Just Off Summit - A Few Things

[lorimay]

I just got off the Burmuda sailing on the Summit yesterday. Didn't want to do a full review but here are a few observations.

 

Embarkation at Cape Liberty was really quick but there didn't appear to be any priority embarkation except for suites.

 

We were in Concierge class and if we had not known about the embarkation lunch in advance we would not have been informed. On previous cruises we have received information about the lunch before boarding - but because we had checked in online and the way they check your documents there is no "desk" or any documentation to give you.

 

I really, really loved the revolutionized decor in the ship. And I am NOT a millennial (or younger). The colors are clean and contemporary and the ship looks new. There are a couple of things I didn't think were perfect - the MDR is a little "under" decorated - needs a little more "bling" to make it special. Also, don't know who chose the pink and blue chairs in the  Oceanview buffet, but they are already filthy. Dark marks, fingerprints, etc.  However, the cabin decor and new furniture was great. I'm not sure where anyone got the idea that there is less storage in the revolutionized cabins. If anything there is more storage. We had plenty of room for lots of clothes and still had empty drawers and shelves. I particularly liked the glass fronted shelves - easy to see what's in there and there was lots of room. The bathrooms are great too - seems like (I know they aren't) bigger - shower was great and it was not hard to get in and close the door even though the door swings into the shower. Lots of storage in the bathroom. And I liked the backlighted mirror at the desk - it was huge. Balcony furniture was about the same as we had on Infinity earlier this year. We did NOT have the armless wooden chairs. We had two mesh reclining lounge chairs (no footstools) and a small table in between.

 

The captain and crew on this ship are phenomenal. Best and happiest crew by far out of any cruise we have been on. And Captain Ioannis (Yanni) was everywhere - every event, getting on and off the ship. We mentioned how happy the crew seemed to be to the cruise director, Rich, and he said it was because they really like the captain and the hotel manager Danuta and that they are treated very well.

 

Had Select dining but had made the reservations in advance. We never had to wait but it was a full cruise and the line without reservations was sometimes very long. Our MDR waiter was Cedric and assistant waiter Santosh. Cedric was the best waiter we have ever had on any cruise. The head waiter told us they put the best waiters in Select since it is more difficult to serve so many people at different stages of meals than at fixed dining. The other waiters around us seemed very good also.

 

We were in Concierge 8167, which is across from a crew door - behind which is the staff elevators. This cabin was extremely noisy as they pulled loaded carts for room service across the bump in the doorway. Not the cabin for you if you are sensitive to noise.

 

Food was a let down. As long as you stuck the recommendations in the MDR you were ok, but a lot of other things were not great. Our waiter was great about telling us what not to eat. Went to Tuscan Grille one night and overall the food was good (I thought the pastas and appetizers were very good). My ribeye steak was decent - although the prime rib in the MDR was better - but my husband had the flank steak and it was truly inedible. We knew what the cut of meat was, but first they brought it out undercooked (rare instead of medium) and then it was so tough he couldn't cut it. The waiter (fantastic Rodrigo) finally brought him a filet mignon which was very good. Oceanview food was much worse on this ship than on Infinity a few months ago. You could find decent things, but the general steam table food was just not great. Also, the ship was full but there's no excuse for there to be no lettuce and salad dressing in the salad bar and that happened every single time we were there. They were obviously understaffed because many times tables were not bused, food was not replenished in the buffet, and you had to hunt down silverware.

 

Entertainment was decent. The fly in group Uptown was fantastic. If you ever get a chance don't miss them. The production singers and dancers were decent, but like all the shows on cruise ships the singers seem to have trouble with some of the notes. Dancers were good and acrobats were very good (although why they are in production numbers I will never know). The comedians were good but the second one, Dave Walker, was so much better than the first. You can always tell a lousy comedian when they laugh at their own jokes and lose their pacing. The "orchestra" was very talented. The small band "Ultraviolet" had great musicians but the female singer was just awful. You can always find something to do but don't expect to be busy every second of the day. I would say younger people might be a little bored. There were several Beyond the Podium presentations and the captain gave a fascinating talk on how the ship is run.

 

I'll be happy to answer any questions I can. Overall a good cruise on a great ship.

 

 

[rM3panno]

27 minutes ago, lorimay said:

I just got off the Burmuda sailing on the Summit yesterday. Didn't want to do a full review but here are a few observations.

 

Embarkation at Cape Liberty was really quick but there didn't appear to be any priority embarkation except for suites.

 

We were in Concierge class and if we had not known about the embarkation lunch in advance we would not have been informed. On previous cruises we have received information about the lunch before boarding - but because we had checked in online and the way they check your documents there is no "desk" or any documentation to give you.

