LIVE from the Celebrity Summit: 6/27/17 Independence Day Canada & New England Cruise

[cruzzzinma]

Good morning, I have eaten in Tuscan multiple times over the years (on S class ships) and I would say 90% of the time

it was quite good but what the OP experienced? Not good. My food didn't look like the pictures either. He had every

right to be upset, that is for sure.

 

Our experience in Tuscan on the Solstice in 2014 on two different cruises was excellent. In 2016 on the Summit, not so much. They were very different experiences.

[doggfan7]

This morning we took Celebrity's Peggy's Cove and Titanic tour. The weather was, predictably, pouring rain and foggy, but we are making the best of it. The tour guide is absolutely fantastic. His storytelling was great, he handed out plenty of photographs and news clippings to go along with his stories and at Peggy's Cove, he borrowed two lobsters - a male and female - from the restaurant and performed a demonstration on the mating of lobsters - the old lobster birds and the bees story!

 

Visibility was poor but Peggy's Cove was still beautiful and we could see why it is such a must do for visitors to Halifax.

 

 

We bought a lobster roll from the restaurant at Peggy's Cove to further our quest to find the best lobster roll this trip. This was not it. It was not until after we paid that we realized that it was pre-made and stored in the refrigerator. A very expensive grab and go sandwich! It was ok but not what we were looking for. The quest continues!

 

[doggfan7]

The titanic cemetery was very moving. While the tombstones were interesting, what really made the tour was our guide who told fascinating tales of a handful of those buried, including the the burial of the "unknown child" who was finally identified in 2007. The last picture is of Joseph Dawson, who was a coal hauler on Titanic, however since 1997, his tombstone is the most visited in the cemetery. You can figure out why!

 

 

 

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[mackilbeggan]

Sorry about the weather guys. Ye are getting what we had back home for the last few days. Love the updates and the dailies!!

 

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[mackilbeggan]

Well this may be a controversial post. Tonight we had dinner at the Tuscan Grille. The service was very good and the atmosphere very welcoming. But overall, Tuscan Grille stunk.

 

We realize we may be biased living in the New Jersey/New York area. We are privileged to enjoy some of the best Italian food around. But what we were served tonight ranged from inedible (the pork belly) to average at best. It is, as other posters have pointed out in reviews that we read, a gloried Olive Garden. We had planned to come here twice on our dining package but have reduced the number of meals in our plan.

 

As mentioned the pork belly was absolutely inedible. The flatbread, calamari, and chicken Parmesan were bland and slightly weird tasting. The side dishes of eggplant parm and spinach were mushy blobs. My ribeye and the lobster rigatoni alfredo were average. My strawberry shortcake was good.

 

 

 

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I've never tried Tuscan and was thinking about it when we go in August. It just does not look appealing to me. The presentation looks dreadful. I think I'll do Quisine instead. That looked fantastic and your review helped out, we can let the kids and my dad off on their own. Just DW and myself.

 

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[doggfan7]

Have you checked out Persian Gardens yet? My husband loves "steams". I hope there is one.

 

 

 

Yes I've been in it on our last Summit cruise, but it's tough to do with a little one on board as well. I too am a fan of the steams though. On the M-Class ships, it is very dungeon-like. It's all interior and you can in this narrow door to get to the Persian "chamber". Still cool.

 

Having said that, we are both getting spa treatments on Wednesday, taking turns to watch the baby. I'll report back how I enjoyed it.

 

 

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[doggfan7]

This afternoon after we re-boarded we played the archery game on the third floor. It was fun, but we stunk!

 

We had food at the Pool Grill, the celebrity burger is so damn good! Sad that it will probably be redesigned as a for-pay burger place like the Constellation. That would really annoy me on this ship if that was the case.

 

 

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[CruisingChick]

Sorry to hear you were not feeling well and that the weather has not been cooperating. The best lobster roll is in Portland, ME at The Portland Lobster Company.

