Celebrity Summit

[Tablet]

I just returned from a 7-day southern Caribbean cruise out of San Juan on the Summit. Based on many positive posts on this site, I was very much looking forward to my trip. I have sailed Celebrity many times but never the Summit, always S-class. I was especially looking forward to a high level of service that many posts have discussed with even some members suggesting that the Summit is the only Celebrity ship they will book because of the service. Let me say upfront, that the crew and staff on board were for the most part excellent and work very hard. However, the service was the worst we have encountered on any Celebrity ship to date. The service in one word was SLOW. Slow in the dining room, slow at the bars, slow in the lounges, just slow.

It appeared the staff were working extremely hard, but that the ship was just understaffed. One evening we ended up just leaving the dining room after ordering a drink since it had not showed up to the table after 25 minutes. On many occasions, I had to go to 2-3 different bars to get a soft drink or adult beverage. Multiple times while sitting in one of the lounges, we ended up leaving because we could not get anyone to take our order. The outdoor dining options around d the pool were often so backed up it wasn't worth the wait. I'm not sure if it had something to do with the fact that the Summit is destined for dry dock or not, but the overall quality of service was not what I had hoped for. I remain an enthusiastic supporter and advocate for Celebrity and feel on a whole that they do a wonderful job. We will definitely sail Celebrity again, but may think twice before booking the Summit or another M-class vessel.

[Bo1953]

Sorry to hear of difficulties which you experienced with The Summit.

 

We did find beverage service in The Summit MDR for anything other than wine to be slow, but that was due to staffing for sure.

 

Otherwise, not really an issue anywhere else, IME.

 

bon voayge

[ArkansasCruiser73]

We traveled previously on summit and had a similar experience. Although it was still a good vacation, summit was our least favorite experience. I just assumed it was an off week. In contrast constellation was an amazing trip and was One of our best trips. I think century was only better than summit because it was our introduction to cruising. 

[ericosmith]

In the dining room I think it depends a lot on your dining habits.  We requested the same wait staff in the Select dining room each night and the drink service was outstanding.  I'm a beer drinker (with a package) and after the first night, my glass was never empty with my preferred brand.  It was usually waiting on ice when we arrived.  My wife switched up each night and was always waited on promptly.  

[George C]

We loved summit but we had sky suite so dinner was in luminae service could not have been better.

[DrKoob]

23 hours ago, Tablet said:

I just returned from a 7-day southern Caribbean cruise out of San Juan on the Summit. Based on many positive posts on this site, I was very much looking forward to my trip. I have sailed Celebrity many times but never the Summit, always S-class. I was especially looking forward to a high level of service that many posts have discussed with even some members suggesting that the Summit is the only Celebrity ship they will book because of the service. Let me say upfront, that the crew and staff on board were for the most part excellent and work very hard. However, the service was the worst we have encountered on any Celebrity ship to date. The service in one word was SLOW. Slow in the dining room, slow at the bars, slow in the lounges, just slow.

It appeared the staff were working extremely hard, but that the ship was just understaffed. One evening we ended up just leaving the dining room after ordering a drink since it had not showed up to the table after 25 minutes. On many occasions, I had to go to 2-3 different bars to get a soft drink or adult beverage. Multiple times while sitting in one of the lounges, we ended up leaving because we could not get anyone to take our order. The outdoor dining options around d the pool were often so backed up it wasn't worth the wait. I'm not sure if it had something to do with the fact that the Summit is destined for dry dock or not, but the overall quality of service was not what I had hoped for. I remain an enthusiastic supporter and advocate for Celebrity and feel on a whole that they do a wonderful job. We will definitely sail Celebrity again, but may think twice before booking the Summit or another M-class vessel.

 

We were on Summit two weeks ago in New England and I am still working on my review but I COUND NOT AGREE WITH YOU MORE! Understaffed is the absolutely correct word. Never seen such hard workers but they just didn't have the staff. 

