Just off Summit

[Hatteras51]

We just departed Summit on last Sunday. Overall, it was a wonderful cruise. We were in a concierge cabin. I wrote an earlier post, stating that I asked my cabin steward if he had heard that LLP mentioned on this board to ask your cabin attendant to provide you with a footstool. I won't repeat what I've already written, but will add that he said that all of the footstools were thrown away and it puts them in a bad position when people ask about this.

 

I thought that the ship looked beautiful. All of the color schemes, including the cabins, look much better in person than they do in pictures. We booked concierge because we like the expanded breakfast menu for room service, and of course, the controversial footstools. We did miss the large table on the balcony, but managed by eating breakfast at the desk. My husband brought in a deck chair each morning. Ironically, the dinky balcony table made a great footstool. We covered it with a towel and it was quite comfortable.

 

My only complaint with the room was the tiny safe. We couldn't fit our tablets in it, but we were able to put our wallets, passport, and some jewelry in it. The main issue is that the door does not spring open when you unlock it, and you have to pry it open with your fingers. My husband's fingers were too big, so I had to open it each time. We plan to bring a magnet next time and attach it to the front, and grab onto that to open the door.

 

Overall, we loved the cruise. These little issues did not impact our cruise in any way. The staff was wonderful and we loved Capt Matt. He is the youngest captain in the fleet, and just boarded Summit a few weeks ago. The food and the service were great. We'd definitely sail Summit again, just not sure that we would book concierge again, with all of the changes. We did get invited to the helipad for sail away from Bermuda, which was a nice treat.

[dkjretired]

1 hour ago, Hatteras51 said:

We just departed Summit on last Sunday. Overall, it was a wonderful cruise. We were in a concierge cabin. I wrote an earlier post, stating that I asked my cabin steward if he had heard that LLP mentioned on this board to ask your cabin attendant to provide you with a footstool. I won't repeat what I've already written, but will add that he said that all of the footstools were thrown away and it puts them in a bad position when people ask about this.

 

I thought that the ship looked beautiful. All of the color schemes, including the cabins, look much better in person than they do in pictures. We booked concierge because we like the expanded breakfast menu for room service, and of course, the controversial footstools. We did miss the large table on the balcony, but managed by eating breakfast at the desk. My husband brought in a deck chair each morning. Ironically, the dinky balcony table made a great footstool. We covered it with a towel and it was quite comfortable.

 

My only complaint with the room was the tiny safe. We couldn't fit our tablets in it, but we were able to put our wallets, passport, and some jewelry in it. The main issue is that the door does not spring open when you unlock it, and you have to pry it open with your fingers. My husband's fingers were too big, so I had to open it each time. We plan to bring a magnet next time and attach it to the front, and grab onto that to open the door.

 

Overall, we loved the cruise. These little issues did not impact our cruise in any way. The staff was wonderful and we loved Capt Matt. He is the youngest captain in the fleet, and just boarded Summit a few weeks ago. The food and the service were great. We'd definitely sail Summit again, just not sure that we would book concierge again, with all of the changes. We did get invited to the helipad for sail away from Bermuda, which was a nice treat.

 

Captain Matt I think very shortly is going to be known as the male Captain Kate.....Really a very personable person and all over the ship. 

[PhoenixCruiser]

Thanks for sharing!

 

We are looking forward to our cruise in November.

[Turtles06]

Thanks for your comments, and glad you had a great time (the eliminated footstools notwithstanding)! 

 

That's very odd about the safe not opening easily; I wonder if something on yours needed to be adjusted...  I do wish they were larger, though.

[Loracpin2]

1 hour ago, dkjretired said:

 

Captain Matt I think very shortly is going to be known as the male Captain Kate.....Really a very personable person and all over the ship. 

While we have never sailed with Captain Kate, you are spot on. Very much enjoyed Captain Matt's non-stop interaction with both Passengers and Staff on the August 18th sailing which was also his official date of assuming command of the ship.

[dkjretired]

1 hour ago, Loracpin2 said:

While we have never sailed with Captain Kate, you are spot on. Very much enjoyed Captain Matt's non-stop interaction with both Passengers and Staff on the August 18th sailing which was also his official date of assuming command of the ship.

 

I've sailed with both on the Summit....I'll tell you a little story and I'm still trying to figure out how they did it.  The suite concierge, Maitre'd and the Captain all walked up to me and asked me "how are you doing Mr so and so.  I never met any of them and there were no computers around.   

