Carried_Away

The shower is tiny. I can barely turn around in it.

I usually make specialty dining reservations on embarkation day --- and sometimes change them a few times as the cruise progresses. Celebrity does create an impression of very low availability, but with a little flexibility, I get reservations I'm satisfied with.

I asked Celebrity this question via chat on their website a few days ago. The agent I chatted with said the "shore excursion credit" was nonrefundable OBC that can be used to buy anything you normally can buy with OBC --- including specialty dining, spa treatments, and casino credit. The agent gave me some nonsense explanation about Celebrity marketing the OBC as "shore excursion credit" because some people were worried about excursions in the pandemic era and it was an effort to show that people could take excursions with Celebrity.

I like both and would probably choose based on itinerary. If itinerary and price were the same, I'd lean toward the Equinox. Comparing my fall cruise on the Equinox with my cruise on the Summit a couple of weeks ago, I thought the Equinox had a better buffet and better beverage service. I also like that there are more specialty restaurants on the Equinox, and I like the Passport Bar. It's a very slight edge, though.

Every Celebrity cruise I've been on, including one in the fall and one a couple of weeks ago, has had both Coke Zero and Diet Coke available (all have departed from the U.S., which I assume is relevant to supply availability). On my most recent cruise, sometimes a server would say the bar had only one or the other, but either the server or my friend and I would be able to find what we wanted at another bar. I met the beverage manager on the Summit on my last cruise, and he said Coke Zero and Sprite Zero are the most popular sodas on the ship.

The outdoor pool also has a lift chair to help people with mobility issues enter and exit the pool. There are no ladders. Be careful entering and exiting the pool when the ship is moving. The motion of the ship creates waves in the pool, and it can feel like a forceful push or pull when you're on the steps. I grip the railing and move with the flow of the water; otherwise, the wave can knock me off my balance. I imagine that could be tough for someone recovering from an injury if you're not prepared.

I don't think an overall percentage would be useful because more than one crew member told me that crew shortages were not evenly distributed across departments. Some departments --- the casino, for example --- had minimal impact, while other departments experienced greater shortages. As I said above, it was sometimes hard to get tableside beverage service, but that was the only service impact I experienced on the Summit last week. I still had a great cruise. Neither short staffing nor supply issues affected me in any meaningful way, and I certainly wouldn't suggest anyone consider canceling over worries about these issues.

I was on the Summit for the same cruise as the OP. A crew member told me our sailing had about 1,900 passengers; the Summit's capacity is 2,200. He said some cabins are still being left open to serve as isolation rooms if needed. The ship felt full, with elevators crowded and dining tables very close. (I have never had a problem getting a table for 2, but with only a few inches between tables, you can easily get to know your neighbors.) I also heard from crew members that they were not allowed to get off the ship in ports because of an increase in crew covid cases. I didn't hear anything about passenger cases. A couple of crew members I spoke to said staff shortages varied by department. The only service drop-off I noticed was that it was sometimes hard to find a bar server for tableside beverage service in Oceanview and Cafe al Bacio. Otherwise, I thought the crew worked very hard and provided great service as usual. I had a wonderful cruise despite occasionally having to go to the bar to get my own drink. As for supplies, sometimes the specific bar we were at didn't have the non-alcoholic beverages we wanted, but the bartender usually tried to track down what we wanted, or we would just go to the next bar. I didn't notice any other supply shortages --- and I actually think what we encountered was more about distribution of products within the ship than it was about an overall shortage.

It's a little comforting to hear I'm not the only one with this problem. I tried calling the Captain's Club to upgrade my drink package. I got transferred twice. It took three people and about 35 minutes to accomplish the task. I lost my cool when the second person said he had to transfer me, 27 minutes into the ordeal.