 

I really, really loved the revolutionized decor in the ship. And I am NOT a millennial (or younger). The colors are clean and contemporary and the ship looks new. There are a couple of things I didn't think were perfect - the MDR is a little "under" decorated - needs a little more "bling" to make it special. Also, don't know who chose the pink and blue chairs in the  Oceanview buffet, but they are already filthy. Dark marks, fingerprints, etc.  However, the cabin decor and new furniture was great. I'm not sure where anyone got the idea that there is less storage in the revolutionized cabins. If anything there is more storage. We had plenty of room for lots of clothes and still had empty drawers and shelves. I particularly liked the glass fronted shelves - easy to see what's in there and there was lots of room. The bathrooms are great too - seems like (I know they aren't) bigger - shower was great and it was not hard to get in and close the door even though the door swings into the shower. Lots of storage in the bathroom. And I liked the backlighted mirror at the desk - it was huge. Balcony furniture was about the same as we had on Infinity earlier this year. We did NOT have the armless wooden chairs. We had two mesh reclining lounge chairs (no footstools) and a small table in between.

 

The captain and crew on this ship are phenomenal. Best and happiest crew by far out of any cruise we have been on. And Captain Ioannis (Yanni) was everywhere - every event, getting on and off the ship. We mentioned how happy the crew seemed to be to the cruise director, Rich, and he said it was because they really like the captain and the hotel manager Danuta and that they are treated very well.

 

Had Select dining but had made the reservations in advance. We never had to wait but it was a full cruise and the line without reservations was sometimes very long. Our MDR waiter was Cedric and assistant waiter Santosh. Cedric was the best waiter we have ever had on any cruise. The head waiter told us they put the best waiters in Select since it is more difficult to serve so many people at different stages of meals than at fixed dining. The other waiters around us seemed very good also.

 

We were in Concierge 8167, which is across from a crew door - behind which is the staff elevators. This cabin was extremely noisy as they pulled loaded carts for room service across the bump in the doorway. Not the cabin for you if you are sensitive to noise.

 

Food was a let down. As long as you stuck the recommendations in the MDR you were ok, but a lot of other things were not great. Our waiter was great about telling us what not to eat. Went to Tuscan Grille one night and overall the food was good (I thought the pastas and appetizers were very good). My ribeye steak was decent - although the prime rib in the MDR was better - but my husband had the flank steak and it was truly inedible. We knew what the cut of meat was, but first they brought it out undercooked (rare instead of medium) and then it was so tough he couldn't cut it. The waiter (fantastic Rodrigo) finally brought him a filet mignon which was very good. Oceanview food was much worse on this ship than on Infinity a few months ago. You could find decent things, but the general steam table food was just not great. Also, the ship was full but there's no excuse for there to be no lettuce and salad dressing in the salad bar and that happened every single time we were there. They were obviously understaffed because many times tables were not bused, food was not replenished in the buffet, and you had to hunt down silverware.

 

Entertainment was decent. The fly in group Uptown was fantastic. If you ever get a chance don't miss them. The production singers and dancers were decent, but like all the shows on cruise ships the singers seem to have trouble with some of the notes. Dancers were good and acrobats were very good (although why they are in production numbers I will never know). The comedians were good but the second one, Dave Walker, was so much better than the first. You can always tell a lousy comedian when they laugh at their own jokes and lose their pacing. The "orchestra" was very talented. The small band "Ultraviolet" had great musicians but the female singer was just awful. You can always find something to do but don't expect to be busy every second of the day. I would say younger people might be a little bored. There were several Beyond the Podium presentations and the captain gave a fascinating talk on how the ship is run.

 

I'll be happy to answer any questions I can. Overall a good cruise on a great ship.

 

 

Thanks, we board this Sunday, 8/3 and will be in a suite but in any onboard restaurant we always find its best to go with the staffs recommendations.

Edited July 29, 2019 by rM3panno

[39august]

Glad to hear about the storage. We may do this next summer. Did this cruise include Newport?

[lorimay]

No we only went to Bermuda but next time I would do the itinerary with the other ports. I love Bermuda but would like a more port intensive cruise next time.

[Alzarine]

I also disembarked yesterday. We were in Aqua class and have to say that Blu was superb.....our first time there and now we can’t ever go back to the MDR. All of the staff were extremely upbeat and attentive. If you are fond of lamb, it was delicious 😋! I had it for three different entrees. 

Our cabin was on deck 11 toward the stern and yes we could hear the movies playing when we opened the balcony door but it was pretty much muffled when the door was closed. Bermuda was as beautiful as ever!

