Comparison - food quality Summit vs. Solstice Class Ships

[Baybear]

DW and I have been on three Celebrity cruises in the past 3 years: two on the Eclipse and one last year on the Silhouette. Food in the MDR was so good on all these ships that we didn't think the dining we did in Murano was really much better... only the service and ambience, but not the food. So we typically stick with the MDR on those three ships now.

 

BUT... we're thinking of taking a Celebrity cruise from San Juan since it gets to more and new ports for us than the cruises from Florida, and the ship that Celebrity takes from San Juan is the Summit. We've seen some strange reviews about food on the Summit and food is the MOST important item to me on cruises, since I am a real gourmet type person and when I'm paying for a vacation I want the food to be as stellar as possible!

 

So... I'm asking here for any comparison advice on food taste and quality from only those who have EATEN ON BOTH THE SUMMIT AND SOLSTICE CLASS CELEBRITY SHIPS. And since Summit travels in at least two different regions, I'd like comments on food on the Summit that you've had on Caribbean trips on it, since maybe the quality of the food depends on the region being sailed. I don't care for opinions or comparisons with other lines' food, or for general comments about "all celebrity food is good" or such... only truly comparative comments from cruisers who have personally had MDR food on Summit AND one of the Solstice class ships.

 

Before committing to Summit and San Juan I would like to know if the food on Summit is going to be sub-standard compared to food on the Solstice Class ships. Hopefully, the food on Celebrity is consistent... I'd think it would be pretty much the same quality on all their ships. But from some reviews I've been reading, I'm not so sure.

 

TIA and I hope some of you "fit the category" required to answer this!

[barbels]

The food on Summit on the June 30 cruise was better than the food on our January Eclipse cruise. But I think the improvement should be X-wide. There were several new menu items including many new salads which were a big improvement over the old ones.

[CruisingChick]

There was a big difference in food in the MDR on Silhouette and Summit. This was back in 2011 and 2012. Not sure if it's still the same.

 

The food in the MDR on our March 2012 Silhouette cruise was so much better than the food in the MDR on our Summit 2011 cruise. I do have to say that the food in the MDR on Summit has improved since our 2011 cruise but still was not as good as our March 2012 Silhouette cruise. Hopefully it will continue to improve.

[Baybear]

The food in the MDR on our March 2012 Silhouette cruise was so much better than the food in the MDR on our Summit 2011 cruise. I do have to say that the food in the MDR on Summit has improved since our 2011 cruise but still was not as good as our March 2012 Silhouette cruise. Hopefully it will continue to improve.

 

Thanks... So you're saying that the food on your May 2013 Summit trip to Bermuda was still not as good as your March 2012 Silhouette cruise but that the "Summit food was getting better?" How "close" has it gotten to the Silhouette quality in your latest cruise on Summit? i.e.: What was different between Silhouette and Summit food quality, if you can elaborate/detail any...??

[CruisingChick]

Thanks... So you're saying that the food on your May 2013 Summit trip to Bermuda was still not as good as your March 2012 Silhouette cruise but that the "Summit food was getting better?" How "close" has it gotten to the Silhouette quality in your latest cruise on Summit? i.e.: What was different between Silhouette and Summit food quality, if you can elaborate/detail any...??

 

Yes, exactly what I'm saying.

 

There were a lot of things on our recent Summit cruise that were very good. I don't think I had a bad meal, but I think our March 2012 Silhouette cruise was SO GOOD and set the bar so high, that I'm not sure any other cruise will come that close. Now Silhouette is the only S Class ship we have been on, but the food on that 12 night cruise was incredible. We never even thought about going to one of the Specialty Restaurants, except Bistro on 5 for lunch.

 

The quality of the food on our last Summit cruise was very good in the MDR. I was mostly disappointed with the Buffet upstairs at lunchtime. The quality was okay, but it just seemed like it was the same old food. They need to update the buffet for lunch time.

