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

[forceten]

We were on this cruise also :D

 

They did let us have a brunch in Blue when we first got on, they ushered us right to the elevator and right to blu. Almost felt like we didnt have a choice but glad they had brunch it was nice.

 

Buffet, not sure how they did it before, but we tried the buffet once or twice and was fine for us. We used it mainly for ice cream cones and late night pizza!

 

We tried bisto on 5 once for brunch (late morning). I didn't take a picture of the menu but it had a lot more then the crepe stuff on it. We tried eggs and potatoes at first and we didn't like it at all. but then thought why not try something else before we go. Tried their nutella crepe and the sweet and sour chicken crepe and both were very good. So no so great for breakfast but seemed really good for a lunch or dinner.

 

The coffee house on deck 5 was fantastic! We have 6 pages of printout for our drinks, and at least 3 of them was the coffee house :) We figured it out - drinks would have cost both of us just about $600 without the drink package (classic) So overall it was a great perk for us!

 

Blu was great almost the entire week. So much so we didn't try room service or the MDR like we wanted. One or two nights at blu was only so so but for the most part food was very good.

 

We were pretty sea sick the first two days and the boat was rocking something awful. Missed the connections party and some other stuff until the sea sick pills started kicking in a little. After that things calmed down when we got to bermuda.

 

All I can say is it was a sad thing monday morning to be back at work! Somebody come turn down our bed and leave us little chocolates, and then take our drink orders while we relax and do nothing while waiting for dinner to be served to us :) Only terrible thing about vacation is coming back to the real world. Somebody adopt us and take us on the boat with them :D

 

 

As a first cruise we were happy with the summit and bermuda! Just wish thye boat was't so rocking back and forth - that monday especially. I think I'm still a bit motion sick 2 days after the cruise is over.

Edited June 10, 2014 by forceten

[espo56]

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.

 

I agree with your comments. I found the buffet to be very annoying when looking or things to go with the item I selected. Salad bar was a a mess also

[cle-guy]

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.

 

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.

 

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

 

When I was on week of May 25, they had cut fruit options as part of the salad bar area, so you could get whatever type of fruit one preferred.

 

Salas dressings were in pump style condiment dispensers, like they used to serve ketchup and mayo through at the panini station, immediately to the right of the salads, no longer pour bottles as in the past. I actually found the dressings to be tastier than the past somehow..

 

Bacon I found in 4 different places, both cooked to order egg stations, and at the waffle station, and at the Mast grill omelette station perhaps it was nearing end of breakfast or you were there for the start of the "express" breakfast service time that follows main breakfast but before lunch and thus the reduction in offerings at that time?

 

Just curiously following the progression of the changes....

[20pluscruises]

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.

 

Oh my! What a bunch of morons! AND then to brag about it! Takes all kinds, eh?

[20pluscruises]

We were on this cruise also :D

 

They did let us have a brunch in Blue when we first got on, they ushered us right to the elevator and right to blu. Almost felt like we didnt have a choice but glad they had brunch it was nice.

 

Buffet, not sure how they did it before, but we tried the buffet once or twice and was fine for us. We used it mainly for ice cream cones and late night pizza!

 

We tried bisto on 5 once for brunch (late morning). I didn't take a picture of the menu but it had a lot more then the crepe stuff on it. We tried eggs and potatoes at first and we didn't like it at all. but then thought why not try something else before we go. Tried their nutella crepe and the sweet and sour chicken crepe and both were very good. So no so great for breakfast but seemed really good for a lunch or dinner.

 

The coffee house on deck 5 was fantastic! We have 6 pages of printout for our drinks, and at least 3 of them was the coffee house :) We figured it out - drinks would have cost both of us just about $600 without the drink package (classic) So overall it was a great perk for us!

 

Blu was great almost the entire week. So much so we didn't try room service or the MDR like we wanted. One or two nights at blu was only so so but for the most part food was very good.

 

We were pretty sea sick the first two days and the boat was rocking something awful. Missed the connections party and some other stuff until the sea sick pills started kicking in a little. After that things calmed down when we got to bermuda.

