Summit Photo Review - June 29, 2014 to Bermuda in Aqua Class

[prim8keeper]

We've done this cruise and it is great, esp St. Lucia and the ABC islands. Bonaire has great snorkeling.

 

Mary Lou

 

I'm so excited since I have yet to hear one person say, "oh, you wont like that cruise." :D We are going snorkeling in Bonaire at the recommendation of everyone I have asked or talked to since. I think our roll call has booked up almost everyone who does snorkeling already!

 

Thank you very much, very nice review.

 

Thank you for reading it!

[czlahaina]

All I can say is WOW! We are first time cruisers and will be doing the Summit Bermuda cruise departing on 8/10/14. We are staying in Sky Suite 6100 and am so excited for this new venture. Your review is incredible and obviously you took a great deal of time in preparing and sharing with us all. Thank you! One question, I have not booked any excursions as of yet. Did you book your tours on ship or before hand? Thanks again!!!

[prim8keeper]

All I can say is WOW! We are first time cruisers and will be doing the Summit Bermuda cruise departing on 8/10/14. We are staying in Sky Suite 6100 and am so excited for this new venture. Your review is incredible and obviously you took a great deal of time in preparing and sharing with us all. Thank you! One question, I have not booked any excursions as of yet. Did you book your tours on ship or before hand? Thanks again!!!

 

Thank you! For this cruise we actually did not book any excursions through the cruise line. I booked them all directly with the tour operators. One thing I did not copy over and post was the excursion book they gave us on the first day of the cruise. I didn't think anyone would be interested, but if you are I can do that and post it. There were a lot of options, more than I remember seeing online. In the past when we have booked excursions through X we have booked them online before the cruise. Then the tickets were just waiting in our cabin for us. I like to do that so we don't have a big bill at the end.

[richsea]

Thanks for your efforts! It's been a great ride, following your trip! We've been to Bermuda 8 times & never get tired of it, or it's beauty!

 

It is a shame that Celebrity seems to be trying to phase out the chocolates. On our last 3 X cruises, there were no chocolates on the first night, but after we mentioned it to the CC hostess (who told us the fleet was out of them because of their supplier), we mentioned it to our room steward & got them every night thereafter. It's almost like they have been told not to supply them unless asked for. Not Modern Luxury!

 

Anyway, thanks again for bringing us along, & hope you do a Galapagos report!

[spav01]

My husband and I are doing the Summit repo from San Juan to Bayonne in April, and I have been loving every minute of your review. Summit was our 1st Celebrity ship and It's great to see pics of the Solsticized version. Cellar Masters is our regular hangout too, having spent 12 nights there on the Constellation last Fall.

 

Think I need to go through all your pics again! And I'll have to look at that new thread on X demographic targets below our age group. Not that I care; I'm a spry late baby boomer so I say bring it on!

 

So thanks Tom, and if you want a more exotic cruise, think Istanbul!

[prim8keeper]

Thanks for your efforts! It's been a great ride, following your trip! We've been to Bermuda 8 times & never get tired of it, or it's beauty!

 

It is a shame that Celebrity seems to be trying to phase out the chocolates. On our last 3 X cruises, there were no chocolates on the first night, but after we mentioned it to the CC hostess (who told us the fleet was out of them because of their supplier), we mentioned it to our room steward & got them every night thereafter. It's almost like they have been told not to supply them unless asked for. Not Modern Luxury!

 

Anyway, thanks again for bringing us along, & hope you do a Galapagos report!

 

I agree it seems like they are trying to phase our the chocolates. I personally don't care either way, but it seems like so many love them so I don't get why they don't just keep them or do away with them for good. I think its this weird indecisiveness where sometimes you get them and others you don't that is getting them in trouble. You can't please everyone, so make a decision!

 

I am planing on doing a Galapagos report. I'm going to have to justify a new camera someway! :D

 

My husband and I are doing the Summit repo from San Juan to Bayonne in April, and I have been loving every minute of your review. Summit was our 1st Celebrity ship and It's great to see pics of the Solsticized version. Cellar Masters is our regular hangout too, having spent 12 nights there on the Constellation last Fall.

 

Think I need to go through all your pics again! And I'll have to look at that new thread on X demographic targets below our age group. Not that I care; I'm a spry late baby boomer so I say bring it on!

 

So thanks Tom, and if you want a more exotic cruise, think Istanbul!

 

We really enjoyed Cellar Master's. Its a great place to people watch and have a pre-dinner drink. I couldn't understand why more people didn't stop there. I get it on the S-class where its all closed off, but on the M-class its open and on the way to the upper level of the MDR or Blu.

 

The cruises where I have ended up having the most fun there has been a mix of baby boomers and some people in are age group. It seems like when you combine the two groups a lot of fun stuff happens and things always stay interesting.

 

Thank you! Istanbul is on my list believe it or not. I was looking at a few European cruises that did an overnight there at one point. We keep talking about going to Europe but end up pushing it down the line since we have both been already.

