Summit Review 6/10-6/17

[CruisersTimesThree]

Just back from the Summit June 10-17 sailing and it was our first time on Celebrity and in my opinion the best cruise we ever took. My husband and I were in a Royal Suite and traveled with another couple who were in a Sky Suite. Following is my impressions and opinions (long) If anyone has any questions, I will try my best to answer them.

Happy sailing to all!

 

 

Embarkation

Easy as 1-2-3....we arrived at the port around 11, dropped off all our luggage which was promptly taken by a porter. My husband parked our van in the on-site parking lot ($133 for 7 nights) which was a few minute walk back to the terminal.

We were checked in and aboard the ship within 20 mins. We were at this same port in 2010 for a cruise on RC and the whole process was a mess, so I will say that Celebrity was tops in this dept.

 

We had decided beforehand, thanks to many tips here on CC, to grab a quick bite in Bistro on Five. Between the four of us we had beef paninis which were absolutely delicious, the Italian crepes, which quickly became my husbands favorite and the Cajun crepes, which was my favorite. The manager in here is a young gentleman named Milton and he and our servers couldn't have been any nicer. They were very attentive to us and made sure we had everything we needed. We actually had a late lunch here on another day after coming back onboard after a day on the island. Because they made a mistake with something in our order, Milton didn't charge us the $5 cover that day even though we kept insisting it wasn't a problem. Little things like that certainly were appreciated.

 

After lunch we decided to explore the ship alittle, especially to find out where the various bars were since we all had the premium alcohol package. The Martini bar/Crush is stunning, very modern and cool looking. It became our nightcap area before heading to bed each evening. Cellar Masters was another favorite of ours as it's just off the entrance to the select dining room area, so it was our stop for a glass of wine before dinner.

The Sunset bar located aft on deck 10 quickly became a hangout for us, as the evenings were beautiful and we enjoyed the guitarist Nestor very much who played there a few late nights. If you go there when there is music, ask if the waiter Patrick can dance for everyone!

Cafe al Bacio has a wonderful selection of teas/coffees and a delicious case full of yummy little treats (small sandwiches, pastries, and to die for peanut butter cookies!)

 

 

Cabins

As stated above, my husband and I were in a Royal Suite and were very impressed with the accommodations. Tons of storage, a huge bathroom, a separate bedroom and best of all, our butler Benjamin. He did everything he possibly could to make our trip even more enjoyable. We didn't really ask for much as there was no need to. I did ask for shrimp cocktail and a cheese platter instead of the usual tidbits brought at 5pm and this request was granted with a smile. Feather pillows requested and gotten. Tea service at 4pm was a treat, but we only had it maybe 3 days as we were so busy much of the time. As far as extra perks which have been discussed here on CC many times....we DID have all the elite coupons waiting for us on the dining room table when we arrived (free internet coupons, laundry, dining discounts etc) We also had 2 bottles of liquor, 1 vodka, 1 scotch (which Benjamin switched out for us for another vodka) and mixers.

Our one complaint had to do with the cabin attendant, Filomena. I would expect to have our rugs vacuumed daily and finally after day 4 had to mention to Benjamin that we kept looking at the same lint and feathers on the floor for a few days. The vanity area in the bedroom was never wiped. I know this because make-up and hairspray accumulated on the countertop and I wiped it down each evening. Ice replacement was another thing we needed to speak up about. One night, which happened to be our anniversary, we came back from our evening out on the ship and planned on having a nice drink on the balcony before bed only to find the ice bucket empty and dried. We felt horrible to call anyone at the hour (1am) so my husband ran up to the buffet and filled some glasses with ice.

 

 

Dining

We ate in both speciality restaurants and the MDR. We had reserved, prior to boarding, dinner in Qsine the first night onboard (which was free with the new suite perks) All I can say is amazing! So much fun, great concept, presentation was beautiful and we left wanting to explode. I think we were able to get through about 10 different items until we told our waiter "NO MORE FOOD!"

The Normandie was not in our plans, but the above mentioned Milton was our headwaiter in the dining room and kept insisting that we had to eat there, when we kept saying maybe, he offered us a 20% discount and wouldn't take no for an answer. He asked which night we preferred and took care of making all the arrangements for us. We dined here on our last night and were so glad we listened to Milton. The food was outstanding and the service even more so. The lobster is fantastic and the filet mignon trio is just presented so beautifully, its a shame to eat it!

Dessert crepes made table-side made for quite a show.

The MDR was also very good and select dining was perfect for us as we ate dinner anywhere between 6:30ish on sea days and around 8:30 on port days.