[varoo]

1 hour ago, dkjretired said:

 

I've sailed with both on the Summit....I'll tell you a little story and I'm still trying to figure out how they did it.  The suite concierge, Maitre'd and the Captain all walked up to me and asked me "how are you doing Mr so and so.  I never met any of them and there were no computers around.   

 

That has happened to us so many times that we think they probably receive a list of repeat passengers each time, along with our photos.

 

It is actually embarrassing when a staff or crew member we don't recognize mentions having been on a previous cruise with us.

We are just typical ordinary looking cruise passengers.  It is not as if we had  purple hair or nose rings or any other distinguishing features that would be memorable. 

                               

  

 

Edited September 4, 2019 by varoo

[hcat]

In BLU when they take your cabin no....photo pops up immediately. 

Still a nice touch!

[Hatteras51]

On 9/4/2019 at 2:25 PM, PhoenixCruiser said:

Thanks for sharing!

 

We are looking forward to our cruise in November.

You are welcome.  You'll have a wonderful time. 

[Hatteras51]

On 9/4/2019 at 2:31 PM, Turtles06 said:

Thanks for your comments, and glad you had a great time (the eliminated footstools notwithstanding)! 

 

That's very odd about the safe not opening easily; I wonder if something on yours needed to be adjusted...  I do wish they were larger, though.

I wish that I had asked some of the other passengers if their safes were hard to open. We assumed that this was a case where they took the lowest bid and got what they paid for. It jammed one day and we had to get someone from maintanance  open it for us. When the lock turned, she opened it with her fingernails like I had been doing, and didn't act like it was any different from anyone else's, so I assume that they are all like this. Purchasing these safes is definitely a misstep. There's plenty of room on the shelf for a regular size one. 

[warmwinds]

On 9/4/2019 at 2:16 PM, dkjretired said:

 

I've sailed with both on the Summit....I'll tell you a little story and I'm still trying to figure out how they did it.  The suite concierge, Maitre'd and the Captain all walked up to me and asked me "how are you doing Mr so and so.  I never met any of them and there were no computers around.   

This happened to us on the Summit, too.  We were just walking around (near Cellar Masters) and a person we had never seen before reminded us to be sure to go to the Officer's Party in Michaels that was starting shortly.  Never saw her before, ever, but she recognized us.  They must get pictures of people.  But how can they remember them all?  We, too, are very ordinary looking people.

[dkjretired]

On another topic, cruise was great but I hate, hate the paper straws, they change the taste of your drinks.

[Hatteras51]

2 minutes ago, dkjretired said:

On another topic, cruise was great but I hate, hate the paper straws, they change the taste of your drinks.

I totally agree about the straws.

[Doctor G]

I had the new smaller safe on the Edge, and it opened without my having to give it a hand. My guess is there was a problem with yours, and they are not all like that.  I agree, I don't like the size.

 

Carolyn

 

[calicakes]

8 hours ago, Hatteras51 said:

I totally agree about the straws.

I was on NCL last summer( never again!!)  They did not even give out paper straws.  Their drinks( frozen and otherwise) were strawless.  I brought my own paper straws and was handing them out to people in my vicinity.  I use a stainless straw every single day in my ice coffee.  Does not change the taste of your drink. 

[Hatteras51]

1 hour ago, Doctor G said:

I had the new smaller safe on the Edge, and it opened without my having to give it a hand. My guess is there was a problem with yours, and they are not all like that.  I agree, I don't like the size.

 

Carolyn

 

Good to know. Thanks 

[Hatteras51]

1 hour ago, calicakes said:

I was on NCL last summer( never again!!)  They did not even give out paper straws.  Their drinks( frozen and otherwise) were strawless.  I brought my own paper straws and was handing them out to people in my vicinity.  I use a stainless straw every single day in my ice coffee.  Does not change the taste of your drink. 

I read about the stainless straws on another post. I need to look into that. Sounds like a great idea. We spend several weeks in Aruba every February and our resort has the small paper straws that fall apart. The ones on Celebrity were a vast improvement over those. I'll look online and order the stainless straws.  Thanks!

[hcat]

We bring our own straws  abd take them home for recycling.  We will carefully check our safe.  We do not fill it but do keep wallets, passports  and cell phones in there .   Access is  obviously important!

