Jewel or Celebrity Summit

[cocacola86]

Just wondering your thoughts on Summit, to tell you about us were in our mid 30s, no kids and went to SC last year on Carnival going to St Thomas, St Lucia, St kitts, Barbados and St Maarten and loved it. We're going to Aruba, Bonaire and Curaco, Antigua and St Maarten for 8 days out of San Juan, the Summit would go to

 

St Croix, Fort de France, Roseau, St Kitts and St Thomas. Where as the Jewel goes to

 

San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto

Port of Call: St. Croix, U.S. Virgins

St Maarten

Port of Call: Roseau, Dominica Dominica

Barbados

ARRIVES 08:00 DEPARTS 17:00 (DOCKED)

St. George's, Grenada Grenada

(CRUISING)

San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rico

 

We don't like dressing up, partying, we like good food, going to shows, just relaxing. The Summit is 809 pp and the Jewel is 764 pp.

[hardingk]

Just wondering your thoughts on Summit, to tell you about us were in our mid 30s, no kids and went to SC last year on Carnival going to St Thomas, St Lucia, St kitts, Barbados and St Maarten and loved it. We're going to Aruba, Bonaire and Curaco, Antigua and St Maarten for 8 days out of San Juan, the Summit would go to

 

St Croix, Fort de France, Roseau, St Kitts and St Thomas. Where as the Jewel goes to

 

San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto

Port of Call: St. Croix, U.S. Virgins

St Maarten

Port of Call: Roseau, Dominica Dominica

Barbados

ARRIVES 08:00 DEPARTS 17:00 (DOCKED)

St. George's, Grenada Grenada

(CRUISING)

San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rico

 

We don't like dressing up, partying, we like good food, going to shows, just relaxing. The Summit is 809 pp and the Jewel is 764 pp.

 

We did this itinerary on the Summit in April 2014. We are in our late 30's and have a 5yr old at the time, DD. The ports were great, food was amazing, but we were board at times. DD had fun, but we all felt there would have been more to do on the Jewel for us and her.

[hardingk]

I just reread your itinerary and ours was a little different. We left from San Juan and went to St. Croix, St. Kitts, Grenada, and St. Thomas. St. Kitts was awesome. St. Thomas we had been to several times before. Grenada was interesting, we did an island tour through a taxi at the pier. St. Croix we went to a beach, but it was very rocky. We did the Jewel's itinerary you posted on the Adventure in 2004. Aruba is amazing!

Edited August 2, 2015 by hardingk

[cocacola86]

I'm more leaning towards Jewel, but it's better to get a better perspective on the ship you choose.

[Janet524]

Have sailed on both ships and you cannot go wrong with either. Celebrity is a bit more upscale service and food wise IMO. Jewel will have more activities for the younger crowd. Entertainment - stage shows etc is a bit better on Jewel. I am sure you will be happy whichever you choodr.

[mitttocs]

Going on the Jewel next month out of Vancouver --- I am somewhat nervous about switching, as I have been on The Summit 3 times and will be again in January. Always a fantastic time (not a party ship like Carnival would be)! The Jewel had better deliver!

[champagne123]

Lol....funny you should ask this question. If you are cruising for the ship....hands down, the Summit. LOVED LOVED LOVED it. My best friend went on the Jewel and HATED IT. She almost gave up cruising (her first) until I advised her to try a different cruise line. Namely....Celebrity. Now she is addicted.

 

As far as the ports....if you are cruising for them.....they are all wonderful. The cost is only a few dollars different....please go for the SUMMIT ...outstanding food and service. Would love to sail her again:)

[davekathy]

Did a B2B Cruise on the Summit March/April 2014. Great itinerary. Like all Cruises we go on had we had a great time and the ship and staff were great. Going on our first Jewel Of The Seas 18 September 2015 and first time for this itinerary. We know it will also be great.

[Kelly04]

My husband and I (late 20's/early 30's) went on a similar itinerary on the Summit this past March, but usually we are loyal to Royal. If you don't like partying, I think the Summit will be fine. We found that there were not many well attended activities at night. We thought the food (especially in the buffet) was better on Summit than RCCL though. We did feel the shows were not nearly as good which was a downside. Favorites on Royal like the newlywed game were not very popular, which was a surprise. We really liked the activities/entertainment staff on the Summit though. You will have fun on either cruise you choose.

