Summit 5/1/16 Review

[MOcruiserman]

Also on this cruise -haven't written review yet.

I wrote mine today. I haven't heard that it's been posted though.

Hello to VA man!

Hi, glad you arrived home OK. Talking to my travel agent about booking the Jewel of the Seas next January. Leaves from San Juan and stops at Barbados, San Lucia, Antigua, St. Kitts and St. Thomas and returns to San Juan, all in 7 days - only one sea day!

[LabGuy64]

Why didn't you ask his name?

 

 

This was not our first time on the Summit, and we've been to Bermuda several times before. So for us, the cruise was really the destination last week. While we didn't experience everything the cruise had to offer (What in the world is Indulgence???), we did a lot. So here are the highlights you all might be interested in:

 

Cabin 2094 - Outside View Deck 2

Our family of four stayed in this cabin while my parents were in a concierge class veranda cabin on deck 8. When we came on board, we were a bit nervous as the cabin was clearly made up for just two guests. It wasn't until later that evening that the upper berths were set up and extra towels were delivered. We had to beg for extra toiletries, like shampoo. It took a few days before our stateroom attendant finally understood that one tube of shampoo simply wasn't enough for four people.

 

The pros:

• The cabin was large enough for the four of us and could have accommodated a fifth passenger on the pull-out sofa
  
• Tons of storage - more space than we actually needed
  
• Great location - low and center, and very quiet
  

 

The cons:

• One of the upper berths was held together with scotch tape
  
• Sheets were ripped - some holes large enough for our 5 year old to stick her foot through
  
• One of the soap dishes in the shower was broken
  
• When it started raining, the window leaked (water coming into the ship is simply no good)
  

 

The biggest con of all was our stateroom attendant. Not only did we have to beg for things like shampoo, he was often very late to make up our room, sometimes rushing through it cutting corners because his shift was almost over. We asked for a pitcher of water with our ice bucket. Ice was no problem, but the water was something else. On the first day, we were told Celebrity doesn't allow pitchers of water in the cabins. My parents had one in theirs, and I told him so. The next day, he told us that they don't like to use the pitchers for water because they all smell like coffee. But he would see what he could do. On the third day, we finally got the water, and there was no coffee smell. We had to resort to calling guest relations for everything because he was just unable to do anything for us - even giving us laundry bags. When filling out my survey from Celebrity earlier today, I would have mentioned him by name. But he never told us his name. There was no card in the cabin with his name on it. I honestly don't think he ever learned our names either. (Thankfully, we've traveled on Celebrity before. So I know this is not the norm, and it will not stop me from booking with them again.)

 

The Food

The food on the Summit is pretty good. Most nights, dinner was excellent. We skipped the Top Chef night to eat in the Tuscan Grill, which was very nice. I never ate in the Normandy. So I can't say whether or not it was an improvement. We had lunch in Bistro on 5 one day, which was excellent. The service there was top notch, and they were very accommodating with our kids who can be extremely picky eaters. The cafe on deck 10 had lots of good options. But it was very disorganized during peak meal times. Lines were often moving in two different directions at the same time, plates were heavy and the trays that used to be there were gone, and it took several trips for us to carry silverware, heavy plates of food and drinks for four people before we could sit down to eat. Back in the main dining room, our waiter and assistant were great. They did everything they could to make sure we had a great experience. Unfortunately, they didn't get the message that we were celebrating my dad's birthday yesterday, and there was no cake, candles or singing. But we know that's not the waiter's fault.

 

Fun Factory

The ladies at the Fun Factory did an amazing job. There weren't a lot of kids on board last week. But they all had a blast. The programs were entertaining, and the kids always had a good time. We even took advantage of the dinner parties on at sea days, which our kids thought was the best thing ever. Our daughter was practically in tears when she had to leave, and both of our kids can't wait to go on another cruise just to go back to the fun factory.

 

Entertainment

The first show we went to was a comedian who was downright rude. I don't think there was anybody in the audience who wasn't offended by his off color jokes, and we walked out after about half an hour. Fortunately, it was uphill from there. The Summit singers and dancers were good. The iMagic show was great, and our kids even enjoyed it. The second comedian of the week was very good, and it was literally standing room only that night.