[davekathy]

13 minutes ago, hcat said:

We bring our own straws  abd take them home for recycling.  We will carefully check our safe.  We do not fill it but do keep wallets, passports  and cell phones in there .   Access is  obviously important!

Something we do is when putting small items in the stateroom safe we put them in a zip lock baggie first. 

[Jim_Iain]

On 9/4/2019 at 10:10 AM, Hatteras51 said:

We just departed Summit on last Sunday. Overall, it was a wonderful cruise. We were in a concierge cabin. I wrote an earlier post, stating that I asked my cabin steward if he had heard that LLP mentioned on this board to ask your cabin attendant to provide you with a footstool. I won't repeat what I've already written, but will add that he said that all of the footstools were thrown away and it puts them in a bad position when people ask about this.

 

I thought that the ship looked beautiful. All of the color schemes, including the cabins, look much better in person than they do in pictures. We booked concierge because we like the expanded breakfast menu for room service, and of course, the controversial footstools. We did miss the large table on the balcony, but managed by eating breakfast at the desk. My husband brought in a deck chair each morning. Ironically, the dinky balcony table made a great footstool. We covered it with a towel and it was quite comfortable.

 

My only complaint with the room was the tiny safe. We couldn't fit our tablets in it, but we were able to put our wallets, passport, and some jewelry in it. The main issue is that the door does not spring open when you unlock it, and you have to pry it open with your fingers. My husband's fingers were too big, so I had to open it each time. We plan to bring a magnet next time and attach it to the front, and grab onto that to open the door.

 

Overall, we loved the cruise. These little issues did not impact our cruise in any way. The staff was wonderful and we loved Capt Matt. He is the youngest captain in the fleet, and just boarded Summit a few weeks ago. The food and the service were great. We'd definitely sail Summit again, just not sure that we would book concierge again, with all of the changes. We did get invited to the helipad for sail away from Bermuda, which was a nice treat.

 

re: Safe -

I was on Summit recently and had the same problem with the safe not springing open.    I wrapped it with my palm and it popped open and after that every time I unlocked the safe it sprang out and was easy to open.   Maybe just new and need to break in.

[Hatteras51]

47 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

re: Safe -

I was on Summit recently and had the same problem with the safe not springing open.    I wrapped it with my palm and it popped open and after that every time I unlocked the safe it sprang out and was easy to open.   Maybe just new and need to break in.

Hi Jim! I always enjoy your trip reports! Thanks for the suggestion.  It sounds like I should have mentioned this on here while I was on the ship. Hopefully,  they will all be broken in by the time we go on our next cruise. 

[JEDMELK]

Great........ Finally, a use for the small bit of duct tape (a few feet wrapped around a small core) I bring along on every cruise.
I can tear a small piece off, double over one end and attach the other. Voila, a Handle!
Thanks, my day is now complete 😊
 

OK, actually, this is good to see. We'll be on the Repo from San Juan to Bayonne and now look forward to Captain Matt. Of course that is along with the refurbished Summit itself.

 

Jed

 

[PhoenixCruiser]

On 9/6/2019 at 7:04 AM, dkjretired said:

On another topic, cruise was great but I hate, hate the paper straws, they change the taste of your drinks.

 

I agree!  Bloody Mary's taste horrible with paper straws.  We bring our own straws.

[hcat]

On 9/6/2019 at 7:55 PM, davekathy said:

Something we do is when putting small items in the stateroom safe we put them in a zip lock baggie first. 

Excellent tip...wallets and safe are dark colors..easy to leave behind.  We use it for jewelry too although we do not bring that much on travels.

 

Guess we won't put excursion tickets in the safe...just in case it won't open in the morning! Arthritis makes it even more challenging!

Edited September 8, 2019 by hcat

[Hatteras51]

3 hours ago, hcat said:

Excellent tip...wallets and safe are dark colors..easy to leave behind.  We use it for jewelry too although we do not bring that much on travels.

 

Guess we won't put excursion tickets in the safe...just in case it won't open in the morning! Arthritis makes it even more challenging!

We have some magnetic clips that we use for open bags of chips, etc. We plan to take one of those and put it on the door of the safe next time. It should make a good door handle. My husband suggested that we leave it on there for the next guests, but I imagine that it would get thrown away when the cabin attendant cleans the room. Hopefully,  you'll get one that opens easier than our's did.