Summit Post Revolution - Good, bad and ugly

[Hlitner]

We just returned from 10 days on the Summit and decided to post some comments rather than a full blown review.  So lets start with some of the good :).  With very few exceptions, the ship looks fantastic.  Celebrity spent a lot of money trying to recreate a new ship and we think they succeeded in many ways.  New carpeting was everywhere and looked great.  The cabins have all been completely redone and are what you would expect on a new ship.  While some have complained about the contemporary décor (in the cabins) we thought everything was functional, well designed and attractive.  The cabin bathrooms have been completely redone and look great.  We especially liked the new showers with glass doors.  Even the towels were new :).  The bedding was fine although mattresses are always subject to individual taste (one person's firm is another person's soft).

 

Most of the public spaces also looked fantastic.  The one exception was the Sky Lounge where DW commented that is looked like they ran out of money when they reached the top of the ship :(.  The old furniture was worn, and  the large windows lacked any kind of system to handle a very sunny day (there was still evidence of the old curtains and shades).  We were also surprised to find that Qsine is still Qsine and has not been changed into the Petit Chef format.  Staff told us they expect Qsine to be changed-over sometime this year (no clue as to exactly when).   We did note that Sushi on 5 was constantly empty.  On many nights there were fewer then 4 paying customers with the venue favored by a couple of Officers who we saw dining on Sushi several nights.  IMHO Sushi on 5 is wasted space and a concept that has failed...miserably!  We think that its previous format (with crepes) was far superior.  

 

We liked the spread out format of the Lido although we did hear many others grumbling because it means lots of walking to get a selection of food.  The pool deck looked fantastic and the loungers/furniture were in tip top shape.  

 

As to the "Ugly" for us it was the wine service in the MDR and the lack of sufficient bar tenders in some of the lounges.  We ordered a 5 bottle Classic Wine Package the first night (we drink 1/2 of a bottle every night).  The wine sommeliers seldom had a clue as to which wines were even available and one had the nerve to tell us that we should have ordered all of our wine (for the entire 10 day cruise) at the first dinner so they could put aside bottles.  When I suggested that it might be nice to know the food menus before ordering wine he had no answer.  And it also turned out that they had no clue what wines were in stock on the first night since the staff had yet to unpack the new inventory.   It became almost funny when on day 9 a wine steward suggested we order the Columbia Crest H3 Cabernet (we like this wine)!  The problem was that we had tried to order that wine since the first night of the cruise only to be told there was none onboard.  But on day 9 we had a different wine steward who told us they had plenty and she quickly produced a bottle.  ARGH!  The reality of Celebrity is that they have "sold out" to the drink packages with little attention given to those who want to actually order off a wine list.  Wine sommeliers need to know what is available on the wine list without having to constantly run off to check.  Princess has easily solved this problem by equipping their sommeliers with a wireless tablet that they can use to quickly check on inventory without having to run across the dining room to a terminal or supervisor.

 

In Cellar Masters, where we spent a lot of time listening to the wonderful singer/guitar player (Ron Kingston)….one could easily wait more than 15 minutes to get a drink.  The lone bar tender (much of the time) was often overwhelmed and could not possibly provide the service one would expect on Celebrity.  The wonderful waiter in Cellar Masters had to often bide his time while waiting for that poor bar tender to handle the big orders while also trying to satisfy the many customers at the bar.  The Martini bar did seem to be well staffed, but when you consider that 2 Martinis (at the Martini bar) would cost over $30....it should be well staffed !

 

Our cruise (10 days to Bermuda, Boston and Bar Harbor) seemed to be a little different then many of our past X cruises.  The passenger demographics could be described as Old (mentioned by 2 of the comedians) and if I had the franchise on scooters, canes and wheelchairs it would have been a lucrative business.  And before anyone flames me, I am also a senior in my 70s...although I often felt like one of the younger folks in the room :).  It also seemed that not many passengers had booked with drink packages.  Perhaps experienced cruisers are realizing that spending over $140 a day (per couple) for some drink packages is nutz!  Accordingly, the Elite cocktail hour had a relatively large crowd as we all took advantage of that wonderful Elite drink benefit.  The Elite drinks could also be ordered at any bar on the ship (between 5 and 7).  

 

I must also mention that we thought all the entertainment on our cruise was excellent.  We especially liked that the main Production shows (we had 3) were all done with live music (a 6 piece band) with no pre-recorded tracks. It has been a long time since we were on a cruise with a dedicated show band (and they were excellent) who provided all the music in the main theater for all shows (including the Guest Entertainers).

