Just back from the Summit 9/5-12/2010

We have just returned from the Summit. There has been some concern about the ship's physical condition. I thought I might tell you a bit about the Summit.

The exterior of the ship needs considerable work. They were repainting the stern while we were in Bermuda. It made a significant difference. There are numerous rust spots around in various places. None of them detracted from the overall experience of an enjoyable cruise.

The interior of the ship was a totally different story. All public areas were in great shape and looked practically new. Some carpeting was being replaced during the cruise and no carpet or fabrics looked worn anywhere. Our 8098 C2 cabin was beautiful. No wear whatsoever, except on the verandah. No mold or mildew in the bathroom with the possible exception of the ceiling fan in the shower. The bed was extremely comfortable. The TVs were old CRT types and not the 32 inch flat screens as promised on the website for the concierge class cabins. We didn't watch TV, so it didn't matter.

As this was our first Celebrity cruise, it is difficult to judge the quality of the food compared with Celebrity past. I would say the food is on par with Princess but not quite as good as on Holland America and Cunard. Foods that one might expect to be spicy, such as a Vietnamese dish, were fairly bland. We enjoyed excellent service in all dining venues including the Normandie restaurant where the food quality was significantly better. I liked the way the food in the Waterfall Cafe and Grill was served at stations. As such, there was an Asian station, Italian, NY Deli, etc.

Entertainment on the Summit was far superior to Holland America and somewhat better than Princess. Three great production shows, two of which were accompanied by a live orchestra. Two of the production shows were sung with such feeling that they brought tears to my eyes. There was also a talented young magician by the name of Adam Trent and a very funny comedian, both of whom brought the house down.

The only major criticism I have is that the line needs to improve communication to passengers when there are problems. For example, there was an unavoidable five hour delay in boarding on September 5th. While I knew about the delay from postings on Cruise Critic and the Celebrity website, I felt the line should have been more proactive in notifying passengers, such as by email. Most people in the waiting area did not know about the delay in advance. Some were waiting over six hours. To Celebrity's credit, in this cramped waiting area, they kept passengers well nourished and hydrated.

We were booked in a concierge cabin that is supposed to include tote bags. After learning that some passengers had received theirs and others did not, I called Guest Relations. A young front desk officer told me they ran out of the totes and the bags would be delivered to the cabin when they arrived. As we had left Bermuda and were already on our way to Bayonne, I wondered aloud whether they were expecting a shipment by helicopter. I asked if the bags would be shipped home and the guest relations person said no. What will you do to make things right, I asked. "I'm sorry," she answered. The next day I asked to speak to the Hotel Manager. Instead I was brought to see Pearline, the Guest Relations Manager. She said she regretted having delivered the few remaining bags to staterooms and she should have been proactive with a letter to concierge guests informing them about what she referred to as a fleet-wide shortage. I told her she could fix the problem by giving us a $60 credit to buy two totes in the gift shop. I also suggested that she should do the right thing for all affected passengers. Her response was that she would make decisions on a case by case basis when someone brought the problem to her. She readily agreed, however, to provide us our credit.

Overall, we had a very enjoyable cruise on a beautiful ship. In most cases, service crew seemed to be always there when you needed them. The waiters and cabin stewards couldn't do enough for you. In spite of some minor complaints, that took a while to explain here, we would have no hesitation taking the Summit again, whether it is before or after refurbishment.

As this was our first Celebrity cruise, it is difficult to judge the quality of the food compared with Celebrity past. I would say the food is on par with Princess but not quite as good as on Holland America and Cunard. Foods that one might expect to be spicy, such as a Vietnamese dish, were fairly bland. We enjoyed excellent service in all dining venues including the Normandie restaurant where the food quality was significantly better. I liked the way the food in the Waterfall Cafe and Grill was served at stations. As such, there was an Asian station, Italian, NY Deli, etc.

Entertainment on the Summit was far superior to Holland America and somewhat better than Princess. Three great production shows, two of which were accompanied by a live orchestra. Two of the production shows were sung with such feeling that they brought tears to my eyes. There was also a talented young magician by the name of Adam Trent and a very funny comedian, both of whom brought the house down.

