Just off Summit Christmas Cruise

[Tak8]

Enjoyed my first Celebrity Cruise. This was my 13th cruise with my favorite line being Princess. Here are a few observations:

 

Check In: Was a breeze. As soon as they opened the doors, I never sat down again until I was on The Summit.

Advantage: Celebrity. Quick and painless as possible.

 

Dining: I enjoyed the variety offered on the buffet. The Pasta Bar is a great idea. I like the rotating dessert themes at lunch. I ate a Normandie and Qsine. I ate in the main dining room one night but was not thrilled with the servers. The server skipped my wife when taking orders. By the way we were at a table for four. She did two other tables before we could get her back to us. She also was not very friendly. It could have been who we had and not what the norm is for the dining room. We were in a suite. The second morning we tried Blu for breakfast and the server asked why we weren't eating dinner in Blu. After that we ate at Blu every night we didn't try a specialty place. They had Gingerbread gelato at the gelato place on deck 5. It was excellent, but I was surprised it was offered only 1 day during the cruise. For Christmas, it seemed odd.

Tie: I think Princess has the best pizza and I prefer their dessert options. I missed Sabatini's, Princess' Italian restaurant. I realize Summit is a smaller ship, so less venues. Blu is a great healthy alternative place for meals. Pasta bar, a little slow, but a nice option.

 

Decorations: The ship was decorated nicely, but not over the top for the season. Santa parade was a cute idea for the kids.

Advantage: Princess. I had more of a holiday feel on Princess Christmas cruises. Again, maybe it's the size of the ship. Princess seems to have more decorations and the snow in the atrium is a nice touch.

 

Fitness Center: I am an early bird and I like that the gym opens at 6:00am. In fact, most mornings I was in the gym by 5:30am. Much easier to get the workout in and get off the ship to enjoy the islands.

Advantage Celebrity. Plenty of equipment and the early hour is great for port intensive trips.

 

Persian Gardens: I enjoy Thermal Suites, but this one was very small and not as aromatherapy oriented as I have experienced on other lines.

Advantage: Princess. Much more space devoted to Thermal suite and a better product.

 

Entertainment: Absolutely blown away by the acrobats. Amazing what they could do especially the Russian pair. Magician was very good. Comedians were funny. The production value for the singers and dancers is good, but the singers were mainly below average.

Advantage: Celebrity. Some memorable acts. I also really liked the theater. Seemed more spacious.

 

Ports: I am a beach/snorkel person, so 5 islands is great. This was my first time visiting St. Croix. Friendly people and a beautiful island.

Advantage: Tie. For this season Celebrity wins and one of the reasons I tried Celebrity. I like the more port intensive routes San Juan tends to offer. Depends on when you travel.

 

Overall, it was a great cruise. Based upon only one Celebrity cruise, Princess is still my preferred line, but I will be on Celebrity again depending upon pricing and itinerary. A newer Celebrity ship may wow me more. Very subjective, but at the end of the day I felt I had more wow moments on Princess.

[spunke]

Can you tell us about the lounge per- dinner music options? Last year we were on the Summit and they have a guitarist from Texas. He packed the house and was amazing. We depart Jan 10h on her again and I can't seem to find any information on the current offerings?

 

Thank you

[DancerOT]

Thanks for the balanced review!

[TeaBag]

Thank you for your review. Sorry you had a bad server in the MDR. Bad service ruins even the best meal. Do try an S class ship (Solstice, Equinox, Eclipse, Silhouette or Reflection with Reflection being the newest) since you think a newer ship would wow you more.

[sfcsu]

We were just on that cruise and loved it. We were a large group and it was perfect for us. I am also sorry you had a bad server in the MDR. Our servers were wonderful and took care of lots of special requests.

 

I liked your comparison to Princess, we have never tried them. We were on NCL once (never again!) and HAL once. Hal was OK, great itinerary, but everything closed too early for us.

[Tak8]

spunke: I had early seating, so I can't answer your question. By the time we got back from the islands, it was time to get ready, go to dinner then the show.

[NorthCarolinaBelle]

What did you do on each island?

[richsea]

Thanks for your comparisons of Celebrity & Princess. We are like you, but in reverse. We normally sail Celebrity, & occasionally Princess.

Our last Princess cruise was in November, & we found the dining room service a bit more attentive than on our last 2 or3 Celebrity cruises. It's like the way staff has too many tables. For your wait person not to take an order at a table of four is pretty much unforgiveable!

 

I think you're right about the theaters. The theaters on M class ships provide great sight lines & lots of room in the seating area, as well as those little cocktail tables. We found Princess theaters, & also Celebrity theaters on S class ships, to have cramped seating. The S class ships are beautiful, & very easy to navigate, but we're not crazy about the Atrium being the center of so much entertainment on S class, as well as Princess ships, including dancing, while not providing a dance floor.

 

While Celebrity's entertainment has improved, I think Princess' entertainment is more varied. Love the Explorers Lounge!

 

It's great to have choices, & while we still prefer Celebrity, Princess is a very viable alternative for us.

[Tak8]

NorthCarolinaBelle:

Here's a quick breakdown, but if you want more info ask.

 

St. Croix: we went to Rainbow Beach. Close to port. Food and drink available. Jet Skis for rent.

 

St. Kitts: we went to Cockleshell Beach. Food and drink available at Rhythms.

Jet skis for rent from a few folks.

 

Grenada: We went to Grand Anse Beach. Lots of food and drink options. Water taxi is an easy and cheap, 8 round trip per person. I got a little tired of beach peddlers.

Did have a problem paying bill. Guy started a cash tab, but became very busy and showed up less and less. Couldn't find him when we wanted to leave, so we gave money to guy in charge of beach area.

 

Dominica: Our only ship tour. We did the Champagne Reef Catamaran. Lots of sea life and fun excursion.

 

St. Thomas: I rented a powerboat with Captain from VIBE Charters. We went to Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost in BVI. We've been there twice before. A great way to end cruise. We were back on Summit before afternoon tea.

[CruisinCrow]

Thank you for your review! Do the acrobats perform at only one show or do they have small bits on different nights? If only one show, do you remember which night it was?

[Tak8]

They had small bits on different nights. I think they were always on the nights the singers and dancers were part of the show. They were part of the last night farewell show. They also had a late night show featuring them, but it was too late for me. I think it started like 11:15 or 11:30 and I had an early morning excursion planned.

[CruisinCrow]

They had small bits on different nights. I think they were always on the nights the singers and dancers were part of the show. They were part of the last night farewell show. They also had a late night show featuring them, but it was too late for me. I think it started like 11:15 or 11:30 and I had an early morning excursion planned.

 

Thanks, I was wondering about that. I've seen some of the dailies and didn't see a show that sounded like an acrobat show.