Canada/New England--Just Back from SummitroductioIndependence Day Cruise

[Educators2]

We just returned from the Canada/New England Independence Day cruise on the Summit. Here are our opinions, starting with the positives:

 

The cruise is port intensive with only one full day at sea. If you do research, you can find places to see without paying for shore excursions. In Halifax, where it rained on the 150th celebration, there are places to go within walking distance of the pier. The Immigration Museum is inside Pier 21 and is truly heart-warming; be sure to take the guided tour. The Maritime Museum includes an exhibit on the Titanic and other exhibits related to Halifax's maritime history. We found that the Kingscote mansion in Newport, Rhode Island, was walking distance from the tender port. There is an excellent guided tour included with admission. In Bar Harbor, Maine, Oli's Trolleys offers one-hour tours of Acadia National Park. Our guide spoke of the sand bar on West and Bridge Streets that you can walk across at times of low tide. That was a lot of fun. We also visited Loyalist sites in Saint John, New Brunswick, on another rainy day. If you like history, the Anglican Church and the Jewish Museum had guides that recounted their founding by Loyalists. In Portland, Maine, the Science Museum had an excellent exhibit on pirates and the slave trade.

 

Our independent travel agent arranged a tour through Distinctive Voyages in Boston. The tour, to Harvard Yard and the Peabody Museum and then to Old Ironsides was complimentary. The tour guide was superb and attentive to the group's needs. Distinctive Voyages also hosted a cocktail party. If you book with a local agent, ask if they are connected with this group. Linda Schwartz, who acted as concierge for Distinctive Voyages, was very effective in her role.

 

The guest lecturers on board were excellent. Professor Ed Lynch spoke on the American Revolution, the Maritime Provinces and Maine. He is the teacher you wish for yourself and your children. Melinda Bates spoke about her White House experiences in a most engaging and entertaining manner.

 

It was fun to see the Boston Independence Day fireworks on board. Getting a seat was a challenge...my husband cleared a table of dirty dishes so that we could sit. He had to carry a chair from the buffet, too.

 

The Aqua Spa Cafe had a lovely buffet at lunch time. The dishes were tasty, beautifully plated and low calorie.

 

The gym was well maintained and not crowded. Cafe al Bacio, the coffee bar, is a lovely spot. The Neptune Strings,a duo from Poland, entertained at night on many evenings. The pastries at the cafe were the best. Irina and Colleen in the jewelry shops were both helpful and enthusiastic. I won one of the raffles and that was fun. Irina helped me spend my "free" onboard credit.

 

If you live within driving distance, the port is very easy to find, has a lot of help and has plenty of parking.

 

 

Needs improvement-

When our fare dropped, we upgraded to GoBest rather than choosing a concierge class room. The Internet was a disappointment. It disconnected often and more often than not, did not work properly in our room or on the balcony.

 

There were few activities that did not incur a fee or promote spending at the spa, acupuncture center, etc. It is disappointing that arts and crafts, workshops, free computer classes, cooking demos, etc., have been eliminated by most cruise lines.

 

Years ago, Celebrity had the best dinners. That is no longer the case. If you are a good home cook, your dinners are better. On two occasions, my husband sent his meat back...he never does that. The Steak Diane could not be cut with the steak knife. We settled for roasted vegetables that night. I guess they are cutting back on expenditures for food. The cream brûlée is still delicious.

 

We went to the shows every night. We enjoyed the comedians and IMagic. There was one new production show, Life,on the next to last night. The dancers, aerial artists and singers were talented but the show made no sense at all.

 

I'm happy to answer any questions. All in all, we enjoyed the trip very much but the ports were the highlight for us.

[riclop]

Thanks for sharing.

[easyboy]

Sounds like you explored and enjoyed all ports visited. Thanks for the feedback.

 

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[TeeRick]

Thanks for the review. How was the Oceanview Cafe? Did you try any specialty dining?

[DiamondSuiteCruiser]

In your opinion how was the condition of the ship, and the staff? Another poster posted the ship was not well maintained and had lots of rust and showing her age, and that the officers were very disconnected from the passengers, and it seemed as if they were avoiding the passengers.

[Educators2]

We found the Oceanview Cafe to be fine for breakfast. The omelets were made to order and there was a very good sweet bread on most mornings. We never had a problem finding a seat in the morning. Since most days were port days, there was no wait for tables at lunch time. We never ate dinner there. On July 4, Qsine had a two for one offer. We didn't get the phone message until we returned to our room in the late afternoon and wanted to be on deck for the fireworks. Honestly, although we had onboard credit, I think $90 is too much for two people at a specialty restaurant.

