Celebrity Summit Cruise for August 14-21

[Cruiseswithfamilyornot]

I was on this cruise and wanted to provide a quick review and I will try to answer any questions I can.   I felt similiarly to other cruisers who have posted.   The cruise itself was fantastic...I literally don't think I can say enough good things about it.  The ship had just over 400 passenger on it, and approximately 800 crew, that tells the story right there doesn't it?   Everyone was so happy to be cruising again, both passengers and crew, and it showed 24/7.

 

The only negatives were the pre and post travels, but that had nothing to do with Celebrity.   There is stress waiting to get all of your testing done, and results back from St Martin.  My best advice there is just relax.  It will all come in in time, but that is easier said than done and when you get your results later than you should and then you are waiting for the approval from St martin and your flight leaves in less than 24 hours and you get one and the second one comes 5 hours later....well it is hard not to stress a bit over that realistically. Coming home was a bit of a nightmare due though there was a hurricane which explains on the US airport side and St Martin airport Jetblue was just a mess.   But lets not focus on the bad parts that had nothing to do with Celebrity.

 

Here were the highlights of the cruise for me:

 

1)  The service levels, as others have said were literally off the charts.  You will never be so pampered on a Celebrity cruise.   Since they don't have all the staff back, most are experienced people which was a big plus.   We were in a suite, and the retreat concierges were fantastic, going above and beyond.

 

2)  The emptiness of the ship and the ability to do what you want when you wanted to.  We were lucky in that while there were only 400 people it was an active group and the activities didn't seem deserted(except some late night ones).  Shows were pretty well attended, as were trivias and other events they did.

 

3)  I was blown away that with a smaller number of people on the ship the number of activities, etc, were literally the same as a regular cruise.   They tried their hardest to make it as if you were on any other cruise, not one during Covid, and it showed and the succeeded.

 

4)  Have to say, and I meant this sincerely, the entertainment team on this ship was literally the best I have ever seen.  They started out by telling us they have been receiving the highest marks ever and you think wow, quite a claim for day one, and everyone always says "best ever".   I have been on over 50 cruises.  I don't say best ever often.  But here I have to.  Their energy level was off the charts.   There was a guy Carlos that was so much fun, he kept you laughing at everything he did, but the whole team was really, really good.  The cruise director Sue was an older lady, but she lacked nothing in energy and was fun and funny and was out and about all the time.  Don't think I've ever seen a cruise director so much as  I did her.  I have to say between them and the service levels, it was virtually impossible to NOT have a great cruise, and I'd highly recommend the Summit because of those two things.

 

5)  Spa treatments were very nice.  Not the best I ever had, but very good, and the staff was very engaging.  The  management staff of the spa were out and about like I've never seen before at the front desk and everywhere.

 

6)  The buffet was empty....I mean seriously empty....but every section had food like they normally would have.  They served you of course,   No lines for anything you wanted.  Food quality in the buffet was just average though---hits and misses---typical Celebrity buffet fare.  My only complaint is I never saw the pasta station(where you order and  they make your pasta) open at any time.  That said, everything else was normal from the omelette station, to a salad bar with lots of choices, etc,,.

 

6)  We eventually were persuaded to eat in Luminae(suite restaurant) most of the time as the food was very good.   We also had an amazing server there, Raj.  I'd like to say he was the best ever, but I've had some great servers before, he was definitely at the top of the list though.   Very attentive, great personality, went above and beyond.  Food in the Luminae was very good, not great, with some misses but more hits.

 

7)   The singers and dancers were very good on the ship.  They didn't blow me away, but they were very good.  The guest performers were meh to be honest.  A violinist(just not my thing I guess), an impressionist/singer type(again ok), a whitney houston wanna be singer(very pretty voice but not powerful at all), and the comedian(my favorite of the group).  The music throughout the ship was fair at best.

 

8,   The casino was open and for the number of people on board was fairly busy at night, staff was good.