 

Hank

[jcpc]

Thanks for your post, Hank.  I board on the 27th and am looking forward to seeing the new "revolutionized" Summit.  I'm sure there will be some hits as well as some misses regarding the refurbishment but I'm excited to see it nonetheless.  I do think, on the whole, the "bar service" has gone downhill on Celebrity.  Gone are the days of a bar waiter following to your seat in a lounge waiting to happily take your drink order!  It's a shame about the wine service in the MDR but it doesn't surprise me.  Overall though it sounds like you enjoyed your cruise.

Edited June 6, 2019 by jcpc

[cruisingnewtoit]

There were not enough sommelier's to cover the MDR. DH & I had a great one in our area. It was his last cruise. 

[FlorenceItaly]

Wonderful review, Hank.  Thank you.  We are on the June 16th sailing.  We tend to spend a lot of time in the Rendevous Lounge.  Did you spend any time there, and if so, how was the bar service, and live music?  I am so very glad to hear you thought the entertainment was excellent.

 

I LOL'd and read to my dh your thoughts on the passenger demographics, lol.   We are 56 and 70 respectively.

Edited June 6, 2019 by FlorenceItaly

[Cruzinram]

We have experienced long waits after ordering drinks and noticed areas where there was shortage of wait staff. So, we reported it to Guest Services, next day, problem fixed. Not only was there more help, but plenty of supervisor's watching to ensure  the lounge was covered.
 

[Hlitner]

34 minutes ago, jcpc said:

Thanks for your post, Hank.  I board on the 27th and am looking forward to seeing the new "revolutionized" Summit.  I'm sure there will be some hits as well as some misses regarding the refurbishment but I'm excited to see it nonetheless.  I do think, on the whole, the "bar service" has gone downhill on Celebrity.  Gone are the days of a bar waiter following to your seat in a lounge waiting to happily take your drink order!  It's a shame about the wine service in the MDR but it doesn't surprise me.  Overall though it sounds like you enjoyed your cruise.

Yes, we absolutely enjoyed the cruise.  In fact,  overall it exceeded our expectations.  Keep in mind that we are Elite Plus with several hundred days on X and have lost a lot of our faith in Celebrity due to cut-backs and ridiculous price increases.  We did the Summit as a last minute booking (booked about a month before the cruise) because of a very good price.  For about $100 per passenger day (balcony cabin) it definitely was a great value :).   Most of the staff (except one particular wine sommelier) seemed well motivated and the Summit felt like a "happy ship."  But the lack of adequate staffing in the bar area is a definite negative.  In fact, although DW and I tend to spend nearly all sea days in a deck chair on the pool deck, there was only one time (on a 10 day cruise) when anyone approached our lounger to ask if we wanted a drink.  Self-service seems to be a new philosophy on Celebrity and we miss the great service we used to experience on this line.  That being said, the service in the Lido was pretty good although some of us might be old enough to remember when X would have staff in the Lido waiting to carry your tray to the tables (that disappeared along with the trays).  

 

Our big issue with Celebrity continues to be the "value" when compared to other lines.  This was actually a topic at a couple of our dinner tables (we were in Select) and all were in agreement that X pricing is no longer competitive unless one can snag a special price.

 

Hank

[AnnaNicole]

On our recent Solstice cruise, on the first night, the MDR sommelier was nowhere to be found.  My waiter told me he asked the sommelier to come over for my drink order twice, but he did not.   After another gentle reminder to my waiter that I would like wine with my meal, the sommelier finally showed up.   My wine finally came, along with my dessert.  

 

The second night presented it's own difficulties.    My wine came partially through dinner.   My dinner ended up cold because they forgot my husband's meal.   After waiting 5 or 10 minutes, our table mates ate their meals (which was ok by us).   My husband finally got his meal after ~15 minutes.   They also forgot to bring the sparking water he ordered.   The waiter remembered it when he brought DH's dinner.    The waiter was very apologetic and very nice, but it left a sour taste.

 

We stopped eating in the MDR after those two nights.   It was not enjoyable for us.    We like a relaxing dinner.    We ate in specialty restaurants, buffet, and in port for the rest of the trip.

 

I should also add that we had a problem with our dining time.   We were originally waitlisted for early dining.   The waitlist cleared and our online account showed the dining time change from late seating to early dining.   I called and confirmed the change.   When we arrived on board, we were assigned late seating.   I spoke to the MaitreD and he said it is not true - we were never assigned early dining.  He said it must have been the TA lying.   I showed him my Celebrity reservation account as proof.   He was still firm that he would not make the change.   I stood my ground.  Finally, he relented when I offered to come at 6:30p.    The next day, he changed us to 6:00p seating.

