4/4 Summit Brief Review by RCCL loyalists

[odiesam]

Just off 4/4 Celebrity Summit, first time on Celebrity; are platinum on RCCL and love the line but decided maybe as we round age 50 with no kids this time maybe it's time to give Celebrity a chance plus have always wanted to do Maho Beach in St. Martin and no RCCL ship was going there the week of 4/4.

 

We really were pleased with Celebrity and the Summit so much we booked it again for next year(different itinerary). The ship is older and doesn't have the rock climbing wall and other kid attractions but that isn't what we look for when we cruise by ourselves in our early 50's. We had cabin 3112, an ocean view which I understand from reading these boards is newer. We loved it as it was very quiet and right around the corner from Guest Relations and the Grand Foyer.

 

Areas we thought Celebrity did better than RCCL : total no smoking in casino ; we spend a lot of time in the casino so we loved the fact we didn't have to deal with smoke; also liked the Vegas odds on craps in the casino; thought the food in both the dining room and the Oceanview Cafe much better than RCCL; thought the service was much better on Celebrity; liked the fact they trusted us to take out towels without having to sign them out like RCCL and not having to sign with our drink package like we did with RCCL which is just a hustle for more tips.

 

We did think entertainment was better on RCCL but we don' t typically go to lots of shows. We also were disappointed in the limited showing of the Final Four NCAA game as it was only shown in the casino with no audio ( or you could watch it in your stateroom)

 

Loved the ports and as we have cruised a lot in the past just meandered around in the ports along with a day spent at Maho Beach in St. Martin's watching planes come in which was a blast.

 

Very happy with our first Celebrity sailing. ( we have also sailed Carnival, Holland America, Princess along with RCCL prior to this cruise).

[Iamthesea]

Thank you for the nice comparison. :)

[miched]

Thanks for adding a lot of significant little differences between the two.

 

We have sailed on one RCCL cruise before we ever sailed on Celebrity. We were long time cruisers and loyalists to Carnival and Princess. Wee had to try RCCL a because all we ever heard from others that we know how much better RCCL a was over Carnival. We didn't notice any significant differences and wasn't impressed enough to sail on them again.

 

After our first sailing on Celebrity it has been our line of choice but we have strayed a few times and considered doing RCCL a again but the few differences that you pointed out are making us lose any interest we had.

 

happy cruisng 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

[TeaBag]

Glad you enjoyed your first cruise on Celebrity. May your second one be even better.

[luv2trvlnow]

We were also on the Summit, but the March 21 sailing. And we were also impressed with Celebrity and the Summit. I have not been on Royal but have several cruises on Carnival. I know people here won't like this and will probably disagree, but we found many things very similar between Celebrity and Carnival. In fact 2 of the fly on performers we have seen on Carnival before. Celebrity is quieter and Carnival is definitely loud. But we enjoy both and it all depends on what we want for that vacation.

 

But the things we liked better on Celebrity were the no smoking, better food in the MDR, and less crowded. We would definitely cruise on Celebrity again, in fact we are looking into that for 2017. We already have plans for 2016 otherwise we would be looking to book for next year.

[kenevenpar]

Thanks for the comparison, it matches up fairly well with our observations. We would sail RCL again if the price was right, but probably not on one of the behemoth ships (just too big for us).

[CruisingChick]

We only sailed RCCL once last year and agree 10% with your comparison. Things we liked better on RCCL was the Diamond Lounge beat the Elite/Elite+ Happy Hour by a mile, the Royal Promenade and our Inside Promenade stateroom.

 

There definitely seemed like there was more entertainment and things to do on RCCL, but that's not really our deciding factor. Food, service and itinerary are what's most important.

 

Glad you had a good time and enjoyed Celebrity Summit.

[Barwick Cruiser]

Just off 4/4 Celebrity Summit, first time on Celebrity; are platinum on RCCL and love the line but decided maybe as we round age 50 with no kids this time maybe it's time to give Celebrity a chance plus have always wanted to do Maho Beach in St. Martin and no RCCL ship was going there the week of 4/4.

 

We really were pleased with Celebrity and the Summit so much we booked it again for next year(different itinerary). The ship is older and doesn't have the rock climbing wall and other kid attractions but that isn't what we look for when we cruise by ourselves in our early 50's. We had cabin 3112, an ocean view which I understand from reading these boards is newer. We loved it as it was very quiet and right around the corner from Guest Relations and the Grand Foyer.

 

Areas we thought Celebrity did better than RCCL : total no smoking in casino ; we spend a lot of time in the casino so we loved the fact we didn't have to deal with smoke; also liked the Vegas odds on craps in the casino; thought the food in both the dining room and the Oceanview Cafe much better than RCCL; thought the service was much better on Celebrity; liked the fact they trusted us to take out towels without having to sign them out like RCCL and not having to sign with our drink package like we did with RCCL which is just a hustle for more tips.

 

We did think entertainment was better on RCCL but we don' t typically go to lots of shows. We also were disappointed in the limited showing of the Final Four NCAA game as it was only shown in the casino with no audio ( or you could watch it in your stateroom)

 

Loved the ports and as we have cruised a lot in the past just meandered around in the ports along with a day spent at Maho Beach in St. Martin's watching planes come in which was a blast.

 

Very happy with our first Celebrity sailing. ( we have also sailed Carnival, Holland America, Princess along with RCCL prior to this cruise).

 

Glad you had a good time, we have a b2b booked on the Summit next Feb and I was wondering if you could tell me what time muster drill is held? I know sailaway is around 8:30 and am trying to make our Select Dining reservation but want to make sure muster is out of the way already.

Thanks, Cathy

[odiesam]

I think muster was 730 or 745. It was quicker than what I have experienced on other lines and was held in a lounge near the main dining room.

[Barwick Cruiser]

I think muster was 730 or 745. It was quicker than what I have experienced on other lines and was held in a lounge near the main dining room.

 

Thank you for this info. I've made reservations for 6:30 but maybe I should change it to 6 to be on the safe side and so we're not super rushed. Don't want to eat after muster since then we'd miss sailaway:D