Jim_Iain - Summit Live Post B3B Greenland / Iceland / Canada Aug 7, 19 and 31, 2022

[Ken the cruiser]

59 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

We took a hike to the Qaqatoq lake today.  

 

Finally bumped into @Ken the cruiser    He met Iain yesterday but out paths had just not passed.   Great meeting he and his wife.

We definitely enjoyed meeting you two “on the road”. It could not have been a more perfect meeting, doing what we both love doing. Exploring new places! 😄

 

[MamaFej]

Oof! 

That was supposed to be “Peekaboo, Iain!”

 

Lingering Covid Brain + clumsy fingers + basic internet in places with poor coverage = even more stupid typos than usual. 

[Xfedcruiser]

On 8/23/2022 at 7:49 AM, IWillGoAnywhere26 said:

Thanks! The woman we know is Zore from Croatia. We've sailed with her several times. She started as a barista and worked her way up to the Beverage Manager. I'm not sure if she's returned to sailing but we would love to see her. Enjoy Prince Christian Sound today. I think it was my favorite day of the cruise last week.

 

Off topic, but since I can’t message IWGA26 -  Zora is indeed still cruising.  She was on the Eclipse in April for its first voyage since covid:  Vancouver to Hawaii and return, then on to Alaska.  She is an assistant beverage manager, and we saw her almost daily as she made her rounds when we had our espresso in Café al Bacio after dinner.  She is a pleasure to know, and we also hope to cruise with her again.

[IWillGoAnywhere26]

9 minutes ago, Xfedcruiser said:

 

Off topic, but since I can’t message IWGA26 -  Zora is indeed still cruising.  She was on the Eclipse in April for its first voyage since covid:  Vancouver to Hawaii and return, then on to Alaska.  She is an assistant beverage manager, and we saw her almost daily as she made her rounds when we had our espresso in Café al Bacio after dinner.  She is a pleasure to know, and we also hope to cruise with her again.

 

@XfedcruiserThanks so much for updating us about Zora. As I mentioned, we've cruised with her at least 4 times and had some great conversations. Hopefully our paths eill crosd again. 

[Northern Aurora]

On 8/23/2022 at 1:35 AM, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi

Thanks for the info.

But I wasn’t talking about hotels but seeing that part of Iceland that to me is most interesting.

I found the Golden Circle tour very interesting,,,the sights from Akureyri to me were a pale imitation.

As you said Thingvellir National Park is the most important and interesting part of Iceland,not being able to see it would be like visiting NY and not being able to see the Satue of Liberty.

 

I should imagine being on a ship during Culture Day would add to the enjoyment of the place.

ps As for tours……the buses were free and running all day in Reykjavik.

The last time I did the Golden Circle the minibus never touched the city centre.

 

To miss seeing this,the scene of the worlds first parliament and the example of the tectonic plate and the story told about it is to miss what Iceland is about.

 

Thingvellir National Park.

 

One leg in each continent…

 

@JeanieC,Aston : I agree with you.  

 

While I haven't followed this thread closely I have periodically skimmed it.  We will likely book it in the future as a B2B but we have been to Iceland.  My husband and I have done two land trips to Iceland (we've stayed at three different hotels in Reykjavik alone and have stayed at one of those, the Icelandair Natura, twice) and have done one cruise to Iceland.  Our cruise to Iceland included an overnight at Reykjavik so we were able to again rent a vehicle since there, at least at that time, were two different car rental agencies which had kiosks in the cruise terminal.  We had been booked B2B on the August 2021 Celebrity Greenland & Iceland cruises, and those cruises also included an overnight in Reykjavik with the turnaround day in Southhampton.

 

While the this itinerary is great for those going to Iceland or returning to North America, I find it to be a limited itinerary for those who have never been to Iceland.  To miss the attractions on the Golden Circle is a great negative. Thingvellir National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the few rift valleys accessible on land; the other one is located in Africa.  The Geysir Geothermal area is fascinating.  And Gullfoss is more impressive than any of the waterfall photos posted on this thread as Gullfoss has more than one stage.  I hope that those B2B passengers who have never been to Iceland will find this country so intriguing that they will return to see much more.

[Benthayer Gonbak]

I was intrigued by the comment that the Summit was training crew.  One of our cruises before COVId, on the summit, found a group of us wondering whether it was a training ship!  All the things that happened were polish, but we’d seen the standard higher before.  A subsequent cruise found us wondering why we had ever thought it might have been a training ship!  Of course, a few dd ask if it was training and told no, that could have changed things too.  
 

