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Celebrity Summit March 14-21st review

Solstice23

By Solstice23,
in Celebrity Cruises

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Solstice23

Solstice23

Posted
Posted

I will try to be to the point in this short review, any questions please feel free to ask. I will say that my wife and i were a bit concerned prior to this cruise since a few people on here said horrible things...But I think thats what I forgot ....it was only a few people!

 

Condition of ship.

 

In great condition, it is not a new ship, we have sailed her twice before, and well its in great shape. For those who want it shiny new all the time, then remember to pay full price for every cruise!!! then maybe they can afford to dry dock and update ships every 6 months

 

Service.

 

Of all my Celebrity cruises or any other cruise for that matter this was by far the best. The Captins club desk new our names before we even handed our cards over to her for some assistance, She greeted us as Mr and Mrs Hargreaves and we had only been on the ship 40 minutes????? great work. The "by the first name" thing continued all week, even bar staff would run tabs for us. The service blew us away. Only one bar dude bugged us the entire week. other then that WOW AWESOME JOB CELEBRITY!!!!!

Waiter was Joseph he was the best

Asst Maitre D was amazing...and we new his fiancee from the Activities staff from when we sailed on Summit this past July.

Ravina on bar staff and Michael in the Martini Bar, thanks for reserving our seats every night!!!!

 

Buffet

 

Great food good service never crowded and good sushi!!!!

I will say I saw this women complaining to a person that most buffets stuff is not fresh, and then in the same conversation complained she was waiting for over 5 minutes in line for the "fresh" make it as you watch Stir Fry ???? People are nuts!!!! Salad Bar was great, Cranraisens, Seeds, all the toppings you wanted

 

MDR

Wonderful service and I am sorry but the food was wonderful, Bread was fresh and tasty. They brought us fresh bowls of berries every night, Creme Brulee every night, side of steamed asparagus nightly also. Every other Cruise line I have sailed never does this!!!! Thanks Celebrity. And for those who prefer Dennies type steaks or food from a Chilis ......this is not for you.

Soups were good, and the salads great. They make it all fresh so for some since it is not all processed foods they find real taste odd is what I think. our entire group all 19 of us enjoyed all the food!!!

 

Brunch

 

Love this idea and mixes it up a bit and with the singers singing I felt like we were back in the 50's at some mountain resort in the summer.

 

Dessert Buffet

LOVED IT ....in the disco with music food, dancing....great fun

 

Normandie

 

WOnderful food all new menu....no Goat Cheese app anymore...I did complain on my comment card about that though! Service good but needs to have that polish it had before! but still way worth it!

Shows

For the first time ever never went to one...We drank and ate and hung with with group most of the time.

 

Drinks...

 

Martini Bar was our favorite before dinner spot and Michael always had our area reserved for 745 pm prior to our 830pm dinner time. Furthermore They had Clamato Juice for Ceasars so like a true Canadian I was in heaven.

 

Stateroom

Sky Suite 6132

Wonderful I love SKy Suites, Our butler was amazing and so helpful for everything. We had a problem with missing credits etc when we boarded, instead of me calling and working it out he sent us ashore in San Juan and he took care of it all!!!!! Keith we love you!

 

Captins Table

 

Was wonderful, Getting to meet "texed: and his family was also nice! The Captin was always around the ship and would stop and talk to us dailey. I also noticed how hew new children aboard the ships names! Nice touch

 

Ports of call

 

Loved Bonaire and Dominica

Aruba is to Commercial, thats ok but I like Antigua better then Aruba.

 

Disembarkation

 

Our group was assigned 1 color and number "blue 5" we met at 830 and went right off the ship. All our bags were together alone as a group and it was so fast in the cab by 850 am!

 

Cruise Activities staff

This group needed more organization, they had more to do this Past july for activities.

 

Overall thoughts

 

Celebrity did a wondeful job, on a not NEW ship. We were happy overall and would go again. in fact out entire group booked for the Solstice next March at the same time. The service was amazing for us and food outstanding 90% of the time...I feel most that complain are just that way all the time...Many on this cruise paid 399.00 plus tax for a 7 night cruise....Let me tell you I paid 1000.00 per person for our Air Canada Flight 5 hour flight and had bad service, and had to pay for food, and they ran out of tomato juice, gingerale,, diet coke, Clamato juice........

 

Its all in relation...in my opinion if you pay 500.00 for a 7 day cruise with even half the level of service and food standards I received on this Cruise then you still made out extremely well!!!

 

Cheers! and happy Cruising

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WineDown17

WineDown17

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May I ask how you were able to dine with the Captain?

 

I have been doing my darndest to see if we can at least get my in laws a seat one evening- it is their 50th anniversary...

 

Being Captains club, In a Royal Suite, Elite, etc etc doesnt seem to help one iota.. so I woud love to understand how they select.. Is it pure luck?? If so, will keep my fingers crossed.