 

We're not big drinkers, and we don't really gamble. The only time we were even in the casino was for the muster drill the first day. And although we did look for the Rooftop Terrace, it was hard to find and too cold to sit outside once we did find it. All in all, we did have a great week, and we're booked on the Reflection for our next cruise. We're hopeful that the newer ship on a spring break week will be more our speed. Perhaps the next dry dock for the Summit should focus on the cabins more than the public spaces. Just my two cents.

 

Thanks for reading, and happy sailing!

[Redtravel]

My TA spoke to Celebrity today. He was upset that they forgot the birthday cake for my husband's big birthday. He was annoyed that Celebrity didn't pay attention to his booking request for a cake. Celebrity said that they cannot guarantee a cake. We should not expect it. That fired up my TA to make several phonecalls. Celebrity said that they were sorry. Next time I want to celebrate a birthday on a ship, you can be sure that I will bring my own cake, candles, etc. ..and it probably won't be on Celebrity. Celebrity does a nice cruise. It's a shame that it isn't a good place for celebrating a birthday.

[MOcruiserman]

My TA spoke to Celebrity today. He was upset that they forgot the birthday cake for my husband's big birthday. He was annoyed that Celebrity didn't pay attention to his booking request for a cake. Celebrity said that they cannot guarantee a cake. We should not expect it. That fired up my TA to make several phonecalls. Celebrity said that they were sorry. Next time I want to celebrate a birthday on a ship, you can be sure that I will bring my own cake, candles, etc. ..and it probably won't be on Celebrity. Celebrity does a nice cruise. It's a shame that it isn't a good place for celebrating a birthday.

 

Sorry that you had such poor service. A weird thing happened to us. The waiter brought out a fancy cake for our anniversary - lovely but we never asked for it. In fact our anniversary is in June! We shared the cake with the folks at our table - it was tasty!

[Muushka]

The highlight of our cruise was being together with our family to celebrate my husband's birthday. I requested a cake before the cruise. I told my TA who said he made the request. I also called Celebrity directly twice. No cake at dinner to celebrate. We could hear waiters singing Happy Birthday to other people in the MDR. You might say that we should have told the waiter in advance. In hindsight, we should have told the waiter. However, we have celebrated birthdays on Celebrity Summit previously with a cake at dinner. We have sailed on Celebrity many times. We are elite plus. We were very disappointed. Our waiter was very apologetic. He was a terrific waiter. He did send a cake later to our cabin. Nice gesture. It didn't makeup for celebrating with the family at dinner.

 

If a birthday cake was very very important to me, I would not leave it up to phone calls prior to a cruise.

 

We are celebrating a milestone birthday for my husband. We have booked an upper-end suite. They asked us if we were celebrating anything special, to which I replied, yes, a big birthday for my husband which happens while we are on the cruise. They said that they will arrange a cake for that evening. When we board I will check with concierge AND the dining room that we will dine in that night to be sure that they will have a cake for him.

And if for some reason they neglect to give him one, the next day will be fine.

But thanks for the heads-up!:)

[lvz2cruz]

What kind of shampoo is in the bathroom?

I remember having the dispenser in the wall that had shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.

Do they now have little bottles like hotels? That would create an insane amount of trash even if recycled.

[Redtravel]

Not only did my TA include a birthday cake request on my reservation, I called Celebrity twice before boarding and spoke to the Captains Club hostess on the ship. Celebrity did agree that the cake request was on the reservation and somehow it didn't happen. They agreed that somebody messed up. As far as redoing it the next night., we were disembarking the next morning. Celebrity said that they were sorry. My TA was more upset than me. He said it was unacceptable for Celebrity to ignore his requests.

 

As for shampoo on the ship. The shampoo is in small tubes. It is made for Celebrity by Gilchrist and Saomes. A tube is enough for 1-2 shampoos. Same size tubes of conditioner, bath gel(only in comcierge class), and body lotion. Some people like it. Some people don't. As with all hair products, people like different products. I usually bring my own products just in case the products on the cruise are not what I like. I never assume that just because someplace had great hair products on a previous vacation that the same products will be there on the next vacation.

