Summit, June 29 Bermuda - Review 7 out of 10

[newmommy2]

Summit, Bermuda – June 29, 2014

Overall a good cruise, a solid 7 out of 10.

 

I am a forty something single mom with two daughters. I cruised with Celebrity three times but it was years ago before my children were born. I have also cruised with Disney three times (super great, a 9 or 10 out of 10), Princess twice (great, an 8 or 9 out of 10), and Carnival (never again).

 

The food in the main dining room, buffet, pool grill and café el bacio was good to great. Short ribs and polenta (my first time trying), French onion soup, pizza, curries, cheese cake, chocolate cake, and vanilla French toast were my favourites. I didn’t try the food elsewhere because I didn’t feel the need to pay for a meal when the food that was included in the price was tasty. Some foods that were on the buffet are just not meant to be there, like quesadilla for example, it just gets soggy, but overall the food was good and I liked the little trays of pre-plated meals. The hamburgers at the pool grill are really good, although you have to wait in line a bit. In fact, I found you had to wait in line, or wait at your table, quite a few times for food on this cruise, but not enough to force me to a venue where you had to pay extra.

 

Room service was way too slow, sometimes taking an hour, so we didn’t bother. There was always food nearby to appease my hungry children, so we just went out.

 

Entertainment that I saw was great except for the comedian. She was not funny, and embarrassing to watch after a while so we left. I am not a fan of the new Indulge show, or the burlesque direction that the entertainment is taking. I am admittedly conservative, so others may enjoy it. I find it a bit off-putting and not consistent with the classier image that I had associated with Celebrity, but that’s just me, no judgement for others who may enjoy it.

 

The live music and shows I saw were really well done, a great guitar player, a kick a$$ band, a good piano player, great production shows, etc. The officer/staff participation in events such as a top chef cook off, pool volleyball, captain’s presentation about the ship’s engineering, etc. were great additions to the activity program. Frankly, I have never been on a Celebrity cruise that rocked late into the night like this one did, in particular at the Martini Bar and other adult venues.

 

Our room attendant was good, the room itself was in decent shape except for the bathroom. The toilet smelled and it never seemed to come clean no matter how much the attendant tried. Not enough for me to complain about or to ask to switch rooms, we just kept the door closed. But if it had been my parents staying in that room on my recommendation, I would have been horrified. The age of the ship didn’t concern me anywhere else other than in that bathroom! Yes, it is not brand new, but the ship is well maintained.

 

The highlight of the trip for my children was the kid’s program (ages 9-11). This is not to say that they spent an inordinate amount of time in the kid’s club, but for the times they were there, they had a lot of fun. They met many other nice children, and the staff were super, high energy, and very entertaining. My children loved spending time at the beaches in Bermuda. I will take them again I think, but maybe earlier in the season when it is not so hot!

 

The one disappointment we had was the cold reception my girls received from some of the other passengers who seemed to think this was an adult only cruise, or at least that is how they behaved. Also, there is only one pool and one hot tub that the children can use, while the adults are able to use all of the hot tubs and all three pools. This is likely not such an issue on the European or Alaskan cruises, or at other times of the year. But summer time in Bermuda brings with it a lot of children. Maybe some temporary allowances could be made for children during certain times of the day, or even during certain times of the week, so that the kids can play a bit in the other pools and not be jammed in like sardines in one small pool all the time. Maybe one hour a day when most people are getting ready for dinner wouldn’t hurt. I found myself telling the children quite frequently, sorry, this is an adult only area, you won’t be allowed to attend this party, or that restaurant, or to swim here. This may only be an issue for a few of us, I don’t know. This is just my opinion.

 

Regarding some of the comments I have read about fellow passengers, with the ship leaving from the New Jersey/New York area, I would say that I met many kind and well-meaning people on this cruise. I am a shy Canadian, and the majority of people I met (90%) were really very nice. The other 10% were not, and they can really wreck it for the rest of us if you let them. I tried to not let them bother me too much. And by the way, being from New York or New Jersey was not an indicator of who might be naughty and who might be nice, so perhaps these states are getting a bad rap. And the 90%-10% ratio is likely consistent of any other cruise ship on any other cruise line at any given time.

 

So why did I give this cruise a 7 instead of an 8 or 9 out of 10? A couple reasons I have already mentioned, like some of the iffy entertainment, the lack of child friendly spaces outside of the children’s club, our bathroom, the wait time for food, etc. The other reason is because I found the ship’s crew outside of the captain, officers, cruise director, and kid’s clubs staff, to be really unhappy, stand offish, or unfriendly (except our room attendant, Apollo, who warmed up to us by mid-week). To be clear, no one was rude or impolite. They all called me madam and they all said good morning/afternoon/evening. But they seemed to just be tolerating me, and each other. It was actually challenging to find a light hearted room attendant, waiter, sommelier, pool staff, ship cleaner, store employee, or anyone, anywhere. Not only did they not smile or interact with the passengers, but they didn’t smile or talk or joke with each other either. Maybe it was an off week, or maybe this wouldn’t even put a dent in someone else’s fun cruise experience, but all the negativity was bringing me down!