The only major criticism I have is that the line needs to improve communication to passengers when there are problems. For example, there was an unavoidable five hour delay in boarding on September 5th. While I knew about the delay from postings on Cruise Critic and the Celebrity website, I felt the line should have been more proactive in notifying passengers, such as by email. Most people in the waiting area did not know about the delay in advance. Some were waiting over six hours. To Celebrity's credit, in this cramped waiting area, they kept passengers well nourished and hydrated.

Overall, we had a very enjoyable cruise on a beautiful ship. In most cases, service crew seemed to be always there when you needed them. The waiters and cabin stewards couldn't do enough for you. In spite of some minor complaints, that took a while to explain here, we would have no hesitation taking the Summit again, whether it is before or after refurbishment.

We also just got home from this same cruise. We did meet you at the Teak Bar day of embarkation. We did get an email about the CC Connections but no invitation in our cabin. When we inquired at guest realtions about the time and place, they said we had just miss it. Sorry, we miss the Connections get-together. Would have loved meeting other CC members. Sandra, Celebrity Events Co-ordinator, apolized to us with not getting an invite (as others did not too). On Friday, she sent us a bottle of wine with a nice note.

This was our first cruise with Celebrity and will be our last. We had Select Dining. Service was very, very poor. Most times we had to wait 15-20 minutes to be waited on. Were we invisible! Took them forever to fill our water glasses and get an iced tea. BUT they were always there asking us if we wanted wine - at least 4-5 times at each dinner.

We did not care for the food. Would gladly cruise again with RCCL (parent company). Salad dressings were bland. There was no dinner buffet really to go to. If you call a pasta station and pizza station dinner, then that was all there was.

Entertainment was excellent. Best shows we had seen.

Our cabin steward was the best. We had pre-paid grats but gave him an extra cash tip.

Disembarcation was a night mare today. Waited 20 minutes on the bus before we got off to claim our luggage. We could have walked it in 2 minutes!

We will be sailing HAL this December. It's got to be better than Celebrity.

2010 – Nieuw Amsterdam HAL - Dec.- W. Caribbean

2010 – Celebrity Summit – Sept. - Bermuda

2010 – Serenade of the Seas - March - S. Caribbean

2009 – Crown Princess – W. Caribbean

2009 – Golden Princess - Alaska - Inside Passage

2009 – Coral Princess - Panama Canal Transit

2008 – Caribbean Princess - New Eng. & Canada

2008 – Serenade of the Seas - S. Caribbean

2007 – Explorer of the Seas - W. Caribbean

2006 – Golden Princess - S. Caribbean

2004 – Serenade of the Seas - S. Caribbean

2002 – Star Princess - Mexican Riviera

2002 – Dawn Princess - S. Caribbean

2000 – Carnival Inspiration - S. Caribbean

1999 – Carnival Paradise - W. Caribbean

1996 – Majesty (private) - Key West

1989 – Sovereign of the Seas - E. Caribbean

.

As this was our first Celebrity cruise, it is difficult to judge the quality of the food compared with Celebrity past. I would say the food is on par with Princess but not quite as good as on Holland America and Cunard. Foods that one might expect to be spicy, such as a Vietnamese dish, were fairly bland. We enjoyed excellent service in all dining venues including the Normandie restaurant where the food quality was significantly better. I liked the way the food in the Waterfall Cafe and Grill was served at stations. As such, there was an Asian station, Italian, NY Deli, etc.

Entertainment on the Summit was far superior to Holland America and somewhat better than Princess. Three great production shows, two of which were accompanied by a live orchestra. Two of the production shows were sung with such feeling that they brought tears to my eyes. There was also a talented young magician by the name of Adam Trent and a very funny comedian, both of whom brought the house down.

The only major criticism I have is that the line needs to improve communication to passengers when there are problems. For example, there was an unavoidable five hour delay in boarding on September 5th. While I knew about the delay from postings on Cruise Critic and the Celebrity website, I felt the line should have been more proactive in notifying passengers, such as by email. Most people in the waiting area did not know about the delay in advance. Some were waiting over six hours. To Celebrity's credit, in this cramped waiting area, they kept passengers well nourished and hydrated.

