Summit B2B review from a Celebrity first-timer

[natefish95]

Hi everyone! I got back from my first Celebrity cruise(s) yesterday and figured I would do a quick review. For some background on myself, I'm probably not the typical Celebrity cruiser. I'm a mid-20's solo cruiser that normally does NCL or Carnival. I don't see Carnival as "Walmart of the Seas" and love being casual on vacation. But I love cruising and I love trying new things. Last year when Celebrity dropped the solo supplement temporarily, I jumped on it. I've always been curious to try something new and now the price was very, very right. Since I would be doing my first Celebrity, why not book two and do my first back to back? Since it's my first, why no go all in do Aqua Class and the "Indulge" package? YOLO

 

The itineraries were a solid "meh", but I knew I wanted an M class ship because I just prefer smaller ships. January is a good time to cruise for me so I booked January 9-14 to Cozumel and Grand Cayman and January 14-19 to Key West and Cozumel in cabin 9050, an Aqua Class balcony. I also upgraded to the Indulge package because I knew I wanted the premium beverage package. The premium wifi and $200 OBC for each sailing was nice too.  

 

Pre-Cruise, I was very pleased to see that my lowly Royal status transferred making me "Select" on Celebrity. I didn't book any excursions, but did pre-book a dinner at Qsine for "Le Petit Chef" because it sounded fun and different. 

 

I'm not going to do this day by day, but I'll try and group it thematically, but it will probably by more stream of consciousness-y. Let's begin!  

[vickykay]

Looking forward to your review .   We’re on the Summit next fall.

[Cruise a holic]

We enjoy the Summit.  Clean and sleek now.  Looking foward to your review.  We do consider NCL and Carnival the walmart of the seas- lol.

[thebutlerdidit]

I’ll be following along with your review. I really enjoy reviews from first timers to a cruise line. 

[jelayne]

Looking forward to reading your review.

[IWillGoAnywhere26]

We've cruised frequently on the Summit in Aqua. Looking forward to hearing your impressions!

[Jim_Iain]

Thanks for taking the time to do a review.   Always nice to see a fresh perspective and comparison to other cruise lines.

[natefish95]

Sorry for the delay! I fell asleep last night haha

 

So first impressions were great. My least favorite thing about Carnival is how gaudy the interiors are. I loved the style and decor of the Summit. It felt very sleek, modern, yet comfortable. As soon as I got onboard, I went to my cabin and was super excited that they were open to drop my backpack and get my SeaPass (is that what they're called on Celebrity? I don't even remember.).

 

Overall, I liked the design of the cabin. Again, it felt nice and sleek. I loved the colors and glass cabinets. I had no idea they came with binoculars, robes, slippers, umbrellas, etc. I definitely like I was on a line that's a step above (I tried out the binoculars and they were terrible. I would definitely bring my own if I was doing an Alaska cruise). I liked having a yoga mat in the room being part of Aqua Class. I left it out and did yoga a couple times in the room with the balcony door open. Peak relaxation! 

 

Probably my least favorite things the entire 10 days were the bed and the bathroom. It was a very firm bed with very flat pillows. I was so excited to get home to my soft bed and firm pillows. The bathroom looked nice, but I think the shower was very poorly designed. The shower head had excellent pressure, but the shower door opened inward, which led to a couple messes after I turned the shower on. Eventually I remembered to just turn the shower head to the wall then turn it on! I don't mind small showers, but the grab bar got in the way and the only shelf was taken up by the bottles of shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner. I took those out and made room for my own stuff. 

 

Other random first impressions:

• OMG they have cans of diet coke in the buffet. AMAZING! (I'm from Atlanta. Pepsi is the inferior soda)
• The ship smells amazing.
• Everything looks very clean and there is housekeeping everywhere wiping things down
• Cloth towels in the public restrooms? Oh fancy!
• The bathrooms have odd designs though. Only one urinal in most? 
• The statues around the pool deck are a peculiar design choice...
• The rooftop terrace looks cool, but seems like a big waste of space. 
• My fellow passengers don't seem as old as I thought they would be. 