[impatientlywaiting]

Everyone will have a different opinion. I have read nothing but good things about Jewel (unlike another poster regarding your question who said her friend hated Jewel). I've also read that Celebrity is really for "older" folks since it's more subdued than Royal. Again, everyone will have a different opinion. Once our last friend reaches Diamond status, we will be trying Celebrity to compare the two for ourselves. I'm sure you'll have a great time whatever ship you choose because after all - you're on a cruise ship on vacation and what could be better than that! :D

[DonnaK]

We've been on both ships. While you can't go wrong with either one, we liked the Summit much more than the Jewel. Entertainment and activities were significantly better, and this is very important cruising criteria for us. The only area where we thought the Jewel was better than Summit was the buffet.

 

We did NOT find a difference in demographics (ie: Summit was not full of older people) and we did NOT find the Summit to be subdued at all (in fact, it was the Jewel that we found boring).

Edited August 23, 2015 by DonnaK

[cruisenuts4life]

Having been on both, I loved the summit and didn't like the jewel.

[yogimax]

We love the Summit - Primary Reason? The Thessalatherapy Pool!

[champagne123]

We love the Summit - Primary Reason? The Thessalatherapy Pool!

 

Omg.......AMAZING......my husband was in there...24/7

[TexCruise371]

Been on both,loved them both.

 

However, I recommended the Summit to some cruise friends that are very loyal to Royal and they did not like it at all. I guess we just get comfortable to what we are used to.

 

I would not hesitate to cruise on either one again.

[Trainman-2]

We love the Jewel and all of the other Radiance Class ships because of the open air, but covered, dining area at the stern of the ship, just behind the Windjammer.

 

 

[sr4mjc]

I just reread your itinerary and ours was a little different. We left from San Juan and went to St. Croix, St. Kitts, Grenada, and St. Thomas. St. Kitts was awesome. St. Thomas we had been to several times before. Grenada was interesting, we did an island tour through a taxi at the pier. St. Croix we went to a beach, but it was very rocky. We did the Jewel's itinerary you posted on the Adventure in 2004. Aruba is amazing!

 

What did you do in St Kitts that you loved?

[Topo Gigio]

Been on both,loved them both.

 

However, I recommended the Summit to some cruise friends that are very loyal to Royal and they did not like it at all. I guess we just get comfortable to what we are used to.

 

I would not hesitate to cruise on either one again.

 

I didn't care at all for the Summit either.

[ksadonnab]

Never been on Summit but the Jewel Rocks!!

Beautiful ship & excellent crew - We were never bored.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

I haven't been on Jewel since 06, but I was on Radiance last year and loved it. Friends of ours were on the Summit to Bermuda in June and didn't like it. They prefer Royal.

[Angelsea57]

We have been on both ships, different itineraries,

but I can say this, it would depend on which itinerary

interest you the most.

We did the Summit this past June with the family for the

first time on Celebrity cruises and I did not like the Summit

at all. A bit worn. Most of the venues died down early evening.

Walked by the pool area most of the evenings and there

was nothing going on deck, even the lights were out. Could not

believe it.

I would go with Jewels, beautiful, newer ship, lively and

more things to do than Summit.

[digital_curator]

Having been on both, I think there are more similarities than differences in terms of the ships themselves. Celebrity isn't known for lots of "bells and whistles" in activities but neither do the smaller RCI ships like the Jewel.

 

We are in our mid-40s with no kids. Celebrity's crowd is a little older but we find with the beverage packages, the demographic has been getting younger. There will be a wider range of ages on the Jewel, including more children. They hide them well though ;)

 

I think the food quality is better on Celebrity (especially desserts) but that the variety is better on RCI. I like Celebrity's buffet more because of the made to order eggs benedict at breakfast, made to order sandwiches at lunch, the afternoon tea and evening sushi offerings. The ice cream station is awesome too. Both have nice outdoor eating areas but on X it is also a bar (+/- to this, depending on how crowded it gets).

