First Time Celebrity Cruiser

[caribbeanchickie]

Hi Everyone,

 

DH and I are booked for the Jan 3 Summit cruise, Southern Caribbean. We chose this cruise mainly because of the ports and that we also have family in 3 of them. Nothing like a island tour for free....hehehe :D

 

Since we are new to Celebrity; I was wondering if you could be so kind and offer any tips or info you think might be beneficial to me about Celebrity or Summit.

Dinner? Ent? Free ice cream? :DBuffet? Breakfast and lunch dining? Anything at all will really help me. ;)

 

BTW- We booked a CC cabin. Just in case it makes a difference. :)

 

Thanks

Michelle

[bslund]

The following link should get you to the member reviews of this ship. We were on it a few years ago and had the best trip ever. I can't rellay speak to what it is now, but when we were on it, it was spectacular. If the link does not work, copy it into your search bar and you should be directed to the Summit reviews. http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=251

[caribbeanchickie]

The following link should get you to the member reviews of this ship. We were on it a few years ago and had the best trip ever. I can't rellay speak to what it is now, but when we were on it, it was spectacular. If the link does not work, copy it into your search bar and you should be directed to the Summit reviews. http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=251

 

Thank You for replying and also attaching the link to reviews. Appreciated!

 

Michelle

[BalconyBumz]

You will LOVE Celebrity! That's all I can say. :D

[caribbeanchickie]

you will love celebrity! That's all i can say. :d

 

why???? :d

[Longboysfan]

Hi Everyone,

 

DH and I are booked for the Jan 3 Summit cruise, Southern Caribbean. We chose this cruise mainly because of the ports and that we also have family in 3 of them. Nothing like a island tour for free....hehehe :D

 

Since we are new to Celebrity; I was wondering if you could be so kind and offer any tips or info you think might be beneficial to me about Celebrity or Summit.

Dinner? Ent? Free ice cream? :DBuffet? Breakfast and lunch dining? Anything at all will really help me. ;)

 

BTW- We booked a CC cabin. Just in case it makes a difference. :)

 

Thanks

Michelle

 

You will find there are only announcements at noon.

The daily program tells all ship events - i take a magic marker to highlight the things i like to do.

Dinner is great - best food on the seas as far as I have had.

Entertainment is very subjective - floor shows in the theatre are nice.

Free ice cream is after lunch.

Buffet is real good - although i hear Carnival has great ones. Celebrity does have a great waffel station.

Breakfast and lunch dining are great in the main dining room.

 

The CC cabins come with a butler? They will give you tray or more of snacks before dinner - just ask.

[Longboysfan]

why???? :d

 

 

The food and service are the best you will find in crusing....

 

The ship is not party crazy and there are random quiet times every day.

When people go to get ready for dinner at about 5pm and the ship - on deck and pool areas quiets down.

 

It is great that you are having family escorted tours - the best.

 

Have a great time.

[GORDONCHICK]

The reasons I love Celebrity:

-the decor is understated elegance

-the service is wonderful

-there aren't announcements alllll dayyyy longgggg

-nice passenger mix

-still has traditional dining

-dining room dinner choices have a good variety and are usually pretty good

-Belgian waffles on the aft deck for breakfast (some like the made to order pancakes too)

-almond croissants in Cova Cafe

[kenevenpar]

The CC cabins come with a butler? They will give you tray or more of snacks before dinner - just ask.

 

No butlers in Concierge class. Sky suite and above.

[ottawapuppy]

BTW- We booked a CC cabin. Just in case it makes a difference. :)

 

One of the things I like about CC is that there is an expanded room service menu for breakfast (includes pancakes, eggs benedict, smoothies and more). If the menu is not in your room, make sure to ask your room attendant for it.

 

The Thalassotherapy Pool and AquaSpa Cafe are two of the best features of that class of ship.

 

Mike

[Tinwoman]

You know there are pro's and con's, enjoy your first cruise, and then decide if this is the cruise line for you.

Celebrity is a cruise line that caters to a mature audience, and is very formal.

If this is what you seek, you will be very happy.

There are so many cruise lines, there is something out there for everybody.

Enjoy and no worries okay. :)

[perlgirlnj]

One of the things I like about CC is that there is an expanded room service menu for breakfast (includes pancakes, eggs benedict, smoothies and more). If the menu is not in your room, make sure to ask your room attendant for it.

 

The Thalassotherapy Pool and AquaSpa Cafe are two of the best features of that class of ship.

 

Mike

 

Are there smoothies available in other locations or times of day? Are they included or an extra charge? If so, where and when? My DD will be over-the-moon happy.

[CathyCruises]

I just got off Summit on Saturday after a 14 day Med cruise. Personally, I wouldn't say it was either formal or mature--we actually had young families on board and they seemed to love it. Mind you, it's not the craziness of Carnival with all the noise and neon, but extremely comfortable yet fun.

 

I did notice that most everyone followed the dress code at dinner--although some friends reported jeans and a baseball cap one evening at formal dinner. I saw jeans and a corduroy jacket--no big deal to me.

