Summit Review: Penthouse Cruisers Try Aqua Class

It seems, like me, you appreciate square footage and freedom to do as you please while still getting exemplary service in areas that are important to you. MDR room service, free next day laundry, free pressing and shoe shine, early embarkation, priority tendering, mimosa specialty dining breakfast........and NO butler.

 

 

 

Check out Princess suites. I recommend grand and owners suites on everything but the Royal Class ships and Coral and Island. I particularly love the Grand suites on the Grand Class ships.

 

 

 

On Island try Aloha deck aft suites. Coral is well loved by others but I don’t find any suites on her interesting. Pacific has 980 sq ft beauties on her aft deck.

 

 

 

On the Royal Class currently in play I have no suggestions as I’ve not been convinced the balconies and interior spaces are worth the money. The balconies tend to be small on most but not all suites and reports of soot on the aft have kept me away.

 

 

 

However the new yet unfinished Royal Class Sky and Enchanted Princess each have two Sky suites that I think are worth checking out. I’ve booked one for Dec 2019.

 

 

 

For suites 500 to 750 sq feet in size including HUGE balconies (large enough for two padded loungers and a full height dining table and chairs) I pay between $400 and $500 a day per person for cruise, taxes, port fees, auto grats and premium beverage package. The Sky suite is the only exception. It is a two bedroom 1600 sq ft suite and cost a little more.

 

I’ve sailed Aqua on Equinox and Balcony on QM2 for the same approximate price. While I loved those experiences once I left my room I won’t go back as personal space matters the most to me.

 

Happy cruising

Thank you very much for this info! This does all sound great. Will definitely put Princess in the running next time.

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Thanks! Can’t go wrong with AQ. Looking forward to photos of the EDGE. Won’t be long now!

 

 

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Lots of actual photos are posted now on the "EDGE BLOCKS" thread..

We have an AQ class stateroom with Infinite Veranda booked for Jan..spa and Thermal Suites are included and look amazing, We also booked a Sunset Veranda..1st for us,..for Nov 2019 to ABC Islands...we will then experience all 4 mdrs. Waiting to book a suite when EDGE prices stabilize!

I looked at Penthouse, if I even thought of dropping the entire annual vacation budget on a single 7 day cruise I'd never hear the end of it.

And there would seemingly be more time to hear it being we'd all be home more!

Size wise the Sky Suite, Veranda, Aqua and Concierge are all smaller than NCL haven. So is the Celebrity suite by a very small margin.

Granted I only looked on the Summit and Breakaway. In our previous sailings, all except for one, we sailed NCL Haven and made a switch to Celebrity at the behest of our TA. It seems that Celebrity prices its Haven comparable cabins higher than NCL. A premium for not sailing the a dysfunctional cruise line I suppose.

 

 

Aside from the nearly triple space of the Penthouse, how else does it justify the nearly triple cost? We like space as much as anyone but when we are rarely in our cabin and the kids are with the au pair for several hours at a clip, the space would be mostly unused. The Michael's Club would be nice. I imagine it is similar to the Haven lounge which was where we were for 90% of the time we wanted to sit at a bar. It was quieter, the staff more attentive and the furniture more comfortable.

 

 

The rest seems like fluff because we'd probably not have a use for it. I have never had a resort launder my clothes, the piano in our house is for show because until our son or daughter is 6 and can start lessons, it remains a family heirloom my mom left them. We only availed ourselves of the Butler a handful of times and never even met the Concierge. Our excursions are always booked through an external company. Priority embarkation is a plus and almost reason alone with NCL out of NY but the Summit out of NJ was the polar opposite. We had priority embarkation but I don't see it as necessary. The dock is designed well, the people handle things efficiently and it was not pandemonium like in NY. I do wonder though, because no where else on the Summit could I find any but I see that the Penthouse has High Tea, is genuine British clotted cream served? Elsewhere on the ship they had the biscuits, the jams and traditional hard butter. If they have the genuine article, I have to figure out how to acquire it on the black market! I love going to London and having high tea at Fortnum & Mason! I might have to start a thread ahead of our next sailing....a clotted cream quest!

Sure, if you don’t want to pay for space and pampering it’s probably not for you guys. We happen to enjoy both those things quite a bit so will likely continue to book a PH when it’s available. Agree there is a price point for everyone where it ceases to make sense, of course...

Don’t know anything about teatime as I never asked for it to be served, but clotted cream quality likely depends on the skill of that sailing’s chef 🤷*♀️ Maybe someone else can weigh in on this one.

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Sure, if you don’t want to pay for space and pampering it’s probably not for you guys. We happen to enjoy both those things quite a bit so will likely continue to book a PH when it’s available. Agree there is a price point for everyone where it ceases to make sense, of course...

 

Don’t know anything about teatime as I never asked for it to be served, but clotted cream quality likely depends on the skill of that sailing’s chef *♀️ Maybe someone else can weigh in on this one.

 

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The Penthouse space is considerable. Probably about the same as our first house which when looking back, seems spacious and constraining at the same time. Even the Haven and non Haven cabins we book fall short of a Penthouse in terms of space but it did afford the au pair a separate cabin. It may seem counter intuitive considering she lives with us but we feel better if she has her own cabin and a Penthouse wouldn't eliminate that. At home, she has the run of the entire walk out basement including the theater room and kitchen. We only go down for the gym or massage chair so it is like she doesn't really live in the house and ever since she started dating, she is only around 9-5 anyway! The Penthouse layout, is it bifurcated into bedrooms? Being new to Celebrity I have to say, the web site leaves much to be desired. I tried to find a page just about cabins but it seems you have to select a booking to see them and if its sold out, you can't open it at all.

I'll ask our TA about a Penthouse....just for the curiosity. Perhaps just once we'll try it. Kind of like the Concord. I did it once for the experience and now I'm glad I did, the chance to no longer exists.