Our only excursion was a catamaran snorkeling cruise  “Restless Native”not offered by Celebrity. It was less expensive $75.00pp and included unlimited rum swizzles and chocolate chip cookies after snorkeling because of safety issues. The crew was great young and energetic..... kayaks and paddle boards were also available as well.

 One other guest entertainer was Laura Wright, a young woman singer from Las Vegas. Fantastic voice! I do believe she will be on the Summit for not longer than a few weeks.

[occasional cruiser guy]

Thanks for letting us know your thoughts on your cruise.  My wife and I will be on the Summit in January and have the any time dining which seems to be the only option available for us.  We haven't cruised with Celebrity yet and I am unfamiliar with the procedures.   Can I set up reservations in the mdr even though I have any time dining?   If not, is there a better time to go to dinner with out much of a wait?  Any thoughts on the matter would be appreciated. Also,  I'm glad you had a good time on your cruise.  I often see so much negativity on the decor and it can be refreshing to hear a different opinion. 

[lorimay]

You can go on the Celebrity website to the Cruise Planner and set up your Select dining reservations. There is no cost (although it looks like you are buying something) and you put the dinner in your "cart". I could only do it one day at a time then had to go back and do it for every night.

 

You can walk up with no reservations but they say you should go early or late because the times between 6:30 and 8:30 are the busiest and you may have to wait. We liked having reservations because we got the same waiter every night and we loved him. 

 

For us it was like we were having set dining but at the time we liked. You can make a reservation for different times every night if you wish. If you pretty much know what time you usually like to eat I would say make reservations in advance. There is no downside to making a reservation and the upside is a shorter (or no) wait. I don't think we will ever go back to fixed dining. We really enjoy Select.

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review!

[Tatka]

Thank you for review!

Doing the same cruise in a month.

 

Was there Liar's club show? Loved it last time!

[tkline]

We thought about doing a bermuda cruise leaving from NY since we can drive there. Or maybe it was Baltimore?

 

So, the ship just docks in Bermuda for 3 days and it's kind of like a hotel where you can come and go at will, and then the at sea days added in? Can you get on/off whenever you want (staggering back at 3 AM) or just certain times? We aren't really big beach people or swimmers (also why we haven't done the caribbean yet), but there were some excursions that looked fun. Is the casino open while in the port for a few days? That's our favorite place at night

[NCteacherlovescruising]

1 hour ago, Alzarine said:

 

 One other guest entertainer was Laura Wright, a young woman singer from Las Vegas. Fantastic voice! I do believe she will be on the Summit for not longer than a few weeks.

The actress?

[dkjretired]

Thank you for your review.  I don't know if you are aware but Celebrity''s idea of priority embarkation is simply a separate line in the terminal.  Every time we have been to Bayonne that is what they provide, that's just what they call it. 

[Highpeaklad]

1 hour ago, occasional cruiser guy said:

Thanks for letting us know your thoughts on your cruise.  My wife and I will be on the Summit in January and have the any time dining which seems to be the only option available for us.  We haven't cruised with Celebrity yet and I am unfamiliar with the procedures.   Can I set up reservations in the mdr even though I have any time dining?   If not, is there a better time to go to dinner with out much of a wait?  Any thoughts on the matter would be appreciated. Also,  I'm glad you had a good time on your cruise.  I often see so much negativity on the decor and it can be refreshing to hear a different opinion. 

 

You find the reservations for select dining in your cruise planner. Look in speciality dining and if you scroll to the bottom it’s the last option. 

[Tatka]

35 minutes ago, tkline said:

We thought about doing a bermuda cruise leaving from NY since we can drive there. Or maybe it was Baltimore?

 

So, the ship just docks in Bermuda for 3 days and it's kind of like a hotel where you can come and go at will, and then the at sea days added in? Can you get on/off whenever you want (staggering back at 3 AM) or just certain times? We aren't really big beach people or swimmers (also why we haven't done the caribbean yet), but there were some excursions that looked fun. Is the casino open while in the port for a few days? That's our favorite place at night

 

Exactly. It docked for 3 days/2 nights and you can come and go. Casino opens at 9 PM every night while in port.

 

Celebrity is not sailing out of Baltimore. Only Royal and they usually have 2 days/1 night in Bermuda. Only several cruises per year are 3/2.

Also I believe this is the last Summit year with 3days/2 nights itineraries so hurry up!  You can check Norwegian (NCL). They have ships from Boston and NYC going to Bermuda for 3/2 every year.