 

So glad you had a wonderful time. We were married on Summit in 2002.. and this will be our 1st time back... I know it wont be the same as our honeymoon.. but really pleased to hear so many wonderful comments. This ship will always have a special place in my heart.

 

(So much so, I searched high and low to find a Normandie Cut Away original.. it is now framed in our living room as a reminder of the special times on board.)

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MandyGirl

MandyGirl

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Great review, Owen! We were always just on the deck below for pre-dinner drinks, but also had the 8:30 dinner seating.

 

Wow - $399 - Sky Suites - I got totally ripped! We paid over $700 for a 2A balcony (per person). That wasn't even CC. What a super sweet deal you guys got!

 

We will know my husband's 2010 vacation after bids are complete in September. Always a bummer to wait that late to book vacation for the following year, but we just go with the flow and take what we can get. :) Booking another cruise always help with cruise withdrawal symptoms. :D

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Texed Holiday Sharing Rare

Texed

Posted
Posted
Thanks for the very positive review. I am considering Summit or Solstice for next Carib. cruise and so I'm interested in how well an older ship is faring.

 

Summit looked pretty nice, and we thought the food was very good.

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scotslass

scotslass

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Was Michael in the martini bar from the Philippines? Always laughing and telling awful jokes? We know him from a previous Summit cruise and hope he will be on the Summit when we do the med in June. He was wonderful

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Solstice23

Solstice23

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Ok ...to answer some of the questions....

1.Michael was in the Martini bar yes....reserved our seats for us every night!

2. as for the sky suite no we paid around 1669.00 Cnd, But had friends pay 399.00 plus tax for a window room.

3. as for dinning with the Captin...I network well and have made many friends on Celebrity, as we are just 30 years old we tend to stick out I guess. We are elite members plus....and We have been invited to the Captins table 2 times this past July on the Summit in the Med 12 night cruise, and one on this cruise. I am not sure how they decide, but we always seem to get invited. other elite members I met said they never get invited. My suggestion make a good friend with a senior officer onboard your next cruise.

4. condition os the ship was great, its not new but still looks better then most her age. I think because the styling is simple you will notice wear and tear more on the Millie Class, where as Princess and Royal ships so much lights and stuff going on its harder.

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Solstice23

Solstice23

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Yeas I agree, but I realize when Iread a few negative things on here, I need to keep in perspective that they are only a few, most with some reason to put down a certain ship. While on the cruise I noticed almost everyone not Complaining so this is a good thing, and My wife and I are truly picky.

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MandyGirl

MandyGirl

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Posted
Yeas I agree, but I realize when Iread a few negative things on here, I need to keep in perspective that they are only a few, most with some reason to put down a certain ship. While on the cruise I noticed almost everyone not Complaining so this is a good thing, and My wife and I are truly picky.

 

That was us as well last week.... we really did not hear others not complaining. The Summit staff did a great job on that sailing! :)

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MandyGirl

MandyGirl

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Do you remember what nights were formal? You all were on Summit / Southern Carb right?

 

Would a dark suit and tie be appropriate or you recommend tux?

 

 

Thanks!

 

Our formal nights last week were Sunday (St Maarten) and Thursday (Aruba). Many had tuxes, but my hubby wore a suit (to be honest, I have never seen him in a tux!).

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Solstice23

Solstice23

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We enjoyed the Summit also, But I am ready to get back on the Solstice class!!!

 

The cruise was wonderful, I miss bonaire and the Snorkeling there so much, it was the best snorkeling we have ever done other then when we sailed the Galapgos

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MaggieAtSea

MaggieAtSea

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I'm trying to educate myself as to the veranda lay-out on the Summit. We are considering a SS cabin but I can't make heads-or-tails about the balconies... it seems some are fully shaded, some are not. Can you please tell me a bit more about your particular one? You mention semi-private sunning... is that b/c of people above or below you or along side you? Many thanks!

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cowsinohio

cowsinohio

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Great review. We too thought the ship was in good shape unlike we had been led to believe by some posters. The staff was unbelieveable. Always a smiling face and a friendly greeting. No one in our group had a bad experience unless you consider not winning BIG in the casino, or $5000 at bingo. I thought the shows were ok..better than Princess last year by far and we had shrimp cocktail waiting for us every night and creme brule several nights. We passed on Aruba for personal reasons, had a wonderful day in Bonaire and the Thassotherapy pool is a dream come true. Both embarkation and disembarkation were fast and smooth, even when you consider we were a group of 22. In fact disembarking was probably the best of any cruise we have been on, with the exception of transfer to the airport and then getting our luggage at the airport which took forever..but hey, it's San Juan....I'm ready to go again.:)

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kelmac

kelmac

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Great review! I'm with you on the food issue -- I think too many people associate volume with quality. I've cruised Celebrity since 1993 and over-all the food is improving all the time.

If you liked the Summit, you are going to LOVE the Solstice! (oops! you've already been on the Solstice!)

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

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