[AstoriaPreppy]

8 minutes ago, natefish95 said:

Cloth towels in the public restrooms? Oh fancy!

 

I have the same reaction every time. We’re line agnostic (actually really enjoy Carnival), but the cloth hand towels always seem so ridiculously extravagant on Celebrity/Holland America. 

[hcat]

great start... following.

 

we have cruised on Summit a number of times..Hawaii, Bermuda, Carib..

 

heard the upgrades were well done

[natefish95]

Spa and Fitness 

On the first day I did a spa tour. It was fine. They highlighted some of the specials treatments they have onboard. Cool, Cool. I talked to the acupuncturist onboard for a bit. Very unique that celebrity offers this, but I'm firmly in the camp that acupuncture is a pseudoscience and the guy onboard was a bit too "out there for me". I did a free consultation and apparently by looking at my tongue I have all sorts of issues and he recommends I do three session at $200 each plus gratuity. Absolutely not. I was curious to hear what he had to say and learn more because I was genuinely curious. I politely declined his suggestions and left. (What's funny is he ignored me the rest of the 10 days. I would say good morning if I saw him at the front desk and would get no response.) Looking at the massage offerings, they were really overpriced. I live in DC, and things are expensive here, but I can get a better massage locally for much cheaper (I have one in a couple hours actually). 

 

Now the gym, I loved! I'm a Peloton ADDICT! Having actually peloton bikes onboard is something I was most looking forward to. There were four on the Summit and if you're a Peloton member, you don't need to reserve them. Some of the parts should probably be tightened up a bit and I think the metrics were a bit low compared to what I normally do, but I still enjoyed riding at sea. In 10 days, I clocked in about 70 miles on the bike. They also provided good quality sweat towels (Carnival basically provided bathroom towels in the gym...). I LOVED the cold towels that were available as well. It felt so refreshing to wipe down my face with a cold towels after a hard ride. I didn't use any other equipment, but it looked like good quality stuff and the gym never felt crowded. Over on the side there was a section with yoga blocks, yoga mats, foam rollers, and some other pieces of equipment for use. 

 

What some people didn't realize is that there is a free sauna in the locker rooms off the hallway between the solarium and the pool. I used this pretty much every day. The locker room was very tiny and cramped, especially if more then 2 guys are trying to change at the same time. There were two showers as well. I heard the design was better pre-renovation, but I'm glad they kept the free sauna. It's small, but better than nothing. The men's locker room gets a lot of people coming in from the solarium to use the restroom. The sauna is all glass, so you feel like you're in an aquarium with people looked in as they walk by. Odd...

 

Now being in Aqua Class, I had access to the Persian Garden. On the Summit it's behind the gym on the interior of the ship with no ocean views. There's a turkish hammam steam room, an "infrared" sauna, and a salt room. Plus two large showers with a bunch of different car wash-esque settings. I used the Persian Garden once and didn't enjoy it. First, there was nowhere to put my stuff. I left most of my stuff in my cabin one deck below, but I wear glasses, had my phone, and my kindle because I thought I would do some reading on the heated bench. I just had to leave my stuff in a heap on a bench in the room. Didn't love that. The turkish hammam was actually steamy, so that was nice. The "infrared" sauna never seemed to get hot and the salt room was so tiny it felt a bit claustrophobic. The doors to the salt room and sauna also had issues staying closed (we weren't in rough seas at all either). I did a cycle and sat on the heated bench and then left. I just didn't think there was anything special about it. If I don't do Aqua Class next time on this class of ship, I would absolutely not pay to access the Persian Garden. 

[natefish95]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

Thanks for taking the time to do a review.   Always nice to see a fresh perspective and comparison to other cruise lines.

I have absolutely loved reading your reviews! 

[natefish95]

6 minutes ago, AstoriaPreppy said:

 

I have the same reaction every time. We’re line agnostic (actually really enjoy Carnival), but the cloth hand towels always seem so ridiculously extravagant on Celebrity/Holland America. 

