Summit vs. Connie

[cricketts]

Are there any key differences between Summit and Constellation - other than Summit being "revolutionized"?

[George C]

Very little difference on summit pre and post being revolutionized , only thing they added was a mediocre outdoor retreat and I prefer the old micheals to new indoor retreat.

[cruisestitch]

Embarkation port

[LB_NJ]

Hard to tell the difference between the 2.

 

It would really depend on the current staff.

[Nado44]

Summit was revolutionized in 2019.

Constellation is due for refurbishments in spring of 2024.

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, cricketts said:

Are there any key differences between Summit and Constellation - other than Summit being "revolutionized"?

The Oceanview Cafe is redesigned on Summit and the new design is better. Every cabin was replaced so they are better in my opinion. They added both regular outlets and USB ports. The not so good is that they added cabins which means a worse passenger to space ratio. 

Edited December 26, 2023 by Charles4515

[abbydancer2003]

I found the difference between Michael's Club (or retreat lounge) on the Infinity and on the Summit to be far less radical that the differences on the S class ships.  Mostly adding a food area and less comfortable furniture.

[George C]

39 minutes ago, abbydancer said:

I found the difference between Michael's Club (or retreat lounge) on the Infinity and on the Summit to be far less radical that the differences on the S class ships.  Mostly adding a food area and less comfortable furniture.

Also removed the piano

[abbydancer2003]

7 minutes ago, George C said:

Also removed the piano

I don't recall a piano on the Infinity.  On S class, yes.

[George C]

2 minutes ago, abbydancer said:

I don't recall a piano on the Infinity.  On S class, yes.

M class had them until updates , summit definitely had one and it was removed. We do music charters on M class and some of the musicians played them . We have done 5 charters all on M class , they were there until updating. My only S class was before suite lounge was added .

[abbydancer2003]

Just now, George C said:

M class had them until updates , summit definitely had one and it was removed. We do music charters on M class and some of the musicians played them . We have done 5 charters all on M class , they were there until updating. My only S class was before suite lounge was added .

Oh, OK.  I was only on the Summit post Revolution.

[Charles4515]

11 minutes ago, George C said:

M class had them until updates , summit definitely had one and it was removed. We do music charters on M class and some of the musicians played them . We have done 5 charters all on M class , they were there until updating. My only S class was before suite lounge was added .

Before Michael’s on the M class became the Retreat they were piano bars. But originally they were cigar bars. 

[Charles4515]

2 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

Hard to tell the difference between the 2.

 

It would really depend on the current staff.

The decor was different. The specialty restaurant also had a different decor scheme. Not a huge difference but I preferred the Constellation. 

[cricketts]

1 hour ago, Charles4515 said:

Before Michael’s on the M class became the Retreat they were piano bars. But originally they were cigar bars. 

Never realized - Thanks!!

[jelayne]

Like both but hands down the Summit is our choice.  Both have amazing crews but the old dated and worn, dusty  decor doesn’t do it for us.  We like the improved OV layout and the updated cabins. 

[Cruise a holic]

10 hours ago, cricketts said:

Are there any key differences between Summit and Constellation - other than Summit being "revolutionized"?

Revolutionized is a big deal.  The summit appears much cleaner and brighter then the Constellation.  Especially noticed are the bright well decorated staterooms.  

[AtSeaAlways]

The new staterooms on Summit are indeed nice.  And the Oceanview Cafe is lovely.  The bad news is the library poofed.  Connie has the classic 1997 library/computer room setup.  If it was me, I'd take out the stairway between them which uses a lot of space and lets noise travel.   If this is to be the world cruise ship, make the old computer center a card room and add chairs to the current library, which has a large central table.  A "library" could be made on Summit- there are some underused corners and spaces on three - but you need to not blast the music.  I get it a library is not a revenue space, etc.   If you wanted to go crazy put in a guest laundry 🙂 

[JDPCruisers]

On 12/26/2023 at 6:09 AM, Cruise a holic said:

Revolutionized is a big deal.  The summit appears much cleaner and brighter then the Constellation.  Especially noticed are the bright well decorated staterooms.  

Just off Constellation and I can attest to the revolutionized as a big deal. Our Stateroom, SS, was old and worn in dire need of upgrade in all respects. I got to referring to it as a clean old Motel 6 (just IMHO). Common areas were pretty much fine, but lighting was darker, and they were constantly cleaning both inside and out. Crew was great. 

[Charles4515]

24 minutes ago, JDPCruisers said:

Just off Constellation and I can attest to the revolutionized as a big deal. Our Stateroom, SS, was old and worn in dire need of upgrade in all respects. I got to referring to it as a clean old Motel 6 (just IMHO). Common areas were pretty much fine, but lighting was darker, and they were constantly cleaning both inside and out. Crew was great. 

Before it was revolutionized I noticed the cabin bathroom on Summit was in the worst state in the cabin. It was really worn. Tiles loose and yellowed in the shower. Sink and vanity top worn. I imagine that on Constellation the bathroom is probably in worse bad shape now. The new bathroom on Summit is what I call plasticized. It has got to be a lot easier for the crew to clean. 

Edited December 27, 2023 by Charles4515

[JDPCruisers]

6 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

Before it was revolutionized I noticed the cabin bathroom on Summit was in the worst state in the cabin. It was really worn. Tiles loose and yellowed in the shower. Sink and vanity top worn. I imagine that on Constellation the bathroom is probably in worse bad shape now. The new bathroom on Summit is what I call plasticized. It has got to be a lot easier for the crew to clean. 

