Just off Summit 6/1 sailing - lots of changes!

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Thanks for the positive report. Wonder when it will be rolled out on other ships.

 

The only thing that concerns me is the portion sizes in the buffet. For lunch I have a salad and like a variety of a few other foods and tend to take only one spoon of any item so I'm thinking portions will be too big for me.

 

Mary Lou

[retired067]

Thanks for the positive review, it was refreshing after all the negative reviews as of late. I hope the changes are rolled out on the Eclipse for our Dec. cruise.

Anyone have the new Bistro menu?

Thanks

[kayhil3]

Thank you for your nice review. This is our first cruise on this cruise line, having taken 8 cruises on ncl. Having read a few not so good reviews I do know though, a cruise is what you make it. Looking forwad to a great cruise. Any tips would be appreciated.

[tymike]

Thank you for your nice review. This is our first cruise on this cruise line, having taken 8 cruises on ncl. Having read a few not so good reviews I do know though, a cruise is what you make it. Looking forwad to a great cruise. Any tips would be appreciated.

 

Ditto on the thank you for the review OP! I will have been on 4 NCL cruises when I sail on the Summit this August and I loved your positive remarks! Yes. A cruise is what we all make it! It's a vacation after all!

 

Tips are indeed appreciated...I'm sailing in a sky suite and have never had to do a 'formal night' on NCL. I'm sorry Michael's Club isn't available to sky suites, but I think the perks in that suite sound pretty darn nice!:)

[20pluscruises]

Thanks!!! Great info!!!

[koolforkatz]

I agree about the food. We are just off the Century. It was okay when we were on it two months ago, but what a difference eight weeks makes. The improvement was very noticeable. Much better and close to some of the best we've had in some time, both MDR and buffet. Very happy with this change!

[drarill]

Great review!! Thanks for sharing your positive experience with us!:)

[cruiserone]

Is a Sky SUITE NOT a suite? If it's a SUITE why aren't the occupants of the SUITE treated like SUITE passengers? Then if NOT why are they called SUITES?:eek::eek::eek:

 

Only a question!

[ECCruise]

Is a Sky SUITE NOT a suite? If it's a SUITE why aren't the occupants of the SUITE treated like SUITE passengers? Then if NOT why are they called SUITES?:eek::eek::eek:

 

Only a question!

 

Its like a Mini Suite on Princess...no real perks.

A Junior Suite on RCCL...no real perks

 

It is a suite in name only...not in size or benefits.

[mom23guys]

We just returned too from the June 1 sailing. We were in Aqua so I can't say anything about the MDR. It was an excellent cruise though.

I felt the buffet need more tweaking. I usually have a salad and a few tastes of things that might be interesting and maybe a piece or two of cantaloupe.

Well you can't get two cubes of cantaloupe you have to take a big bowl full of watermelon,pineapple, honeydew and cantaloupe. I hate such waste. The other strange thing is the salad dressing is nowhere near the salad. Poor planning. We went yesterday to the buffet for breakfast. I wanted a waffle(hadn't had one all cruise since they are not on Blu's menu.) When I asked for bacon I was told to go to another line which was pretty long. I just took the bacon, sausage, and egg dish and ate the bacon. What a waste! The quality of the food was very good though. They still need to work on that buffet though.

 

Blu was outstanding as always. I was very pleased with the Summit overall.

[geneology]

Its like a Mini Suite on Princess...no real perks.

A Junior Suite on RCCL...no real perks

 

It is a suite in name only...not in size or benefits.

 

Since this is my first time on Celebrity - is a concierge balcony the same as a regular balcony?

 

On NCL we usually get the mini-suite, which like stated before, is not a suite just a little bigger balcony room.

 

I can see the pros and cons to the new way they are serving food at the buffet. I am always open to new concepts.

[whatevergoes]

Nine of us returned from Bermuda on the Summit on June 1 and couldn't agree more. We were worried with all the negative posts prior to our sailing and they were very wrong. Great food in MDR, no problems getting drinks promptly and the service was pefect. Goes to show.....don't listen to all the negativity on the boards lately. They just made me anxious for no reason. Celebrity did a great job

[monicajay]

They really should open up Michael's to all suites, since the venue is much too large for for the 18 higher end suites. Either that, or they should find a smaller room, similar to the cozy Concierge Lounge on RCL's Freedom class ships.

