers?

 

 

 

Pods.

 

Denise

[Alaskan Traveler]

Is the Summit propelled by Aziopods (sp?) or standard propellers?

 

Hi OceanLiner,

 

Actually the Summit and all m-class ships are propelled by Mermaid pods. These have been a source of problems in the past and have not been permanently fixed. The Aziopod system, that you mentioned, are used by other cruise lines do not have any on-going problems. For more information please see the sticky near the top of this board.

 

As one poster mentioned the Summit is not a new and pristine ship. The sandwich bar was one of the highlights for me.

[Susan-M]

The sandwich bar was one of the highlights for me.

 

That sounds really nice - which itinerary did you do?

[Alaskan Traveler]

Hi Susan,

 

Thanks for asking; the sandwich bar was outstanding with all of the choices of fresh bread for sandwiches and then you could pick exactly what you wanted on it. Yum - Yum! Also every day they had a different special as another choice, like I needed more choices! As for your interest in have I sailed Celebrity, I have been on more than five cruises with Celebrity and also enjoy other cruise lines. Since I don't take advantage of the stock programs for any cruise line, I don't feel tied to one particular line I get to pick and choose which cruise line appeals to me for a particular cruise.

[fti]

I enjoyed the Summit last month in AK. Great food, good entertainment (though I only enjoyed the entertainment in the smaller venues, not the theater), room steward was very good but I hardly ever saw him (not a bad thing - he did his job, I was not in the room much). My main negatives on the Summit were no outside unobstructed viewing area on the bow (always glass in front of you) and the degradation that Celebrity seems to give the naturalist - not giving him a chance to inform the vast majority of the guests (never knowing where he was, not being able to announce whale spottings, etc).

 

John

[Lois R]

Hi:) I sailed SUMMIT in Oct 2005 out of LongBeach to the Mexican

Riveria. I had a fabulous time:D

We had an 8 top for dinner downstairs portside in the back.

It was wonderful:) We had met on our Roll Call and linked our bookings

together.

Our waiter was Jackvistion, from Goa, India. He was great!

6 of us made a reservation together for the specialty restaurant too

and it was outstanding. We were able to reserve the Wine Cellar and it is

really wonderful in there. It is your own private room!

 

One of my favorite spots is upstairs AFT of the buffet outside.

There is a bar with tables, chairs and umbrellas. During the early

evening there was a guitarist and it was really nice..having drinks,

listening to the music.

 

Hope you have a wonderful cruise.:)

[kitty9]

Normandie is $30 pp for the regular menu, amd $47 for the wine pairing menu. Well worth the price.

[Linda0896]

We will be taking a cruise on the Summit soon. Having never before been on the Summit, I thought it might be interesting to start a general discussion of some of its highlights, cabins, the crew, food, specialty restaurants and anything else anyone wants to talk about. I would like to hear about your experiences on this particular ship.

We just returned on 9/14 from Summit's southbound Inside Passage cruise in Alaska. It was our first cruise - and we loved it! I really liked most everything about the Summit - granted, she show's a bit of wear and tear, but you really have to look for it. We had a concierge class cabin on deck 8 and really enjoyed the little perks - especially the better bedding and towels, robes, and fresh flowers. A real bonus was preferrential tendering and disembarking. The Cosmopolitan was outstanding - food and service just great. We also enjoyed the Normandy one night - very elegant. Also liked the Waterfall Cafe and the Aqua Spa Cafe - both had good food. And, as many other posters have said, the service was outstanding. All service people seem happy to be there and want to make your experience a good one. The showroom had a new group of entertainers that had just come on board for this cruise. They were outstanding. The ventriloquist was also quite good. Didn't like the solo female entertainer, and thought the group in the Rendezvous lounge was just so so, but I would definitely sail Summit and Celebrity again!

[ltdedorc]

Yes, we also found the Aquaspa to be great for breakfast & lunch, especially on sea days when a late breakfast was in order. First, tho, pick up some complimentary almond & chocolate croissants from the Cova Cafe fresh from the oven when they open in the morning before heading off to the Aquaspa for breakfast. Say hello to Guadalupe, the pastry chef, and she'll take care of you during your cruise.