 

Overall, I really like Celebrity a lot.   But service is definitely hit or miss.  Al Baccio was outstanding for service and friendliness.   Our room attendant was very nice.   

 

 

[cruise47]

To the OP, Excellent summary of your cruise experiences. IMO.

[jcpc]

42 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Yes, we absolutely enjoyed the cruise.  In fact,  overall it exceeded our expectations.  Keep in mind that we are Elite Plus with several hundred days on X and have lost a lot of our faith in Celebrity due to cut-backs and ridiculous price increases.  We did the Summit as a last minute booking (booked about a month before the cruise) because of a very good price.  For about $100 per passenger day (balcony cabin) it definitely was a great value :).   Most of the staff (except one particular wine sommelier) seemed well motivated and the Summit felt like a "happy ship."  But the lack of adequate staffing in the bar area is a definite negative.  In fact, although DW and I tend to spend nearly all sea days in a deck chair on the pool deck, there was only one time (on a 10 day cruise) when anyone approached our lounger to ask if we wanted a drink.  Self-service seems to be a new philosophy on Celebrity and we miss the great service we used to experience on this line.  That being said, the service in the Lido was pretty good although some of us might be old enough to remember when X would have staff in the Lido waiting to carry your tray to the tables (that disappeared along with the trays).  

 

Our big issue with Celebrity continues to be the "value" when compared to other lines.  This was actually a topic at a couple of our dinner tables (we were in Select) and all were in agreement that X pricing is no longer competitive unless one can snag a special price.

 

Hank

Hank,

 

Thanks for the feedback.  I am a Celebrity "regular" (Zenith status in Captains Club) and this will be my 27th time sailing on SM, so I "know the ropes".  I, like you, don't feel X pricing is competitive but I still enjoy the service of a Celebrity cruise - and to be quite honest if feels like I'm "home" on Celebrity.  And by the way - I certainly do remember the days when someone carried your breakfast/lunch tray to the table.  Those days are long gone, I'm afraid.  I am happy to hear that the cruise exceeded your expectations.  Hopefully mine will too later this month.

 

[bayonnejoe]

33 minutes ago, jcpc said:

Hank,

 

Thanks for the feedback.  I am a Celebrity "regular" (Zenith status in Captains Club) and this will be my 27th time sailing on SM, so I "know the ropes".  I, like you, don't feel X pricing is competitive but I still enjoy the service of a Celebrity cruise - and to be quite honest if feels like I'm "home" on Celebrity.  And by the way - I certainly do remember the days when someone carried your breakfast/lunch tray to the table.  Those days are long gone, I'm afraid.  I am happy to hear that the cruise exceeded your expectations.  Hopefully mine will too later this month.

 

And you were escorted to your room when you first got on! Have we met?

Edited June 6, 2019 by bayonnejoe

[jcpc]

2 minutes ago, bayonnejoe said:

And you were escorted to your room when you first got on! Have we met?

Yes, I do believe we have met a time or two!!!  It will be great to see you guys in October 😂

Edited June 6, 2019 by jcpc

[bayonnejoe]

Are you on just the repo or first San Juan also? Anyway, we will be there to wave. Is it next Sunday the 16th or the 27th?

[Fogfog]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

 

As to the "Ugly" for us it was the wine service in the MDR and the lack of sufficient bar tenders in some of the lounges.  We ordered a 5 bottle Classic Wine Package the first night (we drink 1/2 of a bottle every night).  The wine sommeliers seldom had a clue as to which wines were even available and one had the nerve to tell us that we should have ordered all of our wine (for the entire 10 day cruise) at the first dinner so they could put aside bottles.  ...Wine sommeliers need to know what is available on the wine list without having to constantly run off to check.  Princess has easily solved this problem by equipping their sommeliers with a wireless tablet that they can use to quickly check on inventory without having to run across the dining room to a terminal or supervisor.

 

In Cellar Masters, where we spent a lot of time….one could easily wait more than 15 minutes to get a drink.  

 

  The passenger demographics could be described as Old

 

 

 

Could have written this for our TA from FtL to Barcelona on an "unrevolutionized" ship

 

The "sommelier"/wine steward in BLU was incompetent and rude. Had to escalate to M'D and Head Sommelier of the ship.

 

Bar service except for Martini bar was poor/slow and that was despite it being "empty" at times. We just had to roll with it. There would be ONE bartender dealing with orders for the MDR AND also the clients inside the bar. Waiters from MDR often standing there waiting for bar orders...

