Summit B2B review from a Celebrity first-timer

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Just now, davekathy said:

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

 

Yes, I get that. I'm just wondering if you're not supposed to/allowed to use it to store stuff while in the Persian Garden.

[davekathy]

6 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

Yes, I get that. I'm just wondering if you're not supposed to/allowed to use it to store stuff while in the Persian Garden.

It is allowed. That's why I said open to all. I use the change room to shower, stash things in the locker whether I'm walking the track, in the gym, sitting in the sun or in the solarium. Both change rooms are before you get to the spa or gym. 

Edited January 21, 2023 by davekathy

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Just now, davekathy said:

It is allowed. That's why I said open to all. I use the change room to shower, stash things in the locker whether I'm walking the track, in the gym, sitting in the sun or in the solarium. 

Gotcha. Thanks!

[stellarose]

following this.  sail on summit for my 50th bday this summer.

[davekathy]

2 minutes ago, stellarose said:

following this.  sail on summit for my 50th bday this summer.

We've cruised the Summit pre and post revolution. The changes that were made are great. Especially the MDR. 

Edited January 21, 2023 by davekathy

[stellarose]

Just now, davekathy said:

We've cruised the Summit pre and post revolution. The 

we sailed her over 10 years ago. so interesting to do it now.

[davekathy]

2 minutes ago, stellarose said:

we sailed her over 10 years ago. so interesting to do it now.

You'll notice the improvements then. 

[natefish95]

3 hours 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?

You can and that's what I did for most of my stuff. It's down the hall outside of the spa, which is slightly annoying. In my experience of thermal spas on NCL, there's plenty of chairs and areas to place things like books, glasses, etc. 

[natefish95]

4 hours 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. 

I was chatting with a fellow solo traveler at dinner one night. She is much more experienced with Celebrity and said the passengers on this cruise were the most laid back she'd ever seen. I think it being a 5 day had a lot to do with that. A great mix of people and less cranky retirees like on longer cruises. She also made the great comment "You're nearly dead. Enjoy the time you have left and don't be so nasty to be people".  I'm very much a glass half full kind of person and enjoy people who are like that as well. 

[natefish95]

Entertainment

For both 5 day cruises, in the main theater there were nightly shows at 7pm and 9pm. The shows that were the same along both sailings were with the production cast who did a Broadway cabaret show, "Soundtrack", and "Life. I love Broadway and loved the cabaret show. Soundtrack and Life were just not my thing. The singers and dancers were talented, but for some reason the shows just didn't connect with me. 

 

On January 9-14, the guest comedian was Jim David. I thought he was hilarious! He did an adults only show that was also really entertaining. The other guest entertainment was a woman named Kim. I did not get a chance to see her show, but heard she was really good. 

 

On January 14-19, the guest comedian was Bill Boronkay...I went to his normal PG show and it was...not the best. I didn't bother with his adult show. The other guest entertainment was a group called Legacy who played ballads through the decades. Again, it just didn't connect with me and I left early. 

 

The solo guitar player was Sam Ensuque and was so good! He dropped off the schedule towards the end of my second cruise and I was so disappointed because I wanted to hear him play more. The house bands were just okay. (For reference, my music tastes are country music or pop music from the 80's to present.)

 

I think overall evening entertainment was definitely lacking and this is an area where I much prefer Carnival or NCL. I can only listen to live music so much. I spent more time in the casino than I should have...I also went back to cabin early several nights to read or play sudoku lol. I love the comedy shows on Carnival and think both lines do music that is more in line with my personal tastes.

[miched]

Our first cruise on Celebrity was on the Solstice in AQ.  We did it for the healthier things that they promised.   
 

Boarding the ship we were giving a welcome about glass of “Champagne “ and then when we seen the atrium we went WOW.   We were sold there.  At that time always sailed on Carnival and loved every cruise. We are at their highest level and really don’t like when people bad mouth them.  It is what they promote, a fun ship

 

When we walked into our cabin we were really sold.  Concerning the bath room on the S class there was a shower panel with body jets, and the balcony is larger and the Persian Gardens is  a billion times nicer.  

 

The next cruise was on the Summit.   It is a M class.    It is a nice ship but the cabins and Persian Gardens have a lot to be desired.    We were on the Summit last year and Kelly  redesigned the cabins.   She ruined them. 
 

Try a S class.  Or E class cruise.  Completely different experience.  
 

The M class is ok and has a lot of nice features and we also enjoy sailing on them but the cabins are dated and balconies are smaller, and the Persian Garden is like a dungeon.  The bathrooms reminds me of a bathroom in an old travel trailer.   The public areas nice with class.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

9 hours ago, natefish95 said:

You can and that's what I did for most of my stuff. It's down the hall outside of the spa, which is slightly annoying. In my experience of thermal spas on NCL, there's plenty of chairs and areas to place things like books, glasses, etc. 

