tonyd285

We were in 1134 on the Summit in April.  Absolutely quiet day and night.  Some noise if sitting on the balcony.  We love Aqua Class, especially dining in Blu.  You will absolutely enjoy the experience.

We always provide an extra tip in cash to our cabin attendant, wait staff, and the person who brings me my pre-dinner Manhattan every evening..  The prepaid gratuities are split among the entire staff, including those we don't come in personal contact with.  We book Aqua Class so don't see much of the MDR people, or those working behind the scene to provide service..

The water on modern cruise ships is sea water which is processed in a desalinization system (reverse osmosis).  It tends to be high in sodium and sometimes the process is imperfect.  We always use only bottled water when cruising, including at meals, and avoid things like iced tea, etc.  The classic drink package includes unlimited bottled water which is highly purified.

We were on this cruise as well.  I can't say enough positive things about the wonderful staff on the Summit.  Our cabin attendants, we had two, one experienced and one newby, LaLaine and Victor, both  were great.  The Maitre D" in Blu, Serkan, and his entire staff were fantastic.  The food was very good.  I was not as happy with the lunches in the MDR.  Maybe I should have ordered the hotdogs or burgers.  The servers in Cellar Master's were ready every day with my Manhattan and my wife's Kir Royale as soon as we sat down for our pre-dinner cocktail.  I thought they had the sound cranked up a little too loud for some of the shows and left early.  It was kind of a lazy voyage for us but just what we needed.  One thing that bothered us, the whirlpool hot tubs in the Solarium were not working properly.  Overall, the Summit is in great shape for an older ship and sailing aboard will be a treat for those looking ahead.

Yea.  We book Aqua Class mainly because of Blu.  Elegant, quiet and superior service.  Well with the price.

National Express is the way to go.  Cheap and efficient.  If you want you can reserve seats on a particular run.  A taxi from the coach station to the ship is less than $10.

We agree with other posters.  We have sailed AquaClass over the past several years.  It now appears that Celebrity has expanded the pricing between Concierge and Aqua by several hundred dollars.  I guess, until they come to their senses, we will go back to Concierge.  The only significant difference for us is Blu and the price differential simply is not worth it.

We did especially enjoy the UK immigration program.  Times were set by deck (ours was deck 6) and three days before arriving at Southampton we cleared immigration on the ship.  The only other instance of that, as i recall, was prior to arrival in Israel, with Israeli immigration preclearing passengers.  Strangely, when we were leaving London we were through check-in, bag drop, and security at Heathrow on Wednesday in less than one-half hour.  I had allotted three hours due to past painful experience.

Asked about losing an hour each day for five days, I can only tell you that for the most part we adapted.  Did miss one performance I was looking forward to because I forgot to turn my watch ahead.  Showed up just as the performance ended.  By the time we reached the UK we were pretty well okay for our stay there.  We have also done a couple of transatlantic from Europe to the US (not on Cunard) and found it much easier to adapt.

We showed up just prior to our designated check-in time.  We weren't on the ship until 3 hours later.  I estimate that the queue, which was endless, numbered perhaps 2,000 people.  There were passengers still leaving the ship well into mid-afternoon.  Whatever went wrong seriously needs to be fixed.  Maybe Cunard should send spies to Viking Ocean or Celebrity and learn how flawless embarkation is done.

We have just returned from the August 28th sailing from Brooklyn to Southampton, followed by a few days in London.  First off, the embarkation process was utter chaos.  Cunard blamed the fiasco on US Immigration but who knows?  The ship itself was a mixed bag for me, a once in lifetime trip to say I had done it.  The cabin, a sheltered balcony, was pretty much standard cruise ship, on the small side compared to Celebrity or Holland America, and not at all plush.  The food in Brittania Restaurant was sometimes quite good and others seemed to represent a chef trying too hard.  The salads were weird, especially the Waldorf - a few grapes some walnuts a smidgen of greens in some kind of sauce.  The casino used a system I have not seen anywhere else for slots and I never quite figured it out.  On the other hand, the public spaces were very nice, the music was the best I have heard on a ship.  Both the classical musicians and the ship's band were top-notch.  The entertainers were very good.  Better than most in the cruise industry.  The lectures were very interesting.  The Tea, served every afternoon at 3:30PM was a lovely touch.  Only, Viking Ocean seems to do it as well.  Most guests followed the rules for proper attire but there were some who ignored compliance, T shirts, jeans and baseball caps on this ship, especially during lunch, dinner and Tea seemed very inappropriate.  If you are going up to London after the cruise I do recommend National Express coaches, inexpensive, prompt, and good service.  Overall, we did have a pleasant sailing and for a bucket list vacation I would recommend it.