[annenj]

Thank you SO much for taking the time to do your review! I have read many reviews over the last few years, and none have been as well written and informative as yours. For those days when you were posting, I would look forward to logging on and reading your next installment.

 

I have been to Bermuda 3 times, and on my way for a 4th time in a little over 3 weeks. I'll also be in 1140! (First time in an AFT cabin.) Super excited about that!

 

Reading your review has made me even more excited!

 

Thanks again!

Anne

[prim8keeper]

Thank you SO much for taking the time to do your review! I have read many reviews over the last few years, and none have been as well written and informative as yours. For those days when you were posting, I would look forward to logging on and reading your next installment.

 

I have been to Bermuda 3 times, and on my way for a 4th time in a little over 3 weeks. I'll also be in 1140! (First time in an AFT cabin.) Super excited about that!

 

Reading your review has made me even more excited!

 

Thanks again!

Anne

 

Thank you so much for your kind words!

 

It was our first time aft too and I now totally understand why there are aft snobs. :p

[cl.klink]

For the top ship I'm honestly not sure since they didn't really elaborate much. However, my guess would be its some combination of ratings. It probably comes from CruiseCritic, T+L (travel and leisure) and Conde Nast Traveler. Honestly, no matter which of those list you look at the ships are all kind of ranked in the same order and if you Google top rated cruise ships those are your top hits so it would make sense those would be the ones they look at. It could also just be based on a survey from guests. Hard to tell.

 

Thanks!

- Joel

[Flintstone Cruisers]

Thank you to everyone for reading my review and I hope you all enjoyed it. I've learned so much from CC over the years so hopefully this too well help my fellow cruisers.

 

One of the most frequent questions I get asked is about my sn and if I actually work with primates. Since this is a photo review lets got to the photo, shall we...

 

 

That is me training an adult male Orangutan back when I worked as a primate keeper, hence the sn. I'm now in management and do primate research. So I'm just training a different type of primate. ;)

 

And just in case you were wondering who spends this much time on cc doing a photo review I have a photo for that as well! This is me and my DH at 2,800 feet at the summit of Mount Liamuiga in St. Kitts. The photo was taken this past February on our Equinox cruise. Believe it or not not only two of our cruising friends wanted to go on this hike with us! I'm in the back in the grey shirt.

 

 

Finally, just so I don't leave you in suspense, we are going to the Galapagos! YAY! We did decide to cut our trip back a little to just the 11 night package that spends two nights pre and post cruise in Quito. My DH decided it would be better to go the Machu Picchu on a separate trip so we would have more time to spend in the Sacred Valley/Lima. As I'm sure you can tell by now we have a bit of an adventurous streak.

 

My dear cruising friend Sharon (BigHairTexan) accused little old me of booking the 15 night trip so my DH would only see red making the 10 or 11 night option seem reasonable. While I wish I was smart enough to have come up with that plan, I thought I would pass along this idea to my fellow cruisers. If you see either of us on a future cruise you can just thank us for this brilliant idea at the molecular bar. Happy cruising!

 

Tom

 

We booked the same cruise while we were on the Summit. We are going the first week of December 2016.

[MartinsCruise]

Tom, This was a wonderful and very entertaining review. We had been part of the original Primate Posse with you, Pete, Larry, Jan and Sharon. What a fun group! Although we had three overnight stays in Bermuda during repos, we had not seen everything you did in one trip. If you are interested in a B2B, a good one is a repo which stops in Bermuda followed by a week out of San Juan or vice versa. Enjoy every minute of your upcoming cruises and maybe we'll see each other again. Congrats to you and Pete.

 

Sue (and Doug)

[prim8keeper]

Tom, This was a wonderful and very entertaining review. We had been part of the original Primate Posse with you, Pete, Larry, Jan and Sharon. What a fun group! Although we had three overnight stays in Bermuda during repos, we had not seen everything you did in one trip. If you are interested in a B2B, a good one is a repo which stops in Bermuda followed by a week out of San Juan or vice versa. Enjoy every minute of your upcoming cruises and maybe we'll see each other again. Congrats to you and Pete.

 

 

 

Sue (and Doug)

 

 

Great to hear from you Sue! Thank you for the kind words. We are slowly but surely working up to doing a B2B. It took us two more cruise after you guys to shake Larry. :p

[amazinglife]

WOW WOW WOW did I say WOW! Great review. On her this Sunday with Sharon. Very chatty roll call.

 

As newbies I did not get your future cruise deposit and obc explanation. Guess We will have to visit the desk. Any tips?

[prim8keeper]

WOW WOW WOW did I say WOW! Great review. On her this Sunday with Sharon. Very chatty roll call.

 

As newbies I did not get your future cruise deposit and obc explanation. Guess We will have to visit the desk. Any tips?

 

Thanks! As for tips, watch out for Sharon. Haha! :D Oh, did you mean the cruise? I guess my advice would be try and go with the flow no matter what happens. It will make for a much more relaxing cruise. Have a great time and enjoy Bermuda!

