Summit 6.16.13 Sailing to Bermuda Review

[Sandy1975]

I want to post this here so that people can ask questions or post comments. I usually don’t do reviews but I had some questions while waiting to sail to Bermuda, especially about the beverage package, and I never really found definite answers so I thought I would share our experience in hopes of helping others with similar questions. Warning!! I cannot do short summaries or posts so this will end up been a lengthy review! I am sorry for that in advance

 

My husband and I are 37 years old and this was our 4th cruise and 2nd one with the Summit. We originally booked our Bermuda cruise for August but about 2 weeks after our original booking, sailings for June had a substantial price drop and we decided to move our trip from August to June. Overall, we had a fantastic time and there were only a few minor glitches that were solved in a timely manner.

 

I want to talk about the minor issues first and get it out of the way. First, our beverage package was not in our seapass card and we were told to go to guest relations to sort it out. We did that as soon as we got on board. At first they could not find our package but I had documentation with me showing that we had it. I handed that to her and after about 10 minutes she found it and gave us new cards. I really think Celebrity should fix this. It is a bit annoying having to do this to get what you are entitled to. Second, we took a surge protector that would allow us to have several items plugged to the electric outlet. We had a cell phone, camera and walkie talkie charging in it. At around 5 am I hear a “pop” and smell something burning. It was our power surge protector! I unplugged right away and took all 3 items out of it. It melted a little too! We communicated this to guest relations and an electrician was in our room checking the outlets. He said it was our equipment that was faulty but I know for sure that this worked fine at home and it was newer too. We really could not argue this but at least our equipment was fine and they also solved this problem for us for the rest of the trip.

 

Pre-Boarding: We drove to Bayonne the day before our sailing and decided to spend the night in Parsippany, NJ. It is only a ½ hour drive to the port and parking at the hotel was free. We used Priceline for our hotel and got the Sheraton. We got up early on Sunday and were at the port by around 10AM. Check in only took about 15 minutes. We were giving number 21 for the shuttle bus. I thought we were going to wait for a long time before boarding but that was not the case. Boarding opened at 11:05 AM and we were on the ship by 11:15 AM. We took care of the first issue I described above and went to Ocean View café for a quick lunch.

 

Ship and days at sea: I thought that the Summit was in great condition. As many have said, it is not a new vessel but the crew members have done an excellent job in keeping it in good shape. Yes, there were some lounging chairs on the top deck that could be replaced but you hardly notice it when you put a towel on it. I don't think this ruined our experience . We had an oceanview cabin and it was immaculate. I didn't find any mold/rust/smells in the bathroom (and I looked because I read about it in other reviews). Our stateroom attendant, Glorio, did a great job in keeping the room clean. I tend to get sea sick in rough waters but we were very lucky during this trip that the waters were sort of calm. It was not like sailing to the Caribbean calm but I didn't need to take anything to help with sea sickness. The weather on sailing day and day 2 was not that great. It was rainy and a bit chilly in my opinion. Luckily, this was the only bad weather we had as the sun was with us for the rest of the trip! Something interesting happened on day 2. The captain had to stop the vessel because they picked up a distressed signal coming from a sailboat. The safety officer along with 2 other crew members went to inspect the sailing boat to see if anyone needed help. Luckily, they didn't find anyone on board and all they had to do was communicate this to the US Coast guard.

 

Food and Dining facilities: We only used the MDR, Ocean View café and Café Al Bacio so I can’t comment on any of the specialty restaurants. We had the early sitting slot and the service was outstanding. I can't continue without mentioning what a great waiter we had! Salem was fantastic and went above and beyond for us. He was working at the Ocean view café in the mornings and my husband had a special request on a couple of occasions. Salem took care of it even though it was not during dinner time. The food was pretty good in the MDR and ok in the Ocean View café. I mainly had salads and pizza there (that pizza was so good that I had 1 slice pretty much every night before going to bed! So bad for the waist line but so good for the soul!). I didn't care for the ice cream this time around. Café Il Bacio was just great! The almond paste croissants were to die for and the baristas were also great. Coffee drinks were also pretty consistent in quality but I have to say that my preferred baristas were the lady with long hair that wore a single braid every morning and the guy from Romania at night. I wish I knew their names.

 

Bars: What can I say about this? It was great too. The service was excellent, the preparation of drinks was always consistent and they didn’t mind if we told them how to make some drinks. The bartenders were always friendly and accomodating.

 

Beverage Package: I am not sure I would ever pay for one but if offered as part of a perk or promotion, I would definitely take advantage of it. We had the classic package as part of the 123 go promotion and after testing it for couple of days I decided that I didn't need to upgrade to a premium. My husband was always OK with the classic but I wasn't so sure. Under the classic, everything at Café Il Bacio was included, all fresh squeezed juices and smoothies were also included. Towards the end of the trip, they started to run out of some brands that were covered in the classic package so they just substituted with what was available under the premium package. The wait time at the bars were Ok and were not different from what you would expect on land in a busy bar. The line at café Il Bacio was on occasions long but it moved fairly quickly. I never waited more than 5 minutes for a drink and the average was pretty much waiting 1 – 2 minutes. For what we like, we thought the beverage package was an excellent perk and we will definitely pick it again if offered! I highly recommend it!