Question:  Is a dark gray suit acceptable for formal evenings?  I am in my eighties and not inclined to purchase another suit.  The last time I wore a tux was at my daughter's wedding 35 years ago.  We are looking forward to our QM2 cruise but I'm not sure how formal I need to be.

We will be sailing from NY to Southampton on the QM2.  Curious as to when we can disembark and how long it takes to get through immigration and customs.  We have reserved transportation via National Express at 9:50AM and want to be sure we will have ample time to get a taxi to the bus terminal for that departure.  Anyone with experience traveling this way?

it wasn't our first cruise but we were on the Horizon in the mid-80's.  Cruise to Bermuda.  Lovely time and great ship.  First cruise was on the Carla Costa, probably in the mid 70's.  The ship was ancient but well cared for.  Lovely Italian staff and great food.

We were also on this sailing.  Thoroughly enjoyed the trip although we did have one mishap.  My wife tripped and fell on a curb in St. Croix.  We had a police officer drive us back to the ship because she was pretty shaken up.  Doing fine now, thank goodness.  We booked in Aqua class as usual.  Prefer it mainly because of Blu.  The staff on the ship were terrific.  They went above and beyond to ensure we had a pleasant voyage.  A special shoutout to Dian, our waiter in the Tuscan Grill.  We had dinner there for my birthday and he was wonderful.  A lot of the staff were new to the ship, and I suspect, new to Celebrity.  Our server in Ensemble Lounge, we didn't get his name, was very sociable and made a great Manhattan.  Enjoyed very much speaking with him.  The only shore excursion we took was in the DR.  A great deal for $79 pp.  Over five hours.  This included lunch, a visit to a chocolate factory, a rum distillery, a cigar factory, and a lot of sightseeing.  The guide was excellent and very knowledgeable.  Overall, a great cruise experience.

We are on the 2/5 sailing and were notified that instead of San Juan we will be stopping at St. Croix.  Other than that, our cruise has the same schedule as yours.  Celebrity may make that change on your sailing as well.

We are sailing on the Reflection next week and have a couple of questions for those currently on board or just off the ship.  First, what is the current Covid situation on this ship, any issues?  Secondly, is the Reflection sailing at full capacity or is the passenger headcount limited?  We are really looking forward to escaping from the Northeast for a week, especially after the heavy snow and cold cold weather.  Thanks all.

Travel insurance isn't cheap but well worthwhile.  We use Allianz which has a superb reputation.  Years ago we got stuck in Puerto Rico because of a snowstorm in the Northeast where we live.  Promptly got a refund for our hotel, taxi and meals until we could get home.

We were on a Millennium sailing in October.  Deck 11 was closed off and we were assigned to an Aqua cabin on Deck 9  despite being Captains Club Elite+.  Even though the pool area was above us we never heard anything.  Of course in October only folks walking to and from the indoor pool, no one out doors.  Probably different in the Caribbean.

Responding to Dleahy4444, no one was using the outdoor pool.  October in Alaska, a little too cold.  The ship was only about one-third full so not a normal cruising experience.  The indoor pool and hot tubs were fine.  busy but not crowded.  I suspect that in warmer temperature with more passengers both pools will be used so loungers should still not be an issue.

We were on the Millennium in October.  On the plus side, the staff was terrific, cabin attendants, bar staff, waiters and assistants, all were friendly and helpful and went out of their way to ensure comfort and a good experience.  I thought the food (we ate mostly in Blu), was not quite up to the usual standards for Celebrity.  The entertainment was bleh.  The ship was clean and in good shape.  The slots were tight (as usual), the indoor pool area always had lounges available.  Overall we really enjoyed the cruise.

I understand that all travelers by air must have a Covid test one day prior to arrival in the US.  How does this affect cruisers?  Will we have to have a test?  I assume on the ship, the day before arrival?  We are booked on the Celebrity Reflection in February but have not yet received any guidance from the cruise line.  I suspect, if we must test they are scrambling to come up with a protocol.  Anyone with any insight into this testing requirement.

I agree.  The Blu breakfast was disappointing when we were on the Millennium in October.  We much prefer the dinner menu and service in Blu to the main dining room.

I'm very skeptical about "fresh squeezed" orange juice in Blu.  We were on the Millennium in early October and both the orange and grapefruit juice were undrinkable.  They tasted like a concoction from some mad scientist, but definitely not like either juice.  Both were dense with a chalky aftertaste.  I switched to other fruit juices which our waiter happily provided.  The waiter even showed one of the juice glasses to the manager who simply shrugged his shoulders.

The AI bundle is important to me because I much preferred bottled water to the ships desalinated drinking water.  The only specific benefits that we use from our Elite+ status is the laundry and the wine tasting and discount on specialty dining.  I do miss the temporary (I hope) loss of the cocktail hour with appetizers in the Observation Lounge.