 

I did not notice officers acting aloof. They came to the Meet and Greet and answered questions. They also participated in game shows, archery, poker tournaments, etc. We were not looking for or expecting any greater interaction.

 

As for the condition of the ship, we were in a balcony cabin, Room 7172. The shower was clean and had hot water. One cabinet door in the bathroom did not close properly but the other cabinets and drawers in our cabin were not marred. There were stains on some dining room chairs but other than that, nothing stood out as being in disrepair.

[DiamondSuiteCruiser]

We found the Oceanview Cafe to be fine for breakfast. The omelets were made to order and there was a very good sweet bread on most mornings. We never had a problem finding a seat in the morning. Since most days were port days, there was no wait for tables at lunch time. We never ate dinner there. On July 4, Qsine had a two for one offer. We didn't get the phone message until we returned to our room in the late afternoon and wanted to be on deck for the fireworks. Honestly, although we had onboard credit, I think $90 is too much for two people at a specialty restaurant.

 

I did not notice officers acting aloof. They came to the Meet and Greet and answered questions. They also participated in game shows, archery, poker tournaments, etc. We were not looking for or expecting any greater interaction.

 

As for the condition of the ship, we were in a balcony cabin, Room 7172. The shower was clean and had hot water. One cabinet door in the bathroom did not close properly but the other cabinets and drawers in our cabin were not marred. There were stains on some dining room chairs but other than that, nothing stood out as being in disrepair.

 

Thank you for your review, and answering my questions. Looking forward to our Bermuda cruise next month!

[TeeRick]

We found the Oceanview Cafe to be fine for breakfast. The omelets were made to order and there was a very good sweet bread on most mornings. We never had a problem finding a seat in the morning. Since most days were port days, there was no wait for tables at lunch time. We never ate dinner there. On July 4, Qsine had a two for one offer. We didn't get the phone message until we returned to our room in the late afternoon and wanted to be on deck for the fireworks. Honestly, although we had onboard credit, I think $90 is too much for two people at a specialty restaurant.

 

I did not notice officers acting aloof. They came to the Meet and Greet and answered questions. They also participated in game shows, archery, poker tournaments, etc. We were not looking for or expecting any greater interaction.

 

As for the condition of the ship, we were in a balcony cabin, Room 7172. The shower was clean and had hot water. One cabinet door in the bathroom did not close properly but the other cabinets and drawers in our cabin were not marred. There were stains on some dining room chairs but other than that, nothing stood out as being in disrepair.

 

Thanks very much!

[Tatka]

Thank you for your review.

 

This is really sad that Summit doesn't have great food anymore. We really enjoyed it two years ago.

Still one of our favorite ships.

 

We were docked next to Summit on 4th of July in Boston and I couldn't miss taking pictures of her.

 

 

 

What a beautiful day that was!

[edgeman61]

We found the Oceanview Cafe to be fine for breakfast. The omelets were made to order and there was a very good sweet bread on most mornings. We never had a problem finding a seat in the morning. Since most days were port days, there was no wait for tables at lunch time. We never ate dinner there. On July 4, Qsine had a two for one offer. We didn't get the phone message until we returned to our room in the late afternoon and wanted to be on deck for the fireworks. Honestly, although we had onboard credit, I think $90 is too much for two people at a specialty restaurant.

 

I did not notice officers acting aloof. They came to the Meet and Greet and answered questions. They also participated in game shows, archery, poker tournaments, etc. We were not looking for or expecting any greater interaction.

 

As for the condition of the ship, we were in a balcony cabin, Room 7172. The shower was clean and had hot water. One cabinet door in the bathroom did not close properly but the other cabinets and drawers in our cabin were not marred. There were stains on some dining room chairs but other than that, nothing stood out as being in disrepair.

 

We were also on this cruise, I found that the Oceanview was fine for breakfast maybe even superior to the sit down venues, for lunches and dinners it was mediocre at best IMHO.

 

This cruise was our first experience in Aqua Class, we were on deck 11, the room felt small, the decor dated, the shower with the body jets had very little water pressure so when the shower head and the body jets were both on it was more of a trickle that a jet. Blu was a nice venue, the staff was friendly but overworked as there could be 15-20 min between courses at busy times. We had some issues with the wait time to get a table and were not particularly fond of some of the menus. Our cabin steward did a good job keeping up the room but we were three days into the cruise and after multiple reminders before we got our bathrobes.