Overall, we had a very enjoyable cruise on a beautiful ship. In most cases, service crew seemed to be always there when you needed them. The waiters and cabin stewards couldn't do enough for you. In spite of some minor complaints, that took a while to explain here, we would have no hesitation taking the Summit again, whether it is before or after refurbishment.

We are also just back from the Summit today. We had met you at the Teak Bar on embarkation day. We would have met you at the Connections but did not get an invitation from X although we did get the email notification. We asked at Guest Relations when the CC get-together was and they said we had just miss it. I spoke to Sandra, X Events Person, and she said that others did not get the official invite too. Later that week, she sent us a bottle of wine with a note.

We will NOT sail again with X. Food was just OK - nothing special. Will go back to the parent company RCCL. We had SELECT DINING and the service was very, very poor. Most nights we had to wait 20 minutes for a waiter. Were we invisible! Or they would seat you at a table for 6 or 8, and waited until the table was filled before they took your order. Took forever to fill our water glasses and longer to get an ice tea. Although they asked us if we would like wine at least 4 or 5 times. The MD came over an apolized at one seating and said they had only been doing Select Dining since February. If you can't do it right, then don't offer Select Dining. We had this option on RCCL. We had no complaints.

There was no dinner buffet to speak of. Unless, you consider pizza, pasta station and a salad station dinner. So you had to go to the MDR or pay $35pp at the one special restaurant.

Entertainment was excellent. Best shows we have seen on a cruise ship in a long time.

Our cabin stewart Joseph was excellent. Although we had pre-paid grats, we did give him a CASH tip too.

Disembarking was a nightmare. We waited 20 minutes on the bus before we could collect our luggage and go through customs. We could had walked it in 2 minutes!

December we will be going on HAL. This has to be better!

2010 – Nieuw Amsterdam HAL - Dec.- W. Caribbean

2010 – Celebrity Summit – Sept. - Bermuda

2010 – Serenade of the Seas - March - S. Caribbean

2009 – Crown Princess – W. Caribbean

2009 – Golden Princess - Alaska - Inside Passage

2009 – Coral Princess - Panama Canal Transit

2008 – Caribbean Princess - New Eng. & Canada

2008 – Serenade of the Seas - S. Caribbean

2007 – Explorer of the Seas - W. Caribbean

2006 – Golden Princess - S. Caribbean

2004 – Serenade of the Seas - S. Caribbean

2002 – Star Princess - Mexican Riviera

2002 – Dawn Princess - S. Caribbean

2000 – Carnival Inspiration - S. Caribbean

1999 – Carnival Paradise - W. Caribbean

1996 – Majesty (private) - Key West

1989 – Sovereign of the Seas - E. Caribbean

We are also just back from the Summit today. We had met you at the Teak Bar on embarkation day. We would have met you at the Connections but did not get an invitation from X although we did get the email notification. We asked at Guest Relations when the CC get-together was and they said we had just miss it. I spoke to Sandra, X Events Person, and she said that others did not get the official invite too. Later that week, she sent us a bottle of wine with a note.

 

We will NOT sail again with X. Food was just OK - nothing special. Will go back to the parent company RCCL. We had SELECT DINING and the service was very, very poor. Most nights we had to wait 20 minutes for a waiter. Were we invisible! Or they would seat you at a table for 6 or 8, and waited until the table was filled before they took your order. Took forever to fill our water glasses and longer to get an ice tea. Although they asked us if we would like wine at least 4 or 5 times. The MD came over an apolized at one seating and said they had only been doing Select Dining since February. If you can't do it right, then don't offer Select Dining. We had this option on RCCL. We had no complaints.

 

There was no dinner buffet to speak of. Unless, you consider pizza, pasta station and a salad station dinner. So you had to go to the MDR or pay $35pp at the one special restaurant.

 

Entertainment was excellent. Best shows we have seen on a cruise ship in a long time.

 

Our cabin steward Joseph was excellent. Although we had pre-paid grats, we did give him a CASH tip too.

