artlovr

My wife and I took the Summit from NJ to Bermuda May 28th to June 4th to celebrate our 25th anniversary without our 16yo and 20yo. This was our fifth cruise to Bermuda and the fourth time on Celebrity. Our plan was to relax, relax and relax some more. I have to say this was the best experience we had compared to all other cruises we have done in the past.

 

Bermuda has been our go to place and this trip has just solidified that feeling. We did not do any excursions and just bought 2day passes. One day took the no 7 bus to Horseshoe Bay and then into Hamilton to do some shopping. The ferry ride back was fast. The second day we took the ferry from the dockyard to St. George and we did a 2 hr walking tour of St George visiting different sites throughout St George.

 

As for the cruise ship itself, for starters, the drive into Bayonne from Long Island on a Sunday morning was a pleasure and it took about 1 hour from our door to the parking garage. We parked our car on the top floor and walked 10 mins to the terminal. The parking was $20 per day or $140 for the week which we paid on way out. Seems expensive but hiring a service would have cost me double. After another 10 mins we were on board and headed to the Cosmopolitan restaurant for a concierge luncheon.

 

Our cabin was a concierge class, #8096, midship with a balcony on the starboard side. The cabin was clean and airy and the views were spectacular and unobstructed. The room was extremely quiet aside from the occasional person walking down the hallway. You could hear a pin drop during the night.

 

The main dining room was fairly busy, mainly on the formal nights at sea. We had the late seating so we were not rushed out for the next seating. The wait staff were always on their toes and we never had to wait more than a few minutes to get their full attention. When we could not decide on an appetizer, entree, or dessert, our waiter Jaime would bring both. I think the food was very good considering the fact that I gained 8lbs on this trip.

 

We had all the perks, $300 OBC, unlimited Wi-Fi, prepaid gratuities, premium drink package and prepaid specialty dining. The Tuscan Grill was amazing. The food was better than the main dining room. The pasta was all home made. The steaks were huge... and Oki our waiter was the best a diner can ask for. He was very attentive to our needs and requests. We ate at Tuscan 2 nights and 1 night at Qzine. Qzine was an interesting restaurant. The food presentation was great and it just kept coming until you raised a white flag. Reminded me almost like a Portuguese rodizio where they kept coming until you surrender.

 

The Oceanview cafe was often crowded and difficult to find seats but we managed to get our food and walk to our lounge chairs away from everything. The food was good. I think I ate a whole pig (bacon) and a chicken coop full of eggs on this trip. The assortment of food for lunch was acceptable.

 

We did not use the pool deck often and always found two lounge chairs usually on the 11th deck and aft of the ship away from the music and noise. We did enjoy the solarium during the day which was limited to adults 18yo and up. The saltwater aqua therapy pool was relaxing. However, you would need to get there early to find lounge chairs as they were taken up very quickly.

 

We went to all the shows and saw the comics. They were good. I've seen better. But if I wanted to see Broadway shows I would have stayed home and gone to Broadway. The two arialists were amazing doing their tricks on a moving ship. This takes great stamina not to mention trust.

 

The martini bar was really cool perhaps because of the ice layer on the bar itself. Speaking of drinks, we had the premium specialty package and it was worth the money. I grabbed a coke, a beer, a tropical drink or a single malt scotch whenever I wanted it and did not have to worry about a large bill at the end of the cruise.

 

Being part of the concierge class, we were invited to the bon voyage sail away on the helipad. The views of the Dockyard were great. The champagne and mimosas were flowing. But it got crowded pretty fast.

 

The last day at sea returning to NJ we found two lounge chairs in the aft of the ship on the 12th deck where they have a huge movie screen and we just hung out there from around 9am until dinner just reading, sleeping and relaxing. Did I say we wanted to relax on this cruise? Well we did just that.

 

Oh almost forgot, Captain Kate, the first female master of a cruise ship was funny, personable and was often seen throughout the ship. It made me wonder who was steering. Her photos on Instagram were also amazing. Her daily nautical tips and riddles were enjoyable.

 

Dembarkation was a breeze. We did the self dembarkation and after waiting maybe 45 minutes in the celebrity theater we were off the ship and through customs in 10 minutes and on the road home within 10 minutes more.

 

Overall I have to say that we relaxed a lot and de-stressed on this trip which was our goal. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

 

 

 

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Yes! Relaxation is the name of the game :) We often find ourselves escaping to a quiet place to eat. I wish the music around the pool and some of the other areas was toned down a bit. It's hard to find a quiet spot sometimes.