 

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[Hazelwoodp]

We are on the October 8, 2017 14 day cruise to New England. Your posts have really gotten me excited. Can't wait to read your posts!!!!

[Hazelwoodp]

Did they let you bring on the case of water? We're flying to New Jersey and shuttle to the port, but I'm hoping to pack some water.

[Fish Lover]

Interesting comments about Tuscan Grill. I wonder how many people have enjoyed their meal? Having read the comments on earlier posts we were hesitant to go there. So in June 2017 on the Exquinox we decided to try for lunch. What a surprise. No complaints. Excellent service. Calamari looked nothing like those previously posted. We each had different items. Since we enjoyed so much will try for dinner in December and see the results. And just a note we do not frequent Olive Garden.

 

We've been to Tuscan 3 times. Twice for dinner and once for lunch on a sea day. We thoroughly enjoyed it every time. However, we order the carpaccio, branzino, and pasta. Steak is not something we ever order out.

 

We've been to Qsine twice. The forst time it was good and we enjoyed the smorgasbord of small plates. The second time it was mostly inedible. The food was all overly spiced and served cold. Things were not brought in the requested order and server was totally unfamiliar with the menu and therefore described them incorrectly. It was just terrible.

[doggfan7]

Did they let you bring on the case of water? We're flying to New Jersey and shuttle to the port, but I'm hoping to pack some water.

 

 

 

Yup, saw plenty of people carrying a case on.

 

 

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[doggfan7]

Dinner tonight was very disappointing. We couldn't request the team we liked thus far as we did not want to wait, and we got the same team from night two that was more aloof and disengaged than you could ever imagine. We had to ask them to clean up our plates and to give us dessert menus, to refill our glasses. So amazing for a line like Celebrity.

 

As far as the food, very unimpressive. The beef gnocchi my wife sent back, calling it Nutrisystem quality. Ouch. The tuna carpaccio and garden salad were good. The veal and the Mediterranean seafood orzo were average but cold. The lava cake was not a lava cake. It was a small brownie. But it was delicious, I'll say that.

 

Hopefully by this point in the review, you guys know that I am not overly critical. That should tell you about how we felt about dinner tonight.

 

 

 

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[Cancruizer]

Yup, saw plenty of people carrying a case on.

 

 

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Does anyone know, if I have the classic bev package, is bottled water included (that I want to take off the ship)? Thanks!!

[mackilbeggan]

Does anyone know, if I have the classic bev package, is bottled water included (that I want to take off the ship)? Thanks!!

Yes but they have different grades of water i.e. evian would be on the premium. But yes bottled water is included and it was fine

 

 

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[Cancruizer]

Yes but they have different grades of water i.e. evian would be on the premium. But yes bottled water is included and it was fine

 

 

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Thanks for the quick reply. I wasn't planning to bring a case of water onboard this cruise, since we have this package, but I did not want to regret it! Regular bottled water is fine :)

[Hazelwoodp]

I am really disappointed about the food reviews. We sailed on Silhouette 4 years ago, booked an aqua class room, ate most of our meals in Blu and were so pleased. We've booked an inside stateroom on this Cruise in October on Summit so will be eating in the main dining room. I'm a little nervous!!!! We ARE looking forward to lobster rolls in all the great ports!

[lmf914]

In your search for lobster rolls it all depends what type you prefer. I like lobster salad rolls and my favorite is at Fanueil Hall in Boston, while others prefer the hot buttered type. We had a buffalo lobster roll in Bar Harbor the last time we were there, at Beal's, it was delicious. Good luck in your quest and I love the review.