Another cruise had several tables requesting the background tape that one passenger called techno thump. They were misunderstood at first to be wanting a copy!  It was quickly made clear that the intent was to destroy it!  In the center area of MDR it just sounded like more clatter. 
 

we are booked again on the Summit in May.  I’m looking forward to getting back on Celebrity and hoping the ratio of passengers to crew has been worked out by then.  
 

i do have a question, is the evening cocktail party begun happening again?  I know there was little point with all in, but even when the 321 existed for most passengers the parties were still happening.  Now that you can choose not to have the all the add ons, I’m hoping it’s reinstated.

[Andi Land]

Hi Jim! Great thread so far. I do have a question for you. I want to book for next year but as a one way. Is there a direction you’d recommend? NJ to Reykjavik or Reykjavik to Boston? Or, does it really matter?  Thanks a bunch ☺️

[Benthayer Gonbak]

43 minutes ago, Andi Land said:

Hi Jim! Great thread so far. I do have a question for you. I want to book for next year but as a one way. Is there a direction you’d recommend? NJ to Reykjavik or Reykjavik to Boston? Or, does it really matter?  Thanks a bunch ☺️

Sailing where you gain hours instead of loosing them is more fun on a cruise.  But, recovering from jet lag West to East can be harsh all at once too. 

[upwarduk]

2 hours ago, Benthayer Gonbak said:

 

i do have a question, is the evening cocktail party begun happening again?

Elite drinks between 5-7pm never stopped, but they are served at any bar except the World Class bar and the Sports bar.

Nibbles at the Sky Lounge are no longer, in fact I think they stopped pre COVID.

We did have a Captain’s Welcome gathering a few days into our Silhouette cruise, but this was split into 2 groups.

There was also a Senior Officers gathering in our 2nd week, but this was held outside on the Lawn on deck 14.

There is an Elite drinks menu.

 

[Jim_Iain]

13 hours ago, Smmessineo said:

@Jim_Iain I love today's pictures! You guys look like you're having so much fun!

It is one of our favorites to explore in our own. Amazing views. 

[Jim_Iain]

10 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

@JeanieC,Aston : I agree with you.  

 

While I haven't followed this thread closely I have periodically skimmed it.  We will likely book it in the future as a B2B but we have been to Iceland.  My husband and I have done two land trips to Iceland (we've stayed at three different hotels in Reykjavik alone and have stayed at one of those, the Icelandair Natura, twice) and have done one cruise to Iceland.  Our cruise to Iceland included an overnight at Reykjavik so we were able to again rent a vehicle since there, at least at that time, were two different car rental agencies which had kiosks in the cruise terminal.  We had been booked B2B on the August 2021 Celebrity Greenland & Iceland cruises, and those cruises also included an overnight in Reykjavik with the turnaround day in Southhampton.

 

While the this itinerary is great for those going to Iceland or returning to North America, I find it to be a limited itinerary for those who have never been to Iceland.  To miss the attractions on the Golden Circle is a great negative. Thingvellir National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the few rift valleys accessible on land; the other one is located in Africa.  The Geysir Geothermal area is fascinating.  And Gullfoss is more impressive than any of the waterfall photos posted on this thread as Gullfoss has more than one stage.  I hope that those B2B passengers who have never been to Iceland will find this country so intriguing that they will return to see much more.

Agree      We didn’t even get to see Reykjavík. 
 

I did enjoy getting to see many of the stops twice. 

[Jim_Iain]

8 hours ago, Andi Land said:

Hi Jim! Great thread so far. I do have a question for you. I want to book for next year but as a one way. Is there a direction you’d recommend? NJ to Reykjavik or Reykjavik to Boston? Or, does it really matter?  Thanks a bunch ☺️

Hard to say.  Going East we had perfect weather on our particular cruise but missed one port on way home.  Could be the opposite next year

 

resl advantage of going west is you gain hours which is easier on crew and passengers 

[Jim_Iain]

7 hours ago, Benthayer Gonbak said:

Sailing where you gain hours instead of loosing them is more fun on a cruise.  But, recovering from jet lag West to East can be harsh all at once too. 

Man of our own heart.   

[Jim_Iain]

@upwarduk

 

i think you had asked about bugs.   
 

They were pretty annoying yesterday I. Greenland. Since very few last week didn’t bother with bug nets but could have used them. 
 

 

[Jim_Iain]

Dinner 8/24/2022

 

 

for starters I had the corn soup and Iain had the salad. (Too big)

 

 

 

For Mains 

 

Isin had the Trout but they oversized it and he could only eat half.  We hate to waste food. 
 