 

The small made-to-order pizza had too thick & doughy a crust for our taste. We just got a slice of ready made out-of-the-oven vegetarian and loaded it up with the toppings we wanted...then it was excellent!:)

 

Make sure the waffles are made to order and not pre-prepared / sitting there in a serving tray, and the sushi is ok but nice for a change of pace.

 

That's about it...have a great cruise...Harvey;)

[Lois R]

The WAFFLES!!! How could I forget the waffles:D :) :D

[Germancruiser]

Hi

I love M- Class ships. Was on Summit twice, both times were just great. Don´t miss the Normandie Restaurant- worth going twice a cruise... LOL. Service is hard to beat. You ´ll love it!

Solstice Class has a lot to go for, if they will accive the sucess of the M- Class ships.

Greetings

Michael

[psychboss]

:D :D :D :D

We will be taking a cruise on the Summit soon. Having never before been on the Summit, I thought it might be interesting to start a general discussion of some of its highlights, cabins, the crew, food, specialty restaurants and anything else anyone wants to talk about. I would like to hear about your experiences on this particular ship.

 

I have to say without a doubt my husband and I still say the Summit is still the best ship we have ever been on. It was the first ship we ever sailed on, we have sailed on her twice since, and hope to sail on her again.

 

On our first cruise we had a CC stateroom, deck 8, I believe, the service was superb, the specialty restaurant fabulous. The layout of the entire ship was great. I suppose I just cannot find enough good things to say about it. As the other posters have said she is showing her age some and showing some wear and tear. I look forward to Celebrity re-doing the ship, but I hope they do not make any major changes because she is perfect.

[CPADWJ]

This discussion is very helpful and interesting. Thanks to everyone for their comments.

Who is the current captain, social director etc?

Regarding the entertainment, does anyone stand out recently on the Summit? :cool:

[Texed]

The WAFFLES!!! How could I forget the waffles:D :) :D

 

Ditto! :)

[hugsthecat]

My wife and I are going on the Summit..this coming January..through the Panama Canal.We are both looking forward to it.

 

Michael

[BobN]

The best thing I can say about the Summit is that we were on the maiden voyage and have sailed her 4 times since and will be aboard her for the 6th time October 26 for the second time to Hawaii. The service is excellent and food very good. All the M class ships are very good but Summit is our favorite.

 

Fran & BobN

[fti]

This discussion is very helpful and interesting. Thanks to everyone for their comments.

Who is the current captain, social director etc?

Regarding the entertainment, does anyone stand out recently on the Summit? :cool:

 

I enjoyed the Voice Males a capella. They were really good. Not sure how long they will stay on the Summit - I think one of them said their contract was through late this year or early next year.

[turnandburn]

I enjoyed the Summit last month in AK. Great food, good entertainment (though I only enjoyed the entertainment in the smaller venues, not the theater), room steward was very good but I hardly ever saw him (not a bad thing - he did his job, I was not in the room much). My main negatives on the Summit were no outside unobstructed viewing area on the bow (always glass in front of you) and the degradation that Celebrity seems to give the naturalist - not giving him a chance to inform the vast majority of the guests (never knowing where he was, not being able to announce whale spottings, etc).

 

John

 

 

I have heard that the food in the main dining room is not as good since

Chef Roux departed Celebrity. Since you have been on the Summit before and also recently, did you notice any change? Thanks

[anon60]

I found the food very very good, and so did DH. DS was very happy with his daily helping of ice cream and pizza, thank you very much. The ship, as already noted, is very elegant and well kept for its age. You will always find a quiet and beautiful corner. Plenty of blankets and towels where needed. A small but well stocked library. I was particularly intrigued by the artworks in the stairways. I will refrain from commenting about the company itself, having today received compensation certificates which are a year shorter than agreed - something which has already happened to other posters to this wondrously useful board....

[spalady]

Thank you, everyone - what a wealth of info....

 

Does anyone take a limo from LAX to Long Beach? Can you recommend a limo company? I have looked at a couple but would like to hear from someone with experience.

 

We are arriving a few days early and want to go to Rodeo Drive too. I want to use a limo for that.

 

Any recommendtions?