 

I will tell you the Jerk Chicken my DH and I both had on the first night of this Summit Cruise, May 2013 was probably one of the best things we have ever eaten on any cruise. So the quality is definitely coming back up in the MDR.

 

Hope this helps.

[Baybear]

Yes, exactly what I'm saying.

 

There were a lot of things on our recent Summit cruise that were very good. I don't think I had a bad meal, but I think our March 2012 Silhouette cruise was SO GOOD and set the bar so high, that I'm not sure any other cruise will come that close. Now Silhouette is the only S Class ship we have been on, but the food on that 12 night cruise was incredible. We never even thought about going to one of the Specialty Restaurants, except Bistro on 5 for lunch.

 

The quality of the food on our last Summit cruise was very good in the MDR. I was mostly disappointed with the Buffet upstairs at lunchtime. The quality was okay, but it just seemed like it was the same old food. They need to update the buffet for lunch time.

 

I will tell you the Jerk Chicken my DH and I both had on the first night of this Summit Cruise, May 2013 was probably one of the best things we have ever eaten on any cruise. So the quality is definitely coming back up in the MDR.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Great! That's exactly the kind of information I'm looking for! Thanks very much. I'm more likely now to book a Feb 2014 Summit cruise from San Juan and "check them out."

[miched]

I have been on the Summit, Reflection and Constellation recently and have gained weight on all three.

 

Can't complain about the service or food on any of them. Was always able to find something that I liked.

 

The only thing that has changed is the Aqua Spa cafe menu. There are many threads on it and it is across the fleet so it doesnt matter what class you are on.

 

.

[phoenix_dream]

I have been on more than 20 Celebrity cruises, from the Century class to the M class to the S class - multiple times on all. IMHO it all depends, and it has no relation to class of ship. What is more important is who the chefs happen to be on the particular cruise (and perhaps the quality of food available, not sure about that one). Chefs change fairly regularly, so a true evaluation months out from your particular cruise is pretty useless in my opinion.

[vickykay]

We were on the Summit last summer and the Shilouette this past March - food was very good on both ships ( and a big improvement from put last Celebrity cruise), Very coarable in the MDR I think you will enjoy the Summit. Have a best cruise!

 

Vicky

[zoncom]

Just back from B2B Connie and Silhouette in Europe. Connie may have improved but Sillie was much better. Never on Summit, but did 25 days on Century 2 yrs. ago. SoSo. The older ships are smaller with fewer choices, smaller dining facilities. Been on most of them, agree Sillie has best food so far. If food is important go on S class ships.

[cwtravel]

Hi,

Was on the 6/23-6/30 Summit and in November was on the Reflection Barcelona-Miami crossing for 13 nights. I thought the MDR meals were of similar quality (good to very good) on both ships but the evening casual dinner/buffet in general was much, much better on the Reflection and other Solistice class ships then the Summit.

 

Chris

[kendon]

Last summer, the food on the Summit was a tremendous disappointment...both in the MDR and buffet. The service was equally poor. So many people on the ship felt the same way, and they were regular Celebrity cruisers. Sorry I can't answer first hand, but since so many passengers were also disappointed, it says something.

[Lois R]

I have also been on S Class and M class mulitple times as well and

I agree with Phoenix...it can vary ship to ship and food is such

a subjective topic. I was recently on Silhouette, although was

in AQ and dined in Blu most nights and it was very good. But I was

on Summit back in November and I recall enjoying my meals on her

too and that was a regular cabin and I ate in the main dining room

except for 2 nights...dined Specialty on those evenings.

 

I am going back on Summit in 3 weeks and cannot wait:D

[pumpkin 11]

There actually might be something to be said about the Summit and its food. We were on in Spring 2012, and found the food in the MDR good, but nothing special. Our cruise on the Equinox a few weeks ago was MUCH better ( but the buffet was just ok). So I don't know what's going on in the summit world, low fares, bad supply line, bad head chef? Who knows, but a lot of people did have negative reviews from about 2011-2012. However I will say that reviews from, particularly a celebrity ship sailing out of New York, don't score near as well as compared to other Celebrity ships. ( even though it sails out of San Juan too.) It seems to me Celebrity's menus are still changing, for the better or worse, it's hard to tell.

