Just Returned From Summit Yesterday 12/6/04

[rjack22]

Yes, the 10 day Ulitmate on Summit that visits St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Kitts, and St. Thomas. After April the Summit will no longer be doing this itinerary. So if you like this ship and this itinerary you had been book now and cruise before the end of April.

[Andy]

What itinerary are you talking about? The 10-Day that visits St.Kitts, St.Thomas, St. Martin, etc?

 

Hi DeRon !

 

Yes.. thats the One. Summit will be spending most of her time on the West Coast after April of 2005. Century will be doing an itinerary "similar" to Summit's current itinerary, but its not as good, and Century is not an M-Class ship. I really wish I knew what Celebrity was thinking in making this decision.

 

I was on Summit last week, and all the passengers were screaming like crazy about it. I thought I would be the only one, and I was shocked to see how many people were upset about it.

 

While I am sure Summit will be successful wherever she goes, I feel that Celebrity has made a very poor decision. I was told by staffers on the ship, that Celebrity has been taking alot of heat on this. While I dont expect anything to change, perhaps they will do something about it in late 2006/2007.

 

Regards,

Andy

[Andy]

Say it isn't so!!!!!! :eek: Summit is our favorite ship and we were just taking a break next year going on RCL and Princess. Now I'll have to fly to the west coast to get my Summit Fix!!! This is so cruel to find out just before Christmas! :( Scrooge couldn't have made me feel any worse. sniff...snifff.....

 

Hi Fllady !

 

I feel the same way too. Especially as I was on Summit last week, I have been on Summit several times before, and all of our sailings on her have been Outstanding.

 

She will be greatly missed by those of us who live on the East Coast.

 

Perhaps Celebrity will come to their senses, and do something about this, but I really dont think that will be likely. We can hope though !

 

Regards,

Andy

[Andy]

To sdcruiser

 

I know we are whining but with the loss of the Summit we lose 10 and 11 day cruises on an m-class ship.After your cruise you'll understand.

Whats the itinery for your cruise?We are booked on the Infinity in April 2006 to sail the Mexican Riviera.

 

Andy

Met you at the cc party but didn't get a chance to talk to you.It was a great trip wasn't it.

Tom

 

Hi Tom !

 

I am Sorry we did not spend any time together. But it sure was a GREAT Cruise. Summit is a very special Ship.

 

And yes, the East Coast folks (myself surely included) are whining about the loss of Summit in Florida next Season. For those of you who are on the West Coast, you will have the opportunity to sail on a great ship.

 

In all Honesty, I could deal with Summit going to the West Coast next year.... IF Celebrity put another M-Class Ship in its place, here in South Florida.

 

To let Summit leave South Florida, and not replace it with another M-Class Ship is (IMHO) a very poor decision. Celebrity asked us for our loyalty over the years, and we gave it to them. Now, they will have much less to offer us next season out of South Florida. It is also poor timing if you ask me.

 

Why do I feel it is poor timing ? I especially think their timing is poor, as MSC is about to make a big splash in South Florida. For those of you who dont know about MSC.... MSC's Cruise Division, is run by Rick Sasso, who had a great deal to do with making Celebrity what it is today. I have to wonder why Celebrity would want to do anything that MIGHT potentially open the door for them ? It just makes no business sense to me.

 

If I were running the Company, I would have put MORE ships in Florida for next season, just to make sure that MSC, (or any other Cruise Line) doesn't do any damage to their East Coast customer base. They are leaving a nice hole out there for other Cruise Lines to capitalize on.... especially by not having an M-Class ship doing an extended Caribbean, and not having ANY Ship doing a 7 night sailing out of South Florida this coming Summer.

 

I think these changes would have been a MUCH better idea, at a later date, when Celebrity has a few more ships in their fleet. Not now.

 

So, to the West Coast Folks.... please excuse all of us East Coasters for whining, but Celebrity should have put alot more thought into this. They are alienating MANY of their loyal East Coast customers, and any way you slice it, that is not a great idea.

 

While I hope Celebrity will do something about it, all we can do is hope they are listening. I am hopeful they can juggle their schedule in way that would make EVERYONE happy... both on the West & East Coasts. Let's keep our fingers crossed that something will change for the better.

 

Regards,

Andy

[trvlcarib]

Why is it so hard to get on a plane and fly to the west coast. I am thrilled to see Summit come out West. Plus it will draw an entire new customer base, let he New Yorkers stay east if they don't want to fly.

[sdcruiser]

I'm with Trvlcarib...For the east coast people, mainly Floridians, why not fly out west and see Hawaii or the Mexican Riveria, or Alaska next summer? There is plenty of opportunity to sail an M class ship in these areas.