[Cruise a holic]

We actually have Eclipse booked for February. I am so excited to visit the ABC's!

 

 

 

Thank you so much!

 

We have the Eclipse booked for January! You will love the ship and the ports are the best! Two weeks of heaven!!

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

Great Summit review! Brought back memories of a couple of weeks ago!

[Rotterdam]

haha, That would be too funny. Either way sea sick of not an apple is not what I want to eat on a cruise. Pass the cake please! :rolleyes:

 

 

Your review & pics really gave a beautiful representation of Bermuda......it truly is a special place. I've been sailing there since the 1970's and my partner & I have been several times together.

 

WE always rented mopeds for getting around the island which is wonderful. The only downside for some is that it is not that warm in the winter time.

 

Maybe Celebrity could take their Azamara ships & do the NY - Bermuda run w/ the ships docking at Front Street. Its the best & easiest way to visit(you sail on Saturday, arrive Monday morning & stay docked until Thursday after lunch & back in NYC on Saturday morning).

[DebbieMacG]

Great review, many thanks :)

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for your report, glad you had a good time. Love all the photo's, thanks for posting.

[Evangaline]

I would be thrilled if Celebrity had a new-build comparable in size to the M-class. The S-class ships are too big with too many passengers for me. Give me an M-class ship any day.

 

Agree. I have sailed on a couple of Mega ships: The Oasis of the Seas and The Norwegian Epic. There are lots of very unique features on these ships which were really fun to experience, but my last cruise was on a much smaller ship, namely The Serenade of The Seas and there is a sense of being truly at sea that is missing on the mega-ships. I felt strongly enough about it that my next cruise is on the Summit this coming November.

[Evangaline]

That is pretty interesting. Seems like it would be quite a switch for Celebrity to move to target Millennials. It would actually skew the target market to something younger then Royal Caribbean, since Royal Caribbean's target market is families. Most parents these days are Gen X.

 

Would that just leave Azamara targeting Boomers and older?

 

Millennials are an interesting group. Love them. My son is among them. They tend to be sophisticated consumers and almost immune to traditional sales pitches. If Celebrity is going after them, good luck with that.

[Evangaline]

I'm hoping the same. I don't think they need much more extra help, just a little. It seemed like maybe just adding two or three more people would be enough. We will be on Silhouette in December, but unfortunately for that cruise we are not in Aqua class. We are leaning towards doing the ultimate specialty dining plan as our alternative since its cheaper than upgrading. Maybe that would be an option for you as well.

 

What is the Ultimate Specialty dining plan. Sounds interesting and do they have that on the Summit?

[Cruise a holic]

What is the Ultimate Specialty dining plan. Sounds interesting and do they have that on the Summit?

Have had it on the Summit. However, the M class ships only have a few choices, Normandie and Qsine. Also Bistro on Five, which is a good lunch option. We have had much better service in these restaurants and rotate our dinner choices as the menu's do not change. A high tea was also included when we had the package. We prefer the venues and seating arrangements especially for two are much nicer IMO. However when on the S class ships, especially the Silhouette and Reflection, you have additional dining options and the package is truly worthwhile.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[prim8keeper]

I would also echo Cruise a holic's statement. On the M class I don't think the ultimate dining plan is as appealing since there are only two restaurants. As much as I loved Normandie, I can't imagine eating there every night.

 

To answer you specific question as to what the ultimate specialty dining package is, it is a dining package that for $29 a day per person allows you to eat all your meals in a specialty restaurant if they are open. You then don't pay whatever the restaurants charge is a day since you are paying the $29. Someone please correct me if the price has changed since we have not done this yet.

 

Also, thank you to everyone for your kind words. I'm already planning to do another photo review for our upcoming cruise on Eclipse.

[Sloop-JohnB]

Late to the game here... Found the link via another post you commented on today

 

Great Review... Loved every minute of it.

 

We were on The Summit in the Southern Carribean last year, and have her booked for Spring 2015 to Bermuda so your Review was very timely for us

 

And your Photos... GORGEOUS

 

Thanks for sharing,

 

Cheers!

[Cruise a holic]

I would also echo Cruise a holic's statement. On the M class I don't think the ultimate dining plan is as appealing since there are only two restaurants. As much as I loved Normandie, I can't imagine eating there every night.

 

To answer you specific question as to what the ultimate specialty dining package is, it is a dining package that for $29 a day per person allows you to eat all your meals in a specialty restaurant if they are open. You then don't pay whatever the restaurants charge is a day since you are paying the $29. Someone please correct me if the price has changed since we have not done this yet.

 

Also, thank you to everyone for your kind words. I'm already planning to do another photo review for our upcoming cruise on Eclipse.

Hello prim8keeper

 

We will also be on the Eclipse in January and since we will be in A CC cabin and got a great rate as we booked very early, will probably take the Ultimate dining package on that ship. Unfortunately the lawn grill our favorite restaurant is only on the Silhouette and Reflection.