[mapleleaf2012]

 

I'm from Halifax and I've have been watching the weather ever since we heard the Summit was coming to town while on her June 4th sailing. Unfortunately it was a very wet and foggy Canada Day weekend. Glad to hear you made the best of your time in port and let's hope the sun finds you for the rest of your trip. I'm sure we could have found a better lobster roll for you! [emoji4]

 

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[mackilbeggan]

I am really disappointed about the food reviews. We sailed on Silhouette 4 years ago, booked an aqua class room, ate most of our meals in Blu and were so pleased. We've booked an inside stateroom on this Cruise in October on Summit so will be eating in the main dining room. I'm a little nervous!!!! We ARE looking forward to lobster rolls in all the great ports!

When we sailed in 2003 on the Zenith is was so much simpler. We dressed for dinner, you sat with people who we met on the first night and are still friends with to this day. The food was fantastic from what I remember. There was none of these extra money places. I understand the times, clientele has changed and hate to see that quality has been abandoned for whatever this is.

Believe me my circumstances have also changed. Now we have a son but typically will bring along a friend and my dad comes, some cousins so a diverse group. I like to get dressed for dinner for a couple of nights. When we sailed in August we only ate once in the MDR and it was ok.

My one rule for my son, my nephew's and my dad (hey I paid for it so I set the rules, hahaha) was that I wanted to eat dinner together. Do what you want before and after but dinner was family time. We ate 6 nights in the buffet if you can believe that. Food was different every night. English one night, Indian, Spanish, Portuguese. The selection was quite impressive. I talked to the head chef over the ocean view cafe and told him how much we loved it. All the bread is made fresh on the ship daily as well as the ice cream and sorbets. We only found out that all the sorbets were dairy free on the last night as one of our group is allergic. It was more out of conveinience than anything else that we ate there but I think we may do the same this time apart from trying Quisine

At least we are all on vacation and can try anything once

 

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[mackilbeggan]

Thanks for the quick reply. I wasn't planning to bring a case of water onboard this cruise, since we have this package, but I did not want to regret it! Regular bottled water is fine :)

 

I'm sure you have this but in the slight chance you don't here are the lists

 

 

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[Water709]

I am so enjoying this thread, and your photos are fantastic. DH and I are on the next cruise (this Friday) on Summit. We have a Sky Suite and so are hoping that the food in Luminae is worth writing about. Last year we were in Aqua Class, and while the food in Blu was pretty good, the cabin was so small it was claustrophobic. However we love the Summit because it is not a HUGE ship, and for the most part the staff seems to be happy, and caring. We will only be in New England for two days, but I am loving the photos you shared of your ports so far, and the ones we are not going to this time give me ideas for cruises in the future. How have the shows been? Have you participated in any activities? Or used the gym or spa? How is your little one enjoying the trip so far?

[doggfan7]

I am so enjoying this thread, and your photos are fantastic. DH and I are on the next cruise (this Friday) on Summit. We have a Sky Suite and so are hoping that the food in Luminae is worth writing about. Last year we were in Aqua Class, and while the food in Blu was pretty good, the cabin was so small it was claustrophobic. However we love the Summit because it is not a HUGE ship, and for the most part the staff seems to be happy, and caring. We will only be in New England for two days, but I am loving the photos you shared of your ports so far, and the ones we are not going to this time give me ideas for cruises in the future. How have the shows been? Have you participated in any activities? Or used the gym or spa? How is your little one enjoying the trip so far?

 

The food the last few nights has been very disappointing, but earlier in the cruise was very good to excellent, so I'm hopeful the last two nights were a fluke.

 

We have attended 4 out of the 6 shows so far. There have been no production numbers, all guest entertainers. The iMagic show was good, there was a female impressionist named Karen Granger that was very good, there was a singer names Jesse Hamilton, Jr. that was not my cup of tea but the audience really enjoyed (we are about 40 years younger than the average age on this ship remember!) and then there was a floutist who did lots of songs from movies and Irish folk songs. He was very cool. The two shows we missed were a comedian and a second night of Jesse Hamilton. Tonight is another comedian. I am not sure when or if there will be any production shows on this cruise.

 

We will be using the spa on Wednesday, but we have visited the fitness center and spa and it looks in top shape.