 

Fitness center: I used the fitness center every day except on day 1 and day 7. I am an early bird and you could find me using the treadmill at around 6:30 or 7 am. The place was not busy at that time so it was perfect for me. I can’t comment how busy it got during peak times. I also run on the running track on a few occasions. I found out it takes 18 laps to do 1 mile. I am not sure how accurate this really is but I thought it was more like 12 laps.

 

Shows: Most shows were Broadway like. They were similar to the ones we saw in December so we skip most of them. We did see Liz Callaway, the illusionist and the commedian. We liked the Illusionist and Comedian and Liz sort of put me to sleep. I did perk up when she sang Memories from the Cat Broadway show.

 

Bermuda: We bought a 3 day pass and went everywhere in the island. We never waited long for the ferry or buses. It is the way to get around IMO. We also have an extra 3 day pass that is good until the end of this year. If anyone is interested just send me a message.

 

Overall, this was fantastic trip and one that I think we will do at least once a year. Thanks for reading my little review “book”.

[happicruzer]

Thanks for posting your review; we are on her mid-July and look forward to a return to Bermuda on the Summit.

Judy

[jfer8580]

Great review....can't wait for our sailing....just under three weeks now!!!

[jakeman]

Great Review - Glad you enjoyed your cruise - We had such a great time on our cruise in May, that we booked while on board for next June 2014 - after reading your review I wish I was going back next month instead of next year!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sandy1975]

Great Review - Glad you enjoyed your cruise - We had such a great time on our cruise in May, that we booked while on board for next June 2014 - after reading your review I wish I was going back next month instead of next year!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

We almost booked on board but decided to wait. We never book something that far in advance and would rather wait to see what is been offered. We are not picky when it comes to choosing a cabin

[Lois R]

Hi Sandy, glad you had a good cruise:) I sail her in 6 weeks and

looking forward to it:D

[drarill]

Great review!! Glad you enjoyed your cruise!!:):)

[Keith1010]

Very balanced review.

 

Most importantly I am glad you all enjoyed the cruise.

 

We have sailed Bermuda with Celebrity multiple times and always enjoyed it.

 

Keith

[portofrome]

Thanks for the review.

[dobes3kh]

Great review.

 

This is our first time to Bermuda--would you recommend any places to visit on the island? Or to give a miss to?

 

Thanks!

[mardon]

Hi Sandi. we are going to Bermuda July 21 and would be interested in that 3 day pass if you still have it.

 

marlene

[mardon]

Sandi, my email is marlenewendtch@sbcglobal.net

 

marlene

[Sandy1975]

Great review.

 

This is our first time to Bermuda--would you recommend any places to visit on the island? Or to give a miss to?

 

Thanks!

 

This was our first time to Bermuda too. We are beach people so that is what we did pretty much every day. We visited different beaches and snorkeled. We also visited Hamilton and St Georges. In St Georges we caught the "Docking Re-enactment" and that was fun to watch. It was at noon. I wish I would had gone to the lighthouse and to other areas of Bermuda but we run out of time.

We didn't care for the Lennon Tribute and didn't have a chance to go to Harbour Nights in Hamilton. I heard it is something nice to do if you have the opportunity.

[Sandy1975]

Hi Sandi. we are going to Bermuda July 21 and would be interested in that 3 day pass if you still have it.

 

marlene

 

I will contact you when I get home!

[Sandy1975]

I knew I forgot something in my review. We had the best time snorkeling in Bermuda. It didn't really matter where we went, the snorkeling was fantastic! Horseshoe Bay and Tobacco Bay were both great for spotting fish! We will explore other areas on our next trip (whenever that happens to be...)

[dobes3kh]

This was our first time to Bermuda too. We are beach people so that is what we did pretty much every day. We visited different beaches and snorkeled. We also visited Hamilton and St Georges. In St Georges we caught the "Docking Re-enactment" and that was fun to watch. It was at noon. I wish I would had gone to the lighthouse and to other areas of Bermuda but we run out of time.

We didn't care for the Lennon Tribute and didn't have a chance to go to Harbour Nights in Hamilton. I heard it is something nice to do if you have the opportunity.

 

Thanks for the info! We are definitely not beach people!!! But are interested in visiting Hamilton perhaps and will look up about the 'lighthouse'.

 

Has anyone else here been to Harbour Nights?

 

Thanks!

[Lois R]

Thanks for the info! We are definitely not beach people!!! But are interested in visiting Hamilton perhaps and will look up about the 'lighthouse'.

 

Has anyone else here been to Harbour Nights?

 

Thanks!

 

Hi:)....you might check the Bermuda forum too. There are quite

a few people over there who have very good information:)

[Water783]

That is such a great review of the Summit; thanks so much for posting it!! We are sailing on Summit to Bermuda in less than two weeks and I am so happy to hear positive things about this ship because we have never been on this one. We have however sailed to Bermuda several times on other lines and we LOVE Bermuda! Our favorite beach is Horseshoe Bay -- it's like a Shangri-La. I can't describe the beauty of that very WIDE and beautiful beach with pink sand and the clear, turquoise water. And we have been to Harbour Night a few times. It is lots of fun; all kinds of hand made crafts for sale by local artisans; live music, many of the shops in Hamilton stay open as well as a couple of the restaurants/bars within walking distance. We have already planned to go there again when we sail in July. So happy to hear that sailing there on the Summit will hopefully be a happy trip!