LOU

I will be sailing on the Edge in February. I was wondering if they offered karaoke .   

I am sailing on the Edge in February. I was wondering if there is karaoke on the Edge.

If yes, how often did they have it? How was the song selection? Thanks

Although this will be our first time aboard the Edge, it will not be our first time on a Celebrity ship. The food quality in the regular dining rooms is so much better than other cruise lines. So, with the exception of one or two nights, we will take advantage of the main dining room menu. I'm sure we will return to the Edge. At that time, we will try more of the specialty restaurants.

The cruise lines that have lower prices also have lowered the quality of the cruise experience. I will pay a little more for better food and service.

We just got back from aboard the Celbrity Summit to Bermuda. We hadn't cruised with Celebrity in a while so we were hoping that they didn't follow the trends of the other major cruise lines when it came to dining quality. My wife and I always enjoyed the traditional dining where you had the same waiter and staff every night. Although Celebrity offers flexible dining, the quality of the food has not suffered. They still offer the most creative and delicious menu out there. I WILL say this..."If you are the kind of person that orders spaghetti and meatballs or chicken parm at an Italian restaurant, you won't be happy". You have to be a little adventurous. Try things that sound strange or look different. You will be thrilled. If you are not? Just order something else. We had a table of six. We would each order our individual dinner and then we would ask for a few different selections to be put on the table for sharing. This made it possible to experience everything that sounded good. The waiters were very helpful and friendly .... Ask for Billy...He was the best.

A special mention to MARIJA, the dining room hostess. She has the job of making everyone happy with their seating times and arrangements. Not an easy task when you are dealing with 2,500 passengers. My vocal group sang her a special song on the last night of the cruise. Ask her about it !

Suggestion - Purchase the classic drink package. Well worth the money. Even if you are not a big drinker, it's nice knowing that you can try a drink whenever you feel like. You will only need the premium package if you will be drinking martini's or you require top shelf liquor.

Being a musician / vocalist, I am very fussy when it comes to entertainment. During this cruise, I was very impressed with the quality of the entertainment on the ship. The "Bandmates" were a great cover band and performed all over the ship. Even the singers and dancers in the theatre were better than on the other lines. The orchestra was also great. (Side note - I did noticed some pre-recorded harmonies during the shows but 99% of the passengers wouldn't realize it. )

I have addressed the food and entertainment because I feel that those two areas are the most important. If anyone has any specific questions, feel free to Email me at LORRICHIO@AOL.COM

We had a great cruise. Bermuda is always beautiful. Purchase the two day bus and ferry pass. Also a great deal.

GREAT REVIEW !! We are boarding on 8/21. The daily itineraries were really nice to see in advance.

Does the summit have a guest talent show at the end of the week ?

Never judge the food quality on a cruise ship by the opinions of passengers. Everyone's taste and expectations are different. Even my wife and I can't agree on what a good meal is. The best judge will be YOU. The quality of cruise ship food has suffered over the past 20 years but there is still enough variety to make everyone happy however, there will always be some people who will never be happy when it comes to dining.

I've been on more than 25 cruises and have heard positive and negative reviews regarding the food on every ship..... but I have never been disappointed.

Thanks for the review. We will be aboard the Summit on August 21st. I had two questions.

Did you go to any karaoke sessions? If yes, how were they?

Was there a guest talent show at the end of the week ?

Thanks again,

LOU

Regarding comments about "Chic" night. It used to called "Formal" night. That's when cruising was a bit classier. If you can't wear a formal outfit, at least wear dress pants instead of jeans.

Once jeans become the norm, shorts will follow. Let's try to respect the attempt at keeping some class in cruising.

I was wondering if someone could let me know if the Summit has a passenger talent show or a crew talent show at the end of the week. Thanks

My wife & I started cruising in 1992. Our first cruise was aboard the Celebrity Meridian. I remember that my twelve year old son and I had to wear a jacket to the main dining room each night. NO EXEPTIONS ! If you arrived into the dining room without a jacket, you felt out of place. On formal night a tux or black suit / black tie were expected. During my last several cruises, which were aboard Carnival and Norwegian , there was no such thing as a dress code anymore. One "elegant" night, I saw a guy wearing a wife beater tee shirt to one of the shows. I felt so uncomfortable for him...But he looked so proud of what he was wearing.