 

All I can say is it was a sad thing monday morning to be back at work! Somebody come turn down our bed and leave us little chocolates, and then take our drink orders while we relax and do nothing while waiting for dinner to be served to us :) Only terrible thing about vacation is coming back to the real world. Somebody adopt us and take us on the boat with them :D

 

 

As a first cruise we were happy with the summit and bermuda! Just wish thye boat was't so rocking back and forth - that monday especially. I think I'm still a bit motion sick 2 days after the cruise is over.

 

Happy to hear you enjoyed BLU! I think the brunch in BLU is a great new concept. I also heard the top suite guests are offered the same in one the specialty restaurants. :) I wonder if they are taking notes of what is left behind in the dishes to better mix and match the items in the small dishes.

 

Motion sick for 2 days and still made out with the bev package...good for you!!!

[H2OH!]

Hello Squidward! ThHanks for the update.

 

We sailed with you on the Equinox in February 2011... I remember briefly meeting you, your DH and your son Franklin (at least I think that was his name!). Hope all is well. Happy Sailing.

 

Amy

[poffles]

Thank you for pulling us out of the darkness :p. Nice to hear good stuff and especially about the ship I'll be sailing next. I try to put the the negative into perspective, but lately it's been hard to muddle through it all and it seems to be the dominant theme lately.

 

So glad you had a great trip!

[Shirley C]

Thanks for posting the great review. I didn't realize some of the suite changes were put into effect already. I hadn't heard anything about the changes in the buffet. I'm having a hard time imaging how the "buckets" work. Do you put them on a tray or a plate as you walk along? It seems like it would cut down on noro if people aren't touching serving utensils, etc.

 

Shirley

[Beachdude]

Happy to hear you enjoyed BLU! I think the brunch in BLU is a great new concept. I also heard the top suite guests are offered the same in one the specialty restaurants. :) I wonder if they are taking notes of what is left behind in the dishes to better mix and match the items in the small dishes.

 

Motion sick for 2 days and still made out with the bev package...good for you!!!

 

So we can go to BLU for the brunch once we board? Is that anybody?

 

Burt

[cle-guy]

I'm having a hard time imaging how the "buckets" work. Do you put them on a tray or a plate as you walk along?

 

Shirley

 

Some things just take the basket by itself if you are getting a quickie, like a breakfast sandwich, or the asian ready to eats with meats over rices. If you want to load up with several they do have tray around to facilitate that. I just typically grabbed a single then went back up for a second later, but sometimes wanted my salad too so got a tray.

[cle-guy]

So we can go to BLU for the brunch once we board? Is that anybody?

 

Burt

 

So far the service is only in Summit as far as I know...

 

Aqua Class guests boarding get BLU as a brunch option on embarkation day only.

 

Suite Guests and maybe even Captains Club Elites, (not positive on the elites) get Normandie as a brunch option.

 

Others have Bistro (for fee), Mast Grill and Ocean View Cafe as options.

[CruisingChick]

So far the service is only in Summit as far as I know...

 

Aqua Class guests boarding get BLU as a brunch option on embarkation day only.

 

Suite Guests and maybe even Captains Club Elites, (not positive on the elites) get Normandie as a brunch option.

 

Others have Bistro (for fee), Mast Grill and Ocean View Cafe as options.

 

I think you must have meant "Zenith." We are Elite + and no one offered us lunch in Normandie on embarkation day May 25th on Summit.

[Shirley C]

Some things just take the basket by itself if you are getting a quickie, like a breakfast sandwich, or the asian ready to eats with meats over rices. If you want to load up with several they do have tray around to facilitate that. I just typically grabbed a single then went back up for a second later, but sometimes wanted my salad too so got a tray.

 

Thanks. That's interesting since they had done away with the trays.

 

Shirley

[sue58]

I'm having a hard time imaging how the "buckets" work. Do you put them on a tray or a plate as you walk along? It seems like it would cut down on noro if people aren't touching serving utensils, etc.

 

Shirley

 

The new trays are about half the size of the old ones. They will fit a couple of tins/bowls as well as your napkin/cutlery combo and a glass or mug for your drink.

 

On the day that was quite rocky at sea the trays didn't have the non-slip liner so it was quite interesting trying to get the tins/bowls/glasses on your tray safely back to a table. Later on they started adding the rubber inserts to provide a more non-slip tray surface.