 

RCI will have more activities and better production shows but Celebrity has really good live music, and on port-intensive cruises we have found that this (and the beverage package) is all we need for an enjoyable evening.

 

We tend to hang out in the "adult" pool area. I love the Summit's pool and the food at the pool grill. But I also love the spa area on the Jewel ($) but wouldn't use it on this itinerary (it was awesome on our TA).

 

The cabins are pretty comparable. We get balconies on RCI and, if it isn't much more, Concierge cabins on X because they have a little more room and some nice perks.

 

Is there an itinerary you like more? Both sound good to me! I think you would be happy with either one. But if you want lots of late night fun, go with the Jewel. If you are fine with a slightly more sedate/relaxed cruise, you might want to try the Summit.

 

Cheers,

[katydyd]

I'm not a big fan of the Summit. Don't get me wrong, if the price and itinerary were right, I'd go back out on it, but all things being equal, I'd go with the the Jewel.

 

I enjoyed my cruise on the Summit, but, I, honestly, did not find the food, service or ship to be any better than any of the RCCL ships I've been on. I was very disappointed in the evening entertainment.

 

I did love the fact that they do seven days to Bermuda from NJ, and I got a FANTASTIC price on our Aqua Class cabin. If that happened again, I would certainly not turn my nose up at sailing on her again.

[Snit13]

Lol....funny you should ask this question. If you are cruising for the ship....hands down, the Summit. LOVED LOVED LOVED it. My best friend went on the Jewel and HATED IT. She almost gave up cruising (her first) until I advised her to try a different cruise line. Namely....Celebrity. Now she is addicted.

 

As far as the ports....if you are cruising for them.....they are all wonderful. The cost is only a few dollars different....please go for the SUMMIT ...outstanding food and service. Would love to sail her again:)

 

We have also sailed the Summit and the Jewel. Food better on Celebrity cruises as is service. Entertainment better on RCCL ships. I would first decide on which ports are most important to me and then go with the ship that goes to those ports. You should love either ship. We have 2 wonderful cruises on the Jewel and everyone I have talked to loved her. We sailed to Bermuda on the Summit and loved the overnight. You can't go wrong with either.

[mitttocs]

As a loyal Celebrity fan, my partner and I just sailed the Jewel with some other friends with Diamond status on Royal. I had my expectations set low and they were met. There was absolutely nothing about the Jewel that would have me rank it above the Summit.

 

I should state up front that the itinerary was the West Coast from Vancouver to L.A. and the ship demographic was an older crowd. Also, the weather for the first three days of the cruise were cool and damp up in the Pacific Northwest but got much much better the further south that we sailed. Personally when i think of a cruise, I want warm weather and sunshine, so my attitude might have been a little different if the weather at the beginning of the cruise was better.

 

The overall level of service, food quality, entertainment on the Jewel -- all of them were below what we have experienced with Celebrity. 1) The breakfast and lunch in the Windjammer were b o r i n g -- same exact thing every day. Runny eggs, plain pancakes, completely disorganized omelette station, etc.... 2) Dining room quality was similar to Celebrity -- what you would expect from any restaurant serving 1000 meals at a time. Edible but forgettable. 3) Overall bar service was the worst I have seen in all of my cruises. Disorganized and chaotic, bars lacking choices on alcohol, completely uninspired bartenders. 4) Balcony room (and especially the bathroom) layout smaller than the Summit. 5) The "house bands" playing in the evenings in the main foyer were terrible. 6) The swimming pool and the solarium were screaming -- very loudly -- for fresh paint. 7) As a non-smoker, I was shocked at how many places you could still smoke on this ship -- the entire casino smells like one big ashtray. Completely disgusting.

 

The cruise director was very friendly and energetic and threw a fantastic 70's party one of the evenings after dinner. Our server in the specialty restaurant "Chops" was outstanding, as was the food. Those are honestly the two high points of the entire cruise, except that we got to spend 8 fun days with our friends.

 

Given the choice, it's not even close in my opinion --- Celebrity Summit wins hands down.

Edited September 27, 2015 by mitttocs