 

Disembarking was a nightmare. We waited 20 minutes on the bus before we could collect our luggage and go through customs. We could had walked it in 2 minutes!

 

December we will be going on HAL. This has to be better!

Dear Carol and Roy. I am sorry you didn't get the invitation to the Connections Party. You tried to contact us by phone, but by the time we got your message, the party had passed. We too did not get the invitation nor an email confirmation. I posted my concerns on the roll call thread and Hertha (HCAT) assured us she would take care of it. At the sailaway, I asked those who got invitations where and when the party was. Once there it was no hassle getting in.

Sorry you had such negative dining experiences. Next time consider traditional dining. The dining room stewards gets to know your preferences and are very accommodating. I agree with you that the food was just okay and didn't live up to Celebrity's cultivated culinary legend. Gone are the days of the acclaimed chef Michel Roux.

Disembarkation ran about 20 minutes late. We all had to wait once again on the bus. They seem to meter how many people get off the bus so that there aren't long lines at immigration/customs. After we were all through customs we realized we forgot a bag and could not get back inside to claim it until everyone else disembarked. That added another hour, but the port staff were very understanding and did the best they could. I was in good company with two other people in the same predicament.

Nevertheless, in spite of some faults, there were no experiences that would discourage us from cruising on Celebrity again.

I also was on board and also found some things to be outstanding and some not so good...Emile, I was in 8109 and we had some issues with rips in curtain that the sun shined right thru in the am, floors not vacuumed properly (found things on floor that did not belong to us) and I also had asked about the bags and did not get one...oh well...the experience I had on this cruise was AWESOME! I felt for every little thing that was wrong or different the Staff made up for it...I found the food warm/cold in the dining room most nights but the room was so cold I guess it would be hard to keep it hot...but dinner in Normandie was excellent...

I will try to get a review posted...thanks to the staff for a wonderful time...

This was also our first Celebrity cruise. We were not impressed with the food either. We felt RCCL's food was better. We also did the select dining and were not happy with it. We only ate 3 nights in the main dining room and thought the service was slow. I have never sat at a meal in the main dining room and had dirty dishes sitting in front of me for as long as we did this cruise. I agree it was probably Select Dining but then again no excuse for the dirty dishes and slow service. Also agree there was not much of a choice for the buffet dinners at dinner time.

I agree the shows were great. The Celebrity dancers danced and sang for one hour and were never out of breathe. They amazed us. Also enjoyed the Magician and the comedian.

We did find the ship in excellent condition for her age. Our overall experience was okay but we still prefer RCCL. We did book our 2011 cruise while on board. We are going to go back to RCCL and do an 11 nighter in March. We booked our 2012 cruise on Celebrity Silouette, a 12 nighter for March.

All in all we had a great time and will give Celebrity another try but I think we are Loyal to Royal! Great to meet everyone and hope you all had a safe trip home. Our bus was suppose to be there to pick us up between 10:30 and 11:30 and didn't show up until 12:30. So we did not get home until 5:30 (had to stop and at least pick up stuff for lunches at the grocery store). So we are exhausted and not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow!

Thanks to all of you for the reports. Did anyone note if the casual dining area in the evening has returned?

Sorry to hear about MDR food and service. We are doing late seating so hopefully we won't be there until midnight!!

thank you all for your reviews.

When we cruised in August there was no sign of casual dining for dinner other than the Pizza and Pasta station. I hope Celebritry re-evaluates their decision re: the casual dining option.

thank you all for your reviews.

 

When we cruised in August there was no sign of casual dining for dinner other than the Pizza and Pasta station. I hope Celebritry re-evaluates their decision re: the casual dining option.

Those were the choices on our cruise also. They did also have a sushi and Asian bar. There was a buffet but the choices were very limited.....not impressive to say the least!

This was also our first Celebrity cruise. We were not impressed with the food either. We felt RCCL's food was better. We also did the select dining and were not happy with it. We only ate 3 nights in the main dining room and thought the service was slow. I have never sat at a meal in the main dining room and had dirty dishes sitting in front of me for as long as we did this cruise. I agree it was probably Select Dining but then again no excuse for the dirty dishes and slow service.