[MOcruiserman]

What kind of shampoo is in the bathroom?

I remember having the dispenser in the wall that had shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.

Do they now have little bottles like hotels? That would create an insane amount of trash even if recycled.

You might be thinking of Holland America, where they have the wall dispensers. On the Summit they give you individual tubes of Clinique products. Our shampoo ran out after two days and we asked for more. That evening we found 5 new tubes of shampoo in our bathroom.

[lvz2cruz]

You might be thinking of Holland America, where they have the wall dispensers. On the Summit they give you individual tubes of Clinique products. Our shampoo ran out after two days and we asked for more. That evening we found 5 new tubes of shampoo in our bathroom.

 

You're right. I thought both had the wall dispensers.

That is a ton of little bottles in the trash every day. Not very green.

[dodger1964]

..As for shampoo on the ship. The shampoo is in small tubes. It is made for Celebrity by Gilchrist and Saomes. A tube is enough for 1-2 shampoos. Same size tubes of conditioner, bath gel(only in comcierge class), and body lotion...

 

An fyi for those that might not know it or think of it while on the ship, but I usually shower in the locker room when on the Summit. Especially if you have more than 2 in your room, it makes timing much easier...The shower is bigger. They just have the dispensers for the shampoo/soap.

[godfreyb]

Yes I showered in the changing rooms but don't do what I did - leave your favorite bathing suit on the rail never to be seen again!!!!

[Redtravel]

Somebody stole your bathing suit? Sad. It happened to me at my local gym. Hard to believe that anyone would steal a wet bathing suit.

[IsanTom]

Thanks for the review! Your room Steward should have had a name tag?

[Keith1010]

Enjoyed your review.

 

Keith

[godfreyb]

Somebody stole your bathing suit? Sad. It happened to me at my local gym. Hard to believe that anyone would steal a wet bathing suit.

Well it was the day before the cruise ended and I went to the lost and found desk four times and it wasn't there.....probably got lost when the towels were laundered (didn't anyone see it????) but the desk wasn't at all bothered about trying to help me find it. Just looked in the 'bins' every time I went there.

[Aftcabincruiser]

Not only did my TA include a birthday cake request on my reservation, I called Celebrity twice before boarding and spoke to the Captains Club hostess on the ship. Celebrity did agree that the cake request was on the reservation and somehow it didn't happen. They agreed that somebody messed up. As far as redoing it the next night., we were disembarking the next morning. Celebrity said that they were sorry. My TA was more upset than me. He said it was unacceptable for Celebrity to ignore his requests.

 

As for shampoo on the ship. The shampoo is in small tubes. It is made for Celebrity by Gilchrist and Saomes. A tube is enough for 1-2 shampoos. Same size tubes of conditioner, bath gel(only in comcierge class), and body lotion. Some people like it. Some people don't. As with all hair products, people like different products. I usually bring my own products just in case the products on the cruise are not what I like. I never assume that just because someplace had great hair products on a previous vacation that the same products will be there on the next vacation.

Before our Summit cruise , my wife ordered and paid for a birthday cake to be delivered to our cabin on the day she requested. Sure enough there was a knock on our door and the cake was there. Delicious cake ,but enough for at least eight persons , and there was just the two of us ! We offered some to our cabin steward and his helper but they declined. When we dined in Qsine I also got a small birthday desert that I could not finish....LOL

[chotton]

One thing about the cruise that was a real disappointment was the new Rooftop Terrace located on the top deck (deck 12). Too windy and too cold to comfortably watch a movie, in my opinion. I don't know why Celebrity installed it - it makes no sense. And worse, there were no movies at all offered in the indoor theater - the first cruise I've been on where I didn't see a movie.

 

Seeing as Summit sails out of PR from October to the end of April and summer in Bermuda cold weather isn't an issue. It's just these early Bermuda cruises where the weather can be a little cool. We did Bermuda in July a couple years back and it was HOT the whole way from NJ to Bermuda.