Summit Review 4/20/19

[DaCruiseBug]

Just got off the Summit a few hours ago here in San Juan and wanted to give a little feedback about our experience on a 7-night cruise on the Summit.

 

This was my 6th cruise and 2nd on Celebrity. Previously sailed on Carnival Breeze, Norwegian Getaway & Escape, MSC Seaside, and Celebrity Edge in January.

 

Boarding San Juan went very smoothly. We arrived at the cruise terminal around noon and walked right on, no wait whatsoever. On the ship there weren't very many people. Headed to the buffet for lunch and there were maybe 7-8 other people there. We then went to our room and dropped off our bags and eventually around 1pm were told the rooms were ready.

 

Sailed away at 8:30pm with no issues.

 

For Sailaway we hung out at the Sunset bar. There was a singer there (Kyle from Connecticut) who did a very nice job. It was the perfect ambiance for him. The one complaint about the Sunset bar is the lack of shade. They have those wooden boards that are supposed to look like rays from the sun but it just isn't enough. There should be some type of cover over that area as it is just too hot during the day.

 

We were in an Aqua cabin on deck 9 and were surprised as to how small the room is. We sailed in an inside room on the Edge and that room felt considerably bigger. The bathroom felt tiny especially the shower. Not sure if this is the same way on all M class ships on Celebrity but it was a disappointment.

 

The food on the Summit in the dining room met expectations. We dined at Blu every night and the staff was very attentive and friendly. Joe the maitre d' was amazing and cam by every night to chat with us. Very nice!

 

On the other hand we felt that the food at the buffet was very limited and we frequently had to wait for food. Almost every night we went to the buffet around 11-12 for a midnight snack before heading to bed and always had to wait 10-15 minutes for pizza to come out. It was very poorly planned. There was 1 person making pizzas and he just couldn't keep up with demand.

 

During our 7 day cruise the ship ran out of Red Stripe, Stella, and Strongbow. We asked a multiple bars and were all told the ship was out of those things until Barbados. Seems like very poor planning if you ask me.

 

We booked 3 excursions thru the ship and in 2 ports did our own thing.

 

St Thomas - We took the Water Island ferry and spent the day at Honeymoon beach. Very nice relaxing day!

 

St Kitts - Catamaran to Nevis thru the ship. Not a very exciting excursion. It took about 75-80 minutes to get to Nevis and the crew just played music and had rum punch for people. They didn't tell us anything about the island or the landmarks we were passing by. Got to Nevis, had a BBQ lunch which was good, had another 45 minutes or so at the beach and then headed back...same thing...a little music and rum punch. Not overly impressed with this excursion.

 

Antigua - Catamaran with lobster lunch thru the ship. Very nice excursion! Had 2 different beach breaks and lobster lunch on the catamaran. Crew was very friendly and told us about the island and all the landmarks as we passed by them as well as their history. Plenty of food, drinks, and music to go around. Highly recommend this excursion.

 

St Lucia - Volcanic mud bath experience booked thru the ship. I will pay money to never do this again. I don't do very well on a bus ride and I knew there would be some driving to get there but the drive to the park with the mud bath was 2 and a half hours long!!!! We were crunched in there like sardines in one of those underpowered buses and the thing barely went up the hills and mountains we crossed. It was 2 and a half hours of nothing but up and down and curves. The tour guide did a good job telling us all about the island but I couldn't care any less at that point...I was miserable and others were also complaining about the ride. Finally got to the mud bath place and we spent maybe 45 minutes there. We left and drove back about 30 minutes and stopped for lunch. Lunch was a typical caribbean lunch buffet and the food was good but there were cats everywhere in the dining room and it only included water and 1 glass of juice. If you wanted a coke or beer you had to pay for it. After lunch it took about an hour and a half to get back to the ship...and it was only 23 miles away.

 

Barbados - Went to Carlisle beach for a relaxing day on the island. Got off the ship and took a taxi for $5 per person to Carlisle beach. Went to Lobster Alive and got 2 loungers and an umbrella for $15 and they gave us 3 free drink coupons. We were the first ones there around 11am but within 1 hour the place filled up. Very nice beach area and very convenient. Perfect for a relaxing day at the beach.

