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Just home from Summit

JanineM

By JanineM,
in Celebrity Cruises

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JanineM

JanineM

Posted
Posted

We just walked in the door after a great week on Summit. Disappointing to leave that 80+ weather for rainy, sleety Atlanta!

 

I'm happy to answer any questions, but here are a few general answers in advance:

  • formal nights were Sunday and Thursday
  • few tuxedos or gowns, lots of suits and cocktail dresses
  • on embarkation no one asked us if we had any wine (which we did - purchased it at the pier - lousy selection)
  • No marmite or toaster in Michael's Club for breakfast!
  • food was good - better than I expected - desserts were far better than I had been led to believe. I've got about 3# to prove it!
  • no flat panel tv in our stateroom ( a CC veranda)
  • Normandie was as good as usual, and they did offer cheese if you wanted, but they didn't automatically roll out the cheese tray

We did have a great time and met a lot of good Cruise Critic buddies (sat with 6 of them at dinner each night).

 

Oh - Luggage Valet was an absolute NIGHTMARE. I know that it has gone smoothly on many other sailings, but this particular trip was a 1 out of 10. Dozens of us were in line last night well after midnight waiting for our tags and boarding passes. It was poorly handled by X and I suspect there will be more than a few unhappy phone calls to Miami next week. I was most disappointed with the Concierge who clocked out at 7:30 pm and didn't make himself available to help out with the situation.

 

Janine

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FinelyCruising

FinelyCruising

Posted
Posted
We just walked in the door after a great week on Summit. Disappointing to leave that 80+ weather for rainy, sleety Atlanta!

 

I'm happy to answer any questions, but here are a few general answers in advance:

  • formal nights were Sunday and Thursday
  • few tuxedos or gowns, lots of suits and cocktail dresses
  • on embarkation no one asked us if we had any wine (which we did - purchased it at the pier - lousy selection)
  • No marmite or toaster in Michael's Club for breakfast!
  • food was good - better than I expected - desserts were far better than I had been led to believe. I've got about 3# to prove it!
  • no flat panel tv in our stateroom ( a CC veranda)
  • Normandie was as good as usual, and they did offer cheese if you wanted, but they didn't automatically roll out the cheese tray

We did have a great time and met a lot of good Cruise Critic buddies (sat with 6 of them at dinner each night).

 

Oh - Luggage Valet was an absolute NIGHTMARE. I know that it has gone smoothly on many other sailings, but this particular trip was a 1 out of 10. Dozens of us were in line last night well after midnight waiting for our tags and boarding passes. It was poorly handled by X and I suspect there will be more than a few unhappy phone calls to Miami next week. I was most disappointed with the Concierge who clocked out at 7:30 pm and didn't make himself available to help out with the situation.

 

Janine

 

Why you didn't wait at least a week to get on the scale is beyond me.:D Welcome Home!

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cruise pup

cruise pup

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I called Guest Services and was on hold for 15 minutes so I hung up. I didn't see the point of getting dressed and going down there since I imagined it must have been a zoo. So I put my luggage out with the color tags I was originally assigned. I was sleepy and knew I needed to wake up early so I didn't want to wait any longer for the docs. I figured I would find my luggage in the arrivals hall and put the valet tag on before customs. Which is exactly what happened. My luggage made it safely onto my flight and it didn't take long to wait for it at the luggage carousel. The $20. fee, by the way, didn't appear on my final statement.

 

I thought service on the ship was excellent. Whenever my steward or assistant saw me in the hallway they would use their passkeys to open my stateroom door for me. The dirning room waiter couldn't have been more attentive too. And the menu was a major disappointment (most people I spoke with felt the same way) so he worked extra hard to help out all at the table as best he could given the unimaginatve menu. Meatballs as a chef's recommendation? A far cry from Michel Roux.

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JanineM

JanineM

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I called Guest Services and was on hold for 15 minutes so I hung up. I didn't see the point of getting dressed and going down there since I imagined it must have been a zoo. So I put my luggage out with the color tags I was originally assigned. I was sleepy and knew I needed to wake up early so I didn't want to wait any longer for the docs. I figured I would find my luggage in the arrivals hall and put the valet tag on before customs. Which is exactly what happened. My luggage made it safely onto my flight and it didn't take long to wait for it at the luggage carousel. The $20. fee, by the way, didn't appear on my final statement.

 

 

No one in our group got coloured tags - all we got was a letter confirming Luggage Valet on Wednesday. Had I not been able to get our tags when I did, I would have asked for coloured ones. It worked out fine for us, but there were a lot of grumblings and comments that Guest Services probably would have responded better, promptly and more politely if we hadn't already handed in our questionnaires. :(

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JanineM

JanineM

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Janine, what's your opinion of the ship's overall condition, including your cabin? There are many negative impressions in CC's review section.

 

We were last on Summit in April 2008 in almost the same CC cabin on deck 8, right before the dry dock. She is in better shape now than she was then. They were actively replacing carpet in some of the elevator lobbies and were touching up paint on the verandahs during our sailing. The gym had new Life Fitness equipment and it looked like the carpet had been replaced very recently. Our cabin was in very good shape - linens were crisp and colours in the sofa, bedding and window treatments were bright. A couple of tiles/grout areas in the bathroom were chipped just a tiny bit. Everything was clean clean clean.

