Just Off Summit - A Few Things

[TxCityKat]

4 hours ago, travelbug4 said:

... 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...

 

@travelbug4

 

Click here for the Celebrity Medical Needs page: https://www.celebritycruises.com/special-needs/medical-needs

 

Note the contact info is there for you to ask about policies and procedures that may effect your cruise due to your food allergy concerns. Also you can download the Celebrity Guest Special Needs Form from the same page. They request that you or your TA submit the form to them at the time of booking or no later than 30 days prior to sailing. As for your food allergy situation, you will find it addressed on the last page of the form. Also the last page of the form has more contact information.

 

I hope this information will be helpful! 😊

 

Kat 🐱

 

 

Edited July 30, 2019 by TxCityKat
typo

[dkjretired]

2 hours ago, 39august said:

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

 I think that cruise is 10 days but is different from the 7 day Newport andBermuda Cruise.

[mikkirm]

1 hour ago, lorimay said:

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!

 

Thanks!  We are both early risers, so it shouldn't be a problem. 

[travelbug4]

4 hours ago, lorimay said:

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!

Great advice!  Thanks so much.  And great review!

[Tatka]

5 hours ago, travelbug4 said:

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! 🙂

 

 I don’t think you can reserve a certain size. You can ask for certain size at entrance like we did last time (we only eat a tables for 2). 

 

However going by our last experiences with Royal, if you dine at approximately same time they try to “assign” to the same waiter and table.. maybe X does the same.

[TeaBag]

10 hours ago, Alzarine said:

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. 

 

Glad to hear Blu was superb.  Looking forward to it in Oct.

[wrk2cruise]

We were on in May and I have to say our Blu experience was also superb.  Joe was managing Blu and from what I remember he will be on until Oct 19.  We sail again on Oct 20 and were disappointed that he will be gone.  The thing that stuck out most for me was the assistant waiter service.  I've been complaining for the last 3 years that staff cuts in this position has degraded the dining experience with dirty dishes sitting for 10's of minutes, having to wait for waiter to refill water etc.  Our assistant in Blu in May was amazing.  From remembering our special request such as extra butter, lemon for water etc and having them on the table nightly, to clearing courses promptly and keeping water glasses filled.  It provided a wait staff experience like 15 years ago in the MDR which we very much appreciated.

 

Of course our waiter "Angel" was also very good and having a good assistant allowed him to concentrate on food and service.

 

Edited July 30, 2019 by wrk2cruise

[CarolRoy]

On 7/29/2019 at 11:44 AM, Alzarine said:

 

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.

 

So did you do the snorkeling cruise with Restless Native?  Did you book this independently and not with Celebrity?

[Alzarine]

47 minutes ago, CarolRoy said:

So did you do the snorkeling cruise with Restless Native?  Did you book this independently and not with Celebrity?

Yes Carol,

      I booked it through TripAdvisor. The meeting place for the excursion was located at the intersection of Kings wharf and Heritage wharf where the big star ( actually a compass) is located.  It was a three minute walk from there to the catamaran. If you google it, you will see it gets lots of accolades! Celebrity cost was $119.pp and one complementary drink. Not sure if the snorkeling was better with Celebrity but our group had a lot of fun. Some people found small pieces of sea glass on the small beach.

[CarolRoy]

1 hour ago, Alzarine said:

Yes Carol,

      I booked it through TripAdvisor. The meeting place for the excursion was located at the intersection of Kings wharf and Heritage wharf where the big star ( actually a compass) is located.  It was a three minute walk from there to the catamaran. If you google it, you will see it gets lots of accolades! Celebrity cost was $119.pp and one complementary drink. Not sure if the snorkeling was better with Celebrity but our group had a lot of fun. Some people found small pieces of sea glass on the small beach.

Our daughter booked directly with Restless Native in May 2018.  We tried to book them the following Sept. 2018 and they said they were only booked through NCL.  I'll try again for this Sept. with them.  Our daughter gave them a great review.

[PRH]

We have sailed three times with Captain Ioannis.  He is great!  Very personable and funny.  Last cruise, we were invited to have dinner with him and his girlfriend in the MDR.  He respects his crew and it shows.

[copmom1384]

Thank you for your post.  We are sailing on Sept 22nd and are in Aqua Class for the first time.  So many mixed reviews of Blu but we are excited to try it.  We usually do not love the MDR but do like specialty dining.  The Summit does not seem to have a Murano which is disappointing.  Several years ago we did our only Suite cruise and ate in Luminae.  We loved it, but can't justify the added cost.

[Alzarine]

12 hours ago, CarolRoy said:

Our daughter booked directly with Restless Native in May 2018.  We tried to book them the following Sept. 2018 and they said they were only booked through NCL.  I'll try again for this Sept. with them.  Our daughter gave them a great review.

  I would try to book ASAP. They tend to sell out quickly as they accommodate hotel guests as well. You are also allowed to cancel up to 24 hours before the excursion. We chose Thursday 1:30pm to go. 

  I sound like their sales rep ..... I’m not ! ......just someone who had a fun time on their boat. Hubby and I are senior citizens and the crew was very courteous in giving us a hand getting in and out of the water!

 

  To those in Aqua class, we found Blu to be excellent.  Meals, service and co-sailors. Even though tables for two are close, we found people to be friendly but not intrusive.

[ladyonboard]

Would love to keep this thread going...

Perhaps folks would post upon their return who the key officers and staff are on the Summit.  Many postions will change between now and January, when we sail, but if we could keep the thread active it will remain as updated as possilble.