 

Again, I don't agree with Host Andy that this is a bad move on Celebrity's part, nor that the timing is bad. There is never a good time to rearrange itineraires and destinations IMHO. You say you need more ships in Florida? Florida has more ships than any other coastal area in the entire US, year round. Why not try another line, Radiance class vessels on RCL? You still earn cruises that count toward your Captains Club membership status.

 

Celebrity is trying to GROW it's customer base by moving the M class ships to the west coast. This is a smart move, from a business perspective. Millions of people can travel by car to the west coast ports and we have been waiting patiently for Celebrity to move an M class ship or RCl to move a Radiance vessel out here for years. Why not join us in the success of the Celebrity line and product? After all, alot of us have supported Celebrity through the years no matter where her ships sail from.

 

SDCruiser

[Andy]

I'm with Trvlcarib...For the east coast people, mainly Floridians, why not fly out west and see Hawaii or the Mexican Riveria, or Alaska next summer? There is plenty of opportunity to sail an M class ship in these areas.

 

Again, I don't agree with Host Andy that this is a bad move on Celebrity's part, nor that the timing is bad. There is never a good time to rearrange itineraires and destinations IMHO. You say you need more ships in Florida? Florida has more ships than any other coastal area in the entire US, year round. Why not try another line, Radiance class vessels on RCL? You still earn cruises that count toward your Captains Club membership status.

 

Celebrity is trying to GROW it's customer base by moving the M class ships to the west coast. This is a smart move, from a business perspective. Millions of people can travel by car to the west coast ports and we have been waiting patiently for Celebrity to move an M class ship or RCl to move a Radiance vessel out here for years. Why not join us in the success of the Celebrity line and product? After all, alot of us have supported Celebrity through the years no matter where her ships sail from.

 

SDCruiser

 

 

Hi SDCruiser !

 

Sorry to say, but again, you missed my point. I already know you dont agree with me, as you have said it before.... and that's totally fine ! We will simply have to agree to disagree. I have always enjoyed reading your posts, and I will always continue to do so. I just hope we won't disagree much in the future <smile>.

 

If you were a passenger on Summit last week, you may be just a touch more sympathetic with my comments, if you had seen just how passengers truly felt about this....There were dozens of VERY unhappy passengers, who vowed not to sail with Celebrity any longer. I just found the situation to be very troubling, that's all. I stand by what I said, that this should have been done, when Celebrity had more ships to spread around, not now.

 

Personally, I can travel to the West Coast, and I may just do that.... I am still able to travel. However, there are many thousands of other loyal Celebrity East Coast customers who are Seniors..... who have been very loyal to Celebrity, who simply CANNOT just hop on a plane, and travel 3,000 miles to go on a Cruise. Those are the people I TRULY feel sorry for.

 

As for Me ? This was never about me. I will deal with this, in 1 of 2 ways.... I will either travel out to the West Coast next year, OR.... I will Cruise on another Cruise Line. Sadly, I do think that option 2, will be the more likely choice. I certainly do not like that idea, but as you said, there are indeed many other choices here in South Florida, and perhaps I should be more flexible in sailing on a line other than Celebrity. While I already know that it wont be as good as Celebrity, I will simply have to deal with the consequences. Life will go on, with or without Celebrity.

 

To an extent, most of us, are biased about this, as many are on the West Coast, and many of us are on the East Coast. If I were in your shoes, I would certainly be one of the happy campers. I cannot blame you for that. I have said all along that our friends who live on the West Coast will be happy about this. But, for all of those who are very happy, I am sure there are the many others, who are not happy about this, myself included of course.

 

At the end of the day, I just wish Celebrity would do something that would make ALL of us happy. I do feel that there has to be some remedies to this. I certainly hope so anyway.

 

That's the beauty of this forum. We can agree to disagree, and it is one of the many things that I truly enjoy here. Thanks for listening, and Happy Holidays to you !

 

Regards,

Andy

[RitaMaid]

Does anyone have any "must do" excursions for the Summit. We leave next week and want to know if there are any special snorkle spots., great shopping and perhaps a fab island tour......etc

We said the Infinity last year (Panama Canal) and it was wonderful. The food was excellent and we had no complaints.

[HeatherInFlorida]

They are doing what I think is a fantastic itinerary from LA to Ft. Lauderdale. We're booked on the Summit in Oct. 2005 for this 2 week Canal transit and I'm terribly excited.

 

When you fly Southwest, the internet fare is way under $200 per person one way so it's very doable and when we get off the ship, we're home!