 

Jim

[TM]

We were on the Summit for 2 weeks at the beginning of October.  We definitely found the bar service to be extremely slow in all the lounges.  However in the MDR for late traditional seating we had a great person who took care of us for beer and drinks.  Whenever one was finished he was there immediately to see if we wanted another.  Also had good bar service in the theater for any of the shows both in the afternoon and the evening.  We did noticea reduced number of staff in the buffet area but they were always busy clearing tables and helping any passengers that needed assistance so no complaints about them at all..

[BellKat]

3 minutes ago, TM said:

We were on the Summit for 2 weeks at the beginning of October.  We definitely found the bar service to be extremely slow in all the lounges.  However in the MDR for late traditional seating we had a great person who took care of us for beer and drinks.  Whenever one was finished he was there immediately to see if we wanted another.  Also had good bar service in the theater for any of the shows both in the afternoon and the evening.  We did noticea reduced number of staff in the buffet area but they were always busy clearing tables and helping any passengers that needed assistance so no complaints about them at all..

 

Anyone on that cruise who had early seating or anytime dining and went early experienced poor service in the MDR. The average age was much higher than we have previously experienced and most of the ship seemed to want to eat early. Others that we talked to who ate late said the MDR was almost empty. Hence, you lucked out with good service. We both caught colds & weren’t feeling like spending time in the MDR a couple of nights. We tried the buffet & couldn’t find anyone to even ask for wine or a drink! The staff was great in the morning though. Especially the singing coffee waiter! Always gave me a chuckle. But overall, there was definitely not enough staff. Especially after a bunch of them got off the ship to move to the Edge (per a staff member). 

[gerelmx]

40 minutes ago, TM said:

We were on the Summit for 2 weeks at the beginning of October.  We definitely found the bar service to be extremely slow in all the lounges.  However in the MDR for late traditional seating we had a great person who took care of us for beer and drinks.  Whenever one was finished he was there immediately to see if we wanted another.  Also had good bar service in the theater for any of the shows both in the afternoon and the evening.  We did noticea reduced number of staff in the buffet area but they were always busy clearing tables and helping any passengers that needed assistance so no complaints about them at all..

 

I was on that cruise traveling alone, I dinner in the 2nd seating, I can tell you the MDR was half occupied, my table for 8 only a couple from NJ and I showed during all the cruise and we have a great service.

[DrKoob]

46 minutes ago, gerelmx said:

 

I was on that cruise traveling alone, I dinner in the 2nd seating, I can tell you the MDR was half occupied, my table for 8 only a couple from NJ and I showed during all the cruise and we have a great service.

 

Hi Gerardo!

 

I can tell you and the person who posted before you that the reason you had such great service at second seating was because the average age of the cruisers on our cruise was about 75 and as Dimitri the assistant maitre'd told me when we were waiting in line for anytime dining, that meant that VERY few people were willing to take second seating. For that reason you had great service. In anytime dining we had a hard time finding a sommelier. In Aqua, there was one sommelier for the entire Blu restaurant. In the buffet we had three nights where no one offered us anything to drink at all. 

 

Jim

[cruzdude1]

Summit was our worst cruise ever!  I wouldn’t take it for free. 

[Mynki]

On 11/7/2018 at 2:02 AM, DrKoob said:

 

Hi Gerardo!

 

I can tell you and the person who posted before you that the reason you had such great service at second seating was because the average age of the cruisers on our cruise was about 75 and as Dimitri the assistant maitre'd told me when we were waiting in line for anytime dining, that meant that VERY few people were willing to take second seating. For that reason you had great service. In anytime dining we had a hard time finding a sommelier. In Aqua, there was one sommelier for the entire Blu restaurant. In the buffet we had three nights where no one offered us anything to drink at all. 