It was beautifully prepared 

 

 

I had the Poussin perfectly cooked

 

[weacat]

Hi Jim,

 

Great review and thread!  It has definitely increased our interest in taking this route for next year.  The westbound would work best since we live in the Boston area.  Though school usually starts in our area the Wednesday before Labor Day, we would be exiting the ship very early and running to get DD to her first day of school.  

 

Have you seen any kids on board?  

[bob@karen]

On 8/24/2022 at 7:07 AM, law chick said:

I’m on this sailing with my spouse and our two teenage boys and can comment on the non-suite staffing portion of this question. 
 

We are cc elite despite only taking a handful of cruises, due to our love of the M class penthouse suite. We’ve also sailed in aqua class and this is our third time in a corner FV with an inside across the hall. We’re in the select MDR on this sailing. All this as background of what we’ve experienced in the past. My partner actually prefers not sailing in a suite if we can’t book a PH, because then we can just blend into the crowd and no one is overly concerned that we’re enjoying ourselves (we always are!). Likewise I enjoy not dealing with a butler as we prefer our privacy to all the attention. 
 

The select MDR this sailing is a complete cluster f. It’s shockingly understaffed. There aren’t even enough staff for them to write on the table cards that identify your servers. Instead of names they just write 0 because they don’t have anyone. 
 

Then there’s the issue of an unusually large number of passengers who wish to eat at 5pm. Like soooo many people need to eat early and it completely messes up the dining staff. We waited an hour to be seated for dinner the second night, after arriving at 5:45pm. 
 

Don’t expect a sommelier, we’ve only dealt with bar servers, and they don’t have the bandwidth to be topping off glasses, but they are happy to do a heavy pour. They aren’t even handing out the wine menu. We’ve asked, but never seen one this trip. If you’re easygoing like us, carry a drink in with you, and are okay with whatever red or white wine they suggest after you tell them what you’re generally are looking for, you’ll be fine. If you must have a certain wine or you’ll be disappointed…well, you might be disappointed.

 

Also I don’t believe there’s a waiter and an assistant waiter. More like one person doing their best.

 

In other parts of the ship, there’s zero bar servers wandering around taking orders in the solarium pool, at the Oceanview cafe or in the bars themselves. Someone did take my order while I was sitting near the martini bar.

 

We’ve seen quite a few staff in training, where they don’t seem to know what to do. Usually a more senior staff member will help them out.  

 

We’re grateful just to be here and are so thankful for all the hard work the staff performs. None of the above issues bothers us despite us knowing how attentive service can be in other circumstances. There’s so many places to eat and drink, we’re very satisfied. If we don’t get enough wine at dinner, we’ll grab a drink after, that sort of thing. Everyone is clearly doing their best and we’re not into making their hard job any more difficult. Every staff member has been truly excellent to deal with despite their obvious levels of overwork. 
 

We’re here for the scenery and to spend time together, so we’re very happy. But lots of people aren’t. Like there’s so much complaining happening over minor issues. Really letting the overworked staff member have it when something isn’t just right. Other passenger’s behavior is the only real disappointment we’ve experienced on this cruise.  

 

On 8/24/2022 at 7:07 AM, law chick said:

Other passenger’s behavior is the only real disappointment we’ve experienced on this cruise.  

I completely agree! One couple made such a scene in the dining room one night that we left early. I can’t handle seeing the hard working staff being so disrespected. 

[MamaFej]

17 hours ago, AstoriaPreppy said:

 

As a passenger on the 7 August NJ-Reykjavik Summit sailing, I can tell you the same chaotic energy was happening in assigned time dining. While we enjoyed the sailing, the MDR was a total mess. 

 

We had the 8 pm late seating, and would often still be at our table just getting desserts around 10:30 pm. One night they served desserts at 10:15 and then turned on the lights at full brightness at 10:19 and started flipping up chairs onto the tables in our section. We had to complain to guest services about that one since the maitre'd was MIA that night. Apparently the carpets were being cleaned that night, and they just wanted to get a head start on things. The following day, we got service at a normal speed, and were out in under two hours, but that never happened again.
 