 

I can't wait!:)

[sdcruiser]

Host Andy,

 

I do agree with your last post. The best thing about these posts is that we can agree to disagree. Please don't take my comments personally. I just never hear the whining on these boards from west coasters when cruise lines pick up and leave for other parts of the world. I realize that Florida is the capital state of cruisers, and always will be. I'm personally jealous of all the cruise options you have there. :(

 

There are so many of us out here that love cruising. And finally there are some nicer, newer ships coming our way. However, once they pick up and leave, of course there will be some angry people and sadness.

 

What we all have in common here is the love of cruising.

 

Happy Cruising to You and Happy Holidays!

SDCRuiser

[tomvk]

sdcruiser

 

As I said before we are sailing on the Infinity to the Mexican Riviera.We chose the cruise because of the ship ,the ports of call were secondary.It does give us an opertunity to see some places we would have never visited.

 

Tom

[DocJohnB]

Again, I don't agree with Host Andy that this is a bad move on Celebrity's part, nor that the timing is bad. There is never a good time to rearrange itineraires and destinations IMHO. You say you need more ships in Florida? Florida has more ships than any other coastal area in the entire US, year round. Why not try another line, Radiance class vessels on RCL? You still earn cruises that count toward your Captains Club membership status.

 

SDCruiser,

 

I would like to interject another thought here. You are absolutely correct when you say we have more ships than any other coastal area in the entire U.S. We do have many, many choices to make. However, there are those that don't want to make that change or choice. While I have never experienced the Radiance class vessels, I am sure they are not too far off the Voyager class experience. I have cruised on Mariner in the past and will on Explorer in 4 short weeks and I cannot make a comparison between the two (sort of like the apples/oranges argument). I just like the ambience we experience on Celebrity. RCI just doesn't make it there IMO.

[DeRon]

I know some are saying "what's wrong with the west coast?", and my answer is this: I like the caribbean a TON better than the Mexican Riveria. Bluer, warmer water, different motif, better beaches, etc.

 

I have cruised the Mex Riveria 2 times, and we had a fabulous time. But we would choose the caribbean waters and beaches over the Riveria any day.

 

And it isn't a flying thing to me. Same difference since I live in Texas.

 

All Andy is saying (I think) is that Celebrity should keep at least 1 Millennium calss ship out of Florida. And I agree.

[DeRon]

I was just wondering what line you would choose after experiencing the Summit? In other words, what line would be the closest to the Mill calss experience since they are pulling out of Florida (in your opinion)?

[tomvk]

They are keeping the Connie in the Caribean but only 7 day cruises.We just sailed the Summit for 10 days and would find it hard to go back to 7.It' easier for us to do 1 10day every 18 months than 2 7 day every year.

[blueboro]

We are booked on Summit for 10-day 12/17 Christmas cruise. I have read conflicting info concerning VCR's in cabins. We are in 1A Premium Verandah on Panaroma Deck. Any help would be greatly appreciated. By the way...how was the food? Any other tips?

 

Thanks

[Andy]

They are keeping the Connie in the Caribean but only 7 day cruises.We just sailed the Summit for 10 days and would find it hard to go back to 7.It' easier for us to do 1 10day every 18 months than 2 7 day every year.

 

Hi Tomvk !

 

Yes, Connie will be doing Caribbean, but out of San Juan. Still not much of an option for those in Florida who cannot travel. And, as you said, it is a 7 night and not a 10 night. I would much prefer doing the 10 night.

 

Regards,

Andy

[Andy]

I know some are saying "what's wrong with the west coast?", and my answer is this: I like the caribbean a TON better than the Mexican Riveria. Bluer, warmer water, different motif, better beaches, etc.

 

I have cruised the Mex Riveria 2 times, and we had a fabulous time. But we would choose the caribbean waters and beaches over the Riveria any day.

 

And it isn't a flying thing to me. Same difference since I live in Texas.

 

All Andy is saying (I think) is that Celebrity should keep at least 1 Millennium calss ship out of Florida. And I agree.

 

Hi DeRon !

 

Yes, that is pretty much what I am saying. I feel that 1 M-Class ship doing 10 night, should have remained in Florida. You hit the nail on the head. I just tend to write detailed thoughts !

 

Regards,

Andy

[65Cardinal]

We have done both. You can't miss with either one but if you held a gun to my head I would take the 10 day.

[scapel]

Hi Everyone !

 

I wanted to post a quick note to mention that we just got off of Summit yesterday (12/6), and we had an absolutely outstanding time. This was our 4th trip on Summit, and while they were all great, this sailing was probably the best of them all !