 

Jim

Interesting. It seems little has changed in a year then. We did a B2B in concierge and then Aqua. The service in Blu was so poor that we returned to the MDR. Our Blu maitre d' tracked us down in the MDR (Apparently when you check in any restaurant the staff can tell via computer) to ask why we were not dining in Blu. I told him that the service was poor and was informed that they were under staffed and required four more waiters and an additional sommelier, this was in December 2018. 

Bar service was a joke at times with wait times of 20 minutes due to only a single barman being available. At times table service was non existent. 

It's a shame that they have not gotten their act together and addressed their staffing issues. 

Last July we sailed on Independence of the seas. On that ship there was an abundance of bar staff. In fact in one bar on one night we were approached by four different staff within 15 minutes asking if we wanted a drink. Ironically this became annoying. :) 

[jojoshumate]

We also recently returned from the Summit sailing out of San Juan—we had the 5 wine bottle package and dined every night but one in the MDR—The Cosmopolitan—for us, the service was outstanding.  We had any time dining—but enjoyed our table mates and servers so much the first night, reserved with them for the remainder of the cruise.  Best wine experience—our sommelier was right there.  At the Martini Bar, I will agree —super busy—even with 2 bartenders, they had their hands full.  But other bars were never a problem.  Just my 2 cents worth.

[bboop51]

We sailed on the Summit in May 2018. It was our fourth sailing on the Summit ( and we have booked a fifth.) We dined in Blu and our service could not have been better. It was in fact the best service we had ever.  We also did not have any issue getting relatively  quick service at any bar/lounge around the ship. 

[sailnsee]

Just checking for upcoming cruise- after see the elite status there is a - and said pearl....????? What does this mean?

[DrKoob]

19 minutes ago, sailnsee said:

Just checking for upcoming cruise- after see the elite status there is a - and said pearl....????? What does this mean?

 

Not sure where you are seeing that. Would be happy to help but the only think I can think of that the word Elite would be associated with would be Captain's Club. And with that, after Elite is Elite Plus and after that Zenith. Never heard the word Pearl associated with Celebrity.

 

Jim

[Northern Aurora]

51 minutes ago, DrKoob said:

 

Not sure where you are seeing that. Would be happy to help but the only think I can think of that the word Elite would be associated with would be Captain's Club. And with that, after Elite is Elite Plus and after that Zenith. Never heard the word Pearl associated with Celebrity.

 

Jim

 

 

While I am not a gambler I believe "Pearl" is one of Celebrity's blue chip program (gambling program) levels.  If I am incorrect someone else will clarify.

[dkjretired]

1 hour ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

 

While I am not a gambler I believe "Pearl" is one of Celebrity's blue chip program (gambling program) levels.  If I am incorrect someone else will clarify.

 

1 hour ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

 

While I am not a gambler I believe "Pearl" is one of Celebrity's blue chip program (gambling program) levels.  If I am incorrect someone else will clarify.

 

Yes, it is your Casino status

[2theship]

We were on Summit in AQ with a group of eight people for a Bermuda run in August. We had a great cruise but we probably had several factors working for us. Those of us who wanted an early evening drink picked one up on our way to the 7:00 p.m. show. The Martini Bar staff knew what I wanted before I asked. When we went to Blu, we were generally only requesting wine and the sommelier took good care of us. Of the eight of us, five had cruised in AQ before, three frequently. We all commented on the outstanding service we experienced. 

[DrKoob]

I want to be completely clear that we DID NOT receive bad service at anytime on our two weeks in Summit in October. Every single person serving us did an amazing job. The problem was there were not enough of them. And it wasn't just the bartenders. 