 

Gotcha. I'm used to the lockers on Disney, so NBD for me to use them.

 

Regarding your comment about the pillows - I thought Aqua Class had the option of a pillow menu. Is that no longer the case?

[wrk2cruise]

I believe you can request different pillows regardless what class of cabin you have.  We request 2 memory foam pillows on every sailing and receive them.   There used to be a printed pillow menu in CC and above but haven't seen that in awhile.

[stellarose]

I need memory foam pillows but I am just regular class not elite or aqua.

[jelayne]

21 minutes ago, stellarose said:

I need memory foam pillows but I am just regular class not elite or aqua.

Doesn’t matter just ask the your cabin attendant

[natefish95]

6 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

I believe you can request different pillows regardless what class of cabin you have.  We request 2 memory foam pillows on every sailing and receive them.   There used to be a printed pillow menu in CC and above but haven't seen that in awhile.

Good to know, I did not know that was option. Noted for next time!

[natefish95]

I think I've hit most of the highlights and most of my observations about my cruise on the Summit. Did I miss anything or was anyone curious about how I compare Celebrity in certain areas to NCL and Carnival?

 

Overall, had an amazing time and felt like a had "wellness-oriented" cruise. I worked out often. I did yoga in my cabin. I didn't drink thaaaaaaat much. I only took the stairs for 10 days. I read 2.5 books. 

 

I had a phenomenal first impression and will definitely keep Celebrity in mind in the future, especially if they run more deals for solo travelers. 

[C4HCG]

3 hours ago, stellarose said:

I need memory foam pillows but I am just regular class not elite or aqua.

Surprised you are allowed to post on here 🤪

[C4HCG]

1 minute ago, natefish95 said:

I think I've hit most of the highlights and most of my observations about my cruise on the Summit. Did I miss anything or was anyone curious about how I compare Celebrity in certain areas to NCL and Carnival?

 

Overall, had an amazing time and felt like a had "wellness-oriented" cruise. I worked out often. I did yoga in my cabin. I didn't drink thaaaaaaat much. I only took the stairs for 10 days. I read 2.5 books. 

 

I had a phenomenal first impression and will definitely keep Celebrity in mind in the future, especially if they run more deals for solo travelers. 

Brilliant you enjoyed it, sure many in here will tell you you didn’t really. 

[stellarose]

13 minutes ago, C4HCG said:

Surprised you are allowed to post on here 🤪

I know.... I had to upgrade to the premium package to post comments. 

 

but seriously, can I get a different pillow or do I need to shove one in my suitcase?

[C4HCG]

1 minute ago, stellarose said:

I know.... I had to upgrade to the premium package to post comments. 

 

but seriously, can I get a different pillow or do I need to shove one in my suitcase?

🤣I am sure if you ask they will oblige but bob one in your suitcase just in case.

[SSFrance69]

On 1/21/2023 at 2:56 PM, natefish95 said:

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. 

So glad to hear Blu was good. I have a cruise on Summit booked for July in aqua, so I've been looking forward to trying Blu for the first time. Just curious, did your cruise start after January 1 or before? I have read here that after January 1 you can no longer order off the main dining menu but maybe the enforcement of that varies by ship. I was hoping I could order from both, as there are some favorites I've enjoyed in the MDR in the past (if they are still being offered that is). 

Thanks for writing your review! I enjoyed reading it.

[Northern Aurora]

58 minutes ago, stellarose said:

I know.... I had to upgrade to the premium package to post comments. 

 

but seriously, can I get a different pillow or do I need to shove one in my suitcase?

 

At times on a typed forum it is hard to tell if someone is joking.   If you aren't joking, then of course not -- you don't need to pack a pillow.  Any stateroom level can request different pillows and the ship is stocked with a variety.    

 

And if you aren't satisfied with the bed fitness/softness also tell the stateroom attendant.  They have a number of "tricks of the trade" to make the bed firmer and can add different "toppers" to make them softer.  One of the last things a ship hotel director would want to hear is that someone told their friends/neighbors that they had a hard time sleeping on their vacation.

[stellarose]

I was serious. I thought as I am not elite or in spa rooms- we don't get the pillow menu.  sometimes ships will only offer certain perks if you are in a more "upper level" room. 

[MamaFej]

15 minutes ago, stellarose said:

I was serious. I thought as I am not elite or in spa rooms- we don't get the pillow menu.  sometimes ships will only offer certain perks if you are in a more "upper level" room. 

I'm not certain the Pillow Menu actually exists. I've never seen one in person, nor posted. 

 

I do know that I've been able to get more/different pillows by politely requesting them on both X and Azamara.

 

I hope you end up much more comfortable on future cruise nights.