 

I will try my best to post a review in the next several days, once things slow down a bit at work.

 

If anyone wants to sail on a GREAT ship, with a GREAT Itinerary, book it quick.... as Summit will not be doing this Itinerary after April of 2005.

 

IMHO, I think this is a huge mistake by Celebrity. I was told by several Staffers and Officers on the ship, that the passengers are complaining about it like crazy. One Officer told me, that he expects Celebrity to do something about it very soon. While he did not elaborate further, I am hopeful he will prove to be right.

 

While that would be a great development, I dont see how it can happen until 2006. But, perhaps they will juggle the schedule a bit, and try to make everyone happy.... much sooner than 2006.

 

In the meantime, feel free to ask any questions about Summit, and I will be happy to answer them !

 

Regards,

Andy

What was the itinerary and where is your report.

Thanks.

[Andy]

I was just wondering what line you would choose after experiencing the Summit? In other words, what line would be the closest to the Mill calss experience since they are pulling out of Florida (in your opinion)?

 

Hi DeRon !

 

Very tough question. As far as similar ships... I would probably look towards RCI's Radiance Class. Jewel of the Seas, is doing a real nice 8 night sailing out of Ft Lauderdale, so that will possibly be my first look as a replacement for Summit.

 

With that said... I have to be well aware, that the service and food will simply not be as good on RCI, as what I have come to be thrilled with on Celebrity.

 

If I want a great Service/Food experience, I might look at something like Crystal or Radisson or maybe Oceania, but that is a great deal more $$$, and that is not very likely for me, unless they run some crazy deals.

 

Another Line I just may try in 2005 is MSC. While early reviews have been less than great..... Rick Sasso has been brought onboard to run the Line. Rick is a highly respected veteran in the industry, formerly from Celebrity. I feel very confident, that in time, he will make this line something special. I do want to see what MSC is all about, especially as she will be sailing quite a bit out of Ft Lauderdale.

 

MSC may turn out to be a great option for those of us who want to sail out of South Florida. By reducing their sailings out of South Florida quite a bit, I feel strongly that Celebrity has given MSC a great opportunity to succeed.

 

Only time will tell....stay tuned !

 

Regards,

Andy

[Andy]

We are booked on Summit for 10-day 12/17 Christmas cruise. I have read conflicting info concerning VCR's in cabins. We are in 1A Premium Verandah on Panaroma Deck. Any help would be greatly appreciated. By the way...how was the food? Any other tips?

 

Thanks

 

Hi Blueboro !

 

You know....funny you should ask about VCR's. In the past, I do recall VCR's being in the cabins, but on this sailing I do not recall seeing a VCR in the cabin. I could definately be wrong about this...... Perhaps it is on request now. What I do think, is that even if it is not in the cabin, I am pretty sure they will put one in for you. For me, it is not a big deal, as I do not wish to watch movies while on a Cruise. I am sorry I do not have better information for you. I would suggest calling Captains Club, and asking them, to be certain.

 

As for the food ? It was outstanding in all locations other than the buffet, which was disappointing (as usual). For some reason, Celebrity just cant (or doesnt want to) improve in this area. I feel it needs a great deal of improvement. Overall, I would give the food an 8, on a scale of 1-10, and the only reason the 2 points are deducted is due to the lunch menus.

 

Regards,

Andy

[Dluke]

Which nights were formal, casual, etc?

[DeRon]

Another Line I just may try in 2005 is MSC.

 

Regards,

Andy

 

 

I have never heard of this line. Where can I get info?

 

Thanks!

[DeRon]

I have some questions. We are seriously considering going on that 10 day Summit on April 1. Your thoughts on these would be very appreciated!

 

We haven't been to any of the ports except St. Thomas.

Are the ports "good ones"? In other words, do you feel safe? (We didn't in Jamaica.)

Do they solicit/bug you on the beaches?

Do they have pretty sand beaches?

Do you port or tender?

Lots to do?

What do they compare with?

 

It has been a while since we have been on Celebrity. We remember that we rarely got to eat in the lunch buffet, since they would not let us in with swimwear with proper cover wear (the days we were hanging around the pool) and it seemed it was only opened very limited hours.

 

Is Celebrity kind of rigid on these things (still) or are they now more like Princess (which is what we are now kind of use to)?

 

Also, we remember their breakfast and lunches were not very good (buffets) and the evening meal was out-of-this-world great! Is this still the case?

 

I have also read a lot about rudeness. I can't really tell if this is becuase of the crew or passengers. What is your thoughts on this?

 

Thank you for taking the time to answer these things. :)