Summit May 24-31 to Bermuda: Enjoyable but crazy weather!

[Sandy1975]

We are back from our Bermuda cruise on The Summit. We are in our late 30's, had a mid-ship Ocean View Cabin, 6PM traditional sitting with table for 2 and classic bev package (one upgraded on the last day to do so). This is our 5th Celebrity cruise and the 3rd with the Summit so I am able to compare to our prior experience. Overall, I would say this was a good cruise and we enjoyed ourselves and had a good time but not as good as our prior cruises. I will split this review in sections: Embarkation, Service, Food, Entertainment and Port of Call. I tend to be wordy so if reading something lengthy is not your thing you might want to skip this post :)

 

Embarkation

It was really good. We always get to the port early to avoid crowds so we never really had issues at this port in the past but this was the our quickest check-in! We got to the port around 10:30, my husband parked the car and took a shuttle back (this is probably the only negative about the port IMO. The shuttle between the terminal and ship was replaced with a shuttle between parking lot and terminal) to the terminal. We check-in and were onboard by maybe 10:50 or so.

 

Service

- Room Attendants: Good Service. We are pretty low maintenance in terms of getting our room done so as soon as we saw our room attendant (Fidelis) and his assistant we let them know that we would only need the room done once a day. We are out of it most of the time anyway and it only gets disturbed at night or while getting ready. The room attendant was hesitant at first but then agreed with it. As I usually do, I requested Ice but I think he forgot (not a big deal since we ended up not needing it at all been so close to bars, etc). They were good and efficient and our rooms were always done in a timely matter.

 

- MDR Service: Here is where I think you see the biggest cut Celebrity has done. Just as others have mentioned before me, you can tell the dining room teams are handling more tables than before and it is noticeable. I think the service by our waiter and his assistant was OK. Our sommelier could had been more present but I think she had lots of tables to handle. The first night it took longer than expected to finish our meals even though we skipped dessert. The second night we wanted to attend the 7PM show and tried to tell our waiter that we won't be having dessert but never had the chance so we just left. Next day we heard about it because they thought something was wrong. We assured them that everything was fine and we just needed to get going. They asked to please inform them next time. After the second night our dining time was kept within the hour, including a look at dessert (we only ordered once). We knew what we wanted in terms of wine so it was easy for our Sommelier. After the second night, she just left a brand new bottle for us to drink and we only saw her again when I upgraded to premium and requested a different wine. It is hard not to compare to our last cruise (on the Equinox in November and prior Summit Experience almost 2 years ago). The service provided by the dining room team was superb just 6 months ago where the waiter and sommelier would make recommendations here and there and go above and beyond at times. This is not the staff's fault but Celebrity's. One thing that I noticed is that the Maitre'D and Assistant Maitre'D were not were to be found (same thing happened in our Equinox sailing). Are they still around or have they just stopped the personal greetings?

 

- Ocean View Cafe: I would say service was as expected. It is a buffet so there really isn't much to say. I didn't see tables staying dirty for long periods of time, staff was always wiping/cleaning/clearing tables so I think service was good. People behind the food stations were professional and friendly.

 

-Bar and Coffee Shop Service: It was good and speedy. Drinks were always tasty and most of the bartenders seemed friendly. The one thing I noticed is that not all of them know the rules around upgrading to premium. I could not remember if the cut off to upgrade was 4 or 3 days before the trip ended so I asked. I got at least 3 different answers: Anytime during the duration of the cruise (up to the last day), 4 days before the cruise ends and 3 days before the cruise ends. I figure I would do it on the 4th day before cruise ending but I forgot so I inquired on the following day and got lucky as that was the deadline. Now, I will give you a tip: make sure you ask how much the total charge will be. We were going to upgrade at the Sunset bar but they bartender was going to charge us for 4 days when it should had been for 3 (Thu, Fri, Sat) so my husband went to a different bar and they did it right.. Cafe Al Bacio was as always fantastic! This is one of the perks I really value that is part of the classic package. I hope this doesn't change any time soon.