Food is such a subjective issue. We were on Summit last month, and every dish I had was excellent with the exception of one night where it was just "good." With regard to service, we were all the way back aft, and the waiter had to go all the way to the entrance of the dining room to get to the kitchen. I thought the service would be slow, but it was also excellent. We were at late dining.

With regard to your dirty dishes, maybe your waiter was just following the proper etiquette of not removing dishes until everyone was finished with that particular course. That's they way they do it in the specialty restaurant.

 

With regard to your dirty dishes, maybe your waiter was just following the proper etiquette of not removing dishes until everyone was finished with that particular course. That's they way they do it in the specialty restaurant.

We experienced the "dirty dishes" syndrome on Solstice in May-- not only were dishes slow to be removed from our table-- they were left on an adjacent table that had been vacated. And you know how close the tables are situated! We were second seating, traditional dining and our servers were wonderful-- they were simply overwhelmed. I regret that the elegant dining experience we've experienced in the past is losing it's luster.

Those were the choices on our cruise also. They did also have a sushi and Asian bar. There was a buffet but the choices were very limited.....not impressive to say the least!

We arrived safe and sound back in Atlanta at 12:30AM and would like to thank everyone we met during the cruise from the Roll Call board. Seeing people we knew throughout the cruise was very enjoyable.

DW has asked for directions on how to create a user name so that she can post a more formal review as we both had issues with Summit that were only salvaged by outstanding entertainment from a show and cast that had only come aboard 1 week prior to our sailing and our cabin steward who did his job without ever getting in our way.

I quoted the food post because this was a definite issue as was the overall "tightness" of the operation of the ship. Food first. This is our 20th cruise spread mostly evenly across HAL, Princess, Carnival, RCCL, NCL and X (our 4th X cruise) Our last big cruise on X was on Millennium in Australia last winter.

X's food quality and service is slipping. Most of this is likely due to corporate decisions on menus, portion sizing, and quality spec's. But PORK CHOPS as the recommended entree for a FORMAL NIGHT! Come on!

The choice for dining was to overpay for the specialty restaurant in order to get something marginally edible or tolerate MDR food/service OR worse yet, get little to no choice at the Waterfall Cafe.

Yes, I am a foodie and am spoiled by freshness and quality ingredients. The change in food quality comes from the top, the on-board staff can only work with what they get. I had one memorable entree the entire week, a surprising piece of venison in the specialty restaurant. Did I starve? No. But other than breakfast which was the same thing I have every day at home, granola, yogurt and fresh fruit, I cannot think of a single dish, at any time, that caused me to clean my plate.

Oh, and one more thing for the benefit of anyone from X who might be lurking, if I'm paying $35 PP extra for dinner, I know what an "heirloom" tomato is and it's not a Roma tomato that appeared on my plate with 12 other ingredients trying to hide.

Overall the ship was generally clean and the staff friendly, but I had a sense that the Management (Captain, Hotel Mgr, F&B Mgr) had only a frail grasp of the big picture. Late arrival after going WAY OUT TO SEA to avoid a hurricane when other ships stayed close to shore on their way home and arrived on time. Did we tie-up in Bermuda or Bayonne on time? Nope. Was it necessary to leave Bermuda 13 minutes early? Sure it was raining and everyone was on board, but why? The much needed painting while in Bermuda was nice but I am used to seeing maintenance crews running around ships with paint buckets all the time. Not here. Emile's tote bag issue. The Pool Butler rolling his towel cart through the AquaSpa (nicest space on the ship) leaving the door open so that we could all freeze when there is a sign on the door asking to please keep this door closed. He copped an attitude when I asked him to come back and close the door. X needs to get it's collective head out and smooth out operations between its ships. We're back on Princess for our next cruise.

Sorry for being a debbie downer I'm just calling them like I see them.

Thanks to all who posted their experience on board the Summit. Interesting change with the positive comments about the entertainment.

Thanks to all for the report.