 

It will sadden us not to be able to go to Michael's on our next cruise. Sadder is that those in suites don't like it because it's too quiet :mad:. It would be nice if they could find a smaller location and give back Michael's to the masses.

 

They can't really open it to all suites because on the M class that could work but I gather on the S class it would be way too small.

[Wine-O]

We were on the same cruise. While I don't do buffets, I did notice on my way back to the Sunset Bar that the evening buffet was plentiful. They had several carving stations. First time I've ever seen them carve up whole roasted chickens along with Virginia hams and pork loins. For those who didn't want to go to the MDR certainly would have nothing to complain about with regard to buffet selections.

 

Additionally, have read horror stories about inability to get a drink at the bars with everyone having the beverage package. I had the classic beverage package and upgraded to the premium. Never had a problem getting a drink at any of the bars. Did have to wait at the pool bar on a warm, sunny sea day where everyone seemed to be drinking those "umbrella" drinks, and I just wanted a cold beer. :eek:

 

Found a new favorite bar in Café al Bacio. Never knew they had a full bar and served more than just coffees. Alexander and the crew were fantastic.

[daddcap]

I too was on this cruise and thought just about everything was great including the buffet. I like the new style with the separate dish in baskets, I also think this helps with keeping germs from spreading as you only have to touch one item that other passengers did not handle.

 

I met WINO on this cruise and agree with him never had a problem getting a drink at any of the bars.

 

The one issue we had was our key card kept malfunctioning for the first three days and I had to keep going to customer relations to get it fixed. They were prompt but still a PITA.

 

We were in Aqua Class and thought the brunch on embarkation day was excellent, a nice place to relax while waiting for the room to be ready. We ate in Normandie and Qsine and thought Normandie was very good and Qsine was okay.

 

We really liked the entertainment, Five O'Clock Somewhere, Stephen Aubrey and Jordan Peterson were all wonderful and friendly.

 

The ship seemed to be in great shape, they closed the Sunset Bar for two days while they refinished the bar and stools, there was always some sort of maintenance going on.

 

A great cruise and the staff was fantastic except for one sommelier in Cellar Masters was kind of iffy.

 

We booked again for next year, can't wait.

[NLH Arizona]

 

OVERALL, I'd say that rumors of cutbacks and deterioration of service have been greatly exaggerated. Nearly all of the innovations and new products on board are improvements and offer more variety and better quality. Summit is a great ship with a friendly, professional crew that truly seem to enjoy their jobs. I'm looking forward to being back on Summit next year!:)

 

Happy to answer any questions!:)

Thanks so much for the refreshing review. It is nice to hear positives, instead of doom and gloom. I can't wait until I'm on the Summit in January.

[shoesonfire]

It's great hearing all the favorable comments about the recent changes on the Summit. We sailed her last summer and had a good cruise.

 

Does anyone know if the these changes will apply to other M ships? Hope to find the same on the Infinity this fall.

[CruisingChick]

I met WINO on this cruise and agree with him never had a problem getting a drink at any of the bars.

 

I am glad you never had a problem but most nights at the martini bar we had problems. 3 nights they actually ran out of martini glasses and not only did we have to wait for our order to be taken, once it was taken the bartender had to run off to get martini glasses. It was chaotic at best.

[cle-guy]

I am glad you never had a problem but most nights at the martini bar we had problems. 3 nights they actually ran out of martini glasses and not only did we have to wait for our order to be taken, once it was taken the bartender had to run off to get martini glasses. It was chaotic at best.

 

They ran out of martini glasses on my sailing a few times too.

 

This is in fact a recurring issue reading these threads, wonder what the problem is. They really should just put a normal bar-style glass washing system at that bar and not have to run all over the place to get clean barware so often, and find a way to stock more glassware at the bar itself, maybe remove some of the vodka bottles form the rotating display and double up on the martini glasses.

 

Summit was my first observance of a martini glass shortage, and I'm, surprised it continued into the next sailing.

 

One afternoon I stopped in just after opening, was only person there to get a espresso martini, they asked if I was taking it to go or staying in, that they had different "to go" glasses to use. Also cafe al bacio chase me down as I wasp leaving to wander with my ceramic mug telling me I had to stay there or pour it in a paper cup if I wanted to wander...what are they worried about, I'll toss it overboard and they will lose a glass or mug? The al bacio server said her supervisor was being very aggressive about watching their barware.