 

Food and Quality

Here is our biggest disappointment. We think that the quality of food has changed a lot just from 6 months ago. When eating at the Ocean View Cafe, I had no issues because I made my own custom salads but my husband likes to try things. I don't think there was much he liked compared to how he felt about the buffet food in prior sailings (there were some exceptions but not many) . On a positive note, I think the pizza, when fresh out of the oven is still good and my husband thought the sushi was good too. MDR food was also not as good as we remember. I would say it was barely average. For example, I recall raving about the Top Chef menu while on the Equinox but this time around my food was pretty much untouched. There are only a few items that I think were good to very good for me. I don't think my husband and I discussed food quality in our last Summit cruise that is why I am not comparing quality to that sailing (almost 2 years ago).

 

Entertainment:

We thought the guest performers were pretty good (2 comedians and the magician. We didn't attend the a Capella show ) and the Celebrity shows were decent. We also liked Sean, the guitarist that performed at Sunset Bar most of the time. My complain continues to be music around the pool! Ha, this one never ends. I wish the music around the pool was more lively and energetic. At one point I didn't care about getting a lounge chair by the pool because the music was what I call elevator / spa type music and I don't care for it. It was only lively for an hour or 2. My husband on the other hand likes more quiet type of music so this was fine for him.

 

Bermuda

This was our third time in Bermuda and we think this is a beautiful place but OMG, the weather we had was crazy! It was so windy that it was hard to walk outside. Luckily we had our Windbreaker so we weren't cold but I feel for those people that didn't have anything to protect them from the wind or sporadic rain. We just did our own thing and went to the beach. Due to the wind, you could get a full body and facial exfoliation courtesy of the pink Bermuda sand! In spite of this, we still enjoyed the beach and got some nice tans!

 

I think this will be our last trip to Bermuda. A trip here needs to be done at the right time and this was not it. I think mid to late June would be perfect. We also realized we like the Solstice class better. Funny thing is that I remember saying that while I liked the Equinox, I "really" liked the Summit so it was a good thing that I tried her once again. This doesn't mean we won't sail her again, especially if she goes to ports we like but I just thought it was interesting how my opinion changed.

 

Let me know if you have any questions and I will try to answer them! Thanks for reading my mini-book of a review :)

Edited June 2, 2015 by Sandy1975

[wwcruisers]

Hi Sandy -- We were on this one too -- loved Summit! Wow, that wind was something, wasn't it? All of the locals we talked to in Dockyard and Hamilton said that the 3-day windstorm was most unusual for their island. But, I think you're absolutely right about timing being the key to an enjoyable trip to Bermuda. Last year, we did the final Summit run of the season (Labor Day). It was unbelievably hot and humid -- and, we just managed to miss one of the hurricanes that hit the island! :cool:

[Sandy1975]

Hi Sandy -- We were on this one too -- loved Summit! Wow, that wind was something, wasn't it? All of the locals we talked to in Dockyard and Hamilton said that the 3-day windstorm was most unusual for their island. But, I think you're absolutely right about timing being the key to an enjoyable trip to Bermuda. Last year, we did the final Summit run of the season (Labor Day). It was unbelievably hot and humid -- and, we just managed to miss one of the hurricanes that hit the island! :cool:

 

Yes , I heard it was unusually windy! Our luck I guess! When we were there in mid-june, it was windy but it was manageable and it was welcome as it help you keep cool because it was hot at the time.

 

Oh and just to show how opinions are subjective about service, etc, the couple sitting next to us in another table thought the service and food were great. I think it was their first celebrity cruise. I thought it was interesting :)

Edited June 2, 2015 by Sandy1975

[CruisingChick]