 

Overall we had a good time on our cruise and the staff did a great job other than one of the waiters on the pool deck that was completely aloof the entire time and wasn't friendly at all. When we asked him for a drink he stuck his hand out (wanted our sea pass card) and didn't say anything or smiled or anything else for that matter. We then got the drink (a bloody mary) and after he delivered he came back and asked us if he put vodka in it because he couldn't remember. Kind of odd. Cruise director Dan also just boarded the ship and he's a very funny guy. The entertainment and the staff was probably the biggest let down of the cruise. The entertainment itself was sub par and the production shows were very basic. Many of the activities were very poorly planned and never started on-time. We participated in one of the bags competitions and it was very poorly planned, and then tried to participate in the volleyball match with the officers and signing up for it was a complete clusterfu**. We can only compare to the events on the Edge but I will say that on the Edge the activities were run much better and things were done in an orderly fashion whereas on the Summit the entertainment staff seemed clueless (or just didn't care).

 

We're used to sailing on bigger ships and found ourselves bored at time on the Summit. I think it may just be a bit too small for us. Next time around we'll try the S-class ships to see if it fits us a bit better.

 

If you have any questions feel free to ask -

[FlorenceItaly]

I appreciate your thoughts as we are boarding June 16 for 11 nights.  How was the live music?  We enjoy live music in the lounges and tend to attend these events in lieu of the shows.  Also, how was the bar service in the lounges?  I am thrilled you enjoyed Dan.  I hope he is on our sailing.

[muffin1327]

Da Cruise Bug how did you like Norwegian Cruises and MS Seaside?

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review!

[Laurab23]

How busy was the martini bar? Did you get drinks there and if so were the bartenders friendly? We sail in 2 weeks.

 

Laura

[DaCruiseBug]

1 hour ago, FlorenceItaly said:

I appreciate your thoughts as we are boarding June 16 for 11 nights.  How was the live music?  We enjoy live music in the lounges and tend to attend these events in lieu of the shows.  Also, how was the bar service in the lounges?  I am thrilled you enjoyed Dan.  I hope he is on our sailing.

 

Kyle (singer + guitar player) was pretty good but he’s getting off today until August. The others I didn’t really care for. One girl was usually in the main atrium area and sounded like she was constipated. The bar service was good all around.

[DaCruiseBug]

47 minutes ago, Laurab23 said:

How busy was the martini bar? Did you get drinks there and if so were the bartenders friendly? We sail in 2 weeks.

 

Laura

 

The Martini bar can get quite busy especially around dinner time. The bartenders were all professional. Some jokes around and some didn’t. 

[Laurab23]

36 minutes ago, DaCruiseBug said:

 

The Martini bar can get quite busy especially around dinner time. The bartenders were all professional. Some jokes around and some didn’t. 

Thanks.

 

Laura

[hcat]

Good review..picked up some ideas of what to do ( or not do) in the ports.

 

  Did the Antigua excursion with Celeb have an alternate to the lobster..? dh is allergic. Otherwise sounds like a fun trip with 2 beach breaks!

 

We enjoyed EDGE, even with an IV stateroom,  and have another booked on EDGE for Nov.  Wondering how we will adjust back to  the  renovated Summit  after that...we booked that cruise for the itin Bermuda, Newport, Charleston. 

 

 Summit  may feel small and older in spots..Maybe S Class will be the happy in between for us??

[DaCruiseBug]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

Good review..picked up some ideas of what to do ( or not do) in the ports.

 

  Did the Antigua excursion with Celeb have an alternate to the lobster..? dh is allergic. Otherwise sounds like a fun trip with 2 beach breaks!

 

We enjoyed EDGE, even with an IV stateroom,  and have another booked on EDGE for Nov.  Wondering how we will adjust back to  the  renovated Summit  after that...we booked that cruise for the itin Bermuda, Newport, Charleston. 

 

 Summit  may feel small and older in spots..Maybe S Class will be the happy in between for us??

 

I dont think they have anything other then lobster but they do have an identical excursion that doesn’t have lobster and is cheaper. We bought the excursion for about $115 online but once onboard we saw the price increased to $159.

[gr8fulforcruising]

4 hours ago, DaCruiseBug said:

Just got off the Summit a few hours ago here in San Juan and wanted to give a little feedback about our experience on a 7-night cruise on the Summit.

 

This was my 6th cruise and 2nd on Celebrity. Previously sailed on Carnival Breeze, Norwegian Getaway & Escape, MSC Seaside, and Celebrity Edge in January.

 

Boarding San Juan went very smoothly. We arrived at the cruise terminal around noon and walked right on, no wait whatsoever. On the ship there weren't very many people. Headed to the buffet for lunch and there were maybe 7-8 other people there. We then went to our room and dropped off our bags and eventually around 1pm were told the rooms were ready.

 

Sailed away at 8:30pm with no issues.

 

For Sailaway we hung out at the Sunset bar. There was a singer there (Kyle from Connecticut) who did a very nice job. It was the perfect ambiance for him. The one complaint about the Sunset bar is the lack of shade. They have those wooden boards that are supposed to look like rays from the sun but it just isn't enough. There should be some type of cover over that area as it is just too hot during the day.