 

The thalassotherapy pool was a real highlight and became a tradition for us every evening after long shore excursions--loved it!

 

Food in MDR was very good and I was pleasantly surprised after reading so many negative comments. Food in buffets was, well, buffet food. Plentiful for sure. We ordered coffee, juice and croissants each AM in our cabin although being in CC we could have had just about anything. Ice cream was available quite frequently, and we really liked going down to the Cova Cafe in the mid-afternoon for a cappuccino ($3.50) and a pastry (free).

 

Our other favorite, having late dining, was enjoying a cocktail in the martini bar, sitting along the rail and watching the dancers down below in the Rendezvous Lounge. There was a middle aged couple from Spain who were fantastic dancers and great fun to watch--never missed a step that I saw. Their only real competition was a 14 month old who stole the show on the dance floor in her cute little dresses!

 

Ship was in very good shape and I loved the artwork, especially the sculptures by the pools. You will have a wonderful time!

 

Cathy

[jackdiamond]

Those smoothies are gratis on the breakfast menu in CC.

[GORDONCHICK]

You know there are pro's and con's, enjoy your first cruise, and then decide if this is the cruise line for you.

Celebrity is a cruise line that caters to a mature audience, and is very formal.

If this is what you seek, you will be very happy.

There are so many cruise lines, there is something out there for everybody.

Enjoy and no worries okay. :)

 

I'm in my mid-40s and I never felt like I was cruising with a ship of old farts. And we've cruised with our DS twice (once when he was 3 1/2 and last year when he was 6) and he was treated wonderfully by everyone, especially in the dining room and buffet. He loved the Fun Factory as well. The only things he liked about Carnival more was soft-serve ice cream all the time and the water slide. I think HAL may have an older crowd, but it does depend on the time of year and the length of the cruise.

[caribbeanchickie]

Thanks to everyone for all the tips and info. :)

 

A couple of questions to throw out to the crowd here...My apologies if I'm asking too many. :o

 

1-Since we have a CC cabin, do we get the free snacks before dinner as well? Or is this just the Sky Suite?

 

2- What's the name of the daily program???? Or is it Daily program?....lol! Curious to now so maybe I could do a search for them.

 

No all day announcements is perfectly fine by me. :) DH and I don't party so a relaxed more mature crowd is perfectly OK as well.

 

We've previously cruised HAL and found it to be a very enjoyable & relaxing week. As a matter of fact, I was at my most relaxed during that cruise. :cool:

 

One last question- I thought I read somewhere that you don't get the turn down service along with the towel animals nightly??? Is this true??? :(

[caribbeanchickie]

The food and service are the best you will find in crusing....

 

The ship is not party crazy and there are random quiet times every day.

When people go to get ready for dinner at about 5pm and the ship - on deck and pool areas quiets down.

 

It is great that you are having family escorted tours - the best.

 

Have a great time.

 

Family escorted tours are the best because they are FREE....hehehehe

 

I'm looking forward to "Quiet" times.

[caribbeanchickie]

One of the things I like about CC is that there is an expanded room service menu for breakfast (includes pancakes, eggs benedict, smoothies and more). If the menu is not in your room, make sure to ask your room attendant for it.

 

The Thalassotherapy Pool and AquaSpa Cafe are two of the best features of that class of ship.

 

Mike

 

THANKS for tip about the menu. Hopefully I won't have to ask for it. :p

[caribbeanchickie]

I just got off Summit on Saturday after a 14 day Med cruise. Personally, I wouldn't say it was either formal or mature--we actually had young families on board and they seemed to love it. Mind you, it's not the craziness of Carnival with all the noise and neon, but extremely comfortable yet fun.

 

I did notice that most everyone followed the dress code at dinner--although some friends reported jeans and a baseball cap one evening at formal dinner. I saw jeans and a corduroy jacket--no big deal to me.

 

The thalassotherapy pool was a real highlight and became a tradition for us every evening after long shore excursions--loved it!

 

Food in MDR was very good and I was pleasantly surprised after reading so many negative comments. Food in buffets was, well, buffet food. Plentiful for sure. We ordered coffee, juice and croissants each AM in our cabin although being in CC we could have had just about anything. Ice cream was available quite frequently, and we really liked going down to the Cova Cafe in the mid-afternoon for a cappuccino ($3.50) and a pastry (free).

 

Our other favorite, having late dining, was enjoying a cocktail in the martini bar, sitting along the rail and watching the dancers down below in the Rendezvous Lounge. There was a middle aged couple from Spain who were fantastic dancers and great fun to watch--never missed a step that I saw. Their only real competition was a 14 month old who stole the show on the dance floor in her cute little dresses!

 

Ship was in very good shape and I loved the artwork, especially the sculptures by the pools. You will have a wonderful time!

 

Cathy

 

Do you have any pictures???? I would LOVE to see them.