[Baybear]

I have been on more than 20 Celebrity cruises, from the Century class to the M class to the S class - multiple times on all. IMHO it all depends, and it has no relation to class of ship. What is more important is who the chefs happen to be on the particular cruise (and perhaps the quality of food available, not sure about that one). Chefs change fairly regularly, so a true evaluation months out from your particular cruise is pretty useless in my opinion.

 

That's an interesting comment you make... I would have expected that the food on a particular line would be quite standardized with common menus from ship to ship and major sources for ingredients coming from the same locations, so that when it all gets "put together" it's kind of like McDonalds where every time you order something it 's always the same if you're in California or New York or Mississippi.

 

If recipes are "the same" on each Celebrity ship (which I would think they would be... coming from an executive chef for the line) it seems they should taste the same, even if different "sous chefs" are preparing them... if they're using the same ingredients in the same proportions, then wouldn't it be consistent from ship to ship?

 

But there may be fairly important differences between ship to ship and "location" that affect food quality even on one line.

 

If would be fun to hear from an actual employee on Celebrity who knows about their food prep.

[Baybear]

Hi,

Was on the 6/23-6/30 Summit and in November was on the Reflection Barcelona-Miami crossing for 13 nights. I thought the MDR meals were of similar quality (good to very good) on both ships but the evening casual dinner/buffet in general was much, much better on the Reflection and other Solistice class ships then the Summit.

 

Chris

 

Thanks... I was mainly interested in the MDR, but I would think that the food in the Buffets might be quite different on different class ships due to the difference in the layouts of the buffet service area, the different size kitchens and storage areas. Probably the design of the spaces have improved on the Solstice class ships so their buffets are consistently better than the older class ships which may be more "awkward" to manage. It's probably one of the "unseen" aspects of food quality.

[Baybear]

There actually might be something to be said about the Summit and its food. We were on in Spring 2012, and found the food in the MDR good, but nothing special. Our cruise on the Equinox a few weeks ago was MUCH better ( but the buffet was just ok). So I don't know what's going on in the summit world, low fares, bad supply line, bad head chef? Who knows, but a lot of people did have negative reviews from about 2011-2012. However I will say that reviews from, particularly a celebrity ship sailing out of New York, don't score near as well as compared to other Celebrity ships. ( even though it sails out of San Juan too.) It seems to me Celebrity's menus are still changing, for the better or worse, it's hard to tell.

 

Well, that's quite confusing... but then again the World IS confusing! Maybe New Yorkers are more picky than other cruisers, given the sophistication of their City's offerings. Probably get a lot more people from the NYC area (And upscale CT) on those cruises out of the NY area.

[Baybear]

Last summer, the food on the Summit was a tremendous disappointment...both in the MDR and buffet. The service was equally poor. So many people on the ship felt the same way, and they were regular Celebrity cruisers. Sorry I can't answer first hand, but since so many passengers were also disappointed, it says something.

 

I seem to hear bad vibes much more often on cruisers on the Summit Summer cruises. What about those who have sailed her in Winter to the Caribbean? Quality may have something to do with NYC sailings vs. San Juan sailings (as some have suggested on this thread) even though it's the same ship.

[pumpkin 11]

That's an interesting comment you make... I would have expected that the food on a particular line would be quite standardized with common menus from ship to ship and major sources for ingredients coming from the same locations, so that when it all gets "put together" it's kind of like McDonalds where every time you order something it 's always the same if you're in California or New York or Mississippi.

