booked 6/28 summit at the last minute: give me all your tips and secrets!

[dodger1964]

...I'm actually going to have a free specialty dining voucher from my TA, so in theory I shouldn't care about getting Qsine for half price, although I could use the voucher at Normandie instead.

 

I don't know if all TA's do it the same way, but when we got a "free" specialty restaurant visit on our last trip from our "large online TA", it was actually just OBC in the same amount as the cost of the dinner...so we were free to spend however we wanted.

[MisterBill99]

I don't know if all TA's do it the same way, but when we got a "free" specialty restaurant visit on our last trip from our "large online TA", it was actually just OBC in the same amount as the cost of the dinner...so we were free to spend however we wanted.

Yeah, that's what we had the last time as well, $75. This time she supposedly got her Celebrity sales manager add it to the account, so she said it's actually supposed to be an actual meal. I guess we'll see in August. That would cover dinner at Qsine with a 20% off discount, anyway.

[donaldsc]

The layout of the buffet is awful. Everything is way to spread out and the food on both sides can be different. Also, there is no menu posted on the outside of the dining area as is done on Princess. You need to walk through both sides before you decide what you want to eat.

 

DON

[snyniew]

I agree -- when its $100 for dinner they price themselves out. I bet the place is empty as it seems so many specialty restaurants are less busy on all ships as they raise the prices. I heard that normandy is not busy.

 

Since you're Aqua this time if you book a specialty restaurant for the first night it should be 50% off. At least it was when I was in Aqua on the Reflection.

[junetraveler2014]

The main dining room was open for lunch on embarkation day. Saw many people in there and plenty of room for others. Enjoy!

[junetraveler2014]

WOW! everytime I see the price on Normandie it increases like the stock market! LOL

I ate 10 years ago on the normandie and I think the price was like.... $20 then I heard its $40 - then $45 and now $50 .. when does it end.. I think eventually you price yourself out of the market because $100 for two becomes costly.

 

For the food they serve and the service they provide, try getting it on the outside for less than $100.00. Last year my food shopping bill more than doubled and consumption went down 25% go figure! My oil bill was $6000.00 in 2012, and $8000.00 in 2013. What is one to do?:eek:

[MisterBill99]

The main dining room was open for lunch on embarkation day. Saw many people in there and plenty of room for others. Enjoy!

Was that for everyone? I know that last year they had Blu open for lunch on embarkation for Aqua guests. Someone else said they went to Normandie for Suite guests (but I guess now maybe Luminae?). When we sailed HAL, they invited returning guests to have lunch in the MDR, which was nice. We had not sailed HAL before, but somehow my wife had been given one cruise credit from Princess as a result of some promotion, and that was reciprocal with HAL, so we were considered returning cruisers!

[MisterBill99]

For the food they serve and the service they provide, try getting it on the outside for less than $100.00. Last year my food shopping bill more than doubled and consumption went down 25% go figure! My oil bill was $6000.00 in 2012, and $8000.00 in 2013. What is one to do?:eek:

If you don't buy food at home, you don't have dinner. If you don't pay the $50pp for Normandie, you go to the MDR, which you've already paid for in your cruise fare. Big difference.

Edited June 10, 2015 by MisterBill99

[MisterBill99]

The layout of the buffet is awful. Everything is way to spread out and the food on both sides can be different. Also, there is no menu posted on the outside of the dining area as is done on Princess. You need to walk through both sides before you decide what you want to eat.

 

DON

Many things are the same on both sides and Princess seems to be unique in posting a buffet menu, since I've never seen it on Celebrity, Royal, HAL or NCL. In fact, we were lucky if the dishes on NCL had signs saying what they were. The buffet is not that huge that walking once around to see what's there is a big deal.

[Ginnyfyr]

If you are in a Sky Suite or higher category room, you do get one complimentary specialty restaurant meal per person for the week. We used ours for dinner in Normandie and enjoyed it so much (not our first time, just hadn't been there in ages) that we returned on our last sea day for lunch which I believe was either $25 or $30 per person (note that if you do have a complimentary specialty restaurant included it's not applicable for lunches, just dinner).

 

There's a mini-golf course just behind Snorkel Park called Fun Golf. We went shortly after it opened on our last day in port and had such fun. It was $15 US each per adult round; not sure if there was a lower fee for kids. I believe it's open 10am-10pm and in the evening I believe it even glows in the dark!