[Lsimon]

1-Since we have a CC cabin, do we get the free snacks before dinner as well? Or is this just the Sky Suite?

 

2- What's the name of the daily program???? Or is it Daily program?....lol! Curious to now so maybe I could do a search for them.

 

One last question- I thought I read somewhere that you don't get the turn down service along with the towel animals nightly??? Is this true???

 

Do you have any pictures???? I would LOVE to see them.

 

CC gets Canapes delivered around 4PM - but to be honest they are not that great. Some people ask for cheese plate instead which your steward should be willing to do. You can also order room service. We're not often in our room at that time anyways. If we do want a snack we usually pop by the cova cafe mid afternoon for some of the complimentary pastries or stop by the cafe between 4 and 5PM for the snacks at afternoon tea time (small sandwiches, pastries, cookies, etc). If we're really hungry and need something to hold us over for late dining after a busy day ashore we'll go to the buffet at sail away time and get a few pieces of sushi or a piece of pizza to snack on while we sit on the open aft deck behind the cafe on deck 10 and watch the islands drift into the distance. ...ahhhhhh.

 

I have daily programs from a few old cruises on one of my web sites - click here. Unfortunately not the Summit, but the Connie and Galaxy ones should give you an example and might cover some of your ports.

 

They do a turn down service every night while you're at dinner. Turn down, replace ice and water, freshen up the bathroom, empty trash, leave next day's programs, etc. But unfortunately they don't generally do towel animals on Celebrity. If you ask your cabin steward about them during a friendly conversation you might be surprised "if" they've ever been trained for them on another line.

 

I have lots of pictures from Summit (a few years back) and more recent ones of its nearly identical sisters, the Millennium and Constellation, as well on my photo site at the link below.

[caribbeanchickie]

CC gets Canapes delivered around 4PM - but to be honest they are not that great. Some people ask for cheese plate instead which your steward should be willing to do. You can also order room service. We're not often in our room at that time anyways. If we do want a snack we usually pop by the cova cafe mid afternoon for some of the complimentary pastries or stop by the cafe between 4 and 5PM for the snacks at afternoon tea time (small sandwiches, pastries, cookies, etc). If we're really hungry and need something to hold us over for late dining after a busy day ashore we'll go to the buffet at sail away time and get a few pieces of sushi or a piece of pizza to snack on while we sit on the open aft deck behind the cafe on deck 10 and watch the islands drift into the distance. ...ahhhhhh.

 

I have daily programs from a few old cruises on one of my web sites - click here. Unfortunately not the Summit, but the Connie and Galaxy ones should give you an example and might cover some of your ports.

 

They do a turn down service every night while you're at dinner. Turn down, replace ice and water, freshen up the bathroom, empty trash, leave next day's programs, etc. But unfortunately they don't generally do towel animals on Celebrity. If you ask your cabin steward about them during a friendly conversation you might be surprised "if" they've ever been trained for them on another line.

 

I have lots of pictures from Summit (a few years back) and more recent ones of its nearly identical sisters, the Millennium and Constellation, as well on my photo site at the link below.

 

You are a wealth of fabulous information. THANK YOU! ;)

 

Going to check out your pics and daily programs now. :D

I'm so excited about this cruise I can barely wait. :rolleyes:

 

I won't push my luck with the towel animals....LOL! It was just something I looked forward to at the end of the evening.

[caribbeanchickie]

What's the shopping like on board the Summitt?????

Anyone have pics of the summit Promenade area?

[BurgerBits]

You know there are pro's and con's, enjoy your first cruise, and then decide if this is the cruise line for you.

Celebrity is a cruise line that caters to a mature audience, and is very formal.

If this is what you seek, you will be very happy.

There are so many cruise lines, there is something out there for everybody.

Enjoy and no worries okay. :)

 

Have only taken 1 Celebrity cruise... just last summer, a 12-nighter on Century... and liked it enough that I'm going again in February on Solstice!

 

I've cruised Carnival to Seabourn and have to say that I disagree with Tinwoman about Celebrity being 'very formal.' We saw all types and styles and everyone felt comfortable.

 

Our group on Century ranged in age from 7 yrs - 51 yrs, and we ALL had a GREAT time. On Solstice, we'll be 7 yrs - 74 yrs and I have no doubt it will be terrific.

 

So far, my fave cruise line is Crystal, but I don't find it appropriate for families. Celebrity, IMHO, is an excellent mix of young and (ahem) mature, with something to appeal to all.

 

Hope you have a FAB time!!!!!

[eleang]

Hello ! I was just going through the posts on this tread and there is no much to add, I've also been in different cruise lines and in my opinion Celebrity's food is one of the best in the cruising industry, the variaty, consistency and quality of the food is outstanding, service is another plus, I find Celebrity an excellent value, you get a lot for your money.

Bon Voyage!

[caribbeanchickie]

Thanks to everyone who replied! :D

 

26 days until my first Celebrity cruise. Formal wear all ready to go! WOO HOO.

 

I'm going to have a fab time, regardless! :D