 

If recipes are "the same" on each Celebrity ship (which I would think they would be... coming from an executive chef for the line) it seems they should taste the same, even if different "sous chefs" are preparing them... if they're using the same ingredients in the same proportions, then wouldn't it be consistent from ship to ship?

 

But there may be fairly important differences between ship to ship and "location" that affect food quality even on one line.

 

If would be fun to hear from an actual employee on Celebrity who knows about their food prep.

 

Exactly. You would think it would be standardized across the fleet, but I wonder how much different chefs and location actually change the quality. Probably not a lot, but Celebrity's menus do seem to change quite frequently.

[Lois R]

I have sailed her 5 times....Caribbean 4 times and once out of NJ on a

very fun itinerary....Boston, Newport, RI and Bermuda.

 

This coming trip is Bermuda only.

[jgnova]

We've been on Summit 4 times, twice to Bermuda and a B2B out of San Juan. Silhouette once from Bayonne. Traditional seating in MDR for Bermuda and on Silhouette, select for San Juan. I don't think the MDR food was noticeably different on any of them. There are differences in service between traditional and select and food might be hotter in traditional where they bring out a table at once.

 

I do like the buffet layout on Summit better than on Silhouette and think the food was better in the Summit MDR. This is because the S-class have free standing food stations while M-class food stations are close to the prep area. Also (and I got some argument from the food manager when I mentioned this) I think the design of the hot food stations on the Silhouette does not keep the food hot - instead of being in hot water, the serving pans have a narrow rim on the base in contact with the hot surface.

[Rachel302]

A slightly off-topic question for you as an admirer of gourmet food who lives close to me - where do you like to eat here in Central PA? My husband is a chef and we enjoy good food, always looking for new places to try.

On topic, we very much enjoyed the food on our last Summit cruise and found it was the best we've had on a cruise. We have not yet been on an S Class ship however.

[Baybear]

A slightly off-topic question for you as an admirer of gourmet food who lives close to me - where do you like to eat here in Central PA? My husband is a chef and we enjoy good food, always looking for new places to try.

 

off topic answer: we live in Lancaster PA but frequently travel up to Hershey which is closer to Harrisburg than Lancaster. In Hershey we really like the seafood restaurant across the street from the Milton Hershey Museum called Devon Seafood Grill. Their local trout is cooked on an alder wood fire, I believe, and their slightly sweet, soft biscuits (free with meals) are amazing! A lunch special with fish, potato, veggie (like grilled asparagus) and biscuits is only $14 or so. And their lobster mac & cheese is outstanding. I always have that as one of the "sides."

 

In Lancaster for "high-end" eating we like Gibraltar for special occasions and Iron Hill Brewery for somewhat upscale, but more affordable very inventive, "California-like" cooking. The Brewery used to have an Aha Tuna dish with a sort-of tomato coulis on top and a wasabi-vinaigrette micro-greens salad next to the fish and mashed potatoes with a fantastic lemon-like thin sauce next or under the tuna. But they claim tuna is now "too expensive" so I think that dish has gone away, but it's indicative of others they do there.

 

Then at the "low end" price-wise, but not low end quality-wise, is Dienner's Family Restaurant right between the Miller's Smorgosbord and the ugly Windmill to the East of Rockvale Outlets on Rte 30. Dieners has a $9 "all you can eat" lunch of Amish/Mennonite food... the BEST rotisserie chicken you've ever had, and wonderful coconut cream pies and pecan pies, as well as Amish dishes you can't get anywhere else like brown buttered noodles. Tuesdays they add a superb ham loaf in addition to all the above and more. All is home made right there including the great soft wheat dinner rolls. "Down home" cooking for an amazing price. Most tourists don't know about this place or it would be overrun. It's crowded and you usually have to wait 5-10 minutes to sit down but it's worth it.

 

Others like Haydn Zugs are also very high-end, great ambience and good food (good crabcakes), but not as inventive as the ones at the top.

 

So there you have it... High-end, Middle-end and Low-end recommendations.