That Celebrity no longer includes the page with the bios of these people with the  boarding day "Daily", it is much more difficult to know who we will be sailing with.

Always interested in knowing these positions, but include anyone else you come in contact with:

Captain:

Cruise Director:

Retreat Concierge:

Luminae Maitre D:

Captians Club Host:

[hcat]

Great suggestion....

Arno does keep a thread who's on board that is very helpful

 

On EDGE, they had the officer and staff  bios on the tv but it ran across  ... It was  hard to read and retain the info..Would love to see LLP bring that back.!

[opa&oma]

Lorimay, we are booked on an upcoming Summit and you've gotten me worried about the food.  We don't want to cruise on a ship with subpar food.  Was it as bad as I read it to be?

[lorimay]

Food is so subjective. You might love what I just hate. I'm not saying it was bad but it definitely could have been better. I'm saying I have had better on other ships, including Infinity just a couple of months ago. It is definitely not gourmet but you can always find something good to eat (and sometimes very good). I thought the Ocean View was very poorly run and the "steamtable" food was mediocre. But you can always get a fresh omelet in the morning, the pastries are good and there is lots of choice. For lunch the Indian food looked pretty good but the Asian food was very poor. But they have carved meats, pasta made to order, fresh pizza and always a salad bar, although I thought the choices in the salad bar were limited and the lettuce bowls and many of the toppings were always empty. They have pretty much the same thing at dinner. The desserts are good (after a while the cakes all tend to taste the same) but the breads are freshly baked and there is always fresh fruit - although limited to pineapple, watermelon and cantaloupe. 

 

I talked in my review about the room service breakfast. They were below average and cold. 

 

The dining room was good enough. The quality was like that of big chain restaurant. Once again good breads, the soups are good, and follow the recommendations of the waiter. For example, on lobster night (which is ok, plain frozen lobster cooked well and not rubbery) they also had beef wellington and roast leg of lamb. I asked the waiter about the lamb and he said it was not the best but he brought me some along with the beef wellington. The beef wellington was fantastic - the beef tenderloin was tender and perfectly cooked. The lamb was way overdone and chewy but flavorful.The desserts are usually good with some misses.

 

We found the best place for lunch was the Spa Cafe in the Solarium. They had limited choice, but the tuna and chicken salad there was very good and they had a nice green salad. The hamburgers from the pool grill were much better than the ones in the Ocean View. 

 

We only ate in Tuscan Grille. I found the food a step above the MDR but the beef was not top quality but the pastas were very good and the desserts were excellent (try the spumoni donuts).

 

I always feel like any time I get food I don't have to cook it's a treat! But seriously I felt like overall the food could have been better. You probably won't get to try something new and exciting. It certainly didn't ruin our trip, but off all the good things I tell people about our cruise, I can't say that the food was fantastic. 

Edited July 31, 2019 by lorimay
typo

[ladyonboard]

23 minutes ago, hcat said:

Great suggestion....

Arno does keep a thread who's on board that is very helpful

 

On EDGE, they had the officer and staff  bios on the tv but it ran across  ... It was  hard to read and retain the info..Would love to see LLP bring that back.!

I am familiar with that thread... unfortunately, it is not updated often as the printed page on board is no longer available.

[TxCityKat]

34 minutes ago, hcat said:

Great suggestion....

Arno does keep a thread who's on board that is very helpful...

 

2 minutes ago, ladyonboard said:

I am familiar with that thread... unfortunately, it is not updated often as the printed page on board is no longer available.

 

 

[Cachecara]

We have cruised Summit probably half a dozen times and in 2018 twice.  We have never had a subpar meal. It’s subjective as mentioned. 

[davekathy]

Looking forward to our three upcoming Summit cruises. We enjoyed everything about our 2014 B2B cruise on her. 

[Tatka]

6 hours ago, PRH said:

We have sailed three times with Captain Ioannis.  He is great!  Very personable and funny.  Last cruise, we were invited to have dinner with him and his girlfriend in the MDR.  He respects his crew and it shows.

 

Is he like Captain Leo if you know him?

[wwcruisers]

I have a theory (and I hope I'm wrong) about the OP's observation that the ONLY priority line at check-in was for suites. With X getting ready to float out their new 'Premiere Pass' -- they may very well be planning to re-arrange their priorities, and put the 'PP" guests in line ahead of the E/E+, Aqua and Concierge guests. I recently experienced something similar on RC -- with their new "Key" program. At embarkation, the 'Key" people got to board immediately after the 'upper-level' suites and the Pinnacles. Yep, those of us who were merely D+, and also happened to be sailing in a Jr Suite, found out that we really WERE chopped liver!😡

Edited July 31, 2019 by wwcruisers

[C 2 C]

7 minutes ago, wwcruisers said:

At embarkation, the 'Key" people got to board immediately after the 'upper-level' suites and the Pinnacles. Yep, those of us who were merely D+, and also happened to be sailing in a Jr Suite, found out that we really WERE chopped liver!😡

How I hate the way liver is treated, not fit for man or beast.  It leaves a bitter taste when one follows all the rules and someone moved the cheese...  " Who Moved My Cheese? is a simple parable that reveals profound truths. It is an amusing and enlightening story of four characters who live in a Maze and look for Cheese to nourish them and make them happy. "

[hcat]

On 7/29/2019 at 8:27 PM, dkjretired said:

 I think that cruise is 10 days but is different from the 7 day Newport andBermuda Cruise.

Yes...it is offered in May and June 2020...and maybe 2021?

It was a new itin... something unique esp with Charleston so  we jumped on it...

Very glad we booked it.....