The menus had some very nice choices each night and we were very happy with everything we ordered. The crab stuffed mushrooms that are available every night are soooo good, as is the french onion soup. I think the 5 nights we dined there, I had both each night.

Buffets arent our thing, so we didn't eat here very often, but when we did we enjoyed most things we chose. The burgers at the poolside pool are very good and the french fries even better.

Pizza at midnight was a must and it was very good.

Oh...and at breakfast, the waffles...yummy!

 

 

Entertainment

All I can say is...fantastic! I think that Celebrity had the best cruise shows I have ever seen! Beautiful costumes, great choreography and wonderful entertainers. The comedian (who's name escapes me) was very very funny. No vulgarity, just talked about everyday life (wife and kids) and life on the ship. He really was great. Sue Denning, the cruise director was good, although since Celebrity doesn't have much in the way of poolside entertainment, I have no idea what she does all day. I only saw her in the evenings to introduce the shows. She did a one woman show, which we were sorry we missed, as others we spoke with said she was very talented and entertaining.

But by far our favorites were the Russian acrobats (I think that would be how to classify them) Dimitri and Katya. They were amazing! We actually met Dimitri one day sitting outside by the Dockyard stores on his computer. He was such a sweetheart and chatted with us for quite awhile telling us about working on the cruise ships and his family back home. He is a very talented young man.

The accapella group "up till two" (I think that's their name) were fantastic. I really enjoyed their Jersey Boys rendition.

 

 

Bermuda

Having been here twice before, my husband and I pretty much had been to most of the must see places, but as it was our friends first time there we hired a taxi tour guide the first day there. In 6 hrs he took us everywhere and we saw all the highlights of beautiful Bermuda. Gibbons Lighthouse, Crystal Caves, St George, Swizzle Inn, Mayor Bloombergs house and the front entrance to Michael Douglas/Catherine Zeta Jones's home (they live there full time) He also stopped at some of the resorts for us to look around.

Luckily for us, we had two great weather days so day 2 we spent at Horseshoe Bay....wow, just wow...one of the most gorgeous beaches in the world. Chair rentals, clean bathrooms, and a not too pricey restaurant for lunch. A very relaxing day spent in the sun.

Unfortunately on our last day we woke up to pouring rain so our plan to spend the day at Snorkel Beach got ditched and we decided to take the ferry to Hamilton and shop. The rain let up which made walking around more comfortable. The stores were very nice and we found everything we were looking for.

 

 

Crew

The nicest and most helpful we have ever come across cruising. Everyone stopped and spoke to us, never passed anyone without a good morning, afternoon, evening. We were very impressed with everyone we came in contact with. Because of the service on the Summit, we will definitely be sailing Celebrity for years to come.

 

Disembarkation

Just as easy getting off as it was getting on. We were told to be in Normandie for 8:40 and were called to make our way off the ship at 8:45. Luggage was easy to find, given to a porter, sailed through customs, hubby got the van and we quickly left the port and were back in Long Island a little after 10.

 

 

Final thoughts

I don't know if we were the exception to not really have any complaints about our experience. We were very happy with every aspect of our cruise. There were so many special touches that made it even more enjoyable. My husband was thrilled with invitations to tour the bridge one day, and the engine room on another. The night of our anniversary we came back to our cabin to find a floral arrangement and a bottle of wine...these little things made us fall in love with Celebrity.

I can't wait to book another cruise with them!

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review.

[Kathy130]

Great review!! Getting more excited for my August cruise !!

[mahdnc]

Glad to hear you had a great time. Thanks for posting the review!

[vickykay]

Great review! We leave on Sunday and really looking forward to this cruise. did you have to wait long to be seated in the dining room for dinner?

 

Thanks.

 

Vicky

[d4m]

Great review! Sounds like a terrific cruise

[uktog]

Glad to hear you had better weather than we had on the previous trip. Yes Dimitri and Katya are such wonderful dancers and such lovely people. I hope we sail with them again soon

[Spf12]

Thanks for your review and glad you had a wonderful time.As a previous poster asked,did you have to wait to be seated in the MDR for dinner.Previous cruisers stated that they had long wait times.I'm curious because I'm booked on the Summit to Bermuda next May.

Thanks

[DPurcell58]

Also wondering about waiting times with Select Time dining.

[librarylady19]

Thanks for posting. Sounds like a great trip, with the exception of some housekeeping issues - unacceptable when you are paying Royal Suite prices IMO. Celebrity generally assigns its best to the high-end suites. Did you address this issue with anyone other than the butler?