When we think of going to the beach over the summer, Bermuda is what we think of, this cruise is a great way to get there. The drive on a Sunday is amazingly easy so you can't beat it!

:D Great review thanks Artlovr . I've never cruised to Bermuda out of Jersey before and I'm sailing on September 3rd and going home via train out of NY . I had a noon train but they've cancelled it so my choices were 11 or 1 . I took the 11 thinking the 1 would leave me sitting around for hours but will I have have enough time to make the 11 train ? Thanks

We live in Virginia and considered the train as well because Amtrak basically stops at our front door. We chose to drive to cut out transfers. We self-disembarked (we travel comparatively light) so this got us out early. I'm a planner and always err on the side of caution so if it were me I would have picked the 1 o'clock train departure. But you are the expert on your situation and I think if you miss the 11 they would let you get on the 1 o'clock.

Have fun!

Thank you for your report!

You're welcome Janice!

Sounds like you enjoyed your cruise! Thanks for your informative review.

 

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You're welcome!

We always enjoy this cruise to Bermuda. It was great being there four days. Hopefully Celebrity will do more cruises with longer stays there.

Thank you for your review-we are taking this cruise next year. Did you do any activities in Maine you can share?

Hi,

Maine was on the next cruise; we heard from the captain's talk that they would be treated to fresh Maine lobster while there! We did Boston and then 4 days in Bermuda.

Sounds like you enjoyed your cruise! Thanks for your informative review.

 

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You're very welcome!

We cruise to relax and be together without the distractions of everyday life so a cruise to Bermuda is always a good choice, this was our 4th Bermuda cruise on the Summit.

We were in cabin 9075 and were not thrilled with the location. We're pretty laid back and pretty much take things as they come but, wow, this was a noisy cabin. We like to sleep-in and the combination of the pool deck above and the three crew doors located across the hall created a LOT of noise. There was some kind of maintenance (?) on the pool deck one night that started at 4 am and lasted for 30-45 minutes. Also, the doors for the linen closet across the hall were opened and closed numerous times from 7 am to about 9:30 am every morning: squeeeek-slam! squeeeeek-slam!, over and over. We would not choose this cabin in the future. We prefer aqua class cabins to take advantage of Blu. The main dining room is big and noisy and the food is not as good, in our opinion. Highlights in Blu for this cruise were the lamb shanks, lamb chops, filet Mignon, and lobster tail. We were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the filet and lobster, both were done perfectly to our order. They definitely got the meat right on this cruise. Some of the apps and second courses were really good and some were clearly heated up in a microwave. We ordered the Blue Cheese Souffle remembering the wonderful souffle from the Normandy; not even a vague similarity. Disappointing. We would enjoy more choices of cuisine in Blu that is more on the spicy side. If we had one complaint it would be that the food tends to be very rich (fatty, sweet, etc.) but a little bland; more choices with spice/herbs would be great. The service in Blu was outstanding and the staff there make dining very enjoyable. Wilmer and Andjela were wonderful. There did seem to be some logistical issues with getting everyone seated when they arrived. We waited 10-35 minutes to be seated, generally we showed up between 7:15 to 8:10 but it didn't seem to matter when we showed up there was always a wait. The beeper didn't have very good range so we just asked when would be a good time to come back so we could make a retreat to the Martini Lounge. We asked if they would take reservations, which may help planning staff, but they don't do that. We wouldn't mind making reservations. Just saying.

We don't dine in the buffet but do take pre-dinner snacks to our room because we usually eat on the later side. We noticed a reduction of choices in the buffet in the late afternoon so we were a little disappointed with that. Room service was a mixed bag. We were delivered the wrong order the first morning and when we called to have it corrected we received only part of our original order, cold. Note: the pancakes were pretty bad both in room service and in Blu - hard and cardboard-y.

We asked for a bucket of ice to chill the sparkling wine and after 45 minutes we left to do some things; when we got back about an hour later the ice was there. So it took quite a while! The lunch we ordered from room service later in the cruise was great but did take an hour to get there. So plan lots of time if you want room service. By the way, every time we called it sounded like the room service crew was completely overwhelmed; lots of noise and commotion in the background. Maybe they need more staff there.

Café al Bacio is always great for a good, strong cup of coffee or an after-dinner coffee drink! We did notice that the gelateria wasn't well staffed. You had to go to the coffee side to get someone to walk across the ship to dish out gelato. This caused some confusing situations regarding the line and also made for some very long waits.