 

The little one is enjoying the trip. Admittedly, she would probably have had a better time if she could enjoy the Fun Factory with the other kids, but work schedules being what they are, this is the cruise we could take and she is still a month shy of 3 years old. We LOVE that they make the Solarium family friendly from 4pm to 7pm everyday. I am not sure if this is normal or just because this cruise has been so cold that nobody is using the outside pools, but she loves the solarium pool. And truthfully, all of the kids that are in the solarium everyday during family time has been incredibly well-behaved! I will say it does break our hearts when we pass by the Fun Factory and she turns to us and say "Can I go play with my friends Daddy?" and we have to say no...

 

We do the trivias most days and have enjoyed them. As mentioned, we did the SAFE archery event. Other than that, we haven't participated much. The music on the ship has been really good. Jessica Lajner and the Underground's Soul (acoustic duo) are our favorites and seek them out whenever they are playing.

 

We did play Bingo yesterday and will not play again. I know this is probably old news but I cannot get over how little the prizes were for what they charge for Bingo. I remember years ago it used to be much different. For example, there must have been over 100 people playing Bingo yesterday with boards ranging from $49 to $69 (at least a $6,000 - $7,000 prize pool). The prizes for the four games ranged from $140 to $230 (and that was for the final game!). They paid out maybe 15% of the money collected. That's insane. I actually won the first game along with one other man. After splitting it we each barely got our money back.

[BOBfromNJ]

The food the last few nights has been very disappointing, but earlier in the cruise was very good to excellent, so I'm hopeful the last two nights were a fluke.

 

We have attended 4 out of the 6 shows so far. There have been no production numbers, all guest entertainers. The iMagic show was good, there was a female impressionist named Karen Granger that was very good, there was a singer names Jesse Hamilton, Jr. that was not my cup of tea but the audience really enjoyed (we are about 40 years younger than the average age on this ship remember!) and then there was a floutist who did lots of songs from movies and Irish folk songs. He was very cool. The two shows we missed were a comedian and a second night of Jesse Hamilton. Tonight is another comedian. I am not sure when or if there will be any production shows on this cruise.

 

We will be using the spa on Wednesday, but we have visited the fitness center and spa and it looks in top shape.

 

The little one is enjoying the trip. Admittedly, she would probably have had a better time if she could enjoy the Fun Factory with the other kids, but work schedules being what they are, this is the cruise we could take and she is still a month shy of 3 years old. We LOVE that they make the Solarium family friendly from 4pm to 7pm everyday. I am not sure if this is normal or just because this cruise has been so cold that nobody is using the outside pools, but she loves the solarium pool. And truthfully, all of the kids that are in the solarium everyday during family time has been incredibly well-behaved! I will say it does break our hearts when we pass by the Fun Factory and she turns to us and say "Can I go play with my friends Daddy?" and we have to say no...

 

We do the trivias most days and have enjoyed them. As mentioned, we did the SAFE archery event. Other than that, we haven't participated much. The music on the ship has been really good. Jessica Lajner and the Underground's Soul (acoustic duo) are our favorites and seek them out whenever they are playing.

 

We did play Bingo yesterday and will not play again. I know this is probably old news but I cannot get over how little the prizes were for what they charge for Bingo. I remember years ago it used to be much different. For example, there must have been over 100 people playing Bingo yesterday with boards ranging from $49 to $69 (at least a $6,000 - $7,000 prize pool). The prizes for the four games ranged from $140 to $230 (and that was for the final game!). They paid out maybe 15% of the money collected. That's insane. I actually won the first game along with one other man. After splitting it we each barely got our money back.

 

 

Can you tell me what side of the ship your on. Planning on this cruise next year.

Thanks, Bob

[doggfan7]

Can you tell me what side of the ship your on. Planning on this cruise next year.

 

Thanks, Bob

 

 

 

Port side, cabin 2055

 

 

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