Celebrity Summit Trip Report - 8/6/17

Just got off the Celebrity Summit yesterday and had a great week to Bermuda. I will be brief and try and highlight some of the key takeaways from the trip. We stayed in Suite #9123 and absolutely loved all of the amenities it came with which made the trip. I will try and do a comparison to the NCL Breakaway which we sailed a few months ago.

Embarkation - This was our first trip out of Bayonne and it was by FAR the easiest port we have ever gone through. It was also great being a suite member to have a separate line and we were on the ship within 15 minutes of entering into the building. This was far better than the chaos we experienced on the Breakaway. CS wins this hands down

Service - Hands down Celebrity wins this category. It was the little things that really made a difference. Champagne at embarkation, a simple hello from almost all guests, and the service in Luminae and Michael's Club was hands down the best service at sea (compared to Carnival, NCL, Princess, and RCL ships that we have been on).

Activities - This is where we thought the Summit really lacked in activities and definately need some work. We had a couple of sea days where rain was relentless (not the ships fault and can only control so much), but we felt the ship's activity staff should have tried to plan something else. We also felt the ship was missing a Shooner Bar like on many RCL ships. A simple Piano Bar would have been great every night (although there were sing alongs a few nights in Rendevious). Our plan this trip was to "veg out" but even with that thought in mind, we felt there were far too few activities planned both day and night. NCL wins this one

Ship - I would say this is a win for the Summit and here is why. We were traveling alone WITHOUT kids. There are people CONSTANTLY cleaning, painting, and maintaining the breakaway. I never felt claustrophobic like I did on the Breakaway and loved the way the ship flowed; however, the Summit is clearly showing its age. The salt and people really put a beating on these ships, but I would still rather sail this over the Breakaway (see further comments below).

On the contrary, the Breakaway still looks to be very well maintained and has all of the slides, and the "WoW" factor for sure. The kids really loved the Breakaway but I could not stand the cookie cutter lay out in the Breakaway. I constantly felt chlostrophobic and I think it is simply a poor ship design as we have been on the Oasis of the Seas which holds more popele and never felt cramped . CS win for sure.

Internet - We had unlimited internet and was surprisingly fast; however, we needed to "forget this network" every day and re-login in order to use the internet. It was great being able to stay in touch with people back home. This internet was definitely better than on the Breakaway.

Food - This is subjective as we ate in Luminae every night, and I realize it is unfair to compare Luminae food to dining room food on the Breakaway; however, the compairosn is not even close. The food and service were absolutely FANTASTIC. Everyone from our waiter Jason, to our Wine Sommelier Maggy, to the Maitre'd Bruno who were nothing short of spectacular. I never once in my life (including all of the pay restaurants in RCL, Princess, and Breakaway) have had food which comes out hot, nor a steak that was so tender. Additionally, it was nice to have a healthy cafe on the pool deck as opposed to over filling yourself in the buffet. CS hands down on this one.

Conclusion - After this trip, it will be very hard to go back to non suite life; however, it became very clear to us that we will never go back on the Breakaway again. After sialing her twice, and being introduced to an older Summit ship, we realized newer/bigger isn't always better. If we had kids with us, we would likely have tried the Anthem 5 day to Bermuda, but if RCL was really smart, they would offer a 7 day Bermuda trip to compete with the Summit and the Breakaway. In conclusion, we had a wonderful time and feel that Celebirty currently offers a FAR more superior product than NCL. If they just work on the activities (with a few simple fixes), I think it would be a no brainer to conclude this is the best 7 day cruise to Bermuda out of the NYC Metro area.

If you have any questions, feel free to fire away.

Thanks

Thanks for the review! I'll be on the Summit in a couple of weeks to Bermuda. First sailed on her a couple years ago, I was worried about going on an older/smaller ship, but Summit proved me wrong. She's becoming a favorite of mine.

Thanks for your review the Summit is an outstanding ship. All the cabins are large than on the "S" class ships. Great candid review.

Marleycruiser, how was the disembarkation process? What time did you leave MC and how long did it take to get your luggage, go through customs and get outside. Were you escorted through any part of the process?

We are sailing next week in a suite and our car service suggested meeting us at 10:00 am. I'm kinda thinking that is late. While we will be in no hurry and we do want to avoid the mad rush, we don't want to sit around in Michaels with nothing to do either.

Thanks

Happy to read your review as we are getting ready to set sail on the Summit for Bermuda as well.

Thanks for your review. Summit is, for sure, my favorite ship. Luminae is spectacular! I had Jason for my waiter in July and Maggie is just the absolute best. Service on Summit is 100%. I agree that Celebrity needs to "beef up" their entertainment - it pales in comparison to NCL. Did you get to try any of the specialty restaurants?

Marleycruiser, how was the disembarkation process? What time did you leave MC and how long did it take to get your luggage, go through customs and get outside. Were you escorted through any part of the process?

 

We are sailing next week in a suite and our car service suggested meeting us at 10:00 am. I'm kinda thinking that is late. While we will be in no hurry and we do want to avoid the mad rush, we don't want to sit around in Michaels with nothing to do either.

 

Thanks

When I disembarked on July 16th, I had my car service pick me up at 8:30 am. I was in the car and on the way home at 8:40 am. I've done this several times on Summit in Bayonne and I am always off the ship by 8:30 am. The Michael's Club Concierge would escort us off the ship, right to our luggage, and then take it one step further and escort us to a private line for Customs.

I also got off yesterday and will add my own thoughts later... my experience coming from a deck 2 interior. Still had a nice time and can give more input on the Cosmopolitan dining experience.