The Martini Bar was fun and delivers great martinis. The space is light and bright and a favorite pre-dinner spot. The Sunset Bar is also a good time; great atmosphere.

One of our favorite eating venues is the Aqua Spa cafe. We were a little disappointed this time with the selection and creativity of dishes. It seems over the years, since our first cruise in 2008, that this really great option has been marginalized. We remember getting some lovely international choices there in the past but the food has been made very generic - I can make tuna salad at home. The food side has been cut in half to make room for a paid yogurt parfait deal. We're saddened to see that.

Another benefit of booking an aqua class cabin is the spa amenities and the Persian Gardens. We really enjoy the little extras (sparkling wine, tote bag, afternoon snacks, etc.) that this cabin class affords and we really love the Persian Gardens. We used the facilities several times during the cruise and it really contributes to our enjoyment of the cruise.

We went to a couple of shows. We saw a comic and left early to go to the Martini Bar. We also saw a female singer who was fine. The best entertainment in our opinion were the singers and duos we saw throughout the ship. A young lady with a guitar and two violinists were really good. We wished they were available longer and more frequently.

The live bands were truly awful and that's all I'll say about that. The DJ in the Sky Lounge would have been fine but the music really didn't fit the demographic. Later at night the cruisers that responded to the DJ were teens, who often were told to leave, leaving the rest of us to listen to hip hop and electronica. A little hip hop and electronica is fine but it might be good to mix up the genres a bit. We were surprised to see that there really wasn't a DJ, it was just prerecorded music. Staffing a real DJ might improve things a bit as their job is to read a crowd and change things up when needed.

The best time was the pride night. We did a silent disco which was really fun. It seemed that the dancing/partying in the smaller venues was more successful. Celebrity does need to learn to get out of its own way when it comes to having fun. Often when things were just starting to heat up they called it quits and, I guess, expected everyone to go to the Sky Lounge for electronica. Darn.

The service throughout the ship is outstanding. We really enjoy the staff and any issues with them seem to be related to inadequate staffing. More staff in room service and Café al Bacio and the Gelateria would probably improve the experience for staff and cruisers.

We did two shore excursions, the Old Town Trolley in Boston which we booked through Celebrity and the Hidden Gems Summer Excursion which we booked independently. The Old Town Trolley traveled through highlights of Boston and then dropped us off at Faneuil Hall. The driver was entertaining and the pick up and drop off were efficient and well organized. The Hidden Gems excursion was amazing! It was 7 hours long and took us through nature preserves, caves for viewing and swimming, jumping off a small cliff into a lagoon, and snorkeling. Lunch and ice cream were included and the tour guide was great.

We walked from Warwick Long Bay to Horseshoe Beach one day. The walk is supposed to be 1.5 miles but I really question that, it didn't seem that long at all. There's a part of the trail that's a little confusing where you have to pass through a small park with a basketball court and a parking lot. It was hot but I'd definitely do it again.

We disembarked ourselves. From hearing the disembarkation announcement to getting our car was literally 10 minutes. It was great!

It seems every time we take a Celebrity cruise things we enjoyed in the past are being cut or reduced. I hope they reconsider some of their staffing choices (get more staff) so we can continue enjoying this cruise line.

The taxi fare from Hamilton to the Dockyard for up to 4 passengers is about $50 plus tip, for 5 to 7 passengers, $63.75 plus tip. This fare applies to weekday and Saturday travel. If travel starts after mid-night, there is a 25% and 50% surcharge. respectively.

 

SBtS

Thanks! I appreciate the info,

Laura

Hi,

Has anyone grabbed a cab back to the dockyard after the last ferry has left?

How much did it cost?

Thanks!!

Love the pix and hope to view some of the street art next summer!

We're considering a Celebrity cruise and haven't sailed with them before. I'm a little concerned by the number 1 advantage of booking a shore excursion with them as listed on their website.

We've sailed on Celebrity, Costa, and Oceania and we've had family members who've sailed on Carnival and RC. I can say with full confidence that Celebrity has the best on and off boarding I've ever seen or heard of. It's quick and efficient. We were very disappointed with Oceania's process. It seemed more haphazard and did not extend the cruise experience and customer service to the onshore tender waiting areas. I wouldn't be concerned with booking a ship's tour just to get off the ship earlier. Barring weather complications you should have no issues.I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Also, private tour companies are well aware of tendering limitations and will adjust accordingly. Have fun!