 

If you want to try some super yum local cuisine, you have to try anything wahoo (it's fish). We had wahoo bites at Flanigan's pub in Hamilton when we visited Harbour Nights (another great - free! - event held on Wednesday nights from I believe 6-10 pm) and they were so good, we had to have them again at the Bonefish restaurant (at the dockyard) before we left as we can't get wahoo at home. We also enjoyed a few beers at both Bonefish and the Frog 'n Onion so we came home with two new sets of drinking glasses as each place gives you a souvenir glass when you order a beer - I love practical souvenirs!

 

If you're planning to visit Horseshoe beach, there's a shuttle you can get right at the Dockyard that's $16 US per person round trip. I can't recall if it returns to the beach every 30 or 60 minutes (I think it was every half hour) but it was a very convenient, clean, comfortable way to get there and back. It was cheaper than hiring a taxi, faster than taking a bus/ferry combo, and you didn't have to climb up or down the big hill to get to the beach! (and, bonus, on the back of your ticket you get a coupon for buy one get one free beers at the Frog 'n Onion!)

[Iamcruzin]

I don't know about you guys, but $100 for my partner and I to go out for dinner is pretty close to what we pay normally at home.

 

Yes I'm also aware of the argument that you're paying $50 on top of the x amount you're paying per day, but really for us it comes from a totally different budget.

 

Compared to other cruise lines Celebrity is over priced for specialty dining. Qsine is complete rip off at $45pp.

[hughdm]

Here is another vote for a walk to the Sea Glass Beach. Really neat to see.

[dkjretired]

We decided to go with the Aqua class this time. Wanted to try something new and eat in BLU... one night of course is the Normandy and I hear its $45 PP but you can get discounts during the cruise?

 

On another ship, the discount for the Specialty dining was a little note inside the envelope that explained the AQ dining. I know many did not see it because it was like a post it note and the discount may be 20 or 30% usually for first night.

[dkjretired]

Compared to other cruise lines Celebrity is over priced for specialty dining. Qsine is complete rip off at $45pp.

 

Agree, we just did our first trip with no Specialties, not missed.

[CruisingChick]

Agree, we just did our first trip with no Specialties, not missed.

 

I also agree. We've never even been to Qsine. We should have gone before they raised the price. We have not gone to Normandie since the price was $35. Can't remember what year that was.

Edited June 11, 2015 by CruisingChick

[DinaS]

Agree, we just did our first trip with no Specialties, not missed.

 

We tried Normandie last month, and it wasn't worth the price - even with the 20% discount. (The regular price is $50 per person!) It was just mediocre. I had the lamb chops, and the lamb chops I had a day or two before in the MDR were better. Dessert was a complete miss - tried the sampler and NEITHER of us liked ANYTHING. The ONLY great thing about Normandie was the cheese cart. Thankfully the dessert was so bad, we decided to just do the cheese cart instead. It was the best thing we ate in Normandie.

 

NCL's specialty restaurants are half the price and better than Celebrity's (at least the French restaurant).

 

I have NO problems paying $25 per person for an extraordinary meal in a specialty restaurant. (We'd definitely spend the extra on NCL for an extraordinary meal in Le Bistro, even though the MDR food was good last time.) Anything less than extraordinary, I'd prefer to just stick with the food in the MDR.

Edited June 11, 2015 by DinaS
Forgot to put regular price!

[dkjretired]

For any day at the buffet you can head to the very back where there is a sandwich bar, including custom paninis, soups and salads and it is usually not crowded. I also recommend the Aqua Spa cafe for breakfast and lunch and the Afternoon Tea. The scones, jam and cream are delish. Unfortunately your daughter is not allowed in the thalassotherapy pool in the Solarium, but if she is otherwise occupied do not miss it. If you have the Beverage Pkg, or want to splurge go to Cafe Al Bacio for coffee and tea drinks. The food there is free.

 

Last year the Summit experimented with opening Blu and Normandie for embarkation lunch, but did not follow through after the Bermuda runs. Very disappointing. I do hope they keep the MDR open for embarkation. This is done on Princess and for returning passengers on HAL. It certainly helps spread out the passengers and takes some stress out of boarding. I have always felt Embarkation Day was not very relaxing.

 

The afternoon tea at Aqua Spa Café was a pleasant surprise, delicious snacks, cookies, jelly donuts, real good stuff.

[sarahc78]

I also agree. We've never even been to Qsine. We should have gone before they raised the price. We have not gone to Normandie since the price was $35. Can't remember what year that was.

 

We weren't all that impressed w/ Qsine. There were are few items that were really tasty but...not $50 pp tasty! We really enjoy the Normandie though. I'm hoping we can get a discount because we'd really like to go again.