I also got off yesterday and will add my own thoughts later... my experience coming from a deck 2 interior. Still had a nice time and can give more input on the Cosmopolitan dining experience.

Please do! We sail Sunday. Looking forward to reading about your trip.

When I disembarked on July 16th, I had my car service pick me up at 8:30 am. I was in the car and on the way home at 8:40 am. I've done this several times on Summit in Bayonne and I am always off the ship by 8:30 am. The Michael's Club Concierge would escort us off the ship, right to our luggage, and then take it one step further and escort us to a private line for Customs.

That is quick! Just so I understand........you left michaels at 8:30 and you were in the car at 8:40?!?! 10 minutes!

That is quick! Just so I understand........you left michaels at 8:30 and you were in the car at 8:40?!?! 10 minutes!

Yes, 10 minutes. I was alone and did not need a porter to help with my luggage. It took 5 minutes to walk through the terminal, get my 1 big suitcase and wheel it through Customs and out on the sidewalk. I texted my driver and he pulled up within minutes to pick me up. In September there are 5 of us traveling so I think we'll need a bit more time with the luggage and will probably need a porter at the pier. I will tell the car service to be there by 9 am (they always are there early anyway so I'm betting we are all in the car and on our way home by 9 am.)

If memory serves me correctly when I did a back to back cruise in Bayonne the entire ship was empty of passengers by 9:45 am and they then escorted us back to back passengers off the ship and through immigration and we were back onboard at around 10 am!

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To answer a few question.

1) We did not eat at any specialty restaurants as the experience in Luminae was beyond anything we had ever experienced before.

2) Embarkation we got there at 1030 and the ship had already started boarding early (they made mention of the fact they turned around the previous ship "early")

3) Debarkation was OK, but we were in our car driving away by 830 AM. There was really no need to walk off luggage as Suite Guests luggage is dropped off closest to the customs line. Additionally, we were walked from Michael's to our luggage but there were several people that joined the Suite Guests line. Manuala, the concierge in Michael's, was clearly overwhelmed and I felt they needed to have 3-4 more people handling Suite guests (100+ people). We did cut the line to get off the ship where we showed our card, and again at customs. In my opinion, 1030 is far too late, I would have him pick me up no later than 9 (I would tell him 830 and let him wait as opposed to the other way around).

If you do NCL again you should try The Haven. It will give you a new experience of the ship.

Leaving on the 20th. Any dailies you might share?

We were on this cruise as well. We left Blu, walked off our suitcases and using the Zenith Blu line were at the parking garage in 15 minutes.

It was the best disembarkation that we have enjoyed.

We ate at both Tuscan and Qsine but truly enjoyed the service in Blu.

Manuela was great but when so many people want to be off at the same time there is bound to be a problem. We could not get to Michael's because of the long line disembarking on deck 4 but we met her in the terminal as she was heading back for the next group.

When I disembarked on July 16th, I had my car service pick me up at 8:30 am. I was in the car and on the way home at 8:40 am. I've done this several times on Summit in Bayonne and I am always off the ship by 8:30 am. The Michael's Club Concierge would escort us off the ship, right to our luggage, and then take it one step further and escort us to a private line for Customs.

If you can recall, how many non private lines were there for customs for non suite guests?

Leaving on the 20th. Any dailies you might share?

What would you like to see? My former posting host/medium was photobucket but I have not yet mastered Shutterfly. I can post some on "Who is Onboard".

2) Embarkation we got there at 1030 and the ship had already started boarding early (they made mention of the fact they turned around the previous ship "early")

We're not staying in a suite. What is the normal embarkation time? We're driving to the terminal so we can really get there as early as they'll let us on.

Thanks for the review Marleycruiser and Arno. We will be back on the Summit 27 AUG and I can't wait. This is our first time to Bermuda, but second time on the Summit and second time sailing out of Bayonne. We are also in a suite and happy to here that you loved the experience of Luminae and Michael's Club. Now I'm even more anxious ;-)

We're not staying in a suite. What is the normal embarkation time? We're driving to the terminal so we can really get there as early as they'll let us on.

We arrived at 9:30-10:00 to get a parking spot. I dropped my wife off in front of the terminal with our luggage, parked the car, took a picture of the post with our floor number and location (memory aid). Take your parking ticket with you to pay at the kiosks outside when you return. It's a short walk to the terminal. Had our suitcases scanned, xpress pass processed and seated within 15 minutes. An announcement mentioned that boarding would begin at 11:30 starting with Zeniths, suites, AQ, etc. I went outside to visit the teardrop monument and take some pictures. The Michael's Conciege showed up at 10:30 and stated that boarding would begin early and we were onboard before 11.

If you can recall, how many non private lines were there for customs for non suite guests?

I'm sorry I can't help you out as I didn't notice.

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Thank you to Marleycruiser and jcpc re your disembarkation experience. I am calling our car service to change our pickup time to 9:00.

We are sailing on Summit in just under two weeks heading to Bermuda. It's our first cruise and we're very excited. The original post mentioned rain, is the weather generally very pleasent and warm on the trip? When I did the original research it seemed to be quite similar to Florida weather at this time of the year (nice most of the day but heavy showers occasionally).

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Thanks for your review.

We are sailing on Summit in just under two weeks heading to Bermuda. It's our first cruise and we're very excited. The original post mentioned rain, is the weather generally very pleasent and warm on the trip? When I did the original research it seemed to be quite similar to Florida weather at this time of the year (nice most of the day but heavy showers occasionally).

 

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Weather should be hot and sunny, unless of course there's a tropical storm or hurricane lurking in the area.

We have been there in July and August and both times were hot and sunny. No rain.

Have a great trip.