 

The areas of opportunity for me:

 

1)  I put in an offer and was "moved up" the the Royal Suite.  I had forgotten I was moved up to this room on the Infinity in Asia in 2019 and it was the exact same room.  This could be the worst laid out luxury cruise room I've ever had.  Where to start.   There are no outlets in the bathroom.  I mean none.   If you use an electric shaver, or anything electric in the bathroom, you have to use it somewhere else in your room.  There are no outlets by the beds either.   Crazy right?   There is a huge living room, a smaller bedroom, and then a nice bathroom and a small(but very functional) walk in closet.  The main room has no garbage can in it.  You have to walk to a small can in the bathroom, or a small one through the bedroom.  Weird.  THere is a non functioning decorative head cabinet in the main room that I smacked my head on once in Asia.  That was a joy lol.  It doesn't even open and has a sharp edge.  They have a shelf underneath and if you bend down to put something on the shelf and get up BAM.   The bedroom has a port hole to see the ocean from the bed.  I mean a very small port hole.  This is the second nicest room on the ship and you have almost no view of the water you have to turn to the side and try to look out a tiny porthole?  Like many older ships, they have a huge tub, and a small shower for the room and the shower is also crammed next to the toilet.  You get the drift.  I feel like I'm bitching too much about the room, it really was ok, but so many design flaws it is very surprising.  You get used to them and just work around them and laugh at them.  I did talk about it with the Retreat Concierge, and she was very familiar with all of the issues and said all guests in those rooms complain about that(no surprise) but I guess they won't be redone until the ship is.

 

2)  The retreat sundeck does not have enough shade.  At all.  How that happened is a mystery to me.  We went there once, didn't see any completely shaded spots, and since the rest of the ship was empty never went back again.  No need to on this cruise, the main cruise deck and solarium were never crowded.

 

3)  I'd like to see more and better specialty restaurants.   Qsine, which I have enjoyed on other ships, is Le Petit Chef here.  Their menu is very "chi chi" here, so not for simple eaters like me.  Though others seemed to really enjoy it.   Tuscan is just ok.  Hate to say this, but I think it's the worst Italian restaurant I've been on for a cruise line.   Not that it's bad, it's just not great.  The only other specialty restaurant is Sushi on Five which is just ok too.  When you compare them to competing premium ships(even their own larger ones) it is something that is not as good and makes  their overall food quality(which is very subjective) below average for a premium cruise line for me.  My friends who traveled with us for the first time on Celebrity voiced their same thoughts and it made them like Celebrity less than other premium lines which is a shame.

 

Alot more pros than cons as you can see, and I tried to give a balanced review.   Any questions feel free to ask.  Overall, I loved this cruise mostly due to the staff and especially the entertainment team who just made it a lot of fun.  Plus I love cruising and was thrilled to be back on the ship and felt very safe.  No one tested positive at end of cruise, and the testing was well organized, quick and efficient.

Edited August 22, 2021 by Cruiseswithfamilyornot

[tompeter]

Good, honest report....Thanks!

 

[Cg52]

19 minutes ago, Cruiseswithfamilyornot said:

I was on this cruise and wanted to provide a quick review and I will try to answer any questions I can.   I felt similiarly to other cruisers who have posted.   The cruise itself was fantastic...I literally don't think I can say enough good things about it.  The ship had just over 400 passenger on it, and approximately 800 crew, that tells the story right there doesn't it?   Everyone was so happy to be cruising again, both passengers and crew, and it showed 24/7.

 

The only negatives were the pre and post travels, but that had nothing to do with Celebrity.   There is stress waiting to get all of your testing done, and results back from St Martin.  My best advice there is just relax.  It will all come in in time, but that is easier said than done and when you get your results later than you should and then you are waiting for the approval from St martin and your flight leaves in less than 24 hours and you get one and the second one comes 5 hours later....well it is hard not to stress a bit over that realistically. Coming home was a bit of a nightmare due though there was a hurricane which explains on the US airport side and St Martin airport Jetblue was just a mess.   But lets not focus on the bad parts that had nothing to do with Celebrity.

 

Here were the highlights of the cruise for me:

 

1)  The service levels, as others have said were literally off the charts.  You will never be so pampered on a Celebrity cruise.   Since they don't have all the staff back, most are experienced people which was a big plus.   We were in a suite, and the retreat concierges were fantastic, going above and beyond.

 

2)  The emptiness of the ship and the ability to do what you want when you wanted to.  We were lucky in that while there were only 400 people it was an active group and the activities didn't seem deserted(except some late night ones).  Shows were pretty well attended, as were trivias and other events they did.