Yes, bathroom on Connie was worn to the extent of mildew/mold embedded in the shower tile grout. No amount of cleaning will take care of that, and the dreaded shower curtain hangers were rusted. At least it did not show signed of mold or they would have had to replace it. The toilet flushed fine, but the stream of water came from only the front part. Sink quite scratched up. The cabin furniture was mismatched and had rips and tears. Frankly, looked like they had used leftover furnishings from pre-revolutionized ships. Same for the balcony furniture, quite stained but we expect a certain amount of that as they are in the salt air but they had almost on padding left. We did like the larger tables inside and out as opposed to the small unusable for much tables in E-class. Our stateroom attendant was great and did the obsolete best to keep it clean but that only went so far. Bottom line, we kept expectations fairly low going in, but the reality was lower. However, all kudos to the crew!  

[AstoriaPreppy]

I can't say enough good things about the Revolutionizing the Millennium and Summit received. They didn't just replace wall coverings and carpeting in the staterooms, they gutted them down to the wall studs and completely rebuilt them. They are fantastic. In addition, many other places on the ship received full renovations: the buffet (while not fully serving islands like the new ship) was overhauled, the MDR space was refitted to look much more modern, the Rendezvous lounge is bright and a revelation compared to the dark former space, etc. 

Contrast this with the Constellation's sister ship Infinity (which we sailed earlier this year). The staterooms were in disrepair, seating, fittings and carpeting worn, and lots and lots of lighting that just didn't work throughout the ship.

You'll find a lot of people on CC who will tell you how great the Connie and Infinity are, but I can only guess there's a level of nostalgia shaping those perspectives. Objectively, the Infinity was not up to current Celebrity standards. We would happily sail on the Summit/Millennium again... and have regularly recommended that people avoid the Infinity if they're expecting a well-maintained ship.

[Charles4515]

49 minutes ago, AstoriaPreppy said:

I can't say enough good things about the Revolutionizing the Millennium and Summit received. They didn't just replace wall coverings and carpeting in the staterooms, they gutted them down to the wall studs and completely rebuilt them. They are fantastic. In addition, many other places on the ship received full renovations: the buffet (while not fully serving islands like the new ship) was overhauled, the MDR space was refitted to look much more modern, the Rendezvous lounge is bright and a revelation compared to the dark former space, etc. 


You'll find a lot of people on CC who will tell you how great the Connie and Infinity are, but I can only guess there's a level of nostalgia shaping those perspectives. Objectively, the Infinity was not up to current Celebrity standards. We would happily sail on the Summit/Millennium again... and have regularly recommended that people avoid the Infinity if they're expecting a well-maintained ship.

As I understand it the cabins were modules. They pulled the old modules out and installed the new ones. They were prebuilt. The cabins are new not just renovated. Public spaces were renovated except Cafe Bacio. Wonder if they ran out of time. The buffet with islands is a great improvement. 
 

As for Constellation versus Summit I preferred the Constellation as built to the Summit as built. They didn’t build them cookie cutter. I was on both when they were fairly new. I was on the third sailing of the Summit. The Revolutionized Summit is definitely better than the Constellation which unfortunately is way overdue for its redo. As for booking one over the other to book there are other factors that I take into account. Itinerary is important to me. 
 

 

[D. B.]

9 hours ago, JDPCruisers said:

Just off Constellation and I can attest to the revolutionized as a big deal. Our Stateroom, SS, was old and worn in dire need of upgrade in all respects. I got to referring to it as a clean old Motel 6 (just IMHO). Common areas were pretty much fine, but lighting was darker, and they were constantly cleaning both inside and out. Crew was great. 

Connie will get a Refresh this spring on arrival in the Med. after it's TA eastbound.

 It will never get the full Revolutionizing like Millie and Summit.

 It was Planned but Covid and the decision to spend Big on the New Edge class ships sucked up all the money.

 I Love Connie and will sail on it post refresh.

 

[abbydancer2003]

DH thought the Infinity had better storage in the SS than the Summit.  We were on them a month apart earlier this year.

[tjunmin]

In M class ships, I personally think that non-suite guests prefer the revolutionized ships, while a segment of the suite guests prefer the non-revolutionized ships.

 

In my view, non-suite accommodations received gorgeous and much needed updates. For instance, revolutionized Aqua cabins look beautiful and relaxing. Bathroom upgrades are noticeable and appreciated. It comes at the cost of the loss of the sun deck area on deck 12.

 

In revolutionized ships, suite accommodations lost the refinement they originally had. The new decor looks cheap and generic. Balcony furniture is uncomfortable and do not fit the space. Michael's Club furniture is also uncomfortable. Form over function (aesthetics over functionality) and lack of storage space are common complaints. Bathrooms feel plasticky. The Retreat Sundeck on deck 12 lacks shade and was underutilized when I sailed. However, during my sailing on the Connie, another suite guest was lamenting the lack of The Retreat Sundeck on the ship because she liked the separation it provided from non-suite guests.

 

Different people have their own needs and priorities. I do not believe there is a right or wrong answer between Summit vs. Connie. It comes down to what is important for each one of us.

 

Here are my photos of the revolutionized Millennium taken in 2019 [photo album] and the non-revolutionized Constellation taken earlier this month [photo album]. Feel free to take a look, compare them and form your own opinion.