 

Examples:

• We were in the Rendezvous Lounge before dinner and there were at least 100 people in the lounge and about 20 of them waiting at the bar and there was just ONE bartender. That's it.
• We were in the buffet for dinner. We picked up our dinner and we waited more than 20 minutes for a server to come by and offer us a glass of wine or a cocktail. I finally got up and walked to the bar on the far end of the buffet and got my wife a glass of wine and ordered a drink for myself. The bartender there said that he would bring it to me. About 20 minutes later, I finally got up and left. Never got the drink. Thankfully I had a package so I wasn't charged for it.
• Another night in the buffet, it was a SPECIAL burger night at the grille at the back of the buffet. I went back there on three separate occasions about 15 minutes apart and each time there was a line of 8-10 people waiting and ONE crew member working. On an advertised daily special.
• On a daily basis in the Rendezvous Lounge there was only one server for the entire side of the lounge, more than 150 plus people.
• My brother, his wife and our two best friends were in Aqua and eating in Blu. There was one sommelier in the entire restaurant each night for more than 150 diners. He got one glass of wine. Two if he was lucky. He said that the sommelier was working hard but she just couldn't cover that number of people when the place was full.
• We had the best stateroom attendant we have ever had on any of our 26 cruises (17 with Celebrity) but he worked with no help whatsoever. Not sure he ever got any time off. When we started cruising with X in 2004, our stateroom attendant had 15 cabins and an assistant. Our guy on Summit had no assistant and 20+ cabins. That's nuts.

 

These are just a few of the examples. I have a lot more.

 

Jim

[newyorkray]

We were on the Summit back in January and just got off the Infinity last week and it did seem as if there was noticeable less staff than the S class ships. I too am a long time very loyal Celebrity cruiser. It may be that since the fares are lower on the older M class ships, Celebrity tries to make it up by less staff> I don't know if this is true but I am getting a bad taste in my mouth about Celebrity these days. I booked the Edge on board last January and now I see the cabin prices are up very substantially. There is a thread on here about it. An Aqua class cabin for the Edge next winter is going for just under $ 8,000 for two. The Summit last January was, if I recall, about $2,800 for 2. I know it is supply and demand but that is a bit out of league what ordinary people want to pay for a weeks vacation.

[Tablet]

On 11/10/2018 at 4:21 PM, Mynki said:

Interesting. It seems little has changed in a year then. We did a B2B in concierge and then Aqua. The service in Blu was so poor that we returned to the MDR. Our Blu maitre d' tracked us down in the MDR (Apparently when you check in any restaurant the staff can tell via computer) to ask why we were not dining in Blu. I told him that the service was poor and was informed that they were under staffed and required four more waiters and an additional sommelier, this was in December 2018. 

Bar service was a joke at times with wait times of 20 minutes due to only a single barman being available. At times table service was non existent. 

It's a shame that they have not gotten their act together and addressed their staffing issues. 

Last July we sailed on Independence of the seas. On that ship there was an abundance of bar staff. In fact in one bar on one night we were approached by four different staff within 15 minutes asking if we wanted a drink. Ironically this became annoying. 🙂

I would be happy to be "annoyed" vs. the alternative. Sad and disappointing to hear that what we experienced was not a new phenomena and that they had plenty of time to get it fixed. That suggests to me that they are fine with the current customer service on Summit. If that is true, my one and only cruise on Summit will be my last. Guess I expected more from Celebrity.

[DrKoob]

2 minutes ago, Tablet said:

I would be happy to be "annoyed" vs. the alternative. Sad and disappointing to hear that what we experienced was not a new phenomena and that they had plenty of time to get it fixed. That suggests to me that they are fine with the current customer service on Summit. If that is true, my one and only cruise on Summit will be my last. Guess I expected more from Celebrity.

 

I honestly don’t think this is just a Celebrity problem. Many people who are not in the cruise industry or don’t follow it closely realize that the industry will add 121 ships over the next five year. Yes,  some will be small (Ponant, Seabourn, etc.) but most are HUGE. Celebrity will add four Edge class ships and has made no announcements about retiring any of the M class. The same with Royal which will add more than 10 ships in the next five years and has announced no plans to retire any. 

 

Where does the entire industry think they are going to get the QUALIFIED crew to man these vessels? When X added the Solstice class, they retired most of the Century class. They have announced major refits for the M class. That means they expect to have them sailing for a least those 5 years. And the crew will come from??????