 

3)  I was blown away that with a smaller number of people on the ship the number of activities, etc, were literally the same as a regular cruise.   They tried their hardest to make it as if you were on any other cruise, not one during Covid, and it showed and the succeeded.

 

4)  Have to say, and I meant this sincerely, the entertainment team on this ship was literally the best I have ever seen.  They started out by telling us they have been receiving the highest marks ever and you think wow, quite a claim for day one, and everyone always says "best ever".   I have been on over 50 cruises.  I don't say best ever often.  But here I have to.  Their energy level was off the charts.   There was a guy Carlos that was so much fun, he kept you laughing at everything he did, but the whole team was really, really good.  The cruise director Sue was an older lady, but she lacked nothing in energy and was fun and funny and was out and about all the time.  Don't think I've ever seen a cruise director so much as  I did her.  I have to say between them and the service levels, it was virtually impossible to NOT have a great cruise, and I'd highly recommend the Summit because of those two things.

 

5)  Spa treatments were very nice.  Not the best I ever had, but very good, and the staff was very engaging.  The  management staff of the spa were out and about like I've never seen before at the front desk and everywhere.

 

6)  The buffet was empty....I mean seriously empty....but every section had food like they normally would have.  They served you of course,   No lines for anything you wanted.  Food quality in the buffet was just average though---hits and misses---typical Celebrity buffet fare.  My only complaint is I never saw the pasta station(where you order and  they make your pasta) open at any time.  That said, everything else was normal from the omelette station, to a salad bar with lots of choices, etc,,.

 

6)  We eventually were persuaded to eat in Luminae(suite restaurant) most of the time as the food was very good.   We also had an amazing server there, Raj.  I'd like to say he was the best ever, but I've had some great servers before, he was definitely at the top of the list though.   Very attentive, great personality, went above and beyond.  Food in the Luminae was very good, not great, with some misses but more hits.

 

7)   The singers and dancers were very good on the ship.  They didn't blow me away, but they were very good.  The guest performers were meh to be honest.  A violinist(just not my thing I guess), an impressionist/singer type(again ok), a whitney houston wanna be singer(very pretty voice but not powerful at all), and the comedian(my favorite of the group).  The music throughout the ship was fair at best.

 

8,   The casino was open and for the number of people on board was fairly busy at night, staff was good.

 

The areas of opportunity for me:

 

1)  I put in an offer and was "moved up" the the Royal Suite.  I had forgotten I was moved up to this room on the Infinity in Asia in 2019 and it was the exact same room.  This could be the worst laid out luxury cruise room I've ever had.  Where to start.   There are no outlets in the bathroom.  I mean none.   If you use an electric shaver, or anything electric in the bathroom, you have to use it somewhere else in your room.  There are no outlets by the beds either.   Crazy right?   There is a huge living room, a smaller bedroom, and then a nice bathroom and a small(but very functional) walk in closet.  The main room has no garbage can in it.  You have to walk to a small can in the bathroom, or a small one through the bedroom.  Weird.  THere is a non functioning decorative head cabinet in the main room that I smacked my head on once in Asia.  That was a joy lol.  It doesn't even open and has a sharp edge.  They have a shelf underneath and if you bend down to put something on the shelf and get up BAM.   The bedroom has a port hole to see the ocean from the bed.  I mean a very small port hole.  This is the second nicest room on the ship and you have almost no view of the water you have to turn to the side and try to look out a tiny porthole?  Like many older ships, they have a huge tub, and a small shower for the room and the shower is also crammed next to the toilet.  You get the drift.  I feel like I'm bitching too much about the room, it really was ok, but so many design flaws it is very surprising.  You get used to them and just work around them and laugh at them.  I did talk about it with the Retreat Concierge, and she was very familiar with all of the issues and said all guests in those rooms complain about that(no surprise) but I guess they won't be redone until the ship is.

 

2)  The retreat sundeck does not have enough shade.  At all.  How that happened is a mystery to me.  We went there once, didn't see any completely shaded spots, and since the rest of the ship was empty never went back again.  No need to on this cruise, the main cruise deck and solarium were never crowded.