This was our first Celebrity cruise, and I give it mixed reviews. Communication to passengers is not their strong suit. We were never notified about the hurricane delay either by email or cell phone even though we had registered both. We had to check out of our hotel by 11 am, and then we waited to board the ship until after 6pm. The loudspeakers in the holding area were almost unintelligible where we sat. It would have been smarter of X to also run info on all those TV's in there. Once on board, the maitre d at the main dining room was turning away people in shorts, as per policy, but with the late departure many people had not received their luggage by dinner time. They should have been more lenient under the circumstances.

Our waiter and assistant were excellent. The food was typical banquet style, good but not fabulous. The public areas were attractive, and the art throughout the ship very interesting. Entertainment, especially singers and dancers, was thoroughly enjoyable.Our cabin was comfortable, but the extra we paid for concierge service was a waste of money. We did not have priority embarking or disembarking, the refrigerator did not work all week despite requests for repair on Monday and Wednesday. Glasses in the bathroom were dirty. We did not receive the invitation to the CC party even though we registered with X. The appetizers were a nice thought but poor quality. No tote bags, and the concierge desk blew me off when I asked. Deck 9 cabin midship was noisy from the pool band in the afternoons, running footsteps all day, and moving furniture above us at dawn. Claiming luggage in the cattle call was stressful, as someone walked away with one of our bags, only to call us Sunday night (after we had driven 10 hours) from NY to say they had it. Hope Celebrity will pay to ship it to Ohio, though in their defense they are not the ones who lost it, it was another passenger's mistake, and they did spend 45 minutes helping us search and finally fill out a claim form.

Bermuda was very enjoyable, ferry system easy to use, and plenty of choices for activities. We did not use any X shore excursions, as we were kind of in the mood for less group activity and more independent exploration.

Did I enjoy the trip? Yes. Am I nitpicking? Maybe. Cruising is not for people without patience, but many of my complaints were about things we had been promised and did not receive. Will we cruise X again? Probably not.

We have done RCCL "anytime dining" and found no fault with it. The MD kind of knew when we would arrive for dinner after the first night. We never waited for a table and sat in the same area with the same wait staff every night. They knew just what drinks (water with lemon, milk, or whatever) we liked and brought them to us without our asking. Service was great. We also sat with the same people most nights and arrived about the same time within 10 minutes. We will go with RCCL again (5 cruises so far) and skip Celebrity. This was our first and last X cruise.

In December 2010 we will be on HAL and also have signed up for their version of "select dinning."

2010 – Nieuw Amsterdam HAL - Dec.- W. Caribbean

2010 – Celebrity Summit – Sept. - Bermuda

2010 – Serenade of the Seas - March - S. Caribbean

2009 – Crown Princess – W. Caribbean

2009 – Golden Princess - Alaska - Inside Passage

2009 – Coral Princess - Panama Canal Transit

2008 – Caribbean Princess - New Eng. & Canada

2008 – Serenade of the Seas - S. Caribbean

2007 – Explorer of the Seas - W. Caribbean

2006 – Golden Princess - S. Caribbean

2004 – Serenade of the Seas - S. Caribbean

2002 – Star Princess - Mexican Riviera

2002 – Dawn Princess - S. Caribbean

2000 – Carnival Inspiration - S. Caribbean

1999 – Carnival Paradise - W. Caribbean

1996 – Majesty (private) - Key West

1989 – Sovereign of the Seas - E. Caribbean

We have done RCCL "anytime dining" and found no fault with it. The MD kind of knew when we would arrive for dinner after the first night. We never waited for a table and sat in the same area with the same wait staff every night. They knew just what drinks (water with lemon, milk, or whatever) we liked and brought them to us without our asking. Service was great. We also sat with the same people most nights and arrived about the same time within 10 minutes. We will go with RCCL again (5 cruises so far) and skip Celebrity. This was our first and last X cruise.

 

In December 2010 we will be on HAL and also have signed up for their version of "select dinning."

Maybe its the luck of the draw with which waiters we get. Half are above the mean and half are below. Unfortunately you had poor luck on this Celebrity Cruise and good luck with RCCL. We had bad luck on RCCL and good luck on Celebrity. HAL is noted for outstanding service, which has always been our experience.