It's so unnecessary but I loved it! I'm a bit of a germaphobe, so I would use the towels to open the doors most times. Much better than the weird napkin things on Carnival that just get thrown on the floor because there's no trashcan by the door. 

[davekathy]

2 minutes ago, natefish95 said:

peloton bikes onboard is something I was most looking forward to. There were four on the Summit and if you're a Peloton member, you don't need to reserve them.

The four peloton bikes never had to be reserved on our cruise. Member or not, which I'm not. I used them in the morning and afternoon when I couldn't walk the track. There are other peloton bikes in another room of the gym, but those are set aside for reserved classes. 

[davekathy]

3 minutes ago, natefish95 said:

It's so unnecessary but I loved it! I'm a bit of a germaphobe, so I would use the towels to open the doors most times. Much better than the weird napkin things on Carnival that just get thrown on the floor because there's no trashcan by the door. 

In the evening there is always a staff member to open the door for you in the public restrooms. Another nice touch (pun intended). 

[natefish95]

Dining in Blu

A big draw to Aqua Class for me was access to Blu. I honestly didn't know much about it. I thought it was some type of healthy restaurant, but not fully? I was intrigued, heard good reviews, and liked the idea of a quieter, more intimate space than the MDR. I also read you could order from the MDR and the Blu menus on Summit, so thought that would be nice to try a bit of everything. 

 

I had the same dining team almost every night. Nurelita and Luh were the best! One night there wasn't space in their section and I missed them. Nurelita was so knowledgeable about the menu and answered all my first-timer questions. I would ask for her recommendations and she was never wrong. 

 

I had a letter in my room suggesting I eat between 5:30 and 6:00 or after 8:30. I think that's a bit tacky, but I guess people have been mad in the past if there's a wait? Didn't affect me because I ate around 5:45 every night and more often than not, had a table by the windows.

 

I'll be honest, I read you could order from the MDR and Blu menus, but no one mentioned it the first week, so I assumed it was no longer possible. I should have asked, but didn't. For the first 5 days I only ate from the Blu menu, but then the second half I did order from both menus. 

 

With the exception of a couple things, everything was incredible! The food was miles ahead of Carnival and Royal Caribbean and slightly better than NCL (Carnival has better bread offerings though. Cranberry multigrain is amazing).My absolute favorite things were the spicy lobster salad and the short ribs. Honorable mentions to the coconut soup from the MDR menu and the peppercorn crusted tuna salad.

 

The gazpacho was not my favorite and the ceviche needed a more citrus flavor. This will probably be controversial, but I don't think the lobster was that good either. Lobster on any ship, any line is always "just okay" in my opinion. I love lobster and have better luck on land. For the second cruise, on lobster night I got the phyllo chicken paillard and it was delicious. I love anything with phyllo and sundried tomatoes though. 

 

I'm not a huge dessert person and most of the desserts did not appeal to me, so I got ice cream or sorbet most nights. I really enjoyed the sorbet offerings. I don't see that on other lines really at all. The flavors were different each night too. The chocolate cake that is offered every night was so delicious and probably my favorite dessert. So chocolatey and sweet. 

[natefish95]

16 minutes ago, davekathy said:

The four peloton bikes never had to be reserved on our cruise. Member or not, which I'm not. I used them in the morning and afternoon when I couldn't walk the track. There are other peloton bikes in another room of the gym, but those are set aside for reserved classes. 

The guidance seems very inconsistent. I was researching before the cruise and got mixed answers. Onboard they said I had to reserve them initially, but then asked if I was a Peloton member and said I could use it anytime. 

[natefish95]

Other Food

Starting with breakfast, I only breakfast at the spa cafe once. I don't really eat breakfast, but I'm sure the buffet had great offerings. 