 

3)  I'd like to see more and better specialty restaurants.   Qsine, which I have enjoyed on other ships, is Le Petit Chef here.  Their menu is very "chi chi" here, so not for simple eaters like me.  Though others seemed to really enjoy it.   Tuscan is just ok.  Hate to say this, but I think it's the worst Italian restaurant I've been on for a cruise line.   Not that it's bad, it's just not great.  The only other specialty restaurant is Sushi on Five which is just ok too.  When you compare them to competing premium ships(even their own larger ones) it is something that is not as good and makes  their overall food quality(which is very subjective) below average for a premium cruise line for me.  My friends who traveled with us for the first time on Celebrity voiced their same thoughts and it made them like Celebrity less than other premium lines which is a shame.

 

Alot more pros than cons as you can see, and I tried to give a balanced review.   Any questions feel free to ask.  Overall, I loved this cruise mostly due to the staff and especially the entertainment team who just made it a lot of fun.  Plus I love cruising and was thrilled to be back on the ship and felt very safe.  No one tested positive at end of cruise, and the testing was well organized, quick and efficient.

Great honest review Thank you. The summit was our very first cruise years ago and we loved the size of the ship. We have sailed with Sue in the past. We thoroughly enjoyed her humour.

[Cruiseswithfamilyornot]

4 hours ago, Cg52 said:

Great honest review Thank you. The summit was our very first cruise years ago and we loved the size of the ship. We have sailed with Sue in the past. We thoroughly enjoyed her humour.

 

I was actually on Summit myself 15 years ago on a Panama Canal cruise that we loved so have very fond memories.  I was very happy to be on it again as well.

Edited August 22, 2021 by Cruiseswithfamilyornot

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Interesting review.  FYI, the Summit has been re-done.  I've stayed in a royal suite previously, although not since the re-do as all those cruises have been cancelled.  I found the RS to be an excellent cabin.  I agree with your Tuscan and Le Petit Chef assessments.  I've always found everything in Luminae to be excellent.

 

[txtechmk]

Thanks for the review.  I appreciate your honest opinions.  Have not been on the Summit.

[Projunior]

We sailed this cruise July 17-24. I concur with most everything you said of the things we shared in common (we had a Concierge cabin, not a suite like you did). We had 500 passengers on our sailing. Want a lounge chair next to the pool in early afternoon? No problem, choose from a dozen. Want a seat in Oceanview for breakfast on a sea day? Empty tables as far as the eye could see. Heaven.

 

I too found the Oceanview to be meh. One example, there was no bacon served at breakfast. When I inquired about this, the crew member asked where I was sitting said he would bring some. He disappeared for a few minutes and then brought a heaping plateful to my table, enough for about six people. 

 

In contrast, the MDR served fabulous food every single night. And it wasn't just me thinking that. One of the casino dealers, unsolicited, mentioned how the entire crew noticed and appreciated the vast improvement in their dinner food. I asked if there was a new chef on the ship but the dealer didn't know. 

 

The guest performers on our cruise were really good: NYC3, four young male singers, and Tommy Proulx, an saxophonist were incredible.

 

This was cruise number thirty-six for us and was easily a top five. Making it so was the fact that the crew had ditched their masks starting with our cruise and their absolute delight about this was palpable. For us, not seeing a mask anywhere and exchanging unmasked smiles with servers and bartenders and dealers and everyone made me think I had entered a time machine and it was suddenly 2019 and I was cruising and I had never heard the word "COVID" in my life. It was idyllic. 

 

We were so impressed with the whole experience that when we got home we booked the Aug 21-28 sailing. However, subsequently, we found out that the Summit crew was back to being masked for COVID. This was such an abject buzzkill for us, that we cancelled and instead will let the memory of July 17-24 linger on its own. 

[DCPIV]

We got off Summit a week before you got on and had virtually the same experience (even down to staying in a Royal Suite and having Raj as our waiter). What a wonderful cruise! Best crew, top to bottom, we've ever sailed with! 

 

We completely agree with your assessment of the RS bathroom. It's a lovely room, but it has many shortcomings that should have been addressed when they designed the room. DW also world would like a full length mirror (and there are plenty of places to mount one).  We did have a trash can in the living room, though.

 

I've been remiss in posting our review. When I do, it'll sound very much like yours.

 

Cheers!