I was hoping that Celebrity would be one of the cruiselines that would uphold a dress code. I am booking on the Summit for August. I guess I'll find out then.

We are booked with Viking in Paris for next July. We have no intentions of changing our plans. What would have happened if tourists stopped visiting New York after 9/11 ? I am in New York often and it is packed with tourists. We can't let the bad acts affect all the good that the future has to offer..

MY WIFE AND I WERE ON THE CARNIVAL SPLENDOR 9/6 TO 9/13. TO CANADA / NEW ENGLAND.

IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE SEND ME AN EMAIL - LORRICHIO@AOL.COM

WE HAD A GREAT TIME. SHIP WAS CLEAN AND IN GREAT SHAPE. WATER WAS EXTREMELY CALM. WEATHER WAS GREAT. WE NOTICED SOME DISAPPOINTING CHANGES....NO MORE LUNCH SERVED IN THE DINING ROOM. BRUNCH (In the dining room) IS SERVED ON SEA DAYS ONLY. NO MORE CHOCOLATES ON YOUR PILLOW AT NIGHT. D.J. MUSIC AT MAIN POOL INSTEAD OF LIVE BAND.

THESE ARE JUST SOME QUICK OBSERVATIONS. WRITE ME WITH ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.

For all future SPLENDOR cruisers. Please don't let some of the negative reviews worry you. We just got off of the Splendor and had a great time. Food, entertainment, crew................All excellent. Ship is clean and in great condition. Any questions? LORRICHIO@AOL.COM

Balmoral beach day was in nassau, not freeport. Sorry

My wife and I returned today from our Carnival Splendor cruise. We we accompanied by two other couples. We are all in our mid to late fifties. We have cruised over twenty times on several different cruiselines. Contrary to the negative reviews that I read prior to sailing, we all had a great time. The ship was very clean, the crew was friendly and the food was great. What more could you want? I know that it is impossible to please over three thousand people at any one time, but they really do their best.

Embarkation in N.Y. was smooth and orderly considering there are over three thousand people to register and board. Luggage was at our cabins within a couple of hours.

During the first lunch buffet I noticed constant cleaning of tables and service areas. In previous reviews I read about discarded food being left on tables and not cleaned up by the staff. It is impossible to immediatley clean every mess as soon as it happens, especially when some of the passengers aren't the neatest people in the world and have no respect for the ship , the crew, or other passengers.

The food in the dining room was great every night. There were many choices for everyone and seconds were always provided right away. We had the same seating every night so the waiters knew exactly what we liked and it was there every night when we arrived.

There is only one specialty restaurant (PINNACLE STEAKHOUSE). It was a great experience. The staff was attentive, courteous and professional. Each course was better than the last. The chocolate sampler was unbelievable. Also, burgers, hot dogs and pizza are offered pretty much whenever you're hungry.

There are many comedy shows throughout the week, family and adult. Personally, I thought the comedians were funnier without the cursing but some people are entertained by the sound of a four letter word. Don't get me wrong...I grew up in Brooklyn so that word was always part of our vocabulary....but I don't find it funny.

For KARAOKE lovers, there is karaoke every night and sometimes day and night. This includes auditions for the "LEGENDS SHOW" on the last night of the cruise. I won the part of Frank Sinatra on this cruise. It was a lot of fun and a great experience.

If I had to find one thing that bothered me, it would be the pictures that the photographers take. They do a great job, but the ship should offer packages. Currently, each 8x10 is $21.00. You can't request a 5x7 unless you buy the 8x10 first. That's ridiculous ! Now you have two of the same picture. I think they should offer package deals or choice of sizes. It seems they would rather throw the pictures in the garbage than give a better deal or print smaller shots.

Disembarkation was smooth and quicker than we expected.

So in conclusion, I don't know if the writers of the negative reviews are just harder to please or maybe the ship responded to the criticism and turned things around but It was one of the best cruises we've had. Of course, the friends or family that accompany you help make the cruise enjoyable. We had a great group. As far as excursions. In Freeport, Don't waste money on the "Balmoral beach day". You can go to a free beach not far from the ship.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to contact me at my email address - LORRICHIO@AOL.COM