We Love The Summit - A Review of our January 30th Sailing

[richard1s]

The following are some of our experiences and observations from the January 30 sailing on the Celebrity Summit out of San Juan, Puerto Rico; the itinerary included stops at the ports of Tortola, Dominica, Martinique, St. Kitts and St. Thomas. For my wife and I, this was our 22nd cruise, 4th on Celebrity and 3rd on the Summit.

 

A few days before the departure, we were offered an upgrade from our booked “Sky Suite” to a “CS” category stateroom. We stayed in the CS Suite before and really enjoyed the experience, so we accepted the offer.

 

The night before the sailing, we stayed at the Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel & Casino; this was not the best choice for us since there isn’t much to do within walking distance of the property. However the staff was great, the hotel is very clean, the restaurant was pretty good and the property is a short taxi ride from the airport or to the cruise port. We played a little in the casino and won some on the slots; best of all, the casino is smoke free.

 

We arrived at the port about noon and embarkation was an absolute breeze; we were on board in a matter of minutes. Our cabin was ready at 1 PM and our luggage arrived within the hour. Now, on to some of the specifics of our cruise:

 

Cabin: we love the CS cabin – plenty of room, a separate sleeping area, a full size table for in-room dining, very spacious balcony, a bathroom with double sinks and lots of counter space and of course, all the other great perks that come with this cabin category. For us, the room is not just a place to sleep and shower, but it is at the core of our vacation experience. We appreciate the privacy of our space and the opportunity to enjoy the ocean and port views and especially the quiet, special time a vacation provides. The cabin was absolutely spotless and meticulously clean and fresh. It was nicely stocked with toiletries, great linens and a super comfortable bed. There are separate AC controls for the two living areas in the cabin is a nice touch. We could not have been more pleased with the accommodations.

 

Service & Staff: this is where, in our opinion, Celebrity really shines. Throughout the entire week, we were always greeted with friendly, helpful and very professional staff. Our Butler, Rolando, was terrific. He attended to our modest needs and always greeted us with a warm smile and a positive, professional demeanor. Most mornings, we ordered breakfast in and he would always call about 5 minutes before he delivered and set up our meal. Around 3PM, Rolando would bring our favorite snacks and tea if we were in the room. Little things like this may not matter to some but it really is a nice touch and a great way to feel pampered while on vacation. Our room attendant, Socorro, couldn’t have been sweeter or more eager to please. He was completely non-intrusive and our room was always spotless.

 

Elsewhere on the ship, a smiling face and helpful service was pretty much always the rule. The Michael Club Concierge, Sara, was extremely helpful assisting with reservations, arrangements and offering other helpful advice. The Officers were always walking the ship engaging with passengers. We had the opportunity to dine and socialize with a few of the senior officers and could not have been more impressed with their professional and charming style.

 

Dining: always a subjective topic but we were extremely pleased with the food on this voyage. Breakfast room service was always delivered on time, hot and tasty. We mostly ate dinner at Blu, which was always excellent. The braised short ribs is my wife’s favorite entre from Blu (usually served Monday evening on a 7 day cruise); and I loved the way they prepared all the fish entrees – served with the skin on one side and always tender, moist and delicious. To us, Luninae, was nothing special and just seemed to be a variation of Blu.

 

We dined twice at Murano’s; both times were fantastic. I am really sorry to see this venue go but I am pretty certain that Celebrity will replace it with something equally as nice. If you enjoy a light, (reasonably) low calorie, healthy alternative, then do not miss the Aqua Spa Café.

 

Finally, the only disappointment with the food on this cruise was the two steak entrees my wife ordered during the week. I don’t think we have ever had a really great steak on any of the many cruises we have been on.

 

Casino: mostly dead for the first few days until they finally lowered the table game minimums to $5 on Tuesday. For the most part, dealers were well trained and courteous. Surprisingly, the machine payouts were decent; there is a bank of video poker machines that were really loose the entire week. I think I got “4 of a kind” at least 5 or 6 times during the week. With CS category (I’m assuming), there was no fee for obtaining cash on my shipboard account this sailing.

 

Michael’s Club: I was never quite sure why this venue was so underutilized but we found it to be a great place to relax, have a drink and socialize. The wine selection in Michael’s is also very good.

 

Disembarkation: We met the Concierge (Sara) at Michael’s about 9 AM and she escorted us off the ship to a separate Customs line and we were off the ship in a matter of minutes. The end of a perfect vacation.

 

We have tried all the main stream cruise lines and based on our experience, none of them do it better than Celebrity. We have booked the Reflection for later this year. If you are booked on the Summit, prepare yourself for a really great experience.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for your report.

[Xpresser]

We are taking our very first cruise come January. After sleepless research we picked the Celebrity Summit itinerary out of San Juan so I love reading reports like this, of course.

 

Thank you!

[Champagne Cruiser]

We have cruised on the Summit 6 times. We like the M class ships and gave always found the Captain and crew to be outstanding. The link to my two reviews are in my signature.

[I_r_a]

Thanks for sharing, Rich

 

Ira

[DrivesLikeMario]

Thank you for the review. Good to read such positive comments!

[Host Jazzbeau]

Murano? I think you mean Normandie -- and lamented it certainly is! Each of the M-class ships has been distinguished by the graceful decor and ambience of a restaurant paying homage to the classic ocean liners of the golden age -- now in the process of being turned into what another poster has called a chain of Olive Gardens.

[Clarea]

Thank-you for the feedback.

[richard1s]

Murano? I think you mean Normandie -- and lamented it certainly is! Each of the M-class ships has been distinguished by the graceful decor and ambience of a restaurant paying homage to the classic ocean liners of the golden age -- now in the process of being turned into what another poster has called a chain of Olive Gardens.

 

You are correct, I'm not sure why "Murano" popped into my head.

 

One thing I failed to mention. This was our very first cruise where we did not bring formal wear because of the relaxed Celebrity dress code. We were pretty traditional on this issue in the past and enjoyed dressing for dinner on formal nights. But we left the formal attire home this trip and were able to eliminate more baggage then we imagined. It was great traveling light. We really liked this change!

[portofrome]

Thank you for the review.

[Keith1010]

Excellent review.

 

Thank you for writing and sharing it.

 

Keith

[clarkg]

Did you have good weather for your cruise?

[richard1s]

Did you have good weather for your cruise?

 

Yes, we had exceptional weather. We have been on many Caribbean cruises and our favorite time of year there is December through February. Our experience during many days at sea and in port has always been very pleasant weather. I can’t recall anything other than a brief, occasional shower in all those days cruising in the Caribbean.