MDR Service: Here is where I think you see the biggest cut Celebrity has done. Just as others have mentioned before me, you can tell the dining room teams are handling more tables than before and it is noticeable. I think the service by our waiter and his assistant was OK. Our sommelier could had been more present but I think she had lots of tables to handle. The first night it took longer than expected to finish our meals even though we skipped dessert. The second night we wanted to attend the 7PM show and tried to tell our waiter that we won't be having dessert but never had the chance so we just left. Next day we heard about it because they thought something was wrong. We assured them that everything was fine and we just needed to get going. They asked to please inform them next time. After the second night our dining time was kept within the hour, including a look at dessert (we only ordered once). We knew what we wanted in terms of wine so it was easy for our Sommelier. After the second night, she just left a brand new bottle for us to drink and we only saw her again when I upgraded to premium and requested a different wine. It is hard not to compare to our last cruise (on the Equinox in November and prior Summit Experience almost 2 years ago). The service provided by the dining room team was superb just 6 months ago where the waiter and sommelier would make recommendations here and there and go above and beyond at times. This is not the staff's fault but Celebrity's. One thing that I noticed is that the Maitre'D and Assistant Maitre'D were not were to be found (same thing happened in our Equinox sailing). Are they still around or have they just stopped the personal greetings?

 

-Food and Quality

Here is our biggest disappointment. We think that the quality of food has changed a lot just from 6 months ago. When eating at the Ocean View Cafe, I had no issues because I made my own custom salads but my husband likes to try things. I don't think there was much he liked compared to how he felt about the buffet food in prior sailings (there were some exceptions but not many) . On a positive note, I think the pizza, when fresh out of the oven is still good and my husband thought the sushi was good too. MDR food was also not as good as we remember. I would say it was barely average. For example, I recall raving about the Top Chef menu while on the Equinox but this time around my food was pretty much untouched. There are only a few items that I think were good to very good for me. I don't think my husband and I discussed food quality in our last Summit cruise that is why I am not comparing quality to that sailing (almost 2 years ago).

 

 

Okay, so my DH and I are not alone. For a minute there I thought we were going crazy. Glad to hear you had basically the same feelings we did. Especially about the food in the MDR and Ocean View Café.

 

My DH thought the Top Chef Menu was not great (he barely touched his entrée). The waiter asked if he wanted something else, he declined.

Edited June 2, 2015 by CruisingChick

[Sandy1975]

Okay, so my DH and I are not alone. For a minute there I thought we were going crazy. Glad to hear you had basically the same feelings we did. Especially about the food in the MDR and Ocean View Café.

 

My DH thought the Top Chef Menu was not great (he barely touched his entrée). The waiter asked if he wanted something else, he declined.

 

We were offered something else too but declined.

 

My husband mentioned food quality to any staff that cared to ask about how everything was going so far!

[BLAMBKY]

Did you happen to notice if they had a "white night"? I am wondering if I should pack white. [emoji6]

[Sandy1975]

Did you happen to notice if they had a "white night"? I am wondering if I should pack white. [emoji6]

 

There wasn't a white night but they had a Bermuda Night by the pool. Also no liquid party.

[BLAMBKY]

Thanks!

[Jetswdo]

What did you think of I hollywood if you attended? Could you tell me about it?

[Sandy1975]

What did you think of I hollywood if you attended? Could you tell me about it?

We really liked it. Im usually not into magic shows but this one was neat and the tricks were interesting. We attended the 7pm seating and it was a full house. I will definitely recommend the show.

[Sandy1975]

I can't believe i forgot to mention OJ.

I love fresh squeeze OJ and can tell the difference. First time i asked for it I inquired about freshness and was assured it was fresh. Oh the way with words! First sip and could tell it was pretty much Tropicana / Florida Natural "fresh not from concentrate". Such a shame they are cheaping out on this. And they charge 3.50 for it! Who would pay this price for bottled OJ? Not me! I later asked one of the bartenders we talked to quite a bit and he said "not fresh the way a lot of people consider fresh. He said to pay attention to the wording : It says Fresh Juice and not Fresh Squeeze. I don't even remember if that wording was there before. On tge positive side, grapefruit juice is still Fresh Squeeze.

[CruisingChick]

I can't believe i forgot to mention OJ.

I love fresh squeeze OJ and can tell the difference. First time i asked for it I inquired about freshness and was assured it was fresh. Oh the way with words! First sip and could tell it was pretty much Tropicana / Florida Natural "fresh not from concentrate". Such a shame they are cheaping out on this. And they charge 3.50 for it! Who would pay this price for bottled OJ? Not me! I later asked one of the bartenders we talked to quite a bit and he said "not fresh the way a lot of people consider fresh. He said to pay attention to the wording : It says Fresh Juice and not Fresh Squeeze. I don't even remember if that wording was there before. On tge positive side, grapefruit juice is still Fresh Squeeze.