This is the first cruise (out of 20+) on any line where the servers didn't attempt to learn our names or speak to us. There were no recommendations on dishes, or explanation of what the bread/spreads were each night, "how was your day?" etc. It was strictly menu drop-off, taking orders, delivery of food and removal of plates. The poor wine steward appeared to be having a nervous breakdown. She had our entire half of the MDR to service "herself,* and it wasn't uncommon to wait almost 1/2 hour after sitting down to see her. We tried to make it easy on her by ordering the same thing every night (Chandon), but even this was inconsistent: we'd get served the celebrity vintage sparkling, or Prosecco, or whatever she could find. We'd be lucky if we got a glass refilled during our 2.5 hour dinners.

 

Notably, this is the first cruise we've been on where we didn't tip our assigned time dining staff extra at the end of the voyage... it was that bad. 

Yikes! 

We are in an Ocean View cabin on the next cruise (back in Aqua in September 11). Your post encouraged us to up our Aqua Move-Up bid offer. Odds are very much against a move, but a failed bid costs us nothing. 
 

Interestingly, I got a call from someone in the MDR asking if I would like to pre-book dining reservation times for the August 31cruise. It appears they are trying to be a bit proactive about improving things. We appreciate that. We are going to look at port times and make reservations accordingly. We prefer to be less regimental, but if we can make it easier on ourselves and others, we can plan our dinner times. 

[Orsino]

8 minutes ago, MamaFej said:

Yikes! 

We are in an Ocean View cabin on the next cruise (back in Aqua in September 11). Your post encouraged us to up our Aqua Move-Up bid offer. Odds are very much against a move, but a failed bid costs us nothing. 
 

Interestingly, I got a call from someone in the MDR asking if I would like to pre-book dining reservation times for the August 31cruise. It appears they are trying to be a bit proactive about improving things. We appreciate that. We are going to look at port times and make reservations accordingly. We prefer to be less regimental, but if we can make it easier on ourselves and others, we can plan our dinner times. 

We are also on Summit on 31 August. I'm new to celebrity, and was surprised to find that we could book main dining online before the cruise. We did ours around the time of final payment and nothing was available between 6 and 8PM. I assumed everyone else already booked the 6 to 8 times, but it seems that the seasoned Celebrity cruisers didn't know about booking ahead either. Or maybe Celebrity doesn't offer times between 6 and 8 at all?

[upwarduk]

36 minutes ago, Orsino said:

but it seems that the seasoned Celebrity cruisers didn't know about booking ahead either. Or maybe Celebrity doesn't offer times between 6 and 8 at all?

I booked mine for 7 pm last December, for our late July cruise on Silhouette.

[MamaFej]

We Pre-booked before boarding when we were cruising on my dad’s birthday. I wanted to be sure we would be done with dinner in time to call him before he left to go golfing. We had a pretty tight window to call him, with the time zone differences. We would be in bed by the time he got home from his game and lunch with his buddies. Other than situations like that, we rarely bother with MDR reservations during or before the cruise. We prefer flexibility most of the time, but it is nice to be able to make them for some nights. 
 

 

[AstoriaPreppy]

1 hour ago, MamaFej said:

Yikes! 

We are in an Ocean View cabin on the next cruise (back in Aqua in September 11). Your post encouraged us to up our Aqua Move-Up bid offer. Odds are very much against a move, but a failed bid costs us nothing. 
 

Interestingly, I got a call from someone in the MDR asking if I would like to pre-book dining reservation times for the August 31cruise. It appears they are trying to be a bit proactive about improving things. We appreciate that. We are going to look at port times and make reservations accordingly. We prefer to be less regimental, but if we can make it easier on ourselves and others, we can plan our dinner times. 

 

I think pre-booking your anytime MDR times is a great idea, and anytime dining might be able to better allocate to staff that have less tables, etc. To be fair, there were other tables in our half of the MDR who would be done and out in 1 hr 20 min most nights, including chats with their serving staff, so it may just be luck of the draw.

 

We made friends with a couple at the martini bar who also sat near us in the MDR (different servers); they found it hilarious that they'd be wrapped up and walking out of dinner, and we hadn't even gotten our mains yet.
 

[SraLiz]

Thank you Jim for taking us on vacation with you! It sure does brighten my mornings here in Kentucky to see y'all having so much fun!  

[Jim_Iain]

Ok desert was fun last night.  We ordered one of each.   I wanted to photo the flaming Chocolate Sphere.   It the past it looked good but was a disappointment.   They have reworked it and now inside has a chocolate mouse cake with ice cream.  
 

 
The Brioche desert looked good but one taste and I devoured the sphere.   Really recommend 

 

 

 

Iain had the lemon desert.  Forgot to take picture of menu.  
 

 

[Jim_Iain]

Foggy day today but warming as we head south for 2 days.