 

The only place I noticed any wear was in one chair in the MDR and on a couple of the railings on the pool deck (but that's a constant issue). My chair at the MDR table was a bit wobbly and probably just needed a screw tightened.

 

While the ship is clearly not brand new, it is hardly "shabby" or in lousy shape. I'd give it an A- to B+ for condition.

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Lois R "Live from...." Rare

Lois R

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Hi, I was on Janine's sailing....we were tablemates:D

And I was also one of those dozens and dozens of people standing in line

at midnight looking for my luggage tags and boarding passes too:eek:

I have to say, yes my luggage made it home but Guest Relations

really, REALLY blew it on this one:(

 

The Connections Party was Sunday morning at 9:15am.....:eek:

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cruise pup

cruise pup

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No one in our group got coloured tags - all we got was a letter confirming Luggage Valet on Wednesday. Had I not been able to get our tags when I did, I would have asked for coloured ones. It worked out fine for us, but there were a lot of grumblings and comments that Guest Services probably would have responded better, promptly and more politely if we hadn't already handed in our questionnaires. :(

 

And to think I almost threw out those colored tags when they were delivered.

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Wasasalad

Wasasalad

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I love the Thalassotherapy pool!

Is it still there? Is it still open late?

Do they still have a spa menu service of very healthy, mostly vegetarian foods, in the Thallasotherapy pool area?

On our 2 week Panama Canal cruise I had breakfast, lunch and dinner there! Loved it!

I loved that room and the soft soothing music?

Is there a charge now, ours was included with our suite.

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JanineM

JanineM

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I love the Thalassotherapy pool!

Is it still there? Is it still open late?

Do they still have a spa menu service of very healthy, mostly vegetarian foods, in the Thallasotherapy pool area?

On our 2 week Panama Canal cruise I had breakfast, lunch and dinner there! Loved it!

I loved that room and the soft soothing music?

Is there a charge now, ours was included with our suite.

 

The Thalossotherapy pool is still there, as is the Aqua Spa cafe with pretty much the same food as before. Our sailing was so port intensive that we didn't get to use the pool, which was a disappointment to me ... next time!

 

Still no charge on Summit - it is open to all adults. The pool is open for those over 16 from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. I think they charge on Mercury, but on Summit there is no additional charge.

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Lois R "Live from...." Rare

Lois R

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Janine, it was great sailing with you and Geoff again:)....and you

are quite right about the kids....I was told there were only 85 on board

and most of them had to be under 3 years old and I think all of those

little ones were quite well behaved:D

 

I am debating about writing a review.....

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Spoofa1

Spoofa1

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We are leaving this weekend for the Summit and I wonder if anyone went to the Market across from the ship and noticed what kind of soda they carry? I love Pepsi products, usually buy a soda card for the week (which is Coke but wondering if I'm better off just buying six packs and bringing them on the ship,,,,,,,,,

 

ps, sorry to hear about the huge mixup with the luggage but also nice to hear it didn't ruin your vacation, what is it they say, we shouldn't sweat the small stuff???????

 

Eileen

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cruise pup

cruise pup

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I spent the entire cruise aboard the ship. Even before I left I thought the cruise was too port intensive and decided that I would definately stay on board in St. Thomas and Antiqua. You cannot enjoy the ship if you are constantly rushing off. Fortunately I was in every port at least once so there were no must-sees on this cruise. Even so, I don't like the idea that you don't get to relax and enjoy sailing since the ship only sailed at sundown except for the 1 sea day. I kept telling myself that the cruise was selected for the cut rate fare and had to make allowances. We were lucky to have extemely smooth sea conditions during the entire voyage. I would lie in my stateroom thinking "Rock, damnit! I want to know we're at sea."LOL

 

I went to the t-pool most every day and ate lunch at the Aqua Spa Cafe 3 times. If only the dining room was run as well. The food is cooked to order in the Aqua Spa so everything I ordered was great. Also, when you select the ingredients for your salad the chef is the one who puts it together so less chance of norovirus from everyone touching utensils. They would also bring the food to your table and even out to the loungers by the pool. I only missed the borscht they use to offer as a cold soup selection. The manager said it's gone from the menu. It's also nice if you're at the spa end of the outdoor pool area to be able to use the beverage dispensers at the cafe instead of walking over to the grill area.

 

The t-pool area is very nice and children are only permitted in the area to use the cafe. The only issue I had was that the showers by the t-pool were too hot. I found it preferable to go inside and use the changing room showers. I liked the sauna in the changing room but there was no timer inside. I had free use of the Persian Garden for one sea day and I hated it. The steam rooms are dimly lit and again, no way to time yourself. I also found the thermal seats very difficult to sit on. They are very weird. Glad I didn't pay to use this facility. I sould chose Carnival and RCCL's free steam rooms or NCL's pay spa area over the Persian Garden any day.

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Lois R "Live from...." Rare

Lois R

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Please could you tell me what day and the time that the 'connections party was held..

 

Thanks :)

 

I did not attend but it was held at 9:15am on Sunday morning.

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