 

OLD OLD and OLD... lots of walkers/scooters.  LOTS of very elderly. We and others joked perhaps A TA was cheaper than elder care? IDK

One wonders if there is an abandon ship call who is climbing over whom

 

 

[jcpc]

1 hour ago, bayonnejoe said:

Are you on just the repo or first San Juan also? Anyway, we will be there to wave. Is it next Sunday the 16th or the 27th?

Joe,

Just on for the repo in October.  We're sailing on June 27th and again on September 1st.  I'll be looking for you and MaryEllen to be waving on the 27th.

Janice

[Hlitner]

3 hours ago, FlorenceItaly said:

Wonderful review, Hank.  Thank you.  We are on the June 16th sailing.  We tend to spend a lot of time in the Rendevous Lounge.  Did you spend any time there, and if so, how was the bar service, and live music?  I am so very glad to hear you thought the entertainment was excellent.

 

I LOL'd and read to my dh your thoughts on the passenger demographics, lol.   We are 56 and 70 respectively.

We did spend some time in the Rendezvous to listen to a band called "Ultra Violet" which had a decent female singer and played some decent rock.  The service in Rendezvous was OK but the room also suffered from the lack of enough bar tenders.  But we were more frequently in Cellar Masters because of the wonderful guitar player/singer.   You and your DH would have been around the middle of the pack when it came to age demos :).  Our cruise did have a lively group although all the "slow walkers" sometimes made getting around a bit difficult :).  

 

Hank

[Hlitner]

Thought I would add an additional thought about bar tenders and the lack thereof.  At one time (when I was young) the cruise lines all had amazing drink service and also "pushed" drinks.  Sometimes it seemed like you could not take a breath without a bar waiter asking if you wanted a drink.  And why not?  Cruise lines want to "maximize onboard revenue" and drinks are a major source of revenue.  But then the mass market lines started selling (and promoting) drink packages.  In fact, on the Summit during the first 2 days of the cruise we must have been asked 20 times, "are you interested in a drink package?"  

 

And therein may lay the problem.  Now it almost seems like the cruise lines do NOT want to promote drinks since many have drink packages.  Every drink to those folks actually reduces the bottom line.  There is a perverse incentive to slow down drink service.  Whether this is actually the case is open to debate but there is no doubt that drink service (and related wine service) has deteriorated on Celebrity.

 

Hank

[George C]

I am never impressed by any sommelier on any cruise ship , I know what I like and do not need any help, last cruise I believe he was pushing things they wanted to get rid of, this was in luminae. 

[jcpc]

20 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Thought I would add an additional thought about bar tenders and the lack thereof.  At one time (when I was young) the cruise lines all had amazing drink service and also "pushed" drinks.  Sometimes it seemed like you could not take a breath without a bar waiter asking if you wanted a drink.  And why not?  Cruise lines want to "maximize onboard revenue" and drinks are a major source of revenue.  But then the mass market lines started selling (and promoting) drink packages.  In fact, on the Summit during the first 2 days of the cruise we must have been asked 20 times, "are you interested in a drink package?"  

 

And therein may lay the problem.  Now it almost seems like the cruise lines do NOT want to promote drinks since many have drink packages.  Every drink to those folks actually reduces the bottom line.  There is a perverse incentive to slow down drink service.  Whether this is actually the case is open to debate but there is no doubt that drink service (and related wine service) has deteriorated on Celebrity.

 

Hank

Well,, I think you hit the nail on the head with your additional thought!!  I remember the days when there would be 6 or so bar waiters standing at each entrance to the Rendezvous Lounge (or any lounge for that matter) and one would find you a seat and escort you to a table in order to take your drink order.  Now, you have to hunt one down to take a drink order - often times getting faster service if you just stand at the bar and get it there and carry it to your table yourself!  I've actually gone up to the bar and ordered our drinks and the bartender asked where we were sitting and said someone would bring the drinks over.  Twenty minutes later the 2 drinks appeared.  Now I'll just wait at the bar and carry the drinks myself!

Edited June 6, 2019 by jcpc

[Hlitner]

2 minutes ago, jcpc said:

Well,, I think you hit the nail on the head with your additional thought!!  I remember the days when there would be 6 or so bar waiters standing at each entrance to the Rendezvous Lounge (or any lounge for that matter) and one would find you a seat and escort you to a table in order to take your drink order.  Now, you have to hunt one down to take a drink order - often times getting faster service if you just stand at the bar and get it there and carry it to your table yourself!  I've actually gone up to the bar and ordered our drinks and the bartender asked where we were sitting and said someone would bring the drinks over.  Twenty minutes later the 2 drinks appeared.  Now I'll just wait at the bar and carry the drinks myself!