 

We were in an Aqua cabin on deck 9 and were surprised as to how small the room is. We sailed in an inside room on the Edge and that room felt considerably bigger. The bathroom felt tiny especially the shower. Not sure if this is the same way on all M class ships on Celebrity but it was a disappointment.

 

The food on the Summit in the dining room met expectations. We dined at Blu every night and the staff was very attentive and friendly. Joe the maitre d' was amazing and cam by every night to chat with us. Very nice!

 

On the other hand we felt that the food at the buffet was very limited and we frequently had to wait for food. Almost every night we went to the buffet around 11-12 for a midnight snack before heading to bed and always had to wait 10-15 minutes for pizza to come out. It was very poorly planned. There was 1 person making pizzas and he just couldn't keep up with demand.

 

During our 7 day cruise the ship ran out of Red Stripe, Stella, and Strongbow. We asked a multiple bars and were all told the ship was out of those things until Barbados. Seems like very poor planning if you ask me.

 

We booked 3 excursions thru the ship and in 2 ports did our own thing.

 

St Thomas - We took the Water Island ferry and spent the day at Honeymoon beach. Very nice relaxing day!

 

St Kitts - Catamaran to Nevis thru the ship. Not a very exciting excursion. It took about 75-80 minutes to get to Nevis and the crew just played music and had rum punch for people. They didn't tell us anything about the island or the landmarks we were passing by. Got to Nevis, had a BBQ lunch which was good, had another 45 minutes or so at the beach and then headed back...same thing...a little music and rum punch. Not overly impressed with this excursion.

 

Antigua - Catamaran with lobster lunch thru the ship. Very nice excursion! Had 2 different beach breaks and lobster lunch on the catamaran. Crew was very friendly and told us about the island and all the landmarks as we passed by them as well as their history. Plenty of food, drinks, and music to go around. Highly recommend this excursion.

 

St Lucia - Volcanic mud bath experience booked thru the ship. I will pay money to never do this again. I don't do very well on a bus ride and I knew there would be some driving to get there but the drive to the park with the mud bath was 2 and a half hours long!!!! We were crunched in there like sardines in one of those underpowered buses and the thing barely went up the hills and mountains we crossed. It was 2 and a half hours of nothing but up and down and curves. The tour guide did a good job telling us all about the island but I couldn't care any less at that point...I was miserable and others were also complaining about the ride. Finally got to the mud bath place and we spent maybe 45 minutes there. We left and drove back about 30 minutes and stopped for lunch. Lunch was a typical caribbean lunch buffet and the food was good but there were cats everywhere in the dining room and it only included water and 1 glass of juice. If you wanted a coke or beer you had to pay for it. After lunch it took about an hour and a half to get back to the ship...and it was only 23 miles away.

 

Barbados - Went to Carlisle beach for a relaxing day on the island. Got off the ship and took a taxi for $5 per person to Carlisle beach. Went to Lobster Alive and got 2 loungers and an umbrella for $15 and they gave us 3 free drink coupons. We were the first ones there around 11am but within 1 hour the place filled up. Very nice beach area and very convenient. Perfect for a relaxing day at the beach.

 

Overall we had a good time on our cruise and the staff did a great job other than one of the waiters on the pool deck that was completely aloof the entire time and wasn't friendly at all. When we asked him for a drink he stuck his hand out (wanted our sea pass card) and didn't say anything or smiled or anything else for that matter. We then got the drink (a bloody mary) and after he delivered he came back and asked us if he put vodka in it because he couldn't remember. Kind of odd. Cruise director Dan also just boarded the ship and he's a very funny guy. The entertainment and the staff was probably the biggest let down of the cruise. The entertainment itself was sub par and the production shows were very basic. Many of the activities were very poorly planned and never started on-time. We participated in one of the bags competitions and it was very poorly planned, and then tried to participate in the volleyball match with the officers and signing up for it was a complete clusterfu**. We can only compare to the events on the Edge but I will say that on the Edge the activities were run much better and things were done in an orderly fashion whereas on the Summit the entertainment staff seemed clueless (or just didn't care).

 

We're used to sailing on bigger ships and found ourselves bored at time on the Summit. I think it may just be a bit too small for us. Next time around we'll try the S-class ships to see if it fits us a bit better.

 

If you have any questions feel free to ask -

just wondering if the Qzine has changed to LPC as rumoured

[hcat]

30 minutes ago, DaCruiseBug said:

 

I dont think they have anything other then lobster but they do have an identical excursion that doesn’t have lobster and is cheaper. We bought the excursion for about $115 online but once onboard we saw the price increased to $159.