[surus]

We were also on this cruise, our first on Celebrity. We had a veranda cabin. Overall we were very pleased. We thought the food in the MDR was very good and the service was great. The wine steward was very attentive and we never had a problem getting a glass of wine. We also enjoyed the buffet, especially the carvery, cheeses and salads. Everything was tasty. Sometimes there was a problem finding a cleared table and if we had to bus a table we did, as did others. Our one dining disappointment was Normandie which we saved for the last night for a special 46th anniversary dinner. The place was half empty, service slow, table side presentation of the beef dish consisted of the waiter slicing a filet and putting it on our plates. It tasted like sirloin. The accompanying vegetables were 2 thumb size potatoes and something green that I can't even remember. The waiter vanished and after we ate we left.

We upgraded our drink package and enjoyed the water, fresh juice and better wines (we often paid an up charge as some of the wines by the glass are pretty expensive. I ordered a glass of ice wine before I realized it was $30!). We enjoyed Cellar Masters and Dimitri very much. One kink with the premium pkg was the lack of the better Jameson's that Celebrity listed on this site a few weeks ago. We couldn't find Jameson's 12 or Jameson's Gold anywhere. DH met with the food and beverage manager and he said he wasn't aware that it was listed as part of the package but he would see what he could do. A bottle was eventually located but couldn't be removed from storage until we left Bermuda. But sure enough, right after we sailed the bottle was picked up by Dimitri and kept for us at Cellar Masters. We did appreciate the extra effort put forth to accommodate us.

We have another Celebrity cruise scheduled for September on Silhouette and are looking forward to experiencing S class. We feel compared to Oceania and Azamara Celebrity offers very good value.

[happy cruzer]

They ran out of martini glasses on my sailing a few times too.

 

This is in fact a recurring issue reading these threads, wonder what the problem is. They really should just put a normal bar-style glass washing system at that bar and not have to run all over the place to get clean barware so often, and find a way to stock more glassware at the bar itself, maybe remove some of the vodka bottles form the rotating display and double up on the martini glasses.

 

Summit was my first observance of a martini glass shortage, and I'm, surprised it continued into the next sailing.

 

One afternoon I stopped in just after opening, was only person there to get a espresso martini, they asked if I was taking it to go or staying in, that they had different "to go" glasses to use. Also cafe al bacio chase me down as I wasp leaving to wander with my ceramic mug telling me I had to stay there or pour it in a paper cup if I wanted to wander...what are they worried about, I'll toss it overboard and they will lose a glass or mug? The al bacio server said her supervisor was being very aggressive about watching their barware.

They may be experiencing loses from folks who collect items. Where folks have lots of luggage and are driving, some load up on items. Shared a table once with folks who bragged about taking items.

[emileg]

Since this is my first time on Celebrity - is a concierge balcony the same as a regular balcony?....

Good question, but I would suggest starting a new thread. But briefly, on M-class ships, a concierge cabin is significantly larger than a regular verandah stateroom. On S-Class ships, the cabins are the same size, concierge or regular. With concierge, you get some additional amenities, such as additional toiletries, a small binocular and an umbrella.

Edited June 10, 2014 by emileg

[rimram]

Glad you had a good cruise. I agree with you about the buffet, new lounge chairs (my back still hurts) and the martini bar also ran out of glasses numerous times on our May 25th cruise.

 

Happy to hear you loved the new Suite Perks. We always book insides, so that's not something we will ever get to experience.

Thank you for that great update, sailing on June 22

[shipfriend_max]

This all sounds good!

I also think that the cutbacks are definitely NOT true!

The food, either at the buffet or in MDR was very tasteful and varied.

But I think improving the menu is a good idea.

We really liked the live music at the pool.

 

We plan to sail to Alaska on Millennium next year. Maybe we recognize the good changes as well!! :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Chesbay]

We were also on the June 1 sailing and have great things to say about the trip. All of the employees were very customer service oriented and responsive. I thought the food was good in the buffet and decent in the MDR (it's hard to be great when you are producing 500 meals at once). The food in the Bistro and Normandie was fantastic. The Bistro is well worth the extra $7. The Cafe was a favorite of ours - and they make a mean Irish coffee :). Well done, Celebrity. We will travel on you again.