 

Obviously because of the drink packages they had to cheapen out on this also. It's the "dumbing down of Celebrity" as I have come to call it.

 

There are two shows one is iMagic and one is iHollywood.

 

iHollywood is a production show with the Celebrity singers and dancers and this cast was much better than previous ones.

 

iMagic show was okay, but too much talking and not tight enough in between actual illusions/tricks. But I guess for a cruise ship it was pretty good.

 

They had a Frozen Party but we missed it as the Liars Club ran until 11:30 PM and the Frozen Party started at 11:00 PM but by the time we got upstairs Revelations Lounge was dead and you wouldn't have known they had just had a "party." The DJ was playing and no one was dancing.

 

As for the party out on the deck - they should have moved it inside. We went and stayed 10 minutes. Barely anyone was up there - it was so windy and no one was dancing. Revelations lounge was empty and not being used.

 

Sometimes I wonder who runs these ships?

[Sandy1975]

Obviously because of the drink packages they had to cheapen out on this also. It's the "dumbing down of Celebrity" as I have come to call it.

 

There are two shows one is iMagic and one is iHollywood.

 

iHollywood is a production show with the Celebrity singers and dancers and this cast was much better than previous ones.

 

iMagic show was okay, but too much talking and not tight enough in between actual illusions/tricks. But I guess for a cruise ship it was pretty good.

 

They had a Frozen Party but we missed it as the Liars Club ran until 11:30 PM and the Frozen Party started at 11:00 PM but by the time we got upstairs Revelations Lounge was dead and you wouldn't have known they had just had a "party." The DJ was playing and no one was dancing.

 

As for the party out on the deck - they should have moved it inside. We went and stayed 10 minutes. Barely anyone was up there - it was so windy and no one was dancing. Revelations lounge was empty and not being used.

 

Sometimes I wonder who runs these ships?

 

I just re-read the question and see it was about I- Hollywood. I thought that was Ok. I think it was with the new cast.

 

We didn't go to the party by the pool because it was too windy /miserable but went to the frozen party. No one was there. We stayed for a bit and left. Martini bar was more lively.

[CruisingChick]

I just re-read the question and see it was about I- Hollywood. I thought that was Ok. I think it was with the new cast.

 

We didn't go to the party by the pool because it was too windy /miserable but went to the frozen party. No one was there. We stayed for a bit and left. Martini bar was more lively.

 

Too bad about Frozen. I guess everyone was at either the Liars Club or Martini Bar. The party by the pool should have been called Frozen - LOL (I crack myself up sometimes).

 

They need to make the martini bar bigger like it use to be on the M Class Ships.

[Jetswdo]

I am trying to get more info regarding IHOLLYWOOD--

 

When I was on the Reflection, the Celebrity Cast really did do a great job with Broadway Revue-- Included Le' Miserable songs. Well done, and a few other musicals- Glad we went to that-- I was able to see current clips from that production as a few people had videos on You tube. So I knew what to expect.

 

DH and I don't really enjoy acrobats that Celebrity actually does quite well for people who like that. (The only cirque de Solie show we ever really liked was the Beatles one in Las Vegas-- but I think that's because of, well, the Beatles music) So I think we would be bored with "Stars in their Eyes" because I think that is the one with the acrobats?

 

So any one who can give us more detailed infor regarding IHOLLYWOOD, it would really be appreciated.

[CruisingChick]

iHollywood is movie music from the 30's on up. It starts out a little slow and boring but ends better (with music from Shrek, etc).

 

In my opinion not as good as the Broadway Show they did in the past production shows, but it's totally different music so you can't really compare.

 

My DH and you must be separated at birth as he is not a fan of the acrobat duos either.

 

Unfortunately for you and he, Celebrity has incorporated them into all their Production shows - especially Sirens. I think it's Sirens you are thinking about.