hurwitz5

Leaned from another CC post that the pipes under the pool leaked and caused damage to cabins on decks 7, 8, and 9 on the Summit (August 16 sailing).  About 30 cabins were affected.  Sorry for anyone in those cabins.  Celebrity have passengers compensation.  However, we are sailing on the Summit - September 8 - and wonder if those cabins have been fixed.

1 hour ago, Langley Cruisers said:

I contributed earlier and have been reading along - it's interesting because I think some people may be confusing "creature comforts" (which OP mentioned) and "necessities for them" which they bring from home. For instance, I do bring Lysol wipes but I wouldn't call them a creature comfort. I bring my own Tylenol - same thing. The things I mentioned, and what I gleaned from OP, are comfort items from home that make the trip more enjoyable, I suppose.... items that make one feel more secure, snuggly, less anxious, restful, relaxed. 

 

Semantics? Maybe. 😉 But I do see a difference.

 I agree about some creature comforts — some are warm and snuggly, like pillows and blankets, etc.

 However, some items like Lysol

wipes, give me a sense of security and reduced anxiety.  I feel better with a sanitized germ free cabin 

What concerns me are the people using their own toilet paper - not approved for the ship’s plumbing system.  Celebrity should let people know which toilet paper is approved and which is not.  I would hope that no one wants to cause engineering  problems for themselves and others.

Thought I was the weird one for bringing a blanket- it’s the top sheet from a twin sheet set.  It’s cool and soft.  I have to make sure to fold it and put it away daily, or it could get thrown in with Celebrity’s bedding when the sheets get changed (and I would never see it again).  Also bring my own hair dryer as my hair is thick and Celebrity’s dryer isn’t powerful enough.  I also bring strong magnets for the walls, shampoo and conditioner, 

and Lysol wipes.

16 hours ago, Redtravel said:

Gty assignments can come at any time. I have had assignments in less than a week after booking. I have also waited until embarkation.  On one cruise I was assigned and reassigned 3 times.  My first assigned cabin was a sweet 16. I was thrilled. That was short lived when the next cabin was assigned.  Cruise line can move you many times into any cabin from the gty category you booked and up.  Best upgrade was 8 categories up on Zenith.  I never had a really bad gty cabin.  Usually get the same category that I book.  I never book gty unless I can save significant money.  

We did save significant money by booking the GTY cabin.  If you were advised of your cabin on embarkation day, assume it was on the morning of your cruise before boarding - need the cabin number for luggage.  Did the longshoremen who load the bags have blank luggage tags?

We booked a guarantee cabin on August 7 for the September 8 sailing of the Summit.  The cruise is 3 weeks away and we haven’t received our cabin assignment.  We have booked guarantees before and have been given a cabin within a week or so.  What’s the latest you have received a cabin assignment prior to a sailing?  It would be nice if Celebrity would email us when the cabin is assigned, instead of having to check on line for it (almost daily).

Keep on cruisin - we parked in the parking garage at Cape Liberty - right next to the cruise ship - a few months ago.  It was $22 per night.  Can you or anyone else recommend a convenient parking lot nearby that’s less expensive?

The sail away from Manhattan is beautiful, but I’ll take the convenience of sailing out of Bayonne, NJ anytime.  We live in New Jersey and it’s a pleasure to not have to deal with the trip into New York City.  We still see some parts of NYC from Bayonne.  The worst scenery was when we cruised out of Philadelphia about 10 years ago.  It was a slow ride down the Delaware River looking at oil refineries and ugly industrial properties.  It took 2 - 3 hours to get to the Atlantic Ocean.  I haven’t seen a cruise leave out of Philadelphia for a while.

Will be sailing on the September 8 Summit New England cruise.  Since there is no game room on the newly renovated Summit,  are there areas around the ship with tables where people can play bridge, canasta and Mah Jong?

I don’t have a comment for this topic, however, I cannot find the area on the cruise critic message boards for starting a new topic/thread.  How do you do this?