However, be forewarned that HAL has a distinct shortage of wine stewards and it can take up to a half hour to order and have your wine delivered to your table. On the Summit, our wine steward was always there when you needed him. He tried hard, but lacked the training and knowledge to be really helpful in choosing a wine.

I do have to say the french toast and waffles for breakfast in the Waterfalls area were delicious. The hamburgers on the pool deck were all very good! The other buffet items at breakfast were always the same thing as were the items at night - oh they might have changed the potatoes but I think that was the only change. Oh and don't even get me going on the coffee. It was horrid. We found a shop in the Dockyard that had one of those Keurigs and that was the first good cup of coffee we had all week.

However, be forewarned that HAL has a distinct shortage of wine stewards and it can take up to a half hour to order and have your wine delivered to your table. On the Summit, our wine steward was always there when you needed him. He tried hard, but lacked the training and knowledge to be really helpful in choosing a wine.

Our wine steward was excellent - was always there refilling our glasses for us. We had the drink packages so we were surprised but we did not find we received bad or slow service because of the packages. We did find it was worth our while to have them as well. We got our monies worth since we would stop for a couple of coffee drinks at night at the Cafe and also enjoyed wine with dinner which we would never do before because we always watched what we were spending.

Having sailed X in the past I was very disappointed in the food and some of the dining room service. We choose select dining since main seating wasn't available. We had a group of 11 & had the same time, table & wait staff as if at main/late seating. Our waiting, Svilen, worked his butt off. Our Assistant Waiting was mosting MIA. I did find out later in the cruise it was because he had to go down to the 4th floor (select dining is on 5) to get the meals and our wait staff had 2 tables of 10, that's alot of food at the same time. So I did give our assistant waiter a pass because of this. The best dinner were the 2nd formal night (lobster was good but also ordered the filet to share which was FABULOUS!). The other nights were OK. Someone mentioned the porkchop on formal night - 2 people at our table ordered it and said it was the best meal they had all week. I believe that RCCL has better food. I did really like the Waterfall Buffet. Loved the different stations.

I agree about the lack of communication. When we checked in online we were asked for our emaill addy. One should have been sent notifying us of the delay. I spent the night at a hotel near the port, which did have free internet access, so I still would have read the email. Though I was one of the lucky ones because someone I was traveling with called and said she read on CC that the ship was delayed. We then asked the hotel (Courtyard by Marriott in Elizabeth) for a late checkout they said no problem (& no charge).

Most of the service received was wonderful. I do think they need more pool bar staff. We waited 15 minutes to get waited on and then gave up. Thumbs up to Herwin Chavez, a waiter in the Waterfall Cafe. Thumbs down to the server at the poolside grill and the breakfast buffet (didn't get his name but he really needs an attitude adjustment - very rude).

I also noticed the wear & tear on the outside of the ship but the interior was in really good condition. I was in cabine 6035 (foward) and had a hugh balcony. Double the size of my friends who were next door at 6037.

I was also disappointed as an Elite member we received no gift. I guess RCCL has spoiled me.

As an Elite member I was #8 on debarkation and was off the ship and had my luggage by 8:30 a.m. After a couple of stops I was home by noon. It was the most organized and smooth debarkation that I've experienced. Sorry that others had a nightmare.

Will I be sailing on X in the future?? Probably but not anytime soon. It's back to RCCL for me.

Just thought I'd add some comments to those already posted. This was our second Celebrity cruise, and although we had an enjoyable time, the Summit experience was disappointing. For Celebrity not to notify their guests that embarkation would be delayed for so many hours was inexcusable. We learned of this by reading the CC boards here, so thanks all. When we checked the Celebrity web site, it said not to arrive before 4pm. We arrived at 3pm and were amongst the last to get on the ship- got to our rooms at 7pm!!!

The food was a big disappointment. The MDR food was all over the spectrum- some items very good, many terrible, and the rest fair to average. The buffets were really poor-very little available at dinner or lunch, and fair at breakfast. Virtually nothing to eat after 11pm. Room service was ordered twice, with wait times of 45 minutes and 90 minutes! Wait staff were usually excellent, but a few were the sullen ones referred to earlier. The wine steward pestered us repeatedly to order more wine- we were not on any drink plan.