[Lady Arwen]

Thanks for your terrific review. We're looking forward to our re-positioning cruise April 2013 and our 2 days in Bermuda.

[CruisersTimesThree]

The only night we had a wait was on Tuesday, our first dinner in Select, (the first night we ate in Qsine and the first formal night we were extended an invitation to the captains table) but it was only 15 mins and was probably between 7-7:30, which seemed to be a busy time on sea days. The other evenings we requested to be seated in Milton's area and never had a wait, but those nights were before 7 or after 8.

 

As far as lodging a complaint with anyone other then Benjamin, we felt that telling him solved some of the issues, but we aren't the type that runs and complains about every little thing. I guess when we didnt tip her extra at the end of the cruise, she may have gotten the message that her service wasn't what we expected.

[Erik101]

Thanks for posting your review and sharing your experience! By chance, do you have any pictures that you can show us? We're thinking about the Summit in November and photos from other cruisers' cameras help us get a "feel" for our vacation. :)

[vickykay]

You mentioned sitting in Milton's area for dinner - where was this area located? Good waiter?

 

Vicky

[jcpc]

Thanks for your review. It makes me even more excited to be sailing later this year. We are also in a RS, so hopefully the housekeeping issues are resolved prior to our sailing. Just curious - would you be willing to give your cabin number (or at least if it was odd numbered or even numbered cabin).

 

Any pictures you can share??

 

Thanks again.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

There is something about the crew on Celebrity that just makes it the best cruise line afloat IMO. From the moment you board you are treated like a "Celebrity" and the "Good Morning Madame", "Would you like this Madame"- just reinforces this the whole cruise. Good training on the part of Celebrity!

[CruisersTimesThree]

I hope to get to work on some pics at some point this week or next, right now I am being overcome with the after vacation laundry (worst part of coming home!)

 

Vicky, Milton is not a waiter, he is a head waiter who oversees the work of the wait staff. His section on our cruise was in the select dining section, right hand side of the dining room. Select dining seating is the upper level of the MDR. He also is the manager in Bistro on Five. I don't know if they move postitions from cruise to cruise in the dining room, but if you do meet him tell him his Rico Suave girls say hi! (he is very very handsome...lol!)

 

Our suite was odd numbered which is the port side of the ship.

[cruiseacecat]

Happy to hear you enjoyed Summit :)

 

Do you happen to know who the hotel director is? Thanks for any info.

 

Anne

[CruisersTimesThree]

I'm so bad with names of people that I don't actually meet in person, but I do remember seeing his name on a few pieces of mail that were delivered to our stateroom and also on the flowers that were sent the night of our anniversary. I DO know his first name was Darren, but his last name escapes me...sorry

[jcpc]

Thank you for the info re the suite number. We also are odd numbered so I can only hope that Filomena is not still there at the end of August (but hopefully Benjamin is!)

 

Thanks again for the info.

[cruiseacecat]

I'm so bad with names of people that I don't actually meet in person, but I do remember seeing his name on a few pieces of mail that were delivered to our stateroom and also on the flowers that were sent the night of our anniversary. I DO know his first name was Darren, but his last name escapes me...sorry

Darren is enough. Thank you so much for responding.

 

Anne

[Newsbuff16]

Great review.....thanks for posting!

[librarylady19]

Not to be snarky, but why can't you reveal the actual number of the suite?

[Wine-O]

Happy to hear you enjoyed Summit :)

 

Do you happen to know who the hotel director is? Thanks for any info.

 

Anne

 

Here's a listing of the ship's staff. Darren Tiller is the Hotel Manager. He just reported on board shortly after their repositioning. I think he really turned services around from reading previous reviews. Most reviews lately have been favorable.

 

http://www.sjajg.com/travel/cruise2012B/Dailies/Ship_Staff_Info.PDF

[uktog]

I agree, Darren was very approachable on our cruise and took note of the issues we had. We did not see a measurable improvement in the service in our cabin after we spoke to Darren but I think that would have involved them replacing the attendant. Most of the missing Aqua items did appear (but it was Day 5/6 - we had only seen Darren on Day 4 to mention the issues). We did also have a call from Guest Relations.

Also the Chief Housekeeper changed on June 10th and I suspect Darren would be wanting to concentrate his efforts on setting up standards with the incoming jobholder.

Certainly, the standards set in the restaurants and bars that we experienced was high. If they can sort out the Cabin Attendants to get a consistent service for all guests it will be a cracking ship