 

Jim

[Tablet]

On 11/12/2018 at 6:26 PM, DrKoob said:

I want to be completely clear that we DID NOT receive bad service at anytime on our two weeks in Summit in October. Every single person serving us did an amazing job. The problem was there were not enough of them. And it wasn't just the bartenders. 

 

Examples:

• We were in the Rendezvous Lounge before dinner and there were at least 100 people in the lounge and about 20 of them waiting at the bar and there was just ONE bartender. That's it.
• We were in the buffet for dinner. We picked up our dinner and we waited more than 20 minutes for a server to come by and offer us a glass of wine or a cocktail. I finally got up and walked to the bar on the far end of the buffet and got my wife a glass of wine and ordered a drink for myself. The bartender there said that he would bring it to me. About 20 minutes later, I finally got up and left. Never got the drink. Thankfully I had a package so I wasn't charged for it.
• Another night in the buffet, it was a SPECIAL burger night at the grille at the back of the buffet. I went back there on three separate occasions about 15 minutes apart and each time there was a line of 8-10 people waiting and ONE crew member working. On an advertised daily special.
• On a daily basis in the Rendezvous Lounge there was only one server for the entire side of the lounge, more than 150 plus people.
• My brother, his wife and our two best friends were in Aqua and eating in Blu. There was one sommelier in the entire restaurant each night for more than 150 diners. He got one glass of wine. Two if he was lucky. He said that the sommelier was working hard but she just couldn't cover that number of people when the place was full.
• We had the best stateroom attendant we have ever had on any of our 26 cruises (17 with Celebrity) but he worked with no help whatsoever. Not sure he ever got any time off. When we started cruising with X in 2004, our stateroom attendant had 15 cabins and an assistant. Our guy on Summit had no assistant and 20+ cabins. That's nuts.

 

These are just a few of the examples. I have a lot more.

 

Jim

I echo Jim's comments. I started this post because there was such a large discrepancy between the level of service we experienced on the October Summit cruise and the level of service we have had on all the other X cruises we have been on. I will also reiterate, none of my comments are directed at the staff themselves. They worked their tail off and did the best they could. The issue was a significant under staffing problem that was evident in the MDR, the grills, the bars, and the lounges. It wasn't a one day issue that got corrected, this was a problem for the entire cruise. It makes sense that different people will have different experiences on the same cruise and therefore it is no surprise that some members had a wonderful customer experience. I'm glad for those that enjoyed their on-ship service. For me however, not so much.

[DrKoob]

55 minutes ago, Tablet said:

I echo Jim's comments. I started this post because there was such a large discrepancy between the level of service we experienced on the October Summit cruise and the level of service we have had on all the other X cruises we have been on. I will also reiterate, none of my comments are directed at the staff themselves. They worked their tail off and did the best they could. The issue was a significant under staffing problem that was evident in the MDR, the grills, the bars, and the lounges. It wasn't a one day issue that got corrected, this was a problem for the entire cruise. It makes sense that different people will have different experiences on the same cruise and therefore it is no surprise that some members had a wonderful customer experience. I'm glad for those that enjoyed their on-ship service. For me however, not so much.

 

 I could not agree with you more. Especially the part about the crew that were there working their tails off. We have never had such amazing service...when we could get it. I also think this is a problem in the cabin attendants as well but you don't notice it as much. Our cabin guy, Eddie, was the best we have had in 23 cruises but I NEVER have seen a harder worker or someone put in more hours than he did. It seemed like he was there 24-7. But we would also see him cleaning cabins that were more than 15 or 16 cabins away from ours so we know he had a huge number to do. 

 

Also, I truly believe that one's perception of service comes from your own experiences. Most of the people we met on Summit who thought it was the best cruise ever were either on their first or second cruise or their first or second Celebrity cruise. They were not (as I am) comparing it 15+ previous Celebrity cruises. 

 

Jim