The first time I was on a cruise ship was when I was VERY young. My parents sailed out of NY on the QE2 in 1969. Their room was very large and came with a bottle of champagne and an enormous fruit basket. The menus they brought home were hand painted and the pictures of the costume parties looked epic. The pictures of the islands showed completely empty, beautiful beaches with my mother holding a papaya she had picked off a tree.

BUT it was a once in a lifetime experience. I can cruise several times over for the amount they spent. We create our own islands of luxury and appreciate the experience as much as they did theirs. It's different, not worse.

Just so everyone knows, I don't care what someone feels they need to bring, but I do take a bit of offence when somebody finds out I like Travel on only and get told things like, (and it happens a lot), "you must look terrible", "Don't want to sit downwind from you", "hope you eat all you meals at the buffet", "Why do you go on cruises then"

I'm so sorry to hear that you have been subjected to such rude comments. I must be missing something here. Because you travel with only carryons why would someone make these assumptions? I generally change clothes 2X a day: casual in the day and we dress for dinner. Three times if we swim or work out. We pack cocktail dresses, formal shoes, dinner jacket, etc. Seriously, it's not that hard.

To each his own as far as how you measure a "good time". Apparently for some it's all about changing into incredible amounts of clothing, numerous times a day, and being burdened with the management of many large pieces of luggage.

Which is fine.

I'm glad the OP found a new, better way of traveling :) (for her of course)

Our ports: Cozumel, Costa Maya, George Town, Havana (we are on an English cruise), Playa del Carmen, Monetego Bay.

Hi,

We check out Tripadvisor or any other on-line travel site. They often have listings of fun things to do that are at no, or minimal, cost.

Was curious about your Havana stop. Are you an American or Canadian? We'd love to visit Cuba but, as Americans, weren't sure of passport restrictions.

Yes. Freedom is a good description!

I must say I find it both amusing and creepy that someone would check out whether I was wearing the same bathing suit from day to day. That's kind of weird and "get a life" comes to mind.

OK

Just back from two glorious weeks on the Eclipse.

 

Was sooo glad to do just carry on--as we flew from the US to LHR.

At port I sent my bags through baggage to our cabin so I didn't have them at lunch. Flying with just carry ons was so much easier AND so much easier to unpack/repack.

So glad you took the plunge and enjoyed the experience! Other than the ease of traveling when using carryons we haven't had to go to baggage claim in years! That alone makes it worth our while.

So glad you had a good trip!

Cool shore excursions at night sound like a lot of fun. We'd love to participate in sunset cruises, pub crawls, and dancing. There's a lot of potential.

I tend to agree with you. I have had more luck at Café al Bacio than the MDR, although I am sad that they have reduced the almond paste in the almond croissants to a sliver. The almond croissants used to be full-sized and awesome when I started cruising Celebrity, and now they are not worth ordering.

Completely agree about the almond croissants! When we first sailed in 2008 they were one of my favorite things about X. I was so disappointed when I ordered them again on a later cruise.

Still looking for something to replace them :D

This is very interesting - the fact that you were coached.

 

This is what made X a standout for me. I didn't experience this whatsoever.

 

On ANY other line I have sailed, the CD is constantly preaching the need for a perfect rating and that any other rating is unfair ... staff works so hard ... perfect rating is needed for them and that anything less than perfect counts against them. I see no point in having a survey at all, if guests are coerced into a perfect rating.

 

 

I did not know hear a single request with respect to the survey other than to complete it. There was no coercion from the CD or the wait staff.

 

 

 

 

As to your dilemma OP - I say be honest, and use the comments section to clarify . To be honest, I'm not sure anyone EVER reads the comments, I think the surveys are just tabulated and they look at high level results.

There is survey software that analyzes both quantitative and qualitative data. The survey data is most probably processed together with a random selection of individual surveys to view more closely. I would comment on what I thought was important.

Clearly Celebrity feels it's beneficial to appeal to an audience they may not be currently accessing. Seems like a creative way to reach new cruisers. Obviously the demographic for Project Runway is one Celebrity wants to reach.

I love Project Runway. I'm looking forward to seeing the episode on August 20th!

Thank you for posting the bus schedule!

Thanks for posting the ferry schedule!!!

Thanks for posting! Hope the list is consistent across all ships.

I understand the concerns about darkness in the cabin. It's a fair trade off for me. I'm fair, with red hair and green eyes. I have to be careful about sun exposure so the ability to go out on the balcony at any time of day and not worry about sun is a big plus! Especially since we'll be getting lots of sun at the beach :)