Have been on 40+ cruises, with 20 on Celebrity and 8 on Princess, the rest on other lines.  Celebrity is a more relaxing experience.  I liked Movies Under the Stars on Princess at night.  I did not enjoy all the noise from the screens by the pools during the day.  It’s also hard to find shade on the pool deck on Princess (not so on Celebrity).  You also had to get to the shows 30 minutes ahead of time on Princess (not so on Celebrity).  The food is also better on Celebrity.  For the past 7 years, we have sailed with only Celebrity (2 or 3 sailings per year) because we prefer the experience over Princess.

I always enjoyed going to Labadee.  It was an easy beach day - just a short walk over to get chairs, umbrellas and food - no charge.  Hope Celebrity stops there again. Does anyone know if a dock has been built on Coco Cay?  Don’t enjoy tendering there.

We sailed on the Reflection and Equinox this past January and on the refurbished Summit in June.  The positives for the Summit (vs. the S class) (1) the Rendezvous Lounge is much nicer venue, with better configuration, (2) inside stateroom had much better storage and drawers, (3) the Bakery in the buffet had better breads, cakes and cookies, (4) 3 banks of elevators and smaller ship made it easier to get around.  The negatives of the Summit: (1) no Celebrity Central - for movies and other activities (movies on the Summit were shown on top deck outdoors - weather permitting).  We enjoy seeing movies at 10:00 pm - inside Celebrity Central on S class ships.  (2) not as many specialty restaurants, and Tuscan Grill wasn’t as pretty as on S class ships.

We enjoyed our cruise on the Summit and wouldn’t hesitate to book her again- especially if she’s sailing out of Bayonne, NJ (we live in NJ, so it’s an easy trip).

We sailed on the Summit in June.  We found the desserts in the buffet and in the special Bakery area of the buffet to be mostly delicious.  So I would skip the dessert in the dining room and head to the buffet for dessert.  The breads at the Bakery were also much better than we have had on 20+ Celebrity cruises.  The croissants were flaky and delicious.  The jelly donuts that were made fresh for the afternoon tea (4:00 - 5:00 pm) were great (better than Dunkin Donuts).  I also like the moist coconut cake and the cookies at the Bakery.

We sailed on the Summit on June 5 - for 11 nights - New England and Bermuda.  We also had an inside cabin on deck 2 - cabin 2075.  My husband was a little concerned about being on deck 2, but he admitted that it was fine.  The carpeting was new and bright, and there was plenty of lighting in the hallway.  Our inside cabin was between the midship and forward elevators.  It was a quiet cabin and It was stable during the day or two when there were rough seas.

We sailed on the Summit on June 5 - inside cabin.  We were very happy with the newly refurbished cabin.  Plenty of storage and drawers.  The chair fit under the desk/makeup table.  The bed was very comfortable and the shower was strong.  I carried on a 6 pack of diet ginger ale plastic bottles, since Celebrity doesn’t carry diet ginger ale.  The ship had plastic bottles of water at any of the bars.  If you have a suite, I would imagine that you could get free water bottles from any bar, of your butler could get water for you. The filtered water at the buffet is also good.

Was just on the June 5 sailing.  We had one overnight in Bermuda.  The ship’s casino opened at 9:00 pm for the overnight.  Also, want to know the name of the resort that djkretired went to, and the price.  We are thinking of taking this cruise again.

We have done over 20 Celebrity cruises.  We just sailed on the refurbished Summit - in an inside cabin.  We loved the changes - better closet and storage space and nicer bathroom with strong shower.  We especially appreciated the functional night stands with a drawer and shelves and 2 wonderful lamps that each had 2 electric outlets.  We have sailed on many S class ships, but did not like the inconvenient closet and above bed storage (hard to reach) and non-functional “night stand.”  We were looking forward to the Edge, but are unhappy with reports of lack of shade by the pool, etc.  The idea of the Magic Carpet sounded alright, but my first thought was that it is something that could break (it is mechanical).  My second thought was that it is ugly - not pretty on the side of the ship.  One thing that we would like to see incorporated onto Celebrity ships is a piano bar.  It is a successful venue on other lines - and it is fun.  Hope Celebrity management listens to the feedback on these boards.