Thanks..we'd select the cheaper one.  Better for dh to avoid lobster altogether and I can do without it,.  Will note this excursion  for our next visit back to Antigua.. 

[FlorenceItaly]

Were you able to order off the main dining room menu while in Aqua Class?  Thank you.

[davekathy]

Thanks for taking us along on your cruise. Looking forward to our future Summit cruises. 

[DaCruiseBug]

1 hour ago, FlorenceItaly said:

Were you able to order off the main dining room menu while in Aqua Class?  Thank you.

Yes.

[DaCruiseBug]

I forgot to mention that the AC in the cabin wasn’t great. We had it on full cold the entire time and it was just ok...at times goes warm.

[NorthCarolinaBelle]

On 4/27/2019 at 3:10 PM, gr8fulforcruising said:

just wondering if the Qzine has changed to LPC as rumoured

It was still Quisine on the April 6th cruise.

 

[1620rock]

Thanks for your review. We will be on the Summit in January and appreciate your sharing your port activities. The Summit was our first Celebrity cruise and we really enjoyedthat cruise and are looking forward to see the refreshed and revolutionized ship.

[J_Kepler]

Bummed to hear the entertainment was a little lackluster.   I am worried we might be spoiled from what we have seen on our other cruise (Disney).  Though we are not going for the entertainment - food / getting away / ports (Boston and Maine) are the attractions for us.

[CapeLibertyGirl]

Is David still the Captain's Club Host on Summit and for how long ?

[FlorenceItaly]

17 minutes ago, CapeLibertyGirl said:

Is David still the Captain's Club Host on Summit and for how long ?

I believe he is currently on the Infinity

[DaCruiseBug]

4 hours ago, CapeLibertyGirl said:

Is David still the Captain's Club Host on Summit and for how long ?

 

I believe it was a woman. Not sure what her name was.

[miched]

Your first cruise with X was on the Edge.   We just got off the Edge and no other ship in their fleet can compare to it.   It was fabulous and we loved it.   We had a AQ IV cabin.  We loved the cabin.   We have been on almost all of the X ships sailing in AQ and the Edge was the best.   There are a few things that they have been working on and I am sure it will only get better.  

 

My only complaint is that another cruise on the Edge Class is out of our budget for the value.  We were fortunate to book it when it was only  50% higher than the other cruises instead of double that it jumped to.  The current price of  cruises are way too much.   We paid $3500 for two with two perks for AQ for 7 nights.  Shortly after booking  it jumped up to the $3999 pp.  Some  cruises in the Edge have dropped but are still about double of cruises on other ships.  

 

It is nice but when we can book a suite with all the perks on other ships for the same cost it is a no brainer.    Guess what we booked?  

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

 

 

 

[DaCruiseBug]

21 minutes ago, miched said:

Your first cruise with X was on the Edge.   We just got off the Edge and no other ship in their fleet can compare to it.   It was fabulous and we loved it.   We had a AQ IV cabin.  We loved the cabin.   We have been on almost all of the X ships sailing in AQ and the Edge was the best.   There are a few things that they have been working on and I am sure it will only get better.  

 

My only complaint is that another cruise on the Edge Class is out of our budget for the value.  We were fortunate to book it when it was only  50% higher than the other cruises instead of double that it jumped to.  The current price of  cruises are way too much.   We paid $3500 for two with two perks for AQ for 7 nights.  Shortly after booking  it jumped up to the $3999 pp.  Some  cruises in the Edge have dropped but are still about double of cruises on other ships.  

 

It is nice but when we can book a suite with all the perks on other ships for the same cost it is a no brainer.    Guess what we booked?  

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think they pushed the price on the Edge too high and saw that people weren't booking it and prices are coming down as you said. I just priced out an Edge sailing in December 2020 and an infinity veranda cabin with 2 perks (bvg pkg + $300 OBC) comes out to $3,500.

 

If bookings continue to be weak on the Edge you'll see prices drop a little more. Plus, isn't the Apex coming out next year?

[varoo]

On 4/28/2019 at 7:02 AM, DaCruiseBug said:

I forgot to mention that the AC in the cabin wasn’t great. We had it on full cold the entire time and it was just ok...at times goes warm.

 

Did you report it?

 

When we had that problem on the Summit, they sent up a guy who adjusted the thermostat so that the room really got cold. 

We needed to keep it set all the way up at the warmest setting for the remainder of the cruise to be comfortable because we didn't want to complain again about being too cold after we had complained about being too warm. 😀