 

My biggest peeve was with Shore Excursions. We had two tender ports (Bar Harbor, ME and Newport, RI), the tendering process was complete chaos as was every other event that supposedly had timed entry. Everyone would just pile up regardless of the time they were told to report or what tender ticket they held and the staff was either unwilling or unable to control the situation. Several excursions met on shore and there didn't seem to be any S.E. staff to tell you where to go. In Newport, after we were told where to wait, they seemed to forget us and we almost missed our excursion.

 

For the price of this cruise I expected better.

[Pooh8941]

In your opinion how was the condition of the ship, and the staff? Another poster posted the ship was not well maintained and had lots of rust and showing her age, and that the officers were very disconnected from the passengers, and it seemed as if they were avoiding the passengers.

 

I too am just off this particular cruise and I found the ship to be in good condition. No complaints whatsoever. Capt. Kate and her officers were highly visible and interactive with the passengers. Can't imagine this criticism being leveled at the officers. Of special note, Capt Kate is still taking the ship up to the Statue of Liberty and lower Manhattan before circling back down the bridge. Great experience.

[Laurab23]

I too am just off this particular cruise and I found the ship to be in good condition. No complaints whatsoever. Capt. Kate and her officers were highly visible and interactive with the passengers. Can't imagine this criticism being leveled at the officers. Of special note, Capt Kate is still taking the ship up to the Statue of Liberty and lower Manhattan before circling back down the bridge. Great experience.

She will do that if she can. Our last cruise,not sure why, but she did not do it. She had the previous year when we cruised but not this year.

 

Laura

[warmwinds]

On this particular Independence Day cruise she actually said something like "what better way to start an Independence Day cruise than going to see Lady Liberty" and then she positioned the ship, and stopped, so that both sides would have a good view.

[hooverex]

We have this cruise booked in 2018. Were you able to see the fireworks from the ship? If so, where. Thanks for the good info

 

 

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[DiamondSuiteCruiser]

I too am just off this particular cruise and I found the ship to be in good condition. No complaints whatsoever. Capt. Kate and her officers were highly visible and interactive with the passengers. Can't imagine this criticism being leveled at the officers. Of special note, Capt Kate is still taking the ship up to the Statue of Liberty and lower Manhattan before circling back down the bridge. Great experience.

 

Thank you! There was another thread from this same cruise, and this was their opinion. I can't wait to be back on the Summit again next month, unfortunately Captain Kate is on vacation, so we won't have the pleasure of meeting her :(, I hear she is wonderful.

[Educators2]

We were able to see the fireworks in Boston. We sat in the outdoor seating area behind the Oceanview Cafe...it is in the most aft area. There was also seating on Deck 12 aft where they show movies. You have to be early to get a seat. We were too late as for Deck 12 as many seats were "saved." There were many fireworks visible from various locations in Boston. It was a beautiful evening for sitting outside.

 

In Halifax, they moved the fireworks from the harbor to the Commons for the 150th Anniversary. There was a Celebrity shuttle for $41 per person. It was very foggy and I didn't speak to anyone who went. Next year, it will be in the harbor so you'll have a ring-side seat.

 

This was our first cruise as "Elite." We had no problem with getting a tender and didn't realize how lucky we were.

 

I do agree that people did not follow "their time" at face-to-face Immigration in Portland. We got on line at our scheduled time-9:50a.m. and did not leave the ship until 10:30 a.m. Someone should have checked our paperwork--this led to long lines and bottlenecks.

[warmwinds]

I think I recall an announcement in Portland that the immigration officers had "just boarded" at around 9:15, when I believe they were supposed to start at 9, so that also contributed to the delays. We had 9:30, got in line at 9:30, and we were all the way back just off the elevators outside the MDR, so the entire circuit. Once it started it went fast, our agent looked at our passports for no joke 2 seconds - what is the point? We almost left at that point before realizing we had to get the hole punch, luckily someone intercepted us and told us what to do. I don't recall getting the hole punch on any other cruise?

[Compass Rose Monica]

Thanks for your review, especially about the ports.

 

I'm looking to do a Canada/NE cruise in the fall of 2019. The Summit isn't my favorite ship, but I might give it a chance.

 

Monica