 

Would I go on a Celebrity cruise again? If the price is right, likely, but on a different ship so I can see if this was just an off week. Would I recommend the line to someone else? I’m not sure I would. I don’t generally recommend things unless I am really sold on them. Am I happy we went on this cruise? Absolutely, time spent with my daughters is never time wasted, and my girls had a heck of a good time in Bermuda and in the children’s program.

[bighairtexan]

Thanks for the review. I'm going on the Summit on the end of August. I have friends who was on the same cruise as you were, and your experiences were similar. They weren't traveling w/ any kids, so your concerns there, were not theirs. Not across the board, but in general you had a very similar experience. He'll be doing a review so I'm not going to say too much, but he indicated a similar feeling about the entertainment (esp the comedienne). I'll be taking a pass when she performs, I think. He did rebook for next year, so he enjoyed it enough, and I'd guess his rating would be perhaps a tad higher than yours, but again very similar.

[NLH Arizona]

Thanks for your review. I'll be on the Summit in January and like to read all the reviews about her. Glad you liked the buffet, I can't wait to try it. Sorry to hear about those that feel it should be an adult only cruise, there are jerks everywhere and best to just ignore them.

[Pushkin]

I enjoyed reading your review. We were on the Summit in June with 3 teens. They had a blast, mostly because of the X Club and the other teens they met there. If they were left to entertain themselves on the Summit, I think they would have been bored.

 

Prior to this cruise, the only Celebrity ships we had sailed on were the S-class, so I was apprehensive about cruising on an older ship. I was surprised to find that I liked a lot of things about the Summit, but they need to put some money into the bathrooms. This is where the age really shows in my opinion. Even if they just replaced all the showers, it would make a big difference. Who wants to look at stained tile? This would not keep me from booking another cruise on Summit (I already have), but I'm hoping for a better bathroom next time.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

If you are looking for newer bathrooms on M-class- book outside cabins on deck 3 even numbers 3112-3144. They were added in the last couple of years. Also the Aqua Class cabins on Deck 11 are all added in the past two years.

[Seatbelt_Bag_LOVE]

It is nice to read your review. I will be sailing on the Summit this Sunday, so I am enjoying all the reviews! I espeically appreciated your review since you have also sailed Disney. We have only cruised once, and it was on Disney. We don't have any kids, but enjoyed the Fantasy so much. I can't wait to get on the Summit and see for myself! Any day cruising is better than a day at work. :o

[portofrome]

Thanks for the review.

[Keith1010]

Thank you for your review.

 

Keith

[czlahaina]

Thanks for the review. We are on this cruise on Aug 10th and really looking forward to it. We have Sky Suite 6100 - anyone know anything about this cabin?

[JandKMom]

I was on the same cruise (just posted my review this morning). One of my major complaints was also about the pool area and the size of the pools - I hadn't even realized that the second pool was adults only (now I recall my son mentioned it) because my kids barely even used the pool because they hated the crowds! The first day my older son actually said "where is all the fun stuff?" meaning the water slides, etc., even though I had explained to him many times that this cruise did not have any of that. It didn't help that we were docked in Bermuda right next to the Norwegian Breakaway with the huge water slide on top. I honestly wouldn't want to be on a ship like that, but I wish a few more accommodations were made for kids on the Summit. At the very least, only the indoor solarium pools should be adults-only and let kids in both outdoor pools! My kids did not do any kids/teen programs, so I can't comment on the staff, although I saw kids having a great time, particularly one night in the pool they were doing some sort of dance contest or something. I kept trying to encourage my sons to participate but they refused. I actually enjoyed the comedienne, although I agree she was very raunchy. There were a few jokes that perhaps went a little bit too far - she could have toned it down and still been funny.

[Pushkin]

If you are looking for newer bathrooms on M-class- book outside cabins on deck 3 even numbers 3112-3144. They were added in the last couple of years. Also the Aqua Class cabins on Deck 11 are all added in the past two years.

 

Thanks!

[sbb]

Thanks for your very detailed review and I appreciate your comments about people from New Jersey. We do get a bad rap sometimes :)

[Rhayne]

Summit, Bermuda – June 29, 2014

Overall a good cruise, a solid 7 out of 10.

 

 

Thanks for the review. Hubby and I will be on the Summit in a couple weeks and we're excited. It's our second time back on it.

 

I also appreciate your comment about New York / New Jersey residents. We get a bad rap everywhere in the world. I must say though, last year on our cruise we encountered more grumpy foreigners than Americans. But i dont hold that against all people from foreign countries, those were just a few bad apples.

[Music Cruiser]

On same cruise, 29 Jun. never waited for food. Learned names of staff, especially bar service, and found that they would seek us out at the various venues around the ship. I personally never saw a grumpy or unpleasant crew member the entire week.

 

 

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[oceanswimmer]

I agree with many of your observations. Personally I really think that all of the mainstream cruise lines are working their employees too hard. I thought many of them weren't all that friendly but I got the impression that they were exhausted. I would see the same people working at 7am and then see them working at 8pm. I actually felt bad for them.