 

Speaking of spa cafe, loved it! I had a light breakfast one morning and it was just what I needed. I had some avocado toast and a small wrap. Felt very healthy and was perfect after a workout. For lunch, I really regret only eating at the spa cafe once. I believe it was the yakisoba noodle salad. One of the best things I ate all 10 days. I could have had a giant bowl of that. Again, everything was very light and perfect for when you're in that "I'm not hungry, but I could eat" mood.

 

Regarding the buffet, overall really enjoyed it and felt the food quality was better than Carnival, NCL, and Royal. I only ate there for lunch, but felt like there was plenty of variety and I obviously never went hungry. I saw in the app that there were themed dinners up there, next time I'll have to try those out. On Jewel of the Seas, the themed dinners were better than the MDR food. 

 

The buffet was designed well for the most part too. I didn't see any major traffic jams and there was always plenty of seating. 

 

One day for lunch I tried the Poolside Grill because I just wanted a burger and fries. It was just okay. The burger was good. The fries weren't my favorite because they were the thicker kind and I prefer the smaller crunchier kind. Personal preference. 

 

I think Carnival excels at Mexican food at the Blue Iguana cantina with their burritos, tacos, and toppings bar, and I think NCL excels at casual dining in the form of O'Sheehans/The Local. Celebrity has the best buffet and dining room food though in my opinion. 

[davekathy]

12 minutes ago, natefish95 said:

The guidance seems very inconsistent. I was researching before the cruise and got mixed answers. Onboard they said I had to reserve them initially, but then asked if I was a Peloton member and said I could use it anytime. 

Consistently inconsistent.

 

Forgot to mention my experience(s) on the Summit was the same for our September 2019 and September 2022 cruises.  I also was glad to see the peloton bikes that were open to all. Much better than the other (brand escapes me) spinners. Hopefully the Apex will be set up the same. 

Edited January 21, 2023 by davekathy

[natefish95]

Qsine "Le Petit Chef"

Before sailing, I prebooked a diner at Qsine for the Le Petite Chef because I've never done anything like that before and the menu looked good. When I was there, there were only about 5 tables for the 6:00 dinner, which was very surprising. The table next to me complained nonstop that the menu changed. I have no idea what the menu used to be, but it was correct in the app. Whine less. 

 

I thought the food was delicious with the tomato tart being a surprising favorite of mine. So fresh. The "show" was really cute and it was nice to do something new and different. I don't think I'll do it again unless I'm traveling with someone who has never done it before though. 

[AnnaNicole]

I love the M class ships.   I am glad you enjoyed your cruise.  

[C4HCG]

All I can say is you either weren’t actually on a Celebrity ship (given the rampant negativity around here just now) or you work for them hence the positive post 😂. But seriously great that you enjoyed it and that Celebrity still can provide a product worth the money. Comment on passengers not seeming as old as you’d thought they’d be 🤣🤣🤣🤣priceless. 

Edited January 21, 2023 by C4HCG

[davekathy]

4 minutes ago, C4HCG said:

All I can say is you either weren’t actually on a Celebrity ship (given the rampant negativity around here just now) or you work for them hence the positive post 😂. But seriously great that you enjoyed it and that Celebrity still can provide a product worth the money. Comment on passengers not seeming as old as you’d thought they’d be 🤣🤣🤣🤣priceless. 

Apparently no one yelled, "get off my grass". Never mind, the Summit doesn't have a Lawn Club. 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Thanks for the review! I'll be on the Summit in Aqua this summer for my second Celebrity cruise (but first on Summit and first in Aqua).

 

Question with the Persian Garden - can you not put your stuff in the locker room? That's what I do on Disney with the Rainforest Room.

 

Also, I thought you could ask for a pillow menu in Aqua - is that not the case?

[davekathy]

2 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Thanks for the review! I'll be on the Summit in Aqua this summer for my second Celebrity cruise (but first on Summit and first in Aqua).

 

Question with the Persian Garden - can you not put your stuff in the locker room? That's what I do on Disney with the Rainforest Room.

 

Also, I thought you could ask for a pillow menu in Aqua - is that not the case?

The locker room/change room is open to anyone. Two banks of small lockers. Four number combo lock.