I did that a few days ago on the Summit.  The bar tender asked where we were sitting (it was quite a distance from the bar) and he said that somebody would bring over our drinks.  But there were no bar waiters in sight.  I asked the bar tender if he even had a waiter and he explained there was only one (at that moment) and he went off to get a few bottles of wine for the bar.  So I carried my own drinks :(.  Several others were doing the same.   But this was not the fault of the bar tender (alone behind the bar) of the single bar waiter in the crowded Cellar Masters bar.   We actually felt a bit sorry for the two staff (both excellent) who could not possibly keep up with the demand during a busy time.  In fact, we gave the bar waiter a very generous tip (the last night of our cruise) because we thought he was terrific...but sometimes overwhelmed.

 

I would emphasize this is not just a problem on X as we have seen the same thing on some other lines.  Getting folks to pay over $70 a day for a drink package is great for the cruise line but none of that money is going for extra staff to meet the demand.  Like many long time mass market cruise fans (we have been cruising extensively for over 40 years) we are being driven to the luxury lines (i.e. Seabourn, Crystal, Regent, etc) out of frustration.

 

Hank

[cruisingdelt]

We enjoy Celebrity very much; however, they have cut back on the waitstaff.  Those that are left work their tails off.  The number of sommeliers have also been reduced.  We were on the recent Bermuda cruise and were fortunate enough to have two very helpful and attentive sommeliers.  They were Vicky and Nenad.  They both knew their stuff but Nenad was very knowledgeable and has a great memory.  He remembered us from our January cruise

[Hlitner]

19 minutes ago, George C said:

I am never impressed by any sommelier on any cruise ship , I know what I like and do not need any help, last cruise I believe he was pushing things they wanted to get rid of, this was in luminae. 

Once, in over 100 cruises we were impressed.  He was a the head sommelier on a Princess cruise and really knew his business and loved people.  So when we were in Korcula  I managed to purchase a bottle of "Grk" wine which I took to the MDR that same evening.  When I saw the sommelier I showed him the bottle and he admitted he had never heard of GRK (it is a grape).  We suggested that DW and I would drink about half the bottle and give him the rest (of course he waived the normal corkage fee).  I later celebrated with a nice glass of cognac that I had won the "stump the sommelier" contest :).

 

Hank

[AnnaNicole]

3 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

 

I would emphasize this is not just a problem on X as we have seen the same thing on some other lines.  Getting folks to pay over $70 a day for a drink package is great for the cruise line but none of that money is going for extra staff to meet the demand.  Like many long time mass market cruise fans (we have been cruising extensively for over 40 years) we are being driven to the luxury lines (i.e. Seabourn, Crystal, Regent, etc) out of frustration.

 

Hank

 

Honestly, Hank, we are thinking the same thing.   We have been cruising for 20 years and the decline in food and service is dramatic.    A cruise used to feel so indulgent and pampering.   Now, it almost feels like you are a PITA when requesting simple service.   I believe I got watered down wine, to boot!  

 

 I prefer quality to quantity.   There was a time when Celebrity offered both.   I am going to look into the luxury lines after my next scheduled cruise on RCI.  

 

 

[warmwinds]

We found the Martini Bar on Summit to be fully staffed, and wonderful.  They had more than enough bartenders to not only service all the customers, but do the trick stuff (I don't know what you call it, the  different martinis in a row, over and over).

 

However, the Sunset Bar during the day had problems...the one (or maybe two) bartenders there could not keep track of who was next, which caused a lot of ill will.

 

And the Cellar Masters most often had one bartender who had the same problem...no idea who was next, and no idea how to make half the drinks requested (even though this is supposed to be a "wine bar", people had all sorts of crazy requests).  And NO table service, you had to go to the bar to get a drink.

 

Our Sommelier in Luminae was great, she really kept on top of everything.  Of course, we dined early, when it was half empty, so we got great service.

[jcpc]

I think on the SM you get great service from all the bartenders/bar waiters.  I think the problem is that there is just not enough of them!  Management has drastically reduced the number of folks working in all bar venues.  Usually the bartenders get to know their "regulars" and make sure they keep them happy.

Edited June 6, 2019 by jcpc

[TeaBag]

I have always thought the day the drink packages were introduced was the same day that Celebrity began to decline.  You have said it well Hank.