At the pool, it seems that they were taking the 'no saving lounge-chairs rule' very seriously. The pool staff would continually circle around and remove towels and belongings after no more than 30 minutes. I witnessed a few unpleasant confrontations when the offenders returned to find their stuff gone. One woman accosted me, insisting I had removed her shirt/book and 'stolen' her chairs! We were disappointed that the pool and T-pool closed so early some nights, with no reasonable explanation.....6pm, 7pm...

We had an aft cabin that was great. Very spacious with a large balcony and no noise issues. Others in our group, however, were bothered by veranda smokers. Several calls were made, but the smoking continued. I personally saw people smoking on several different verandas, and the smell of smoke was often present onour aft veranda. If Celebrity is going to bill itself as the no smoking cruise line, then they are going to have to enforce these rules better.

Even though we did complain once, it puts the non-smoking guests in an unpleasant position of having to 'police' the smokers. I think a better choice would be for the room stewards to be required to notify security to deal with the smokers. I understand their tips are at risk, but they are all aware of who is smoking in the cabins and on the verandas, and should be the first line of defense against the problem.

There seemed to be less activities going on for folks to do than I would have expected on a cruise to Bermuda. Our last Celebrity cruise was a port intensive European one, so this lack of activity wasn't noticed. We very much enjoyed Bermuda, though docking at Kings Wharf is less desirable than Hamilton as a port, where there are numerous restaurants, shops, and points of interest.

We also did not receive any tote bags as promised.

Although it did not take away from enjoying the cruise, there was a great deal of rust and dirty areas around the pool and other outside areas, steps, etc. Many of the veranda chairs on our several different verandas had ripped or ragged cushions. The cabin furnishing were worn and looking old and needing replacement. The beds were very comfortable though, and I didn't see any mold issues in the bathroom. One day there was no water to flush the toilets for several hours. I was told an entire section of rooms had the problem due to a 'line issue'.

Those in our group who went to all the shows said the entertainment was quite good.

I thought Bayonne was a less than desirable departure point. Although parking is easier and less expensive than in Manhattan, the terminal itself is dismal, and several folks said they felt like refugees having to be cooped up in this area for hours prior to boarding the ship.

I'm sorry to say that our next cruise will most likely not be on Celebrity.

I do have to say the french toast and waffles for breakfast in the Waterfalls area were delicious. The hamburgers on the pool deck were all very good! The other buffet items at breakfast were always the same thing as were the items at night - oh they might have changed the potatoes but I think that was the only change. Oh and don't even get me going on the coffee. It was horrid. We found a shop in the Dockyard that had one of those Keurigs and that was the first good cup of coffee we had all week.

Oh boy.....what is so bad about it? Please say it isn't so that Celebrity serves the same syrup coffee as Princess??

We discovered what made the coffee on the Summit so bad in our opinion. It was the little creamer packs. When we used creamer from the stainless steel dispensers, the coffee was much better. I don't know if Celebrity uses syrup. I know Holland America uses syrup, but we like their coffee. Of course, taste in coffee, like anything else is very subjective. I love the taste and smell of Dunkin Donuts coffee, but some have told me they think it is horrid. Some love Starbucks coffee and others hate it. Go figure.

I guess a different of opinions,

But, I thought this was a super cruise, the weather held up, except for the last day in Bermuda, The back of the ship that needed painted, well I guess we were not on the ship the previous week, that is when it happened, they went thru some horrible weather w/30ft waves.

For the first time, hubby and I sat by ourselves and the service and food was wonderful, fast and hot. We were on the 5th floor - 6pm seating. They could not be any nicer and efficiant.

Our room-- well that's a different subject- he was not as good as others. we were in 7049.

I was told most of the crew got off and the new crew just got on, when we set sail. That maybe that is why the service was not so good!

This is my 5-6th Celebrity cruise and I am ready to book again.

We have done 32 RCL cruises and doing the Oasis in 3wks, and have another for Dec. BUT- this by far simple wonderful.

I WILL be booking again and most diffently again w/the Summit :-)

Anyone remember the name of the Captain? I have asked several places but no answer so far.