Really enjoyed the ship’s shore excursion of Portland and Kennebunkport (5-1/2 hours).  Great tour guide on the bus, Cliff, and Anthony, the driver.  Cliff was a very well informed local guide with a wealth of information.  Beautiful area.  Great lobster roll sandwich and fresh blueberry pie at Alisson’s Restaurant on the main street in Kennebunkport.

I joined the Celebrity roll call and attended the cruise connections party on board.  I circulated around the room and took down names and cabin numbers of interested players.  We played Mah Jong on sea days.  The day before the next sea day, I left a message on each person’s cabin phone.  I also advertised the game by having someone at Guest Relations post the day, time and location of the game. We had 8 players show up on the sea days.  Guest Relations (on the Summit) has 2 new sets, which had to be checked out.  Since we were driving to Bayonne from south Jersey, I brought my own set. 

Just got off the Summit on June 16 - inside cabin on deck 2.  The newly renovated cabins have lighting under the cabinet in the bathroom (a few inches above the floor), so there is no need for a nightlight.  We always sleep with the TV on, so we could see our way around the cabin during the night.  We take an inside cabin on 95% of the 20+ Celebrity cruises we have taken.  We don’t book with free perks because they actually aren’t free - the price is higher. We had a balcony once and didn’t spend much time on it.  Would rather spend money on other things: excursions, gifts, souvenirs for grandkids, etc. - and more cruises.

Just got off the Summit on June 16.  The food in the MDR was good to very good -for cruise food.  We have eaten in many 4 star restaurants in NJ and around the country.  We don’t expect the MDR to rival land restaurants.  In Summit’s MDR my DH enjoyed the escargot every night.  The prime rib was tasty and tender.  Lobster tails were plentiful and well prepared.  We especially liked the breaded pork cutlet.  I could always find something to eat.  The new configuration of the buffet was very appealing.  The food was nicely presented, with plenty of choices.  The bakery was the best we have experienced on our 20+ Celebrity Cruises.  The bakery area had flaky croissants and a wide variety of breads and rolls, cakes and cookies.  Every day at 4:00 pm, during afternoon tea at the buffet, besides scones, there were fresh jelly donuts (delicious).  The buffet area also had small tea sandwiches and cut up fresh fruit salad presented in short martini glasses.  If you can’t find decent food on the Summit, you aren’t looking very hard, or you have unrealistic expectations.

Anytime and Select dining are the same thing.  We used to request Late Seating when booking the cruise with our travel agent. We have taken 3 cruises this year and on the Reflection and Equinox, Late Seating was 8:30 pm.  On the Summit, Late Seating was 8:15 pm.  If we knew ahead of time that the Summit was 8:15, we would have chosen Late Seating.  We went to the 7:00 pm show every night and then went to Anytime/Select Dining, where we had a 8:00 pm reservation.  Many nights we had to wait until 8:15 pm to be seated - so Late Seating at 8:15 would have worked for us.  We would have just walked in, instead of waiting in line. In either case, it was not a big deal.  We don’t dwell on the small stuff - after all, we are on vacation and relaxed.

We just got off the Summit on Sunday, June 16.  We had Select Dining.  During the day you can call an extension number (check with the dining room manager on your ship) and make a reservation for that night’s dinner.  You can also make a dinner reservation for the next night’s dinner as you leave the dining room.  There is someone outside the dining room at a podium who will take down your name, cabin number, the requested time, and the server’s name (if you have a preference).  If you have a reservation and it’s for a popular time, you might still have to wait for 10 - 15 minutes. It wasn’t a problem for us.

Sorry to hear about the show Soundtrack.  My husband and I are big movie fans, so I was hoping this show would be good.   I know there is a cost for using certain songs - more popular songs usually cost more money.

Sailing on the refurbished Summit in June.  Hope the shows are new and improved.  Chandelier and Topper need to be retired.  Haven’t seen Soundtrack yet - although we have been on 20 Celebrity cruises.  Hope it’s good.  Comments please.