Edited July 29, 2019 by Tatka

[tkline]

Oh, yeah I remember seeing something from Baltimore before, must have been royal caribbean. We already have a Europe cruise booked for 2020, so we wouldn't be doing Bermuda till '21. If they don't offer it anymore we'll have to do the caribbean instead... Hopefully they will keep it 🙂

[dkjretired]

32 minutes ago, Tatka said:

 

Exactly. It docked for 3 days/2 nights and you can come and go. Casino opens at 9 PM every night while in port.

 

Celebrity is not sailing out of Baltimore. Only Royal and they usually have 2 days/1 night in Bermuda. Only several cruises per year are 3/2.

Also I believe this is the last Summit year with 3days/2 nights itineraries so hurry up!  You can check Norwegian (NCL). They have ships from Boston and NYC going to Bermuda for 3/2 every year.

 

Summit is doing a few of the typical 7 day Bermuda cruises, they are just adding Newport on the first at sea day. They are not doing them all summer.

[lorimay]

We didn't go to too many of the game shows they had, but I'm pretty sure there wasn't a Liar's club. They had a version of the Newlywed game and one called Are You Smarter than a Ship's Officer. That one was great - and the officers were really fun. They also competed in some pool games too. I have never seen the officers so active. I think the games and activities vary according to the staff. Our cruise director was new and came on board with us but he was really great once he figured out what was going on. The activities director was Nacho and he was fantastic. We played a lot of trivia which was hosted mostly by a great guy named Dominick and music trivia hosted by Russ. The only complaint about the trivia was that it was too hard. We are usually pretty good but one time we lost with 5 out of 15 correct to a team that had 6 out of 15. But both guys made it a lot of fun! 

[Alzarine]

1 hour ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

The actress?

 

No, she is a vocalist with a group that entertains in Las Vegas. Lovely voice and lovely person! You can find her on google if you are interested.....

[hcat]

1 hour ago, tkline said:

Oh, yeah I remember seeing something from Baltimore before, must have been royal caribbean. We already have a Europe cruise booked for 2020, so we wouldn't be doing Bermuda till '21. If they don't offer it anymore we'll have to do the caribbean instead... Hopefully they will keep it 🙂

We're booked for a Bermuda itin on Summit  from Bayonne in 2020 , that includes Newport and Charleston...You might enjoy that if it is offered in 2021!

[travelbug4]

3 hours ago, lorimay said:

You can go on the Celebrity website to the Cruise Planner and set up your Select dining reservations. There is no cost (although it looks like you are buying something) and you put the dinner in your "cart". I could only do it one day at a time then had to go back and do it for every night.

 

You can walk up with no reservations but they say you should go early or late because the times between 6:30 and 8:30 are the busiest and you may have to wait. We liked having reservations because we got the same waiter every night and we loved him. 

 

For us it was like we were having set dining but at the time we liked. You can make a reservation for different times every night if you wish. If you pretty much know what time you usually like to eat I would say make reservations in advance. There is no downside to making a reservation and the upside is a shorter (or no) wait. I don't think we will ever go back to fixed dining. We really enjoy Select.

If you make select dining reservations in advance will they put you at a table for just your party?  Or do they put you at a large table with others?   Hoping to be at a table with just our party as we have food allergy concerns but didn't see an area to request that.

Thanks! 🙂

[lorimay]

We just told them we wanted to be by ourselves and they seated us that way every night. But warning - at least on M class ships, the tables are so close together that even if you are eating at a table for 2 you feel as if you are eating with others. If allergies are an issue the other people may be too close. Just talk to the host and he or she will fix you up!

[Tatka]

2 hours ago, dkjretired said:

 

Summit is doing a few of the typical 7 day Bermuda cruises, they are just adding Newport on the first at sea day. They are not doing them all summer.

 

Thank you. I thought they just shortened stay in Bermuda. May look into them then!

[39august]

How many nights is that Newport, Charleston and Bermuda cruise and time of year please?

[mikkirm]

Thanks for the review! We (my mom and I) will be on the Summit in October, also in stateroom 8167. The noise issue is a bit concerning, but neither of us is super-sensitive to noise (we live on a relatively busy street), so hopefully it won't be an issue.

 

[lorimay]

31 minutes ago, mikkirm said:

Thanks for the review! We (my mom and I) will be on the Summit in October, also in stateroom 8167. The noise issue is a bit concerning, but neither of us is super-sensitive to noise (we live on a relatively busy street), so hopefully it won't be an issue.

 

It was really only an issue early in the morning. Otherwise the cabin is great and a great location. Also, if you have the same room steward, Joachim, he is fantastic. Our room was spotless and he is so nice and pays attention to when you leave the room so he can service it. Have fun!